by Teri Ong A “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.  John 8:44 I had a sad conversation with a young woman at church recently. She is in her early twenties and is studying business at the University of Northern Colorado. She was born in a refugee camp […]

Insights from G. K. Chesterton by Teri Ong  We once asked a friend what he was doing since his retirement. He had been very active in promoting the Christian worldview in a variety of arenas, had published a number of books, and spoke regularly to numerous church and civic groups. However, when we asked him this question, he replied, “God told me to sit down and shut up.” I am not sure how God convinced him of that directive. That is between him and God.  But one thing I know; too many Christians sit quietly on their hands in some […]

by Teri Ong  A little while ago New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez presented to the American people her manifesto called “The Green New Deal,” which is a proposal for all sorts of social “improvement” programs that in her estimation will make life safer, cleaner, and more fair to all. She is convinced that the world will come to an end in a mere 12 years if we do not institute all of her suggestions– immediately.   The idea that one young woman is the embodiment of all wisdom on how to save society and the planet seems to me to be a living definition of hubris. […]

by Teri Ong  Maggie gathered up the mail in the box in one swoop as she opened the front door with the other hand. She tossed it on the console table inside the door, along with her purse and keys. There was never anything of real interest these days. Everyone does everything through social media, she thought, idly wondering how long the postal service could reasonably survive.  “Well, here’s one thing,” she said half out loud. “A save-the-date card from the Lowe family.”  Those usually meant a wedding or a baby shower was in the offing.  “Hmm! I’ve never seen […]

by Teri Ong  In his April 7 column in the Greeley Tribune,  “Re-thinking Bible and Same-sex Relationships,” Jeff Cook states that his purpose is to get evangelical Christians to “reconsider what we believe about monogamous same sex relationships.” He argues that Bible scholars misunderstand how the New Testament writers taught ethics, but he, as an “ethicist” understands it better than the Bible scholars. I agree with him that Jesus’ teaching of virtue is not “focused on rule-following,” but Cook fails to understand that Jesus’ teaching sets a higher standard than the rules, not a lower standard. For example, turning the other cheek, […]

By Teri Ong Jeff Cook has done it again. A few weeks ago he set up a false tension between so-called social justice and freedom. This time he has set up a false dichotomy between the nasty Bible-thumpers who approve of “flaying terrorists” and sweet-tempered LGBT’s. He writes, with seeming sadness, that people who come up with Scripture verses to condemn same-sex marriage, can’t seem to think of a single verse to condemn torture. [See Greeley Tribune, Sunday, April 7, 2019, “Re-thinking Bible and Same-sex Relationships,” page B8]  I think he has set up some “straw” people to support his view. Most of […]

Yesterday (April 17) the normal activities of over a million people in Colorado were brought to a halt by the supposed threat of a potential “Columbine” atrocity near its twentieth anniversary. Media reports raised the panicked alarm that a young woman, who her friends said was obsessed with the history of the Columbine killers, had come from Florida to Colorado to act out her obsession. She had bought a pump-action shot gun and was possibly intent on doing harm at some high school in Colorado.  Supposedly, after she was tracked through Denver International Airport to a place where she was […]

by Teri Ong  The Greeley Tribune published a “Faith” column by Jeff Cook on February 10, 2019, called “Tribalism is the true enemy.” In his column he asserted that “There are two virtues at the heart of America and both are central to the priorities of God.” Cook chose freedom and justice as the two cardinal virtues.   He explained his view that our American two-party system keeps the two virtues in balance like the wings of an airplane. He wrote that the Republican party extols freedom “in matters of taxation, education, religious beliefs and unrestrained markets.” They exemplify the “freedom” wing of […]

by Teri Ong I am always excited for Loveland Orchestra concert nights, and we have one coming up this Friday (March 8). The unifying theme for this concert season is favorite pieces selected by members of the orchestra. I submitted two, and they both are part of this concert.  The first one was “anything by Dvorak.” We are playing his most famous symphony– “From the New World,” which is usually called “The New World Symphony.”  It is, however, very old world, since Dvorak was Bohemian born (the western side of what is now the Czech Republic) and spent most of […]

They say they want to free us all.  Say who?  You know–  They own near a half  the world’s wealth.  Their great machines will do our work.  Say what?  You know–  Cleaning, moving, cooking, serving;  They’ll do all the grunt work we dread.  That’s all?  Well, no;  Planting, watering, harvesting,  No need for us to get dirty.  That’s great!  There’s more–  Planning, designing, constructing,  Numbers crunched by crunching machines.  So what?!  There’s more;  Monitoring, medicating,  Governing, and educating,  Now transporting, then transfixing.  No need to work; they’ll fix themselves:  Then we may learn to play all day!  Play what?  Say I,  What they make […]