COMMENTARY

Clapham Institute Blog

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Is Springsteen Right on Income Inequality?

by Hugh Whelchel All-American rocker Bruce Springsteen took to the pages of Rolling Stone magazine this past spring to lament the existence of income inequality in our country today: “You cannot have a social contract with the enormous income disparity — you’re going to slice the country down the middle. It’s not going to hold.”

Do the Math

It was 20 years ago today, Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play. Not really. It was 50 years ago, during the summer of 1962. Over the course of 300 nights the Beatles mastered their music. Their success raises a serious question however. When you do the math, how will many Christians ever get enough…

Hoisted On Our Own Petard

In 1999, evangelicals were enraged when Joshua Davey was deemed ineligible for state aid. The irony is the courts cited statutory prohibitions Protestant evangelicals had put in place over a century before. They were hoisted on their own petard.

Dead Ends

The end of July marks the calm before the political storm. In the United States, the presidential election promises to be rather contentious. Both parties have markedly different versions of what’s wrong and how to go forward. However, hubris might cloud both visions. We might actually be facing dead ends.

Zombies

World-record-holding swimmer Ryan Lochte recently admitted he made a big mistake in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. “I had a girlfriend.” Lochte says he’s single now, “so London should be really good.” Not true. Olympic athletes trolling for sex might be an unfamiliar story, but it’s not good. It puts the games at risk of disappearing…

Graphic Novel (pt. 9)

This series ends with a sad story about rusty showerheads. My two sons played high school sports. I remember our surprise at learning how sweaty athletes would forego showering at school and drive home stinky – showering there. The showerheads at school had become rusty from disuse. However, rust wasn’t the reason athletes didn’t shower…

Graphic Novel (pt. 8)

In 1999, NASA was forced to destroy the Mars Climate Orbiter as the craft entered the Martian atmosphere. The mission unraveled because engineers were talking past one another. The same-sex marriage debate is suffering the same fate. The country is unraveling as we talk past one another. What’s the solution?

Graphic Novel (pt. 7)

Ever heard a Protestant case for purgatory? You’re about to. Surveys indicate chastity is popular amongst white evangelical adolescents, but few practice it. This yawning gap between belief and behavior is not an insurmountable problem. It has several solutions, including the possibility of purgatory. That’s right – a gaping chasm between profession and practice makes…

Graphic Novel (pt. 6)

She blurted an answer… and then blushed. What a shame. We know a couple getting married this weekend. They’ve been chaste but when the bride blurted “I can’t wait to have sex with him!” eyebrows went up. She blushed, but shouldn’t have. She was sharing the graphic gospel. It says the essence of chastity is…

Graphic Novel (pt. 5)

When Coroebus won the first event of the first Olympic Games, he received an olive branch. He had trained for one month and passed an exam attesting that he was of the right moral fiber. Within 50 years, morally upright Olympic athletes performed naked. The London Olympics begin July 27. Athletes no longer perform naked,…