Gun Violence Claims Too Many Young Victims

by | May 17, 2012 | Opinion

The e-mail message was direct and devastating: “Davius Boyd, a 4th grader in Mrs. Enos’ class, died at approximately 5:45 this afternoon,” wrote my principal. “The coroner informed of his death about 40 minutes ago. He had gone to a...

Gullible’s travels

by | May 16, 2012 | Opinion

First it was the cheap electric heaters in little wooden cabinets supposedly built by real Amish craftsmen, then a less successful “ArticPro” air conditioner, and a couple of other gimmicky products that weren’t as successful in conning consumers....

Western Nations Practice Selective Justice

by | May 16, 2012 | Opinion

We should welcome Charles Taylor’s recent conviction by a U.N. war crimes tribunal. While president of Liberia, Taylor fomented violent uprisings in neighboring countries with the aid of brutal militias in order to extend his regional influence. It was during...

Can We Discern and Evaluate Without Being Judgmental?

by | May 16, 2012 | Opinion

It was a childhood game that we played – good guys and bad guys in several versions: cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians, reflecting the characters from the city crime shows and western shoot-em-ups of the early TV that we watched. A later generation would take...

5 Changes That Have Influenced Church Staffing

by | May 15, 2012 | Opinion

In going through some files recently, I came across a church newsletter from April 1976. It provided an interesting snapshot of this particular church at that time. This county seat Baptist church in a southern state was averaging more than 650 in Sunday morning...