by Ronald W. Kirk The following poem “Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers” comes from a great volume of poetry for children, The Home Book of Verse for Young People. Thanks to my literary mentor Rosalie Slater of the Foundation for American Christian Education, this book formed the centerpiece of our poetry literature program for the […]
Archive | Ron Kirk
An Introduction to Bullies and the U.S. Constitution for Young People
by Ronald W. Kirk As a long time teacher, I know how hard it is to get peoples’ attention—young people’s attention especially. Things like America’s early history, Pilgrims, Founding Fathers and Constitutions and such may not make much sense to those who live on the Internet, IPods, video games, texting, hanging out—whatever. Do I really […]
Laura Ingalls on the Declaration of Independence
by Ronald W. Kirk Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.—2 Corinthians 3:17 KJV Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.—Galatians 5:1 In the year 1882, Laura Ingalls, at age […]
A Thought for Resurrection Sunday
by Ronald W. Kirk I just glanced at Cornelius Van Til’s Why I Believe in God. In this little pamplet, Dr. Van Til—one of the great theologians of the 20th Century—says something extraordinary: [I]f my unity [of worldview] is comprehensive enough to include the efforts of those who reject it, it is large enough even […]
Samuel Eliot Morison on the Influence of Christopher Columbus in 1493
by Ronald Kirk On this Columbus Day 2009, let us consider the Prologue of Samuel Eliot Morison’s book Admiral of the Ocean Sea: A Life of Christopher Columbus.1 In these few pages, Morison provides some astounding insight regarding Columbus’s impact on the outlook and consequent accomplishment of his own times. First, Morison says that at the […]
To Be a Theocracy or Not to Be a Theocracy?
by Ronald Kirk Was early Christian America a theocracy? Should Christians desire a theocracy? What is a theocracy? What are the differences between the Biblical notion of theocracy and the American republic? Part of the problem with these questions is the wild variation of meaning attached to the term theocracy. Meaning is further complicated by […]
Education for the Kingdom of God “Cultivating Reverence in the Home”
by Ronald Kirk The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.—Proverbs 14:27 In this age of democratic equality-of-outcome and rights-as-entitlements, reverential regard for God and corresponding honor for men are rare. This should not be so. The Scriptures supply plenty of reason to cultivate an attitude […]
Flag Day 2009, a Remembrance
by Ronald W. KirkThe Banner of the Cross and Flag of Our UnionAnniversary Meeting of the American Sunday School Union in Boston, May 27, 1852. Let the Banner of the Cross go forth side by side with the Flag of our Union wherever it is carried; let the Spirit of the Lord be invoked to […]
Meaning in the Advent of Christ: Luke 1:68-80
By Chris Erickson with Ronald Kirk Christmas time lies under a cloud this year. We live in darker days than the winter solstice can account for. Many events and dispositions of the times give Christians great cause for concern. With unease, we note the unfavorable recent election results, the possibility of real persecution looming, the […]
Halloween
by Ronald Kirk Judging by the American marketplace and the major media, in popularity Halloween now far outstrips my own favored holy days of Thanksgiving, Christmas and the Fourth of July. Admittedly, for the past many years, I have watched a dwindling trick or treating. The streets have apparently become far too mean for many […]
Kirk, Ronald: The Importance of Christian Character
Holiness, from the idea of clean in both the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures, essentially means whole. In the Biblical languages and English alike, holiness applied to men is a state of moral wholeness, integrity, and purity, as opposed to brokenness, damage, compromise, or pollution. Individual morality requires structural integrity to maintain wholeness. Character identifies the […]