Facts Versus Opinions

My daughter (who I am enormously proud of by the way) called me the other night and discussed an upcoming writing assignment in her Sophomore English class at college. The task was to argue the pros / cons of an article written by Patrick Stokes, "You Are Only Entitled To What You Can Argue For". 

The premise is simple, dividing opinions between statements of taste, such as "I prefer winter over summer" and "I love chocolate over strawberries" versus opinions grounded in technical, legal, or scientific expertise. Mr. Stokes premise is that of course you cannot argue about the first kind of opinions, they are a matter of personal taste. His issue is that our society is leaning more and more toward associating both types of opinions as unarguable, thus voiding the authority and power behind expert opinions.

Going home . . .

Just like John Muir wrote, “Going to the mountains is going home.”

Five Truths About Christian Suffering

After learning of the recent passing of a good friend, I found myself searching the web for articles on suffering. This article by Joseph Scheumann helped re-orientate my spiritual perspective. (Not to mention motivating me to re-read the Psalms) Hope it helps you as well . . .   

All Christians suffer. Either you have, you are, or you will — “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).

This reality is a stark reminder that we have not reached the new heavens and new earth. The New Jerusalem of no tears and no pain, of no mourning and no death, has not arrived yet, (Revelation 21:1, 4) though all creation yearns for that day.  

But just because we experience suffering as we await the redemption of our bodies, it doesn’t mean that our suffering is random or without purpose. And neither does it mean that Scripture doesn’t tell us how to think about our suffering now.

Here are five important biblical truths about suffering every Christian should have ready:

Brandy

 

Bernard Bailyn

This week we lost one of the leading historians of the early United States, Bernard Bailyn who was 97. He wrote a book, "The Ideaological Origins of the American Revolution", that helped shape our perspective of the American founding fathers in the late 1970's. 

After exhaustive research of political pamphlets in the 1700's, Bernard came to the conclusion that the founders held sincere and reasoned ideas about democracy and profoundly objected to England's claims of dominion over the colonies. This view was in opposition to the foundational belief that the founders were more profoundly influenced by The Enlightenment philosophy, vested more in power than ideas. His views that the founders were primarily motivated by the "logic of rebellion" led to his conclusion that the founders birthed the idea of "America's destiny in the context of world history," based on their ideals of freedom, not on their desire for personal power.