By Jim Nichols It is a maneuver used often by younger students in a religious situation. The teacher requires each child to memorize a verse from the Bible and recite it for everyone. As you might guess, each child gravitates toward a short and simple verse. They already learned from older children that “Jesus wept” will be acceptable, though not

By Jim Nichols It is probably asking too much routinely of a television newscast, but the other night a single sentence had some weight. The story concerned a criminal activity in another state; it was a serious situation in action and consequences. In the report, an attorney for one of the accused said, “He’s only eighteen; he had no idea

By Jim Nichols Even those of us who value scripture as having a special holiness and importance recognize that there are other words spoken or written by humans that have more than a hint of inspiration. A preacher friend of mine would consistently identify those by saying offhandedly, “Why, that’s almost Bible.” Here are some samples. I am continually surprised

By Jim Nichols There was a backyard conversation recently, a kind of wildlife fantasy. It was possible to eavesdrop thanks to modern technology. Only a few people know that Amazon is now selling what can best be called a “wildlife language translator.” I bought one. The instructions were not too clear as to whether the device was listening to actual

By Jim Nichols The winter Olympics are on television right now and, as usual, they are spectacular in multiple aspects. Strength, skill, and technique abound, as does courage. Can you imagine how many times each of those athletes has fallen during practice? And not just fallen but fallen on ice? Ice is hard. Hold those thoughts about making mistakes and

By Jim Nichols There are multiple folk versions of the parable of the blindmen trying to describe an elephant. You will remember that one man felt the side of the animal and described it as a wall. Another felt the trunk and said it was a snake. Various other descriptions were a spear (tusk), tree (leg), fan (ear), rope (tail,)

By Jim Nichols Like others, I have been amused at news reports suggesting that younger people have difficulty telling time on an analog clock or watch. In our digital age, there is apparently something mysterious about a circular clock face with numbers and hands that move around the circumference. That contrasts with my rite of passage (like tying my shoes)

By Jim Nichols There are words in our language that can have quite different meanings depending on the context of their use. One such word merits our interest here; the word is “agency.” Most commonly, when someone uses that word the reference is to a division of the government, that is, some federal agency. For example, the Central Intelligence Agency

By Jim Nichols Sometimes I write to myself rather than to you, readers. I was probably six or seven years old when I received my first, very own Bible. Oak Park Christian Church must have had a Bible giveaway to children of a certain age. I was proud of that Bible; my father had wonderful printing ability, and he inscribed