Category: Faith

What is First

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I am not too lazy to write today. It is just that I could not write anything as compelling as the interviews that follow.

In this interview, Scott Hamilton, the Olympic gold medal winner, tells how a brain tumor is “the greatest gift” he could have gotten. The lead singer from Korn talks about his daughter in this interview. Ann Rice, author of Interview with a Vampire, talks about her career in this interview. In this interview, a former atheist, a scientist who also studied medicine, describes how he became a believer in God. They all share one thing in common. Twenty minutes of your life is worth spending listening to these stories.

The Face of Evil

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Man in the MirrorHe was 19 years old. He went to an ethnically diverse, upscale high school near Harvard. He was a popular kid, a good athlete, very bright, well-liked. He graduated high school early and was studying to be a doctor. He killed three people, critically wounded dozens and injured many dozens more … We want him to be a monster! But “he was a good kid“.

Listening to the reflections on Dzhokhar Tsarnaev from his classmates and others who knew him and looking at his graduation photo leaves me perplexed. The rage and anger that arises from my gut at the sight of the bombing victims somehow does not match the image that comes from the reflections of people who knew him. It does not fit neatly into my black and white compartments. I want to hate him, but I see a person who seemed like just “a good kid”.

Smart, popular, athletic, young … what happened!!!?

Josef Stalin, Adolph Hitler, Idi Amin, Jeffrey Dahmer, Jack the Ripper all conjure up images of pure evil. Despicable, villainous, ugly, blackened souls, with no redeeming value. The depth of their depravity seems cavernous. We loathe them. We spit on their graves. We cannot imagine what possessed them.
 Continue reading “The Face of Evil” →

Perspective

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Take a few moments and read this … and remember it.

Every shriveled old man or woman was once young and vibrant like you.

You and I will end up like this … if we are fortunate to live that long.

Life is short. It will come to an end.

Make the most of your days while you are young. Live a life well lived.

Trust the rest to God.

We go from dust to dust. It is what we do in the middle that matters.

Crabby Old Man

 

Troubles Mark the Way

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The Struggle by Andi Campbell-Jones

We live prosperous and comfortable lives in the United States in these modern times. No generation has had the comforts, pleasures, luxuries and distractions that we have. Even the poverty level of the people in the US, about $24,000, far exceeds the $2 a day ($730 a year) that many people in the world live on. We are blessed in this country.

We have developed our own, unique theology in the United States that emphasizes prosperity. When we face difficulties, as we often do, we chide each other for a lack of faith. People who are not “prosperous” (compared to other Americans) may feel that God has withdrawn His blessing or has abandoned them.

I wonder what the rest of the world thinks about this uniquely American theology. I can only imagine that they shake their heads. Continue reading “Troubles Mark the Way” →

Why the Bible?

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College was a foundational time in my life. I was confident going into college that truth is knowable, understandable and discoverable. I was excited to get down to the business of discovering the truth. I had no idea where I would find this Truth, but it seemed apparent to me that Truth was something I could grasp. Continue reading “Why the Bible?” →