As a fellow minister in Peter Lillback’s denomination [conservative Presbyterian], I can tell you that a large number of us are embarrassed by his poor historical methodology. —Anonymous posting to a review of Lillback’s Sacred Fire Being no bigot myself,…
Gov. Otter: fund our budgets, not higher ed CEO
Even though it was not recommended by his Higher Education Task Force, Gov. Butch Otter took the advice of seven business leaders and proposed a new position of “chief education officer.” Initially, this person would consolidate the “back-office” functions at…
Mahatma Gandhi’s profound influence on Martin Luther King
Christ furnished the spirit and motivation, while Gandhi furnished the method. —Martin Luther King, Jr. I firmly believe that the Gandhian philosophy of nonviolent resistance is the only logical and moral approach to the solution of the race problem in…
Trump, Israel, and Christian Zionism
Every grain of sand between the Dead Sea, the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea belongs to the Jew [sic]. —Ed MacAteer, Christian Zionist We don’t care what the Israelis vote! We care what God says! God gave that land…
Virgin and Child: The Christmas Story according to Islam
Most Christians do not know that Muslims hold Mary and Jesus in utmost esteem. The virgin mother of Jesus is mentioned 34 times in the Qur’an, where she is given her own chapter (Surah 19). Mary’s Arabic name is Maryam,…
Not so fast with claims about Trump’s achievements: It will take some time to exceed Obama’s
Nick GierLeave a Comment on Not so fast with claims about Trump’s achievements: It will take some time to exceed Obama’sTrump’s apparent economic success to date mostly reflects fortunate timing. —The Economist 11/18/17 In a letter to the Moscow newspaper last month, Bill Tozer offered some “good news” about the Trump presidency, and I would like to response to some…
The Neanderthals ate their veggies, too
Sometime after I told a friend that I had become a vegetarian, I saw a new bumper sticker on his truck. It read: “Vegetarian: Old Indian Word for Poor Hunter.” For years I’ve been preparing the following verbal arrows as…
George Will confused and misinformed about abortion
George Will is one of our foremost conservative columnists. Except for some overly artful phrasing, he usually writes well-reasoned and evidence-based articles. His most recent piece on abortion—“The Democrats are the Real Abortion Extremists”—is a surprising exception (The Washington…
WSU did the right thing on campus free speech
If you’re openly inciting violence, that’s a problem. But other than that, we can’t start doing this filtering of people’s words and what they say. —Jordan Frost, WSU student body president It is virtually impossible to articulate a standard for…
My journey as a Vietnam War protester
I watched the Ken Burns’ and Lynn Novick’s “The Vietnam War” on Spokane’s Channel 7, primarily because it offered two viewings each evening. At end of each episode, there was a phone number for a Veterans Hotline for those who…