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Marty Duren: Three Reasons I am Not a Muslim

Note: This post if from my friend Marty Duren who writes a regular blog, Kingdom In the Midst. Marty is a prolific writer who often touches on issues important to our lives and culture. His review of "American Sniper" was excellent. Contrary to the assertions of some all religions are not the same. All religions may be wrong, one right and the others wrong, but all cannot be right. Even if one holds the belief that all religions lead to God such a person must still answer “To which God do all religions lead? The God of Judaism, the of Christianity, of Islam, or the many gods of polytheistic religions?” “All roads lead to God” is vacuousness. Since 9/11 through this present time as ISIS/ISIL/IS fills the headlines much has been written about Islam. Islam is a dominant world religion one-third (with Christianity and Judaism) of the large Monotheistic religions of the world. Although there are an estimated 1.6 billion Muslims in the world, and Islam dominates entire regions and peoples, here are 3 reasons I am not a Muslim. 1. The Koran contradicts the Bible. Even a cursory review reveals contradictions of the major doctrines of Christianity. The Trinity, the deity of Christ, [...]

By |2015-02-26T20:34:41-06:00February 26th, 2015|My Blog Post|Comments Off on Marty Duren: Three Reasons I am Not a Muslim
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The Size of Your ‘Family’ Can Be Larger Than You Imagine

If I asked the size of your family how would you respond? Would you say large, small or nonexistent? A friend recently told me she had 40 first cousins. Someone I knew a few years ago has no one; not a single living relative. I have one living brother and three siblings I hope to meet in Heaven some day. There are a few first cousins who I can count on both hands. Some of my closet relatives are second and third cousins but those are relatively few in number too. I find it interesting a handful of my Catholic friends have trouble with the first names of relatives once they surpass the triple-digit mark. While the number will vary for each of us, I realized yesterday I was standing in the midst of a few hundred people I could call family for seventy short minutes. The dictionary app I have on my phone provides eight definitions for the word “family.” Number four may be the most common, defining family as “people descended from a common ancestor.” But the one that I felt best defined my family on Thursday was “a collection of people sharing a common attribute.” It was [...]

By |2015-02-20T19:27:11-06:00February 20th, 2015|My Blog Post|Comments Off on The Size of Your ‘Family’ Can Be Larger Than You Imagine
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When Tragedy Strikes Let’s Remember, It’s Not About Us; It’s About the Families & Friends Who Remain

The recent and tragic deaths of Christian Brothers High School seniors Colin Kilgore and Christophe Kesterson has hit close to home for their friends, teammates, and teachers. Now that the impact of their deaths has started to bring our emotions to the surface, I believe it’s time we realize it’s not about how or what we feel, but rather the feelings of the relatives and close friends of these two young men. On Monday I wrote a piece about my own experience of losing one of my best friends our senior year - almost to the day God called Colin and Christophe home. I can relate to the close friends and teammates of the boys, especially those who have spent so much time with them over their 17 years. That means I can sympathize with them. On the other hand, I have no idea what Robert and Anna Kilgore and John Kesterson and Georgina Kesterson are going through at this moment. Honestly, I pray I never know that feeling and I’m confident any parent reading this would agree. The difference is unless we have shared the same or a similar experience, we can only empathize with them or try to [...]

By |2015-02-19T08:59:25-06:00February 18th, 2015|My Blog Post|2 Comments
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Untimely Deaths of High School Seniors Present Challenges and Opportunities for Classmates, Family and Friends

It happens decades before it should. Sometime before a May graduation one or more members of a senior class could wake up one morning and never live to see another day. It makes no sense; these boys had their entire lives in front of them. None of us will ever understand such tragedy and we’re not supposed to. This past Sunday I awoke to the news that two young men from Christian Brothers High School in Memphis, TN lost their lives in a single car accident the prior evening. Colin Kilgore, a baseball player and teammate of my freshman son and Christophe Kesterson, a lacrosse player collided with a tree in the car they were riding and died instantly. Both were accomplished student-athletes who had secured a spot at wonderful colleges and I’m sure felt as if they had the world in the palm of their hands. Yet it’s times like this we realize it’s not us but God who is in control. Almost thirty-five years to the day I lost one of my best friends our senior year of high school. The news of the CBHS deaths dug up a cadre of emotions for me. I would have never imagined the [...]

By |2016-08-24T09:57:33-05:00February 17th, 2015|My Blog Post|17 Comments
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