The unforgiving servant

THE UNFORGIVING SERVANT

A migrant or refugee from another country who enters the U.S. illegally for the first time commits a misdemeanor under 8 U.S.C. § 1325 (cited below for the readers convenience.)  Repeated illegal entries are felonies, however. This is an important area of law to the point I want to make in the “Parable of the Unforgiving Servant.” Findlaw explains the difference: “A misdemeanor offense is a less serious crime than a felony offense. A felony offense is the most serious crime you can...

Things we see and hear

THINGS WE SEE AND HEAR

This is a post on two unusual terms (pareidolia and apophenia) plus one other phrase which speaks for itself: auditory hallucinations. So, why am I discussing these terms at all and why now? The answer is that our society is currently stressed. And as the people in our society becomes unnerved, people on the margins of our communities are sliding or being pushed towards mental health issues. These issues include depression, anxiety, eating disorders and other psychological ailments. Many are...

The canary in the coal mine

THE CANARY IN THE COAL MINE

Today, we have all sorts of sophisticated monitoring devices.  We have ways to measure the amount of mercury in tuna fish, or radon in our basements.  We have warning alarms for our homes to measure dangerous gas leaks.  But these devices are fairly new.  Before that, we used animals to alert us of a problem. These animals were among a classification called sentinel species.  I remember seeing dogs with high school students pass me in the hallway on their way to their next class. These dogs...

HEROD DEMANDS APOLOGY FROM JOHN

The Jerusalem Journal, 24th of Tevet, 3761 Tetrarch Herod Antipas demanded an apology earlier today from the Essene known as John-the-Baptist. The Essene stands accused of publically condemning the Tetrarch for sleeping (zitzn tsuzamm) with his sister-in-law in violation of the Torat Moshe or Mosaic Law. The Essene, who is also known as a prophet in Yisrael among his disciples spoke at a dedication which was attended by the Tetrarch and his Court. John did pronounce Herod as breaking G_d’s...

Of Bishops and Archbishops

OF BISHOPS AND ARCHBISHOPS

Where to begin?  We are all riding on a bullet train at the moment.  We’re on the Shinkansen, traveling by rail at 200 mph and trying to point out specific landmarks or scenes as they whoosh by, but we are another twenty miles down the track before we can even finish our sentence.  Meanwhile the conductor smiles and says “Enjoy the ride.  We’ve only just left the station.” And that light on the track ahead of you that’s rapidly closing in? That’s an oncoming train....

Hypothesizing hyperspace

HYPOTHESIZING HYPERSPACE

A PERSONAL JOURNEY Among people in the community who follow the news on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), I have a reputation of being at once a believer and at the same time, a skeptic.  I’m fairly convinced that there are likely “alien” drones, probes and/or possibly “manned” ships in our atmosphere on occasion.  I believe this for a number of reasons.  First of all, trained, professional military personnel, airline pilots and others are reporting such phenomena in ever increasing numbers (possibly, because we have...

IS YOUR SPIRITUAL LIFE SALT-FREE?

We encounter all sorts of labels whenever we go to a grocery store. There are carbonated drinks that are sugar-free. Other soft drinks are caffeine-free. There is whole milk, and then there is fat-free milk. Certain types of products such as pasta are gluten-free, and then there are soups and such that are advertised as “low sodium” or “salt-free.” I did a post four years ago on the metaphor of salt as used in the New Testament. It was not...

TIES THAT BIND

TIES THAT BIND

Deena just shared a video with me featuring Ryan Walters, the Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction where he vowed “immediate and strict compliance” with a state order to teach the Bible in Oklahoma public schools.  In an interview with NPR, he said “Every teacher, every classroom in the state will have a Bible in the classroom and will be teaching from the Bible in the classroom.”  Those who refused could lose their job and their teaching license. “In 2010, the Oklahoma Legislature...

Christian Marriage

CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE

In this post, I’d like to discuss marriage, specifically, Christian marriage.  I do this without any intention to disparage how one society or another views marriage (e.g. child marriage), or the other customs that relate to marriage in different societies.  So, my focus will be on what the authors of the Bible and those ecclesiastical authorities who followed during the two millennia later taught and practiced. In the most succinct terms, Jesus defined marriage in Matthew 19:5, 6 where He said: “For this reason, a man will leave...

Our Lady of Paris Reopens

OUR LADY OF PARIS REOPENS

On December 7, 2024, Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich knocked loudly three times on the door to Notre Dame cathedral with his staff, referred to as a crozier1.  Once the doors were opened according to the “Rite of the Open Door,” the organ played, the bell rang and the reopening ceremony began as the cathedral once again roared to life following the catastrophic fire of April 25, 2019. Our Lady of Paris stirred from her slumber. The cornerstone for Notre Dame cathedral was...

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