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In Modern Times Paul Johnson chronicles the rise of the Soviet terror state. “The arbitrary nature of the arrests was essential to create the climate of fear which, next to the need for labour, was the chief motive for the non-party terror. An OGPU [the Soviet secret police from 1922-34] man admitted to the Manchester Guardian Moscow correspondent that innocent people were arrested: naturally – otherwise no one would be frightened. If people, he said, were arrested only for specific misdemeanours, all the others would feel safe and so become ripe for treason.” (Harperrenial, 2001), 274-275 State-sponsored terrorism and mass murder will be Communism’s enduring legacy. With one of my book clubs, I shared my fear that many Americans are forgetting how…
Read MoreJohn Adams, who would become our second president, travelled across Europe in behalf of the young nation. Even when separated by ocean, he and his beloved wife, Abigail, stayed in touch by letter, expressing their mutual admiration and devotion, offering commentary on the major political issues of the day, and diligently tending to the pressing concerns of family life. Letters took months to arrive, so much consideration was given to their composition. Each thought had to be weighed carefully and expressed clearly, every word just right. In a 1782 letter Abigail informed him of their 17-year-old daughter Nabby’s romantic interest in a promising young lawyer, Royall Tyler, the talented son of an affluent family. Gifted with a sharp mind, he became valedictorian of his class at Harvard. By all accounts,…
Read MoreClinton Boulevard Underpass
Today the dogs and I took our Sabbath stroll to the Clinton Boulevard railroad underpass. Workers say the road will reopen in a week and a half. We’ll see. The widening looks good. As one of the workmen put it, we’ll no longer trade mirrors with oncoming traffic.
Read More“Far better no pulpit at all than a pulpit that did not, as its chief business, solemnly address men as lost sinners, summon them to repentance, faith, and humility, and entreat them, in Christ’s stead, to be reconciled to God.” – William G. Blaikie, For the Work of the Ministry. 1896 (Solid Ground, 2005), 5.
Read MoreChristian ministers seek the lost, proclaim God’s gospel of faith and repentance to all who will listen, and refuse pastoral care to no one who seeks it. Their commitment leads them to minister in dark places of human depravity. The prison complex of the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg, Germany was such a place. Housed there in 1945-46 were prominent architects of the Nazi war machine and its “Final Solution,” standing trial for crimes against peace and humanity. With them was Missouri Synod Lutheran pastor and United States Army Chaplain Henry Gerecke, who provided pastoral care to the Protestants among them. At age 50 Gerecke joined the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps. His years of leadership at City Mission in St. Louis were distinguished by care for the poor, the sick, and…
Read More“O MERCIFUL AND HEAVENLY FATHER, who has created us unto blessedness and sovereign felicity, and has given unto us thy holy law, to be the only rule and measure, whereby we should live well and godly, make us by thy good grace to renounce our own carnal and fleshly desires, and all evil company , eschewing the way of sinners, that we may bring forth such fruits of the Spirit that, being always under thy holy protection, we may have perfect assurance and confidence; that when thy Son Jesus Christ, shall appear to divide the goats from the sheep, we may be accounted among the number of them that are redeemed by his blood. Amen.” –Prayers on the Psalms from…
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