Category Archives: Current events

Texas Ten Commandments – a Little More

Posted on September 25, 2025 by Richard Heyduck

One of the new laws in the state of Texas mandates the posting of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom. You walk into a classroom and you see a poster that looks like this: Several interpretive questions come … Continue reading →

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The Popularity of Manichaeism

Posted on September 18, 2025 by Richard Heyduck

Though you’ve likely never heard of Mani, Manichaeism or a Manichaean view of the world is still very popular. When Manichaeism looks at the world they see an absolute distinction between good and evil. There is no middle ground, nothing … Continue reading →

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Failure of “Liberalism” in Texarkana?

Posted on August 12, 2025 by Richard Heyduck

I see our town has made the OPED page of the NY Times. I see many scholars quoted (& I’ve read many of their books and value their perspectives), but I don’t see that they talked to anyone in Texarkana, … Continue reading →

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The Treachery of Memes

Posted on July 8, 2025 by Richard Heyduck

I first noticed this meme circulating several years ago: The first assumption is that the people on the left are, well, leftists, and that being “of the left” means desiring “more government.” Given this assumption, the meme, produced by an … Continue reading →

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Texas Ten Commandments

Posted on June 9, 2025 by Richard Heyduck

As a Christian – and a Pastor, no less! – I’m expected to be for the public imposition of signs of (my own) religion. Recently Texas has taken the step of requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in school … Continue reading →

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1700th Anniversary of Nicaea

Posted on May 28, 2025 by Richard Heyduck

Though I’d attended my grandparents’ 50th anniversary party as a child, I was too young to be aware of what was happening. The first big anniversary I remember celebrating was the US Bicentennial in 1976. I remember celebrating the 200th … Continue reading →

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International Students

Posted on April 15, 2025 by Richard Heyduck

It’s been depressing to see the level of animosity directed at international students by the current administration. Having friends who were international students was one of the highlights of my college experience. The college I attended only had about a … Continue reading →

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Patrimonialism

Posted on March 5, 2025 by Richard Heyduck

Several political scientists are noting that our new regime here in the US is an example of what Max Weber called “Patrimonialism.” I first saw this in Jonathan Rauch’s piece in The Atlantic the other day. In a key section … Continue reading →

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A Less Bad Culture War?

Posted on February 13, 2025 by Richard Heyduck

If we have to have a culture war, I wish we could conceptualize it in ways that were better for the country. Looking at Kyle Chan’s analysis of Chinese economic progress & challenges, Noah Smith claims that we’re getting ourselves … Continue reading →

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Annual Conference in the Age of Coronavirus

Posted on August 18, 2020 by Richard Heyduck

We had our meeting of the Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church this past weekend. The clergy session back in June, Friday’s business session, and Saturday’s ordination service were all done online, mostly via Zoom. Normally Conference runs … Continue reading →

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