I'm troubled and distressed. Maybe it's time to forsake Bill.

At the risk of belaboring the point ...


ON THE AVENUES: On a wig and a prayer, or where's the infidel gardening column?

... I find it enduringly odd that the News and Tribune promotes multi-culturalism in its editorials, and yet runs only Christian advocacy columns like this on -- and sometimes others like it.

Media bias?

MAY: Troubled by violence, by Tom May (Flailburger)

About a year ago, several outbreaks of violence occurred one right after the other. On July 5, 2016, Alton Sterling was shot several times at close range while being held on the ground by two Baton Rouge police officers. The incident was recorded on a bystander’s cell phone. Twenty-four hours later, Philando Castile was shot and killed by officer Jeronimo Yanez in a Saint Paul suburb after being pulled over. On the final day of the trinity of terror, Micah Johnson ambushed and fired upon a group of police officers in Dallas, killing five and injuring nine other officers and two civilians. Johnson later said he was angered by the recent police shootings.

Dallas pastor and best-selling author, Tony Evans, posted words on his blog the next day that were reprinted with permission by The Washington Post and several other papers. His thoughts have been seared on my mind since. “Unless the Church steps forward collectively to fulfill its God-given role of influencing the conscience of our culture, our country will keep spiraling downward into the depths of fear and hate.”

There is an intriguing verse of Scripture in the Old Testament book of 2 Chronicles. The nation of Israel, God’s people, had wandered from their faith. Their religious leaders failed to teach people sound doctrine, watering down the truth so as not to offend anyone. Their government authorities no longer held the Law as the standard for behavior. “In those days it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another because God was troubling them with every kind of distress” (2 Chronicles 15:5-6 NIV). The passage concludes that if you forsake God, He will forsake you.

Have we become a troubled, distressed society? ...

... Tom May is a freelance writer who provides content for newspapers, magazines and websites. He is an adjunct instructor in the Communications Department at Indiana University Southeast. He has held paid and volunteer ministry positions at several churches in the tri-state area. Reach him at tgmay001@gmail.com.