We are part of a “Life Group” through the church in Auburn.  We are four couples of similar age and circumstance who meet every other week or so for dinner, conversation, and Bible Study.  The group is a great joy for us.

Several group meetings back, our study took us to Hebrews 1 and the mention of angels as “ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14).  As our discussion unfolded, we talked about some of the popular conception (and misconception) of angels – both in the church and in the culture. Someone remembered the line from the old film, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” where we are told that every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.

At least one member of our group did not remember the line or anything about Clarence, the guardian angel sent to help poor George Bailey in his time of despair.  We decided we needed to right the wrong, so this past Tuesday night our group gathered for good food and conversation, but mostly to watch “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Continue reading →

Becky and I have been away visiting family this week, so just a brief observation:

The church has a well-deserved bad reputation for how it has dealt with heretics and their heresies.  I could write about that someday.  But our record with heretics and heresies doesn’t mean heresy and heretics don’t exist nor does it mean that defending truth and denying falsehood is necessarily a bad thing.

Which leads me to a great heresy brewing in the non-church word.

General Motors has announced plans to expand the Corvette line beyond the iconic sports car to an SUV and a four-door sedan.  Yes, heresy, and it would seem safe to say General Motors is now led by heretics.

The Corvette’s production run and my lifetime are nearly synonymous, so I think I should have a say in this.  Heresy!  Don’t tell me about the Porsche sedan and SUV. Two wrongs don’t make a right.

I am not suggesting burning at the stake, but what will become of us if we let heresy and the heretics have their way?

Someday I will write about heresy and heretics in the church. It’s a problem there, too.

Is more likely than a white Christmas

According to the National Weather Service, we have about a 39% chance of a white Christmas in Auburn, Indiana. The NWS defines a white Christmas as one with a snowfall of an inch or more. We’ll see.

In the meantime, we have a 100% chance of a schizophrenic Christmas. I define a schizophrenic Christmas as one where it is not clear at all what in the world we are celebrating.

Of course, a schizophrenic Christmas is nothing new. The first schizophrenic Christmas may have taken place in Rome sometime during the Fourth Century when newly converted pagans started celebrating the birth of Jesus instead of the Saturnalia, all the while keeping their favorite traditions of the pagan holiday. In the Twenty-first Century newly converted pagans enjoy something more akin to the Saturnalia, all the while keeping their favorite traditions of the Christian holiday.

We see it all the time.

I absolutely love our neighborhood’s best lawn display of Christmas lights. The owners do everything themselves; it’s not paid a service or a computer generated show.  Thank you! Continue reading →

This year’s Presidential Thanksgiving Proclamation has not yet been released to the public (I am writing on Tuesday, two days prior to Thanksgiving Day).  Back in 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued the first of now 160 consecutive proclamations calling for the last (now fourth) Thursday in November to be a day of national thanksgiving.  Lincoln’s was published in early October to give the citizens of the nation time to prepare for the day.

They say Secretary of State William Seward wrote the first draft of the 1863 Proclamation.  Lincoln may have added to it, or perhaps Seward knew his boss’ mind well.  It is very Lincolnesque.

In the proclamation, Lincoln (Seward) acknowledges the reality of a civil war of “unequalled magnitude and severity.” 1863 was the year of Gettysburg and Chickamauga.

The proclamation also reminded the people “the year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies.” Continue reading →

In the way they calculate such things, the U.N. figures world population hit 8 billion this past Tuesday. While they admit they might be off by as much as a year or so, Vinice Mabansag, a little girl born in Manilla on Tuesday, has been dubbed little human #8 billion. The BBC has an interesting piece on babies #5, 6, and 7 billion.

When I was born there were only a little more than 2.5 billion of  us, so in my life time, I have seen the world’s population more than triple and be called a ticking time bomb. Now with the world’s population expected to peak at about 10 billion in another 60 years, there is more worry among the demographers about implosion than explosion. Who is going to take care of all the old folks?

I will leave the implosions and the explosions to the experts. 8 billion of us. I have been in a football stadium with 70,000 fans. Becky and I have flown into Sao Paulo, Brazil, several times. At 24 million people, it is the fifth largest city in the world. It stretches from horizon to horizon as you make your final approach for landing. I can’t fathom 8 billion people. Continue reading →