Truth for our times: Gambling , Hatred & Lincoln and Kennedy | Eastern NC Now

Gambling on Training Wheels

How House Bills 921 and 198 Would Normalize Casino Culture in the Name of Charity

Not long ago, North Carolina treated casino gambling as dangerous enough to prohibit. Even now, state law permits “game night” events only as a limited exception. Under current law, a tax-exempt organization may conduct or sponsor only four such events per year. The law also limits how often qualified facilities may host them. These restrictions exist for a reason: lawmakers understood that gambling, even when dressed up as entertainment or fundraising, carries social and moral risks.

When Hatred Answers the Gospel
When political hatred drowns out the call of the Gospel, the sickness is deeper than politics

A few days ago, I wrote an article titled “When an Assassination Attempt Becomes a Private Summons.”  It was not intended as a political defense of President Donald Trump, nor was it meant to compare any earthly leader to Christ. In fact, the point of the article was quite the opposite. It was about the Gospel.

Using Jesus’ words in Luke 13 about the tower in Siloam, I sought to show that moments of tragedy should not merely cause us to ask, “What kind of person would do such a thing?” They should cause us to ask, “Am I ready to meet God?” Public calamity, Jesus taught, should become a private summons to repentance.

Alcohol: An Overlooked Link Between Lincoln and Kennedy

Americans have long been fascinated by the striking similarities between the assassinations of Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy.

Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846; Kennedy in 1946. Lincoln was elected president in 1860; Kennedy in 1960. Both were assassinated on a Friday. Both were shot in the head while their wives were present. Both were succeeded by Southern Democrats named Johnson. Andrew Johnson was born in 1808; Lyndon B. Johnson in 1908. Lincoln was shot in a theater, and his assassin fled to a barn. Kennedy was shot from a warehouse, and his alleged assassin fled to a theater. Even the names of their assassins — John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald — continue to echo through American history like dark, haunting refrains.

Rev. Mark Creech is a longtime pastor and former executive director of the Christian Action League of North Carolina. He now writes and speaks on issues of faith and culture and serves as Director of Government Relations for Return America.