Auguste Deter was a forty-something-year-old woman living in Kassel, Germany. She had a pleasant life with her husband and their only daughter; nothing extraordinary, but she was irreplaceable to her family and her to them. So it was especially hard when Auguste began to show signs of “old age” well before her time. Her memory began to fail. She started suffering from delusions, confusion, and anxiety.
The family did the best they could, but finally Auguste was hospitalized. She was diagnosed with the “Disease of Forgetfulness” by the pioneering German doctor, …

I was smacked away from the dinner table on one occasion. Calm down, I was never abused, not even close. But my parents did believe in the effectiveness of that proverb, “Spare the rod, spoil the child.” Thus, I was definitely not spoiled.
Even if corporal punishment had not been practiced in my childhood home, I still would not have been over-indulged. Our family was quite poor. My father often worked two jobs in the textile mills to pay the bills and keep the roof over our heads, and my mother …

Four-hundred and ninety times. That was Jesus’ answer to the question, “How many times should I forgive someone who has offended me.” I don’t think Jesus was being literal; how I wish he were!. Then there would at least be a boundary. Jesus was saying, however, “Stop keeping score. There is no limit to how many times you grant forgiveness to others.”
I can understand turning the other cheek (until you run out of cheeks). I can understand walking the second mile and “doing good to those who persecute you.” But …

On Sundays you will usually find me in a church somewhere talking about issues of Christian faith. What I talk about, while the details change, is usually along the same theme: God’s love is inexhaustible and that love – demonstrated in Jesus – is the crux of our faith, not all the stuff that has been added to it.
While my theme is fairly consistent, where I speak is not; and I don’t mean simply the location. I speak in churches that are conservative and those that are progressive; churches that …

Hans Christian Andersen first told the now familiar story of an Emperor who spent all of his kingdom’s disposable wealth on being well dressed. He had a change of clothes for every hour of the day, and he spent more time in his dressing room than managing the affairs of his empire.
Egotistical as he was, the Emperor easily fell into the trap of two swindlers who claimed they could weave the most magnificent clothes imaginable. For a large sum of money, these two promised the Emperor that he would be …

Centuries ago, those who suffered mental illness were often committed to “madhouses.” These so-called treatment centers were about as brutal, barbaric and inhumane inventions as could be humanly conceived. Patients were subjected to various shock therapies, exorcisms, bloodlettings, ice baths, and gyration wheels. When not directly enduring these interventions, patients were generally kept in dark dungeons, chained to walls or the floor.
But by the 19th century treatment options, mercifully, began to change with the rise of the asylum. In their original form, these were sanctuaries for the ill. Dr. Samuel …

On Easter morning a Sunday School teacher began to quiz her class of young children about the real meaning of the day. She asked them, “What is Easter?” and the students were quick and ready to respond.
A little boy jumped up and said, “Oh, I know! Easter is that holiday when we get together with our families, eat turkey, and everyone is thankful.” The teacher answered, “No, not quite. Does anyone else know?”  Another child enthusiastically answered, “This is easy! Easter is the holiday when we grill burgers and hotdogs, …

While reflecting on the coming Holy Week, I remembered one of my favorite stories. It is a mythical tale written by author, professor, Harley-Davidson rider, and pastor, Robert R. Kopp. As Pastor Robert tells it, a young man named Walter went to work for the largest corporation in the world. The personnel director told Walter he must start at the bottom and work his way up, for that is the way one succeeds.
So Walter, not afraid of a little hard work, began his corporate career in the mailroom, in the …