Category: Opinion/Analysis (2018-present)

Personal opinion and analysis of issues bearing on ethics, religion, theology, politics, and so forth

My response to a Trump voter’s (a friend) protest of my Facebook post urging resistance to Trump’s policies 
by Bill Jones

Posted on

INTRODUCTION/CONTEXT The day after the election, I posted to Facebook an article from The Washington Post, by Perry Bacon, Jr., titled “The second resistance to Trump must start right now.” In sharing the article, I highlighted the following passage: Whether you consider the political movement that Trump leads to be best described as fascist, authoritarian, populist, Read more . . .

20 years ago today, July 4, 2004 – our first visit to Wilshire, and George Mason’s sermon, “The Cross and the Flag” (link provided) 
by Bill Jones

Posted on

“Baptists can be patriots. Now I know that seems to some of you like a silly statement, considering that in some Baptist churches today – I promise you – there will be enormous American flags draped across the pipes of the organ and probably across . . . a cross that normally would stand back Read more . . .

OBU has broken trust with its Baptist and academic legacy; so why do I keep going back?  
by Bill Jones

Posted on

George Webber, the hero (anti-hero?) of Thomas Wolfe’s novel, You Can’t Go Home Again, realizes that “You can’t go . . . back home to the escapes of Time and Memory.” In his litany of such “homes” he includes, “back home to the ivory tower.” In the sense that nothing is the same as when Read more . . .

REVIEW – The Word Made Fresh: Preaching God’s Love for Every Body (GEORGE A. MASON)  
by Bill Jones

Posted on

 (NOTE: I published a much shorter version of this review on Amazon.com this past Saturday night. This is the complete original version, which I cut to fit Amazon’s standards.) My wife and I joined Wilshire Baptist Church in August 2004, on the very Sunday that Wilshire was celebrating George Mason’s 15th anniversary as senior pastor. Read more . . .

Of blind guides, gnats, & camels: Texas Baptists join Southern Baptists in elevating patriarchy and a haughty spirit  
by Bill Jones

Posted on

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow Read more . . .

Say NO to voucher bills – My written testimony to today’s hearing by Texas House Public Education Committee 
by Bill Jones

Posted on

(AUTHOR’S NOTE: Unable to make it to the Capitol in Austin for today’s Texas House Public Education Committee hearing, I provided the following written testimony – via an online link – regarding four voucher bills being considered by the committee.) I am a resident of Collin County, and my state representative is Jeff Leach. I Read more . . .

Western Civilization, its “rise” at OBU, & the pivotal moment in my faith journey 
by Bill Jones

Posted on

(NOTE: I posted the following to Facebook on Tuesday, February 14. I’m re-posting it here to my blog for the benefit of those of you who aren’t on Facebook or didn’t see it there.) This morning, I came across, in my files, an OBU (𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘯𝘪) Magazine whose cover read “𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗢𝗸𝗹𝗮𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗮 . Read more . . .