“Never discuss religion or politics with those who hold opinions opposite to yours; they are subjects that heat in handling, until they burn your fingers.” So wrote Thomas Chandler Haliburton, a Canadian politician and judge, in 1840. Haliburton is not alone. He was merely expressing what many modern Westerners think: we shouldn’t talk about religion [ Read More ]
When Christians want to answer the question, “What is a Christian view of politics?” it can be tempting to come up with a quick answer by limiting our research to a couple of Bible passages that explicitly address the Christian’s relationship to the governing authorities. Or, alternatively, it can be tempting to jump immediately to [ Read More ]
Several weeks ago, Islamic terrorists pulled off a triple-bombing in Belgium, striking the Brussels airport twice and its downtown metro station once. The bombings killed at least 35 people. On Easter Sunday, jihadis bombed a park in Lahore, Pakistan, killing at least 70 people in their attempt to target Christians. These bombings are a reminder, [ Read More ]
The British cultural critic G. K. Chesterton once noted, “Seemingly from the dawn of man all nations have had governments, and all nations have been ashamed of them.” What is true of “all nations” in relation to their governments is true of many “Americans” in relation to the Supreme Court majority.
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Russian winters are not known for affording one a cornucopia of options for how to spend one’s evenings. When the temperature regularly drops to 10 or 20 below zero for months at a time, there is little to do. So when I found myself in Russia during the winters of 1998-99, I had a lot of time on my hands. But that is how I first learned about Abraham Kuyper. [ Read More ]
Few phrases prompt more confusion in the United States today than the seemingly simple words, “separation of church and state.” Everyone seems to intuitively sense what this means. But ask 10 Americans how separation of church and state should play out, and you’re liable to get 10 different answers. [ Read More ]