The Soggy Spaniel

In the first year of COVID, STDs still somehow increased across the US. What’s behind it? Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) continue to rise. But according to last week’s press release from the CDC, it’s apparently got nothing to do with sex. Unless you’re a county health officer, you probably missed it, but last week was…

No matter where you stand, you've probably noticed that a large swath of humanity confidently clings to tenets that are demonstrably untrue. Moreover, these beliefs are not borne exclusively of facts, experience, and logic but a deadly array of confounding factors. The vast complexity of most subjects, misinformation, disinformation, and information overload preclude anyone from…

A Mystery of the ages One of the most evocative elements in gospel accounts of our Lord’s birth is the reference to a “star in the east” that led mysterious Magi to travel westward bearing gifts to honor the newborn King. It has inspired glorious music and artwork - and no end of speculation concerning…

How do we, as followers of Christ, engage the secular world? This is no simple question, as the situations and circumstances are nearly infinite in possibility. Since St. Augustine penned “The City of God,” there has been a general understanding that Jesus did not come to establish an earthly dominion. One might argue there have…

As far back as data exists, the universal experience has been that transgenderism was an extraordinarily rare occurrence, especially among females. The past decade, however, witnessed an unprecedented increase in the numbers of young people identifying as transgender and seeking to transition. The surge was particularly striking among young adolescent females who were heavy users…

Is vaccine resistance an abuse of religious liberty? Do vaccine resisters imperil others? What underlies opposition to the COVID vaccine? In a weekly column on Sunday, August 29, Evangelical attorney David French declared “It’s Time to Stop Rationalizing and Enabling Evangelical Vaccine Rejection.” Is that really a thing, you may ask? There certainly is some…

Most people operate under the assumption that their beliefs are grounded in facts, reason, and experience. It follows that any error of belief must stem from one of those three. They also become the basis for our efforts to educate or persuade those with different beliefs. If only facts were so readily recognizable. We face…

Thanks to the research of Mark Regnerus and others, there is an emerging awareness that the greatest impediment to Christian discipleship and church growth in the 21st century is a disordered view of human sexuality that began with the so-called "sexual revolution" of the 60's. The Bible explicitly declares, and historic Christianity has affirmed, three…

In last Saturday’s New York Times, Christian columnist Ross Douthat asks, “Can the Meritocracy Find God?” "The secularization of America probably won’t reverse unless the intelligentsia gets religion,” writes Douthat. Nor is he sanguine for the prospects of that occurring. Douthat postulates two primary obstacles. First, “a moral vision that regards emancipated, self-directed choice as…

“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.” C. S. Lewis, Preface to The Screwtape Letters. A personal journey I almost thought I’d figured it…

“You can’t handle the truth!” That classic line from Colonel Jessup in the witness stand became a waving flag for many. It is so enticing to think we own the truth, and that those who can’t “handle” it are naïve, weak, or cowardly. Delivered to perfection by Jack Nicholson, Jessup hammered a wedge between truth…

This could be the good news event of the year. Why is no one talking about it? COVID infections in the US have been plunging over the last 3 weeks. 2020: Goodbye and good riddance. The world is exhausted. Over a year after the SARS-Coronavirus-2 pandemic escaped China and infected the world, we are lonely,…