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Our Executive branch a clear and present danger.

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Those of you who are political junkies like me may appreciate this short analysis of America's dangerous devotion to Executive power. I think that we can all agree that our political system has been corrupted by an out-of-control unchecked Executive that has moved so very far from the limited powers and modest goals that our Framers gave us in 1787. Like Israel of old we have cried for a King and our oligarchy was more than willing to give us one. Do you remember the story in 1 Samuel 8 where the people come to an aged and worn out Samuel and asked for a King?...They told Samuel they wanted to be like the other nations. God then spoke to the people through Samuel that a king is going to be expensive - both financially and in terms of lost freedom, yet, in spite of all these warnings straight from God, the people still wanted a king. For some reason, it seems that the Israelites were oblivious to the price of having a king. God warned them that a king would be costly both
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Why our main stream media can't be trusted?

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How many can remember the days of Walter Cronkite who was the anchorman for the CBS  Evening News for 19 years? During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s it was said "Cronkite was the most trusted man in America." Or does anyone recall NBC airing the Huntley-Brinkley Report? This was NBC television network's flagship evening news program from October 29, 1956, until July 31, 1970.  It seems that in the not too distant past we had a sense of honesty and integrity in the field of journalism. So as not to get too nostalgic on my readers, I admit that the Cronkite's and the Huntley/Brinkley's of the then news world certainly had their own personal political ideologies, and yes, even then they leaned to the left of center. I'm struck with the course that journalism  has taken over the last four decades. Old school reporting of the news was just that, it was reporting, it had integrity, and the American people could trust what was being said by these
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Seeing the Newtown Tragedy from God's perspective.

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I would like to add a voice to the Tragedy that came upon the small quiet community of Newtown Connecticut on December 14, 2012. So many questions arise after such a painful event: Why does a good God allow such things to happen? How do these families go on from here? How can schools and society prevent this senseless violence in the future? How do we as a society intervene with those who are showing signs of " mental illness ?" I'd like to zero in on one aspect of the myriad of questions that has arisen: that of the nature of man.  I'd like to look at the nature of man; from a theological perspective, which is another way of saying from God's perspective. We can't understand the nature of man unless we examine his nature from the perspective of the creator. Let's lay out the foundation for this position. Man is a created being, he did not evolve nor is he continuing to evolve. The declaration in Genesis 1:26-27 is that man is created, and carries a
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Falling off the moral cliff!!

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While I realize that the United States of America is not a theocracy; however, we are most definitely a country that was founded on a natural law. I don't think that there would be too much debate that our country has been drifting steadily toward a deadening moral decay. The other day I read this report by the CDC: "More than 40 percent of all babies born in the country last year, the report said, were born to unmarried women." http://cnsnews.com/news/article/cdc-us-birth-rate-hits-all-time-low-407-babies-born-unmarried-women While there are many social and moral harbingers that our country is on a moral downgrade I think that  this one statistic stands out. You might be tempted to ask why? out of all the signs of moral decay, why this one? Personally I've worked with youth and have witnessed first hand the pain and anguish of young boys who grow up without a father in their lives. God's blueprint for the family is found in the first book of the Bible and gives
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The Fiscal Cliff

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Thoughts on today's election results: We are truly a divided country, and we are divided over political ideology and worldview. There is no government that can be all things to all people; the United States is the most eclectic country in the world. We as a country are doomed to failure when the government tries to sell itself by offering promises to the people. When a government becomes the genie who hands out treats and goodies to the masses, the masses become then a perpetual voting group for the party who can dole out the most freebies. The farther down this slippery slope we travel the closer we get to accepting a government that will rule, not according to constitutional law, but by tyranny. The voice was loud and clear when our Founding Fathers warned that there is a price to liberty. The price of liberty is that we as a people hold our elected representatives’ to govern by the rule of law (our constitution). As Benjamin Franklin observed at the founding of
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Continuing with the theme of Bonhoeffer---what an excellent topic for today, where does authority come from? Listen to Bonhoeffer (p. 141). The difference between real leadership an the false leadership of the Leader was this: real leadership derived its authority from God, the source of all goodness. Thus parents have a legitimate authority because they are submitted to the legitimate authority of a good God. But the authority of the Fuhrer was submitted to nothing. It was self-derived and autocratic and therefore had a messianic aspect. Note: This was part of a radio address that Bonhoeffer gave on January 30, 1933 when Adolf Hitler become the democratically elected chancellor of Germany. The speech was titled " The Younger Generations Altered Concept of Leadership." The speech dealt with the fundamental problems of leadership by a Fuhrer (der Fuhrer in German "the leader), explaining how such a leader inevitable becomes an idol and a "mis-leader. 
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Character traits of Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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I've been reading Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas. I'm on page 81 of a book that has over 500 pages. There has been many things that have moved me and inspired me in the 80 pages that I've taken in, but today I'd like to share some of the remarkable character traits that Eric Metaxas has gleaned from Bonhoeffer's family friends, and college professors. Now keep in mind that these character traits that I'd like to share were ascribed to Bonhoeffer when he was still just a teenager or a very young man. Bonhoeffer received his doctorate degree in theology at the age of 21. He had already decided to become a theologian as a young teen, but if you read the book you will find that God began to give Bonhoeffer a pastoral heart and eventually he went into the pastorate. Listed below are just a few of the character traits that were used to describe a young precoucius Bonhoeffer: 1. A fellow member of the Igel -pronounced eagle-means he
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