In his 1923 book Christianity & Liberalism, J. Gresham Machen asserts that liberalism is another religion unto itself, far removed from the biblical Christianity out of which it came. We think he makes some good points. In Chapter Two of his book, he takes the liberalism (of his day) to task concerning their public hostility toward doctrine – when in fact they have simply created new doctrines which comport with what Machen points out is … Continue reading
Category Archives: Morality
In last week’s blog, Changing Laws or Changing Hearts?, we addressed the issue of our changing culture. We pointed out that political action does not seem able to stem the rising tide of pagan thought that is sweeping our nation and, indeed, the world. We also pointed out that paganism, while it may seem novel, is really nothing new on the world scene at all. It is indeed very old. So why does it seem … Continue reading
Are society and culture most impacted by changing laws or changing hearts? The United States has witnessed what seems like a fundamental transformation in morality and laws over the last ten or 20 years. In truth, however, this “revolution” has been in the making for well over 100 years. It’s just that the curtains have now been lifted enough to reveal the transformation wrought by the change agents who have been steadily working behind the … Continue reading
Lots of celebration and consternation over the “Narrow ruling” in the Masterpiece Bake Shop case. To be clear, a narrow ruling or narrow decision doesn’t refer to the number of justices. A unanimous decision can be narrow in the legal sense. The decision is narrow as opposed to sweeping in its implications. The court didn’t strike down any law. They simply said the baker didn’t get a fair deal. The commission that ruled against him … Continue reading
Tu quoque. The term sounds like a special ballet move or what a Shakespearean character might say before he dies. In Latin it means, “You too.” Rumor has it that Julius Caesar said, “Tu quoque mi fili” (You too, my son) rather than the question “Et tu Brute?” as Shakespeare has it. If true, Caesar wasn’t surprised at Brutus’ betrayal, he was uttering a prophecy. Caesar might have quoted the beginning of a Greek proverb, … Continue reading
Hardly a day passes which doesn’t show us the effects of lawlessness in our culture and how it has changed “normal life.” The effects range from mere “inconveniences” to jeopardizing one’s financial or physical safety. We are not talking about the normal dangers of life per se – human beings have lived with danger and mishaps to varying degrees all down through the centuries. There was a time not all that long ago that women … Continue reading