Bedrock

You know, I've always enjoyed a lively discussion, one where people may disagree, but their respect for each other precludes anger or unkind words. I've spent a number of years of my life learning and using Biblical principles to “resolve conflict peaceably, emphasizing reconciliation” (our mission statement). I've always thought that “make love, not war” was a far superior Christian approach, but that requires a bit of willingness not to insist that one is always right! What saddens me is that among my “friends,” I seem to have few to none who can disagree with me and my supportive friends without arrogant presumption and condescension. I am well aware that many of the secular progressives regard any who disagree as ignorant rubes. I wish William F. Buckley was still around. Clearly he was neither ignorant nor a rube. Thomas Sowell is still with us, and he evolved from a black leftist to a conservative through research and a powerful intellect. I may n...

I am writing this to Christians, not nominal Christmas and Easter types, but genuine, humbled-by-their-own-sins, gracious, trying hard to love their most annoying neighbors, Christ-followers. Of course, any interested person can read this, but I'm not interested in a flood of nasty comments that I will simply delete. I don't really want to argue with anyone either. I will happily read kind, thoughtful, well-reasoned responses, meaning you've read this carefully and you have something appropriate to say. I am a Christian, imperfect but God is working on me in his holy patience, and I expect the same from my critics and friends (if there is a difference). I make a fair number of assertions without providing citations; I will add them if there is sufficient interest. The founding and creation of the United States was a divinely guided miracle. Does that make us a Christian nation? Given all the precautions to prevent religious autocracy, I don't think so, at le...

          I'm not going to engage in a lengthy debate or argument on the Presidential race, but I do have a few random thoughts to contribute. Before those, I will say this. I do not look to politics or the future of the United States as my ultimate hope; my hope is in God and in the Christ who saved me from my sins, made me his brother and servant, and whose grace, love, and forgiveness are the measure of my relationships with others. I do love the United States and its heritage of faith and freedom; I am proud of the ways in which we have blessed the world, despite mistakes along the way. People want to come here to share in that heritage, and I will do all I can to preserve and restore it, despite those who hate much of that very freedom, prosperity, and faith, assuming of course that God doesn't have other plans. As we are called to love our enemies and not to judge lest we be judged, I believe hating Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, or any other can...

  “ Terrorism is terrorism regardless of color, religion, politics, and nationality. It's about guns and crazies, bottom line!” The more Americans who believe this, the happier the terrorists will be. Put your head in the ground, hide from reality, and present those lovely tail feathers as an unprotected target. We are dealing with one primary brand of terrorism. It is Islamic, radically conservative, but very religious. Whatever you think about Islam in general, these people do NOT practice a “religion of peace.” It comes from nations that dominated by Islam and Sharia law. “ Guns and crazies” is such an easy oversimplification. One kind of “crazy” is a crazy religious zealot. They are not medically irrational; they are deeply devout and mentally capable. God didn't say, “Thou shalt not kill” to crazies, but to sinners, and such people are very much sinners. It is nearly impossible to keep such people from getting guns, weapons of any kind. ...

When it comes to a clever phrase or literary expression, I love irony, but in the real world irony is often painful. Consider the irony of the current campaign against bullying. Many among the educational, media, and political elite have christened bullying as the next evil to obliterate, and who would disagree? I was bullied as a teenager, complete with insulting names, physical intimidation, and feelings of shame, especially when I got chewed out by my father for not beating up the bully! Fortunately, God blessed me with a durable ego, and one day the bully discovered that his favorite victim had outgrown him; his attempt to trip me on the way to the cafeteria had an “ironic” outcome. However, I find myself doubting the success of this anti-bullying campaign because it is up against a seriously powerful counter-force. I call it the political bully; and, as long as the political bully is not only permitted his intimidating ways but virtually lauded for his perceived eff...

We have numerous reminders to indicate that we live in an imperfect world , starting with expressions like, “Nobody's perfect.” Thinking about half full or half empty glasses certainly suggests that we must deal with glasses that are often less than full; in other words, too often in life something is missing . The often uttered words, “I'm bored,” is another hint that things are less than pleasing, somehow, far too much of the time. If such ordinary reminders weren't enough, one need only to recall the news headline to know that this world is messed up, not just the United States but everywhere. The reality is troubling to many youth, who are idealists by nature. Unless their sense of rightness has already been disturbed by tragedy, injury, illness, or abuse, it is natural for the young to expect things to be good, right, or at least pleasant. No one intends to mislead them; adults just try to save the ugliness for a later moment. We use euphemisms for death: ...

So, they say, Mitt Romney laid off workers while at Bain Capital, and this is supposed to be a bad thing. Why exactly is that a negative for the candidate?  By the way, many of these charges, especially some of the more extreme campaign ads, are actually untrue, but I'm not making that point here.  Yes, I know we have high unemployment. The logic then, I guess, is that it's always wrong to cut jobs, right? What nonsense!  Nobody wants to lose their job, but sometimes it simply becomes necessary. No one, except possibly the government, hires people simply to give them jobs. Jobs are not the goal of job creators. Profit is the goal. Employers hire people to do things in order to make money. These workers make things, provide services, or manage others who make or serve. The employer's challenge is to have enough workers to get the work done well so that clients and customers spend money for the products or services provided, in the end leaving a net gain in...