Blog - Page 194 of 318 - John H Armstrong

Did Naperville Violate Free Speech When It Canceled a Bill Ayers Speaking Engagement?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:20:23-05:00May 3rd, 2009|Categories: Politics|

Naperville, Illinois, located 28 miles west of Chicago, is home to more than 145,000 people. It is located south of Wheaton, and thus located near to where I live. The city’s Web site describes Illinois' fifth largest city, which was once a rather small town when I came here in the 1960s, this way:

Naperville consistently ranks as a top community in the nation to live, raise children and retire. The city is home to acclaimed schools, what the city calls the best public library system in the country, an array of healthcare options and an exceptionally low crime rate. With ready access to a variety of transportation, housing and employment options, this booming suburb attracts thousands of new residents each year, making it one of the fastest growing communities in the United States. Naperville’s diversified employer base features high technology firms, retailers and factories, as well as small and home-based businesses. Residents also enjoy world-class parks, diverse worship options and […]

Is America a Christian Nation?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:20:23-05:00May 2nd, 2009|Categories: America and Americanism|

This question is a classical Catch-22. No matter how you answer it you will be right in some ways and wrong in others. Let me explain.

First, one must define what they mean by a "Christian" nation?

If you mean a nation that was deeply and profoundly shaped by Christian beliefs and values, and a nation in which the church had a major role in the shaping our forms of culture and government, then the answer is a qualified yes. America is a Christian nation only in this very limited sense.

The majority of early Americans were sympathetic with most Christians ideals. But, and this is rarely noted the overwhelming majority of Americans (1790) did not go to church at all, some estimating the percentage to be as high as 90% before the First Great Awakening. The number today still exceeds 30%.

But this […]

Who Is Arlen Specter?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:20:23-05:00May 1st, 2009|Categories: Politics|

Politicians change parties. Some have done so for very noble reasons. They have changed their political philosophy and then acted in accord with those changes, much the way Christians do when they change churches out of deep conviction. I am thinking here of my friends who have either gone from evangelical churches to the Roman Catholic Church, or from the Roman Catholic Church to a Protestant evangelical church. I have shared in this difficult process as some go through this gut-wrenching decision in order to make a hard choice. So I am not opposed to people like Arlen Specter changing political party. I am however, like most who have followed this man for nearly thirty years, not surprised by this decision either. He has always been to the left of his own party and now, to a certain extent, he finds himself to the right of his new party. This is what it is. This is politics.

What stuns me, though I am not so easily stunned by politicians anymore, is the reason(s) Arlen […]

Something the Lord Made

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:20:23-05:00April 30th, 2009|Categories: Film|

The finest made-for-television film that I have seen in 2009 has to be the HBO production Something the Lord Made (2004). It is the dramatic story of two men—one a wealthy white chief surgeon, the other a poor black lab technician from Tennessee. Together, as a remarkable and inseparable team, they achieved a monumental medical breakthrough. One, the white surgeon, received international accolade when he became the first surgeon to operate on the human heart. (The title comes from the response of some clergy, who argued that the heart should never be operated on since it had an unusual place as the seat of the soul.) The second man in the story, an African-American with nothing but a high school diploma and apprentice type training as a carpenter, excelled all expectations to become the vital assistant to the famous Dr. Blalock. (Thomas and Blalock met in Nashville when Blalock began his career at Vanderbilt University Medical […]

Columbine Ten Years Later: The Story of Two Pastors Who Were There

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:20:23-05:00April 29th, 2009|Categories: The Christian Minister/Ministry|

A recent issue of Newsweek (April 20) provided a very moving account of the lives of two pastors who ministered to the grieving during the time of the Columbine High School massacre ten years ago. This is “the rest of the story,” or at least a significant part of it. Christians should pay attention to this story.

The two pastors cited in the article could not be more different. One, the Rev. Don Marxhausen (at the left below), is a Lutheran (ELCA) minister who is described by the article as “liberal-minded.” The other, Rev. George Kirsten (at the right below), is the senior pastor at West Bowles Community Church, an independent evangelical congregation. The article notes that these two pastors, from differing ends of a theological spectrum, are “still haunted by the school massacre.” This is an understatement to say the least.

Marxhausen arrived in Littleton in 1990 and built St. […]

An Update on My Friend David Stopke

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:20:23-05:00April 28th, 2009|Categories: Personal|

Many of you have been praying for David Stopke since I wrote two earlier blogs about him and the accidental shooting on April 17th. He took a turn for the better on Thursday-Friday of last week, after surgery was canceled due to fluid in his lungs. His lungs are clearing up now day-by-day. He is more alert and has even asked to "go home" soon. Today he asked for ice cream. With continued improvement the surgery on his neck will take place tomorrow, one week late but given all that has happened this is really, really good news. Please keep praying for David and his family. I believe he has the will to live and our prayers have been an instrument the Father has used to touch him in this tragedy.

The Soloist: My Favorite 2009 Film, So Far

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:20:23-05:00April 28th, 2009|Categories: Film|

The Soloist, starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Jamie Foxx, is my favorite movie in 2009, at least so far. Likely there will be better movies but this one touched me very deeply. The Soloist tells the true story of Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx), gifted cellist and former Julliard student whose schizophrenia derailed his musical goals. Steve Lopez, a Los Angeles Times columnist, befriended Ayers and eventually told his story, first in his column and then in a book which led to the movie.

Ayers went from Julliard to the sidewalks of Skid Row in L.A. The story is both fascinating and tragic. At the same time it has a beauty to it that gives dignity to the many homeless people we all ignore every single day. (L. A. has more than any city in America.) To say that Jamie Foxx deserves an Academy nomination for best actor, based on this performance, is an understatement. If the judges are fair, and remember […]

Taxation and Politics: Are You Fed Up Yet?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:20:27-05:00April 27th, 2009|Categories: Politics|

The morning paper sometimes ruins my breakfast. Such was the case a few weeks ago when the Daily Herald ran a front page story with the title: "Five Myths Told By Illinois Politicians." I am not surprised that there are such myths. I am just surprised at how blatant they are and why almost no one in my state cares, or seems to care. Here are the five myths:

1. The Illinois Lottery pays for public education

This line was fed to almost every state in America that has a lottery. (Which states do not have them? I guess there are a few left but I am not sure.) The lottery began in Illinois in 1974 but the money wasn't earmarked for education until 1985! But the law has a huge catch in it. The lottery money does not get added to the budgeted funds. The legislators can spend it elsewhere by taking from the state's education budget […]

Dealing With Criticism

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:20:30-05:00April 26th, 2009|Categories: Unity of the Church|

I learned a long time ago that anyone who entered the Christian ministry would have to deal with criticism. The late Vance Havner once said a minister needs the heart of a saint and the hide of a rhinoceros. I have found that to be true. My problem has been that I do not always handle criticism very well. I think about it too much, focus on the offense unduly, and then beat myself up. Sometime I turn against the critic in my spirit and grow to deeply dislike them. All of these responses, though common, are clearly wrong.

As I have worked through Scripture I have noticed that every man or woman of God whose story is told in any detail was likely criticized. Moses and David, two of the greatest leaders who ever lived, were profoundly criticized. Poor suffering Job was judged and criticized by his friends. (With friends like those who needs enemies?)

But the […]

Criticism: Have We Crossed Over the Line?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:20:30-05:00April 25th, 2009|Categories: Unity of the Church|

One of the favorite pastimes of modern Americans in general, and many Christians in particular, is judging or criticizing others. We seem to relish the opportunity to find fault, assign blame or just plain criticize others. This is so common in everyday conversation that it is like a plague in the social system of our culture. This may be one reason why I think we handle politics so poorly. I know this is why we handle a lot of theological differences so badly. We believe that we must be right and thus the other person must be wrong. We then reason that we have a right, indeed a responsibility, to discern what is wrong and thus we judge/criticize the person (people) who teach what is wrong.

I think we can safely summarize the biblical teaching regarding criticism in the following way: God's people are to exercise judgment in legal and church matters (cf. Dt. 16:18-20; Lev. 19:15; Ex. 23:6-7). And […]