• Hook's Points

Are you still there?. No doubt, we have lost some who have no computer access in our switch to e-mail exclusively. For that I am sorry. I have no way of knowing how many of our print-out readers have been able to switch. Your general response has expressed understanding and support.

What does your preacher believe about this issue or that issue? You need not require him to fill out a questionnaire. Just listen for the things he emphasizes. And take note of the subjects that he never mentions.

Today I heard some congregational singing on the radio. It was slow. I mean slow. Slow like I grew up with. We cannot tolerate that kind of "draggy" singing nowadays. Why not? Because singing should be spirited, you say? Spiritual singing has little to do with speed! During my upbringing, people lived a much slower life. No frenzied hurry. Our attention was not bombarded constantly with information fed in rapid sound bytes and picture flashes. When neighbors visited, they stayed longer. Services were long and singing was done slowly that it might be relished the most. Heart expression, not speed, is what counts.

There is a reactionary push for legislation against "hate crimes." That gives me concern! Are crimes of hate more detestable than those of lust, greed, sadism, child desertion, or prostitution? There are already laws defining motives for crimes, and there are already attorneys, judges, and juries that slant them by their prejudices. Allowing these people to interpret hate is frightening. It would open Pandora's box. In time, one could be convicted for a derogatory remark about a non-Christian, an abortionist, a person of minority status, a transvestite, a Jew, a couple living together without marriage, or a politician. Starting from a politically correct intention, such laws could quickly become a real threat to our individual freedom.

The term "Christian" is used only three times in the Bible---as a noun, never as an adjective.

It is likely that you, like I, receive all sorts of forwarded e-mail messages with warnings, pleas, and alarming right-wing social, political, and religious messages, some of which compete with the checkout stand tabloids. Too many of those messages are forwarded by sincere people who have more zeal than wisdom. By it they can become guilty of propagating falsehood and slander. They do not all help the cause of Christ but some bring disdain for their fanatical zeal. Before you forward anything, please check it out. You will be doing yourself and others a favor. There is a wonderful web site that helps you with this. Keep it handy and use it! http://www.truthorfiction.com.

For a minor surgery in my family in 1952 I paid an itemized bill for two days in the hospital @ $8.50 per day; operating room - $17.50; anesthesia - $17.50; and laboratory - $1.50. Total: $53.50! In 1953 we contracted with a radio station for fifteen minutes prime time Monday through Saturday and thirty minutes on Sunday for $120.00 per month. Is it surprising that I am a bit price-conscious (stingy) these days? At this rate of increase, what may people expect fifty years from now?

Most of the OT record is about God's forming and dealing with a people through whom the Christ would come into the world. Much in the NT writings tell of the punishment to be brought upon that people for their rejection of Christ. In view of this, can you believe that any portion of the Scriptures could have been written after the destruction of Jerusalem without mentioning this calamity that ended God's dealing with them as a separate people?

Considering that millions of unwanted Jews were helpless victims of the merciless racial cleansing of the Nazis, it seems unbelievable that the genial Senator Joseph Lieberman, a Jew, could consent to the merciless killing of millions of helpless, unwanted infants by abortion.

On September 17 or 18, you who are on the original email list received a message inserted by a hacker promoting some sort of a business deal. Please know that I do not offer business deals or sponsor them through my email, or otherwise.

According to what I read in the newspaper, a farmer gets five cents for growing the grain required for a box of Wheaties. For permitting his picture to be on the box, Tiger Woods gets ten cents per box. There should be a moral lesson there somewhere.

The rich are criminals and huge corporations choke the poor! Except for movie stars, entertainers, athletes, and the entertainment industry! Why do people curse the successful business people and their corporations? We depend upon them for jobs and products. It is a matter of biting the hand that feeds a great segment of our society. Soak them with taxes! Corporations do not pay taxes; the tax is passed on to the consumer who buys their products or services. When we tax them we are taxing ourselves. Greedy lawsuits against insurance companies and corporations only draw money from our own pockets, for we pay for them in higher rates and product costs.

"Millions long for immortality who don't know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon." -Susan Ertz, (Reader's Digest, Oct. 2000).

"Tradition, Opinion, and Truth: The Emerging Church of Christ" is a new book that looks inside the heritage known as the "churches of Christ." This book by Fred Peatross offers help in understanding the difference between culture, tradition, and Scripture, and intends to help navigate the many changes in the Twenty-first Century American culture. Check it out at http://graceawakening.faithsite.com/ .

Having begun a successful "Grace Centered Mailing List," Joe Beam and Lee Wilson are making it into "Grace Centered Magazine" for the internet. Other staff writers will include Buff Scott, Jr., Chris King, Neal Griffin, Paul Woodhouse, and Wess Howell. Other possible writers, according to a promotion, include Cecil Hook, Buddy Bell, Rubel Shelly, Edward Fudge, F. LaGard Smith, Terry Northcutt, Max Lucado, Mike Cope, Dorian Flynn, and Jeff Walling. Check it out at http://gcmagazine.freeyellow.com.

Remember: Good books make good gifts --- good personal gifts and good memorial gifts to the church library.

You become a vital partner in this ministry when you pass our books along. We still offer free copies of FREE IN CHRIST for distribution to readers with open hearts. []

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