A blog by Tom Sheepandgoats (aka Tom Harley)
Search topic, word, or Bible verse (Bible books may be abbreviated)
-
Did Jesus Die on a Cross?
I think it was Tom Oxgoad who, when confronted with something shocking, or even unexpected, would frantically move his right hand from breastbone to abdomen and back again, over and over. Of course, any companion would look at him quizzically. 'What's with you?' they'd want to know. Nothing to worry about, he'd say: “Just making the sign of the stake.” He was merely staking himself.…
-
Life on the Lehigh River
The drive down to the Lehigh River is not steep, but it extends seven miles, starting at Summit Point, which for all practical purposes, is the top of the world. I mean, you know you’re way, way up there in the Poconos; look all around you, and there are no peaks. And isn’t the grid of roads up there mildly convex, as you’d expect on…
-
Jehovah’s Witnesses and Blood Transfusions
Here's a med student who posted something critical of religion in general and Jehovah's Witnesses in particular. He has no ax to grind (I don't think). He just reflects upon experiences he's had and reports he's heard. Why not answer his post? I did. Here's the post (with limited peripheral material edited out) entitled: Jehovah’s Witnesses and Blood Transfusion One of the most important aspects of…
-
Alzheimer’s Research: So the Cops Shoot the Bad Guys Instead of the Good Guys…
Now that I’m old enough to receive the AARP magazine, I read each issue cover to cover. They’re packed with nice articles geared to the aging, and……there’s no nice way to say this…..that’s what I’m doing. But a recent piece about Alzheimers research in September’s Bulletin (Alzheimer’s: a new Theory, by Elizabeth Agnvall) left me un-warm and un-fuzzy. I’ve known people to succumb to Alzheimers.…
-
Love, Marriage, and Soulmates
When I became a JW in the 1970's, I would tell people divorce was unheard of among us; it simply never happened. It wasn't true. But it was almost true. Divorce was rare enough that a new person might think it was true, and I did. Back then, there might be a couple dozen divorces within the entire circuit, and that would be cumulative, not per…
-
Bullfights, Bearfights, and Elisha the Prophet
The other day in Madrid, a bull leapt from the ring into the stands. It gored a few, trampled a few, fell on a few. Altogether, 40 were hurt, only a few seriously. Sure scared the wits out of them all, though. Now….you know the way American TV is: they ran the scene as a loop so that you saw it, not once, but several…
-
Redeeming America’s Armpit
In the early 1990's Buffalo NY earned the title of America's Armpit. Well…..it didn't really earn the title, it just got stuck with it. There must always be something to arouse national ridicule, and for just a few brief years, comedians peppered their routines with Buffalo jokes. For example, the Air up There, a 1994 movie ripoff of the far more clever Cool Runnings, has…
-
The New Cool Mormons
The Mormons launched a new PR campaign on local TV. Two 15 second spots run back to back. There’s a series of them. Each features a young, cool, vivacious person doing young, cool, vivacious things, with voiceover: I’m a bicyclist, I’m a curator, I’m a husband……and I’m a Mormon! I’m a scateboarder, I’m a student, I’m a musician…….and I’m a Mormon! Toss in some feel-good banal statement, such…
-
Can You Shoot Him? I’ll Take Responsibility.
He droned on and on and on and on. Maybe he would never stop! But when at last he did, as he stepped off the podium, the Town Clerk whispered to the Chief of Police: “Can you shoot him? I’ll take responsibility.” Nobody was supposed to have heard. Only the Police Chief, who would, presumably, chuckle at the funny joke. But alas! – TV news…