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Friday, November 29, 2024

Paul Graves

Paul Graves is a retired and re-focused United Methodist pastor and a long-time resident of Sandpoint, Idaho, where he formerly served on city council and mayor. His second career is in geriatric social work, and since 2005 he's been the Lead Geezer-in-Training of Elder Advocates, a consulting and teaching ministry on aging issues. Since 1992, Graves has been a volunteer chaplain for Bonner Community Hospice. His columns regularly appear in The Spokesman-Review's Faith and Values section, and he also writes the Dear Geezer column for the Bonner County Daily Bee and is the host of the bi-weekly Geezer Forum on aging issues in Sandpoint.

Be Alert. Vigilance Is Needed.

How can we stay vigilant and actively engaged? Vigilance must begin inside our spirits. Courageous self-examination of our motives, but also of our deeper strengths, is called for.

Israel-Hamas War: Moments in Search of Tomorrow

I’ve agonized for two weeks after the barbaric, blind violence and the suffering imposed by the Hamas terrorists upon Israeli citizens. But I’m also sick-of-heart over the use of Israel’s superior military might, used “strategically” to intimidate and punish Hamas with innocent Palestinians in the line of fire.

God Is not Our Retribution

Biblical retribution has its passionate believers and its harsh critics. I don’t plan to resolve those tensions here (or anywhere). But I do offer some biblical insights that may challenge the traditional prejudices about retribution.

Is Violence a Christian Value? Again, I Say No.

Apparently there are many people who identify themselves as Christians who are very okay with violence being an option when they don’t get their way. I’m gobsmacked — but not shocked anymore.

Truth Doesn’t Care. Or Does It?

How would we deal with the realities of our daily lives if we admitted another brazen statement: Truth doesn’t care?

Do Language Barriers Begin with Attitudes?

We too quickly let language stand in our way of what we want to say. And I’m not just talking about the languages from cultural or ethnic backgrounds. We who speak English as our primary language too quickly subvert communication with each other when our personal attitude reveals we don’t really want to communicate with “certain other people.”

The Un-Wokeness of Christian Nationalism

Perhaps many persons who think something is “woke” are feigning – pretending – to be ignorant. They may actually know their use of “woke” means the opposite of what it actually means.        

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