Recent Viewpoints

Kerby Anderson Yesterday I talked about charitable giving. Today I wanted to follow up by challenging us as Christians to consider giving even more than we do. Perhaps the best book on that subject was written by David Green. It has the arresting title, Giving It All Away. He is the founder of Hobby Lobby and tells the story of his success and calls for Christians to give generously to churches and other ministries. He and the rest of his…

Kerby Anderson As we come to the end of this year, you have probably been thinking of any final gifts you might want to give to your church or Christian organizations. Here is an interesting fact: generosity is good for the soul. Arthur Brooks has discovered that people who donate to charities are happier and healthier. In the past, I have quoted from him and his book, Who Really Cares? He wrote that many years ago when he was a…

Kerby Anderson A case before the Supreme Court should give a significant boost to religious schools. This month, the High Court heard oral arguments on the case from Maine. That state has one of the country’s oldest school choice programs. Unfortunately, religious schools are excluded. That may change when the justices hand down their ruling next year. The educational program in Maine provides tuition for students who live in rural areas that don’t have a local school. Parents are allowed…

Kerby Anderson Big government isn’t working, according to Newt Gingrich. He doesn’t ask you to accept his conclusion but encourages you to check it out for yourself. Here are his suggestions. “Go to your local gas station and ask folks filling up their gas tanks if they think things are working. Go to the grocery store and watch people coping with the rising cost of food and ask if they think things are working. Go to small businesses whose shipments…

Kerby Anderson The US economy is not in good shape, and inflation hasn’t been this high since 1982. You wouldn’t expect to hear so many pundits try to convince you that everything is just fine. But that is just what we have seen from the establishment media, along with some economic cheerleaders on financial shows. Charles Cooke provides a list of these cheerleaders, from writers at the New York Times and the Washington Post to broadcasters at MSNBC and CNBC….

Penna Dexter My prayer for 2022 is that Christians across America would have courage. When a person chooses to be the best person he or she can possibly be when the consequences for doing that could be very harmful to them — that’s courage. Principled Christians can be cancelled, lose jobs, even face criminal penalties for standing against evil and for truth. Authoritarian leaders engender fear and foster a culture of victimhood and dependence. But Christians who are not mastered…

Kerby Anderson This is Christmas week, and I thought it might be worthwhile to spend a moment to reflect on the words to the hymn, “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” It was written in 1867 by Phillips Brooks (an Episcopal pastor from Philadelphia). He had been in Israel two years earlier and had celebrated Christmas in Bethlehem. He wrote this song to reflect on what the night of the birth of Jesus might have been like. O little town of…

Kerby Anderson The carol “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is an English translation of a Latin hymn that is sung during Advent and Christmas. The text goes back to at least the 18th century (and perhaps much earlier) while the music put to it goes back to the 15th century. “O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel. That mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.”…

Kerby Anderson It is estimated that Charles Wesley wrote over 6500 hymns. Perhaps his best-known hymn is “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing.” Over the years it has been edited slightly, but the meaning and theology remain as he wrote it more than two centuries ago. It begins with a proclamation of the birth of Jesus: “Hark! the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King; Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled.” The hymn reminds us why…

Kerby Anderson During this Christmas week, I have taken the time to discuss the theology of some of the Christmas hymns and carols that we sing. Today I would like to talk about The First Noel. It is an English song dating back to the sixteenth century. Some people believe that the First Noel was French because of the French spelling of Noel, but it is actually an English song. The French word Noël does mean “Christmas” and it is…

Kerby Anderson This is Christmas week, and so I thought we might reflect on the hymn, “O Holy Night” by John Dwight. “O holy night! The stars are brightly shining. It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining, Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.” Jesus came into the world to save us and so we feel valuable and our soul feels its worth. Perhaps the most quoted…