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Does voter suppression in 2021 look like voter suppression in 1961? An Answer to Bill Leonard

Last week, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary research professor, Karen Swallow Prior, made a socio-cultural analogy between the systemic social consequences of the 1960s sexual revolution in the United States and the systemic racism in the United States we allegedly observe today according to Critical Race theorists. As I showed in my reply, Prior's analogy simply collapses in on itself making it far more difficult to accept her claim of systemic racism (via CRT) rather than easier. This week, a reputable Baptist historian makes yet another analogy from almost the same... Read more →

Systemic Racism & Sexual Revolution: Replying to Karen Swallow Prior

Formerly teaching English at Liberty University for over 20 years, Karen Swallow Prior presently serves as Research Professor of English and Christianity and Culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Prior is author of a number of books including Jane Eyre: A Guide to Reading and Reflecting; On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books; Heart of Darkness, and Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me not to mention her prolific online literary presence and numerous magazine articles published in Christianity Today and other major Christian publications. Prior's... Read more →

Theological liberalism in the SBC? A Brief Response

Baptist Press recently published a First-Person article entitled "Theological Liberalism in the SBC?" by Rhett Wilson, freelance author, bivocational pastor, and a senior writer for The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Wilson also blogs and, in fact, blogs well. I read several of his pieces and without qualification commend them. He is a superb writer. On the other hand, I think Wilson misses his target completely in his estimation of what's going on the the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Allow me to explain. As the title of his piece in Baptist... Read more →

Criticism of the Southern Baptist Convention and the Role of Discernment Blogs: Part I

Last week, The Capstone Report, a popular website that focuses on issues it perceives as troubling in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), released a story concerning the president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Jason Allen, claiming he was personally lobbying the Missouri governor to settle more refugees in the state. The story turned out to be false. Don Hinkle, longtime editor of The Pathway, Missouri Baptists' state denominational paper, wrote a brief but scathing rebuttal, accusing the author of "fake news": "I know fake news when I see it. This... Read more →

Mark Galli is hardly the one to be lecturing Christians on breaking the 10 Commandments

Brannon House at WorldViewWeekend.com recently posted a piece entitled "Christianity Today Editor in Chief Called God a “Divine Drama Queen” But is Worried About President Trump Disrespecting God?." In it, House reminds readers about Christianity Today magazine's (CT) current senior editor, Mark Galli, who, on December 19, 2019, following the partisan impeachment of Donald Trump, published the article,“Trump Should be Removed From Office," wrote a piece in 2010 entitled "Divine Drama Queen." Mark Galli was senior managing editor of CT magazine in 2010. In the article now removed from CT,... Read more →

How do Patterson Critics View John Piper on Spousal Abuse?

Since the social media mob, led by @JonathanMerritt, @edstetzer, and @KSPrior, judges Paige Patterson's counsel to women in troubled marriages so entirely unChristian as to merit his immediate dismissal as President of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, one wonders what they think evangelicals ought to do with evangelical icon, @JohnPiper, and desiringGod.org for the counsel Piper offers to women in troubled marriages. Check it out. For that matter, thoughts about John Piper's counsel to women in troubled marriages from high-profile Christian celebrities and organizations could be helpful in determining exactly why... Read more →

President Trump's promise to nominate a Supreme Court justice similar to Antonin Scalia

In light of President Donald Trump's recent nominee for SCOTUS, and fulfilling his promise to nominate a strict constructionist for the important judicial seat, a friend of mine posted on Facebook the following words. Note the response by newly appointed Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) Leadership Council member, Bart Barber. My response followed. Here's the bottom line so far as I am concerned. I have no issues whatsoever in #NeverTrump advocates voting the way they did, coming to conclusions different from mine, and voting their conscience. Period. That's what... Read more →

A. H. Newman on Calvinism and religious liberty

pic source The year 2017 marks the 500th year since the Protestant Reformation was launched by Martin Luther's legendary nailing of his 95 theses to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg, Germany in 1517. And while John Calvin was only 8 years old when Luther began the protestant religious revolution, Calvin's theology became the standard expression of Reformed theology. Some attribute to Calvin and Calvinism the development of our broad American liberties including "anti-statism, the belief in transcendent principles of law as the foundation of an ethical legal system, free... Read more →

Janet Mefferd on Russell Moore and the Conservative backlash: "This isn't just about Trump"

Talk-radio host, Janet Mefferd, writes a convincing account of the issues many Conservatives have raised concerning Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) president, Russell Moore. Writing as a non-Southern Baptist, Mefferd claims many in the media falsely assume Conservatives' problems with Moore began with his criticism of then presidential candidate, Donald Trump. She demonstrates Moore's excessive and over-the-top criticism of the President-elect, including Moore's unreasonable and misguided criticism of evangelicals who voted for the President-elect, was but one of several issues many Conservatives have raised since Moore became president of... Read more →

What’s at Stake in the Southern Baptist Convention for the backlash against Russell Moore? A Response

Jake Raabe is a student at Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary in Waco, Texas and columnist for The Baptist Standard, the news service affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Raabe recently wrote an opinion column entitled "Voices: What's at stake for the SBC in backlash against Russell Moore?" arguing that it is a mistake for Southern Baptists to either silence or dismiss the views of the president of the Ethics and Religious Life Commission (ERLC) of the Southern Baptist Convention, Russell Moore. It would be naive... Read more →

Election 2016 Thoughts – Part Two: Trump Support Could Hurt Our Gospel Witness: A Critique

While I realize this post is virtually moot now since the election is upon us, Nathan Akin posted part 2 of his series only today. Thus, I thought I'd put this brief critique up. After considering the chief concerns #NeverTrump advocates like Akin have listed in campaigning against Trump and for 3rd party/write-ins, I feel even more confident I chose well in my decision. I only pray if and/or when Trump loses the presidency, and we hand off this country's political destiny to Hillary Rodham Clinton, I will be able... Read more →

Is John MacArthur selling out his moral convictions? Has he given up every thing he's ever believed by voting for Donald Trump for POTUS?

Al Mohler, Russell Moore, and Denny Burk among other leading evangelical voices have persistently presented a #NeverTrump agenda to the American public. Evangelicals have been accused of losing their soul; giving up everything they've ever believed; being so in love with political power that they are willing to lose their gospel testimony; and embracing a cheap version of moral relativism all just to rationalize their vote for Donald Trump as president of the United States. Below is John MacArthur's answer to a question he was asked about voting for Donald... Read more →

Thomas Schreiner: "Don’t we recognize in a sinful world that sometimes we need to choose the lesser of two evils?"

Thomas R. Schreiner is James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation and Associate Dean for Scripture and Interpretation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also serves as Preaching Pastor of Clifton Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. A widely respected New Testament scholar, Dr. Schreiner is the author of many books, including New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ (Baker, 2008) and Galatians in the Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament series (Zondervan, 2010).1 Recorded in the 2011 issue of The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, a published sermon... Read more →

#FaithTrumpsFear or #StopSinningbyVotingTrump?

Paul Hastings (source) A video entitled "FaithTrumpsFear" seems to be making its rounds on social media. It's appeared with glowing recommendations on The Resurgent, RedState, Caffeinated Thoughts, and even captures the personal view of the Southern Baptist Convention's Pastors' Conference president, Dave Miller: "Is it time we started viewing things differently? For me, it is. this video encapsulates my view."1 Produced by a small video production company in Austin, Texas run by CEO, Paul Hastings (who is featured in the video), the reason indicated making it was because that by... Read more →

Is shaming others into voting against their conscience the future of evangelicalism? Political Science professor Peter Wielhouwer hopes not.

Here's a worthy essay by my friend, Peter Warren Wielhouwer. As a longtime professor of political science and frequent network news commentator on all things political, Dr. Wielhouwer writes a much-needed plea for Christians to stop alienating each other over politics. I especially liked his focus upon the scriptural record. I might quibble with him a bit on some parts, but nonetheless agree with the broad swaths of his thinking. Please take the time to check it out. "Stop Shaming Other Christians into Voting Against their Conscience" by Peter Warren... Read more →

I voted for Donald Trump today. And, no, I don't feel an ounce of guilt. I feel like an American.

When it became clear to me months ago that Donald Trump would become the only real challenge to a Hillary Rodham Clinton victory for the White House, I became more verbal and perhaps more public about the 2016 presidential election than I've ever been about any election since I started voting in the early 70s. I believe this election remains, so far as this world is concerned, the last hope to preserve what we have left of a democratic republic founded upon our original constitution. Political corruption in both Democratic... Read more →

Is Voting for a 3rd Option a Wasted Vote in the 2016 Presidential Election?

UPDATE: November 4, 2017, a new Heat Street/Rasmussen Reports telephone and online survey of Likely Utah Voters finds Trump with 42% support to Democrat Hillary Clinton’s 31%. Republican-turned-Independent candidate Evan McMullin has faded to 21%. In a brief piece entitled, "Election 2016 Thoughts – Part One: A vote for a 3rd Candidate is not a Wasted Vote or a Vote for Clinton" by Baptist21 contributor, Nathan Akin, five reasons are listed as to why Akin believes a 3rd candidate vote for president in the 2016 election is not in vain.... Read more →

Division at Southern seminary concerning the #NeverTrump positions of Al Mohler & Russell Moore

I wrote this on Facebook a few hours ago: Finally someone with clout speaks out on Al Mohler and Russell Moore's nonsensical stance as advocates of #NeverTrump, a position he says will put Hillary in the White House. A member of the Foundation Board of Southern Seminary for years, currently an associate of the foundation, and a financial supporter who's donated thousands as well as given annual grants to professors. Louisville, KY attorney, Jack Richardson says, "I and others on the board could not disagree more with Mohler’s position on... Read more →

Joe Carter, the ERLC and Division over Donald Trump (Part 2)

Below is Part 2 of my critique of Why Evangelicals Are Divided Over Donald Trump written by Joe Carter, a staff member at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention (ERLC). As we argued in Part 1, to suggest as Carter does that come November 9, evangelicals can just shake hands and go back to being co-belligerents in a worthy cause is too naïve for words. Russell Moore and the ERLC (which obviously includes Joe Carter) have been too verbally offensive to just forget about it... Read more →

Joe Carter, the ERLC and Division over Donald Trump (Part 1)

Joe Carter, Communications Specialist at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention (ERLC), recently posted a piece on The Gospel Coalition website where he also works as editor. Entitled, Why Evangelicals Are Divided Over Trump, Carter claims the divide over Donald Trump within the evangelical wing of conservatism is clearing new ground since, according to him, up until the present presidential election cycle, “there has been a general sense of unity” among social conservatives. Carter blames Trump’s polarizing persona as the chief culprit: “Few people could... Read more →

Evangelical spokesmen still broadly condemning anyone thinking of voting for Donald Trump as POTUS

In no political election of which I've either participated or followed since I began voting in the mid-seventies do I recall such publicly negative emotion being spewed toward Christian believers. Let me qualify that a bit, for I've certainly observed and, at times, personally experienced, the fiery wrath from those both to the political left of me and unbelievers outside the church. There was a time when those who did not know me would conceivably assume "fascist bigot" was my middle name since it was spoken so often about my... Read more →

Al Mohler is spot-on about Donald Trump but dead-wrong about evangelicals

Within the brokerage world a generation ago, it was said "When E. F. Hutton talks, people listen." Hutton was highly influential among brokers. Albert Mohler, Jr. is arguably the most influential Southern Baptist today. Similarly, it might be said in the evangelical world generally and the Southern Baptist world particularly, "When Al Mohler talks, people listen." Well, Mohler talked in the Washington Post yesterday. He talked about the latest news buzz surrounding Donald Trump and the video in which the presidential nominee was heard using explicit and undeniably demeaning sex-talk... Read more →

Joshua Harris rethinks his views in bestseller, I Kissed Dating Good-bye

graphic source First published in 1997 and updated in 2003, Joshua Harris's I Kissed Dating Goodbye still garners heavy sales on Amazon.com where readers have piled up almost 877 reviews over the last two decades, reviews averaging 4/5 stars. Overall, that's just under one review per week since publication. Pretty impressive for a 21 year old author, I'd say. The relationship perspective between male and female which Harris embraced and non-negotiably insisted constituted the biblical view was what he called "courting" rather than "dating," a fairly provocative notion in evangelical... Read more →

Both Al Mohler and Russell Moore agree: #NeverTrump #NeverHillary. Both also dead wrong.

No surprise in Drs. Al Mohler and Russell Moore's position: both commit to either a third party or write-in candidate come November. What is surprising, however, is the simplistic reasoning both leaders offer as to why they will step into the 2016 voting booth in perhaps the most significant presidential election in my lifetime and cast a ballot that guarantees at least one of the two candidates they judge unworthy to serve as president of the United States will, indeed, serve as president of the United States. Furthermore, it seems... Read more →

According to Jonathan Merritt: Evangelicals risk everything to reclaim cultural and political control—even if that means defying their own beliefs

I started to respond only briefly to Jonathan Merritt's piece entitled, "The Awkward Love Story of Trump and American Evangelicals" and post it on Facebook. My commentary grew larger, however; much too large to be effective on that platform. Thus, below are my initial thoughts to Merritt's piece: @jonathanmerritt writes a stinging critique on 1K evangelicals meeting with Trump this week. There exist several weaknesses in his critique, however. Among them, some are listed below (Merritt's words and contextual quotes are embolden with my response following): 1) "Many evangelicals who... Read more →

The Republican Washington establishment may have just made Hillary Clinton's day

Well. It's happened. The Republican Washington Establishment bought its domain for a soon-to-launch Third-Party website. As Bill Kristol indicates, all they need now is a candidate. My own guess is, they've already got their puppy-dog politician selected...from the local DC pound of course...politicians they can promote as cute, adorable puppies to the American people. There's any number of adorable but do-nothing Republican dogs from which to choose. They can began with Speaker of the House and move on from there... What does Washington's Establishment Third-Party mean if it actually takes... Read more →

Denny Burk: Principled if you don’t vote Trump, Unprincipled if you do

At least two high-profile Southern Baptists just can't get enough bashing Donald Trump supporters. One, obviously, is Russell Moore, who seems to fan the flame he's set to hotter and hotter temperatures. The latest piece Moore posted unexpectedly drew friendly fire from one of his own soldiers in the young, restless, and reformed base camp. It also solicited responses from what some may call more hostile critics (my own contribution may be found in a piece entitled "Is it time for Southern Baptists to get new leadership in Washington?"). The... Read more →

Is it time for Southern Baptists to get new leadership in Washington?

A new president of the greatest nation on earth will be sworn into public office in just over eight months. It's time. Eight years of Barack Obama's butchered policies and broken promises have choked to death the American spirit. He promised he'd unite us both racially and politically. However, only the most obtuse observer could deny that racially and politically, the United States of America has perhaps become more hostilely divided than in any known era of American history. Why Washington's Oval Office needs a new leader The President's latest... Read more →

Is Racism embedded all over the Southern Baptist Convention?

I've been trying to stay away from denominational politics. Honest! At times, however, it's impossible to stay on the wagon. Indeed as my good friend, Chris Gilliam, indicated in the Facebook thread (see below), one gets tired of the simplistic rhetoric. Below is a brief commentary I pecked out on my cell phone in response to an article detailing Russell Moore's indictment of widespread racism allegedly embedded within the Southern Baptist Convention. A Facebook friend asked me to post it on my blog so he could point his friends to... Read more →

Is every issue a gospel issue?

Below is a sampling from a young but obviously erudite theologian from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Dr. Blake Newsom. In pursuing the question, What is the Gospel?, Newsom cuts through the literary wasteland in evangelical circles that tends to see all issues as "gospel issues" by flatly concluding "If everything is the gospel, then nothing is the gospel." Here's the entire contextual snippet: Of concern to this writer is that the gospel has become a buzzword in Evangelicalism. As is often the case with buzzwords, they lose their core... Read more →

Bono on Who Jesus is

I've never followed closely either Bono or the musical artistry of U2. Even so, his insistence upon an orthodox historic understanding of the Person of Christ, including the literal, bodily resurrection of our crucified Lord, in the face of skeptical questioning sorta makes me regret I have not taken Bono's visible faith more seriously since the 1970s' star appeared in Pop Culture. Judge for yourself... Read more →

Georgia Baptists pass resolution on social media, cyber-bullying and teen suicide

Meeting at Ingleside Baptist Church in Macon Georgia, the 2014 Georgia Baptist Convention passed among others a resolution on cyber-bullying and teen suicide. Allen Rea, pastor at and messenger from Dunn Memorial Baptist Church, Baxley, GA submitted the resolution to the resolutions committee for consideration. It passed without opposition. RESOLUTION ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND CYBER-BULLYING WHEREAS, The Bible is clear concerning affirming positive, Christ-like interaction with all people whether verbally in person or using modern digital means such as social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter; and WHEREAS, the New... Read more →

Looking Back:Southern Baptist seminaries desegregated before desegregation

Not until the Supreme Court's unanimous decision in Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education (1969) was racial segregation put to a complete end "now and hereafter."1 Below, however, is a short headline piece in The Christian Centtury concerning Southern Baptists' progressive action favoring racial desegration in 1950. Our seminaries apparently were the first institutions of higher theological education to tear down the racial divide. Southern Baptists Open Seminaries to Negroes* The boards of three Southern Baptist theological seminaries have opened the way for the admission of Negro students next... Read more →

New Testament scholar Larry Hurtado on blogging and scholarship

Retired Professor of New Testament Language, Literature & Theology at the University of Edinburgh, Larry Hurtado, offers a very helpful--if not necessary--reminder about the relationship of blogs and reputable scholarship. The simple truth is, blogs cannot make scholars out of us. And, I'm afraid far too many of us depend upon blogs in our RSS feeds rather than more in-depth studies from mainstream scholarship. Dr. Hurtado addresses the issue in a winsome but nonetheless explicit manner: Scholarly work intended to have an impact on the field isn’t done in blogging.... Read more →

Yale lecturer on The Great Calvinist Reawakening

Briallen Hopper is English Lecturer at Yale University, Faculty Fellow at the University Church in Yale, and frequent contributor on religious topics in many prestigious media venues. She has written about religion for The Huffington Post, Killing the Buddha, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. In her latest piece entitled "The Great Calvinist Reawakening" published in Religion & Politics, Hopper profiles the rise of Neo-Calvinism and the impact it's having in contemporary culture. Citing the proof of Reformed revitalization as entirely persuasive, she goes on to contrast Neo-Calvinism with... Read more →

Army deserter Bergdahl connected to ballet and Calvinism

Five years ago, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl reportedly laid down his weapons and quietly vanished into the night from his small military outpost in the Yousaf Khel district of Paktika. Several hunts for him ultimately led to several deaths of American soldiers who tried to find their comrade in arms. Three years later, a story in Rolling Stone magazine entitled "America's Last Prisoner of War" featured Bergdahl as our last prisoner of war turned into a political pawn to end the war against terror. One of the most interesting captions concerning... Read more →

Noah the Movie: Observations by William “Bill” Harrell

Guest commentary by William "Bill" Harrell I went to see the movie "Noah" today (4-5-2014) and these are a few of my notes. I found that this is nothing but an environmentalist sci-fi production clothed in Biblical garb. I went thinking that I would probably see something unbiblical every once in a while like in most Biblical movies. But, the opposite was true. There was only a grain of truth once every so often while everything else was absolutely gross error. I am listing below some of my observations. These... Read more →

Latest statistics for usage of alcohol, illicit drugs and tobacco

Read but do not enjoy: Alcohol Use among Persons Aged 12 or Older Slightly more than half (52.1 percent) of Americans aged 12 or older reported being current drinkers of alcohol in the 2012 survey, which was similar to the rate in 2011 (51.8 percent). This translates to an estimated 135.5 million current drinkers in 2012. Nearly one quarter (23.0 percent) of persons aged 12 or older in 2012 were binge alcohol users in the 30 days prior to the survey. This translates to about 59.7 million people. The rate... Read more →

Bullseye: Perceptive Reflections on a Collapsing Culture: Free Church Press New Release

Click on image to enlarge Free Church Press is excited to announce a new title by William F. Harrell: Bullseye: Perceptive Reflections on a Collapsing Culture. Dr. Harrell is Pastor Emeritus of the historic Abilene Baptist Church, Martinez, Georgia. Bullseye is Harrell's second book. In Bullseye, Dr. Harrell aims his bead for cultural issues facing the church today. Those who purchased Harrell's first volume--Straight Shooting: Pastoral Reflections for Today's Church--will note in Bullseye the very same folksy literary style Dr. Harrell commands. Below are a few of the targets onto... Read more →

President of Southern Baptists' ERLC on suspending Duck Dynasty's patriarchal leader

Phil Robertson (pic source) Dr. Russell Moore offered commentary on the recent A&E suspension of Phil Robertson, Duck Dynasty's patriarchal figure. Moore described the network television decision "censorious cultural fundamentalism" that is neither “progressive” nor “pluralistic.” The ERLC president went on to conclude: "Let’s have genuine diversity, meaning let’s talk honestly with one another about what we believe and why. Muting one another isn’t what debate is for in a free society. It’s what remote controls are for." Read the entire statement-- "Duck Dynasty?" on the president's blog, Moore to... Read more →

New Calvinism gets reviewed by young British Baptist Calvinist

Jeremy Walker, co-pastor of the Maidenbower Baptist Church in the United Kingdom has penned a well-balanced critique of the young, restless, and reformed movement in the evangelical church. Entitled The New Calvinism Considered: A Personal and Pastoral Assessment , the volume is available in the United States in both paperback and digital versions.1 Walker himself theologically identifies with Calvinism as a confessional, Particular Baptist assuring his readers his intentions are not to "mindlessly ignore, attack, or defend any particular group, but to deal fairly with the new Calvinism."2 In fact,... Read more →

ObamaCare enrollment up--just passed five to enroll six people!

ObamaCare gets spoofed at the Country Music Awards: Related articles Associated Press retracts a doctored Obama quote Surprise: ObamaCare will likely increase food stamp enrollment Surprise-Obama Says He Will Not Enroll In ObamaCare Why Is The Left Silent On ObamaCare ObamaCare Continues To Be Massive Failure; Only 51,000 Enrolled Maher: Sure Obama Lied But He Had to or ObamaCare Might Not Have Passed ObamaCare enrolls unborn babies, then pays to abort them Read more →

Janet Mefferd on Joe Carter's 'stop slandering Christ's bride' corrective--'an unwarranted scolding discouraging Christians from speaking on issues of neglect'

On Friday of last week, Joe Carter, Southern Baptists' new ERLC1 Director of Communications posted a piece entitled "Stop Slandering Christ's Bride" which sparked considerable fire in the comments section of Carter's post. Overwhelmingly, Carter's post logged negative responses toward his piece. In it Carter basically argued that since no one knows whether a particular issue is being addressed or not in the 350,000+ congregations in America, they need to stop suggesting they do by claiming the issue does matter and the church should speak up about it. Apparently according... Read more →

Associated Press retracts a doctored Obama quote

foto source Oh if only conservatives in today's marketplace had a supposed independent news agency like Associated Press (AP) to repair conservatives' rhetorical blunders in the printed media.1 An AP follow-up story explains its mistake in cleaning up the President's gaffe about Gulf cities on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: "In an Aug. 7 story on President Barack Obama's comments on the need to deepen U.S. harbors, The Associated Press wrongly inserted an interpretive phrase in parentheses into a quote by Obama... . The AP should not have added... Read more →

Pink is for girls...or is it?

My oldest daughter1 just had her fourth child--a beautiful little 7lb. 2oz. girl, Jessica Lee. She joins her trio of elder sisters now making our son-in-law, Joe, the sole male in their domestic kingdom. He insists when the family gets a pet, another male will join him in holding the definitive female majority in check. Though Kathy and I think it's magnificent to have four little cuddly girls to love on and make over,2 I must admit I've had some fun with Joe by threatening to buy him a Hello... Read more →