Posts by David Oliver

David McCullough’s book, History Matters, is a collection of essays, speeches, and brief unfinished pieces culled from the popular historian’s files after his death. Included is a commencement address delivered in 2018 at, quite ironically, Providence College. Why ironically? The title of the speech was “Take Luck to Heart.” The thesis was that “luck, good…

“What do you think, Preacher?” My missionary friend Archie posed a probing question as we rode together in his van. “Does God answer prayers for which there is no Bible promise?” Before venturing down this path of sometimes difficult theoretical and theological inquiry, I replied with a question of my own. “Why do you ask?”…

Perhaps best known as “the Father of Our Country,” George Washington has also been called by many other names. He has been called “the Sword of the Revolution,” and “the Sage of Mt. Vernon.” Historian James Flexner titled his biography of Washington, “The Indispensable Man.” General “Light-Horse Harry” Lee famously called him, “first in war,…

Though largely neglected in modern historical accounts, Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) remains one of the most influential figures in colonial American history. He ranks among the brightest intellectual lights this nation ever produced. A 19th century president of Princeton University, writing of Edwards’s character, said, “He was, in the estimation of the writer, one of the…

Recently, I noticed my vision becoming gradually, increasingly obstructed. It seemed as if a shade was being pulled down, blocking the sight in my right eye. Each day this shade was a little lower. Thankfully, I was able to see an ophthalmologist who quickly diagnosed the problem. I had a torn and detached retina. An…

In the beginning days of World War II, General Douglas MacArthur was holed up on Corregidor, a small island in Manilla Bay in the Philippines.  Fast-moving Japanese forces had invaded the Philippine islands.  Without immediate support from the United States, the nation was doomed to fall to the brutal Imperial Empire. Knowing the Philippines was…

Not long ago I saw on television news scenes from a political rally held on the steps of the nation’s capital in Washington D.C. Occupants of some of the highest offices in the land were speaking on contemporary issues. What struck me was not the compelling arguments that were being employed. Instead, it was vulgar…

I have in my library a four-volume set of books entitled, The Fundamentals. The books contain ninety essays written by conservative Christian scholars. The essays were originally published in twelve volumes and were released quarterly beginning in 1910. Lyman and Milton Stewart, Christian philanthropists, paid to publish three million copies and mail them free of…

When he was a teenager, one of my sons took an interest in horse racing. It was a passing fancy, but for a few years events such as the Kentucky Derby were must-viewing in my house. A horse named Big Brown won the 2008 Kentucky Derby, but that is not what makes that year’s “run…

The name George Müller is familiar to most Christians who have attended church for many years and have listened to hundreds of sermons in their lifetime. A German by birth, George Müller founded and operated an orphanage in Bristol, England in the 19th century. He kept a meticulous journal detailing his life and ministry. Buried…