Lawrence Webb, August 31, 1934-August 31, 2016

No.  This is not an obituary.

But as I write this on my 82nd birthday, I'm reminded of the oft-told story of "Life in the Hyphen."  A man visiting a cemetery noticed the hyphen between the date of birth and the date of death on each headstone and started wondering what went on in the lives of these people between the time they were born and the time they died: What did they do during the Hyphen?

I started thinking about other marks I could use to punctuate my life.

! The Exclamation Point marks times of excitement, and I've had my share.  In retrospect, one of the most exciting days of my life came on July 17, 1965, when Pansy and I stood at the altar in a church in Charlotte, North Carolina, and pledged our lives to each other, "from now on! Other exciting times include April 7, 1969, and August 22, 1972, birth dates for our sons, Russell and Jonathan, respectively!  I could add exciting times when we've traveled to London! Paris! Madrid! Rome! Yellowstone! the Grand Canyon! and on and on and on and on and on!  And on!

? The Question Mark also has made its appearance many times in my 82 years: How am I going to pay for my college tuition now that I've committed my life to the ministry? Answer: One step at a time?  Why did Randall, one of our premature twin sons, die after 13 days? I'm still waiting for a good answer.  What am I going to do with all my time when I retire?  Dumb question. Plenty. Teach the Baraca Radio Sunday School Class from First Baptist Church every week.  Minister in retirement homes each month.  Direct plays in community theatre. Serve on volunteer boards: Anderson-Oconee Council on Aging (now Senior Solutions), Project Challenge Playhouse; Literacy Association, ACLU Upstate Chapter; Upstate Chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Coordinating Council, Friends of the Library, Lifelong Learning Institute at Anderson University, Foothills Writers Guild.  Write books.

, The Lowly Comma symbolizes a pause.  Pansy says I need to add a few more of those after all those activities I listed with the Question Mark.  Point well made and, I hope, well taken, as I have left several of those to other people.

. The Period serves a useful purpose, but I'm not ready to use it yet because it indicates a stop.  I've made various stops along the way, such as graduating from high school, college, seminary, and graduate school; and leaving various jobs in church and denomination and higher education.  But none of these has been a complete stop.

The Cedilla looks a lot like a comma, but when it is attached to a letter, it gives a special pronunciation, such as in “Façade,” making it fuh-sod instead of fack-ade.

Every writer or speaker likes to give special twists to his or her presentation from time to time, such as making this to-do about diacritical marking.

The Tilde gives a special emphasis in Spanish, as in mañana.  But my Spanish is limited to trying to say huevos rancheros in Mexican restaurants.  So I won’t go there.

‽ The Interrobang, a late-born child in the punctuation family, combines the Exclamation Mark and the Question Mark: The adrenaline pumps, as I’m not sure what to make of a situation.  Will Trump or Clinton win the presidency, and what difference will it make either way, and where is Bernie now that we need him‽

; The Semicolon shows up when I feel I must say much; I have many more things I need to tell you; things just keep coming to my mind; I don’t know where to stop.  Life goes on; things get so exciting; never a dull moment; I don’t know where to stop.

'The Apostrophe usually indicates something has been left out.  The story has it that Robert Frost was asked what promises he felt he had to keep before he could sleep (in his poem, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening").  The poet replied, "If I had wanted you to know, I would have told you.”  At this point, you don’t feel I’ve left anything out.

: The Colon comes into play when there’s more to be said: Life is not over.  Another Baraca broadcast to prepare for.  Other Communion services at retirement centers. Other Lifelong Learning classes to teach. Other books on my Bucket List.

Blasphemy on the Net

“The choice should be easy for Christians. It's Trump ... or it's the end of America.”

That statement is the blasphemous punchline from a long rant that rates the current Republican presidential candidate with Almighty God.  

Here is my non-partisan response to the article a friend forwarded to me.  The forward did not identify the original author.

I cannot put my Christian hope in any politician — Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton or anyone else.  I don’t believe God is relying on either of them, or the people they eliminated in the primaries, in order to “save America.”

The writer says, “God is about miracles.“  

Then he adds, “I believe Trump is our miracle.”

He quotes a familiar verse from the Hebrew prophet Isaiah: 

"Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall,  But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up   with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:30-31).

But in quoting this verse, the writer equates Donald Trump with the Lord.

“It’s almost like God created this verse for Donald Trump and this moment in history.”

Instead of the Lord renewing strength, this writer says, “Trump renews our strength. .  .  . With Trump we mount up with wings like eagles. With Trump as our leader there is nothing we can't do. .  .  .  Trump inspires us. Trump gives us hope. Trump gives us confidence in victory. Trump gives us just a touch of arrogance. Maybe God understands that's exactly what we need right at this late stage to save America.”

This is outright heresy.  The writer finds Trump a fitting substitute for the Lord.  

This attitude toward Mr. Trump is as misguided as a prayer a pastor out in Davenport, Iowa, prayed on October 11, 2008, at a John McCain rally. I have heard the prayer on video on the Internet. In the prayer, the pastor actually told God twice that God’s reputation was at stake if He let Barack Obama win.   Here is his prayer:

“Our God, we want to honor You today as the Sovereign Lord of this universe.  You tell us in Your Word that You raise up leaders and You pull them down.  So we know that You are in charge of everything that’s going to happen between now and November.  

“And Lord, we just appeal to You for this event.  We want to ask Your blessings on our time together today. Please energize Senator McCain as he seeks to share his vision and what he thinks we need to do for the problems we face in this country. And Lord, help us to be good listeners, ready to hear what he has to share.

"I would also add, Lord, that your reputation is involved in all that happens between now and November, because there are millions of people around this world praying to their God -- whether it's Hindu, Buddha, Allah -- that his opponent wins for a variety of reasons. 

“And, Lord, I pray that you would guard your own reputation, because they’re going to think that their god is bigger than you, if that happens. So I pray that you would step forward and honor your own name in all that happens between now and Election Day.

"Oh Lord, we just commit this time to you, move among us, make your presence very well felt as we are gathered here today in Jesus's name I pray. Amen.” 

You can find this prayer on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g0d3_KE5js.  The minister was Arnold Conrad, former pastor of Grace Evangelical Free Church in Davenport.

Questions come to my mind as I think of this current writer’s confidence in Donald Trump, the same questions that come to mind regarding Pastor Conrad’s prayer on behalf of John McCain and against Barack Obama:

What will it tell us about the power of Almighty God if Donald Trump does not win?  More to the point: Looking back to 2008, what does it tell us about the power of Almighty God when we realize John McCain did not win but Barack Obama did win?  What has come of God’s reputation?  What do those people of other religions think about God?  Is He a Has-Been?  Has God forsaken this country?

The outcome of the 2008 election says much more about the presumption of Pastor Conrad than it says about the reputation of the Eternal God.

The current article also reeks of presumption as the writer links “American exceptionalism, capitalism and Judeo-Christian values,” as if these are divinely interconnected.  The will of God is not synonymous with any country on the face of the earth. Various systems of government and finance come and go, while the Creator and Sustainer of the universe remains supreme.

I had most of the stars knocked out of my eyes many years ago regarding politicians as saviors.

I don’t believe God will put either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton in office.  I don’t believe God put Barack Obama in office or George W. Bush or Bill Clinton or George H. W. Bush or Ronald Reagan or Jimmy Carter or Gerald Ford or Richard Nixon or Lyndon Johnson or John Kennedy or Dwight D. Eisenhower or Harry Truman or Franklin D. Roosevelt or on as far back as you wish to trace it.  

I don’t believe God favors or supports any political party.  God is not a Republican .  .  .  or a Democrat.

The email praising Donald Trump is wrong-headed.  As I said, I have no more confidence in Mrs. Clinton than I do in Mr. Trump as our spiritual deliverer.  That’s just not what a political office is about.  To put our trust in any man or woman in that way is to put that person right up there next to God.  I cannot do that.