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Is euthanasia ever morally justifiable? The term euthanasia is derived from two Greek words: eu which means well or good, and thanatos which means death. Many believe that certain kinds of voluntary euthanasia (those instances where a patient does request death or grants permission to be put to death) can be morally justified. The arguments these ethicists present are based on several assumptions. The first may be categorized as “person-hood.” They would argue that someone in an irreversible coma is no longer a person but only a biological organism. The distinction is often made ...

FUTURES FILES

Corn Crushed, Soy Smashed Friday’s USDA crop report showed US corn stockpiles at 1.849 billion bushels, 155 million above earlier estimates. Corn futures fell the limit down but bounced slightly to close down 23 cents on the day and down 20 cents/bushel on the week. This was the largest US corn crop in history. Soybean’s numbers were also quite bearish and took beans down more than 15 cents per bushel midday but then recovered slightly by Friday’s close. Wheat was pulled down by the others despite a relatively small size crop. Food Prices Eat Up Savings Despite the lower prices ...

Bible Truth or Tradition: Creation in Colossians 1:15 & 16

There are times when we consult a dictionary to understand the meaning of a word and how it is used in different contexts. The same principle applies to Bible study. Examining the original Greek word can help us better understand a passage by revealing the range of meanings a word may have and how it was used by the biblical writers. This can also help us evaluate English translations, since a single original-language Greek word may be translated as multiple different English words. And, a translator's choice can sometimes reflect interpretive decisions (doctrinal or translation bias). ...

Trump is the Picasso of corruption

Trayon White, a member of the city council in the District of Columbia, just walked away from a hung jury in a bribery trial. The facts were kind of wild. Though White admitted to accepting $35,000 in cash from a city contractor (who turned out to be an FBI informant), and the prosecution ...

Lessons from the death of Jim Bakker

In the 1980s the media gave them the name "televangelists." These were men (and a few women) who preached a "prosperity gospel," which claimed that God would reward donors who gave money to their "ministries." Jim Bakker, who died Monday at age 86, was among the most successful of the group, ...

EMPTY NEST

Being unable to keep up with a large garden anymore, I laid my latest brainstorm on our landscaper, 22-year old Caden. “Caden,” I said. “Tear out Buddy's dog pen that is right outside our kitchen door—we don't need it now that Buddy's in puppy heaven—and build us a raised garden.” “What kind of raised garden do you want, Curtis, on the ground or on legs?” he asked. “Build it on the ground, out of railroad ties,” I told him. “Two ties long, one tie wide, and three ties high. Fill it with black dirt. Try to get old used railroad ties, where the creosote is about ...