William Bowmer

In a world where barely one in four people can name all four of the New Testament books known as the “Gospels,” is it any surprise that most people do not understand the true Gospel that Jesus Christ and the Apostles proclaimed? Many accept shallow and false promises contrary to Christ’s message, while some even uphold distorted teachings that in fact deny Christ Himself! So, what is the true Gospel?

Before the world-changing events of 9/11/2001, Americans’ exposure to terrorism was mostly secondhand—perhaps watching video images of a bombed-out Oklahoma City building in April 1995, or reading newspaper stories of a botched World Trade Center bombing in February 1993. Millions, however, on that momentous Tuesday morning of September 11, were watching live television coverage of one burning skyscraper, when another jet suddenly appeared—and then crashed into the second WTC tower!

On August 17, 1961—exactly 50 years ago, this Wednesday—East German laborers laid the first concrete blocks of what would soon be called the "Berlin Wall" The wall, cutting West Berlin off from surrounding East Germany, came to be seen as a symbol of Communist tyranny, and for more than a generation the German people grew used to its troubling presence, separating them from old friends and family and marking a moral and philosophical divide as well as a physical one.

Today's Christians are "strangers and pilgrims" on planet Earth (Hebrews 11:13), living in anticipation of the soon-coming Kingdom of God wherein will be our true citizenship. Yet each of us is born in some nation, somewhere. How do we respond to our nation's holidays? And what if those holidays are more somber than joyous?

Researchers have found that heavy users of the social networking site Facebook tend to be more insecure and self-absorbed than others who do not use the popular site. "Individuals higher in narcissism and lower in self-esteem spent more time on the site and filled their pages with more self-promotional content," according to a recent York University press release.