Everett Piper
Columns by Everett Piper
Sinners miss the lesson of the Gospel by fixating on sin instead of transformation
In his book "The Divine Conspiracy," Dallas Willard talks about what he calls the "gospel of sin management." He confronts the errors of both conservatives and liberals. He challenges the left and the right by saying both have missed the truth of the Gospel by ironically committing the same error: Fixating on sin rather than focusing on transformation. Published July 8, 2018
Suddenly, the left loves Leviticus
This week in the news: All of the sudden, the mainstream media, Hollywood, the liberal church, and other members of our national intelligentsia seem to care about what the Bible says. In particular, they appear to have suddenly acquired some affection for the Old Testament — a book that, heretofore, these proud members of the "smarter-than-thou" club have excoriated as laden with "hate-filled rhetoric." Published June 24, 2018
The despair of Anthony Bourdain
In the early 1900s, G.K. Chesterton spoke of the unavoidable consequences of denying God as our Creator and worshipping science above the sacred. Observing that the naturalists of his day were only too willing to turn their science into a philosophy and then impose their new religion upon all of culture with near fanatic zeal, Chesterton said, "I [have] never said a word against eminent men of science. What I complain of is a vague popular philosophy which supposes itself to be scientific when it is really nothing but a sort of new religion and an uncommonly nasty one." Published June 17, 2018
‘Reclaiming Jesus’ promotes a distorted Christian faith
A bit of news you may have missed over the past couple weeks was that of about 2,000 high-profile Christian pastors and church elders who, on May 24, marched on the White House. Published June 10, 2018
Demanding tolerance while refusing to show tolerance is folly
Delusion reigns in the mind of Lord Diversity and his minions. He demands tolerance while declaring he will not tolerate the intolerant. He requires openness of mind but closes his mind to all who disagree. His Majesty Diversity, after all, says it is true that nothing is true. He knows nothing can be known, he is sure that nothing is sure, and he is absolutely confident that no one can have confidence in absolutes. Published June 3, 2018
Surprisingly, Donald Trump has proved himself to be pro-life
Two years ago, as I sat in the chambers of the U.S. Supreme Court, I was crestfallen. Oklahoma Wesleyan's lawsuit against Obamacare and its unjust abortifacient mandate — a mandate that forced my university, under threat of law, to include abortion-inducing drugs in our health insurance package — hung in the balance. Justice Antonin Scalia had just died. All hope for a majority ruling in favor of our religious freedom seemed lost. Published May 27, 2018
Pursuing God, or petting goats
It is finals week at colleges and universities across the nation, and the University of Maine at Orono just announced a brilliant plan: It is providing a herd of goats for students to feed and pet in order to help them — presumably the students, not the goats — get through the stress of final exams. Published May 20, 2018
A professor’s prayer
Wednesday, May 3, was our country's National Day of Prayer. It was a day where millions of Americans gathered at various venues in various communities petitioning God for his forgiveness, protection and providence. Published May 6, 2018
What college campuses can reveal
D. Michael Lindsay, president of Gordon College, wrote recently in an article that he penned for The Gospel Coalition, "Every higher education institution has a [hidden curriculum]. It's not the catchy slogan emblazoned on campus merchandise, and it's not necessarily in an admissions counselor's spiel. Published April 29, 2018
Open season on Christianity and the Constitution
It's morning in America, and a look back on the week's news proves it is open season on Christians and the U.S. Constitution. Published April 22, 2018
Human decency is not about weapons, but about ideas that guide moral direction
The BBC News reported last week that the London murder rate has overtaken that of New York City: Published April 8, 2018
Fighting the darkness in search of freedom lights the way
In "The Silver Chair," the fifth book in the "Chronicles of Narnia" series, we follow three main characters, two children named Scrubb and Jill and a Narnian friend called Puddleglum, as they venture into a dark underground world in search of Rilian the Prince of Narnia who is being held captive by none other than an evil witch. Published April 1, 2018
How today’s identity politics is fueled by hypocrisy
Two weeks ago, I wrote a column titled "Conversations About Sex." In this article, I asked this basic question: If our culture has decided there is no such thing as an objective moral standard pertaining to sexual behavior then on what basis can we make any moral judgments about any behavior? Published March 25, 2018
The devilish details of Oklahoma’s religious freedom measure
On March 15, Oklahoma's Senate was scheduled to vote on SB 197, the Protection of Freedom of Conscience Act. This act sought to codify into law the rights and protections of all Oklahomans to express and practice their religion freely in the public square without fear of government penalty or government coercion. The Oklahoma Senate is composed of 48 members, 40 of which are currently Republican. Published March 18, 2018
How amorality thrives on college campuses
"The Lottery" is a classic short story written by Shirley Jackson in 1948. It's the tale of a rural, farming community in America of about three hundred residents. The town seems normal by all accounts as it prepares for a traditional, harvest-time event known as The Lottery. Published March 11, 2018
Why sexual immorality should be repudiated rather than debated
As a college president, I'd argue there are some things that should be confronted, some that should be confessed and some about which we can have a conversation. As a teacher, it is my goal to produce students who are able to distinguish between these three categories. Published March 4, 2018
How Oklahoma Wesleyan University spurned the Obama administration’s ‘guidance letter’ on sexual misc
In 2011, every college and university in the United States received a "guidance letter" from the Obama administration's Department of Education declaring that all colleges and universities across the land, from Brown to Berkeley, were required to immediately amend their policies and procedures for responding to any claims of sexual harassment and sexual assault on their respective campuses. Published February 25, 2018
More laws do not a moral people make
This past Valentine's Day, Nikolas Cruz entered a classroom in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and proceeded to murder 17 people and wound 15 others. Before any meaningful criminal investigation could even begin, our nation's cultural elites rushed to their respective podiums, finding fault and casting aspersions. Scoring political points is the name of the game. Removing personal rights embedded in our Constitution and replacing them with more laws and less freedom seems to be the only way they know to keep score. Published February 18, 2018
How integrity unifies the human race and identity politics divides it
C.S. Lewis told us in "God in the Dock": "Put first things first and second things are thrown in. Put second things first and you lose both first and second things." In his publication titled First Things, Richard John Neuhaus warned, "One must never underestimate the profound bigotry and anti-intellectualism [of second things]." Published February 11, 2018
Cosmopolitan magazine cover reveals everything wrong with the popular culture
Have we completely lost our minds? In a word: Yes. Cosmopolitan Magazine has released its February issue, featuring the most recent transgender poster child Laverne Cox on its cover. There is so much wrong on this one page that it makes one's head spin. Published February 4, 2018
