(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