Christianity for Today 2

I spent some time last night watching the first of the Democratic debates from Detroit.  First, I must applaud the CNN team for keeping the debate going.  I know at times it must have been frustrating for the candidates, but with that many people wanting to speak, time was of the essence.  Yes, at times I would have liked to have heard more complete responses, but, then again, the candidates need to learn to answer in a more succinct manner.  (I think most of us have a tendency to just ramble when asked a question.  Perhaps it is because we are trying to think of an answer even as we are answering.) But as I listened - and I must confess I did not listen to the entire two hours - some things became very obvious for me.  First, there is an increasing polar divide within the Democratic party.  It was as if two very different visions were being created.  On the one side were the strongly progressives, headed by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.  I think we could summarize their posit

Tensions continue to escalate in the Middle East.  Over the weekend, Iranian forces boarded and commandeered an oil tanker flying the British flag.  Their claim was that the ship had violated Iranian sea space within the Persian Gulf.  Many, however, saw this as a retaliatory action because of the British navy impounding an Iranian vessel going through the Straits of Gibraltar.  The British claimed the ship's final destination was Syria.  This would have been a violation of the embargoes imposed against Syria by the European Union and the United States.  The British government is pondering the sending of a military fleet to join an American naval presence in the Persian Gulf and to guarantee that the Straits of Hormuz are free to all shipping, although a read a statement this morning where Iran said it could provide security for those straits.  Somehow I think this is sort of like asking the fox to guard the hen house.    A week ago Iran claimed that it had shot down an unmanned

Saturday will mark the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon.  I remember sitting in front of a television set and being riveted with those pictures and words coming from the moon.  First, we heard "The Eagle has landed."  The picture quality was not the best, but you had to remember that this was 1969 and no one had taken photographs from the moon before.  Those pictures were amazing.  Then we watched as from that landing craft a ladder descended.  Suddenly an astronaut began his descent down that ladder.  Neil Armstrong hesitated briefly as he reached the bottom rung and then placed his foot upon the soil of the moon.  Those of us who watched that evening will never forget his inspiring words: "That was one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind."  After all these years I can still remember that moment.  I can still remember the thrill of seeing the American flag planted on the soil of the moon.  I remember how good it was to be an Americ

A friend of mine sent me an article this past week that has resonated within my heart.  The article was written by Robin Smith and can be found at: www.patriotpost.us/articles/64152-armed-with-the-truth-the-bible-and-the-constitution .  I would like to share a few portions with you.  But I challenge you to link and read the article in its entirety.  "Today, we constitutional conservatives must either arm ourselves with the Truth of the battle being fought against us or lose ground daily.  While the tactic employed on the political Left of framing the opposition as extremists is standard operational procedure, it results in conservatives being marginalized and polarized as 'dangerous.' "Last week in an NBC News piece, 'The Cult of the Constitution,' a book written by Mary Anne Franks was promoted to be a reasonable view.  Yet when distilled down to its simplest elements, Franks argues that if you believe in the fundamentals of the Constitution, just as in t

Tomorrow is the 243rd anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, one of the most unique documents ever written in the history of government.  After months of debate, vigorous at times, those delegates to the Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, made a courageous decision to declare their independence from Great Britain.  Each person who signed that Declaration knew the potential consequences that signature could bring.  For many, those consequences became reality.  Some lost their financial fortunes, either through investing in the needs of this new nation or through confiscation by the British.  A few experienced imprisonment.  And many became the target for ridicule and scorn.  Yet they had a vision for a nation founded upon the principles of democracy - something that had not happened before.  They believed in the right of the people to rule themselves - not through a monarchy, not through a dictator, not through the rule of church hierarchy.  As Abraha