Timm's 2 Cents Worth

If anyone, including me, is going to be honest, regardless of what you thought about the Zimmerman verdict, it would have to be said that the incident was a tragedy.  A young man lost his life before his time.  That’s a tragedy. But the verdict has led to a number of protests, outcries for justice, and quite a few number of media interviews of civil rights leaders and activists.  One of the early stories included protesters chanting “no justice, no peace.”  There were other accusations that justice wasn't done, God is a white racist, the justice system is racist, and that Zimmerman racially profiled Martin.  Now I, like millions of other Americans with an opinion about the case, have not heard any more of the trial other than what was on TV.  I, like millions of other Americans with an opinion about the case, have not heard all the facts.  With that said, what follows is my opinion and observation of what I have h...

Okay, I admit I don’t understand atheism and humanism, but this news story caught my attention because of my military service.   I commented on a similar story that came out last year.   Since it hadn't  been mentioned since, I assumed (remember what they say about assuming) that the idea had gone dead in the water.   However the story re-emerged recently, prompting more than just a short Facebook post. Over the course of my military career, I dealt with Chaplains on a fairly regular basis.  For those of you that don’t know, Chaplains are basically military pastors, reverends, priests, etc., that serve the spiritual needs of those in the military.  They are Catholic, Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Islamic, and others.  They are required to minister to others, sometimes to others of different faiths.  They hold services, pray, and administer faith-based rituals like communion, last rites, confession, etc.  Sometimes this happens i...

Photo credit: www.loftonspace.com Have you ever wondered why things happen the way they do on Capitol Hill?  Does it seem like our representatives are more interested in keeping in office and satisfying special interest groups than doing what they promised they would?  Special interest groups and individuals with deep pockets are having more influence on elections (national, state, and local) than the electorate (that’s the voters – you and me).  Senators and Congressmen seem to lose their moral compass and their connection to those that elect them not long after they arrive in DC; they forget the promises they made.  It wasn’t always as bad as it is now. Our Founding Fathers knew that man was fallible and that trusting too much power in a single person or entity within the government would be disastrous to freedom and liberty.  When they designed the Legislative Branch of government, they created a Senate and a House of Representatives.  The House...

There’s been a lot of talk over the past 4-5 years or so about how we must be tolerant.  Tolerance is the thing that will allow us to live together.  I’m not saying that tolerance is bad, but the degree of “tolerance” we supposed to show each other depends on the perspective.  My wife has a t-shirt that has a saying on it that goes something like this: I’m becoming intolerant of the tolerance I’m supposed to tolerate. Miriam Webster defines tolerance in part as “ sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own .”  In other words (and at least in our society) that should mean that someone has the ability to say what’s on their mind.  We don’t have to agree with what’s being said, only that we give others the ability to speak their mind and at least think about their perspective. Tolerance does not mean we have to accept or embrace that belief that differs from our own, and this is where the definition of t...

Ohio State University President Gordon Gee announced his plan to retire as President of the University effective July 1. This decision was based on part of his critical comments he made about Notre Dame.   “He referred to "those damn Catholics" and joked that priests at Notre Dame are holy on Sunday but "holy hell" the rest of the week.” 1   He cited other reasons for his departure, but no one appears to be arguing that his comments about Notre Dame and other situations had a lot to do with the decision.   His comments are offensive; but are they really ? I would say that he hit the nail on the head, at least in regard to most Christians (I wouldn’t say that about priests).  Many of us Christians tend to think the weekly “inoculation” on Sunday (or Saturday, depending on your faith) or the biannual Easter and Christmas services is all it takes to be a Christian.   While only having a relationship with Jesus Christ can provide salvation, we are called as Chris...

My mom used to tell my brother and I about an episode in which there was one candy bar left and we had to share it.  She asked who wanted to divide it.  I, being the oldest and most certainly the wisest, volunteered.  I cut the candy bar into about a 1/3 cut and a 2/3 cut.  HA!  Smart me, now I’ll just take the 2/3 cut.  My mom stopped me and told my brother to pick first.  WHAT?  Of course he picked the 2/3 cut.  (Turns out he wasn't as dumb as I thought he was.)  I was outraged!  Mom, how could you do that?  That’s not fair!  She said life isn't fair, but you can be.  From that point on, when we had the same situation, I think you would have had to use a micrometer to measure the two halves.  It took 20 minutes to cut the darn candy bar, we were being that careful to make the halves as equal as possible. We've heard a lot about fairness lately.  In fact, “fairness” seems to be a rallying cr...

Many people are looking at the disasters that have occurred in Oklahoma and are asking or thinking questions like "Where is God?"  "Why would a good God do this?"  "Why did God allow this to happen?" First, let's remember that certain elements of our society have been working overtime to drive God from every sector of our society: school, government, the public square, etc.  If you belong to one of these elements, you have no right to ask.  Where is God?  In the Bible, God says in more than one place that he will never leave us nor forsake us.  (Deut 31:6 & 8, Joshua 1:5, 1 Sam 12:22, for example.)  He has never left us.  Where is God?  His goodness and mercy shows up in the lives that are spared when they should have been lost.  He is there in the many people that showed up to search for and help the survivors.  He is there in the prayers of our people for those suffering.  He is there when the dog of an elderly woman mi...