Like the rest of the country, we wonder whether each day will be an up day for the stock market or a down day. If we were to look at indicators for life rather than indicators of wealth, we would have to conclude that yesterday was a down day. According to this article, a new... Continue Reading →
Human Rights Laws
Funny thing about human rights--rights must be guaranteed by an authority capable of bestowing them. In the U.S., the authority has historically been assumed to be the God of the Bible ("all men are created by God with certain inalienable rights..."). Human rights in other countries rely on other authorities. This story from Baptist Press... Continue Reading →
How Not to Take a Stand
GetReligion has a review of the news media's coverage of Steve Anderson, the Arizona pastor who hopes (and prays for) Barack Obama to die. Just to be clear, the pastor does not seek to kill the president, and he is not advocating violence against the president; rather, he is hoping God will cause the president to... Continue Reading →
Persecution or Murder or Both?
One week after she was killed, Pastor Carol Davis' murder is still a horrible mystery. She served as pastor of a small, pentecostal church in Oklahoma. According to this story, her murder is shrouded with bizarre details, such as her being found in a crucifix position. The details do not make clear the motive. On the surface, it... Continue Reading →
Help Others, Go to Prison
From China Aid, Christians Li Mingshun and Zhang Yonghu were indicted by the Erlianhaote City People's Procuratorate on July 31, 2009, for aiding North Korean refugees fleeing to South Korea through China. Li and Zhang were among several Christians helping to provide food, shelter, and transportation for the 61 refugees crossing Northern Chinese provinces into... Continue Reading →
Confused Freedom
Mark Steyn, whom I have mentioned several times before, has a brilliant observation in this article from Maclean's. Granted, the article is a bit unseemly at times; so, you may not want to read it. However, he makes the point that we live in a milieu of sexual freedoms which have made us as "free"... Continue Reading →
Rifqa Update
In case you haven't been following the Rifqa Bary story, here is the latest report, which says that she has been granted a reprieve which will allow her to stay in Florida for now. This 17 year old convert to Christianity has caused quite a stir in the media. We all still await the outcome... Continue Reading →
Global Warming on Trial?
Chris Horner from Planet Gore reports on the recent U. S. Chamber of Commerce's call to hold a hearing on anthropogenic global warming (AGW). [Read: man-made global warming]. I have reported before on the dubious nature of the claims for man-made global warming. More and more information is showing that the last decade has begun... Continue Reading →
Just Think About This
The National Review Online staff has come up with some startling statistics. I re-post some of them here for your consideration. Think about these numbers. You can get a fuller report at The Corner. 'New Budget Estimates Show Unsustainable Spending and Debt' [NRO Staff] Some highlights from Brian Riedl's Heritage Foundation analysis: — This year, Washington... Continue Reading →
Remember China Tonight
For any SoCal friends out there, I have an update from Bob Fu which might interest you. He is president of China Aid and actively supports Christians suffering persecution in China. He will be holding a prayer vigil in L.A. at 8:00. He also will speak at the event, which is being held at the... Continue Reading →
Yet Another Sad Day
I am sure you have seen this story by now concerning the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). They have gone the course of the world, abandoning the clear teaching of Scripture concerning homosexuality. The most grievous aspect of this is probably the illusion it fosters of tolerance and a large-embracing love. It surely is not... Continue Reading →
Poverty
There appears to me to be a growing consensus among evangelicals to join the global fight against poverty. I remember the emphasis of Saddleback, under the leadership of Rick Warren, joining the fight in Africa. More recently, the Pope has enjoined Christians to engage the battle against poverty. The document Caritas in Veritate is discussed in... Continue Reading →
Ruthless Pragmatism
Bloomberg has an article based on an April interview with President Obama concerning end of life medical decisions. In the article, Obama says that he would gladly have paid for his grandmother’s hip replacement himself; yet he found the decision for her to have a hip replacement troubling. He labeled the decision “a difficult moral... Continue Reading →
Kidnapping or Honor Killing?
This story about Rifqa Bary is interesting on a number of levels. She is in danger. Some say the threat is kidnapping. She claims the danger is from her family killing her. This young woman is only 17; so, she is still considered a minor. It's possible that the pastor in Florida or others helped... Continue Reading →
In a Day’s Work
Admittedly, today has not been a typical day. But it has not been atypical either. An elderly woman in our congregation passed away. That doesn’t happen every day, but it does happen. Here is how it happened. I have been very busy with academic work lately and have had to neglect other things. This... Continue Reading →
Gregory C. Cochran 