The Art of Deception: Selling the Narrative
The 2002 musical film, Chicago, set in the 1920s, demonstrates the ease with which the public can be deceived – especially if you know how to manipulate the press into selling your narrative. The basic story line is that of a married woman, Roxie Hart (played by Renée...
Does the Bible Teach Reincarnation?: How New-Agers Use the Bible
(Originally printed in the January/February 1996 Issue of the MCOI Journal) Introduction No doubt, some in our society today find the doctrine of reincarnation to be strange, at best; and false, at worst. In Christian circles, especially, reincarnation is looked upon...
Independence Day
(This originally appeared in the July/August 1997 MCOI Journal) The aliens are coming! The earth and its inhabitants are about to be destroyed, "spaded under." Is this the script of a Hollywood science—fiction movie? No, these are the real—life beliefs that cost...
The Road Well Traveled
In Ecclesiastes 1:9-11, Solomon wrote: What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”? It has been already in the ages before us. There is no...
Prayer: Not a Waste of Time
We have sometimes been told that witnessing to Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and others in cult groups is “just a waste of time.” “They don’t listen.” To be sure, witnessing to people in cults can be quite frustrating. It can be draining. So why do we do it? That is...
The Gate: Dawn of the Baha’i Faith – A Review
World Peace! What a lofty goal and aspiration for the residents of Earth! Beauty pageant contestants, zealous politicians, and those of the Baha’i’ faith speak of the possibility of living in unity with one another. Bahá’Ãs believe that God has appeared throughout...