(a Steve Orr Bible reflection) The 1968 film Wild in the Streets was released to wild acclaim—among teenagers. Adults? Not so much. The plot: The voting age is lowered to 14, drug use is legalized, and 20-year-old rock star Max Frost is elected President. What could go wrong? Teen reaction: great soundtrack! Adult reaction: anarchy! For most of us, orderly is the way. We like order. We especially like law and order. We feel safer knowing the law is there to protect us

Assassinations are a certain death that occur when prominent individuals, often politicians, are deliberately killed It is formally described as an “act of assassination.” The grim act is most often carried out to eliminate someone for political purposes and revenge. Common synonyms for the act are to dispatch, execute, kill, murder, and slay someone. None of them are nice things to happen. The numbers of assassinations have risen over the last decade, and 772 cases were re

(a Steve Orr Bible reflection) If you’ve never heard of Sam Houston, I’m not surprised. Before I moved to Texas, I had never heard of him, either. In fact, if I hadn’t moved to Texas, it’s likely I never would have. He was a leader in the Texas Revolution, served as the first and third President of the Republic of Texas, shepherded the treaty that later joined Texas to the United States, was a U.S. Senator from the State of Texas, and then served Texas as Governor. Sam was

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, "kiss of death" is a phrase describing an action or association that brings inevitable ruin or failure. The betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot (the "Judas kiss") is a primary source for the phrase. In other nefarious instances, the kiss on the lips marks a gang member for execution. It is a phrase that indicates an act that predicts failure or doom. The word “kiss” is derived from the noun coss in Old English (Middle English kis

(a Steve Orr Bible reflection) JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy is about a company of persons chosen to go on a great quest. As is common in such quests, the fellowship—charged with shepherding the Ring of Power to its destruction in the volcanic fires of Mount Doom—is packed with persons of great stature. There are great warriors—current royals, future royals, the brave, the bold—and some Hobbits. Those hairy-footed little Hobbits—not the royal, the brave,

Do you believe that luck keeps you going, or that it will be with you when you die? One definition of luck is “success or failure apparently brought by chance rather than through one's own actions.” On the other hand, some say there is a self-help concept that accompanies “luck” and suggest that success comes from working with the most information and not just wishing. In other words, it doesn’t matter if you believe in luck or not—it will happen regardless and “lucky” people

(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