Intentional Acts of Faith

By Charlie Johnston When my maternal grandmother, who doted on me, died back in 1964, she bequeathed her Bible to me. Actually, she bequeathed several things to me from her meager estate – and made it known to all that these were to go to me. Alas, much of the family looted her small store […]

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The Fiery Trial Commences

By Charlie Johnston Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which comes upon you to prove you, As though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, That you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 1 Peter 4:12, 13 For the first […]

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Scouting the Terrain

By Charlie Johnston I am hearing now from people who are upset over the “irresponsibility” of my take on experimental gene therapy being called a “vaccine.” You have seen a little of it in the comment section. I also get a lot of emails. Some are on the verge of hysterical – fact-free diatribes – […]

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The Times, They Are a-Changing

By Charlie Johnston The first time I ever took my kids to the zoo, they were only one and two. Certainly, they enjoyed the animals, but I was a bit disappointed that they really did not evince the surprise and delight I remembered from my own first foray to a zoo as a child. Then […]

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The Ice Age of the Republic

By Charlie Johnston I see a lot of stories these days that say various policies pushed from on high will have a “chilling” effect on freedom or public discourse. Seriously?! I suppose you can have a chillier wind blow even when it is already 20 below zero, but most rational folks do not use that […]

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Can the Center Hold?

By Charlie Johnston All three of my key Priests who guided me are Priests of Opus Dei. Such Priests, since its inception, have taken great pride in their fidelity to the Magisterium and their loyalty to the Holy Father. In the late 90’s and just after the turn of the millennium, I told my Priests […]

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Pre-Game Tailgate Party

By Charlie Johnston There’s an old saying that the man who keeps the coolest head in the midst of crisis will ultimately prevail. The waggish modern corollary argues that the man who keeps the coolest head in the midst of crisis doesn’t really understand how big the problem is. I suspect that both aphorisms are […]

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Tools of the Trade

By Charlie Johnston When I first took over as managing editor of a group of suburban newspapers, I had utter contempt for the way most newspapers make their mistakes loud and long – but banish their corrections to small print on page 32. I vowed that, when we made mistakes, our corrections would be at […]

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