Charles Dickens began A Tale of Two Cities with the immortal lines: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” These words sound like a contradiction, dissonant to the ear, harsh to the brain. How could the times be both best and worst?
Before Charles Dickens ever picked up a pen, the French mathematician, philosopher, and writer Blaise Pascal had made use of the paradox. For Pascal, man himself is the crowning paradox of all creation. He said that we are at the same time the creatures of highest grandeur and lowest misery. The paradox is that we can think, an ability which is a two-edged sword. That we can contemplate ourselves is our grandeur…. Continue reading
“In their efforts to avoid conflict or controversy, [pastors] often shy away from addressing topics that might clash with the dominant cultural worldview. This stems from a variety of motives, including a desire to maintain a semblance of peace, attract a larger following, or simply to avoid the responsibility that comes with guiding a congregation through the complexities of modern societal issues.”
(Ben Zeisloft – The Sentinel) Former Southern Baptist Convention President Ed Litton retains his role as a trustee at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary despite documented instances of plagiarism in his sermons, a reality which resurfaces in the wake of Harvard University President Claudine Gay resigning because of unearthed instances of plagiarism in her academic work.
“As repeatedly demonstrated by now, those who are heavily immersed in this belief system have become some of the biggest bullies, who seem to go out of their way to make the lives of anyone who questions their identity as miserable as possible. They cannot cope with facts about biological sex, and their initial reaction to pushback on their state of delusion is to scream and yell.”
“Star Wars fans are not sexist, racist, or whatever- phobic. They just love their franchise. They want good stories and characters about which they can care. They recognize when someone is trying to wreck it for no other reason than to score some woke points. Or phone it in for the money.”
“Before you jump to conclusions and try to argue that he’s simply trying to promote a biblical sexual ethic among people who “struggle” with this temptation, let’s…pause for a moment and apply that logic to other situations. What if we promote [sinners like] pedophiles, or thieves, or the greedy, or people who can’t mortify any other sin into church leadership? Would we say we needed more drunkards in church leadership?”
By Marsha West
CCC was updated in 2017. Six years later I’ve decided to do one last update, this time to take a deeper dive into the sin problem in Christendom. I’ll begin with a few questions for readers to mull over: #1 Is it God’s desire for believers to have a biblical foundation? #2 Is it God’s desire for believers to exhibit Christlike behavior? #3 If a professing Christian were to wallow in a mud hole and eat slop with pigs, would God sluff it off and muse “That’s my boy,” or would He get angry?
So, how do we go about evaluating whether someone who claims to be a Christian is truly born again? Think of that individual as a fruit bearing tree. Eventually that tree should bring forth nourishing edible fruit. However, when trees bear no fruit, experienced inspectors who evaluate fruit must check to see what went wrong. Often the thing that becomes apparent is that a tree hasn’t produced fruit because there’s no root system to absorb water and nutrients. If that’s the problem, the tree is dead. It is impossible for a dead tree to sink its roots into the soil where water and nutrients are found. The fact of the matter is that a dead tree cannot produce nourishing edible fruit.
Our Lord spoke plainly when He said, “If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.” 
“Illegal immigration is insidiously diminishing citizenship by equating illegal aliens with, if not making them preferable to, American citizens. Is there anything an illegal alien cannot do in Biden’s America—work in a campaign, vote in some elections, serve in the military, receive government subsidies? Crisscross international borders without a passport?…To put it another way, why did we expel 8,400 US military personnel for the “crime” of passing on the required but experimental mRNA vaccinations (most of the discharged had natural immunity from prior COVID infections), while we let in millions of foreigners without worrying whether any have been vaccinated for anything, much less have had COVID tests?”
The letter informed the public that the signatories had “exhausted all internal efforts to rectify recent criminal activity” in the military as top brass abused their power.
“They demanded lockdowns, platformed and smeared doctors, epidemiologists, and other scientists who dissented from various dogmas, from the pandemic’s probable origin in a Wuhan lab. They’ve engaged in lawfare.”
“The state doesn’t have the money. So, taxes will have to rise to record levels, working people and the affluent paying even more to Caesar. Is this fair? Of course not. Hundreds of thousands of additional foreign nationals, many illegal border crossers, will flock to California for free health care while U.S. citizens pay their tab.”
“Mormonism and Christianity might share some superficial similarities in language and values, the theological chasms between them are vast and unbridgeable and Mormonism is a damnable heresy.”
(Revolver) There are a lot of very sketchy things that went on during the J6 melee. Based on information that Revolver uncovered, we now know that the Capitol was crawling with feds, federal informants, and possibly other government operatives. There are still many questions about what really happened that day, but we’re getting closer to putting the pieces together.
(Carl R. Trueman – First Things) When is a crime victimless? When its perpetrators enjoy the status of victims, at least according to the nihilistic tastes of the West in our day. That is the lesson of reactions to various events in recent years, from the looting that accompanied many of the “mostly peaceful” BLM protests of 2020 to the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 this year. The response to the violence in Gaza was especially chilling. While there is always room for debating whether a response is proportionate to the act of aggression, the jubilation and exhilaration expressed by American academics, students, and some politicians over the Hamas attacks started before the Israeli counter-attack. 
“The Kellerites correctly understood his message. Theistic evolution, Side B theology, and Social Justice were all part of Keller’s ministry. Stop pretending otherwise.”
“Many of the loudest and most violent anti-Jewish protestors in the U.S. are immigrants, green card holders, or on student visas. That fact is confusing to Americans. Why would those who have fled despotic regimes in the Middle East to study, work, or reside in a free America, once safely here, rally for the very dictatorships they left behind and apparently do not wish to return to?”
“I think when the real damage has been totally accounted for, honestly I’m not sure we’re going to even have a Pfizer anymore…The harm that has been done by these vaccines…This is going to unfortunately go down as a very sad point in history.”
“Do false Christian prophets exist today? Yes! The technological advances of our day make it easy for evil men and women to broadcast their false messages.”
“Ninety years ago, on July 9, 1933, just over five months after Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany and years after his virulent anti-Semitism and propensity for violence had become internationally known, the Times published a fawning puff piece on the Führer.”