[Crosswalk, January 2000]
Q. I was raised in a nominally Jewish home, then spent some time as a proudly “confessing atheist” before turning to non-theistic Eastern religion. I now honestly believe that historic Christianity is the faith with the most universal application to all mankind
[Crosswalk, January 2000]
Here we are. Over the doorstep and into a dazzling new millennium, fraught with magnificence and fear, and perhaps with consequence -- hard to tell at this point. At any rate, we feel pretty dazzled and quite self-important. We’re alive *now*! What an achievement! What did we win?
[Christianity Today, January 2000]
Amy Tracy prepared to die.
She had linked her arms through those of fellow pro-choice activists as they surrounded a van stopped outside an abortion clinic. Inside the van were women in the second trimester of pregnancy
[Focus on the Family, January 2000]
Susan B. Anthony is a hero of the feminist movement, and with good cause; she was a trailblazer in the women's movement of the late 1800's. A Quaker who never married, Anthony devoted her energy
[Religion News Service, May 14, 1996]
My friend Carolyn's icon of Mary of Egypt is completed, and on Sunday it was leaning against the brass candlestick on the altar. It shows a wild woman, fierce, gray hair flying out around a weathered face, her bony arm raised aloft.
[World, November 4, 1995]
The message on my answering machine begins with the loud exhalation of a child holding the phone too close. Then, apparently, she pressed her hand over the mouthpiece because this is muffled: “Mom, it's a answering machine.”
The voice of a middle-aged woman comes on the line. It is kindly and somehow lush; I picture a full-bodied woman with big eyes. “Hi, Daisy? This is Cammie. Would you like to go on a cruise?” She speaks clearly and precisely; maybe Daisy is hard of hearing. “In August. If so, give me a call.” Cammie gives her number, then adds in a sweet voice, “Thank you. Have a pleasant evening.”
[World, January 22, 1994]
As Christians today push for the renewal of moral values in our nation, they have a tendency to idealize the Fifties. Wouldn't it be great if families were like the Ozzie-and-Harriet households prevalent then? Strong two-parent families, where the dads worked and the moms stayed home with the kids. Where kids were cherished and not hurried through childhood. Where “family values” were celebrated by schools, the media, and entertainment. If only things were like that again...
...we could raise a new generation of Americans who would take drugs, burn flags, have indiscriminate sex, champion abortion, mock the faith, and complain continuously about what a lousy deal we handed them.
[Unpublished; written Summer 1986]
My grandfather lived to be ninety-four, and in many ways he was like a birch tree: small but springy and bright, with light filling his blue eyes. For over 60 years he signed his name George Frederick Oetjen, M.D. and (although he told his daughters that “M.D.” really stood for “My Daddy”) being a doctor was the joy of his life.
[World, April 15, 1995]
I had a narrow brush with the Peter Principle the other day. You may remember the book that appeared awhile back under that title; Laurence J. Peter's principle was that people tend to get promoted until they reach their level of incompetence. Do a good job and you get boosted up the ladder--until you reach the point that you can't do such a good job anymore. There you sit, gumming things up for the whole organization.
The phone call I received asked if I would consider being (don't laugh) press secretary for a national political campaign. This was flattering, but akin to putting the Flying Nun in charge of the Air Force.
[World, January 15, 1994]
One of the most hard-nosed and incisive debaters of the pro-life cause is Gregg Cunningham, whose exchange of letters with C. Everett Koop appeared in a recent issue.
Gregg's Center for Bio-Ethical Reform handles a busy calendar of speaking engagements and produces “Hard Truth,” a devastating video showing aborted babies. Every cause needs articulate, aggressive champions like Gregg.
But Gregg's latest newsletter set me to thinking about what else a cause needs.
