Blog - Page 239 of 318 - John H Armstrong

Did Obama and the UCC Violate IRS Regulations on Non-Profits?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:13-05:00February 27th, 2008|Categories: Politics|

The IRS is investigating the United Church of Christ over a speech Barack Obama gave to its national meeting last year after he became a candidate for president. Obama is a member of Trinity United Church of Christ (UCC) in Chicago. AP reports that a spokesman for the denomination says it received notice of the inquiry on Monday.

The IRS says there is reason to believe the speech violated restrictions on political activity for nonprofit groups. The denomination denies any wrongdoing.
UCC officials say they had consulted with lawyers before the Barack Obama’s June 2007 speech and made clear before Obama’s address that he was speaking as a church member, not as a political candidate.

I seem to recall this speech well and do not think it was a partisan political speech. I confess I am suspicious that this would become an issue at this precise moment (February 25) but then I do not know what is in the mind of […]

Is John McCain too Old to Be President?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:14-05:00February 27th, 2008|Categories: Politics|

A common statement I have heard, begun first by Chuck Norris in his campaign endorsement for Mike Huckabee, is that John McCain is simply too old to become president. I have thought about this a lot since I am aging myself. I sure hope, if my health is as good as McCain’s at 71, that I can still produce good work and be a leader in my own context. Aging does slow one down, certainly, but experience and age both offer many positive benefits not respected enough in the West. History bears out the fact that some of our greatest leaders were beyond 70 years of age when they did their finest work.

Today a column in the Wall Street Journal by Ryan Cole, a DC based writer, raised this question and answered it better than anything I have read to this point. Whether you like John McCain or not this kind of thinking should put to rest the age question […]

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:14-05:00February 27th, 2008|Categories: Uncategorized|

The New York Times was once the most respected newspaper in America. It still includes some excellent material–especially that written by some of its best columnists. But the word ‘once" sums it up in this case. The Times has become the place where "news" stories are too often fiction presented as fact.

One of the Times first hoax stories made Al Sharpton’s career as a public figure. Do you remember Tawana Brawley, who said she had been gang-raped by a bunch of white men? She was lying and the Times had not done its homework at all. Then a few years ago
the Duke University "rape" fiasco became a Times story as well. Now we know better. In both cases the TimesThe Star looked more like a newsstand gossip paper like than a respectable mainstream paper.

Then there was the infamous […]

The Parties of Man Are Not the Parties of God

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:14-05:00February 26th, 2008|Categories: Politics|

Christians need a serious reminder eight months out from our national election, and still deep into the Democratic Primary season, that neither of our two major political parties are God’s political party. I write a great deal about political subjects but I wish to remind people, left and right and everywhere in between, that your political brand or ideology is not God’s party or brand. As Sojourners magazine said a few years ago: "God is not a Republican, and he is not a Democrat either." (The only problem with this slogan is the ideology behind it. The virtual endorsement of certain views and parties by Sojourners, especially by Jim Wallis, would lead one to conclude that they prefer the Democrats most of the time!)

There is a fine line here I suppose. I am an Independent who counts himself a moderate conservative on most issues and a moderate liberal on a few. I often vote Republican but then I have made some […]

Charles Barkley Should Stick to Basketball

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:14-05:00February 25th, 2008|Categories: Abortion|

Charles Barkley, the great basketball player who played at Auburn and had a storied NBA career, should definitely stick to commenting on sports. Recently Barkley endorsed pro-abortion Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and said he has problems with those who oppose abortion. Barkley endorsed Barack Obama, which in itself is his choice and I grant celebrities the right to make any statement that want for a candidate they believe in personally.

But Sir Charles, as he was often called, added, "Every time I hear the word ‘conservative,’ it makes me sick to my stomach, because they’re really just fake Christians, as I call them. That’s all they are." When Wolf Blitzer asked Barkley to explain the terms he was using Barkley condemned conservative Christians for wanting to be "judge and jury." He added, just for good measure: "I’m pro-choice. And I think these Christians–first of all, they’re supposed to be–they’re not supposed to judge other people. But they’re the most hypocritical judge […]

Whatever Happened to True Ecumenism?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:14-05:00February 22nd, 2008|Categories: Unity of the Church|

Ecumenism is a word that has great value but has lost much of its meaning due to the frequent misuse of the term over the course of the past eighty years or so. In the late 19th and early 20th century
the term arose in a missionary context, where Christians shared a common concern not to promote denominational distinctions so much as the gospel of Christ. As the liberal social agenda was joined to this movement the word began to loose its original meaning. Thus left-leaning pietism joined with a left-learning political and social agenda came to define liberalism by the 1960s. This kind of emphasis is what most conservative Christians think of when they hear the term “ecumenism” today. I find this response very sad since this is neither the true history of the ecumenical movement nor the meaning of the term itself. The movement owes much to Puritans like Richard Baxter than to more radical modern liberals.

[…]

Who is Really Hurt by Affirmative Action?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:14-05:00February 21st, 2008|Categories: Race and Racism|

The controversial program, commonly called affirmative action, is a policy that encourages colleges and companies to enroll or hire African-Americans (and other ethnic minorities in general) with a policy commitment to leveling the playing field because of the historic problems created by racism in our society. There can be no serious doubt that racism, and its attendant and persistent problems has impacted education and educational opportunity on a significant scale. No one in their right mind should deny this fact.

In theory there is much to commend the idea of affirmative action and racially based admission to colleges and jobs, at least to my mind. The problems have always been two-fold: (1) Is it the right solution to the obvious problem? (2) Does it really work? And the common assumption of white people in America is that the practice of affirmative action in college admissions hurts white students the most, since more of them are left out while more less qualified […]

How I Fell in Love with Baseball

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:15-05:00February 20th, 2008|Categories: Baseball|

Readers of this site know I am a huge baseball fan. Now that Spring Training has officially begun, and the exhibition games will thus begin in a matter of days, spring is truly near. For people in the Midwest this really gives us hope after a long and brutal winter this year. Something happens in me this time each year that brings back the past and renews hope about the future. It reminds me of my mom and dad, who both loved baseball, and of the bonds of love we shared as a family, which included this game. The sound of the bat hitting the ball is magic to the real fan. To others it is just a slow and boring game. (You do not know what you are missing!)

I am sometimes asked, "How did you get hooked on baseball?" The answer is simple really. The 1950s were simpler time with less to compete with for a kid’s interest and time. I loved to pitch and catch with my dad. I loved to watch the Nashville Vols play in the old Southern […]

Violence Against Christians in India

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:16-05:00February 19th, 2008|Categories: The Persecuted Church|

I made two trips to India in the 1980s. I watch the country with real interest since I have seen the Church there personally. The growth of the Church and the persecution of the Church varies from state to state within India.

On January 16 a large group of Christians, gathered for prayer, were attacked by a mob of Hindu extremists in the central Indian state of Chhattisgaph. The mob chased the worshipers away, set fire to a car and ten motorcycles and threatened to cut the woman who was leading the meeting "into pieces."

This incident is becoming more and more common. Hindu extremists in India’s "tribal belt"—where missionaries have long sought to convert traditionally animist forest-dwellers—have stepped up a vicious anti-Christian campaign, according to The Economist (February 9-15, 2008). Over Christmas in nearby Orissa mobs set fire to 55 churches and 600 homes. The Center for Study of Society and Secularism called calls it "the worst anti-Christian violence […]

Ministry in the City by the Bay

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:16-05:00February 18th, 2008|Categories: Personal|

My blogs will be back on track by tomorrow, or so I hope. I have been taking care of a number of personal items today and then I am off to San Francisco, one of my favorite cities in the world. I will speak Wednesday night in Fairfield (Solano County) in a Q & A session for a new church plant there. Then I will be in a private meeting at Mt. Hermon for some donors and friends in the home of a board member. (I wish I could invite more but there is no space to do so.)

My major reason for this particular trip is my speaking this coming Sunday at City Church, San Francisco.
If you do not know this church check out their Web site and if you are in the area try to come. I would […]