Former U.S. President Barack Obama recently spoke to a private conference on leadership in Singapore in which he said a lot of world leaders are “old men not getting out of the way” and that the world would be better off being led by women. The BBC reports that Obama said in this speech, “If you look at the world and look at the problems, it’s usually old people, usually old men, not getting out of the way.” He explained,... Read more
The Jordan River and the Dead Sea to its south are part of the Jordan Depression. This trough with its extension to the south, the Arabah, serves as a geopolitical boundary between the State of Israel and its eastern neighbor Jordan. The Dead Sea is the saltiest body of water on earth. It’s partly because its surface is over 1,400 feet below sea level. Water from the Jordan River drains into the Dead Sea and remains there, with no outlet.... Read more
Team USA dug a deep hole way down under on day one, Thursday, only to escape it on day four, today, to defeat the International Team and win the 13th Presidents Cup in Melbourne, Australia, with a score of 16-14. It was quite a comeback for the Americans. The International Team was ahead 4 to 1 the first day. The second day was going worse for the USA until both Patrick Cantlay–surely a superstar in the making–and Justin Thomas–arguably already... Read more
Bryson DeChambeau will compete this week in the Presidents Cup in Melbourne, Australia, for the U.S. team. Bryson is unique on the PGA Tour. His irons are about the same length. That requires quite an adjustment of the lie of those clubs. He stands fairly erect and close to the ball at address. Thus, he has a very upright swing. But I must say that it is a swing that is pretty error-proof. What I mean is that not much... Read more
I wrote a blog post yesterday about tapping down spike marks. A reader pointed out my error. I now stand corrected about it and embarrassed. A year ago, I read articles about the new rules changes that were going to go into effect for the 2019 season. I am now surprised that I didn’t see anything about the new rule change regarding spike marks. The new Rule 13.1, c, 2 reads, “Repair of Damage. A player may repair damage on... Read more
U.S. President Donald Trump and his former Ambassador to the the UN, Niki Haley, are fueling anti-Semitism by their deeds and words. During only three years in office, President Trump has done three things that he believes have been in the best interests of the State of Israel: (1) moved the U.S. embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, (2) recognized Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights way back in 1981, and (3) allowed his Secretary of State Mike... Read more
Is the PGA Tour getting lax on enforcing the Rules of Golf? A case in point may have been this past week. Yesterday, Henrik Stenson won the PGA Tour’s limited field (only 18 players) Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. It was an exciting tournament, with several of the best players in golf, including current Masters champion Tiger Woods, in the hunt to win it. Stenson eagled the 15th hole with a tap-in putt and cruised to win the tournament... Read more
Christmas good ole’ jolly season of Christmas will soon be upon us. People are putting up a Christmas tree in their living rooms, putting out their Christmas tree lights, and, of course, doing all that Christmas shopping. But what is this Christmas business really supposed to be about? In one word–JESUS. Christmas is about the birth of Jesus and believing he is the Christ, the Messiah of Israel. Surprisingly, it is the Gentiles mostly who have believed this. The Jews... Read more
I have been a member of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) since 1999. Most of its nearly 10,000 members are professors who have PhDs and are specialists in biblical studies. My friend Professor Scot McKnight suggested I join due to my interest in the Bible and book publications that I have written about the Bible. Each year SBL joins together with the American Academy of Religion (AAR), which also consists of about 10,000 members, to hold an Annual Meeting. The... Read more
Christianity teaches the doctrine of the Trinity. It was gradually developed by post-apostolic church fathers over a period of about 250 years and made official at the Second Ecumenical Council, in 381. It means that God is three co-equal and co-eternal persons: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. In nearly the next two centuries, church fathers developed this teaching further about how Jesus could be both man and God. It is called “the hypostatic union.” It... Read more
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