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Strolling La Strada della Vita

Strolling La Strada della Vita

Advertisers are paid to tout the features and benefits of someone else’s products.  Most folks would concede that their claims are at least occasionally truthful, but even so, their promises are greeted with skepticism.  The lack of trust in marketers stems in part from critics’ and customers’ reviews revealing wide and troubling gaps between what the buyer expected—based on ‘pop-up’ ads, TV commercials and  public relations—and the consumer’s personal experience.  The sales wizards’ more specious claims range in apparent truthfulness from somewhat dubious to clearly…

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The Door Marked, “Christ”

The Door Marked, “Christ”

Doors are everywhere in the modern-day civilized world.  Some are pushed, some pulled, some lifted or lowered, and some are self-operating.  Doors may open (or close) right-to-left, left-to right, upward, downward, inward, outward—they may even revolve.  Some doors open but partway at a time.  Still others slide or pivot and fold.  Some, spring-loaded, pop out of hiding in a wall, with a touch.  Some are equipped with automatic closers. Doors are often fashioned with ‘peepholes,’ in case of a need to know who is on the…

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Mockery Most Mysterious and Malign

Mockery Most Mysterious and Malign

Sometime around the middle of the first century, less than twenty years after Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, the Apostle Paul confidently declared that there is an appointed “…day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.”  (Romans 2:16) Paul happened to be in ancient Athens when he amplified on this theme, saying that in times past, God made allowance for ignorance of His will, “…but now [that Christ has come], God commandeth all…

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To Wear or Bear

To Wear or Bear

We live in an age in which (as is usual with human beings), beliefs abound while convictions are in short supply—perhaps the shortest ever.  This generation delights in sharing personal information of all kinds, and with virtually everyone, but is especially fond of trumpeting its beliefs.  And for good or ill, this generation has a seemingly limitless array of options for communicating them. Traditional means of viewpoint dissemination, like television and motion pictures, music, books and magazines, billboards, posters, mailings, rallies, protests, activism,…

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Kindly RSVP

Kindly RSVP

The French phrase, répondez s’il vous plaît, meaning, “respond, if you please” or just, “please reply,” serves some very practical purposes.  When its abbreviation (RSVP) appears on an invitation, with or without a due date, etiquette demands a prompt answer as to whether the guest(s) will be in attendance at the designated function.  For the courtesy-challenged (those who lack the necessary consideration to timely declare their intentions), this custom may be worth a quick review. Though regarded as a bit formal and or antiquated…

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The Joys Of Small-Mindedness

The Joys Of Small-Mindedness

We live in a world in which credulity (a pre-disposition to believe without substantive evidence) has become a virtue, and uncritical acceptance a sign of intelligence.  It is a world in which naivete is a mark of noble character, and gullibility is morally superior to critical thinking (whatever that was).  Full disclosure: this is not a world in which I feel comfortable or into which I readily fit.  I blame my parents first and foremost. Let’s face it—they were not particularly broad-minded people.  To start with,…

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With And Without Excuse

With And Without Excuse

Human weaknesses, failings and misbehavior are unlikely to remain hidden indefinitely.  When they are in danger of imminent exposure or are actually revealed, excuses are inevitably offered. Excuses have two main purposes.  The first, is to enable us to feel better about ourselves, despite having done what we shouldn’t or having neglected to do what we should.  The second purpose is to induce others to feel better about us, our shortcomings notwithstanding.  We are most comfortable when one excuse serves dual purposes—persuading both ourselves and others…

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Greetings—From God

Greetings—From God

I’m no scholar, but if I were, I might tell you that it was customary in the ancient Near East to begin personal correspondence by stating the letter writer’s identity up front.  The format might begin with the author’s name, add a bit of distinctive information to differentiate the sender from others with similar names, and cap it off with a special greeting to the intended recipient(s).  A brief introduction, summarizing the subject of the missive was not uncommon. The great apostle…

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Learning To See Double

Learning To See Double

“Seeing double” is the colloquial term ascribed to a phenomenon in which a particular kind of visual impairment causes the person experiencing it to perceive two images when only one is actually present.  The scientific designation for this is, “diplopia.” Films and television programs often portray double vision as the comical result of illegal drug use or excessive drinking.  But it is no laughing matter.  Persistent or repeated diplopia warrants prompt medical attention to determine the cause(s) of the disorder—not an easy task,…

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Avoiding Sudden Destruction

Avoiding Sudden Destruction

It has been widely reported in national news media that the world’s elites—the wealthiest of the wealthy and the most dominant of the dominators—are investing vast sums in modern-day bomb shelters for themselves and their loved ones.  These hardened shelters are said to be fortified against most any danger, from riot to invasion and are built to withstand any threat short of a direct hit by a thermonuclear missile. Most of these strongholds are at least partially buried and the best…

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