Blair, the Roman Beast, and The Mark (IV)

The visions in Daniel and repeated in Revelation seem to suggest the Roman Empire is the model for the Beast and indeed from the time of the New Testament to the present, the spectre of Rome haunts Christendom. From the Russian and British Empires, to the German, French, and American - all seek to emulate Rome. Whether Republican or Imperial Rome, the Western or Eastern iterations, all look to Rome as the paragon of government, the ideal they aspire to. All are inspired by its institutions and laws - and certainly its architecture. And all muse over its fall.

Poisoning the Minds of Children

Various news stories continue to emerge suggesting that kids lack self-control when it comes to social media and viewing videos, especially on platforms like TikTok. Experts speaks of an obsessive behaviour that needs to be curbed.

Cheap Grace and Peace with the World

I happened to catch a news story the other day about Amy Grant and how she has completely caved to the Sodomite ethos that now dominates this culture. She is hosting her niece's lesbian wedding at her house. We've certainly come a long way from the early days of CCM. That now seems innocent, wholesome, and even steadfast.

An Immigrant Tragedy

On many occasions I've been driven to reflect on the immigrant experience. Apart from my Germans who came from Russia in the late nineteenth century, my ancestors almost all arrived in North America back in the seventeenth and eighteenth century. My point being, apart from the one branch, my family doesn't have an 'immigrant story' that is located within memory.

Wal-Mart and the Library of Sodom

Once again I recently found myself in a Wal-Mart and as usual I perused the book section. It's instructive because of the fact that Wal-Mart is only interested in carrying a relatively small number of books that are guaranteed to sell. In other words Wal-Mart carries the best-selling books within certain categories and of course it also targets its demographics, the types of people that shop in its store.

Supermarket Sacrilege

It was one of those culturally oppressive days. My wife and I were in a supermarket in a nearby town and it just seemed like everyone, even the older people were just covered in tattoos, piercings and other forms of obscenity and states of undress. Language was crude, children ill-behaved. It was a gruesome and disturbing scene reminding me of Peter's reference to Lot and the burden and vexation of living in Sodom.

Evangelicals, Finances and Social Norms

Listening to Christian Financial Programmes one usually hears something to the effect that you should drive your vehicles into the ground. Don't trade in a vehicle until you have to and avoid the car loan at all costs. Even among the often rather affluent Evangelical world few are able to buy cars outright. Most people end up having to finance.

Debt is certainly something we as Christians should try to avoid. With modern capitalism this is becoming increasingly difficult. Our society and its financial model are built around debt, credit and interest. These financial instruments have changed the very nature of 'demand' and it affects all of us whether we like it or not.

Feminism in High Gear: Pence's Rule and The Church in an Age of Scandal

Feminism could be described as being 'kicked into high gear' due to the rash of recent scandals.

On the one hand misogynist predatory behaviour is vile and always wrong. These people don't need defending.

On the other hand, society's war on men and boys and the feminisation of men is equally problematic. I say it again, it is equally problematic. That will offend some people.

Identity Politics and the Myth of Cultural Marxism

The nightly news seems to be dominated by police shootings. A seemingly endless stream of racial tensions have dominated American culture over the past couple of years prompting a call to revisit the unresolved questions of the Civil Rights Era. A new generation is wrestling with the issues, and minority communities have been forced to grapple with the reality that a Black president did not signify the end of racial tension. In fact many have come to believe the election of Obama has inflamed simmering passions and instead of moving our culture closer to a state of peaceful coexistence, things have taken a bad turn.