Posts by David Oliver
Revive Us Again
In 1983 Soviet dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn provided a concise explanation as to why, in his opinion, the horrors of Soviet communism occurred. He said, “Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.” Those with any spiritual perception at all are burdened – yea, alarmed – by the accelerating moral and spiritual decline of…
Read MoreScribes and Pharisees, Hypocrites
Last fall (an internet age ago), California Governor Gavin Newsom made headlines when he ate dinner with friends and lobbyists at a Napa Valley restaurant called the French Laundry. Included among the guests at the governor’s soiree were the CEO and the vice president of the California Medical Association. Normally, such an event would not…
Read MoreAn Important Election Day Lesson
Despite everyone’s fixation with the recent presidential election, there were countless other candidates and issues voted on in every state of which this nation is comprised. One proposal on the ballot in the state of Colorado was Proposition 115. This measure, if approved by voters, would have banned the practice of late-term abortion. It would…
Read MoreA RETURN TO NORMALCY
Catchy campaign slogans are not a recent development. During the 1920 presidential election Ohio senator Warren G. Harding struck a popular chord with his promise that, if he were elected, America would “return to normalcy.” Following the hardships brought on by the First World War, Americans longed for the peace and prosperity they remembered. The…
Read MoreThe Light of the World
The influence of Thomas Alva Edison’s inventions on American life – and on life around the world – was so profound that when he died in October, 1931 the suggestion was made to then-president Herbert Hoover that in tribute to the inventor the entire electrical system of the United States should be turned off for…
Read MoreAsserting Religious Liberty in the Face of Government Restriction: Thomas Helwys
The names William Bradford and William Brewster are familiar to Americans who know the story of the Mayflower pilgrims. These men led a daring group of British separatists across the Atlantic Ocean to settle an untamed wilderness in search of religious liberty. They were not seeking expansive estates or material prosperity. They wanted to live…
Read MoreContradictory Prayer
In 1987 a toddler from Texas named Jessica McClure somehow fell into a narrow abandoned well. She ended up wedged in place 22 feet down with her foot up against her head. The drama of “Baby Jessica” dragged on for two days as rescue workers labored to save her. Television crews spread to story to…
Read MoreConfined to Quarters
Following his bold testimony at the Diet of Worms, for his protection, friends had Martin Luther imprisoned in Wartburg Castle. Initially, he did not know who captured him or the place of his confinement. While the drama of the Reformation raged on in the world outside, Luther remained in seclusion for nearly a year. During…
Read MoreThe Crisis of Missions
(or, The Way God Can Use One Man) Uncle Tom’s Cabin first appeared in 1852 in serial form and was later published as a book, setting sales records. Its emotional portrayal of the suffering of black slaves in the south captured the attention of the country. A decade later, during the early days of the…
Read MoreOne Nation under ___ – How We Tell History Speaks about Us
Our church’s recent Christian Heritage Tour of Washington D.C. accomplished what I had hoped. Neither a vacation nor strictly a historical tour, the trip proved a genuinely spiritual experience. Our tour guide, Rev. Tim Schmig, calls the tours he leads of the nation’s capital “Stories in Stone” for good reason. As we visited monuments and…
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