J. Davy Crockett III

Remember the old MAD Magazine character, Alfred E. Neuman, whose line was "What, me worry?" It was a humorous spoof making light of the need to worry about anything. Worry is a mental exercise that all of us engage in, though some more than others. It doesn't produce anything. It uses up valuable time and resources, and it doesn't give us joy or peace of mind.

As the Roman calendar rolls forward another year, folks pause, if ever so briefly, to contemplate where they have been and where they are going. Uncertainty and unease about the future can be very unsettling. What will the new year bring? What can you expect in your life and on the world scene in the next 12 months?

A recent headline in the "Faith and Values" section of a major newspaper asked this question, and it is a very good one. How do you decide which church is teaching and practicing the truth?

As Pontius Pilate asked long ago, "What is truth?"

Sadly the article, though well written, came to a wrong conclusion and may serve to mislead the readers.

Tis the season ... a time for beautiful music, lovely pageantry, parties, fun and family time, the annual bedlam in shopping malls, specialty stores, discount houses and now the Internet.

Much of the world is caught up in what is called the "spirit of the season" evidenced by a gift buying frenzy, which often puts the purchasers deep into debt and which fills the coffers of the merchants.

Recently, I watched a documentary entitled Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West, which showed actual footage of Muslim extremists and their religious leaders using classic propaganda techniques to inflame their followers to hate Westerners, particularly Israelis, Americans and the British.