The First Thanksgiving

THE FIRST THANKSGIVING

This year we will observe the 400th anniversary of the first Thanksgiving held by the Pilgrims at Plymouth Bay Colony under the supervision of William Bradford. Nearby, Massachusetts Bay Colony would be settled nine years later by a religious group known as the Puritans under the command of John Winthrop. By 1640, there would be 10,000 settlers at the Massachusetts Bay Colony, whose growth rapidly surpassed that of the Plymouth Bay Colony. And, while we celebrate Thanksgiving in November, it...

In memory of

IN MEMORY OF . . .

these noteworthy and talented Americans that we lost to COVID. The poet John Donne once wrote “Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” Meditation XVII – Meditation 17. As a former hospital worker, I’ve seen people die of disease in the past (including my late wife), and it is a terrible and humbling thing to behold. For all we know, except...

A Prayer for our Earth

A PRAYER FOR OUR EARTH

I believe the world and our nation are being threatened and fractured as never before. In the U.S., we see families bitterly divided over politics, prudent medical treatments, national aspirations and current events. Hundreds of thousands of people are migrating across national boundaries here and on other continents, driven by hunger, war, and despair to uncertain futures and all too often, to hostile welcomes. People are desparately searching for spiritual answers in life. But, we evangelicals who have these answers,...

A tale of two thieves

DISMAS & GESTAS: A TALE OF TWO THIEVES

  • October 13, 2021
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  • Faith

This is a fictional account of two thieves who really did exist long ago. We don’t have much information on their family, their circumstances, their specific crimes, their “rap sheet.” We just know that they were executed by the State. As criminals go, these two thieves are legendary, and like legendary characters, we don’t even know for sure what their real names are, but some sources say they were called Dismas and Gestas. What I plan to do is contemporize...

Renewable energy:time to pause?

RENEWABLE ENERGY: TIME TO PAUSE?

Almost everyone on the planet except perhaps for flat-earthers or people wrapped up in conspiracies should be aware that the climate on the earth is changing, and not for the better.  If we want to blame someone, we could blame people for the change, though this change has occurred at least several times in the distant past before humans were the dominant species.  Perhaps, it happened even on Mars where there are no people, because Mars was likely not always the desert...

Rescue the perishing

RESCUE THE PERISHING

  • October 8, 2021
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  • Faith

The path we travel through life is perilous. We begin this journey crawling on hands and knees as an infant, and if we live long enough, we eventually lose the fundamental physical abilities we developed when we took our very first steps, relying, instead, on a cane or walker (if we can still walk at all.) For this is the riddle of the Spinx: “What goes on four feet in the morning, two feet at noon, and three feet in...

IS THE SUPPLY CHAIN COLLAPSING?

Milkshakes “are missing from U.K.’s McDonald’s branches, tomatoes are rotting on Italian farms, and soldiers mingle with farmers on Vietnam’s rice paddies. All because of shortage of staff. A dearth of farm and slaughterhouse workers, truckers, chefs or waiters is hitting global food supply chains hard, causing processing slowdowns, delivery delays and empty supermarket shelves” according to Bloomberg. The Coronavirus is largely to blame for the supply chain problems, of course, but there are other factors as well. According to this week’s Economist magazine, another piece of the puzzle deals with...

Ubuntu--community

UBUNTU

I subscribe to Quora, and I receive daily posts in those areas that I find interesting.  Today, I received a post from a contributor named Sajeev Rajan that I found positively inspirational and of value to our society (and Church) today.  While I understand that Quora allows the literal reproduction of posts in their Terms of Use, I will paraphrase it out of an abundance of caution and with thanks to Sajeev for passing this on.  And nor can I vouch for the...

What Christians can learn from Aesop

WHAT CHRISTIANS CAN LEARN FROM AESOP

I was introduced to Aesop as a small child and I loved his simple life hacks. Here is one such hack as it applies to wittnessing for Jesus. It’s called the “The North Wind and the Sun.” The North Wind & the Sun The North Wind and the Sun had a quarrel about which of them was the stronger. While they were disputing with much heat and bluster, a Traveler passed along the road wrapped in a cloak. “Let us...

The dogs of war: Robotic dog

THE DOGS OF WAR (AND MORE)

EDITORIAL: 10/3/2021. Taiwan says “a total of 39 Chinese military jets flew into its air defence zone on Saturday – the largest incursion by Beijing to date” according to the BBC. The country says the fighters came in two waves, only a day after more than three dozen other planes (including nuclear-capable bombers) also committed the same provocation. However, as the BCC points out, Taiwan’s Air Defence Zone is outside of its territorial and national airspace, so technically there was...

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