Religion & Faith

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer was interviewing a survivor of the Oklahoma tornado.  “We’re happy you’re here.  You guys did a great job,” he said to Rebecca Vitsmun, who escaped from her house with her 19-month-old son just before the twister tore through it.  “You’ve gotta thank the Lord, right?  Do you thank the Lord for that split-second decision?”

Vitsmun hesitated for a moment, smiled, and said, “I—I’m actually an atheist.”  Then she added, “We are here, and I don’t blame anyone for thanking the Lord.”  Huffington Post comments: “Blitzer would be well-advised not to assume that every interview subject believes in God.  After all, America experienced a 13 percent drop in religiosity between 2005 and 2012.”

Read the entire story at Wolf Blitzer asks atheist survivor if she ‘thanks God’ on the
Denison Forum on Truth and Culture

The images from Oklahoma continue to grip us.  A mother sees her child alive for the first time.  Desperate parents wait for news of their children’s fate.  Survivors sift through the wreckage of their homes and lives.  One said, “You work 20 years, and then it’s gone in 15 minutes.”  The tornado has been described as a lawn-mower blade spanning two miles, shredding everything in its path.  Five schools were hit; ten children were killed.  Some were drowned where they sought shelter in a basement.  

As we watched the news coverage, many of us asked faith’s hardest questions: Why did God allow such a tragedy?  Why didn’t he prevent it, or at least shelter these innocent, helpless children?  What do we do now?  And the question we’ll address today: What happened to the children when they died?

Read the entire story at What happened to the Oklahoma children who died? on the
Denison Forum on Truth and Culture

Nearly two million students are graduating from college this month.  Appropriately, Time has ranked its “Top 10 Commencement Speeches.” I’d like to explore some of them in light of Scripture.

The best, according to Time (and a variety of other sources) is David Foster Wallace‘s speech to Kenyon graduates in 2005.  He advises them to be “conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and choose how you construct meaning from experience.”  Note the relativism: “meaning” is what you “construct.”

Read the entire story at God’s advice for graduates on the
Denison Forum on Truth and Culture

Daniel LaPlante is serving a life sentence in Massachusetts for murdering a teacher and drowning her two children.  Now he is suing the state’s Department of Corrections and a prison superintendent, claiming that he has been denied access to items he needs to practice his Wiccan faith.  The list of 121 items he has requested includes dragon’s blood, dandelion, carrot cake with frosting, and pens in seven different colors.

He also wants access to medallions such as “Thor’s Hammer” and “Phases of the Moon.”  Of course, taxpayers would foot the bill as prison authorities hunt down such esoteric items and provide them free of charge to LaPlante.  In addition, the prisoner wants outdoor space rather than the prison basement to perform Wiccan rituals, and a communal meal on feast days.

Do you sometimes wonder how far we should take religious freedom?

Read the entire story at Prisoner requests dragon’s blood for Wiccan faith on the
Denison Forum on Truth and Culture

It was a scene from a horror movie.  Rain was blowing sideways, tornado warning sirens were blaring, and baseball-sized hailstones were falling.  And that was at our home, which turned out to be far from the danger zone.

You may have heard about the storms that attacked our part of the world Wednesday night.  Numerous deaths and extensive damage resulted from at least three tornadoes.  More than 250 people were evacuated from one neighborhood.  Global news sources from England and beyond have reported on the tragedy.

Read the entire story at Trusting God in the storm on the
Denison Forum on Truth and Culture

Tim Tebow is America’s most famous unemployed athlete.  Since his release from the New York Jets, the Heisman Trophy winner has been without a team.  What are his plans?

Last week, during a speech at Lake Michigan College, the quarterback told the crowd how he sees his future: “What I want to do with my life is impacting lives.  When a kid in a hospital is fighting for his life and I’m trying to win a football game, what really matters?  This game isn’t as important as a lot of us make it out to be.  If I can give him a little bit of hope, I can do something that matters.  That’s what I want my legacy to be about.  That’s how I want to be remembered.”

Read the entire story at What Tim Tebow will do in the future on the
Denison Forum on Truth and Culture

“Good Boy Scouts Don’t Need God,” declares the headline in USA Today.  According to the author, dropping the requirement that Scouts believe in God is “the right thing to do.”  He quotes the president of the Freethought Society, who “is leveraging the new focus on Boy Scout inclusion policies to prompt a fresh look at its ban on atheists.”  Now that Scouts will include gay members, she hopes atheists will be next in line.

This is not the first time pressure has been brought against the Scouts on behalf of atheists.  The Freedom From Religion Foundation has petitioned President Obama to advocate for atheist Scouts.  A California bill would remove the BSA’s tax exempt status so long as it maintains its position on faith in God.  An editorial in The Washington Post criticized the Scouts for their faith requirement.

Read the entire story at Boy Scouts being pressured to accept atheists on the
Denison Forum on Truth and Culture