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When I was a youngster, we lived close to a blacksmith’s shop. The smith was a man trained to take a piece of metal, heat it, beat it, and cool it—thereby producing needed and useful articles. His tools were simple, his strength was great, and his eye was keen. The blacksmith’s implements were few: a hammer, anvil, and forge. His forge was used to produce heat;...
Sunday, October 28 marked the 50th anniversary of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev’s momentous announcement that his nation would withdraw nuclear-armed medium-range ballistic missiles from Cuba, just 90 miles from the United States. After weeks of tension and fear, the world breathed a collective sigh of relief, as nuclear cosmocide was averted. Or was it...
A friend of mine told me once that he did not feel comfortable celebrating Halloween, even though he enjoyed attending a “harvest festival” his church held each year on the evening of October 31.
So, what is Halloween to Christians, if anything? What is the origin of the holiday? Is it merely a harvest festival? Should Christians celebrate this holiday, either...
The thistle enjoys an exalted position in Scottish heraldry, and is loved by the little passive donkey Eeyore, a character in Winnie the Pooh written by A. A. Milne. Personally, I do not like thistles, but there is a reason for their existence.
In 1839, a want ad appeared in a New York newspaper: “Wanted: a few good men to train for a dangerous, low pay, weather exposed assignment.” Applicants would need to leave behind their former walks of life and become expert horsemen. The agency that placed the ad was swamped with replies, but not every applicant proved to be up to the challenge. Many were called...
Have you noticed that despite the incredibly high divorce rate in our western society, despite all the turmoil and challenge of the dating process, marriage itself remains very popular today? Many books, television shows and movies deal with the ideal goal of finding a "soul mate"—an intimate, long-term, committed companion in life. People will seemingly try...
In the spring our feathered friends serenade us every morning outside our windows. This birdsong is beautiful, enchanting and otherwise indescribable in the way it evokes heartwarming emotions and a sense of peace and comfort. How do birds sing?
Political correctness: it is a term that brings with it a shudder, a twist of the mouth, and often a sarcastic remark. It has become so pervasive that it impacts all levels of our society and impedes our communication with others. What is the point? Why has this worthless concept and practice become so prevalent?
How do you define honour? In times past, the word honour was reserved for those with an exceptional sense of honesty, integrity and loyalty. Recently, it has been used in a new way which acts as a slap in the face of those who actually seek to personify those three virtuous traits. Honour has become an acceptable way to describe a man dealing out his own...
To think about the universe stretches the mind. Man, through the sciences of astrophysics and cosmology, continues to learn—and speculate—about the origins of the universe. But the bigger question is, “What was before the universe?”