By David Faust It’s all right with me when the restaurant’s menu says “no substitutions.” Usually the chef’s recipe is fine the way it is. Anyway, substitutes seldom equal what they replace. Stand-ins command little respect. We call them bench-warmers, understudies, back-ups, second-fiddles. Schoolchildren try to get away with more mischief and do less […]
Taking evil seriously
By David Faust Evil sounds harsh to contemporary ears, but sometimes it’s the only word that fits. Child abuse is more than a mistake; it’s evil. Terrorism cannot be justified as a political strategy; it’s evil. Pornography isn’t a joke or an innocuous expression of free speech; it degrades women, shames and enslaves men, and […]
Rare prayer
By David Faust Over the years I have heard (and spoken) a lot of prayers: public prayers, private prayers, long prayers, short prayers, earnest prayers, desperate prayers, pompous prayers that sounded like they were intended to impress the crowd, and humble prayers that came from the depths of a contrite heart. Roy Mays battled […]
The sound heard far away
Another Look by David Faust The roar of the crowd could be heard for miles. Filled with intense emotion, the people gathered on the very ground where Solomon’s temple stood decades before. After long years in exile, the Jews had returned to Jerusalem and laid the foundation for a new temple to be constructed on […]
Pigging out
Another Look by David Faust My family raised pigs on the farm where I grew up. Yes, hogs stink. But farming isn’t for sissies, and business is business. Whenever someone complained about the odor emanating from the hog barn, Dad would simply chuckle and mutter, “They smell like money to me.” So there’s a part […]
