Recent Viewpoints

Each day we get closer to the June 30 deadline for the president and his administration to negotiate a nuclear treaty with Iran. What we have learned so far doesn’t suggest that we should enter into an agreement nor should we trust what the leaders of Iran say they will do. Let’s look at a few issues. Iran’s nuclear stockpile is significant. They were supposed to send thousands of kilograms of enriched uranium to Russia for export that would then…

Americans need to make an informed choice about this country’s foreign policy. We will be making that decision in this upcoming election. And I believe that foreign policy will be a more important issue in choosing a candidate than in previous elections. Ian Bremmer explains the options in his book, Superpower: Three choices for America’s Role in the World. In the last few decades we have had what he calls “Incoherent America.” He quotes from one former senator who acknowledges…

Later this month, the Supreme Court will deliver its decision concerning same-sex marriage. There are two possibilities for how they might rule. The first option will affect churches and Christian organizations quickly. The second will also have an impact, but will take place over a longer period of time. One possibility is a ruling that will essentially force same-sex marriage on the entire country. The justices might argue that state constitutional amendments defining traditional marriage violate the equal protection clause….

Who would have guessed that the panel discussion on poverty at Georgetown University would have generated so many comments and commentaries? Many people have discussed some of the statements by President Obama. I wrote a commentary a week ago about his frustration with religious groups who he believed spent more time talking about social issues than addressing poverty. Thomas Sowell decided to write about the plea from the president for wealthy people to help the poor. The president proposed that…

The top lawyer for the U.S. government had to answer a question he probably would have preferred not to tackle during oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell vs. Hodges, the marriage case. Justice Samuel Alito asked the Obama Administration’s Solicitor General, Donald Verrilli a question about how the religious liberty of religious schools that oppose same-sex marriage might be affected if the Court rules that same-sex marriage is a civil right. Justice Alito brought up a case…

The Apostle Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 6:19 that “your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God.” I think we can agree that we should take care of our bodies. And I have found that most Christians do try to eat right and take care of their bodies in most ways. But I have also noticed that many do not get enough sleep. We all live busy lives, and…

John Zmirak was on my radio program recently, and we talked about his column with the provocative title, If the Supreme Court Imposes Same Sex Marriage, You Could Lose Your Church.  It’s a little more complicated than that, but you can’t say everything in a title. He makes the point that other Christian commentators are making. The upcoming decision by the Supreme Court could have dire consequences for more than just people who refuse to photograph or cater same sex…

The freedom Americans enjoy is under attack from the “fourth branch” of government. That is the theme of the book, Undemocratic, written by constitutional attorney, Jay Sekulow. He is well aware of the threat since he has been defending people against the actions of bureaucracies like the Internal Revenue Service. The U.S. Constitution allows for three branches of government. But the so-called “fourth branch” has grown larger than the other branches and robs Americans of their constitutional rights through mountains…

Homosexual bullies have reached a new low in their call for bans and boycotts. We are all familiar with what happens when a Christian photographer, baker, or florist declines to provide services for a same-sex wedding. The homosexual couple files charges with the state, and the Christian owner has to pay a fine and is usually driven out of business. Now these bullies are taking their tactics to the next level. Consider the story of Aaron and Melissa Klein, the…

We live in different worlds and different cultures. To make that point David Brooks tells the story of two quarterbacks that played against each other in Super Bowl III. Johnny Unitas and Joe Namath were both superstars who came from Western Pennsylvania to the NFL. But that were different in nearly every other way. Brooks says, “Unitas was reticent, workmanlike and deliberately unglamorous. Namath was flashy and a playboy.” In fact, Joe Namath turned himself into a brand long before…

Politicians are currently answering questions like: “Knowing what we know now, would you have supported invading Iraq in 2003?” Hindsight will not alter that decision or the devastating 2011 decision to leave before we secured the gains made. Now Iraq is in chaos. The recent ISIS takeover of Ramadi the provincial capital of Anbar province is particularly heartbreaking because this is where, in 2007 a surge of U.S. forces waged a block-by-block battle to reclaim the city from insurgents. It’s…