• Humor

    Saturday Snickers

    I am constantly coming across humorous items on the internet, some of which I post here from time to time. There have been times, however, when I have refrained from posting something humorous because I thought that it would be inappropriate in the midst of some of the more serious topics that I address in any given week. I have decided, therefore, to start a weekly series called “Saturday Snickers.” (What can I say? I like alliteration.) My aim is to save up all the funny internet stuff and to post all the week’s humorous items on Saturdays. I hope to have something comical posted each week. Anywho, we’ll see…

  • Politics

    N.T. Wright Repeats Jim Wallis’ Error

    I wrote last week about Jim Wallis’ harsh (and I think unfair) criticism of the U.S. war in Iraq (click here to see it). Wallis alleged that President Bush manipulated the U.S. into invading Iraq by intentionally deceiving the American people into believing that Iraq was behind 9-11. In a recent essay for the Washington Post‘s “On Faith” forum, N. T. Wright makes the same charge. He writes, “I believe, and have said so from early 2002 when the idea was first mooted, that for Britain and the USA to go to war in Iraq was not, could not be, and would not be seen as a just war. It…

  • Culture,  Politics

    Katrina Didn’t Do It

    I wrote last week about the alarming murder rate in post-Katrina New Orleans—nine murders in the first eight days of 2007 (previous post). I also pointed out that the problems that New Orleans is facing are not mainly due to Katrina. Katrina merely exacerbated problems that were there before the storm.

  • Book Reviews,  Theology/Bible

    Review of “Jesus’ Blood and Righteousness” by Brian Vickers

    Brian Vickers. Jesus’ Blood and Righteousness: Paul’s Theology of Imputation. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2006. 254pp. $14.99. Anyone who has been paying attention to Evangelical theology in North America knows that the doctrine of Justification has become quite a hot topic. Not only has the “New Perspective” on Paul offered a challenge to the traditional Protestant formulation (e.g. James Dunn, N. T. Wright), but so have some dissenting voices from within the conservative sector of the evangelical fold (e.g. Robert Gundry). In 1999, when Christianity Today published “The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration,” Robert Gundry responded by saying, “the doctrine that Christ’s righteousness is imputed to believing sinners needs…

  • Culture,  Politics,  Theology/Bible

    Addicted to Violence or to Love?

    California Assemblywoman, Sally Lieber, is sponsoring a bill that would make it illegal for parents to spank children under the age of four. Ms. Lieber does not have children, but she has compared spanking to wife-beating. So far, the reaction to her proposal has been overwhelmingly negative. Surprised that so many people would oppose the measure, Lieber said this:

  • Culture,  Politics,  Theology/Bible

    Thirty-four Years of Legal Abortions

    “The most consequential cultural and political event in American history in the past half century was the Roe v. Wade decision of January 22, 1973. An argument can be made that it is rivaled by September 11, but that fateful day did not result in the deep realignment of religious, cultural, and political dynamics resulting from the Supreme Court’s ukase, which established an unlimited abortion license that wiped from the books of all fifty states any legal protection of unborn children. . . This Monday marks the thirty-fourth anniversary of Roe v. Wade. On January 23, 1973, the New York Times reported that the Court had ‘settled’ the dispute over…

  • Theology/Bible

    A Bible Study on Protecting the Unborn

    Sanctity of Human Life Sunday is a national observation and affirmation of life. This observance coincides with the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the ruling which made abortion legal on January 22, 1973. Sanctity of Human Life Sunday is usually observed on the Sunday that is closest to the January 22 anniversary. My church observed yesterday, and what follows is the lesson that I taught there in my Bible Study class.

  • Politics

    SMU Professor in Favor of Bush Library

    Dr. James Hollifield, a professor of political science at SMU, does not jump on the bandwagon of faculty protests against the Bush Library to be built on SMU’s campus. “It is legitimate for anyone to criticize the president and his policies, but it is presumptuous for us as scholars to say that we know in advance and with certainty what the legacy of a sitting president will be . . . faculty members are not disconnected from the politics of the moment” (‘The Biggest Man on Campus’ – NY Times). I think Dr. Hollifield has wisely reserved judgment and has taken the long view. That is precisely what I was…