Popular Culture

December 28, 2013

A Duck Hunter Wins One for the Christians

Phil RobertsonOn Christmas morning, my wife sent a text message to me and our children with a link to a YouTube video.  The beginning of the video showed images from the first Christmas.  The audio that played in the background was from the segment of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” where Linus recited the famous passage from the Gospel of Luke: “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them….”

August 24, 2013

You Call This A Dynasty?

Duck DynastyI finally did it.  I sat down at my computer and watched an episode of Duck Dynasty.  I couldn’t take it anymore.  I gave in to my curiosity.  For the past year there have been several occasions when I’ve read or heard about the show.  I knew I was going to eventually see what it was all about, but when I saw two recent headlines, I couldn’t put it off any longer.

August 17, 2013

New Rules for Digital Dating

Teen TextingAs I mentioned last week, during the time I was growing up in the 1960s and ’70s, we had limited access to telephones.  Most of the communication that occurred between couples who were dating was in person.  Parents were able to exercise a reasonable level of control over the amount of time their teenagers spent on dates by limiting the use of the family vehicle and by imposing curfews.

August 10, 2013

The New Rules of Dating

Dating - Facebook Wall

August 3, 2013

Why Do Some Girls Date Deadbeats?

Dating For Stupid PeopleThere is a frequent occurrence at my home that involves my three youngest daughters, Mary (21), Christine (19), and Teresa (17).  They regularly engage in long discussions about the boys they come into contact with.  Of course, the first piece of information they always share with each other is whether a new guy is “gorge,” which is short for “gorgeous.”

July 20, 2013

A Dress Code For The Courtroom

Dress CodeOne day about 20 years ago, I needed to have a court order signed by one of the judges at the Peoria County Courthouse.  I walked over to the courthouse from my downtown office.  When I entered the courtroom, the only people present were the judge and a local area attorney.  As soon as I walked up to the judge to ask him to sign the order, he said, “Where’s your jacket?”

June 29, 2013

What Does Madonna, Brad Pitt, and the Supreme Court Have in Common?

Brad PittI graduated from high school in May 1975 and began my freshman year at college in August of that same year.  During the fall semester, the gay rights activists on campus set aside a day that they designated as “Gay Day.”  They put an announcement in the school newspaper that on Gay Day, anyone who was in support of gay rights should show their support by wearing jeans to class.  At that time, there were over 20,000 students attending classes at the university, and approximately 80 percent of them wore jeans to class every day.

June 27, 2013

Did Jesus Experience Fear?

One of the most common emotions I see among clients is fear — fear concerning a job, a medical condition, a family member, a financial problem, a legal problem, the state of our economy, the state of our culture.

June 22, 2013

Dangerous Snoops And Peeping Toms

NSADuring my first year in college (1975), I sent a telegram to my sister Colleen who was a senior in high school.  She was in the school play and I wanted to get a written message to her wishing her luck on the opening night of the play.  The message consisted of two short sentences and was delivered to her the same day that I sent it.

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