So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” (Matthew 20:16) Jesus told an extremely offensive story about a landowner (representing God) who hires some men to work in his vineyard. (Matthew 20:1-16) He hires some guys early in the morning and agrees to pay them a day’s wage, which at that […]
In Praise of Muddy (and Algae-filled) Waters I was fortunate to grow up in a town that had seven man-made lakes with intractably muddy and grungy algae-green bottoms. Some people dream of crystal clear waters where they can see down to a sandy bottom 100 feet below. Oh, what sad, diminished lives they lead. As […]
My Earliest Olympic Memory: How I Learned that Politics and Sports Don’t Mix (Part II) The Soviet “machine” easily handled the young Americans for most of the 1972 finals’ game, and had run up a 10 point lead well into the second half. The Soviets managed to provoke America’s leading scorer, Dwight Jones, into a […]
My Earliest Olympic Memory: How I Learned That Politics and Sports Don’t Mix (Part I) The 1972 Olympics was the first time I witnessed how a nefarious political agenda could wreck sports. At 11-years-old, I was already a rabid basketball fan – mainly of the NBA’s professional New York Knicks in their glory days of […]
How many Christian men and women owe their faith to a praying grandmother? Heaven is full of saints with praying grandmothers. […]
Do Christians Freely Choose Christ if God has Foreordained it? Part II: The Christian’s Role (Pre-Ramble: In Part I, we discussed three key decisions that bring an unbeliever to faith in Christ: God’s choice, an intercessor’s choice, and the believer’s choice. We covered God’s choice here in Part I, but now we’re skipping over the […]
Do Christians Freely Choose Christ if God has Foreordained it? Part I: God’s Choice Becoming a Christian generally involves (at least) three choices1: 1) God chooses a person to be saved; 2) A believer chooses to intercede in prayer on behalf of that person; 3) A believer chooses to follow Christ. Some reformed […]
Why Economic Inequality Exists, Part V: The Effects of Family Fragmentation (2 of 2) Is America Becoming a Two Caste System? We previously deluged you with social science demonstrating the tragic connection between family fragmentation and poverty. Well, we’re not stopping until you cry, “uncle.” Family scholars have identified non-marital childbearing as — by […]
Why Economic Inequality Exists, Part V: The Effects of Family Fragmentation (1 of 2) A “Stay Out of Poverty Now” Card Are you, or someone you know, interested in avoiding poverty? ProofsandSpoofs.com is here to help, as usual. In the early 1990’s, Brookings Institute scholar William Galston, former Domestic Policy Advisor to President Bill […]
Grace and Truce: The Cutting Edge of Christmas (Audio and Text) “Glory to God in the highest,and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:14 I want to share some thoughts on the message from the assembly of angels (“heavenly host”) in the Gospel of Luke, right after the angel’s announcement […]