What distinguishes conservatives from progressives is a belief in conserving ideals
Whether you know it or not, if you're a conservative you are a conservationist. Why? Because you believe in conserving things. Published November 25, 2018
Everett Piper
Columns by Everett Piper
Michael Avenatti and just desserts
In "The Magician's Nephew" from "The Chronicles of Narnia" series, C.S. Lewis tells us of the young boy named Digory who is sent on a journey by Aslan to retrieve an apple from a distant garden beyond the western mountains. The boy is told not to eat the fruit but rather to simply pluck it from its branch and return it to the Lion who intends to use it to plant a tree that will provide freedom, justice and protection to Narnia forevermore. Published November 18, 2018
Education has lost its way and consequently America has lost its soul
In 1948, Richard Weaver told us that ideas have consequences. A few short years earlier, Hitler said, "let me control the textbooks and I will control the State." Huxley and Orwell followed and warned of dystopias where education would be used as a means to total power and total control. Ideas do matter. Yes, ideas clearly have consequences. Good ideas lead to good places and bad ideas lead to bad places. As your grandmother said: Garbage in, garbage out. She was right. Education matters. Published November 12, 2018
Advice for Election Day
Dear Mr. Piper: November 6 is election day. Four years ago, you couldn't have convinced me to vote for a Democrat if you had tried. To me, the LGBTQ agenda was just too big to ignore. However, I have come to realize that creating laws against these things is not the solution. We have to operate within the framework that we are in. As Christians, our job is to love others, not legislate against them." Signed, Compassionate Chris Published November 4, 2018
Facebook fallacy of the week
Post: Oregon Bakers Fined $135K Over Wedding Cake Appeal to Supreme Court. If this is not overturned by SCOTUS everyone — EVERYONE — is at risk of financial ruin if we refuse to paint, print, sculpt, film, or speak messages of government propaganda with which we disagree. Published October 28, 2018
The list of surreal hypocrisies across America is endless
Over the past several weeks, our nation's cultural elites and mainstream media have lurched from one absurdity to another. Following each day's news causes one to suspect you might be reading badly-written fiction as opposed to journalism that is accurate, real and true. Published October 21, 2018
Christian and Pro-life: Thank God for single-issue voters
'You must be singular or be damned' Published October 7, 2018
10 lessons learned from the Kavanaugh hearings
As an academic, I am always looking for teachable moments. The following is a list of 10 lessons some of our nation's foremost senatorial leaders have taught us during the past month's Kavanaugh hearings. Published September 30, 2018
Ignoring the reality of human nature is a mistake
George Barna, in his book "What Americans Believe," points out that 87 percent of non-Christians and 77 percent of self-described born-again Christians agreed with the statement "People are basically good." Our culture by and large has discarded the idea of original sin. Published September 23, 2018
The left’s eagerness to be offended shows they believe in a final measure of morality after all
Recent headlines prove once again a simple fact that is as obvious as the sunrise: Contrary to popular belief, and flying in the face of multiple denials, liberals and progressives alike actually do believe in God. In fact, those on the cultural left such as the ladies on "The View," or the talking heads on MSNBC, prove their "biblical faith" as persistently and aggressively as anyone, and they do so every day. Published September 16, 2018
Accusing Brett Kavanaugh of judicial activism
Susan Brooks Thistlewaite, professor of theology and former president of Chicago Theological Seminary, penned an op-ed for Patheos this past week excoriating the Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh as "a pre-selected political ideologue" of, what she considers to be, the myopic and agenda-drivenright. Published September 9, 2018
Liberal nonsense on parade
It's "1984" and we are living in schizophrenic times. Dickensian times. Orwellian times. The best of times, but yet the worst. Published September 2, 2018
Sexual misconduct that was overlooked in the Clinton years becomes a rallying cry
When Bill Clinton was philandering and lying about it, media elites told us over and over again that our conservative objections were priggish and judgmental. It was none of our business. Traditional standards about marital fidelity and sexual chastity were antiquated and puritanical; something to lampoon on "Saturday Night Live" and something to mock on "The Late Show," but surely nothing we should concern ourselves about or take seriously in modern times. Published August 26, 2018
‘Progressives’ are hypocrites and they don’t care if you know it
Recent news proves beyond any doubt that most of our nation's leaders have lost any ability to think clearly and consistently. It also exposes the Big Lie -- the fact that members of the elite class really never believed any of their previous posturing about human rights, personal freedom and the dignity of every human being. Their call for diversity and inclusion was simply sleight-of-hand. Published August 19, 2018
The anti-bigotry bigots at work
More "I can't tolerate your intolerance" from the anti-bigotry bigots. Published August 12, 2018
Knowing the difference between political posturing and a principled stand
As a university president, one of my obligations is to speak at various different church events. For 16 years, I have traveled the nation delivering talks on everything from religious liberty and academic freedom to the "snowflake rebellion" and the importance of the historical liberal arts model of higher education. Published August 5, 2018
Why one must love something bigger than himself
You know the story -- Narcissus was the son of the river god Cephissus. He ran in the foothills and forests of Greece, he joined with the fawns and dryads in the woodland sports as they ran in the fields and climbed the mountains. He was incredibly handsome. Published July 29, 2018
The audacity of Obama
This past week, Barack Obama delivered a speech where he said, "unfortunately too much of politics today seems to reject the very concept of objective truth ... People just make stuff up ... We see the utter loss of shame among political leaders where they're caught in a lie, and they just double down." Published July 22, 2018
Where Anthony Kennedy and Brett Kavanaugh diverge
"At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe and the mystery of human life." Published July 15, 2018
Sinners miss the lesson of the Gospel by fixating on sin instead of transformation
In his book "The Divine Conspiracy," Dallas Willard talks about what he calls the "gospel of sin management." He confronts the errors of both conservatives and liberals. He challenges the left and the right by saying both have missed the truth of the Gospel by ironically committing the same error: Fixating on sin rather than focusing on transformation. Published July 8, 2018
