by ProfDave, ©2023 (May 3, 2023) — We are approaching the National Day of Prayer Thursday. Is God just a private thing? Just Jesus and I and the rest of you go hang? Is religion just about the flowers on the altar and an hour or so on Sunday morning, the attendance and the offering? […]
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What If We Took God Seriously?
by ProfDave, ©2023 (Mar. 16, 2023) — “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This […]
In a Nutshell
by ProfDave, ©2023 (Mar. 8, 2023) — In a nutshell, most – if not all – of our troubles are only the excrescence, the surface expression, of the age-old struggle between good and evil. Not good guys vs bad guys, let alone Democrats vs Republicans, capitalists vs communists, or even Christians vs pagans. That is […]
The Philosopher President
by ProfDave, ©2023 (Feb. 26, 2023) — During the last months or so my mind has been jolted a couple times with how fundamental the malaise of our society really is. First, in the middle of asking what makes the USA such a great place to live it struck me that the American uniqueness wasn’t […]
I Was a Stranger
by ProfDave, ©2023 (Jan. 23, 2023) — What does a Christian Conservative think about the immigration/border crisis? Still trying to figure out the “undocumented” crisis. So glad I am not responsible for it – but I vote for (or against) those who are. Soon the crisis will be coming to my town and yours. We […]
Christmas Meditation on a Windy Day
by ProfDave, ©2022 (Dec. 23, 2022) — Hanukkah/Chanukah commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, 165 BC/BCE. Jewish people celebrate publicly with lights – the Menorah – in their windows as a witness to the world that God lives. (Christians also put lights in their windows this time of year – with similar […]
My Gratitude List
by ProfDave, ©2022 (Nov. 23, 2022) — In recovery we are urged to keep a gratitude list. If you are depressed, and don’t really want to get out of bed in the morning, list three things you are thankful for – or even one. It is guaranteed to help. Hmmm. Start with a warm bed […]
Who’s Afraid of Christian Nationalism?
by ProfDave, ©2022 (Nov. 12, 2022) — It has become politically incorrect to be Christian and the N-word is a synonym for Nazi. Putting the two together in one sentence, let alone one title makes me a member of the Taliban. Perhaps I am completely out of touch, but this makes no sense to me. […]
Reunion Day
by ProfDave, ©2022 (Oct. 20, 2022) — October 3 was Reunion Day in Germany, commemorating the day in 1990 when East and West Germany were reunited. Do you remember the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall? You have to be at least middle aged. After World War II, Germany was broken up into Berlin and […]
Can the People Recover?
by ProfDave, ©2022 (Aug. 24, 2022) — When I wrote on “Guns and People,” I concluded that gun violence was a people problem, not a gun problem. Unfortunately, “the people” are a lot harder to address than guns. Banning guns looks as if you are doing something, even though its effect on illegal gun usage […]
31 – Cultural Change, Part II
by ProfDave, ©2022 (Jul. 14, 2022) — [See Part I of this title here.] Not the least of the cultural shifts of the 60’s, was the so-called sexual revolution. Once again, the change was far from unanimous and certainly not sudden, but over the decade there was a distinct shift in the constellation of sex, […]
31 – Cultural Change, Part I
by ProfDave, ©2022 (Jul. 12, 2022) — These notes will venture where angels fear to tread, guessing at the broader picture. If you do not disagree with anything I say, you probably are not thinking at all. Remember that I warned you: I am a conservative, a Christian, and a cold war veteran. By reading […]
30 – The New Eastern Question
by ProfDave, ©2022 (Jul. 7, 2022) — As you will recall, the “Eastern Question” is a geopolitical term for the consequences of the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire in the last half of the 19th century. The definitive breakup of the Empire in 1918 led to the end of the Caliphate – the claim of […]
Guns and People
by ProfDave, ©2022 (Jul. 5, 2022) — The “mass shootings” are now a daily event – outrageous “gun violence” except when it is done with a knife or a car. Not to mention the gun battles in the streets such as we have not seen since prohibition. Violent “non-violent” demonstrations, too. It’s a jungle out […]
29 – The New West
by ProfDave, ©2022 (Jun. 30, 2022) — Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! In this unit we are approaching things that are not history to us, but current events. That can be a little dangerous! The things that grip us today – emblazoned on every channel of our TV – may not even be mentioned in […]
28 – The Soviet Age
by ProfDave, ©2022 (Jun. 28, 2022) — From 1917 to 1990 is most of the Twentieth Century. As the French Revolution set the agenda of the 19th century, so the Russian Revolution set the agenda for the 20th – perhaps. Over this period the name, at least, of Karl Marx casts a meta-ideological shadow. We […]
27 – The Cold War Era
by ProfDave, ©2022 (Jun. 23, 2022) — Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the Cold War – a war in which there was very little fighting, but truly global hostility and ghastly risk such as the human race had never experienced before. Planet earth was in jeopardy of self-destruction. Some have suggested that this […]
26 – Third Reich
by ProfDave, ©2022 (Jun. 21, 2022) — Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! This week’s unit presents us with a lot of important topics. I could go on for hours. World War II alone is a full year’s course. Sorry to disappoint the military buffs. But one of the two or three top questions of the […]
25 -The Fascist Decades
by ProfDave, ©2022 (Jun. 16, 2022) — [Editor’s Note: See previous world history articles from the author here.] “Fascist” is a word still used in the twenty-first century for people we don’t like – a weapon word. Fascism was the dominant political movement of the two decades following World War I, growing out of the […]
24 – War as Revolution
by ProfDave, ©2022 (Jun. 14, 2022) — The story of “The Great War,” or World War I, as we have come to call it, is not one of military genius and strategic campaigns but of horror and human suffering. The big picture is one of revolution that touched all of Western civilization, putting to an […]