Other Opinions

There is an axiom among those who study world religions: In exploring other faiths, we see our own with fresh eyes. I recently returned from a pilgrimage to Israel. In a very real way, my trip enabled me to see the oddness of us, the Jesus followers — not oddness in a bad way, but rather oddness in a way that is strange to outsiders.

“Brother Wade,” the voice said on the phone. I recognized the voice.

“Why, hello, how are you?’

He never answered how he was; instead he moved immediately to his reason for calling, “Mom is about to lose her car.”

Our oldest child had a birthday recently. She is now grown and married, with children of her own. But you just never forget the birth of your first child. I was a pastor, so can you guess where we were when my wife went into labor? At a Wednesday night church fellowship supper! If I had been paying attention, I would have realized that this event was a portent. Our children’s lives would be forever impacted — for good or ill — by the church.

Is Valentine’s Day a Christian holiday? Well, yes and no. No, it is not a day on the Christian calendar like Good Friday, Easter or Christmas. In that sense, it is not technically a Christian holiday.

The recent passing of astronaut John Glenn has revived interest in our country’s early space flights. I remember as an elementary student being herded into our school library so we could all watch this brave man in an oversized tin can hurtling through the inky black void.

By calendrical coincidence, we have two national celebrations this Jan. 16.

One is the birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the best-known and honored figures of the 20th century. The other is the birth of religious freedom in America

“[Lord] when I am afraid, I will trust in You.”

These words from the Psalmist are certainly applicable for us today. If we didn’t already have sufficient reasons for concern, recent events have certainly given us cause.

In 1787, so the story goes, a Russian named Grigory Potemkin erected a portable, fake village in order to impress the visiting Empress Catherine II.

Thus the phrase “Potemkin village” has come into our lexicon to describe anything literal or figurative that is constructed in order to deceive others into thinking that the situation is better than it really is.

My favorite Christmas movie is "A Christmas Story," which tells the story of Ralphie Parker, a nine-year-old boy and his desire to receive an official Red Ryder carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and a sundial for Christmas.

The problem that Ralphie faces is all of the adults in his life are against him receiving the gun as a Christmas present because, as they say, "he'll shoot his eye out."

Last Father’s Day I received a gift from my wife and children more precious than I can describe. Without my knowledge, they had repurposed some wood from my late father’s workshop and built a kneeling bench, or prie-dieu, for my study at home.