Sword & trowel: Drive-by critics
The other day, I was enjoying some caffeine and conversation at a local coffee shop with some buddies. I must have been talking too loudly and got on a soap box, talking about Christians and morality, when it happened. Another person suddenly burst into our conversation and said, “Hey, I want to challenge what you just said. I know many atheists, and they are some really moral people, too.” Surprised by the sudden comment, I thanked...
Sword & trowel: Apocalypse now?
Plagues and disease. Major events unfolding in the Middle East. Astronomical events in the skies. The upending of entire governments and social structures. It’s easy to see why many correspond these events to those described in the Book of Revelation and the end times. The years I’m describing, however, are not 2020; I’m describing happenings or events surrounding the year 1000 A.D., as recalled by one historian. There is a tendency...
Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief called to Louisiana after Hurricane Laura
Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief (DR) is responding to a call for help from Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura, according to Don Williams, Oklahoma Baptists’ DR state director . “We have been in close conversations with leaders coordinating the disaster response,” Williams said. “Oklahoma Baptists have been called on to help, and we will answer that call.” Oklahoma’s trained DR volunteers...
BLOG: Birthday boom and bust
The “Happy Birthday” parade on Facebook has to be one of the best redeeming aspects of the social media giant. Yet recently, on my birthday, Facebook forgot. I don’t mean the tech-platform behemoth itself, but the reminder Facebook is supposed to send people seemed not to happen. So there I sat, partway through the day with nary a “Happy Birthday” text or Facebook message. Fortunately, my wonderful wife and kids, as well as my parents...
Sword & trowel: Historical amnesia
Amnesia (noun) am·ne·sia | \ am-’nē-zhә \ 1: loss of memory due usually to brain injury, shock, fatigue, repression or illness 2: a gap in one’s memory 3: the selective overlooking or ignoring of events or acts that are not favorable or useful to one’s purpose or position Rufus Fears, the late historian who served as a distinguished professor at the University of Oklahoma for many years, once noted that we live in an...
