To use our advanced search functionality (to search for terms in specific content), please use syntax such as the following examples:
As this commentary is being written, an elected county clerk in Kentucky has been sentenced to jail due to the conflict she perceives between her duty as a public official and her personal religious convictions about same-sex “marriage.” This raises many vital, fundamental questions—and, for students of God’s word, it should bring to mind many dire prophecies.
You may know the famous story of Lewis & Clark's expedition across the American continent to the Pacific Ocean and back. However, many have not heard the story of a lesser known member of the party, a brave black Newfoundland dog named Seaman. He was just a dog, but his story is a lesson of faithfulness and loyalty. His story is a lesson that even husbands...
I remember fondly an old children's story called The Blind Men and the Elephant. This profound yet simple story is a great illustration of the limitations of human perception.
One version of the story describes six blind men living in a village. One day, a caravan of travelers came bringing an elephant. The blind men had no idea what an elephant was, and...
When I was ten, we had a bully named Billy in our neighborhood who threatened to beat up anybody who would cross his path the wrong way. Billy stood a foot taller than most of the other boys and was twice as bulky. Billy seemed to be in a bad attitude most of the time and was always seen pounding his fist into his other hand in the standard bully fashion. No one...
The search for peace is a major concern in the world today. People pray for peace. They light candles for peace. They march in the streets and stage demonstrations to promote peace and prevent war. Yet, strife, violence, and war continue. Is there a reason? Why have the concerted efforts of intelligent human beings for more than a century failed to find a...
Depression plagues many people. I’m not talking about having a bad day or feeling blue, which everyone experiences now and then. The depression I’m referring to is the kind of feeling that incapacitates a person with overwhelming feelings of dark and foreboding thoughts that cannot simply be shaken off. It is the kind of depression that drives people to do...
There is an old adage that states “many a true word is said in jest.” This phrase literally means that the truth is often found in comic utterances. This expression has been around longer than we appreciate; it is also painfully true.
When this idiom first appeared in English it was likely used in “The Cook’s Tale,” written by Geoffrey Chaucer in 1390. Writing...
Most states in the U.S. practice a programmed sequence of events to execute their most violent convicted criminals. There is an injection to anesthetize and take away pain and consciousness, a second injection to paralyze the body, and a third to stop the heart of the unconscious individual—a process designed very carefully to give the condemned offender an...
The Sadducees posed a question about the reunion of a woman to one of her former husbands after the resurrection. Jesus replied, “[You] do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God” (Matthew 22:28–29, KJV).
Most of us have been asked the question, “Can you do me a favor?” We commonly reply, “Sure,” right before being confronted with a task we are not able or, frankly, willing to do. In today’s society, we often do not give such an exchange a second thought, even though in that moment we have given our word and broken it.