🏀 Small-College Coach Garth Pleasant Never Made Excuses — And He Became A Legend 🔌

When a legend invites you to the Big House, you go. The story of how our columnist ended up at a Michigan Wolverines game with basketball coach Garth Pleasant, who won 720 games and four small-college national championships.

Paging Hezbollah: Understanding Israel’s Attack On Lebanon And Syria

(OPINION) Can you imagine the level of physical and psychological trauma throughout Lebanon and parts of Syria as thousands of Hezbollah pagers exploded, leaving many Islamic militants injured, hundreds of them critically, and several of them dead? It sounded like something out of a sci-fi movie more than real life, especially at the scale on which it occurred.

Islam, Israel, Jewish, Judaism, News, Middle East, OpinionDr. Michael BrownSeptember 18, 2024Dr. Michael Brown, Michael Brown, Israel, Hezbollah, Middle East, terrorism, Islamic terrorism, Islam, Muslims, Jews, Judaism, GazaComment

I’ll Say It Again: Christians, Get Thee To Church … Now!

(OPINION) As I’ve argued for years, being spiritual on your own isn’t enough. I located a column I wrote in 2015 — speaking of repeating myself — that outlined a half-dozen arguments for why believers need to join a congregation of like-minded pilgrims. Here’s a lightly edited version of that.

📰 Is A Pulitzer Winner’s Move From The WSJ To A Catholic Paper Surprising? Not Overly 🔌

A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist is leaving the Wall Street Journal for the National Catholic Reporter. Why this is a surprise — and why it's not.

Politics Matter These Days — But It’s Not The Gospel

(OPINION) Politics are very important. Politics played a role in the abolition of slavery and segregation and in the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Conversely, it was because of a political vote that Hitler came into power, resulting in the deaths of multiplied tens of millions of lives.

When Charles Spurgeon Took On Slavery And Billy Graham Took On Segregation

(OPINION) Without a doubt, Charles Spurgeon and later Billy Graham were gospel preachers rather than social justice warriors. Yet, both addressed some of the greatest social evils of their day without for a moment diluting their Jesus-centered messages.

Hey, Bill Maher, I’m That Other Guy Who Loves Being A Dad

(OPINION) For men and women alike, choosing to remain childless used to be a decision frowned upon by the larger culture. Now, childlessness is rapidly becoming our culture. Look, I get it. Yet I don’t get it. Having kids might be only a choice, but it’s a choice I can’t imagine having forgone.

Opinion, Society, ReligionPaul PratherSeptember 9, 2024Paul Prather, Bill Maher, Christianity, Parenthood, Childless, opinion, fatherhood, religion, fathersComment

📽️ ‘Reagan’ Movie: God’s Purpose In President’s Life Emerges As A Central Theme 🔌

The new "Reagan" biopic focuses on Ronald Reagan's role in the Cold War and the fight against Soviet communism. But faith emerges as a major storyline in the 135-minute biopic.

Hollywood Offers Harmful And Misleading Latter-day Saints Portrayals

(OPINION) Hulu is releasing a docuseries in September called “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” and Hollywood is releasing a film called “Heretic” in mid-November. The Hulu series might attract voyeur types, but I’m hoping that more discriminating viewers will be repulsed by the sensational immorality featured in the program.

When We Learn To See The Holy In The Mundane, We Discover Equilibrium

(OPINION) During the lengthy pandemic lockdown, I decided to take advantage of all that unforeseen solitude by developing my spiritual life. Among other things, I studied the works of Roman Catholic mystics. One sublime idea they sometimes express is that each of us — indeed, God’s whole creation — is one with the Maker of everything.

🍿 The Real-Life Faith Story Behind The New Baseball Movie ‘You Gotta Believe’ 🔌

The new movie "You Gotta Believe," about a youth baseball team's improbable journey all the way to the Little League World Series, offers a fleeting glimpse of faith. But in real life, religion played a more crucial role.

This Methodist Minister’s Life Story Is One Of God’s Grace In Action

(OPINION) I love a good story about grace. And if the story of Stephanie M. Raglin is about anything, it’s surely about grace. She might strike you as the poster child for some elite circle of saints who made the right choices and excelled at them all. But talk to her and you’ll quickly encounter another section of her vita.

Opinion, Christianity, North AmericaPaul PratherAugust 26, 2024Paul Prather, Grace, Addiction, Recovery, Stephanie M. Raglin, religion, opinionComment

Can A Vote For Trump Be Morally Justified?

(OPINION) How do we reconcile a desire to elect people of good character with our support for Trump (and I write this as a two-time voter for Mr. Trump)? Does he, “although imperfect, demonstrate consistent honesty, moral purity and the highest character”? Hardly. How, then, can we justify our vote for him?

Practicing Gratitude And Optimism May Extend Your Life

(OPINION) We who’ve entered our so-called golden years can recite for you the usual prescriptions for extending our lives and for improving the quality of those lives while we’re here. But there’s something else, less cited, that apparently can add years to our lives: our attitude.

Opinion, ReligionPaul PratherAugust 19, 2024Paul Prather, Optimism, Gratitude, Health, Attitude, opinion, religionComment

⚾️ Jesus In Birdland: Orioles Become Latest MLB Team To Host Faith Night 🔌

The Baltimore Orioles hosted the team's first Faith Night promotion this week. The Orioles joined a trend of MLB franchises doing so.

Skillet’s ‘Unpopular’ Could Be An Anthem for a New Generation of Truth Tellers

(OPINION) The moment I finished listening to the song, I sent him a voice text saying, “This could be the anthem for this young generation!” Instantly, the song sounded familiar to me, not like something new that I had to get used to. And the words were easily learned and memorized, to be sung and repeated countless times in the years ahead, as if to say, “Go ahead and call me unpopular. I will wear that title proudly!”

Christianity, OpinionDr. Michael BrownAugust 13, 2024Dr. Michael Brown, Michael Brown, music, pop culture, God, Christianity, news, religion, truth, opinionComment

There’s A Lot I’d Like To Tell My Grandkids, But They’re Too Busy To Listen — For Now

(OPINION) I’ve got important things I want to tell my grandkids. I’m older. I’ve learned stuff. I could save them lots of problems and disappointments. Some years ago, I decided to write a book I’d call something like, “Things I Want to My Grandkids to Know.” I’d self-publish it and provide a copy to each of the kids.

Opinion, ReligionPaul PratherAugust 12, 2024Paul Prather, Wisdom, Lessons from elders, Christianity, Life lessons, news, opinion, faith, religionComment

🚸 To Understand The Wrangling Over Religion In Public Schools, Consider These 3 Questions 🔌

Like it or not, fights over religion in public schools seem unlikely to vanish any time soon. Look for such controversies to remain prominent in the news.

Our Reactive Thinking Explains A Lot Of What’s Amiss In Society

(OPINION) I’ve come to believe lizard brain/reactive thinking explains much about why religion and politics — not to mention, say, family quarrels — turn irrational and toxic. Your first reaction is to assume the worst. We’re born ready-made with a predisposition toward the negative, which motivates us with an urgency the positive rarely equals.

The Creek Will Keep Flowing: Insight About American Politics From A Camping Trip

(OPINION) This moment is important. Who wins this next election is significant and will change the future, no matter what. And, this little creek will never know the difference. Most likely, 100, 1,000, even 1 million years from now, this creek will be here. Cheerfully babbling along. A simple dance of water with gravity.

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