Jodell
Onstott
Ideas

The absurd assault on basic common sense arose quickly—within two generations. Our religious institutions became complicit, accepting funding in exchange for harmful agendas. Conflicting ideas within our denominations encouraged moral relativism. We lacked firm standards to anchor our beliefs. No firm truth allows us to consider one action universally right and correct, and its opposite [...]

America has lost her religion, her God, and her way. The process did not begin with you and me. We were deceived by the lying words of men within our establishments. Legitimate questions provoked our quest to find truth and harmony. We desired to enjoin the common bonds of human camaraderie within our societies. But [...]

We sleep to the sound our silence allows. Huge corporations are criminal enterprises now. Corporations incite division. Non-profits create violent riots. They lower property values, and then “private equity” buys up the city. No rule of law exists to forbid privatization of the city’s police force. They use government to mandate policies that force their [...]

THE MODERN SUFFERING SERVANT Why has the Suffering Servant prophecy shaped the beliefs within Christianity and Judaism so differently? Jews see themselves and their history as fulfilling the Servant’s traits, while Christians understand Jesus (Yeshua) to fulfill Isaiah’s Suffering Servant prophecy as the Messiah. Most academic and theological studies remain divided along these lines. Can [...]

Impact of the 20th century philosophical movement cannot be over-stated. It brought us John Stuart Mill of Britain. Karl Marx, Frederick Nietzsche, Friedrich Engels influenced the powerhouse of German philosophers, which motivated both Communist Russia and Nazi Germany political movements. Judaism and Christianity, once valuing absolutes in doctrine, succumbed to the German attack on ideals. [...]

My mother would say, “what comes around, goes around.” In the South it’s “getting yours.” In the North, it’s “getting your just desserts.” Tech geeks tells us, “input equals output.” For story tellers, it is “poetic justice,” while the Bible terms it “reaping what you sow,” recognizing that God’s judgments follow this natural law of [...]

Anniversaries evoke joy or sorrow. This year, misfortune triumphs. Since the massacre, France and Europe have been plagued by continued violence and terrorism fostered by Islamic creed. Not only has Charlie paid dearly for its right to uninhibited free speech, but so has France. Seemingly, the movement for which the brutally calculating terrorists killed these [...]

Life and death hung in a precipitous balance. Leaders were self-serving. The military ignored basic security measures. Warnings went unheeded that day. We had grown accustomed to the enemy’s violence. Terror attacks were simply part of our way of life. We were gaslit into accepting violence and instability as our price for living upon our [...]