[First posted March 14, 2014] Maria Braun, a teenage girl in the Kirghiz Soviet Republic, was arrested in 1966 for teaching a foreign ideology to young children. She had organized classes for preschool and older children to teach about faith in Jesus Christ. Another lady was arrested with her and at their trial the judge … Continue reading The courage of Maria Braun
Author: Bob Goodnough
What is courage? Do I have it?
The root word of courage is cour, from the French word for heart, denoting the heart as the seat of feelings. The Oxford dictionary defines courage as: the ability to do what frightens one; strength in the face of pain or grief. The unknown in every new life situation brings an element of fear, such … Continue reading What is courage? Do I have it?
Let’s be Christians, not chameleons
[A slightly revised version of an article first posted March 31, 2019] Some members of the early church wanted Gentile converts to be chameleons. They thought that circumcising Gentile believers would make them appear to be converts to the Jewish religion, thus sparing Jewish believers from persecution by other Jews for associating with Gentiles. Such … Continue reading Let’s be Christians, not chameleons
A people ethic
There is a certificate on the wall of my office saying that, in June of 1991, I qualified as a Quality Engineer. That certification is no longer valid, since I no longer work in that field, but it is a reminder of the hours of training that I took in statistical process control, in management, … Continue reading A people ethic
A new phishing scam
Image by Bruno from Pixabay The phone rang this morning and when I answered a voice said: "Hello. I am from your credit card company and based upon your excellent credit and payment history we would like to offer you a 10% rebate." By that time red lights were flashing and warning buzzers were sounding in my head. … Continue reading A new phishing scam
Getting out of a writing rut
Nothing you write, if you hope to be any good, will ever come out as you first hoped. Lillian Hellman Image by StockSnap from Pixabay Literature makes one sensitive, sensitive to people, to their dreams and to their ideas. Sanghamitra Iyengar The art of newspaper paragraphing is to stroke a platitude until it purrs like an epigram. Don … Continue reading Getting out of a writing rut
Sleepwalking in the rubber factory
Last night I was working as a quality control inspector in a factory that makes moulded rubber parts for the automotive industry. I needed to find the temperature sticks to check the temperature of the moulds. There should have been a set of six colour-coded sticks which I could rub on the mould and the … Continue reading Sleepwalking in the rubber factory
Sin and the heart of man
It was long the belief in major Protestant denominations that the spread of the gospel throughout the world would lead to a betterment in moral and spiritual uprightness and finally lead to a golden age, a thousand years of worldwide peace, after which Christ would return. This teaching is called Postmillennialism and there are still … Continue reading Sin and the heart of man
History of the Christian Hymnal
This is a slightly abbreviated version of a talk I gave in our congregation yesterday evening. The Christian Hymnal that we find in our pews was first printed in 1959 and to date 392,000 copies have been printed. About half of these are sold to congregations and individuals of other denominations. If hymnals in congregational … Continue reading History of the Christian Hymnal
Thinking outside the zeitgeist – 3
Surveys show that people are searching for truth - so churches offer them entertainment. Isn't that because money will get you a magnificent building with excellent acoustics, top notch musicians and rousing speakers, but money can't get you servant leaders with compassionate ears and caring hearts?
Flatlander Faith 