Last Friday Pope Francis effectively banned celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass, a kind of worship that is unsurpassed in its solemnity and, at its best, in its splendor. In so doing, he flung down and danced upon one of the signal accomplishments of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, and told millions of devout and pious Catholics around the world that the Church is no longer the place for them.
I make a bold claim, but I think it’s true. Jesus Christ not only came in human flesh to pay humanity’s debt of sin, but in so doing, he elevated human nature. This can and should change how we approach discussions on human rights.
If you look in some of the history books, you’ll learn that the only significant battle in Ohio in the Civil War was fought at Buffington Island in Meigs County.
The Zippy Duo delves deeper into the topic of the recent Fulton v. Philadelphia decision on the Supreme Court, considers regulation being proposed against “Big Tech” and discusses what we learn about God’s love in the midst of Job’s suffering.
Well, that would certainly explain the sudden scarcity of medium-sized rodents around here.
Before we get too far along, let me confess an act — an in-act, actually (inactually?) — of idiocy. Normally I’m within arm’s reach of a camera. That has allowed me to capture many fleeting moments I would have missed otherwise. But this time I didn’t make a picture.
Wimbledon began on June 28. After not being contested in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, tennis’s premier tournament is back. This era of tennis has been utterly dominated by three men: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic. If Djokovic were to win the tournament, he would join Federer and Nadal at the very top of the all-time list, in terms of major victories, with 20. Most observers believe that since Djokovic remains at the top of the rankings at this very moment, and is five years younger than Roger Federer, while being more dominant on all surfaces than Nadal, he will be the most decorated major champion in tennis history before long. Roger Federer, the great Swiss legend, still has something to say about that, at age 39.
If you were here that afternoon, you remember it.
At about 6 p.m. nine years ago yesterday, a line of powerful thunderstorms swept across our area. It would get famous a few hours later, when it struck more fashionable parts of the country. Nine years ago today, the lights were out in Athens County.
I nervously hit the buy button and wondered what in the world I was doing. I was ordering a portable air compressor and I was excited about it. I’ll confess I never thought I would get excited about an air compressor, but after a bad afternoon hoping from gas station to gas station only to find their air pumps broken and finally forking out $2 for not-enough-air-to-fill four tires, I wanted to try something different.
Tim and Jason return to our fearless Snail-cast, this time to discuss the recent Supreme Court decision concerning religious freedom, the story of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, the importance of the Minor Prophets in Bible Study and the appeal of “localism.”
It may be about time to get rid of the old Gravely. The last time I wrote about this venerable piece of equipment it spawned a reaction from a Gravely fan in northern Ohio so strident that Athens NEWS editor Terry Smith wanted to call the authorities, lest (or perhaps in hope of a good story should it happen) the angry fellow come round and murder me.