Christianity

Tired of Life?

TouchstoneMag | editors | Nov. 2008

There has been a steady campaign by some Christians who regard themselves as orthodox and conservative to persuade the rank and file of their Christian brothers and sisters to rethink their predictable support for political candidates who are pro-life. They bring other issues to the fore—war, torture, taxes, education, health care, and poverty—in an attempt to undermine the claim that conscientious Christians must always support pro-life candidates. They imply that such “single-issue” pro-life voting is unsophisticated, often in lockstep with the mostly uneducated “religious right,” and perhaps not even very moral in the long view. [Read more…]

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The Way Forward

Acton Institute | Rev. Robert A. Sirico | Nov. 5, 2008

What more proof do people need in light of the historical record that bureaucratic interventionism – I may as well say it out loud – socialism – is not the cure for what ails us but bad medicine, a poison that more and more is the principal thing that does ail us. And this medicine is precisely what has been prescribed, merely in various disguises, by almost all political leaders. Even people who have professed a free market orientation seem to have fallen prey to Bastiat’s aphorism that everybody has the illusion they can live at everyone else’s expense, without remembering that sooner or later the pocket in front of you will be empty as well. When the economic preoccupation is redistribution of wealth, rather than on removing the barriers to its production, we are in a precarious and increasingly vulnerable position. [Read more…]

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Freedom from freedom? Atheism, Christianity, and September 11

BreakPoint | Chuck Colson | October 2008

Those who would eliminate Christianity from public life are sawing off the branch they are sitting on.

September 11 the whole nation paused to remember the 3,000 innocent victims of 9/11 murdered by Islamist terrorists, and to be grateful for those who gave their lives to rescue others—everybody, that is, except the Freedom From Religion Foundation in Madison, Wisconsin. It spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on Sept.9 for a full-page propaganda ad in the New York Times—an ad that blamed religion for the horrors of September 11. [Read more…]

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Iraqi Christians Told to Convert, Pay Jizyah or Die

CNN and Islam in Action | Oct. 11, 2008

At least 900 Christian families have fled Mosul in the past week, terrified by a series of killings and threats by Muslim extremists ordering them to convert to Islam or face possible death, officials said Saturday.

The attacks may have been prompted by Christian demonstrations ahead of provincial elections, which are to be held by the end of January, the deputy governor of Nineveh province said. [Read more…]

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Viva la Evolution?

Creation Ministries | David Anderson | Sept. 3, 2008

Theistic evolutionist Denis Alexander has a new book coming out, entitled Creation or Evolution—Do We Have to Choose? To give this effort some publicity, Third Way magazine published an article by Dr Alexander, ‘Viva la evolution’, which translates loosely as ‘Long live evolution’. I have many points of disagreement with the article, but here I want to respond to Dr Alexander’s theological arguments and draw attention to the biblical and philosophical flaws in his position.

Dr Alexander argues that Christians should, in the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth next year, ‘be celebrating Darwin enthusiastically, for he has provided us with a great theory that provides the framework for all contemporary biological and biomedical research. All truth is God’s truth.’ This closing statement is the deeply misleading ‘two books’ teaching. It claims that there are two ultimate, equal and independent sources for truth, which are perfectly complementary. These are God’s written word in Scripture, and secondly nature which is interpreted by scientific study. [Read more…]

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If There Is No God

Townhall.com | Dennis Prager | Aug. 19, 2008

We are constantly reminded about the destructive consequences of religion — intolerance, hatred, division, inquisitions, persecutions of “heretics,” holy wars. Though far from the whole story, they are, nevertheless, true. There have been many awful consequences of religion.

What one almost never hears described are the deleterious consequences of secularism — the terrible developments that have accompanied the breakdown of traditional religion and belief in God. For every thousand students who learn about the Spanish Inquisition and the Salem Witch Trials, maybe two learn to associate Gulag, Auschwitz, The Cultural Revolution and the Cambodian genocide with secular regimes and ideologies.

For all the problems associated with belief in God, the death of God leads to far more of them. [Read more…]

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Archbishop says Democrats don’t even know Christianity

WorldNetDaily | Bob Unruh | Aug. 26, 2008

Denver Catholic Archbishop Charles Chaput says Democrats simply don’t know Christianity if they insist on continuing to spin the Bible’s teachings on abortion.

“It’s always important to know what our faith actually teaches,” he said in a “clarification” for Catholics in northern Colorado as Democratic National Committee members met in Denver this week to hear a speaker from the National Abortion Rights Action League promote Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, as the next “pro-choice” president. [Read more…]

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Christianity and the Cult of Celebrity

BreakPoint | Stephanie Bennett | Aug. 22, 2008

It used to be that people were known for being heroes. Doing something noble or worthy of praise would be reason for someone’s popular acclaim, but with the advance of mass media, a new phenomenon arose within American culture. People began to be known—just for being known. In media studies we’ve come to know this phenomenon as the rise of the celebrity.

Today, people famous for being famous are not simply celebrated; they are part of an entertainment culture that increasingly sets the tone for the values we espouse as well as those we project out into the wider world. Unfortunately, whether or not we personally adhere to the values of celebrity culture, we are influenced by them in many ways. Whether through obvious temptations, endless amusements and distractions, obsession with our “looks,” the frittering away of our time, or the slow and seemingly innocuous stream of a carnal images and ideas, our lives are increasingly shaped by the entertainment culture in which we live. It is an environment. We are in its bubble. [Read more…]

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Why I Am Not a Liberal

Townhall.com | Dennis Prager | Aug. 12, 2008

The following is a list of beliefs that I hold. Nearly every one of them was a liberal position until the late 1960s. Not one of them is now. Such a list is vitally important in order to clarify exactly what positions divide left from right, blue from red, liberal from conservative.

I believe in American exceptionalism, meaning that (a) America has done more than any international organization or institution, and more than any other country, to improve this world; and (b) that American values (specifically, the unique American blending of Enlightenment and Judeo-Christian values) form the finest value system any society has ever devised and lived by. [Read more…]

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Fear Stalks Muslim Apostates in the West

American Thinker | David J. Rusin | Aug. 3, 2008

Persuading Western Muslim leaders to repudiate Shari’a-sanctioned violence against apostates can be a frustrating exercise, as Prince Charles discovered in 2004. Troubled by the treatment of Muslims who convert to Christianity in Islamic nations, the prince convened a summit of senior figures from both religious communities. It ended in disappointment. The Islamic representatives failed to issue a declaration condemning the practice, which the Christians had requested; they also cautioned non-Muslims not to discuss such matters in public, arguing that moderates would be more likely to make progress if the debate were kept internal. [Read more…]

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