2003 Archives - UCG Commentary
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Rising European Power: Threat to
the United States?
History shows us that today's rising economic power is tomorrow's superpower.
So it was with Britain and the United States. So it is now with the
European Union (EU)...
A commentary by Melvin Rhodes
Good News writer and regional pastor, Ghana
Posted December 30, 2003
"Separation of Church
and State" Is Not Uniformly Applied
Question: What does Judge Roy Moore's Ten Commandments monument have
in common with a Christmas tree? Answer: They are both religious symbols.
Next question: So why was the monument removed when Christmas trees
abound in schools and governmental buildings...
A commentary by Larry Walker
United Church of God pastor, Bend, Oregon
Posted December 23, 2003
The Unrealized Lesson
of Saddam's Fall and Capture: What Is It?
Now Saddam himself has been captured in the most humbling of circumstances—his
appearance a far cry from the swaggering poses of his dictatorial rule.
Images of "the mother of all mugshots" are on most front pages
of daily newspapers around the globe. But he is not the first ruler
to suffer abject humiliation...
A commentary by John Ross Schroeder
Good News writer and elder in Watford, England
Posted December 15, 2003
The Holiday Stress Begins:
Xmas Shopping, a Time to Add to Your Debt Burden
These are the four stressful weeks in which millions fight traffic and
mall crowds seeking the perfect gifts at the perfect price. Then the
other shoe drops in January when the credit card bills arrive. Let us
offer you a simple plan to avoid the stress and debt burden...
A commentary by Bruce Gore
United Church of God pastor, Birmingham and Gadsden, Alabama, and Rome,
Georgia
Posted December 2, 2003
What Is the Ultimate Reason
to be Thankful?
This week, most Americans will be focusing on Thanksgiving Day with
its traditional turkey dinner and pumpkin pie. But people will have
various reasons for celebrating. Some will consider it as an opportunity
to take part in another routine holiday party; others will consider
their own circumstances and America’s place in the world as they
seriously examine reasons to really be genuinely thankful...
A commentary by Edmond Macaraeg
United Church of God pastor, Philippines
Posted November 25, 2003
Jesus Christ, Ronald Reagan, and Fidel
Castro
Jesus Christ, Ronald Reagan and Fidel Castro. What do these figures
have in common? The fact that mainstream media and entertainment commonly
portray all three with great dishonesty. Jesus Christ is continually
the target of those with an antibiblical bias. Ronald Reagan is belittled.
Fidel Castro is whitewashed. The main problem? An overwhelming lack
of truth...
A commentary by Don Hooser
United Church of God pastor, Austin, Waco, and Coleman, Texas
Posted November 11, 2003
Truthful Tribal Storytelling
To teach our children the stories of history—parent, clan and
tribe—requires that the adult generation see clearly the value
of history itself.
A commentary by Randy Stiver
United Church of God pastor, Coos Bay, Eugene, and Roseburg, Oregon
Posted November 4, 2003
Has America Lost Its "Moral Mind?"
I think of the summer of 2003 as the time when America lost its moral
mind. What has happened to this country, a nation built on Judeo-Christian
values? Subjects that were once taboo and considered inappropriate
for public discussion are now regularly portrayed as normal, healthy
behavior. I believe that some in our society have invented an imitation
morality—and that many people have blindly accepted it.
A commentary by Cecil Maranville
United Church of God elder in Glendale, Arizona
Posted October 28, 2003
What's Your Bias?
Everyone seems to be biased these days. In the Middle East, the Israelis
know that they are a peace-loving people and that the Palestinians
are terrorists. Talk to a Palestinian and you’ll hear that it's
the Israelis who are the terrorists. Of course, bias—supporting
one viewpoint over another—isn't limited to the Middle East.
It seems to pervade just about everything.
A commentary by David Treybig
Pastor of United Church of God congregations in St.Petersburg and Tampa,
Florida
Posted October 3, 2003
Think Twice Before You Hit That
Remote Control
Last year, the 2002-2003 television season provided a challenge for
any viewer who desired relaxing entertainment that was not laced with
sex, offensive language, or gutter themes. However, this season will
be, by all indications, much worse!
A commentary by Rex Sexton
Pastor of United Church of God congregations in Olympia and Tacoma,
Washington
Posted September 30, 2003
Those Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer . . .
After a winter of getting up in the dark, coming home in the dark with
freezing temperatures and snowstorms, Canadians long for the first
robin and signs of spring. With the long sunsets of summer, they love
the outdoors...
A commentary by Graemme Marshall
Pastor of the United Church of God congregation in Ottawa, Canada
Posted September 23, 2003
Removal of Ten Commandments Monument—Symbolic
of Rejecting God?
Chief Justice Roy Moore of the Alabama Supreme Court gained widespread
notoriety by his defiant stance against a federal court order to remove
a Ten Commandments monument from the Alabama State Judicial Building.
This 2 1/2-ton block of granite has been described as an icon in the
controversy over separation of church and state...
A commentary by Larry Walker
United Church of God pastor, Bend, Oregon
Posted September 16, 2003
Connecting the Dots in a Disconnected
World
Remember the puzzles we played where you connect the dots to reveal
a picture of an object or a person? I have been thinking recently about
this game and applying it to our current world. A new image is appearing.
Can we see it? Do we see it but pretend it is not happening, and thus
settle for a world of soothing denial...
A commentary by Darris McNeely
United Church of God pastor, Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, Indiana
Posted September 9, 2003
What's in a Name?
It happens so frequently that most people probably don't even notice
it. Considering the number of biblical terms and names used, a non-English
speaker with a dictionary could be forgiven for thinking Britain is
a very religious nation...
A commentary by Peter Hawkins
Pastor of United Church of God congregations in Bricket Wood and Tonbridge,
England
Posted September 2, 2003
Thou Shalt Not Show the Ten Commandments
It's hard to say which was the greater miscarriage of justice in the
U.S. justice system this week—the federal court order that a
granite monument containing the Ten Commandments be removed from the
Alabama State Judicial Building, or the U.S. Supreme Court's refusal
to have anything to do with the case...
A commentary by Scott Ashley
Good News managing editor
Posted August 22, 2003
Mr. Berlusconi and The Two Souls of
Europe
The European Parliament is now under the leadership of the Italian prime
minister, Silvio Berlusconi, and the next six months will likely see
passionate debate as Europe strives to assume a major role in world
affairs...
A commentary by Carmelo Anastasi
Pastor of United Church of God congregations in Milan and Naples, Italy
Posted August 19, 2003
"God Bless America"—But
Why Should He?
Many Europeans see America as, among other things, a country of contrasts.
At times some of those contrasts cast a baffling image across the Atlantic.
Religion is a prime example. The men who wrote the U.S. Constitution
were believers in God...
A commentary by Paul Kieffer
Pastor of United Church of God congregations in Germany
Posted August 12, 2003
Saddam, Hitler, and Stalin: Beyond
Satan's Slaves
People today blithely stumble along in their lives, ignorant of the
fact that there is a "god of this world", Satan the devil,
who is in control behind the scenes and behind much of what happens
on earth. Although most human beings either ignore or deny this truth,
God doesn’t. He has a plan to resolve this greatest of problems...
A commentary by Jerold Aust
Good News writer from Mobile, Alabama
Posted August 5, 2003
Are You Just an Accident?
"Welcome and congratulations. I am delighted you could make it. Getting here
wasn't easy." These are the first sentences of the introduction to best-selling
author Bill Bryson's new book, A Short History of Nearly Everything.
He is referring to your arrival on earth as a human being...
A commentary by John Ross Schroeder
Good News writer from Watford, England
Posted July 29, 2003
Same-Sex Marriage is Unbiblical
Once again, "same-sex marriage" is in the news. The U.S. Supreme Court
recently struck down a Texas law banning "deviate sexual intercourse
with another individual of the same sex."...
A commentary by Larry Walker
United Church of God pastor, Bend, Oregon
Posted July 23, 2003
"Ich bin ein Berliner," revisited
Three thousand people gathered in Berlin's Schöneberg town hall
square on June 26 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of U.S. President
John F. Kennedy's famous "Ich bin ein Berliner” speech. The
crowd was much smaller than the estimated nearly half million people
who in 1963 heard Kennedy say those four words...
A commentary by Paul Kieffer
Pastor of United Church of God congregations in Germany
Posted July 16, 2003
The Supreme Court Decision on Sodomy:
Answerable to a Higher Court?
Sodomy is now legal all over America, following a decision of the U.S.
Supreme Court that struck down anti-sodomy laws in 13 states. Other
states had already changed laws that went back centuries...
A commentary by Melvin Rhodes
Good News writer and United Church of God pastor, Lansing,
Michigan
Posted July 9, 2003
There's More Than a Crack on the
Bell
Every American knows there is one big famous crack in the American icon
of the Liberty Bell of Philadelphia, but what other ageless story does
this instrument so associated with freedom tell us that still rings
true...
A commentary by Robin Webber
United Church of God pastor, Los Angeles and Bakersfield, California
Posted July 2, 2003
What's Behind the Troubling
Rise in Anti-Semitism?
Today in Europe we are seeing a resurgence of anti-Semitism. In the
two years since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center
and the Pentagon, anti-Semitism has been on the increase in Europe...
A commentary by Bruce Gore
United Church of God pastor, Birmingham and Gadsden, Alabama, and Rome,
Georgia
Posted June 24, 2003
What's Behind the Rising European
Superstate?
While the world focuses on the continuing violence in the Middle East,
prophetically significant events are transpiring in Europe. On Friday,
June 13, the Convention on the Future of Europe completed its work of
drafting a new constitution for the European Union...
A commentary by Tom Robinson
Good News magazine staff writer
Posted June 17, 2003
America the Ugly?
Beyond the obvious differences among nationalities, something else is
spoiling the relationships between Americans and their friends abroad.
For the last 50 years the unstoppable spread of an insidious American
culture has become a blight that is increasingly resented everywhere...
A commentary by John Elliott
United Church of God pastor, Phoenix and Yuma, Arizona
Posted June 3, 2003
A Brief History of Prayer
In the slipstream of 9/11, Afghanistan, Iraq and the war on terror,
Americans pray again. President Bush's, genuine, non-photo-op, not-crying-on-cue
example of personal prayer and faith presents a huge motivating factor.
Yes, amazing but true, prayer has come back to America...
A commentary by Randy Stiver
United Church of God pastor, Coos Bay, Eugene and Roseburg, Oregon
Posted May 20, 2003
The "Road Map" to Peace in
the Mideast: Will It Work?
The United States is once again offering and vigorously trying to implement
a road map to peace between the Palestinians and the state of Israel.
Realistically, even with the full weight of the U.S. presidency and
high-level American diplomatic efforts, the obstacles may prove very
steep if not insurmountable...
A commentary by John Ross Schroeder
Good News writer from Watford, England
Posted May 13, 2003
Fear and Flying
A hundred years after the Wright brothers, is the airline industry in
danger of being grounded?
A commentary by Mike Bennet
Managing Editor of United News
Posted May 9, 2003
Lessons From the SARS Epidemic
The latest theory about the origin of the epidemic should be of great
interest to those who take the Bible seriously, particularly its instructions
regarding health and diet.
A commentary by Scott Ashley
Managing Editor of The Good News magazine
Posted April 29, 2003
SARS and Bible Prophecy
Many who read the prophecies about world conditions prior to Jesus'
return to this earth find them hard to believe. "Outlandish!" "Wild!" "Weird!" "Unbelievable!" These
are common perceptions. But for those who have eyes to see and the
courage to reflect, SARS should change this view.
A commentary by David Treybig
United Church of God pastor, Tampa and St. Petersburg, Fla.
Posted April 22, 2003
Not All Christians Observe Easter
I have been a minister for many years, yet I will not be conducting
Easter Sunday services this week. In fact I haven’t observed
Easter for four decades. Nor do I observe Christmas, the other main
holiday of mainstream Christianity. Over the years, I have known and
worshipped with thousands of others who do not keep these days.
A commentary by Larry Walker
United Church of God pastor, Bend, Oregon
Posted April 16, 2003
Don't Fight for a Dying Regime
"Don’t fight for a dying regime!" This was the advice of President
Bush to the Iraqi people and soldiers just before the Iraq war began. Baghdad
seems to have finally been freed from Saddam Hussein’s grip. His regime
and brutal rule appear almost over. As life goes on and the U.S. military
tries to sort out the next government and prevent anarchy and civil war, questions
remain.
A commentary by Paul Suckling
United Church of God pastor, Worcester, Mass., and Portsmouth, N.H.
Posted April 15, 2003
Toppling the Image of Evil
The dramatic scenes of jubilant Iraqis hanging a noose around the neck
of the statue of Saddam Hussein were a dramatic symbol of a repressive
dictatorial regime coming to an end. The job now appears to have been
accomplished, and to put it in perspective there is no better place
to turn than the pages of your Bible...
A commentary by Darris McNeely
United Church of God pastor, Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, Indiana
Posted April 10, 2003
Real Peace Is More Than Absence of
War
Violence and war result in widespread suffering, often resulting in
deaths and injuries of civilians and other innocent victims. However,
other alternatives often perpetuate the same problems when a violent,
evil leader is allowed to remain in power...
A commentary by Larry Walker
United Church of God pastor, Bend, Oregon
Posted April 8, 2003
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