Of God and Good Manners

Though I haven’t been a newspaper editor for more than a year, I still read newspapers like crazy. Whenever I go out of town, for example, I always pick up as many different daily and weekly papers as I can in the cities and towns that I visit. You never know when you’ll find something really, really good. And Jack Hunter’s column, “Separating Church from Hate,” in the December 24 issue of the Charleston City Paper was really, really good.

An excerpt:

It seems for every pushy Bible-thumper there is always some Christophobic twit to match, whose obnoxious enthusiasm for his unbelief knows no bounds. The activist atheist who’s upset that he’s surrounded by Christians deserves to be accommodated about as much as the religious fundamentalist who’s upset he’s surrounded by heathens.

Both unquestionably have a right to their own opinion, but should also have the judgment to temper their personal beliefs with common sense and good manners.

An Open Letter to the Vast Majority

You know how you are moved by his words?

You know how excited you are about the hope he offers?

You know how he wants you to sacrifice—and how you want to?

You know how he wants you to put others first—and how you are desperately going to try?

You know how he asks you to answer a higher calling—and how you want to answer it?

You know how he makes you feel?

The Audacity of Nope: Why I Didn’t Vote for Barack Obama

If you know me, the following statement is going to come as absolutely no surprise: I didn’t vote for Barack Obama.

As a conservative who remains independent largely due to the fact that the Republican Party has become too moderate for my tastes, it’s safe to say that Barack Obama and I have little in common.

But the guy fascinates me, and a large number of smart folks that I both like and respect have thrown their support behind him. Several weeks ago, their enthusiasm caused me to dig deeper on the guy to see if I was missing something.

Because I Simply Must Say It

As I’ve hinted online—and mentioned (in varying amounts of detail) to some of you—I want to take a moment to formally declare that I have recently rededicated my life to the Lord Jesus Christ.

I first repented of my sins and accepted the Lord Jesus as my personal savior at an altar call in 1986, but I have spent much of the last 22 years living on my own terms and actively disregarding the Lord’s will for my life. I have been sinful and selfish and I simply can’t live that way any longer.

I am ready to serve Him. I want to learn more about Him, talk about Him, write about Him, sing about Him, and tell others about what He’s done for me.

Why Christians Aren’t Taken Seriously: Reason #45,271