The Internet is a Fad!
In 1995 astronomer Clifford Stoll boldly predicted in Newsweek magazine that the Internet would be a passing fad. He titled his article, “The Internet? Bah!” In a Minnesota Public Radio interview he said, “I expect the value of the Internet for communications in general isn’t very high. . . . I think it’s grossly oversold and within two or three years people will shrug and say, ‘Uh yep, it was a fad of the early 90s. . . .’ simply because there’s so little of value there.” It seems he was wrong. (And Newsweek went out of print.) In a…
God Came Down
What do you celebrate at Christmas? Not just going along with the flow but consciously, deliberately celebrate. And no, Andy Williams, you foolish Christmas paganizer, it’s not the ludicrous schlock you sing about in “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” or “Happy Holidays.” Pity all who are forced to hear that nonsense in the stores and malls. Christmas is about more than baby Jesus being born. It’s much bigger than that. At Christmas we celebrate the fact that God come down. He condescended to enter this broken, sinful world because he loves us. He condescended to incarnate himself…
Suicide While Shopping
Here’s a new one: Commit suicide while shopping. A man and his girlfriend in eastern China where shopping for five hours at a mall. He’d had enough and wanted to go home. She wanted to go into one more store that had a sale on shoes. An eyewitness said, “He told her she already had enough shoes, more shoes tha[n] she could wear in a lifetime and it was pointless buying more. She started shouting at him accusing him of being a skinflint and of spoiling Christmas, it was a really heated argument.” The man dropped the bags and jumped…
Nelson Mandela: What’s Inside a Person?
What’s inside a person? Nelson Mandela is born and raised in a country village, becomes a lawyer against all odds, sacrifices everything in a fight for political freedom, becomes the leader of that fight, goes to prison for life in lieu of the death penalty for attempting to overthrow the government, gets released after 27 years, and forgives all the people who oppressed him and his people, then becomes president of the same nation and one of the most significant people of our generation. He wasn’t perfect and had a less-successful private life–divorced twice–yet he himself was the first to…
Paul Crouch Achieved His Vision
Paul Crouch, who built a Charismatic Christian television network empire, has died at 79. Loved by some, ridiculed by others; a great blessing to some, a superficial showman to others. Whatever you may think of the man is okay with me. But one thing about him deeply convicted me and is to all of us inescapable. In the mid 1970s, on the ceiling of a room in his house, he saw a vision. A map of North America appeared. From it pencil-thin lines streaked in all directions. Crouch asked, “Lord, what does this mean?” God responded with just one word:…
