Islands in the Stream (a decade of essays)

Over the past decade, I've posted here occasionally, but mostly written short pieces for The Stream.  (It was nice to get paid for my work!)  With a new editor, though, they have transitioned to a more video-oriented format.  So while I may write occasional articles for The Stream or, say, Quillette or Salvo, I will probably write more here again.  While Tom Gilson was my editor, The Stream allowed considerable freedom, and I published on a wide variety of topics, among which I think you'll find some interesting stuff.  For those who would like to explore my "rant-ography," and for my own convenience, I'll consolidate that material here, linking articles by topic or subject-matter.  

Articles are given mostly in reverse chronological order, beginning with the newest ones.  

American Politics (See also "Christianity and Civilization," "Economics," "Sex and Family," and "Trump")  

Smearing Charlie Kirk . . . Did the Press Lie About Joe Biden -- or Everything? . . . Democrats and Broken Windows . . . A Builder or a Lawyer in 2024 . . . Conservatives Need to Tell the Truth, Too . . . Only Racists Here Racist Dog Whistles . . . The Democratic Habit of Lying . . . Is Rex Huppke the Sleaziest Writer in the USA, Today? . . . 10 Reasons to Vote the Bums Out . . . What is a 'Progressive'? . . . Bum or Liar? Jen Psaki’s Search for Happiness . . . Help Wanted for America 2024: Strong, Charismatic, Principled National Leader . . . Do Democrats Want Democracy or Totalitarian Power? 

China 

The Temple of Heaven Revisited . . . What is Taiwan? . . . Covid in China . , , What Should We Do About China? . . . Why Chinese Should Thank God for the USA (and Jesus Christ) — Part 2 . . . Open Letter to the Chinese People: First, Thanks . . . You Didn't Build That, Comrade Xi! . . . Why Chinese Should Thank God for the USA (and Jesus Christ) — Part One . . . Comrade Xi’s Secret Weapon: Chinese Patriotism . . . Fighting China Smart . . . Fighting China Stupid . . . The Surprisingly Christian Hope of Chinese New Year . . . Entering the Lair of the Dragon: US and China Playing With Fire . . . 

Christianity and Civilization (see also "China" "Sex and Family")

Christianity or Humanism: Which can save Civilization?  . . . Meet John Q Adams, "Christian Nationalist" . . . Is Ayaan Hirsi Ali Foolish for Turning to Christ? . . . The Scientist Who Showed what great Good Christianity Did the World (remembering Rodney Stark) . . . 50 Weeks to Christmas: Get Reading! . . . The Decline of Christianity II . . . The Decline of Christianity I - Time to Gloat?. . . The Christmas Vaccine . . . Halloween, Zombie Morality, and the Light of the World . . . Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment Now Misses the Impact of Christianity . . . How Don Richardson Led Warring Cannibal Villages to Christ, and Changed Christian Missions Forever . . . 

Christian Living

Beware of Wolves . . . "If My People": What To Do When Living in 'Biblical' Times . . . 'Honor Your Father and Mother' ... By Keeping COVID-19 Out of Long-Term Care Facilities . . . 

Christmas

The Christmas Vaccine . . . 

Covid

'Honor Your Father and Mother' ... By Keeping COVID-19 Out of Long-Term Care Facilities . . . Is America a 'Failed State'? . . . Scapegoating: Are Christians to Blame for COVID-19? . . . Lessons From China: Humility Before God as We Deal With the Coronavirus . . . 

Economics 

Bye, Nancy!  Thanks for Bankruptcy! . . . Joe Biden vs. the Landlords . . . Shall We Be Debt-Slaves? . . . Tax Amazon (More)? Time for a New Tea Party! . . . Colonel Sanders Claus Promises You Goodies from the Government . . .. We Don't Need to Resent the Rich . . . 

Education 

The Best and Worst of Times on Campus . . . Does Ron DeSantis want Florida Schools to Teach that Slavery is Cool?  . . . Thanks, Public School Teachers . . . 

Faith and Reason

My Pastor's Heresy . . . Did Linus Get Christmas Right? . . . 'Who Do You Say That I Am?' . . . Cherry-Picking Evidence for Global Warming, Police Brutality, and Beyond . . . Pascal's Wager . . . No, God Isn't Just Another 'Possible God' to Dismiss With All the Rest . . . Was the Story of Jesus Borrowed From Pagan Myth? (Rebuts Bart Ehrman) 

Foreign Policy (See also "China")

Respect Your Enemy . . . Pray for Russia, Too . . . . 

Genius of Genesis Series

The Genius of Genesis Part 9: Political Rivalry. . . Part 8: Self-Control . . .  Part 7: Knowing Good and Evil (Jim Jones) . . . Part 6: Naked and Ashamed . . . Part 5: Heaven Takes a Holiday  . . . Part 4: Adam, the First Scientist . . . Part 3: In His Image . . . .Part 2:Can Barbie Live Without Ken? . . . Part 1: 

Hinduism

A Brahmin Vice President? . . . 

Islam & Judaism

Al Jazeera and the Moral Bankruptcy of the Islamic Arab World . . . An Open Letter to the Jewish People . . . Fear of Islam is Rational. It's Not Islamophobia. . . . 

Literature (See also "Narnia and Miracles")

Whining vs. Winning: Barbie vs. Kipling . . . 50 Weeks to Christmas: Get Reading! . . . Brave New World? 1984? No, CS Lewis’s That Hideous Strength is the Novel That Best Predicted Today’s World ,. . . What Bible is GQ Magazine Reading? . . . 

Living

How to Do Summer . . . 

Marxism, Socialism, Critical Theory, etc

The Problem With Woke Marxism . . . Contemporary Marxism's Satanic Roots . . .Observations From My Visit to CHAZ in Seattle . . . Five Things Francesca Fiorentini Gets Wrong About Socialism . . . 

Media

Is Tucker Carlson a White Supremacist? (I'm a little embarrassed about this one now). . .The Dumbest Animal in the World: American Journalists . . . An Open Letter to the Seattle Times . . . 

 

Narnia and Miracles (Series)

Miracles in the Ordinary . . . God Works Mysteriously in Non-Mysterious Ways, Too . . . A Different Sort of Magic: The Miracles of Jesus . . . Did Susan Go to Hell? . . . 

Personal Memoires 

Aslan in Asia: Miracles in the Ordinary  . . . What the Bible Can Do (Memories of Mom) . . . 

Police and Safety and BLM

Should Seattle PD Apologize?  Or Their Critics? . . . Let No Shooting Go to Waste . . . Why Did Kyle Go to Kenosha? . . . Thank You, Officers . . . 

Racism

Why is Racism Wrong? . . . The Fury Over Asian Americans . . . The Witch Hunt at Smith College . . . An Open Letter to California Law Professors on Critical Race Theory . . . An Open Letter to Anti-Racist Author Ibram Kendi . . . Jesus is the Answer for the World Today . . . Twenty Critical Questions for BLM Founders . . . 

Resurrection

Why Doesn't Michael Shermer believe in the Resurrection? 

Science

A Snowless Mount Fuji -Bad Omen for Global Warming? . . . Summertime Climate Change Hysteria . . . Adam, the First Scientist . . . Global Warming and the Media . . . COVID is Almost Toast, but Tyranny is Catching . . . 

Seattle 

Jesus hasn't given up on Seattle . . . Observations From My Visit to CHAZ in Seattle . . . 

Sex and Family

Can Barbie Live Without Ken? . . . Whining vs. Winning: Barbie vs. Kipling . . . Silly Geese?  No, Silly Us . . . "Trans" Athletes in School . . . Who Really Liberates Women? . . . Little Red Swimsuit - A transgender fairy tale . . . Has The Handmaid's Tale Come to Life in a Texas Taliban? . . . Crucifying Captain Obvious: Exacerbating Sexual Abuse by Undermining Marriage . . . 

Trump  (plus and minus, including two darn-near viral pieces there)

The Candidate Republicans Really Need in 2024: It’s Not Donald Trump . . . Did Trump kill Covid Victims? . . . The Democrats' Hideous Strength, and Why We Must Vote Orange, Not Blue . . . Are Trump Voters Heretics? . . . The Spiritual Dangers of a Trump Presidency (My first and probably most popular Stream article)