Americans have long debated gun rights and gun control, but the discussion seems to have taken on a renewed intensity over the past couple of years. The debate is complex and multi-faceted. It has legal, ethical, and pragmatic dimensions; there is no consensus on any of the dimensions, and a person’s stance on the issue [ Read More ]
When a President sets forth a new mandate for a nation or when a military commander articulates the rules of engagement for a war, it is vitally important to listen to their prefatory remarks. Thus, it is even more significant when the Creator of the universe makes prefatory remarks before enumerating the basic moral laws [ Read More ]
Given that America’s public square seems like the combination of a war, a carnival, and a B-rated Hollywood movie, perhaps now is the time for American Christians to work even harder to convince ourselves and our fellow citizens of the value of God’s transcendent moral law. Specifically, we should focus on the moral law as [ Read More ]
Recent surveys have confirmed what we already know: Americans are not happy. Anger, anxiety, and depression are on the rise in our country. An NBC News survey revealed that half of Americans are more angry than they were last year, and a significant percentage of Americans become angry at least once a day because of something they saw on the news. And the anger is bipartisan: both Republicans and Democrats both feel this way.
Other surveys reveal that Americans are also depressed, as indicated by a rise in suicides and in prescriptions for depression medications, and anxious because of stagnant wages, deteriorating 401(k) retirement plans, lost wars, racial unrest, terror acts, an increasingly polarized society, and the toxic nature of our public discourse.
In the midst of our anger, depression, and anxiety, Jesus offers the Beatitudes. “Beatitude” is the blessedness, the deep happiness, of being in right relationship with him and allowing him to work in and through us, even in the midst of the worst of circumstances.
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