When I was in sixth grade, I remember writing a paper about why space exploration was important. I felt that it was essential to explore outer space, since it is part of God’s creation.
That’s why on July 20, 1969, while I was in college, my friend Ginny and I were glued to the television to watch Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong step onto the surface of the moon. He famously said, “That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind.”
After the tragic shooting in Las Vegas, one question kept surfacing in my mind: Are we still our brother’s keeper?
We know the phrase “my brother’s keeper” from the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4:1-9. Cain killed his brother Abel out of jealousy. After the murder, God asked Cain where Abel was. Cain’s answer was, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”
We are surely not responsible for everyone’s safety at all times. However, we should not allow people to do violence if we can prevent it.
MADISON — The Philharmonic Chorus of Madison will perform free concerts on Wednesday, April 29, 7 p.m., at Oakwood West; Friday, May 1, 7:30 p.m., at Monona United Methodist Church; and Sunday, May 3, 2 p.m., at Bethany United Methodist Church.
The chorus, under the direction of Patrick Gorman, will perform Aaron Copland’s In the Beginning with soloist Shannon O’Brien-Kaszuba.
Considered the Dean of American Music, Copland composed the choral work in 1947, setting 38 verses from the Book of Genesis.
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Darren Aronofsky’s cinematic re-telling of the story of Noah has certainly stirred people up.
While quite a few reviewers, both religious and non-religious, have given the film high marks, many Christians, both Evangelical and Catholic, have registered a far less than enthusiastic reaction.
One prominent Catholic blogger and movie reviewer opined that Noah is “embarrassingly awful” and “the stupidest film in years.” Most of the religious critics have complained that the film plays fast and loose with the Genesis account, adding all sorts of distracting and fantastic elements to the well-known story. In the midst of all of this — and no doubt in part because of it — Noah took in $44 million on its opening weekend.
Noah is best interpreted, I think, as a modern cinematic midrash on the Biblical tale. The midrashim — extremely popular in ancient Israel — were imaginative elaborations of the often spare Scriptural narratives. They typically explored the psychological motivations of the major players in the stories and added creative plot lines, new characters, etc.
To the editor:
Atheists and their associates in the scientific community have lately garnered considerable publicity.
Stephen Hawking, the famed British cosmologist, is the latest entry. When believers try to rebut them by asserting that God created the universe, they often leave the impression that God is a solitary individual who arbitrarily made something out of nothing.
To the editor:
Atheists and their associates in the scientific community have lately garnered considerable publicity.
Stephen Hawking, the famed British cosmologist, is the latest entry. When believers try to rebut them by asserting that God created the universe, they often leave the impression that God is a solitary individual who arbitrarily made something out of nothing.
