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. ...
24-Jun-05
Liberty and Justice for All?
by Richard T. RitenbaughOver the last two days, two branches of the American government—the judicial and the legislative—proved again either that they have no idea what this nation's Founding Fathers meant when they drafted, debated, and ratified the Constitution, or that they simply do not care what it says. ...
17-Jun-05
Apologizing for the Dead
by Richard T. RitenbaughOn a regular basis, the church receives a question from a subscriber or a visitor to one of its websites about the Mormon practice of baptism for the dead. ...
10-Jun-05
A Dull and Compliant People
by Richard T. RitenbaughWithin the past month, I read an article denouncing both government and industry for its use of fluoride in drinking water, toothpastes, mouthwashes, and other dental applications. ...
27-May-05
Jedi Versus Sith
by Richard T. RitenbaughWhile on vacation in Southern California with my family, we were able to attend a first-day showing of Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. ...
20-May-05
Growth
by David C. GrabbeIn the world of money, growth is of supreme importance. Regrettably, this approach has taken root within Christianity, too—both true and false. "Success" for a church is all too often measured in income, membership, and new converts, all of which are typically very unreliable indicators. ...
13-May-05
The West's Religion Problem
by Richard T. RitenbaughChurch of the Great God is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, and as such, it is considered to be located in America's Bible Belt. ...
06-May-05
Eradicating Humanity
by Richard T. RitenbaughWhen I am not editing someone else's writing or writing something of my own, I am often found reading. ...
29-Apr-05
Are We Losing Our Children?
by David C. GrabbeThe frenzied pace at which we live takes its toll. Stress, anxiety, pressure, and busyness are the norm in our Western, civilized nations. The demands of life leave most adults gasping for breath and struggling to shoulder the load. But what effect is this pace having on the next generation?
22-Apr-05
Do You Believe—Really Believe?
by Richard T. RitenbaughThe death of Pope John Paul II and the election of Pope Benedict XVI made the Catholic Church—and the Catholic faith—front-page news around the globe. ...
15-Apr-05
Whither the EU?
by David C. GrabbeFor decades, we have been watching and waiting for Europe to unite under a fierce dictator to form the last revival of the Holy Roman Empire. ...
08-Apr-05
Religion and Politics
by Richard T. RitenbaughTwo events occurred this morning to prime the old thinking pump: the funeral of Pope John Paul II in Vatican City and receiving the February 28, 2005, issue of The Journal: News of the Churches of God in the church's mailbox. ...
25-Mar-05
Judging Life and Death
by Richard T. RitenbaughMany Protestants and Catholics probably recognized the irony in the fact that the Terri Schiavo "right to life" case came to a head during their "Holy Week," in which the faithful contemplate the death and life of Jesus Christ. ...
18-Mar-05
Where Was God?
by John W. RitenbaughShortly after the 9/11 tragedy, I wrote a brief column because so many were asking, "Where was God?" implying, "Why did He allow such an event to occur?" Perhaps a few made outright accusations such as, "How could He be so cruel?" but mostly it was implied. ...
11-Mar-05
The Gospel of Freedom and Democracy
by David C. GrabbeConservative columnist Cal Thomas observes: "These fanatics [Muslim fascists] believe the United States, Britain and the rest of the West are the ones in bondage. They note our promiscuity, our abortions, our obsession with homosexuality, our television, our provocative way of dressing and they wonder who is really free?" ...
04-Mar-05
John Paul II's Successor
by Richard T. RitenbaughLast week's leading news story dealt with Pope John Paul II's illness, described as a relapse of a viral infection that was making it difficult for him to breathe. ...
25-Feb-05
Toward Anarchy
by Richard T. RitenbaughHere in Charlotte, the local school system has descended into another crisis—only the latest one on a very long string of such problems—and this time the turmoil concerns what is being called deconsolidation. ...
18-Feb-05
Something Is Wrong
by Richard T. RitenbaughI recently experienced another birthday (making me as old as Jack Benny always claimed to be—really!), and in looking back at the last nearly four decades, I was struck with how different the world is today. ...
11-Feb-05
Going Nuclear
by Richard T. RitenbaughThe big news late this week was that—surprise!—North Korea has nuclear weapons. ...
04-Feb-05
Is British-Israelism Racist?
by Richard T. RitenbaughA fairly common accusation leveled at believers of British-Israelism is that it is a fundamentally racist idea. ...
28-Jan-05
The Great Wave and God
by John W. RitenbaughA vital understanding we can reach from the many articles that appeared in the media following the recent devastating tsunami in Southeast Asia is the appalling ignorance of God's involvement in the minds of the inhabitants of Western-world cultures. ...
21-Jan-05
Four More Years
by Richard T. RitenbaughYesterday, January 20, 2005, witnessed the second inauguration of President George W. ...