Sound Teaching  This is the teaching site of the West Side church of Christ in Fort Worth, TX. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials were written and prepared by Stan Cox |
By Stan Cox, on February 1st, 2012
 I am sitting in my office, waiting for a call from a service manager about our broken printer. Yes, that printer which broke down back on January 22nd. I called on the following Tuesday morning to schedule a service call, and have been given the runaround since.
It is actually a humorous story. We originally bought the machine from a local company called Denitech rather than online. The reason was the salesman’s desire to “do me a favor” in the hope that if we wanted more expensive equipment in the future, we would contact him. We chose this particular printer because it had a 1 year warranty (rather than 90 days), and because Xerox equipment we used previously proved to be dependable.
Continue reading » In the News: Printers and Accountability
By Stan Cox, on January 28th, 2012
 Friday night the Castleberry girl’s basketball team won a game with the most exciting finish you can imagine. They were playing Mineral Wells, and were shorthanded. One of their players had blown an ACL ligament the previous week, and was out for the season. Their best player had a virus, and though she was playing, was struggling physically. None of their shots were falling, and they were down 12 points to start the fourth quarter.
The deficit continued until about halfway through the quarter, and then all of a sudden the shots started falling. The girls knew they had to win to keep their hopes of going to the playoffs alive. They dug down deep, and narrowed the deficit to one point. With 2.6 seconds left, Castleberry had the ball out of bounds. Josh (my son is the coach) drew up a play, and their best player banked home the shot for the win. The stands erupted, the girls (and Josh) went crazy, and everyone cheered.
Continue reading » In the News: Last Second Shot!
By Stan Cox, on January 13th, 2012
 Paraskevidekatriaphobia is a medical term, derived from the Greek language, used to nominate the fear of Friday the 13th. (paraskevi—Friday; dekatreís—13; phobia—fear). The day (one of which occurred this past week) is considered by many a day of bad luck, though such a correlation with the date seems to be of relatively recent origin, (the last 150 years or so).
The term phobia is used to designate an extreme or irrational fear or aversion. Consider the following quote from Wikipedia:
Continue reading » In the News: Paraskevidekatriaphobia
By Stan Cox, on January 5th, 2012
 I am not particularly fond of politics, but I have been casually following the debates and campaigns of the Republican candidates for the Presidency. Many are aware that for a time Newt Gingrich had enjoyed a lead in the polls, as the Iowa Caucuses neared. However, political analysts believe that a series of attack ads by a political group that is backing Mitt Romney led to a change of sentiment by voters, and a disappointing 4th place finish for Gingrich in Iowa.
Gingrich has been very civil toward other candidates during debates and campaigning, taking the high road, and eschewing negative campaigning to this point. He has called for other candidates to do the same. However, indications are that things have changed. After his disappointing finish, Gingrich has made clear that he will begin to be more pointed in his criticism of Romney’s policies and history as governor of Massachusetts.
Continue reading » In the News: Pragmatism VS Idealism
By Stan Cox, on December 24th, 2011
 The recent Baghdad bombing captivated and distressed the world’s population, as news services showed pictures of the devastation, and reported on the dead. A recent news article from the Sydney Morning Herald, dated December 24, 2012, in Australia, noted:
The attacks were the worst since a string of bombings in August that killed 74 people. But they were merely the latest in a country where stability and plurality remain a bitter illusion. The 16 bombs, 63 deaths and 185 wounded will undoubtedly be viewed through the prism of the grave political crisis that, within a week of the US withdrawal, has put an end to any hope of the country moving forward under a nationalist banner.
Additionally, the long time despot and leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-il, died on December 17th. There is much conjecture and concern as to what effect his passing will have on the stability of that nation. This is especially troubling since North Korea has nuclear capabilities. The fact that China, which has emerged as one of the preeminent economic and world powers is an ally of North Korea gives even greater cause for concern.
Continue reading » In the News: Our Unstable World
By Stan Cox, on December 17th, 2011
 I recently was sent an article titled, “Do We Have A Catechism?”, written by Ken Green. The form the article took, and the comments following, indicate that brother Green had posted it to his Facebook page.
Though brother Green gave no specifics in the article, it was critical of the preaching and attitudes of Christians in the past. Notice the following two quotes:
We do not have catechism classes that insist on the rote learning of the proper responses to various questions about God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, the church, faith, baptism, worship, and other doctrines. But, by and large, our people have done quite well in memmorizing (sic) things they can recite on a moment’s notice, while, too often, having little understanding of the material and never really growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord.
But there was a stretch of many years when at least a couple of generations grew up in our churches without hearing much about love, grace and forgiveness and how we’re supposed to treat each other, and it had some devastating effects.
Brother Green took issue with the call made for “distinctive preaching” and said that what was meant is that we should be “reciting the catechism.” It is becoming fairly common to hear a rather dismissive attitude towards the faith and practice of earlier generations of Christians. This is unfortunate.
Continue reading » In the News: Criticizing the Five Step Plan
By Stan Cox, on November 12th, 2011
Back in late May, we noted that radio personality Harold Camping had incorrectly predicted the world would end on May 21st. It was a big story at the time, though I am not sure why. Such predictions have been made since the first century, and have always been bogus. There is a reason for this, as the Bible clearly reveals that man can’t know the day of the Lord’s second coming, “For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2).
Camping refused to admit that he was wrong when May 21st came and went. At least, not completely wrong. Instead, he claimed that Jesus had indeed come in judgment upon the world, but had in His mercy allowed the world to continue for five more months. He then proclaimed confidently that the universe would come to an end on October 21st. This tactic of revising predictions after the fact is again not unique. The Jehovah’s Witnesses, among others, have done it on several occasions.
Continue reading » In the News: October 21, Just Another Day
By Stan Cox, on October 14th, 2011
In a recent article at the Science News website (sciencenews.org), writer Daniel Strain noted the following:
 In Germany’s Eider River, spiders not only swim with the fishes, they kind of breathe like them, too.
Eurasian diving bell spiders (Argyroneta aquatica) survive entirely underwater by living in large air bubbles, which the crawlers trap in silken webs. A new study shows that these bubbles work like a “physical gill,” drawing oxygen in from the water to match much of the spider’s consumption. Researchers from Australia and Germany report their findings in the July Journal of Experimental Biology .
Everywhere around us is the evidence of design. This is one example among millions we could use to illustrate the same basic point. This universe, earth, and the life on it are all too complex to be the product of chance. As the Psalmist put it:
Continue reading » In the News: The Eurasian Diving Bell Spider
By Stan Cox, on September 21st, 2011
 The Facebook website is ubiquitous. It was recently reported that 750,000,000 people worldwide are active participants on the website. The number is mind boggling.
Late Tuesday evening a change was made to the format and functionality of the site. While there are some obvious improvements, change is always a bit disconcerting, and many have bitterly complained about the alterations. A few have maintained a good humor about it, though, and I came across this particular quote about the revisions:
I am appalled that the free service that I am in no way obligated to use keeps making changes that mildly inconvenience me.
Continue reading » In the News: Criticism, Facebook and the Children of Israel
By Stan Cox, on September 13th, 2011
More and more often you hear of Christian young ladies participating in cheerleading activities. Is there anything objectionable about cheerleading? Well, yes and no. There is nothing objectionable in leading cheers at football games and other school events. However, too often cheerleading includes two things that a Christian girl should have no part in: 1) Immodest dress; and, 2) Lascivious choreography.
Continue reading » In the News: Cheerleaders and Modesty
By Stan Cox, on August 23rd, 2011
In a recent story that appeared in the New York Times titled The Two-Minus-One Pregnancy, Ruth Padawer profiled a 45 year old pregnant woman who had chosen to “reduce” the fetuses in her womb from two to one. Following is a quote from that profile:
She was 45 and pregnant after six years of fertility bills, ovulation injections, donor eggs and disappointment — and yet here she was, 14 weeks into her pregnancy, choosing to extinguish one of two healthy fetuses, almost as if having half an abortion. As the doctor inserted the needle into Jenny’s abdomen, aiming at one of the fetuses, Jenny tried not to flinch, caught between intense relief and intense guilt.
Continue reading » In the News: A New Euphemism for Abortion
By Stan Cox, on July 30th, 2011
 British singer Amy Winehouse died on July 23, 2011. Winehouse was a talented performer with a distinctive voice and style, who died following a history of drug abuse, at the age of 27.
Her death is one in a long line of untimely deaths of celebrities and performers. In fact, the age of 27 seems to be significant, as singers Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix and Janice Joplin all died at that age as well. All were heavy drug users, and Hendrix and Joplin died of drug overdoses. Cobain committed suicide.
Continue reading » In the News: Another Rock Star Dies
By Stan Cox, on June 8th, 2011
Occasionally I receive a bulletin called Preacher Talk written by Cecil May Jr. May is, I believe, the President of Faulkner University in Montgomery, AL, and a long time preacher among the institutional churches. He is a good writer, and wrote the following short article titled, Selective Preaching, in the May 2011 issue.
Continue reading » In the News: On “Selective Preaching”
By Stan Cox, on June 1st, 2011
I remember when researchers supposedly discovered what was claimed to be a “gay gene.” It was all over the news, and trumpeted to such an extent by homosexual activists that it is now commonly believed that homosexuals “do not choose” their lifestyle.
Of course, it wasn’t true. As the researcher who supposedly discovered the “gay gene” noted, “Homosexuality is not purely genetic… environmental factors play a role. There is not a single master gene that makes people gay….I don’t think we will ever be able to predict who will be gay” (Dean Hamer).
Continue reading » In the News: One Point Four Percent
By Stan Cox, on May 26th, 2011
A week ago yesterday, the 89 year old radio evangelist Harold Camping was proven to be a false teacher… again.
His prediction that Christians would be raptured on May 21st, 2011 did not come true. Actually, that was a second false prediction, as he initially had claimed September 6, 1994 as being the date of the rapture. He later claimed a mathematical error to be the problem when it did not happen, but in the weeks leading up to May 21st, declared with 100% certainty that his math was now correct, and his interpretation sure.
Continue reading » In the News: May 21, 2011 (The Aftermath)
|
|
Comments are closed 