Mike Wittmer

What I think. What I know. What I think I know.

  • the morning after

    Ten thoughts on yesterday’s election: 1. How long until the Billy Graham Association relists Mormonism as a cult, and a particularly disappointing one? 2. I wonder who is feeling more relieved today, Barack Obama or Mitt Romney? 3. President Obama’s main argument for reelection was that he was not Mitt Romney. He succeeded in disqualifying…

  • the intolerance of tolerance

    I just saw this essay posted on Facebook. It’s a chilling explanation of how the religious leaders of our culture might justify the persecution of Christians as good and necessary. We shouldn’t be surprised by this, as our message is the same as Paul’s, and he was told by the Jews in Rome that “people…

  • evil

    I just visited Twitter to respond to a friend’s tweet, and after five minutes I think I contracted ADD. That site is nuts! In the spirit of our diminishing attention spans–Look, squirrel!–I will now attempt to say something meaningful about the problem of evil in an Our Daily Journey devotional that is approximately 300 words.…

  • year of living

    We are in the middle of another media blitz for “A Year of Living” book. Since Alan Jacobs wrote A Year of Living Biblically, evangelical Christians have been inspired to write The Year of Living Like Jesus and now A Year of Biblical Womanhood. This phenomenon puzzles me, because I would think that any Christian…

  • truth hurts

    It seems that Tom Friedman is still smarting from the hole that New Gingrich blasted through his abortion position on Meet the Press. If you have a minute and you have power, watch this brief exchange between Gingrich and Friedman and then read Friedman’s column from Sunday’s N.Y. Times. What do you think?

  • God’s will and Republicans

    One of the ironies of this election season is that while President Obama and the Democrats hold a most extreme position on abortion (why doesn’t Romney ask about partial birth abortion?), the Republicans seem bent on proving that they are the ones who can’t be trusted on this issue. The latest gaffe occurred last night…

  • pornography

    Yesterday a seeker oriented church in my town gave its Sunday morning platform to unrepentant porn star Ron Jeremy. The ploy seemed to work, as the story landed the church on the front page of the Grand Rapids Press and as a lead story on the evening news. Jeremy told the 2,000 member audience that…

  • last week

    I’m in the middle of a busy stretch and was hoping no one noticed that I didn’t blog last week. But then my dad called last night and wondered where I’ve been so I decided to start my week with a few observations from the last one. 1. The Browns finally won a game yesterday.…

  • jean and niell

    I just returned from a beautiful pastors retreat at the InterVarsity Camp in the Eastern U.P. The fall color was at its peak, and so was the fellowship. I enjoyed the drive up and back with Tom Beetham, and the hour we all sat around swapping jokes until it was time for bed. It’s amazing…

  • God told me

    My friend Jim Samra has written a provocative new book, God Told Me:  who to marry, where to work, which car to buy…and I’m pretty sure I’m not crazy. The book is endorsed by Kevin VanHoozer and Darrell Bock, so it’s a safe bet it’s not crazy. I don’t happen to agree with the premise…