On July 4, 1776, the 13 American colonies declared independence from Great Britain. Their formal declaration included this familiar affirmation: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”…

In his book “Nazi Germany and the Jews: The Years of Persecution, 1933-1939,” Saul Friedlander explains that Hitler’s assault on the Jewish people began with economic oppression. Doctors, lawyers, professors, musicians, and professionals of all kinds were excluded from their workplaces. Jewish shops were boycotted. Jewish students were denied access to the universities. Tragically, the…

One spring morning I rolled my trash can to the street. It was about 7:00. The sun was rising. The sweet fragrance of honeysuckle hung in the warm air. It was a lovely day. But another smell was wafting on the breeze, too. A skunk had decided to liven things up a bit. I could…

It’s interesting to experience the changes in perspective brought about by the march of time. At age 20, 30 is old, and 50 is only one step from the nursing home. At age 30, 20 is immature, 50 is middle age, and 70 is only one step from the nursing home. At age 50, 20…

On Friday afternoon, Carolyn and I were scanning groceries at a self-checkout line in the Balch Springs Wal-Mart. Suddenly, a woman nearby started screaming at her daughter. Her rant was laced with expletives (which I won’t repeat): “I have given you the whole world, and you give me no respect! You’re 12 years old, and…

The four Gospels are full of apparent inconsistencies. For example, Mark says that “as Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside” (10:46). But Luke says that as Jesus “drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by…

Scientists know everything, so they should be trusted. They always have the best interest of humankind at heart. Except when they don’t. Who worked tirelessly to create the 1945 nuclear explosions that killed roughly 200,000 people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Um, scientists? We are constantly being told that “all reputable scientists” know things that the…

In the centuries just after creation, people lived exceptionally long lives. Adam lived to be 930. Methuselah, the man who lived the longest, reached the age of 969! These incredible lifespans were made possible by pristine environment and freedom from disease. Methuselah’s father lived a comparatively short lifespan, though. The Bible says that “all the…

One time I heard about a fascinating experiment performed by a teacher at a Christian university. At the beginning of the semester, he handed out a 24-question survey about Jesus: “Did being in a big crowd make Jesus nervous?” “Did Jesus enjoy parties?” At the end of the semester, the professor handed out a similar…

By Brent Smith [Brent is the preaching minister of the Trenton Church of Christ in Trenton, TN.] Contagious diseases were around in Bible times, too.  Leprosy was a terrible illness that sometimes left victims with disfigured faces and missing digits on hands and feet.  Following the Law of Moses, infected persons were quarantined and practiced…