Notes On James' Life Journey

I rarely discuss politics on social media. While I certainly do have opinions (very strong ones, in fact), my experience is that the platform tends to generate more heat than light. It is  much easier to attack a name on a screen and ignore the human side of it.  In fact, many people seem to delight in doing this. The emotion and passion that goes along with political discourse is certainly understandable. However, I feel we often go into it in a very short sided way.  Regardless of your persuasion, I would encourage you to ask yourself some honest questions before you go on the attack: 1. Do you take time to fact-check your sources and fallacy-check your arguments? 2. Are you actually looking to change people's minds, or are you simply looking for "high fives" from those who already agree with you? 3. If your info comes from an obviously partisan source, why should anyone accept it as objective news? 4. Do you consider your "side" to be infallible? If they...

An article written by my long time friend and collaborator, David Pope One of the most unfortunate aspects of modern society is that the most openly Christian holiday on the calendar, Christmas, is rapidly becoming the most secular holiday on the calendar. Media references to the birth of Jesus Christ are seen as a quaint feature of small town radio stations and rural newspapers. An article on the Christian nature of Christmas is much more likely to appear in a small town weekly than in the New York Times. The American Civil Liberties Union and other secular 'progressives' have taken it upon themselves to remove all reference to Christmas in the public square as an unconstitutional blend of Church and State (1); nativity scenes at public schools, post offices and other government facilities are grounds for legal action. The classic hymns of the faith, whether the beautiful "Silent Night", the bombastic "We Three Kings", the melancholy "O Come Emmanue...

The holidays are here, and not a moment too soon. Although the season has vastly different meanings to different people,  it provides us with an opportunity  to end the year on a much needed "up" note that appeals to our highest ideals.  However, as usual, there is also the usual saber rattling about the proper greetings and semantics to use in our celebrations. This, of course, defeats the entire purpose. The title of this blog post was chosen very deliberately. As my friends know, I am a Christian with very conservative theological and social views. Yet I have no problem whatsoever with the expression "Happy Holidays."  The expression was in use long before it ever became controversial. It simply acknowledges that there are a number of festivals observed between Thanksgiving and New Years. Which, if any, of them a person may celebrate is their decision. At the same time, those who think "Happy Holidays" is a completely secular alternative to the...

After a very long time away, I am working on getting back into the blogging game. Stay tuned!

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