April 2013 – I took this photo at the Youngstown Historical Society museum a few weeks ago. It was commonly known that steelworkers had some of the most dangerous conditions to work in. Especially before the advent of unions. Continue reading Warning…..
“…elections are a good deal like marriages, there is just no accounting for anyone’s taste.” – Will Rogers, 10 May 1926 You got that right Will. Of course when you made this quote Calvin Coolidge was president Hoover was just around the corner to replace him. I guess you were a pretty good predictor of the future. I had the very same thoughts in November 2004 when Mr. Bush was given a second term. I couldn’t understand the taste of the electorate that year. Continue reading No Accounting For Taste…
Books and newspaper columns talk of an “insurgency of the rational” and of the “sane, pragmatic majority” taking charge. A political action committee founded by New York’s mayor, Michael Bloomberg, plans to spend millions backing moderates and independents in state and federal elections, with a nicely balanced focus on promoting gun control (angering the right) and school reform (which makes teachers’ unions seethe). The Common Sense Coalition, set up by entrepreneurs and fund managers, wants an online “Army of Moderates” to lobby candidates and elected officials. Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, is said to be poised to launch a group … Continue reading Power To The Centrists…….
One of the current foundations of the Christianity is the atonement. Generally that is thought to be Jesus taking the wrath of God for us with his substitutional crucifixion in order to appease God wrath toward man’s sinfulness. I, like many others I’m sure, thought that atonement was a foundational issue with Jesus and the early church. In reality it was post-Constantine theologians who gave us the doctrine of original sin and the blood atonement, the belief that Jesus came to earth solely for the purpose of dying for our sins, was a doctrine not fully developed in the church … Continue reading Atonement….
We’ve lost something as a nation when we can no longer look at one another as people, as Americans, and — for people of faith — as brothers and sisters. Differing opinions have become worst enemies and political parties have devolved into nothing more than petty games of blame…. It is not about Right and Left — or merely about partisan politics — but rather about the quality of our life together. It’s about moving beyond the political ideologies that have both polarized and paralyzed us, by regaining a moral compass for both our public and personal lives — and … Continue reading Differing Opinions Have Become Worst Enemies……
“It takes a long time to find out how wrong you are sometimes.” – Will Rogers, 8 August 1933 I’m not sure why what Will declares here is true but I think it has something to do with our stubbornness. Once we get locked into a particular idea it is just so hard to admit that we might have been wrong to start with. I know it took the radical stands of Ronald Reagan for me to finally admit that I belonged to the wrong political party if I belonged to any party at all. ;) I know everyone … Continue reading It Takes A Long Time…
April 15, 2013 — The rise of the so-called “Nones”—the increasing percentage of adults who claim no religious affiliation—has been a much-discussed trend in American religion. Is the nation moving away from Christianity and other forms of conventional faith? To provide insight on this topic, Barna Group analyzed 42,855 interviews conducted in recent years, looking at 15 different measures of non-religiosity. In other words, the research explores the emerging post-Christian landscape of the nation. The above words are from an email I recently received from the Barna Organization. For those of you who might not know Barna is a Christian … Continue reading Shame On Us…….
“This is a great country. You never know where our heroes will come from.” – Will Rogers, 7 June 1933 One of the great things about this country is that anyone who is fortunately enough to have just the right circumstances come about can be a hero for future generations. Many have sports heroes who they admire for their ability to do a particular thing like putting a ball into a hole, hitting it with a stick, throwing it to a teammate. I can’t say that any of those qualities make someone a hero to me. But to each … Continue reading You Never Know….
It’s taken me many years to empty hell. As a child, I was taught only Christians would be saved. Billions of non-Christians would crowd hell. The thought of non-Christians in eternal torment didn’t disturb me because I’d been told Christians were good people and non-Christians were bad people. Since I grew up in a Midwestern American town where nearly everyone belonged to a Christian church, I had little opportunity to test this assumption. Non-Christians lived in the big city or in foreign countries—the places where we sent missionaries. I remember the first time I seriously questioned this worldview. I was … Continue reading Emptying Hell…..
I know that climate change is yet another scientific discovery that some think is false. So, what else is new? But soon the facts will just be too overwhelming for even these doubter to ignore. We as a country seem to love to go to the edge of a crisis before acting but this is not possible with global warming. It is not something that is so easily reversible. Going to the edge of destruction will mean years of having to deal with the contamination of our atmosphere. If we wait until all the polar ice caps have melted and … Continue reading Climate Change….
“[War] won’t stop till there is as much brains and scientific study put to aid peace as there is to promote war.” – Will Rogers, 1 June 1929 Of course these words were spoken not long after World War I which was inaptly titled the “war to end all wars”. Of course it didn’t accomplish that noble task. President Wilson tried his best to put together the United Nations to insure no more world wars but like these times there was just too much Republican bravado going on to prevent that from happening. I wonder what the world would be like … Continue reading The War To End All Wars….
The difference between what is legally owed the federal government and what it actually collects in taxes each year is called the “tax gap,” which the IRS recently estimated reached $385 billion in 2006. Other studies have placed that figure higher — at upwards of $600 billion. So who owes this money and why? The single biggest contributor to the tax gap — accounting for 84% of it — are people who simply under-report their income. This doesn’t usually happen to folks whose employers withholds taxes from their paychecks, as 99% of people in that position end up paying their income … Continue reading Not Paying Their Share…..
I discovered the meaning of salvation. Salvation comes with believing God loves you unconditionally. It is abandoning the misconception that you are rejected because of your bad behavior or accepted because of your goodness. Only when we repent of this self-absorption and focus on God’s love can this love alter us. Then and only then can God transform hearts darkened by sin and soften hearts hardened by self-righteousness. It is from this self-absorption that we must be saved. Often, when I speak of my belief in the salvation of every person, someone will object that without the threat of hell, … Continue reading The Meaning of Salvation….
I have ever deemed it fundamental for the United States never to take active part in the quarrels of Europe. Their political interests are entirely distinct from ours. Their mutual jealousies, their balance of power, their complicated alliances, their forms and principles of government, are all foreign toys. They are nations of eternal war. — Thomas Jefferson –Letter, 11 June 1823 to President James Monroe Even though the words of above were penned over two hundred years ago I believe they are just as valid today as they were then. The only difference is maybe I would now … Continue reading Nations of Eternal War….
April 2013 – This picture was taken at the Youngstown Historical Society building on our recent vacation. I seem to migrate to group pictures from the past. Continue reading Steelworkers….
Today, on the National Mall, I stood with fellow faith leaders, including clergy from Newtown, to remember lives lost at Sandy Hook elementary school and the 3,364 gun deaths that have happened since. We stood in front of a field of crosses, Stars of David, and other grave markers, and it broke my heart to think that each one stood for a life ended too soon. It doesn’t have to be this way. Commonsense steps to reduce gun violence are within our reach. Just today the Senate voted to begin the debate. But there is much work to do. Lawmakers … Continue reading The Common Good….
Since the very beginning, the disciples of Jesus have tried to destroy the opposition. Instead of patiently awaiting the transformation of others, we’ve quickly divided the world into “us” and “them.” We haven’t even reserved this distinction for those of other religions. We’re intolerant of any deviation from the party line. Catholics thought Protestants apostate and damned. Protestants returned the favor, then splintered into a variety of denominations. Many of those knocking on doors and sending missionaries overseas remain convinced their version of the Church is the only true Church. This exclusive understanding of salvation has its comforts. It allows … Continue reading Exclusivity of Salvation..
I am bringing up a new category with this post called “We the people”. Of course many of you know that those words are the start of our Constitution. What I have in mind for this category are posts about what polls and such show that the people of this country want as opposed to what is happening in Washington today. I must admit that I am getting pretty fed up with our dysfunctional federal government. I don’t know if this dysfunction is a planned strategy of one of the political parties or not. At this point I really don’t … Continue reading We The People…
Yesterday, while we were at breakfast at the hotel on the last day of our vacation there were several business men at another table complaining this or that about President Obama. They were talking about things that were reported on Fox News about him. It seemed they can’t wait until he is out of office. My wife being more of a political person than me (go figure) started “talking” to me about all the good things that have happened under the Obama administration. She signed to me without voicing it what was going on so I joined in. “If you want … Continue reading About The Stock Market….
“No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true. — Nathaniel Hawthorne I got this quote from a young blogger friend. It struck me as poignant as it did him. Being that I am in a different stage of my life I approach the quote in a different way than he did. In order for us to really say what we think we often do it in an anonymous manner. We don’t want to take the risk of possible reprisal for our … Continue reading Wearing a Mask…
No, this post is not about pornography on the internet. Instead it is about all those words we accidentally hit that bring up small screens to get in the way of what we are reading. I admit that I am one of those guys that uses my computer pointer to keep track of where I am on the page. I need to do that as my wife is constantly interrupting me with one emergency or another. :) But often times when I move the pointer to just the right space suddenly a another box pops us. I can’t tell you … Continue reading The Internet Mine Field…
RJ's Corner - Having My Say 