Here is something that can help us navigate our way through our current protests and controversies: The flag of the United States of America. It symbolizes not the nation's government but the nation's people and their common commitment to God, to each other, to liberty, and to justice. This is something Americans with all of their differences can rally around.
History records many instances of protesters taking out their rage by destroying art. The Black Lives Matter protests started with attacks on confederate monuments, but the frenzy has spread to defacing art that is anti-slavery and monuments that have nothing to do with race or America. The art world is strangely silent. Luther's handling of the iconoclastic riots offers a model for addressing the controversies.
A new book by a secular historian demonstrates how Christianity gave our civilization such values as compassion and the value of each person, notions unknown in Greco-Roman paganism. But he believes that the Christian influence can prevail even without the Christian religion. But can it?
The right to keep and bear arms is usually thought of as a conservative issue. But now some on the Left--including Black Lives Matter activists and Democratic Socialists--are asserting their Second Amendment rights.
President Trump held a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that was supposed to ignite his campaign. With 800,000 people expected in a city of 400,000 and the threat of violent protests, it could have been a disaster. The outcome, though, was unexpected, to the relief of Tulsans.
The anti-racism protests are a repudiation of moral relativism, which is healthy. Human equality and the worth of each person derive from the Christian and Jewish religions. But many on the left uphold those moral principles while rejecting the religions. This results in a fixation on power and moral purity. So argues an important political theorist.
A review of "The Treasury of Daily Prayer," the ultimate devotional resource. It includes a Psalm, a reading from the Old Testament, a reading from the New Testament, a writing from a Church Father, a hymn text, and a prayer for each day of the year. It also has the Daily Offices, orders for prayer, helps for self-examination, and much more. It is a priceless "treasury" for personal, family, and group devotions.
The revulsion against police brutality against black people has led to serious calls to eliminate the police. Their place would be taken by mental health professionals, social workers, and members of the community. The worldview issues and likely consequences of these proposals.
Christianity--especially Lutheranism--is sometimes blamed for Nazism. It is true that the German state churches were Nazified. But the theology of that movement, known as "Positive Christianity," rejected the Bible, the Creeds, Christ, salvation, and virtually every other Christian--and Lutheran--teaching. This movement grew out of liberal theology, including the Higher Criticism of the Bible.
According to a recent poll, 80% of Americans believe that the country is "spiraling out of control." Not only does social order seem to be breaking down, Americans feel less in control of their own lives. This is dangerous, since social chaos often leads to totalitarian control.
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