Two sisters

Two sisters from a dysfunctional home. Both married at 15, now in their sixties. Let’s call them Kathleen and Karen to keep things straight. Kathleen’s husband was prone to drunken rages and she bore the brunt of those rages. She finally left, feeling her life was in danger, and took their children with her. She … Continue reading Two sisters

Mennonites are not Protestants

I applaud the sincerity and courage of Martin Luther when he nailed his 95 theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg 500 years ago. I am appalled by the savagery of his address to the armies fighting the peasants’ revolt, when he called on them to “slash, stab, kill as many as you … Continue reading Mennonites are not Protestants

Trust and obey

We must not interpret trust and obey mean that we trust in our obedience. That is works, and we will probably choose to obey that which we think we understand. Rather, we obey because we trust that God has a purpose in what He asks of us, even if we don't understand it. That is … Continue reading Trust and obey

Are we down or up?

Twenty-some years ago, Paul Carnegie, a realtor from Stratford, Ontario, was telling us about houses that he had thought would be difficult to sell. In one case, he drove out to a small village in response to a call from the owner and located the house. He walked up to the living room window and … Continue reading Are we down or up?

Where is Paradise?

The first paradise was the Garden of Eden. In the Septuagint “garden” in Genesis 2:8 appears as “paradise,” the paradise of Eden. The Hebrew word in the original refers to a walled garden of pleasure and delight, where sin cannot enter. It appears that all peoples of the earth have in their traditions a memory … Continue reading Where is Paradise?