Yesterday, nine former directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), who served under both Democratic and Republican presidents reaching back to President Jimmy Carter, published an op-ed in the New York Times warning that Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “is endangering every American’s health.” … More Nine Former Directors of the CDC
King David is called “a man after God’s own heart” because in his best moments he prefigures the ultimate King of Israel and most famous Son of David to come — Jesus the Christ. One of those great moments is the story of David and Mephibosheth. Briefly appearing in 2 Samuel 9, Mephibosheth is the … More David, Mephibosheth, and Elon Musk’s DOGE
Today I’m sharing an editorial piece on the so-called cat-eaters of Springfield and a song by Jon Guerra that will pierce your heart and leave you in tears. The closing line is “Power has several prizes,
Handcuffs can come in all sizes,
Love has a million disguises,
But winning is simply not one.” … More Exotic Cat-Eaters and Christian Citizenship
Somehow the church tends to pick up the idea that we’re supposed to win. That our place in the world is not one of suffering love, but victorious power. It’s so easy for the church to forget that Christ did not call us to rule but to serve. He called us, as Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it, to come and die. … More A Long Defeat … into Victory
The “truth” has always been a slippery thing, easily manipulated, easily spun, misplaced or lost in the couch cushions of public discourse. The atomic, bone rattling, earth-shaking radioactive Truth Bomb of the ages is that since the incarnation of the Word, all human ideas, arguments, concepts, abstractions, formulas, presentations, editorials, principles, etc. of “truth” must now stand before and buckle its knees in the presence of the Truth Incarnate. … More Truth Bomb
A dark shadow is threatening to block out the light of Jesus’ ethic and Kingdom vision for many today. This eclipse has been slowly ongoing for years, and the shadow grows ever larger by the hour. Today, some find themselves in the path of totality, where this lunar / lunatic figure now seems to block out 100% of Jesus-shaped light and reason and truth. … More Beware the Eclipse of the Son
“Isaak, grab a notepad and pen, and go watch Trump’s victory speech. Tally up how many mean things he says about someone else.” Isaak loves counting, and he’s very sensitive to bullying, so he relished the assignment. He caught only the last 10 minutes of the speech, but the photo here shows the result. … More 32 Put Downs in 10 Minutes
Christmas 2019 Christianity Today published a scorching editorial decrying Trump’s immoral character. The Christianity Today website “crashed” from all the traffic swarming to read it. I wondered why so many were caught up in Caesar’s politics the week our focus should be on the new politics born in Bethlehem’s manger. … More Trump, Evangelicalism, and the Kingdom
The story of the wise men on camels bringing their gifts is intertwined with the story of an insecure, paranoid, narcissistic tyrant orchestrating terror and chaos from his palatial office. Listen to the familiar story again, this time with your eyes glued on the pathetic sociopath spinning lies and plotting peril in the Christmas story. … More Tyranny & the Wise Way Out
Today we are watching our nation’s Capitol, the great symbol and center of our democracy, be stormed by protestors, while our Congressional leaders hide behind locked doors, and the sitting president hides behind his twitter account. These are unnerving sights to behold and a frightening moment for our democracy. As Christians, what are we to … More A Call to Prayer & Repentance for the Soul of our Nation
When a “ship” (or society) begins to come apart at the seams, you reinforce it with what has hitherto bound it together, and toss overboard the things that are sinking it. … More Shipwrecked 3: Wise Leadership in the Political Storm
What about abortion? Should this one issue determine how Christians vote? … More Abortion: The Reality Behind the Rhetoric
My teacher Scot McKnight just published a piece at Jesus Creed, now hosted at Christianity Today online, warning Evangelicals of the trap of “statism” running amok in Christian circles. This statism was on full display in the reactions to Mark Galli’s editorial piece on Trump a few weeks back. Here’s a couple paragraphs, but you … More Evangelicalism’s Big Trap
“Give me your tired, your poor…” -Emma Lazarus, inscribed on Statue of Liberty Tweeting this past week, President Trump fears immigration policy where the United States “would be forced to take large numbers of people from high crime countries which are doing badly.” Instead, Trump says, “I want a merit based system of immigration and people who … More Trump, Immigration & The New Colossus
“Why are the nations so angry? The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together.” –PSALM 2 The New Year began today with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un stating, “The entire United States is within range of our nuclear weapons, a nuclear button is always on my desk. This is reality, not a … More Listen Up World Leaders! (Psalm 2)
“As Jesus came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep. “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes” (Luke 19:42). Jerusalem was in the news as President Trump announced the … More Jesus & the Palestinian Woman
I wrote this piece 10 years ago! In light of the latest DACA decision and ongoing conversation, I want to repost this today. As a pastor I do not believe its my place to tell folks how to vote on complex political issues, but I am called to help folks think biblically about such matters. … More Immigration Reform & the Tower of Babel
Tonight will be the third and final presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. It promises to be another 2 hours of childish mudslinging and below-the-belt personal attacks. This election cycle has become such a circus (or train wreck) that people are watching in record numbers. Young people are throwing viewing parties much like … More “I Approve this Message!”(1 Peter 1:22-2:3)
For those who are struggling to support either candidate in this upcoming election, Ed Stetzer has a great series of posts at The Exchange blog at Christianity Today. This one below provides interesting food for thought. Note: I have no idea who this 3rd party candidate is, and am not hereby supporting him. But I resonate … More 2016 Election – Food for Thought
Jeremy L. Berg 