Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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In the wake of the recent church shooting in Texas, actor Wil Wheaton angered many with a tweet that read, in part, “The murdered victims were in a church. If prayers did anything, they'd still be alive.” He ended his mini-rant with an obscenity about a Congressman who had prayed for the victims. For those keeping score, then, in one tweet, atheist Wheaton, who no doubt believes in logical thinking, committed an embarrassing logical error and expressed a strong value judgment (which con...
One foundational command of the Bible is the first of 10: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3.) This is quite early, in the second book. The rest of Scripture goes on to document how hard it is for sinful folks to keep that rule. As John Calvin said, the human heart has proven to be an idol factory. We just keep pumping them out. These false gods take the form of carved statues at times. But they also show up as rival religions, lying philosophies, or anything else that com...
After events like the Las Vegas shooting, the most predictable thing in the world is the resulting argument about gun control. This is understandable. The horrifying contempt for human life requires a response. We were made in God’s image, and part of that image is the demand for justice. So, arguments start flying as soon as the expended shell casings stop bouncing around. That’s how society works. As Christians, though, we need to make sure we’re asking the right question: What guidance does...
A man came to me after church and said wistfully, “Imagine how much better off we’d be if everyone kept asking, ‘What would Jesus do?’ Wouldn’t that be a great thing?” I didn’t have the heart to tell him that nothing would change at all. But maybe he’ll read this and hear me out. First, I need to tell a little story. I met a man when I was in the Navy, who had recently become a Christian. I asked him how that happened. He told me he picked up a Bible (as an unbeliever) and began to read the New...
So, who knew? It turns out freedom is a messy thing. There are times when it seems to cause as many problems as it solves. Free people often use their freedom the wrong way. They stand or sit or salute (or refuse to) at the wrong times. It’s aggravating. This shouldn’t be surprising, as the Scripture has taught this for many centuries. Freedom is always hard-won; routinely abused; shockingly under-appreciated; and, amazingly difficult to maintain. It’s also worth all of that. In the book of Ex...
There are few things more human than our tendency to ask, “Why me?” in response to suffering, tragedy, or calamity. We see it asked and answered several times in the Bible, specifically in the books of Job, Psalms, and Proverbs. Jesus Christ dealt with another common response to disaster. In Luke 13:1-5, people came to him to report a contemporary incident, in which the Roman governor, Pilate, had killed some Galilean Jews at the Temple, causing their blood to be “mingled” with that of their sla...
Looking at social media, I’m getting the impression that racism is bad. Thanks, Facebook. In other news, water can be wet. I agree racism is bad. Hating folks based on differences in appearance or culture is sin. As Ron Paul noted, racism is a form of collectivism, or the idea that people must be thought of as members of groups, rather than as individuals. Collectivism expresses itself in socialism, fascism, fearful calls for “immigration reform,” and also in racism. It says, “I must hate yo...
An obviously true meme appeared on Facebook that said the approval rating for the U.S. Congress is less than 20 percent. On the other hand, in any given election, members of Congress are re-elected about 90 percent of the time. Americans hate Congress, but love their own congressperson. This is a proximity bias: All those jokers in Washington are evil, but not ours. Ours are doing a bang-up job. They’re ours, after all. Another illustration of proximity bias can be found regarding a recent Barna...
The daily quiet time is a staple of Bible-believing Christianity. It’s so prevalent that we don’t give much critical thought to it. It is preached from our pulpits. Books are cranked out, urging us to more consistency in our quiet times. However, as we look at the landscape of evangelical Christianity in America; and the common state of our churches, wallowing in irrelevance and ineffectiveness, maybe we ought to take the time to re-examine things we’ve simply accepted in the past. Is it possi...
Christian apologist Sye Ten Bruggencate has a quick, memorable way to deal with skeptics. Whether they are atheists, agnostics, or merely sour cynics, his “Two Move Checkmate” can go a long way toward shifting the argument in favor of the simple believer. Your first move is this. You’re in a conversation with an unbeliever who is seeking to put you on the defensive. When he says something contrary to the teaching of the Bible, you simply say, “That’s not what the Bible says.” You’re done...
I've seen people on social media claiming the Bible doesn't bother to advocate any particular economic order. Supposedly, if a nation chooses capitalism, socialism, or any other "ism," we shouldn't imagine that God cares one way or the other. This assertion is one fruit of a sort of Christian preaching that fails to apply the Word of God to every area of life, in favor of focusing exclusively on the warm fuzzies you have in your heart because of Jesus. Don't get me wrong: I'm all for warm...