In 65 essays, Chuck Holmes presents his views on a wide variety of subjects, from politics to why the Parable wasn't called The Good Jew instead of the Good Samaritan. He discovers that life can be summed up—however imperfectly—in four phrases and why it's probably a bad idea for the deceased to deliver his own eulogy. Sometimes serious, sometimes thoughtful, and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, the short essays leave the reader with something to ponder.
Contents
Introduction
More Than Just Cellula
One Fine Sunday Afternoon
A Long Way from Benson
My Brush with Homogeneity
Midday Delights
In Times of Sadness
Mother's Day
Godspeed, Scoote
Penance Where Penance Is Due
Of Church and State
The Pastor Protection Act
Is veracity overrated?
The War on Christianity?
Trivializing Important Matters
Does it gotta be this or that?
Outraged over Outrage
Papa
More than a Label.
Meet Joe
Rage is the new black
In Praise of Old People
Holo Graphic, Batman. It’s the Dead Guy Talking
Why indeed?
Just how good was the Samaritan?
Bang! Bang! We’re dead
Fear not! Say what?
Age is…
From Church Street to Main Street
As Needed When Needed
Earning a Valentine
A Life in Four Phrases
Slogan Substitution
Not Under My Bed Or In My Closet
Looking for God in All the Big Places
So this is how history is written
Why Some Humans Are Luckier Than Tortoises
What makes a man?
For Richer or What???
Living in an Alternate Reality
What makes good art?
To Stand or To Sit
The Debasement of Important Words
The Benefits of Low Expectations
The Many and Signal Favors of Almighty God
About Walking a Mile in Another’s Shoes
Have yourself a Merry.
Cowardly Christians
Fear doth make cowards of us all.
Staring into the Abyss
Racial Attitudes in the Post-Acceptance Era
The Party of Pangloss
Ghost Stories
Once Upon a Time in America
Credit Where Credit is Due
Those who can, teach.
When Knowledge Exceeds Wisdom
Living in a Single Dimension
Falling into the Great Divide
Shakespeare Made Real
Betsy DeVos gives me hope
Why the Gun Rights People Should Fear the Children
Happy Mother’s Day
Father’s Day in Perspective
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Civility and Its Tragic Death
Our Peculiar Institution
This is what we’ve come to.
The Sadness that We Have Become
Living by the Rule of Caesar
What We Treasure Most
Slogan Substitution
Not Under My Bed Or In My Closet
Looking for God in All the Big Places
So this is how history is written
Why Some Humans Are Luckier Than Tortoises
What makes a man?
For Richer or What???
Living in an Alternate Reality
What makes good art?
To Stand or To Sit
The Debasement of Important Words
The Benefits of Low Expectations
The Many and Signal Favors of Almighty God
About Walking a Mile in Another’s Shoes
Have yourself a Merry.
Cowardly Christians
Fear doth make cowards of us all.
Staring into the Abyss
Racial Attitudes in the Post-Acceptance Era
The Party of Pangloss
Ghost Stories
Once Upon a Time in America
Credit Where Credit is Due
Those who can, teach.
When Knowledge Exceeds Wisdom
Living in a Single Dimension
Falling into the Great Divide
Shakespeare Made Real
Betsy DeVos gives me hope
Why the Gun Rights People Should Fear the Children
Happy Mother’s Day
Father’s Day in Perspective
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Civility and Its Tragic Death
Our Peculiar Institution
This is what we’ve come to.
The Sadness that We Have Become
Living by the Rule of Caesar
What We Treasure Most