Mark Tapscott

WORKING ON THE HILL: Here’s What Modern ‘Tent-Making’ Looks Like

When Paul made his many missionary trips around the known world after his encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, he supported himself by making tents.

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), left, with Open The Books’ President Adam Adrzejewski, center. (Photo courtesy of Open The Books).

Being a highly educated individual who was formerly part of the Establishment in Jerusalem (Paul studied under Gamaliel, one of the most respected doctors of law in Israel at the time of Jesus), it’s instructive that Paul turned to what we would today likely consider a blue-collar job to support himself.

Without even remotely suggesting that I am in any way comparable to Paul, I am following his approach to supporting himself in his work. In other words, I do have a “real job,” covering Congress as a correspondent for The Epoch Times.

I love Congress and being an old-school journalist who puts a premium on being scrupulously factual, and now this 30-year career makes possible the great privilege of editing HillFaith “on the side.”

This photo is from a recent “pen & pad” session with Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who is accompanied by Adam Adrejewski, the founder and president of Open The Books, a non-profit group that is achieving amazing successes in making government at all levels more transparent, and thus more accountable. That’s yours truly to Adam’s left.

Ernst was discussing a significant package of reforms in federal spending that I will be reporting on next week.

EMERGING ISSUES ON THE HILL: Is Jesus Really Appearing To Dozens Of Muslims In The Middle East?

Reports of Jesus appearing in dreams or in some kind of apparent bodily form to Muslims in the Middle East are being heard with increasing frequency, and not just from evangelical Christian missionaries.

McLean Bible Church logo. (Screen shot)

As a result, the time is coming soon when Christians and skeptics alike will have to take public notice, and sooner than later for congressional aides in jobs working on international relations, foreign assistance, religious freedoms and related issues.

Senior Pastor David Platt of McLean Bible Church in McLean, Va., is the latest to share information about such an experience, according to the Christian Post.

McLean Bible Church is a huge congregation in the prosperous Northern Virginia suburb just across the Potomac River from the nation’s capital. Many of the congregants are federal workers, congressional aides and others drawn by the presence of the central government. Continue reading “EMERGING ISSUES ON THE HILL: Is Jesus Really Appearing To Dozens Of Muslims In The Middle East?”

WORKING ON THE HILL: Women Staffers Turn To Wardrobe Rental Services

Many congressional staffers are in high-visibility, high-pressure positions that, unfortunately, also come with comparatively low pay, so there is a premium on making every dollar earned go as far as possible.

That’s a key to growing popularity among women working on the Hill of wardrobe rental services. Roll Call’s Mary Ellen McIntire has a great post this morning on services like Rent the Runway. Continue reading “WORKING ON THE HILL: Women Staffers Turn To Wardrobe Rental Services”

WORKING ON THE HILL: Look Who’s Being Promoted

Recent Moves, As Reported By Legistorm:

Ryan Feldman has interned for Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Sean Maloney (D-NY) and Jacky Speier (D-Calif.). Now Feldman is the new scheduler for Rep. Josh Harder (D-Calif.). Feldman is a 2019 graduate of American University in inter-disciplinary studies.

Melanie Lenhardt Brown is Rep. David Schweikert’s (R-Az.) new policy adviser. She previously worked as a legislative assistant to Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Az.), and is former director of government relations for Monument Advocacy. Brown graduated from Arizona State University in 2015 with a BS in marketing. Continue reading “WORKING ON THE HILL: Look Who’s Being Promoted”

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Even If Macro-Evolution Is True, God Is Still Necessary

What if evolution is true, both in terms of micro and macro changes over time? If it is, does that mean there is no room for the Christian God as creator of the universe and everything in it, including humans and animals?

Cross-examined.org’s Dr. Frank Turek says no, there still must be an explanation for the existence of the first molecule. Evolution properly understood is an explanation of how God did it, not an argument against the existence of God in the first place.

Turek was asked about this issue earlier this month during a presentation, noting that he’s an advocate for micro-evolution, but stops short of the “molecule to man” version of macro-evolution. Even so, he explains why God is essential regardless.

Federal Court Delivers Victory For Freedom Of Religion, Speech

Somebody apparently complained on Valentine’s Day 2018 when Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC) student Polly Olsen distributed greetings to fellows students that included the words “Jesus Loves You,” “You Are Loved” and “You Are Never Alone,” along with illustrative Bible verses.

So campus security told Olsen she had to stop. When she asked why, she was told because “somebody might be offended” by her words, which would violate the school’s pubic assembly policy.

Olsen’s case was taken on by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), litigation was filed and on Friday, U.S. District Court Judge William Griesbach found in her favor and against the school.

Griesbach’s order is well worth reading because congressional staffers are going to be dealing with increasing frequency with this and related issues in coming days. Go here for the order.

THINK ABOUT THIS: Thoughts On God In And Out Of Time

When Stephen Hawking wrote his best-selling “A Brief History of Time” in his quest to do away with God, the renowned Cambridge mathematician had to invent a second kind of time, which he called “imaginary” time.

Astrophysicist Dr. Hugh Ross of Reasons to Believe.

The imaginary time was a necessary posit because Hawking knew that if there is the time we know of as part, present and future, then there must be a beginning of time and that means in turn there must be a creator of time. But that creator is exactly what Hawking wanted to do away with.

Dr. Hugh Ross is an astro-physicist, not a mathematician, but he and Hawking both wrote best-sellers on multiple aspects of the God question. Ross also is the founder of Reasons To Believe (RTB), an excellent apologetics think tank with an emphasis on relating faith and science.

“That God created the time dimension of the universe implies that he could create other time dimensions. Therefore, God could operate within as many time dimensions as he chooses,” Ross writes today on the RTB web site. If you have time — no, not a joke — I heartily encourage you to give a read to Ross on God and time.