Category Archives: History

Allegories

Posted on July 12, 2012 by

John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress is perhaps the world’s best known allegory. Christian, the protagonist, travels from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City. Along the way, he passes the Slough of Despond, Giant Despair, Doubting Castle, House of the … Continue reading →

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Roger Williams

Posted on July 3, 2012 by

In the United States we often take our freedoms, such as the freedom of religion, for granted. What we experience in this country has existed but a brief moment in the overall history of the world. Prior to people like … Continue reading →

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Memento Mori

Posted on June 17, 2012 by

A couple of years ago I ran across a video made by the Kodak Company back in the late 1920s. It was a test of their color film for moving pictures. The short movie consisted of children and a smiling … Continue reading →

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Commitment

Posted on June 15, 2012 by

On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepherd rode a Redstone rocket on a short, fifteen minute hop into suborbital space, becoming the first American astronaut. He flew alone in a Mercury capsule. A few weeks later, on May 25, 1961, President … Continue reading →

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History

Posted on June 8, 2012 by

“There’s nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9) When Solomon wrote those words three thousand years ago, did he mean there were no new inventions? No new buildings? His father had seen Israel transition from being a bronze age civilization … Continue reading →

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You Know You’re Old…

Posted on May 27, 2012 by

You know you’re getting old when your first computer was a Commodore Vic 20. I purchased the machine when I was in graduate school at UCLA just as the 1980’s were beginning. The movie, Back to the Future hadn’t come … Continue reading →

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Chronocentrism

Posted on May 11, 2012 by

We’ve probably all heard of “Eurocentrism” or “ethnocentrism,” the affliction of those who believe that the way things are in their own neighborhood must be the way things are everywhere. We talk to our neighbors and colleagues, our workmates, our … Continue reading →

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Post Easter Thoughts

Posted on May 10, 2012 by

It’s been a few weeks since Easter and I’ve been thinking. Each year at Easter, it has become common for television shows and newsmagazines to produce reports about the founder of the Christian religion. One of the latest in this … Continue reading →

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A Time of Peace

Posted on May 8, 2012 by

When we watch the news on television tonight, we are likely to think that the world is sliding into oblivion, that the future is certainly dark, and that things not only are getting worse, but have always been getting worse. … Continue reading →

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Gluttony

Posted on April 9, 2012 by

The meanings of words can undergo surprising alterations over time. On occasion, the shifts are so drastic that we may end up entirely misunderstanding the actual intent of the word, with serious consequences. There can be cultural shifts that happen … Continue reading →

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