Sticks, stones, Christian bones (When Christians fight, the reporters catch the action) (March 1982) – Someone once said that everywhere the Apostle Paul went they had a riot or a revival. Now all we do is serve tea and cookies…
The bookracks of Baal (Why does literature in America resemble Belshazzar’s feast?) (April 1982) – A sad thing is happening in our land. More and more gifted writers are dipping their goblets, once dedicated for sacred use, into the wine of pornography…
Sinkholes and other ‘acts of God’ (Do we have exclusive clauses for God’s radical actions?) (May 1982) – Down here in Florida we have an interesting underground geological formation which causes sinkholes…
Thoughts on turning 50 (It’s time to look forward and cooperate with God’s plan) (June 1982) – It’s not death I fear — although I’ve thought about it a lot as I approach my 50th birthday. Rather it’s the possibility of growing old without purpose which frightens me…
The truth about dog days gospel (July/August 1982) – Hendersonville, NC: Here in the mountains of western North Carolina “dog days” officially begins July 28th. The local folks, many of whom I’ve known since I started spending my summers here in 1939, tell me the season lasts 40 days, beginning when the Dog Star makes its bright appearance over the eastern horizon…
Must gifted teachers stay home or can the abuses be corrected? (September 1982) – A friend of mine, an extraordinary teacher who travels extensively as well as having local responsibilities, declared last week that he was now refusing all invitations to speak away from home…
Should Christians endorse every Israeli action? (October 1982) – One Christian Lebanese, whose house had been destroyed by the Israeli army (IDF), likened the invasion of Lebanon to the Allied invasion of France in World War II. Cities were destroyed, blood shed, but it was necessary to rid the nation of terrorists…
Christians in court make sad spectacles (November 1982) – Is it right for Christians to sue each other in secular court? The Larry Tomczak case is a tragic answer…
What mystical longing calls us home for Christmas? (December 1982) – I write this aboard a jet liner speeding south from one of the nation’s great northern cities. I am heading home for Christmas. How eager I am to see the face of my wife, embrace my now-grown children who are gathering at the old homestead, grab my little grandchildren and swing them high…