(a Steve Orr Bible reflection) In Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, a science fiction classic, humankind has spread out among the stars. We’ve become a galactic empire. Scientist Hari Seldon has invented a branch of mathematics that allows him to predict the fall and rise of future galactic empires. He believes he can use this to smooth out the process, so to speak. He sets up a “foundation” to (secretly) guide mankind toward the best-case scenario. Over the centuries, m

Some say that life is just a “game,” enjoyable, even competitive, but with no other purpose. Are we then simply objects on the stage of life, moved by some giant chess master until life ends? I don’t think so. Games have time limits; they don’t go on forever. Baseball is generally 9 innings, football 4 quarters, and hockey 3 periods. They end on time unless there is a draw, in which case special rules come into effect to specify how the game will end. Games also allow for

(a Steve Orr Bible reflection) What are you afraid of? Everybody fears. Even if we don’t admit it to others, there’s something we fear. It’s a thing we humans do. The list of our most common fears is relatively short: failure, success, dying, commitment or intimacy, spiders, flying, public speaking, heights, the dark, rejection. The full list is, of course, endless. And our reactions tend to be the same: fight or flight—or freeze. In 1933, at the worst point in the Great D

In Catholicism, the “last rites” are sacraments (confession, communion and anointing), which serve as a final preparation for the person who is dying. They are prayers designed to offer forgiveness and peace before the person dies. These final rituals are said to prepare the soul of the person for transition into the next life. If the Catholic person dies before the sacraments are given, then a priest my offer “prayers for the dead.” Eastern Orthodox Christianity does not

Several years ago, in attempting to justify a serious moral failure. I heard a TV evangelist claim that “the devil made me do it.” He was not the first to make that claim. The phrase was popularized by comedian Flip Wilson in the early 1970s. He used it to excuse a character’s impulsive behavior when she said, "The devil made me buy this dress!". It is possible to blame the devil for all sorts of shortcomings and failures. We can blame the devil, and he (or she) is indeed r

(a Steve Orr Bible reflection) Stephen King described his The Stand: The Complete Uncut Edition as “this long tale of dark Christianity.” It’s an apt description. The novel is packed with themes any Bible reader would recognize. One in particular stands out for me: King’s characters have strange dreams. Each character dreams of a person and a place. All the dreamers are called to come. Each commences a journey to follow the voice in the dream. In time, the dreamers form

One of God’s commandments in Exodus 20 states: “ Thou shalt not kill ,” or more precisely, “ You shall not murder .” The act of deliberately taking a human life is wrong, although we have justified situations such as with self-defense, war, and capital punishment. In 2023 The U.S. homicide rate averaged around 6.8 per 100,000 people, with approximately 22,830 total homicides. The Southeast had the highest rates, showing Mississippi at the top, with around 20.5 deaths per 10

(a Steve Orr Bible reflection) Eagles singer Don Henley and friends wrote “The Heart of the Matter” in 1989. The song was a hit because of Henley's voice and the fact it is so singable. The lyrics tell us that a former love has found someone new. How many similar songs have you heard? A hundred? A thousand? If you thought the song was about a person pining for their lost love, you weren’t alone. It’s just that, well, there's quite a bit more to it. Check these lyrics: Th

“ Friendly fire ” is military slang that means your own side has fired upon you. There was difficulty in communication between two battle stations, and the result is most often loss of life. The casualties are just as severe, whether they are deliberate or not and such events are not “ friendly ” at all. Friendly fire often kills. Recently, a so-called friendly nation shot down three of our jet fighter planes. The pilots bailed out and were safe, but the billion-dollar flyi

(a Steve Orr Bible reflection) In late summer 1942, the United States government force-purchased more than 60,000 Tennessee acres near the Appalachian foothills. Many of those acres had been farms. Earth was leveled, streets were laid, foundations were poured, and buildings rose. No one was told why. The "whatever it is" needed people: cooks, launderers, janitors, trash collectors, typists, file clerks, carpenters, lifeguards, teachers, plumbers, nurses, doctors, librar