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Thank you for posting this story. Given the U.S. commercial tendency to skip from Halloween (ignoring All Saints day) to Christmas, it is wonderful to feast on any Thanksgiving stories forthcoming. Blessings.

The DOJ announced it was sending two inmates, whose execution was commuted by President Biden, to life in the Supermax prison in Colorado. Here is what that sentence entails: “Supermax prisoners are confined to a 7-by-12-foot concrete cell 23 hours a day. And by concrete, the walls, floor, a...

Thank you for the comments. We almost agree. Certainly to understand better our own faith, we need to understand the faiths of others. Also, as a Christian, one might say, “I am going to live as a Buddhist for a period of time” in order to fully understand it. (See, for example, the book “A...

Thank you for the post! This spiritual beginning of the Chinese people is all new to me (although not surprising). I had never run across Shang Di, the one supreme God. (Will look into more.) Question: how did the Chinese lose their spiritual roots? For comparison, although the Hebrew...

Good questions! Since each of us is invited to have a personal relationship with God, my thoughts on the questions are therefore a reflection of my own feeble understanding and capabilities. So: what are we to make of the different versions on loving God? For the record, here is the Luke...

For the moment, I will set aside your excellent “what else“ question, which deserves some hard thought and self-reflection. Regarding His expectations, maybe they are there, but not in the form of Leviticus verses. Jesus clarified much with the two great commandments. John Wesley in turn...

Thanks for the comments. You may have a point: the prohibition against polygamy and slavery are relatively new Western ideas, and originated from Christians. However, as many a pastor has noted, the Bible always describes the problems in a polygamous family, and some slavery was voluntary. The...

Thank you for the questions. First, a review of cultures and communities across the globe will reveal the Importance of lifelong marriages to their stability. (Common thread: belief that the spiritual world is as real as the physical world, even in the absence of monotheism.) Second, Judaism...

Thank you all for the commments. God tells that “24 a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh,” and Jesus repeated it, so it must be important. Some takeaways: * God is telling us that lifelong married men & women, and their...

Thank you, and congratulations. Generic questions: * how did you decide this particular person was the right one, and how has that turned out over time? * do you believe God had a pivotal role in bringing you together? * what questions would you ask a couple thinking about marriage? Peace.

Thank you for your comments. Agreed: teaching religion does not belong in a public school. So, may be civics should be taught again—Not just the structure of our government and the political duties of citizens, but respect for the rule of law. In our city there is increasing violence...

Good one! Related: Benjamin Franklin had a list of a dozen “values” or “behavioral attributes” against which he would review his own conduct (hard look in the mirror). One of those was humility, and he had to admit it was the most difficult one to evaluate. ”My how humble I was today”...

Thanks for introducing an interesting topic. Some sound reasons why Christians can speak and should about their faith with (quiet) pride: —started first hospitals and continues to fund them —started and maintains prison ministry (unique to Christianity) —faith is backed by an internally...

Thank you for the response. To begin: a God-given conscience means we each are endowed with the ability to understand concepts like “right” and “wrong” independent of reward/punishment. In contrast, other social mammals do not have this understanding: they live in “might makes right” worlds...

Thank you for the response. Now we have another issue. Good Christians know that without God’s help, we are tempted to stray and rationalize strictly un-Christ-like behavior. Born-again Christians must be diligent and appropriately prayerful. (Aside: And there are contributors to this space...

Thank you (and others) for the thorough analysis of the new topic. Impressive! My question is: what exactly is the Apostle referring to in these verses? What behaviors did he discover when preaching to these gentiles? Some clues are in Acts 28:1-7 28 Once safely on shore, we found out that...

Ok, so now consider Romans 2:14-15 14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also...

Thank you for the comments. Our remaining differences are so small they do not appear worth pursuing in this format. Instead, here is the Apostle Paul on Original Sin. Does this resonate with you? Romans 5: 12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin...

Could we back up and clarify some points? You said it doesn’t make sense that God would punish all of humanity for A&E’s (unrepentant) transgression (and I agree, actually). But that is the standard definition of original sin: our inheritance of the first corrupted souls. Yet a few sentences...