And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. Ecclesiastes 1:13
by Steve Golden — Newsweek recently ran a headline declaring “Narcissists and Psychopaths Are More Likely to Refuse to Wear Masks, Says New Research.” Newsweek and other outlets waxed eloquent about two studies supposedly showing that anyone who refuses to comply with COVID-19 restrictions has severe psycho-social defects. This is yet another example of why... Continue Reading →
by Steve Golden — Since March, each week we’ve witnessed astounding abuses of government power—with the media, big tech, and big corporations in lockstep—all done in the name of protecting us from an “invisible enemy.” COVID-19 has become the bogeyman driving every decision from mask mandates to bar operating hours. And yet the hypocrisy lacing... Continue Reading →
by Steve Golden — In early July, The New York Times smeared churches across the country as veritable petri dishes of COVID-19, calling them a “major source” of infections (the paper has since revised the headline to remove that language). The article claimed that churches’ propensity for “speaking loudly” and “singing” has led to numerous... Continue Reading →
by Steve Golden — Throughout the last four months of chaos, the rallying cry of many well-known church leaders has been, “Submit to the government.” John MacArthur, for instance, chose not to reopen Grace Community Church in May because, well, the 9th Circuit court said no. Predictably, he cited Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2... Continue Reading →
by Steve Golden — In light of the statewide mask mandate put forth by Kansas Governor Laura Kelly (rejected by 90 out of 105 counties) and the subsequent adoption of a modified version by my home county of Shawnee—complete with a 311 line to rat out your neighbors and a $2500.00 fine attached for not... Continue Reading →
by Steve Golden — Two new states—Oregon and my home state of Kansas—joined the new COVID-19 restriction trend by mandating that people wear masks in public. There’s been no small amount of controversy over coronavirus-related restrictions, and masks are no exception. Questions about whether they really work, what kinds are more effective, and whether they... Continue Reading →
by Steve Golden — Earlier this year, Founders Ministries released a documentary titled By What Standard? that started out as a follow-up to an older documentary about the rise of feminism within the Southern Baptist Convention. But during the filming at the SBC’s annual meeting, the filmmakers witnessed the adoption of Critical Race Theory and... Continue Reading →
by Steve Golden — Ideas have consequences. That’s the title of a classic work of philosophy written in 1948 by the late Richard Weaver, an English professor at the University of Chicago. Weaver makes the case that the decline of Western society is chiefly tied to the rejection of absolute truth, leading to what he... Continue Reading →
by Steve Golden — At church recently, I listened to a message—given in light of the huge cultural shift that’s occurring with the recent riots over George Floyd’s death—on postmodernism. As this brother laid out the claims of postmodernists and how to respond to them, I was struck by the fact that I have not... Continue Reading →
by Steve Golden — I recently listened to a sermon at a California church where the teacher made the case for why his church would not be reopening for the present. In the course of making several good points, he noted repeatedly that numerous California clergy had announced their intention to reopen on May 31... Continue Reading →
Applied Heart 