4+ week, 7+ hour ago (833+ words) [lightbulb] Photo Credit:free image, Pixabay license Colin Behrens from PixabayHow easily "self-autonomy" becomes self-delusion or the will of others! Seeking Moral Direction in the Dark I once read a Christian church bulletin that contained the following advice: "Believe nothing merely because you have been told it, or it has been traditional, or because you yourselves have imagined it. Believe whatsoever you find to be conducive to the good, to benefit the welfare of all things." This precept was attributed to Buddha. Missing from the quote was a reference to the monks to whom Gautama Buddha was speaking, as he trained them to look beyond themselves for enlightenment. It was a statement not intended for neophytes. Whoever takes as moral direction the varied, usually false interpretations of oriental wisdom is more likely than not unaware that respect for tradition and…...

3+ week, 6+ day ago (979+ words) [crucifix wall] Photo Credit: PickPikChristians must find faith and courage to face these evils. Christians Persecuted and Killed around the World In 2025, there is no part of the world that is safe for Christians. Leftist prosecutors in Europe, Australia, Canada, and the United States criminalize fundamental tenets of the Christian faith as discriminatory forms of "hate speech." Chinese communists replace images of Jesus Christ with portraits of Xi Jinping. Hindus beat and murder Christians in India. Islamic nations sentence Christian converts to death. Nigerian Muslims attack Christian churches during prayer services and torture and murder so many Christian worshipers as to constitute genocide. The assassin who murdered Christian martyr Charlie Kirk allegedly did so because he believes that Charlie's Christian teachings were "hateful." It is a dangerous time to be a Christian. Michael Snyder wrote an illuminating article a couple…...

4+ week, 7+ hour ago (651+ words) I had the opportunity to interview Professor Charles Murray, one of my favorite conservative intellectuals. I've written down some of the highlights of that interview, but you can listen to the entire interview, which I've embedded below. You can imagine, then, how excited I was when I was given the opportunity to speak with Professor Murray about his latest book, Taking Religion Seriously. The premise immediately resonated with me because Professor Murray, like me, came from an intellectual environment that said, both explicitly and implicitly, that smart people aren't religious. God is for primitive, not sophisticated minds. However, guided by his wife, a woman he describes as having a very high spiritual IQ compared to his own, Professor Murray explored whether God and religion are compatible with science, data, and intelligence. The Amazon blurb explains: Murray, the author of'Coming Apart'and…...

6+ day, 2+ hour ago (897+ words) In recent years, a significant and surprisingly broad phenomenon has emerged: a quiet revival of faith among young people in both the United States and the United Kingdom. At the same time, a parallel rediscovery of God is taking place among many leading intellectuals. Together, these two trends deserve careful attention "and serious reflection. Let's begin with the "ordinary people" before turning to the ma'tres " penser. England and Wales: Young People Are Returning to Church Paul Williams, CEO of the Bible Society, summarizes the findings this way: "The Quiet Revival is a hugely significant report that should reshape perceptions of Christianity and religious practice in England and Wales. Far from sliding toward extinction, the Church is alive, growing, and making a difference for individuals and society." This favorable trend is also reflected in a rise in adult conversions and baptisms....

2+ week, 28+ min ago (1001+ words) [Rome from the Vatican painting] Photo Credit:J. M. W. Turner, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons WikiOriginally, Christians were persecuted by the pagan tyrants of Rome. Since the Middle Ages, however, the followers of Christ have suffered endless injustice in a world with Islam on the rise. Who Will Protect the Christians? From Wikimedia Commons: Rome, from the Vatican (J.M.W. Turner, 1820) The story of Christianity, from its birth in persecution to its global witness today, is one of triumph through suffering. The Church was conceived in martyrdom and strengthened by the blood of those who refused to deny Christ. Across two millennia, it has known both glory and exile, power and abasement. Yet its endurance has never rested on wealth or empire but on the courage of believers who acted " who built, sheltered, defended, and bore witness in the face of mortal danger. Today,…...

3+ day, 1+ hour ago (489+ words) Historian David Barton, founder of Wall Builders, had this to say concerning Thanksgiving Day: The tradition of Thanksgiving as a time to focus on God and thank Him for His blessings dates back almost four centuries in America. While thanksgiving celebrations occurred "[from 1541 to 1607] it is from the Pilgrim festival of 1621 that we derive the current tradition of Thanksgiving. Pilgrims sailed for America on September 6, 1620, braving the sea for two months. Arriving at Plymouth Rock, they held a prayer service, and began hastily building shelters." Being unprepared for the harsh New England winter, half of them died. Spreading Thanksgiving celebrations during the American Revolution, Congress issued eight separate national Thanksgiving Proclamations. Thanksgiving Day occurred continually with numerous proclamations made by state governors and Congress for a day of Thanksgiving to God." One written by the Continental Congress in 1777 by signers…...

3+ week, 6+ day ago (839+ words) The installation raises many questions about the current leadership of the Anglican Church. It also makes one wonder what purpose this art exhibition serves and what it might symbolize in terms of the state of the Church of England. 1. The act of graffiti, even as performance, is disrespectful In most countries, graffiti is illegal not only because of the destruction of property, the economic cost of clean-up, but also because of the psychological costs of its presence within a community. A legal website called LegalClarity.org explains the rationale for why graffiti should be considered illegal in this way: "The presence of graffiti can contribute to a perception of disorder or insecurity within a community. Certain markings, such as gang tags, often serve as territorial markings or signals of criminal activity. This visual communication can heighten fear among residents, leading…...

2+ week, 7+ hour ago (874+ words) Several years ago, my husband Steve and I were watching TV as an American politician of Hispanic descent responded to a challenging question by an antagonistic reporter. Reflexively, I expressed what I've privately suspected for ages when witnessing similar scenarios: "He's probably Jewish!" Steve laughed, but I meant it. It's relevant to mention that the Sanchez family migrated from Spain, where, centuries before, in 1492 " the year Christopher Columbus (who research indicates was probably Jewish) sailed the ocean blue " massive numbers of Sephardic Jews were expelled under threat of death unless they converted to Catholicism. Historian and writer Eric Buesing says that the Spanish Inquisition, which began in 1478, "forced Jews to adapt or perish.Many chose secrecy, becoming crypto-Jews who practiced their faith in hidden cellars, or adopted Christian rituals publicly while whispering Hebrew prayers in private." In the early 2000s, Father…...

2+ week, 3+ day ago (377+ words) Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and press." "Goal No. 6, 45 Goals of Communism" This present tidal wave of verbal filth is obvious in the toleration and proliferation of profanity in everyday life, entertainment, and media.Consider the following chart complied by one Redditor: What, then, does all this mean?There are two topics worth considering as we discuss this proliferation of profanity, and they touch upon sociology and morality. It is not just anti-American Marxists who desire to open the floodgates of verbal filth upon the West.Similar notions have been found in other anti-traditional groups as well, such as in many feminist and satanist writers.This overlap in social aims is not happenstance.There is an ideological unity in their desire to make vulgarity more commonplace. Since speech is a…...

2+ week, 27+ min ago (493+ words) In a world increasingly shaped by fleeting trends and fractured relationships, the enduring beauty of the nuclear family stands as a quiet miracle. It begins simply: a man and a woman, joined in sacred covenant, commit to each other for life. They build a home not merely of bricks and beams, but of love, sacrifice, and faith. This is the nuclear family: a generational masterpiece crafted not by accident, but by intention. It is not built on emotion alone, nor sustained by convenience. It is anchored in covenant, an unbreakable promise that transcends the moment and reaches into eternity. When a couple marries, they often see only the present joy or the near horizon. Yet this vision is increasingly rare. The rise of divorce, remarriage, and blended families has introduced complexity and often dysfunction. While some stepfamilies navigate these waters…...