Dan's Marinations

"...With liberty and justice for all," that is how the Pledge of Allegiance ends.  We have all said it so many times that it is by rote.  Unfortunately, events of the last several months have shown that we as a society are far from that ideal.  In late February Ahmaud Arbery was gunned down in the street in Georgia by two white men.  His only crime was that he went for a run, something that I have done thousands of times.  His killers were close associates of the local district attorney, so the D.A. called it justifiable on the grounds that they were supposedly attempting a citizens arrest.  This would have stood had not a video of the event gone public.  Justice for Arbery demands that his killers be brought to trial.  Fortunately, the video did go public creating such a public outcry that charges were filed against the killers.  On the other hand it should not have taken a video going public for charges to be filed. Just over a week ago, in New York City a black man (Chri

Believe it or not, Lent is almost here.  It seems as if it was just yesterday that Christians around the world had gathered in churches for Christmas Eve services.  With the beginning of Lent we begin to look toward the holiest time of the year for our faith- the events surrounding Jesus' death and resurrection.  All four Gospels devote far more attention to Jesus' road to Jerusalem and the cross.  Paul wrote that he "resolved to know nothing but Christ and him crucified."  If you're not familiar with Lent, it is the forty days leading up to Easter.  The term "Lent" is not found in the Bible, but the broader church has observed it as a practice for over 1800 years.  In the very early church, in the days when it was a persecuted faith, Easter was already the most important celebration of the church.  From the earliest days, new believers were baptized on Easter Sunday.  Those who had renounced their faith in the face of persecution, or who had for some