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Table of Contents - Christmas 2004
Christmas-The Whole Story
Holidays, as you know, come with expectations attached. Some folks might not be able to imagine a Fourth of July without fireworks, nor Easter without lilies. For myself, I can imagine Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie, even though I can’t imagine who’d want to go there. But what I cannot imagine is having Christmas without hearing the Christmas story. So, whatever else has claimed my December days
and nights, when Christmas Eve comes, my steps turn toward the church house, and
there I will gladly sit, early or late, waiting for that one thing most of
all—for them to read to me the Christmas story. Chicken-Fried Democrat
MMMMM….Chicken-Fried Steak. One of the great comfort foods in the South. My bride and I spent the better part of our courtship cuddled around plates of one of Texas’ finest, yet least understood delicacies. You take a tough old piece of steak that would by
all respectable chefs be discarded anywhere above the Mason-Dixon line and beat
it senseless with a mallet. It’s called “tenderizing”. Get the grease hot, up to
maybe 340 degrees or so, dredge that worthless lump of rump in liberal amounts
of salt, pepper and flour, then deep-fry the life back into it. Mash potatoes,
gravy (white, not brown) and whatever over-cooked vegetables you want to lay
along side (something green is best, according to Mama). That’ll cure
post-election depression like nothing else, and don’t forget the ice tea. The Year 1904 The year is 1904 – one hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes! Here are some of the U. S. statistics for 1904: The average wage in the U.S. was 22 cents an hour. The average U.S. worker made between $200 and
$400 per year. Henlee Barnette Remembered
LOUISVILLE, KY.—Colleagues, students, family and friends remembered Baptist ethics pioneer Henlee Barnette as an “unashamed Baptist radical” at a funeral service in Louisville, Ky. Barnette, 93, died last week [Oct. 20]. He taught Christian ethics at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1951 to 1977 and wrote several books, but he was better known for controversial stands for civil rights and against the Vietnam War. Bill Leonard, dean of Wake Forest Divinity School, remembered his former colleague as a “curmudgeon, prophet, father, eccentric” in a eulogy Monday at Crescent Hill Baptist Church. “Humanly speaking, Henlee Barnett was what Jesus
would have been like if he had lived 93 years,” Leonard said. “We’re not talking
about deity here,” he quickly added, which he said Barnette would readily
acknowledge. Jesus And Swords
Note: In addition to teaching specialties in playwriting and dramatic analysis, Dr. Bert has a primary interest in the interface of theatre and Christianity, holds a BD degree from the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, and teaches adults at Second Baptist in Lubbock. In spite of Jesus clear teachings throughout his
ministry, as represented in every strand of the NT witness, many Christians—and
especially those in American evangelical churches—refuse to accept that he was a
pacifist who taught against the use of force and violence. One of the
proof-texts used to support the idea that Jesus advocated the bearing and use of
weapons is Luke 22:35-38. In this passage, immediately before leaving the upper
room to go to Gethsemane, Jesus said, “The one who has no sword must sell his
cloak and buy one.” When the disciples point out that they possess, amongst
them, a total of two swords, Jesus replies, “It is enough.” Practical Ethics of Care Giving: A
Joban Model The face of the young boy caught my attention. It seemed painfully out of place among the other pictures on the obituary page. His was the face of an angel, I thought. So peaceful. So innocent. So beautiful. Eleven years young. Gone. Beneath the haunting picture appeared tearful words wept “In Memoriam” from the family of the departed child: Please don’t ask us if we’re over it yet. We’ll
never be over it. Please don’t tell us he’s in a better place. He isn’t here
with us. Please don’t say at least he isn’t suffering. I haven’t understood why
he had to suffer at all. Please, please don’t tell us you know how we feel,
unless you have lost a child. Please don’t ask us if we feel better. Bereavement
isn’t a condition that clears up. Please don’t tell us at least you had him for
11 years. What year would you choose for your child to die? Please don’t tell us
God never gives us more than we can bear. Please just say you are sorry. Please
just say you remember Ryan. Please just let us talk about him. Please mention
Ryan’s name. Please just let us cry. Our hearts are broken. Our home is empty.
Son, we love and miss you so much. Only God knows. Updated Wednesday, January 05, 2005 |
"Decoding"
the Bible
The phenomenal popularity of The Da Vinci Code and the record-breaking sales of the Left Behind series has led some in the news media to say that decoding the Bible has become a “fad.” But it’s no fad. We Christians have been trying to decode the Bible for centuries. Some
of our efforts to decode the Bible remind me of a humorous story about an
obnoxious military officer. Still swaggering from his recent promotion to the
rank of captain, he was addressing his troops. A private ran up to him with a
message from headquarters. The captain, assuming it was another letter of
congratulations, told the private to read it out loud. “But sir,” the private
said, “You may wish to read this one privately.” “I gave you an order, son,” the
captain barked, “Read it!” So the private read it, loud enough for all to hear. Ethical Issues in
Human Resource Management
A large area of human relations management is concerned with various ethical issues, both on the part of upper–level management in its business decisions and lower–level management in the treatment of individual employees. Philosophic decisions on the relocation of areas of production or entire plants can have a major impact on the company but also can be devastating to individual employees and the communities in which they live. Management decisions must be made honestly taking all factors into consideration, including social responsibility as well as stockholder concerns. On a lower level, supervisors must, if they are to retain any sprit de corps within their unit of the organization, treat those they supervise fairly in matters of promotion and compensation. Below are three
situations that illustrate a few of the ethical challenges that may arise in
human resource management. Each is analyzed as to the appropriate ethical
response to each situation, including suggested methods of approach that would
be appropriate for the Christian businessperson. Outmoded Morals?
“The Fourth Commandment says, ‘Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall do no work.’ . . . It’s simply breaking God’s law to be open on Sundays. . . . I don’t work on Sunday because God says not to in His Word.” So spake John Cully, owner of one of the largest independent Christian bookstores in the country. He gave voice to what, a half century ago, almost 100 percent of Protestant church people on the “values and morals” front insisted was God’s law for themselves, the nation, all Christians. Jamie Dean in World (November 13) fair-mindedly
reports on the conscience-struggles of evangelical business owners and their
employees over Sabbath observance in “Day of Retain.” In contrast to Mr. Cully,
owners of the Family Christian Bookstore (FCB), a chain of 326 stores, recently
decided to open on Sundays, causing their store managers to regularly miss
church. The Haystack Prayer Meeting
There were no caves to explore where I grew up. The sandy Texas plain north of Loraine was typical of West Texas. There is only one “mountain” rising above that plain. Lone Wolf Mountain proudly bore the title of “the highest peak in Mitchell County.” Visible for miles, it rose to a majestic 800 feet above sea level. The air was no thinner on its peak than on the sandy soil below. Sand—lots of sand—produced tumble weeds, cat-claw
bushes, mesquite trees, and wild plum thickets. Book Reviews
Book Review Choosing the Good-Christian Ethics in a Complex World “Of making many books, there is no end,” says the Teacher of Ecclesiastes (12:12b). Certainly with regard to areas such as biblical studies the Teacher is exactly on target. With regard to texts related to Christian ethics, however, the Teacher is not so accurate as such get written and published only every so often. Hollinger’s
book is one of those few and most recent given to the treatment of an overview
of Christian ethics. The book’s uniqueness becomes more noticeable as the
reader realizes Hollinger has attempted to develop a perspective, a framework
for understanding and working in Christian ethics, without a major portion of
the book given to a reflection on social issues. A traditional, practically
expected, approach is to develop foundational ideas then work through issues of
human sexuality, race relations, economics, public policy, and so forth. Thus,
a commendation comes from this reviewer for Hollinger to attempt a relatively
unusual approach. The Last Rose Of Summer
Just outside my study window a rose is blooming. It is a very special rose, the last rose of summer. The rose is gorgeously red, exquisitely formed, deliciously fragrant, proudly and maybe even defiantly alone in my small rose garden, and a little bigger than it could be expected to be this late in the season, as if to show the world that it can thumb its nose at the approaching winter with its blue northers, its killing frosts, its dreadful ice storms, and its hard freezes. I salute this last rose of summer—smartly,
respectfully, admiringly. 2004 Index |
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