I am as crusty as any Christmas traditionalist, I suppose, when it comes to the co-opting of the “true meaning of Christmas” by the so-called secular world. It annoys me that the greeting of “Merry Christmas” has been watered down so often into a more benign “Happy Holidays” wish. Never mind that the root word of “holiday” comes from “holy day,” thus still smacking of religiosity, but we’ll leave that for another time. My annoyance reached its peak recently when... Read more

Let us prey: Who’s to blame? Everybody, nobody? After a long litany of online rants, 24-year-old Matthew Murray gunned down unarmed innocents at the Youth with a Mission Center in Denver. He proceeded to make a stop at the Web site where he regularly posted his messages to verbally take aim at Christians in particular before heading to Colorado Springs half a day later, where he took more lives at New Life Church. Murray’s actions, like those of many other... Read more

Virtual world can lead to real-life problems It’s harder than ever before to define what exactly constitutes cheating in a relationship. With the combination of increased access and greater anonymity the Internet affords, more and more people are flocking to the Web to meet needs otherwise met in the “real world,” or perhaps not satisfied at all. Before the advent of the Internet, fidelity was at least a little bit more clear-cut. If you spent an inordinate amount of time... Read more

Good or evil: Do we even have a choice? There are those rare people we meet in life who seem to exude a glow of goodness. They radiate a gentle energy that makes everyone around them feel good. Then there are those whose souls seem permanently damaged, darkened by anger or hatred, irreversibly evil. How do two members of the same species become so morally different? Can St. Francis of Assisi and Osama bin Laden really both be equally human?... Read more

Fowl deeds CHIEFTAIN PHOTO/JOHN JAQUES Leif Torgerson, 9, wears a sign promoting turkey giveaways at Milagro Christian Church. About 100 birds were handed out Monday to anyone wanting them. Church continues practice of community giveaways By MARVIN READ THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN It’s pretty much the way the congregation operates – enough so that it can enunciate its mission and identification as a church that is “committed to sharing God’s love and generously giving itself away to the world through .... Read more

Christian Piatt column Love can be as close or far as one condition away A middle-aged mother faced a reality every parent prays to avoid, the premature death of her son. She lost him to AIDS two years prior, but the pain she feels over the loss is still like a fresh wound. Even now, she receives dozens of sympathy and support cards from friends of his. New cards arrive on birthdays, anniversaries and those holidays with images of family... Read more

Thoughts on satire, pop culture and the Gospel I don’t usually use column space to respond to letters I get either in support of, or in opposition to, a piece I’ve written. However, the response I’ve received about my column last week on “The Golden Compass” has prompted me to add some more points to ponder. To get everyone up to speed, “The Golden Compass” is a movie due out this holiday season that is at the heart of much... Read more

It was a Monday, I think. I was minding my own business, doing my best to be a good and faithful disciple when – WHAM! The entire foundation of my faith came crumbling to the ground. The culprit was a sinister series of children’s novels known as “His Dark Materials” by Philip Pullman. An admitted atheist, Pullman’s books tugged at the very seams of my beliefs. I watched in despair as everything I thought was right and true in the... Read more

Pretty cool way to see how your views align with candidates. unfortunately it only showed me how incredibly unelectable the candidates who align most with me are. Click here to take the quiz Who is your “ideal” candidate?  Was it who you expected? Read more

Romney-Bob Jones alliance is a sign of the times When I heard that Bob Jones III was endorsing Mitt Romney for president, you could have knocked me over with a hanging chad. Jones, chancellor of the uber-conservative university named after his grandfather of the same name, has made headlines over the years for publicly sharing all of his views on what is wrong and revolting in the world. The list of said “revolting” people, ideologies and behaviors is long. At... Read more