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Jesus doesn’t approve of an “Us vs. Them” division

Local Columns

First lesson: Not everything you might hear about the Bible is true. In Matthew 5:43-45 (NIV), Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven…” No biblical command actually instructs anyone to hate an enemy. The Jewish people developed that idea from passages like Deuteronomy 23:3-4, where God told Israel that “No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, not even in the ...

Backyard Gardener: Shade Tree Selection

Features

Hello Mid-Ohio Valley farmers and gardeners! We were a little on the dry side but that has all changed this week. Continual downpours since Sunday have brought several inches of rain and even flooding in areas around the valley. The forecast for the next few days is dry and sunny so we can catch up around the yard and in the fields with crop planting. This week I am discussing selecting and planting shade trees. Many homeowners around the valley, especially if you are building a new home or recently have purchased one, are going to plant trees in the landscape. Trees have many ...

It’s tough to be a young adult!

Features

In the twenties, humans develop their sense of personal identity, set some of their goals for life and begin to find their place as adults in a topsy-turvy world. Sociologists generally list 5 markers that indicate an entrance into adulthood: (1) completing school, (2) moving out, (3) financial independence, (4) marriage and (5) having children. But today’s “twenty-somethings” are sometimes ridiculed for “prolonged adolescence” because they are pushing these markers further into adulthood. For example, in 1980, the median age for marriage was 24.7 years for men, and 22.0 years ...

Early Marietta: The Civil War Almost Started at Belpre, Ohio

Local Columns

July 10, 1845, 2:00 am. It was pitch black on the Ohio River; a crescent moon had set in the west at midnight. A boat with 6 escaping slaves – 3 adults and 3 children - from the Harwood Plantation in Wood County Virginia had pushed off from Parkersburg, towards Ohio near Belpre. The plan was ...

Hunting and fishing in early Marietta

Features

Marietta’s first settlers had to find their own food. No supermarkets or convenience stores then. Some foodstuffs could be brought in from the east but not enough to survive on. Fortunately, the new territory was a hunting and fishing paradise. Colonel Joseph Barker’s journals provide ...

The challenge to forgive and overcome evil with good

Features

An old Chinese proverb says, “One who pursues revenge should dig two graves.” Anger and the accompanying desire for revenge poisons the life of the angry person, and this is true even when other words like “hurt,” “frustrated” or “irritated” are used because we don’t like to describe ourselves as “angry.” Psychologist Paul Meier says that 95% of the cases of depression that he treats in his clinic come from repressed anger at oneself or others. Anger is a normal reaction to being hurt, and it’s also quite normal to wish ill upon those who hurt us. Even some of ...