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A collapsed lung led a 15-year-old to a love of the Bible

Tulsa Beacon

In 1966 I was 15 years-old, and I bought my first car. It was a 1954 Plymouth Belvedere 4-door sedan. In those days there were two kinds of cars, one class was called “Babe Magnets.” Guys drove those cars to attract pretty girls. They just wheeled into the local Dog ’n‘ Suds and people would…

Was Ben Franklin a Deist? For a while

Tulsa Beacon

[Looking at why our area has its unique political and religious attitudes.] Why were Presidents Jefferson and Washington, Dr. Benjamin Franklin, with other early political architects called Deist? We saw earlier that all the founding colonies had requirements and oaths definitively affirming traditional Protestant beliefs and the colonies expelled those not advocating the prescribed practices….

Scientific evidence shows 6,000 years of man’s history

Tulsa Beacon

How long has mankind been on this Earth? What does genetic science tell us? Dr. Jeffrey P. Thompkins is with The Institute for Creation Research. According to his biography, he  “earned a master’s degree in plant science in 1990 from the University of Idaho, where he performed research in plant hormones.  He received his Ph.D….

We can afford to give our children the best things from God

Tulsa Beacon

Growing up, I didn’t need the Internet. Instead, I had a Montgomery Ward catalog. Not only could you use it to find and order just about anything made, but you could break one or two of the Ten Commandments within its pages. Back in the day, we considered three things sacred: God, country and the…

Did President Jefferson promote religious education?

Tulsa Beacon

[Looking at why our area has its unique political and religious attitudes.] Did President Jefferson promote religious education? That brings up the bigger question. Was our country founded as a Christian nation? We have seen in earlier editions that Thomas Jefferson was an ardent financial supporter and advocate of education for Native American groups, who…

Memorial Day reminds us of great military sacrifices

Tulsa Beacon

As far as I know, none or my close relatives have ever given their lives while in military service for America. May 31 is Memorial Day. For some Americans, it may just be a three-day weekend, the start of summer, the end of the school year or just another day. For those families who have…

‘Mail-A-Hug’ from Cohen the Goodhearted is a real keeper

Tulsa Beacon

I grew up in the generation that wrote letters. We didn’t have email, texting, Facebook or Twitter. We did have a telephone. My parents were a little more modern than my grandparents, who still had a hand-cranked phone on the wall. But phone calls were expensive, especially long distance, so our family communicated mostly by…

Jefferson and Ben Franklin did not want a state religion

Tulsa Beacon

Jefferson the Reformer [Looking at why our area has its unique political and religious attitudes.] How did Thomas Jefferson’s religion influence our local politics? William Curtis (1901) regaled with the story of an educated stranger who recounts his meeting Jefferson at an inn. When he spoke law, I thought he was a lawyer; when he…

Just one more year until my 50th high school reunion

Tulsa Beacon

Forty-nine years ago, I graduated from Nathan Hale High School. That was a great school, with excellent academics, talented teachers and some really sharp students. I don’t know how many were in my graduating class but it was more than 800. We had great sports teams. Football was a little off my senior year (I…

Today’s children lack skills of self-reliance, independence

Tulsa Beacon

I have enjoyed each season of our sons’ lives. I enjoyed the early stages of them learning to walk, talk and become miniature human beings.  I enjoyed their elementary school years, watching them do sports and put on school programs. I enjoyed seeing them get married and then making us grandparents. But the least favorite…