The Millennial Perspective

Dividing people through song

2012-01-23T14:22:00.002-06:00

At the school I attend, Asbury University, we have a chapel service three times each week. This past Wednesday in chapel we celebrated the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I attended the service ready to learn how we as Christian college students could embody the biblical teaching of unity in Christ.Instead, before the speaker even walked up on stage I was so offended and disgusted that I

Christopher Hitchens and Us

2011-12-16T01:38:00.000-06:00

Christopher Hitchens held views diametrically opposed to mine and spent most of his life fighting against that which I hold most dear. He was an avowed atheist always ready to attack belief in anything other than science and reason. But in the end he looked much like any other person fighting cancer. He had sunken eyes, a gaunt look in his face, and hair loss due to the chemotherapy

In defense of TLC's 'All-American Muslim'

2011-12-16T01:32:00.000-06:00

Before last week I like most of America had never heard of the Florida Family Association. Suddenly, in the space of a few days, the small, unknown organization was making national headlines because it called for a boycott of the TLC show, ‘All-American Muslim’.The Florida group says that the reason for the boycott is that ‘All-American Muslim’ only features Muslims who are ordinary people, not

Judging Herman Cain

2011-11-03T08:47:00.000-05:00

The details surrounding the allegations of sexual impropriety from Herman Cain are flying fast and thick in the 24-hour news cycle. Allegations First there were two women, then a prominent conservative talk show host came forward alleging that Cain acted inappropriately towards several of his female employees, and now, on top of the other allegations, there is a third woman accusing Cain of

The local church is where it's at

2011-08-16T08:26:00.002-05:00

It may not be exciting, but it's important. Last month, as part of a local missions experience, my youth group went to serve at a local para-church organization. In the midst of personal, family, and community brokeness, this ministry was an incredible witness to the love and restoration of Jesus. In the space of six years, God had used one family to start a movement that was transforming a

"If ever there were a miracle, this would be it."

2011-08-10T14:53:00.002-05:00

Damian Mulinix / Chinook Observer Last Friday a Washington youth group went to the beach for the day. While they were there, two boys were caught in a riptide. The other boy, Dale Ostrander, was sucked out into the ocean. Ten minutes later, rescue swimmers were able to find him, but by that time Dale was no longer breathing. While this was happening, the other kids in the youth group were

Hero among heroes

2011-08-09T08:45:00.008-05:00

I want to be a Navy SEAL. Really, for about as long as I can remember, I've wanted to be a Navy SEAL. I say this with the knowledge that I will never be part of the greatest fighting force in the world - I'm headed in another direction with my life, and I probably couldn't make it as a SEAL. But a guy can always dream about being one of these elite warriors. On Saturday, when I heard about the

Video: God is not a white man

2011-08-05T07:57:00.003-05:00

God is not a white man. If you think He is, you're an idiot. But God also isn't a man at all, He's not a Republican, and He's definitely not American. He doesn't sit on a cloud, and He doesn't have a really long, really boss beard. I bet - and hope - that all of us would agree with those statements, but I think a lot of times it's easy for conservative Christians to forget these things. Oh

Pass a budget, Senate!

2011-08-04T08:51:00.000-05:00

Praying that he doesn't have to pass a budget With the passage of the debt-ceiling deal, the nation breathed a collective sigh of relief. One crisis had been averted. Liberals hated the deal, with Rep. Emanuel Cleaver famously calling the deal a "sugar-coated satan sandwich." Conservatives, especially the teaparty movement, hated the deal too. Regardless of whether you are glad that the

Why I'm quitting Facebook

2011-07-31T22:19:00.002-05:00

Back in December I posted a blog boldly titled "Facebook: It's time to quit." Pretty much, I realized that while Facebook offered a lot of benefits, it also had quite a few drawbacks. I weighed the pros and cons and decided it was time to quit Facebook, at least for a while. For a month I stayed off of Facebook. Then I decided since I had sufficiently weaned myself off of the social network, I

Soldier arrested for allegedly planning attack on Fort Hood

2011-07-28T12:48:00.001-05:00

According to ABCNews, law enforcement officials have arrested a U.S. soldier who had gone missing from Fort Campbell in Kentucky. Officials say that the soldier, Naser Jason Abdo, was planning an attack on Fort Hood, the site of a 2009 terrorist attack by Major Nidal Hassan. And yes, if you're wondering, Abdo is a Muslim. Abdo, 21, allegedly told law enforcement he was targeting the base to "get

Why Christianity isn't just about relationship

2011-07-28T08:38:00.000-05:00

Messed up theology. Imagine you're faced with the seemingly insurmountable task of finding your way through an extremely complicated maze the size of New York City. Fortunately, you don't have to face this tangle of winding tunnels based on your own instincts. The creator of the maze has given you a map of the entire area, showing the only correct way through the tunnels to the other side.

Christianity - Falling in Love vs. Believing

2011-07-26T10:19:00.000-05:00

I have a confession to make. I really don't like listening to popular Christian songs. Between the generic music and the often-shallow lyrics, I have trouble getting excited about supporting most Christian artists. I'm not here to say that all Christian music is bad, or to bash Christian musicians in general. But a lot of the music that is played on Christian radio is pretty lame and

So, what's your solution to the problem of Social Security?

2011-07-15T08:46:00.006-05:00

I've written a lot of controversial articles over the past couple years. None, though, earned me as much grief as my recent assertion that we should raise the Social Security retirement age to 80. I was ridiculed, cursed, called names, and roundly slammed by almost every email I received. Pretty much all of these emails were from people who are currently retired or almost there. Once I waded

It's time to raise the Social Security retirement age to 80

2011-07-14T08:21:00.001-05:00

Sixty-five is the magic age, the age when most people can retire. But they don't retire, just resting on their owns laurels. From the moment they turn 65, retirees can start drawing on their Social Security. This is absurd. I realize that Social Security may be one of the most volatile and important political issues right now, and that there's a very heated debate surrounding it. I just don't get

The Casey Anthony trial: To be continued

2011-07-07T22:12:00.002-05:00

There will be justice for Caylee To be honest, I didn't follow the Casey Anthony case very closely at all. Aside from the occasional article and headline that I saw, I was virtually clueless. But in this age of sensationalism and ratings-driven media, as the trial wound down and the jury got the case, it became hard to avoid the story. News websites, TV shows, newspapers, blogs, social

It's sexy to be a missionary

2011-07-06T10:27:00.000-05:00

This isn't what it's like being a missionary. It's sexy to be a missionary. Not in the "Hey, look at me, I'm wearing lingerie" sense of the word. 'Sexy' in this context falls more under the "Hey, this seems like an awesome idea, so I'm going to jump on the bandwagon" meaning. If you hang around the Christian youth group circles enough, you know what I mean. Right now, hardly thinking about it,

When authenticity in the church is bad

2011-07-05T07:53:00.004-05:00

Authenticity vs. Hypocrisy It's a common complaint among young people, Christians and non-Christians alike. "The church just needs to be more authentic," we gripe."We need more realness and less hypocrisy." So we try to be authentic. And for the most part we live in to at least a semblance of authenticity. In fact, a large chunk of the church-going segment of my generation seems to be working

How to pick a president, beyond the issues

2011-06-30T08:33:00.001-05:00

The race for the White House (putting green) In 1967, the father of conservatism, William F. Buckley, coined what is now known as the "Buckley Rule." It runs something like this: Support the most conservative and viable candidate who could win. It's actually a pretty good rule of thumb to follow, if you're interested in putting the most conservative and electable candidates into office.

The majority of Americans say homosexuality should be encouraged by society

2011-06-28T08:18:00.004-05:00

Socially acceptable? Over the weekend, the New York legislature passed a bill allowing homosexual couples to marry in the Empire State. There have been a variety of reactions from across the political spectrum. Homosexual people are obviously overjoyed. Liberals, too, are glad. Libertarians generally support the move away from traditional marriage. The reactions from Conservatives and

Time for the FDA to promote truth-in-advertising for abortion

2011-06-23T08:17:00.000-05:00

Government mandated. On Tuesday the Food and Drug Administration issued its new guidelines for cigarette companies' advertising and product packaging. And the guidelines are the most ridiculous, invasive overreach of government into an industry's advertising ever. Already cigarette advertisements feature a warning from the surgeon general that smoking can cause cancer. I thought it was

Video: NBC edits out "under God" from US Open intro

2011-06-21T10:54:00.000-05:00

NBC's intro to the US Open (held in D.C.'s backyard) featured a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, which purposefully left out the words, "under God, indivisible." Either the network was trying to make a point by intentionally leaving out the sole mention of God in the Pledge. Or they're part of a bitter remnant who supported the South in the Civil War and belive that our nation can, and

Video: Albert Mohler's "homophobia" comments

2011-06-21T08:36:00.000-05:00

Here's the complete video of Albert Mohler's "homophobia" comments at the Southern Baptist Convention.

Postions should matter more than theology when voting for a president

2011-06-21T08:17:00.001-05:00

Not presidential material? If your party nominated a generally well-qualified person for president who happened to be Mormon, would you vote for that person? Gallup posed this question to more than a thousand adults earlier this month. The results are surprising. Twenty-two percent of those questioned admitted that if their party's nominee were a Mormon, they would not vote for that candidate

Let's be honest, a lot of Christians are guilty of homophobia

2011-06-17T09:15:00.003-05:00

Sometimes the truth hurts. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a staunch conservative, started a controversy with comments he made at the Southern Baptist Convention's annual conference. The Associated Press quotes Mohler as saying that homosexuality isn't something that people can "turn on and turn off." Mohler went on to say that "only the gospel of the