The Importance of Parenting
by Richard T. RitenbaughI enjoy reading the contributions of National Review Online writers posted at "The Corner. ...
21-Jul-06
What's in It for Us?
by Richard T. RitenbaughWhile in college, I took a yearlong course in International Relations under Gene Hogberg, news editor of The Plain Truth magazine. ...
14-Jul-06
Why We Homeschool
by Richard T. RitenbaughBack in the early years of the homeschooling phenomenon, its advocates were largely tie-dyed, granola-munching, back-to-nature, hippie types whose primary goal was to disassociate from just about everything manmade, and certainly from Establishment institutions like the public schools. ...
07-Jul-06
Evaluating Culture
by Richard T. RitenbaughIn listening to a series of 48 lectures by University of California at Berkeley Professor Robert Greenberg titled "How to Listen to and Understand Great Music," I have come to a greater realization of the evolving tastes among consumers of Western music. ...
30-Jun-06
Are We Really Free?
by Richard T. RitenbaughTwo hundred and thirty years ago next Tuesday, thirteen American colonies defied the most powerful nation on earth and declared themselves "free and independent States. ...
23-Jun-06
The Power of the Holy People
by David C. GrabbeOver the last decade or so, as the church of God has come to terms with its splintering and scattering, a frequently quoted verse has been Daniel 12:7. ...
16-Jun-06
Slowly But Surely?
by Richard T. RitenbaughCommon wisdom posits that given enough time, water runoff can reduce even the tallest mountain to countless grains of sand scattered over the ocean floor. ...
09-Jun-06
Crisis? What Crisis?
by Richard T. RitenbaughProbably everyone has heard and used the tired cliché, "He can't see the forest for the trees. ...
02-Jun-06
The Frustrations of Good Men
by Richard T. RitenbaughWithin this past week, I finally finished David McCullough's 2001 bestseller and Pulitzer Prize winner, John Adams, a book I have been wading through since sometime in 2004. ...
26-May-06
Dan Brown's Thirty Pieces of Silver
by David C. GrabbeBy now, everyone in the Western world has heard of Jesus Christ's betrayal in exchange for some coinage. ...
19-May-06
America's Imminent Perfect Storm
by Richard T. RitenbaughWinds of change are blowing across this nation, auguring a critical moment in American history. ...
12-May-06
'Arguments Over Words'
by Richard T. RitenbaughDuring my daily commute to and from the office, a trip of just under fifteen minutes, I usually have my radio tuned to WBT and its talk shows, but on occasion I have the pleasure of listening to a book on tape (in this case, on CD). ...
05-May-06
Society of Skeptics
by Richard T. RitenbaughThe last few issues of Biblical Archeology Review (BAR) have reminded me why I cancelled my subscription in frustration several years ago. ...
28-Apr-06
'The Alien Who Is Among You'
by Richard T. RitenbaughOver the past several weeks, the big story has been illegal immigration. ...
21-Apr-06
No Good News Here
by Richard T. RitenbaughA recent sensation in the world of New Testament studies is the "presentation to the world" of the supposed "Gospel of Judas. ...
14-Apr-06
Bucking Tradition
by Richard T. RitenbaughFor most people, it is a difficult undertaking to buck tradition. There is perhaps no clearer illustration of just how hard it is to throw off the habitual practices of our families and fellow countrymen than in our holiday celebrations. This is doubly true when speaking about religious holidays, such as Easter and Christmas. ...
07-Apr-06
Without Bitterness
by David C. GrabbeIn the annual contemplation of the Passover and Exodus stories, the question occasionally arises of whether or not the Christian Passover must be observed according to the original instructions in Exodus 12--specifically, with a lamb, bitter herbs, etc. ...
31-Mar-06
A Nation of Laws?
by Richard T. RitenbaughA primary concept that separates the United States of America from other nations, particularly those governed by strong men or oligarchies, is the principle of the primacy of law. ...
24-Mar-06
At Least Say, 'Thanks!'
by Richard T. RitenbaughOne of the saddest indictments of our modern, liberal culture occurred yesterday. ...
17-Mar-06
March 12, 2005: One Year Later
by David C. GrabbeLast Sunday marked the one-year anniversary of the horrific church shooting in Brookfield, Wisconsin. On that fateful day, Terry Ratzmann entered the rented, hotel meeting room and opened fire with a semiautomatic pistol. A minute later, 22 rounds had been fired, four people were wounded, and eight lay dead—including the shooter. ...
10-Mar-06
Peaceful Is as Peaceful Does
by Richard T. RitenbaughSince September 11, 2001—and frankly since long before then—the Western and Islamic worlds have increasingly collided. ...
03-Mar-06
The Price of Arrogance
by Richard T. RitenbaughA consistent criticism of the Bush administration has been that it is arrogant in its dealings with the media, the Democrat opposition, and even with its own allies in Congress. ...
24-Feb-06
Where Are the Parents?
by Richard T. RitenbaughTwo recent incidents with Charlotte connections, both involving 18-year-olds, have made headlines and initiated debate over parental involvement and control of their offspring. ...
10-Feb-06
Under Green at the Crossed Flags
by Richard T. RitenbaughIf you will, please indulge me, as I am about to give some advice. ...
03-Feb-06
Is the Tide Turning?
by David C. GrabbeJanuary 22, 2006, marked the 33rd anniversary of the United States Supreme Court's decision on Roe v. Wade, which made the killing of unborn children a legal right. ...
27-Jan-06
Somewhere in the Middle
by Richard T. RitenbaughA few weeks ago, a local talk-show host, self-described as "an aging hippie," remarked that he believed that in most matters one can find "the truth somewhere in the middle. ...
20-Jan-06
What 'The Bible and Its Influence' Will Teach
by David C. GrabbeFor decades now, the debate over the place of Christianity—and specifically the Bible—in public life has raged without any sign of abating. ...
13-Jan-06
Standing With God (Part Two)
by Charles WhitakerThe Failure of the American Left and Right—and the Responsibility of God’s People In Ezekiel 22, the prophet speaks of latter-day Israel. ...
06-Jan-06
Standing With God (Part One)
by Charles WhitakerThe Failure of the American Left and Right—and the Responsibility of God’s People Sociologists often point to the decline of the twin institutions of marriage and the family as the fount of most American cultural ills. ...
30-Dec-05
Twenty Years On
by Richard T. RitenbaughIt just occurred to me that January 16, 2006, will mark the twentieth anniversary of Herbert W. ...
23-Dec-05
A Sanitary Christmas
by Richard T. RitenbaughThe winter solstice has just passed, beginning the coldest three months of the year, and this means that Christmas is only days away. ...
16-Dec-05
The Rea$on for the Season
by David C. GrabbeWhile this time of solstice celebrations is especially wearying to those called out of this world’s paganism, it is not without the occasional gleam of ironic humor. ...
09-Dec-05
Biblical Canonicity
by Richard T. RitenbaughA trip to the local Christian bookstore to buy a new Bible often turns into a dizzying experience once dozens of different translations confront the shopper. ...
02-Dec-05
The Seventh Thunder
by David C. GrabbeIn Revelation 10:3-4, the apostle John tells of seven thunders--seven distinct, sequential reverberations of God's message to mankind, delivered by His church during the seven church eras described in Revelation 2 and 3. ...
25-Nov-05
Coming Home to Roost
by Richard T. RitenbaughHow should one describe the news that the world’s largest automaker and the United States’ biggest corporation, General Motors (GM), will cut 30,000 jobs (17% of its 173,000-employee North American workforce) and close a dozen facilities by 2008? By all rights, Americans should consider it to be huge news. ...
18-Nov-05
Giving Thanks
by Richard T. RitenbaughThe Thanksgiving holiday has crept up on many of us this year. ...
11-Nov-05
Man's Natural Spirituality
by Richard T. RitenbaughIt is not uncommon to hear of hardened soldiers--trained to fight, kill, destroy, cuss, and drink--throwing themselves on grenades to save their buddies. ...
04-Nov-05
What We Don't Know
by Richard T. RitenbaughDuring its approach to a mooring mast at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey on May 6, 1937, the German dirigible Hindenburg, filled with hydrogen, went up in flames in less than a minute. ...
07-Oct-05
Teaching Respect for Property
by Richard T. RitenbaughFrom last week's essay, it is apparent that Constitutional protections of private property ownership have been eroded over the past several decades, not just by major Supreme Court decisions, but also by the steady encroachment of socialism into American culture. ...
30-Sep-05
The Obsolescing Right
by Richard T. RitenbaughThursday, September 29, 2005, the Cato Institute’s “Daily Dispatch” ran this item concerning the debate over President Bush’s choice of John Roberts, Jr. ...
23-Sep-05
Cruising for Trouble
by Charles WhitakerAccording to Michael O’Hanlon (“Cruise Control: A Case for Missile Defense,” The National Interest, Spring 2002, p. ...
16-Sep-05
Coattails
by David C. GrabbeGenesis 10 and 11 contain the brief description of Nimrod, the founder of Babylon and the Babylonian system, which has so greatly influenced the course of this world. ...
09-Sep-05
Every Which Way But Up
by David C. GrabbeEven though the decontamination and reconstruction will stretch into the indeterminate future, the immediate crisis appears to be, as they say, all over but the shouting. ...
02-Sep-05
The Thin, Frail Line
by Richard T. RitenbaughIn the huge water bowl that is the city of New Orleans now, the looting began not long after the worst of Hurricane Katrina had passed. ...
26-Aug-05
Open Mouth, Reveal Heart
by Richard T. RitenbaughThe news of the week involved the latest verbal blunder of televangelist Pat Robertson. ...
19-Aug-05
Population Trends in Asia (Part Three): Lots of Puppy-dog Tails
by Charles WhitakerThe third Asian demographic phenomenon highlighted by Nicholas Eberstadt (“Power and Population in Asia,” Policy Review, February/March 2004, pp. ...
12-Aug-05
Population Trends in Asia (Part Two): The Graying of Asia
by Charles WhitakerToday, the prospect of lengthening life expectancies appear more fantasy than possibility. "[A]ll five former Soviet Central Asian republics began the year 2000 with distinctly lower life expectancies than they enjoyed in 1990—all this in peacetime and in the absence of any obvious political catastrophe." In the old Soviet Union, it is even worse. ...
05-Aug-05
Population Trends in Asia (Part One): Charting Ups and Downs
by Charles WhitakerThree events are taking place in Asia with an intensity never before witnessed in human history—at least not since the Flood. ...
29-Jul-05
Bad Weather Is Not Climate Change
by Richard T. RitenbaughMost of the United States suffered severe--indeed, paralyzing--heat this past week, relieved by a cold front that slogged its way across the nation at a snail's pace. ...
15-Jul-05
So There Has Been Another Terror Strike
by Richard T. RitenbaughA week and a day have hustled down the track since the 7/7 bombings in London. ...
08-Jul-05
'How Long, O Lord?'
by David C. GrabbeDecades after the death of Herbert Armstrong, only a small percentage of the former membership of the WCG can be found following shepherds who have held onto the core doctrines of the church of God. Even now the law of entropy is proved, as the splintering and crumbling of the various church groups continues. How long until an "outside force" intercedes to arrest this momentum and turn it around? How long will we be in this scattered condition?
01-Jul-05
Dependence Day
by David C. GrabbeThis weekend, Americans will celebrate the 229th anniversary of the nation's stated independence from England. ...