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What Native American Heritage Month Means to New Immigrants Like Me

As I Was Saying is a forum for a variety of perspectives to foster faith-related conversations among our readers with the goal of mutual learning, even in disagreement. Apart from articles written by editorial staff, these perspectives do not necessarily reflect the views of The Banner. On the first

Managing Emotions

Elizabeth is a 40-year-old woman currently going through a divorce after her husband left her for another woman. Elizabeth has been married for 15 years. She has been actively involved in her church community. Elizabeth is feeling depressed and guilty for not being able to make her marriage work. Sh

I’m a boomer who has started to use emojis. Is that a bad thing?

Not unless you are using the wrong ones!Each generation, it seems, has a preferred way of communicating. Researchers call people born between 1928 and 1945 the Silent Generation because they have traditionally limited their communication. But Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) are more inclined to

War in Israel and the Words of Christ

As I Was Saying is a forum for a variety of perspectives to foster faith-related conversations among our readers with the goal of mutual learning, even in disagreement. Apart from articles written by editorial staff, these perspectives do not necessarily reflect the views of The Banner. I watched th

How Can God Be Three in One?

On the night of Dec. 6, 1273, priest and theologian Thomas Aquinas had a mystical vision of God. It was such a life-changing, category-breaking, perspective-altering experience that Aquinas never wrote another word. His greatest work—Summa Theologica, which he had been working on for 20 years—was le

The Therapy of Repentance and Forgiveness

I’ve always found it interesting that Jesus started his preaching ministry with a call to repentance: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matt. 4:17). Is this call to repentance, then, what Matthew characterizes just a few verses later as “the good news of the kingdom” (v. 23)? How ma

A Good Pastor is Hard to Find

As I Was Saying is a forum for a variety of perspectives to foster faith-related conversations among our readers with the goal of mutual learning, even in disagreement. Apart from articles written by editorial staff, these perspectives do not necessarily reflect the views of The Banner. The Banner h

Different Interpretations

In our last issue, I wrote an article, “Misreading Scripture Cross-culturally,” (Oct. 2023) in which my overall point was that we need to be careful and humble in interpreting and applying Scripture given the historical, linguistic, and cultural gaps between us and the Bible’s original audience. One

Is Non-Denominational the Better Option?

As I Was Saying is a forum for a variety of perspectives to foster faith-related conversations among our readers with the goal of mutual learning, even in disagreement. Apart from articles written by editorial staff, these perspectives do not necessarily reflect the views of The Banner.Denominations

What Is Cultural Appropriation?

What is cultural appropriation? Why is it wrong? How do we avoid it?Definitions vary, but cultural appropriation usually involves unbalanced power dynamics. It is understood as borrowing something distinctive from another cultural group in ways that either disrespect that cultural group, fail to giv

Reply All: November 2023

To send letters to the editor, please see our guidelines at thebanner.org/letters.Tough LoveRegarding “Tough Love” (March 2023), my experience is that tough love is never blunt, rude, nor abrupt. Bluntness, rudeness, and abruptness lack love. Tough love is loving. Janet Smit // Toronto, Ont.Culture

Simple Machines

There are six simple machines that help us do work: wheels and axles, pulleys, levers, wedges, screws, and inclined planes (ramps). Simple machines help us by following the simple rule God made for them: When you increase the distance over which force is applied, you decrease the force needed. Here

십 대 자녀와 끝없는 말다툼의 악순환을 어떻게 끊어낼 수 있을까요?

십 대인 제 아이는 늘 어리석은 생각을 하고, 결국 저희는 끊임없이 다투게 됩니다. 이 악순환을 끊을 수 있는 방법이 있나요? 십 대는 성인의 정체성으로 성장하면서 자연스럽게 자신의 관심 분야를 탐구하게 됩니다. 십 대 자녀의 토론 능력은 자아에 대한 주인의식이 성장하고 있음을 보여줍니다. 자신의 욕구를 알고 표현하는 능력은 실제로 좋은 일이지만, 의사소통을 하는 방식에 있어서는 조율이 필요할 수 있습니다.가정 내 의견 충돌에 대한 기본 규칙을 명확히 정해야 합니다. 서로를 존중하는 선을 지키며 서로를 대하세요. 사람 혹은 성격적

How Do I Break the Cycle of Endless Arguing With My Teen Child?

My teen is always coming up with foolish ideas, and we end up arguing endlessly. Any thoughts on how to break the cycle?Teens naturally explore their areas of interests as they stretch into their adult identity. Your teen’s ability to debate shows a growing ownership of self. Their ability to know a

Living with Regrets

If I could do my life over again, is there anything that I would change, leave out, or add? Am I happy with how my life took shape? Or do I wonder how it could have been shaped had I chosen a different path?In Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken,” the protagonist is confronted with such a choice

On Love and Unconscious Bias

As I Was Saying is a forum for a variety of perspectives to foster faith-related conversations among our readers with the goal of mutual learning, even in disagreement. Apart from articles written by editorial staff, these perspectives do not necessarily reflect the views of The Banner.It was a love

The Life of a Parkie

Even though national park workers are surrounded by the immense beauty of God’s creation, the secular nature of the job does not make the parks obvious places for vocational formation in ministry. Still, I can hardly imagine my becoming a pastor without having experienced the life of a parkie for th

Mirrors and Binoculars

Besides having an uncountable number of books to borrow, our local library has started to loan STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) kits. One of these kits is a backpack filled with all the equipment needed for a budding ornithologist: a map of local parks and waterways, a bird identifi

How to Handle Conflicts Between Church and Sports

Many young families have enrolled their children in various sports programs, which are healthy but often conflict with Sunday church services. Consequently, we don’t see these families in church often. What can be done? How should the church handle this?There is a temptation to tell the families the