In Shakespeare’s Richard II, the dying Duke of Lancaster tells the Duke of York: “O, but they say the tongues of dying men enforce attention like deep harmony: Where words are scarce they are seldom spent in vain, for they breathe their words in pain.”299
DEATH, FEAR OF
A dying man was fearful, even though he was a born-again Christian. He expressed his feelings to his Christian doctor. The physician was silent, not knowing what to say. Just then a whining and scratching was heard at the door. When the doctor opened it, in bounded his big beautiful dog, who often went with … Continue reading “DEATH, FEAR OF”
DEATH, ENOCH’S TRANSLATION TO HEAVEN
Enoch lived to be 365 years old. The Bible says that he walked with God and God took him away. A little girl described this experience to her mother. “Mamma,” she said, “one day Enoch and God took a walk together. They walked and they talked, and they talked and they walked, until Enoch finally … Continue reading “DEATH, ENOCH’S TRANSLATION TO HEAVEN”
DEATH, BELIEVER’S RESPONSE TO
The inevitable tomb is not a period at the end of the sentence of life, but a conjunction connecting us with the life to come.284 A father gave this counsel to his married daughter on the first anniversary of her mother’s death: “I had forty wonderful years with your Mom,” he said, “the best years … Continue reading “DEATH, BELIEVER’S RESPONSE TO”
CULTS, RESPONSE TO
When the FBI trains staff members to identify counterfeit bills, they are not required to study fake money. Instead they undergo a thorough study of genuine currency as the best preparation to identify counterfeit money. Believers should approach cults in the same way. If they do, they will experience similar results.278
CULTS, RECRUITS OF
Dr. Margaret Thaler Singer, a psychologist at the University of California at Berkeley, said of people the cults seek to recruit: “About one-third are very psychologically distressed people. The other two-thirds are relatively average people, but in a period of depression, gloom, being at loose ends, such people are vulnerable to well-planned recruitment techniques” (Time, … Continue reading “CULTS, RECRUITS OF”
CRITICISM, IGNORING
Sailors in the northern oceans have frequently observed icebergs traveling in one direction in spite of strong winds blowing in the opposite direction. The icebergs were moving against the winds, but how? The explanation is that the icebergs, with eight-ninths of their bulk under the water surface, were caught in the grip of strong currents … Continue reading “CRITICISM, IGNORING”
CREATION – CREATOR
John Haldone, a scientist, once suggested to Monsignor Knox that in a universe containing millions of planets it was inevitable that life would appear by chance on one of them. “Sir,” said Knox, “if Scotland Yard found a body in your Saratoga trunk, would you tell them, ‘There are millions of trunks in the world—surely … Continue reading “CREATION – CREATOR”
CREATION, COMPLEXITY OF
Dr. Carl Sagan, a famous astronomer and author who professes to have no belief in God or the Bible, has nevertheless recognized the complexity of the design of creation. In his book The Dragons of Eden (New York: Ballantine, 1978) he describes the complexity of a chromosome: A single human chromosome contains twenty billion bits … Continue reading “CREATION, COMPLEXITY OF”
COUNTRY
Carl Schurz, a nineteenth-century political reformer, put the statement “My country, right or wrong” into proper perspective: “Our country, right or wrong. When right, to be kept right; when wrong, to be put right.”259