Articles for tag: World War II

A Plea to Fellow Christians: Don’t Withdraw from Political Engagement!

By Bob McEwen Is it true that righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people? Is it true that when the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, the people mourn? Is it true that blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord? If Scripture is not true, then Christian involvement doesn’t matter. However, if Scripture is true, then anyone with a heart for the hurting will want to follow its admonition to pursue righteousness. Where can one go for righteous counsel and biblical answers to personal, family, and national

'Will You Say a Prayer for Me?'

William S. Boice graduated from Cincinnati Bible Seminary, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, and Harvard Chaplain’s School, landed at Utah Beach with the troops on D-Day, and was “the first chaplain on German soil with our troops” during World War II, according to newspaper clippings. The Army chaplain, who subsequently started First Christian Church, Phoenix, Ariz., in 1952, wrote about “Another Part of a Chaplain’s Life” for this Christian Standard article from 75 years ago. _ _ _ Somewhere in Germany Another Part of a Chaplain’s Life By Chaplain (Capt.) William BoiceJan. 6, 1945; p. 8 Gone are the pleasant days

Chaplain Colonel Barber’s Memories of D-Day

In the late 1990s on into the early 2000s, the Christian Standard office would occasionally receive phone calls that would start something like this: “Hello, Jim. This is Chaplain Colonel Barber” (spoken with a hint of a Southern twang). During our conversations, George Russell Barber would share recollections of his service in the Army and to God during World War II, of landing on Omaha Beach with American forces on D-Day, of sharing a can of Spam with legendary war correspondent Ernie Pyle a day later, of helping select the site for the U.S. Cemetery overlooking the beach, and of

‘Glory to God’ Must Come First

– Dec. 22, 1945 – As promised last week, here’s another Christmas editorial—this one from Dec. 22, 1945, just a few months after the end of World War II. The tone of this editorial by Burris Butler is revealing. There is relief that the war is over, but a high degree of unsettledness that is predictive of the decades to come. _ _ _ ‘GLORY TO GOD’ MUST COME FIRST We all need to pause a little while to listen with the shepherds of long ago to the song of the angels which rang out across the Judean hills and

What We Can Learn from Traditionalists about Money

By Haydn Shaw People now live 30 years longer than they once did. In 1900 the average life span was 48; today it’s 78. But as people live longer—for which we’re all grateful—it presents new challenges that previous eras didn’t face. In previous eras, there were only three generations. The oldest generation had the money and made the decisions, and the younger generation of adults raised the children and did what the older generation asked them to until their parents died, and then their turn came to be in control. Changes in families and churches came slowly and naturally, with

Miracles, Marvels, and the Vulnerable Minister

By LeRoy Lawson The Miracle of Dunkirk Walter Lord New York: Open Road Media; for Kindle, 2012 The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon Brad Stone New York: Little, Brown and Co., 2013 The Vulnerable Pastor: How Human Limitations Empower Our Ministry Mandy Smith Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2015 Just about everything I thought I knew about the “evacuation” of Dunkirk (read “retreat”) was wrong. Or at least wildly romanticized. I could picture the thousand-plus boats of all sizes and types crossing the English Channel to rescue soldiers fleeing for their lives from the Nazis. My mind”s eye saw them push up against the

Thanks to the Parents Who Chose Me

By Dick Alexander From my earliest memories, I”ve known I was adopted, and I”ve always been grateful. When I was turning a year old, the doctor who delivered me, and who also was my adoptive family”s doctor, told my mother-to-be that he knew of a baby in foster care needing a permanent home. Otherwise the child would likely be sent to an orphanage. My father-to-be was 41 at the time, and Mom was 37″”both considered old to be starting a family back in that day. When I was old enough to understand, Mom told me with a laugh how the adoption

December 7, 2015

Christian Standard

Meditating on Hope: December 7

By Becky Ahlberg Monday, December 7 It”s Pearl Harbor Day”””A date which will live in infamy,” as Franklin Roosevelt so memorably said. On December 7, 1941, America”s naval fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was attacked by the Imperial Japanese Navy. When the smoke cleared, 2,403 Americans had been killed and 1,178 were injured. Christmas 1941 came barely two weeks after that attack. Families tried to go about their celebrations in the usual ways, but the worry over war and the unsettled affairs all over the world clouded the usual lighthearted and warm celebrations. American families were already mourning the loss

Fire Balloons and Fairness

By Jennifer Johnson During World War II, the Japanese were so incensed by America”s brazenness in dropping bombs directly over Tokyo they decided to seek revenge in a creative way. The government transformed many of the country”s schools into factories and employed thousands of children in creating ingenious bomb-carrying balloons with sophisticated temperature sensors that could travel, not via airplane, but on the jet stream over the Pacific Ocean. Their goal with these “fu-go,” or “fire balloons,” was to orchestrate a terror operation and create panic among the American people. They were so angry at the United States they devoted

You Must Read This . . . Beyond Easy Legalism

By Brad Dupray Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy By Eric Metaxas Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2010 German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer had a wanderlust that carried him throughout pre-World War II Europe, across the Atlantic to the United States, and even as far south as Mexico City. It was not the sights he saw that shaped Bonhoeffer”s worldview, so much as the people he met. In this thorough biographical account of a Christian martyr, Eric Metaxas reviews the tapestry of relationships Bonhoeffer used to understand basic human rights, all in the context of one who also had a deep understanding of Scripture. But

Embracing Mystery, Remembering Churchill, and Reconsidering the Classics

By LeRoy Lawson Einstein”s God: Conversations about Science and the Human Spirit Krista Tippett New York: Penguin Books, 2010 Churchill and America Martin Gilbert New York: Free Press, 2005 Climbing Parnassus: A New Apologia for Greek and Latin Tracy Lee Simmons Wilmington: ISI Books, 2002 There”s no yelling in Krista Tippett”s Einstein”s God, no name-calling. This book is not another shootout of science and religion. Instead, these transcripts from 10 episodes of her radio show Speaking of Faith thoughtfully raise issues that thinking people can”t avoid: Can science and religion get along? Can you believe in God and evolution? What is the primary

A Visible Reminder

By J. Michael Shannon “Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them saying, “˜Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins”” (Matthew 26:27, 28). Sometimes we need a visible reminder of those things we cannot see. A wedding ring can remind us of love and commitment. A flag can be the symbol of liberty and patriotism. A pin can be the symbol of fraternity or fellowship. Since we cannot see the past, we often use symbols to remind us of

Obituaries from 2007

(Listed alphabetically) William F. Ambrose, 80, of Washington, NC, died at his home on May 3, 2007. He was born in Newport News, VA, on June 9, 1926, to Martin Luther and Grace Fenton Ambrose. He graduated from Washington High School in 1944 and entered the Army Air Corps and trained as an aerial photographer. He was assigned to the Manhattan Project and served in the South Pacific. He photographed test detonations of the atomic and hydrogen bombs. He was a graduate of Atlanta Christian College, East Point, GA. He also attended East Carolina University, Greenville, NC; University of North

Raising Up the Next Generation of Kingdom Leaders

By Matt Proctor July 1, 1898. Cuba. Spanish-American War. At the bottom of San Juan Hill, Lt. Col. Teddy Roosevelt straps on his boots and leads his Rough Riders regiment up the hill under fierce Spanish gunfire and on to victory. For his courage, he is posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 2001. June 6, 1944. Normandy, France. World War II. Sitting in a troop transport ship, Brig. Gen. Teddy Roosevelt Jr. prepares to attack the most heavily fortified coast in history. Surely he is thinking of his father. President Roosevelt had instilled in his four boys a

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