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JOSEPH RATZINGER, POPE EMERITUS
It has been about 600 years since a pope resigned. Consequently, there is some confusion about what the former Pope should be called. At the moment, he is simply known as the Pope Emeritus. Whether he adopts this title as his formal title remains to be seen. Joseph Ratzinger had been the Pope of the…
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STOCKINGS AND GARTERS
I do not know much about the subject of stockings and garters. There are those who would say my ignorance on this vital subject is appalling. On the other hand, I would say to my detractors, of whom there are many, that the absence of expertise is no reason not to write an essay on…
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O BEAUTIFUL FOR SPACIOUS SKIES
The week ending on October 8 was an eventful week which may have consequences for every American as we travel down the road toward prosperity. Three events took place, one involving a baseball decision and two others having local consequences. But let us deal first with the baseball decision. As you may be aware, the…
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THE POWER OF PRAYER TWO
You may recall that a few months ago an essay was dictated at this desk that had to do with Bishop Eddie Long who was pastor of the New Birth mega-church in Atlanta. It seems as though Bishop Long had thousands of followers and they clung to every word that he uttered. Not to tell…
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IT HASN’T HAPPENED YET
In the spring of the year 2010, I found myself in the offices of my favorite internist on more occasions than I would like to recall. I had no specific complaints, such as my foot hurting or my head hurting, but rather I told the internist that I simply felt lousy, lousy, lousy. The internist…
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UPON BEING SELF-HOODWINKED
This essay pivots on the origin of a popular folk song written in 1835 called “Kathleen Mavourneen.” Like many Irish people and the world at large, I had long assumed that “Kathleen Mavourneen” was the epitome of Irish folk music. The word “mavourneen” is an ancient Gaelic word for “my darling.” The name Kathleen is…
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MAKING THINGS EVEN
There are several conditions and practices in the world that authorize men to have multiple wives. In the western world where Christianity prevails, we limit one man to one woman at a time. A knock on Mormonism is that for years the Mormons insisted that their followers could have multiple wives. It seems that Orrin…
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YOUR LYING EARS
A few years back, there was a popular television program called “You Bet Your Life.” Groucho Marx, the wise-cracking brother from the Marx brothers, was the master of ceremonies for this program. There came an occasion when Groucho Marx, in response to a question from one of his participants, asked, “Are you going to believe…
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REVIVAL DAYS
This morning’s New York Times had a long story coming from Kansas City having to do with the ultimate in revivals. It described a “perpetual religious revival” which seems to be attracting a large number of followers. Unfortunately the sponsors of the perpetual revival entitled their efforts as the International House of Prayer. For this…
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TERROR, COMPASSION AND HOPE
Those of you who parse these pages of Ezra’s Essays will recall the name of Sven Lernevall. Mr. Lernevall is an accomplished fellow who speaks his native tongue of Swedish. Also he and his wife Ella speak flawless English. Interestingly, the accent that he brings to the English language is of the American variety. I…