No Opinions - Just Convictions

Several years ago, Paul Little wrote a book called Know What You Believe and Why You Believe It. He was writing regarding the Christian faith, but the importance of his premise extends to all areas of life, just as one's faith--if it is genuine--influences all of life, Jimmy Carter's (and politicians of his ilk) milquetoast declaration notwithstanding.

So, here I am. A product of American midwestern middleclass Christian values enscripturating, if you will, what I spend a portion of my working day doing: positing what I believe to be true about anything and everything. Everyone has an opinion that is filtered through, or affected by a particular worldview. Whether or not a person is honest enough to admit it, they still have some kind of standard that informs everything they believe, say, and/or do. Even those that claim to be middle-of-the-roaders, spend a a substantial amount of time, dealing out unbridled scorn and condescension to those among us who are strongly opinionated in either direction. The late RJ Rushdoony, a noted author and theologian, described their position with the phrase "myth of neutrality". So, what is my standard? The Bible. In explicit terms, it may not speak to everything (like what I should wear today), but it does speak to everything in principle (I should dress modestly).

Today, our cultural spokesmen vilify those among us who come down on any issue with any hard opinions. As a Christian and a constitutional conservative in the civic and political sphere, I applaud people like Ann Coulter, for instance, who have the courage to say what is on their mind--and in her case, to say it well--and then stand up under public scrutiny and defend themselves without apology.

As long as I'm here, I might as well state my opinion. You might have deduced that I'm a fan of Ann's, so you might guess what is coming next. Hang in there, and I'll have something posted soon.