By JIM NICHOLS It was a child’s birthday party, and the excitement level was high. However, there was one clear problem. What was supposed to be a set of eight cupcakes had mistakenly been made into one cake which was going to have to be cut before serving. It was a beautiful cake, tempting the eyes of the children and
Read moreBy DANNY MINTON I recently watched a TV drama where a man’s wife and son were kidnapped. He searched for them, but the area where they were taken was unfamiliar to him. The man decided to hire a guide who knew the territory and could help him navigate the many places he could look to find his family. He followed
Read moreBY BECKA A. ALPERPew Research Center In recent years, U.S. public opinion has become modestly more positive toward both sides in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Overall, Americans continue to express more positive feelings toward the Israeli people than toward the Palestinian people – and to rate the Israeli government more favorably than the Palestinian
Read moreTHE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury In 1845, poetess Elizabeth Barrett tried to count the ways she loved Robert Browning, her suitor and eventual husband. Her heralded message came through with clarity in her poem, “How Do I Love Thee?” Recollection of her counting came to mind in recent days during my attempts to count the ways broadcast journalists have
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By JIM NICHOLS The four males were clearly trying to impress one another—or at least three of them were. “I like to play baseball,” said one. “It has such a long history, and everyone plays it at some time in their life. Developing the skills and strength to ‘hit a round ball with a round bat and hit it squarely’
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Editor’s Note: McMurry University is affiliated with the United Methodist Church, which is undergoing a significant change. The Global Methodist Church, a more conservative branch of Methodism, launched on May 1, 2022. Some congregations, including many of those in the Northwest Annual Conference, are expected to leave the United Methodist Church for the new denomination. Following is a Q&A with
Read moreBy NANCY PATRICK I entitled my last article “A Good Place,” generally referring to times in our lives that we might label as good, better, or best. Obviously, those adjectives cover a wide range of options that could relate to age, health, financial stability, localities, social issues, political, or even spiritual conditions. That title specifically referred to an upcoming spinal
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By JIM NICHOLS The question jumped out of the page to me: “How did faith and medical science become, for some people, mutually exclusive?” The question should be broadened to ask how, for some people, did faith and science itself become mutually exclusive, even antagonistic? We could point back to Darwin as a possible instigator. People of many faiths have
Read moreCarson Reed usually is slow to use the word “crisis” to describe a situation, “but it may well be apt for our day,” he writes in the Mosaic blog hosted by the Siburt Institute for Church Ministry, where he serves as director. “In addition to the many churches that are in decline, something else that we are observing is a
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Spirit Of Abilene 