This week I look at the concept of thanksgiving. First, I consider the importance of giving thanks as described in Romans 1. Then, I address the historical significance of Thanksgiving, including two Thanksgiving proclamations given by Thomas Jefferson an

In continuing our study of John Locke's two treatises on government, today I finish up looking at his second treatise. The premise of Locke's version of Social Contract Theory is that, at some point in the past, everyone was completely independent and fre

Today I shift over to a discussion of John Locke and his works on government. Many consider Locke to be both a secularist and a key influence in the American War for Independence. I challenge both of those notions. More specifically, I look at his first t

Today I finish our study of Democracy in America, by Alexis de Tocqueville, by looking at what he says concerning the women of America. In the 1830s, Tocqueville drew a stark contrast between American women and the women of France. He went so far as to sa

Today I look at two documents. The first is the book of Philemon from the New Testament, which sets the stage for the peaceful end of slavery. The second is Alexis de Tocqueville's bookDemocracy in America, in which he discusses the issue of slavery in t

Today I continue looking at Alexis de Tocqueville's work Democracy in America, written in the 1830s. He saw Americans as having an inordinate love of the power of the majority. Yet even so, liberty remained strong in the land. How was that possible? What

To start off this season, I look at the writings of Alexis de Tocqueville, specifically his workDemocracy in America written in the 1830s. Today I consider his chapter on omnipotence and tyranny of the majority. In democracy, we say that majority rules.

This week, I finish the series on idolatry and the demonic by looking at our modern context. Secularism, at its root, is a modern form of paganism. The idea that there is no God, there is no meaning, and we are all just little autonomous gods running arou

This week, I continue with the series on idolatry and the demonic by looking at the god Molech, or Moloch. Molech was a god of death and harvest, requiring sacrifices for success and protection against evil. He was most well-known for the demand of child-

This week, I continue with part two regarding the ancient worship of Asherah, or Ishtar. As an androgynous goddess whose holiest month was June, what else did Asherah worship involve? Most importantly, why does that matter for today? This is part of my gr