Recent Viewpoints

Penna Dexter As Congress considers the deceptively-named Respect for Marriage Act, we must ask ourselves whether our laws and policies should be based upon declared identity or on biological sex. Why not enshrine demands for transgender affirmation and homosexual marriage into law? We can argue the biology: The words man and woman do, in fact, mean something. In his article entitled “Marital Clash,” National Review’s John McCormack explains that “Just as the definition of ‘woman’ is necessarily exclusive (‘adult human…

Kerby Anderson We have idols today, but rarely are they in the form of carved statues and found in religious shrines. A study by Lifeway Research asked Protestant pastors in this county what they felt were modern-day idols. Two-thirds (67%) of the pastors believe comfort is a desire that Christians have made into an idol. A majority also reported that control or security (56%), money (55%), and approval (51%) are idols that have significant influence on their congregations. They were…

Kerby Anderson Whenever I travel, my favorite slogan is: “I hope the plane flight is on time, and I hope I’m on it.” If you have flown on a commercial airline lately you know what I mean. In fact, I am writing this commentary while flying on an airplane. The other day, my wife and I arrived at the airport and were told that, though we had a reservation, we didn’t have a ticket. I didn’t know you could have…

Kerby Anderson Will all the new federal funding for the IRS make it a more efficient governmental agency? The editorial board of the Wall Street Journal doesn’t think so. They remind us that many progressives wanted the president to unleash what they call “beast mode” and use all executive power to advance their agenda. The recent bill included $80 billion in new funding for the IRS. The assumption is that greater scrutiny of tax filings will yield more than $200…

Kerby Anderson “It’s hard to learn on an empty stomach, but that is exactly what the Biden administration is demanding of the nation’s most vulnerable children.” That’s how the commentary by Lathan Watts begins. He is highlighting the administration’s decision to withdraw school-lunch funding from schools that do not accept their decision to redefine the word “sex” in Title IX to include sexual orientation and gender identity. Two months ago, I wrote about the administration announcement that the Department of…

Kerby Anderson Starbucks recently announced that it would be closing 16 locations in cities across the country. These stores aren’t being closed for lack of business. The problem is crime and homelessness: two topics I have addressed recently in my commentaries. Starbucks is closing stores in Los Angeles, Portland, Philadelphia, and Seattle. They have much in common. Each of these stores is being closed for safety reasons. Each of these cities has a radical prosecutor who is unwilling to prosecute…

Penna Dexter As I drove around town doing errands on May 24, radio news reports and interruptions to regular programming alerted me to the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. After about the fourth or fifth report stating the situation was “ongoing” I began to wonder why. Surely we’d be hearing the results of a police confrontation with the shooter, numbers of casualties, and reunions of frightened children with relieved parents. Three officers tried to confront the shooter…

Kerby Anderson A book (Live Not by Lies) by Rod Dreher warns Christians about the coming “soft totalitarianism.” He explains that this is different from what we read in novels like Brave New World or in Nineteen Eighty-Four. The old, hard totalitarianism came from the state (Germany, Russia) and was dedicated to the eradication of Christianity. This new totalitarianism usually comes from the left in society but is also dedicated to the eradication of Christianity. The soft totalitarianism of today…

Kerby Anderson Many Americans are concerned about the impact that social media and Big Tech are having on society. Therefore, it is not surprising that a number of documentaries have been focusing on problems from this technology. One of the most important documentaries to come along is “The Social Dilemma.” It features an interesting blend of talking-head interviews with various Big Tech figures, with a fictional dramatization of what happens when children in one family become addicted to social media….

Kerby Anderson Dennis Prager had to admit that he had been wrong. All of his life, he has said that the left’s moral compass is broken. He has concluded that “in order to have a broken moral compass, you need to have a moral compass to begin with. But the left doesn’t have one.” He doesn’t mean that conclusion as an attack. It is merely an observation that the left doesn’t really think in terms of good and evil. We…

Kerby Anderson Charles Mizrahi was on my radio program recently to talk about his article, “Prosperity and Generosity: The Biblical Roots of Capitalism.” Although we often talk about the Bible and capitalism, this interview was a bit different because he is Jewish and used Old Testament passages to promote the idea of free enterprise. He wrote his article because he was so disturbed by politicians and young people bemoaning our economic system. Instead, they were calling for more government programs…