Recent Viewpoints

How influential could Christian voters be in the next election? Their participation could be significant if they are registered to vote and then go out and vote their values in an intelligent way. Recently, Gary Frazier and George Barna were on my radio program to talk about their work through the organization, United in Purpose. Let’s look at Christian voter participation in 2012. There were 90 million born again Christians of voting age. About 77 million of them were registered…

There’s some budgetary progress taking place in Washington D.C. — if lawmakers don’t abort it. October 1 marked the beginning of a new fiscal year and, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the deficit for FYE 2015, which wrapped up September 30, is down considerably. At $500 billion it’s still outlandish, but a huge improvement over the trillion-dollar annual deficits during this Administration’s first term. This improvement is due to budget restraint demanded by the tea-party voters that resulted in…

Presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson is still getting questions about his initial comments about Islam. It was encouraging to read from a former radical Muslim that the concerns Ben Carson expressed are also his concerns. He has read the Islamic literature and pronouncements and understands why many Americans would be wary of putting a Muslim into political office. Tawfik Hamid is an Islamic thinker and reformer. He was a member of a radical Islamic organization in Egypt. But he had…

A few weeks ago, candidate Ben Carson was asked if he would support a Muslim for president. Probably the best response would have been, “No Muslim is running for president this year or in the foreseeable future. It’s a very hypothetical question, Chuck. So let’s get back to the serious questions of our day.” Of course that is not how Ben Carson answered, and various critics made a huge flap over his response. Now that some of the controversy has…

America has the chance to stop funding one of the major perpetrators of an ongoing humanitarian crisis. But we’re kicking the can down the road to December. The disturbing videos released by the Center for Medical Progress, which highlight Planned Parenthood’s abortion activity, and their side business selling baby parts, should have made defunding Planned Parenthood immediately a no brainer. Horrified members of Congress went ahead and passed a bill to fund the government — including money for Planned Parenthood….

If you have watched any of the debates, you know that some important questions never get asked. And if the moderator does ask a challenging question, the candidate usually changes the subject. In a recent column, Kevin Williamson writes about The Question No Candidate Will Answer. In the next debate, he would like the moderator to say this: “Given that a small number of federal expenditures — Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, national security, and interest on the debt — typically…

The visit by Pope Francis to America stimulated lots of debate and discussion about economic policy and environmental issues. This debate about politics, economics, and the environment will continue and should continue because policies based on misinformation and economic misunderstanding would actually hurt the poor. George Will talks about the Pope’s “fact-free flamboyance.” The Pope is critical of free market capitalism and believes that the Earth is becoming “an immense pile of filth.” This is the hyperbole we have come…

Bernie Sanders will not win the Democratic nomination, but he has certainly attracted lots of young people to his campaign. A significant percentage of those in the millennial generation are following him and support his socialist platform. Robert Knight in a column that talks about his siren song of socialism is puzzled. The millennial generation is highly educated. He thinks they would be wary of anyone sporting a socialist brand. Bernie Sanders embraces it and attracts lots of young people….

When sexual mores in a culture are relaxed, it’s not always just ‘live and let live.’ Sometimes sexual liberty runs right smack into religious liberty and battle lines form. Some of the preliminary outcomes of these battles are discouraging, so it’s great to report a victory in the case of a decorated Marine and Navy Chaplain and — really — for all chaplains in the U.S. military. Here’s the story: Wes Modder served in the Marines before pursuing God’s call…

Now that we are in the midst of another football season, we are once again hearing why the Washington Redskins should change their name. George Will reminds us in a recent column that sensitivity auditors are on the warpath against this politically incorrect name because it may disparage Native Americans. Whatever you may feel about the name, you must admit that there are many other politically incorrect names for cities, states, and even sports teams. If you don’t like the…

For decades, crime rates have been declining or stagnant. Now there are more men dying in the streets than in previous years. The murder rates in major American cities (like Milwaukee, St. Louis, Baltimore, and Washington) are rising. The number of murders is outpacing the same period last year by quite a bit. What is different? Progressives say we have too many guns on the street. Inner city youth are settling their scores with guns, so that is why they…