Matt O'Reilly, PhD

To state the obvious, American politics are polarized. That polarization has cultivated a lack of civility. That incivility has resulted in both sides demonizing the other and, at times, engaging in acts of violence. When citizens begin engaging in violence against political opponents, their society is in danger. A republic cannot be maintained without debate marked by civility and charity. How to Vote The temptation to speak evil of those with whom we disagree politically is

The major theme of the story of Methodism in the 20th century, as Tooley recounts it, might be summarized in terms of a movement from a fairly influential and unified social and political witness to one much less so. Methodists were apparently a political force to be reckoned with in the early decades of the 1900’s, though that could hardly be said to be true now. Some of the major issues treated by Tooley are prohibition (which Methodists strongly supported), the increasing

As with so many issues, the IRD once again seems to think evangelical Christianity has basically the same values as conservative American politics, but this matter of nuclear proliferation seems to illustrate the problem with that presupposition more clearly than some other issues. Evangelicals are typically identified by having a high Christology that affirms the full deity and full humanity of Jesus, believing in the full trustworthiness of scripture, and emphasizing the cr

Let me begin by saying that the following reflections arise out of my evangelical and Wesleyan commitments. I say that up front because it often seems to me that those who identify themselves as evangelical tend to favor strict immigration laws. I will contend, though, that an evangelical approach calls us to remember that God has welcomed us when we were not only strangers but enemies. When I combine this with my Wesleyan commitment that the people of God are to reflect the

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a cross on San Diego’s Mount Soledad is unconstitutional and must be removed, reports the Washington Times.  Proponents of keeping this cross in place have called it a “war memorial.”  The Times article cites the court’s decision saying: “The use of such a distinctively Christian symbol to honor all veterans sends a strong message of endorsement and exclusion,” said the court in its decision. “It suggests that the governmen

New Florida Governor-elect Rick Scott is catching some heat for his suggestion that all Florida children receive vouchers which can be redeemed at public or private schools.  The plan is controversial because a mass exodus from public schools is feared were the government to give vouchers for students to attend schools of their parents choice, be they public or private.  The vouchers are expected to be worth $5,500 dollars, which is the amount it costs to educate a pupil in t

There have been a number of interesting posts, as of late, by Evangelical bloggers on the a Christian response to the recent passage of healthcare legislation and its effect on government funding for abortions and whether or not Christians ought to pay taxes which are excessive, oppressive, and used to fund government programs antagonistic to biblical teaching. Doug Wilson not only argues that a tax revolt is the Christian thing to do, he outlines 10 principles underlying suc

I started reading Gospel and Kingdom by Graeme Goldsworthy yesterday.  Goldsworthy is one of the more quotable authors I’ve read, as of late.  Here is one from chapter six of Gospel and Kingdom: “The creatorship of God tells us that all reality is God’s reality; all truth is God’s truth.  Nothing exists except by the will and word of God.  One could write whole books on the implication of creation for a Christian approach to education, politics, economics, family life, moral

I’m presently reading Dennis Di Mauro’s A Love for Life: Christianity’s Consistent Protection of the Unborn (Wipf and Stock, 2008), in which he argues that historic Christianity has always opposed abortion, and that pro-choice Christians have departed from the biblical and historic teaching of the church.  In chapter 3, he makes the case from the early church fathers.  Following are a few noteworthy quotes. This is Clement, from The Tutor: “Our whole life can go on in observa

I have been hesitant to engage in much political commentary on this blog, not because I don’t think a lot about politics but because I am not confident in my competence as a political commentator.  So this post comes with a hint of throwing caution to the wind. Last night, after the House of Representatives passed the Senate’s version of the health care overhaul bill, the President evoked a major theme from his campaign when he made the statement, “This is what change looks l

RCRC is self-described as “the interfaith movement for choice” whose primary work is in education and advocacy for the pro-choice position on abortion. The authors’ critique of RCRC takes into account a number of their published resources but focuses primarily on a worship resource entitled Prayerfully Pro-Choice: Resources for Worship. The thorough critique of RCRC focuses on six themes prevalent in RCRC literature: Absolute God-given Sexual and Reproductive Freedom, includi

I recently attended a First Amendment Forum which included a presentation called “Finding Common Ground: Religious Liberty in the Public Schools” by Dr. Charles C. Haynes, senior scholar at the First Amendment Center. The forum was held at Milton High School in Santa Rosa County, Florida, and was attended by school administrators, teachers, and local clergy. The forum followed a recent lawsuit against the Santa Rosa County schools by the ACLU on behalf of two students who cha

#Abortion #Politics

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Romans 12:1 One of the most important issues challenging us today is whether a woman has the right to terminate the life of her unborn baby. Faithful Christians regularly call for the child’s right to life, and rightly so. However, perhaps we could approach the issue from another angle as well, fro

Ezekiel 16 paints a sublime portrait of the Creator God’s love for his chosen people. This God expresses his love saying, “I pledged myself to you and entered into covenant with you…and you became mine…I bathed you with water and washed off the blood from you, and anointed you with oil. I clothed you with embroidered cloth and with sandals of fine leather; I bound you in fine linen and covered you with rich fabric. I adorned you with ornaments” (8-11). This poetic expression

Christianity Today published an interview with Jim Wallis in May of this year discussing a number of his views on issues like abortion, marriage, and poverty. When asked about his position on abortion Wallis answered, “The abortion debate has really gotten very stale. It’s a symbolic battle that takes place mostly only in election years…But the abortion question is real. It’s a moral issue. The number of unborn lives that are lost every year is alarming. It’s a moral tragedy…

“You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and table of demons. Or are we provoking the Lord to jealously?” 1 Cor. 10:21-22a The Apostle Paul offers relatively little reflection on the Christian practice and significance of the Lord’s Supper in his letters. If not for 1 Corinthians 10 and 11 we wouldn’t know any of Paul’s thinking about Communion. The above verse is Paul’s first mention of the Communion meal and it

Dobson challenged McCain’s conservative loyalty saying, “I am convinced Sen. McCain is not a conservative, and in fact, has gone out of his way to stick his thumb in the eyes of those who are. He has sounded at times more like a member of the other party. McCain actually considered leaving the GOP caucus in 2001 and approached John Kerry about being Kerry’s running mate in 2004. McCain also said publicly that Hillary Clinton would make a good president.” Dobson also voiced hi

He has never voted to raise taxes. He has never voted for an unbalanced budget. He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership. He has never voted to raise congressional pay. He has never taken a government-paid junket. He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch. He voted against the Patriot Act. He voted against regulating the Internet. He voted against the Iraq war. He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program.