-
Jan 13, 2025 | 
wng.org | Hunter Baker
The news has recently been dominated by shocking words and images from the wildfires that have stunningly invaded Los Angeles. Such stories have been more common in recent years, but this season’s destruction appears to be especially devastating. Crises make change a priority, and this one should be no different. First, however, there is a question of accountability. Inevitably, there will be a political battle designed to fix blame.
-
Jan 9, 2025 | 
wng.org | Hunter Baker
“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?” That was a question posed by the Roman poet Juvenal. The translation is familiar to many Americans as “Who watches the watchmen?” While the author applied his inquiry to marital fidelity, there is a long usage of the query concerning politics and power. We empower rulers and law enforcement agents to restrain evil and to keep a wary eye upon those who break faith with their fellow citizens.
-
Dec 27, 2024 | 
americanreformer.org | Hunter Baker
American Reformer has asked an important and incisive question with regard to the relationship of Baptists to liberalism and post-liberalism. Certainly, it has been the case that I and several other Southern Baptists (including a group who appeared at a small conference at the denomination’s flagship seminary) have tended to issue warnings about post-liberal alternatives while emphasizing the Baptist distinctives of church-state separation and religious liberty.
-
Dec 10, 2024 | 
wng.org | Hunter Baker
In December 1984, a New York City electrical engineer named Bernhard Goetz responded to an approach by four young men on a subway car by drawing his gun and shooting them. All four of the youths had police records, which lends some credence to Goetz’s claim that he felt threatened when they asked him for money while smiling. Goetz had earlier been a mugging victim and carried the gun for self-defense. The case was a national sensation during a time when crime was a major problem in New York.
-
Dec 8, 2024 | 
conservativereview.com | Hunter Baker
-
Dec 8, 2024 | 
theblaze.com | Hunter Baker
Angel Studios recently released the new film "Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin." Having taught Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s thought in classes in the past and having read from his "Letters and Papers in Prison" at my sister’s wedding and other public events, I was excited about Bonhoeffer’s entry into theaters. The film’s trailer was extremely well-done, so I did what I could to post it on social media and to encourage people to go. Then, something happened that surprised me.
-
Dec 4, 2024 | 
wng.org | Hunter Baker
The United States is in a brutal struggle with a fiscal crisis made worse by an upside-down population with too many elderly beneficiaries and too few young workers. On top of that, federal responses to crises ranging from 9/11 to the subprime mortgage lending collapse to COVID have led to explosions in federal deficits (now yearly exceeding a trillion dollars) in the shocking quarter century that has followed the nation’s last balanced budgets.
-
Nov 13, 2024 | 
wng.org | Hunter Baker
In one of the weirder sci-fi novels of all time, Stranger in a Strange Land, author Robert Heinlein introduced a social innovation. One of the book’s characters holds a special designation as the “fair witness.” By way of demonstration, someone asks the fair witness what color a particular house is. She answers by naming the color on the side of the house she can see.
-
Nov 7, 2024 | 
wng.org | Hunter Baker
The first and most important takeaway from the presidential election of 2024 is that inflation is the killer of incumbent politicians. There will be plenty of defenders of the Biden-Harris administration who will point to other factors to blame for the inflation that has left Americans poorer. Certainly, it is correct that inflation was not the only issue at stake, but the White House had to bear the burden of blame for the increase in prices. Why?
-
Oct 24, 2024 | 
baptistcourier.com | Hunter Baker
We are living in an age when politics seems to occupy more and more of our minds and hearts. There is a simple reason for that. The government was once a much simpler kind of affair with a relatively limited reach, especially in a nation with a vast geographic area such as the United States. Today, in an era of instantaneous communication and social media, we are all in touch and subject to a cacophony of voices seeking attention, money, and power.
