The auctioneer took a quick breather while staff cleared away from the sale just concluded and brought forth the next item up for bid. When all was in readiness, the mustached man who appeared to be in his early fifties, took a swig or two from a water bottle kept for his use on a shelf to the right of the platform. His presence once more required, he stowed the bottle away, stepped behind the microphone and asked politely for attention. He…
It seems likely that every Christian above a certain age will sooner or later be asked by self-avowed skeptics some version of the killer question—that masterpiece of logic and irrefutable reason which no religionist can possibly answer. These ‘stump the band’ conundrums are intended to shut down discussion, end debate of all serious issues and mock those inexperienced enough to try to play the game. Particular favorites for flustering the faithful include variations of the following: “Could God create a stone too…
A dozen years ago, I made a pilgrimage of sorts, to Israel. It was not a primarily religious odyssey. Having studied and believed the Bible all of my life, there was nothing that I needed to prove, reinforce or see for myself. I viewed such opportunities as incidental, though as it turned out, they were profoundly consequential, in terms of their impact on me. But I’m getting ahead of myself. I should probably share that I very nearly had to cancel my travel as,…
All things deemed “impossible” have at least one qualifying feature in common: they haven’t happened—at least, not yet. For if something classified as impossible were to occur, it could not, by definition, remain so classed. It would have to come off the list. Not only would the occurrence of an “impossible” event disprove its impossibility, it would reveal that the impossible had in fact been possible for some period of time—perhaps for only a moment, but perhaps from the very beginning. During this interval,…
Your answer to the question of whether you are an opportunist likely depends on your life experience and the context in which the word is used. As for the first part (personal experience), most everyone has heard the word bandied about. Most of us have seen the term used to describe the nature or behavior of another person, as in “she is an opportunist” (noun). A person who acts that way, is said to be opportunistic (adjective). Chances are, you yourself have applied this word…
Some say that the Christian Faith is too simple to be taken seriously by intelligent people. They would have you believe that: 1) they themselves are highly intelligent and 2) they have sincerely tried to take true Christianity seriously but found to their great disappointment, that it was not up to their uncompromising intellectual standards. They are unbothered by the fact that legions of brilliant men and women down through the centuries—including rafts of skeptics and scoffers—have found it sufficiently challenging…
My name is Joseph. I come from Arimathea, in the Judean highlands. I am a disciple of the Nazarene, Jesus, called Christ. Ironic that this is the first time I’ve said that out loud. Until now, I’ve followed him in secret, because…because (God forgive me), I was afraid of the authorities—both the Romans (which goes without saying) and my peers—the leaders of my own people. Yet I am one of them—a prominent member of the supreme Jewish Council in Jerusalem, the Great Sanhedrin. I am one of 71 elites,…
Though I fervently believe them, I am very leery of ‘Bible stories.’ Like ‘bedtime stories,’ the term suggests make-believe, the stuff of legends, tall tales, and fables—in a word, fiction. In the case of the Bible however, the taint of unreality is wholly undeserved. The following is not a fairytale, but an eyewitness account, set down within the same generation, recounting real events that actually transpired. The fact that it is recorded in the Bible points to, rather than detracts from, its veracity. It is not,…
Many serious traffic accidents are caused by failure to yield the right-of-way to other drivers. Such failures may result from factors such as inattention, distracted or impaired driving, and willfulness. Willfulness is stubborn insistence on selfish priorities—a “me first” mentality. This mindset may lead some motorists to deliberately ignore signs and signals directing them to yield. In so doing, they cast aside law, custom, the well-being of others and even, personal safety. They drive rudely, often recklessly, in a narcissistic bid to emphasize their…
I once read tragic accounts of an ill-fated commercial airliner that became doomed, due to an inflight mischance of some kind, which badly damaged the tail section. As a result, the plane lost the use of its hydraulic assists—somewhat akin to losing power steering and power brakes on a car, as it barrels down the highway. The loss of its “boosters” severely restricted the nature and scope of the maneuvers that the aircraft could perform. Cascading mechanical failures also made the stricken airliner…