Guest column by Joakim BookA spectre is haunting the Western world – the spectre of a grossly mistaken understanding of the world.British kids have nightmares about the climate. Half of French respondents think it likely that climate change will cause “the extinction of the human race.” American teachers coddle students who have panic attacks when wildfires rage somewhere on the planet. Eco-anxiety has clearly gripped the Western world, but what’s worse is that most people … [Read more...]
A Plea to My Evangelical Friends for Biden
October 20, 2020 by Dr. Peter JonesHow should genuine Christians vote in the up-coming presidential election? Recently a group called “pro-life evangelicals for Biden” sought to answer that question. The group includes many prominent evangelical leaders whom I respect who believe “that a biblically shaped commitment to the sanctity of human life compels us to a consistent ethic of life that affirms the sanctity of human life from beginning to end.”[1] Essentially in using the … [Read more...]
“Pro-Life Evangelicals for Biden” Commit Two Major Mistakes in Ethics
In my years as a seminary professor of ethics, I saw few things more sinister and devious than the seemingly innocuous statement, “a biblically shaped commitment to the sanctity of human life compels us to a consistent ethic of life that affirms the sanctity of human life from beginning to end.” That’s not because life isn’t sacred from beginning to end, but because those who use it do so consistently to hide a serious ethical confusion.Recently a group calling itself “Pro-Life Evangelicals for … [Read more...]
Two Graphs of Air Pollution Trends in the United States
Pretty much self-explanatory: … [Read more...]
Ten Reasons to Take Coronavirus Seriously—While Speaking Graciously
Charles Horton, M.D., consults regularly for the Christian news magazine World. In the July 10 issue, he responded to someone who had challenged him to provide ten reasons to take the Coronavirus seriously. Here they are in brief. You can read his fuller discussion in the original article.1. Case counts can rise quickly where they were previously low or had declined.2. Supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) remains inadequate.3. Use of PPE where available is often inadequate.4. COVID-19's … [Read more...]
Dominion, 1; Poison Ivy, 0
Today---Tuesday, June 2---we canceled the "From the Stacks" livestream I normally do every Tuesday at 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Cornwall Alliance's Facebook page. Why? Well, the official explanation went like this: "Dr. E. Calvin Beisner had an unfortunate battle with poison ivy during which the poison ivy won."Various folks posted condolences and wished me well.I'm thankful for their condolences, but, really, the poison ivy didn't win. True, I'm a "wounded warrior"---you should see all the weeping … [Read more...]
Coronavirus and the Cornwall Alliance
Coronavirus.If you’d predicted six months ago that I’d be spending vast amounts of my time on this subject, I’d have said you were crazy. But you’d have been right.For me, that word has, in under three months, gone from never-before-encountered to encountered dozens to hundreds of times a day.Doctors and nurses, of course, all knew the term—for a family of viruses that cause common colds and seasonal influenzas. But most of us just knew of “cold germs” or “flu bugs.”Now suddenly our whole world … [Read more...]
Anthony Fauci: When Politics Trumps Science
Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States became a very public event, the one face that has become most familiar to Americans is that of Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and perhaps the second most polarizing figure in the crisis, next to President Donald Trump. To progressives and those at least on the moderate left, Fauci is the Great Hero, the man who has struggled mightily against the wiles of the deranged Trump in order to … [Read more...]
The Poor Take the Hardest Hit from Lockdown: Report from India
I live India. It is not uncommon for me to come across those who live in abject poverty. But the coronavirus pandemic has shown me, and others, how bad the consequences of poverty can be. The nationwide lockdown began in March last week. It is scheduled to end in May. But the damage is already done—not only by the coronavirus, but also by the loss of livelihood for millions. It is estimated that 300 million in India are under the poverty line. Many others are daily wage laborers. Day after day, … [Read more...]
Enough Already With The Help
Yours truly was one of many who early on cheered the government for aggressively curbing everyone’s activity to slow the spread of COVID-19.At the time, it seemed such a clear choice between life and death. Admittedly, I was squeamish endorsing government controls, something I’ve spent decades writing to oppose. What could possibly go wrong?As Benjamin Franklin said: “Those who would give up essential Liberty to purchase a little temporary Safety deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."Franklin … [Read more...]
