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Suicide Prevention

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I told her, “Get out of bed every morning

and put one foot in front of the other.”

Find out how words saved a life; watch our Truth in Two (full text below).

 

Support MarkEckel.com (here). Find the MarkEckel.com YouTube Channel (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in public university (1 minute video), teaching at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis, and interprets culture from a Christian vantage point (1 minute video). Consider becoming a Comenius patron (here).

 

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A student emailed me asking if we could meet via Zoom. I vividly remember that night and conversation. Our online chat was unlike any other virtual meeting I have ever had. The young woman was visibly shaken. She recounted any number of negative experiences, including the loss of her job because she stood up against discrimination in the workplace.

She was so distraught about her life that she considered ending it.

I had listened to her for the first half hour and saw the darkness that enveloped her. In the second half of our hour meeting, I began to speak of hope. I explained that my Christian faith gave me hope. I told her stories about my family and workplace injustices done to me. But I pleaded with her not to give up. I said,

“Get out of bed every morning, thinking, ‘I just need to put one foot in front of the other.”

She spent the last 30 minutes of our conversation in tears.

Honestly, I did not know what would happen. I prayed for my student over the coming weeks. We kept in contact and she finished the semester. But I wondered about her future.

Fast forward two years. This spring I received an email out of the blue from that student. In part, this is what she said,

I’m reaching out to you because I wanted to thank you. I graduated this past December. I owe a great deal of that to you. You inspired me in such a way that no one else has. Your stories pushed me to finish and not give up. I came very close to giving up. Your words inspired me. I am applying to graduate school next year and I owe that to you.

A teacher does not always know what impact his words will have on a student. Sometimes, those words may just save a life. For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, president of The Comenius Institute, personally thankful for the life-giving hope of Jesus.

Definitions of Jesus

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An extra credit assignment turned into a modern day,

“Who do you say that I am?”

Watch our Truth in Two to hear the answer to a 2000 year old question (full text and afterword below).

 

Support MarkEckel.com (here). Find the MarkEckel.com YouTube Channel (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in public university (1 minute video), teaching at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis, and interprets culture from a Christian vantage point (1 minute video). Consider becoming a Comenius patron (here).

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I once had a student challenge me about Jesus. She said, “I don’t believe you. I don’t believe what you say about there being so many different views of Jesus.” I had, in my classes, only mentioned three. “Good!” I responded, “I’m glad you don’t believe me!” She smiled. She had heard me say that phrase many times before. “Would you like an extra credit assignment that will replace any test grade you want?” Every student’s attention was piqued now, all wishing they had come up with their classmate’s objection. “Sure!” she was completely pleased with the positive academic turn-of-events.

“OK,” I began, “Here’s my challenge. Go to downtown Ann Arbor, the home of the University of Michigan. Stand on the street corner with a clipboard and ask passersby one question, ‘Who do you think Jesus is?’ In one hour, I will bet you that you will obtain at least 25 different views of Jesus.” Her eyes brightened. I could see the wheels turning in her mind. Only one hour? Substitute that time for a test grade? Prove the teacher wrong? Win, win, win.

It was a Friday. She went to Ann Arbor on Saturday. She was back in class on Monday. I did not make any comment. But she did. “Could I tell the class about what I discovered?” Students were still envious about the whole grade thing. “Sure! What did you find out?” The young woman brought out a sheet of paper where she had collected responses from U of M students. “To be honest,” she began, “I didn’t spend the whole hour.” There was a quiet murmur in the room, disappointment that perhaps their classmate had not fulfilled her end of the bargain. “I didn’t have to,” she continued, “Because in 45 minutes I had recorded 25 different views of Jesus. I figured that was enough.”

The classroom murmur turned to stunned silence. I did not say a thing. She made the point in her concluding comments. “I learned that it’s easy to define anyone or anything the way you want, if it’s just your perspective.” And then she paused, and more wondering than questioning, asked, “I wonder what how they would respond if they heard the truth about Jesus?”

For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, president of The Comenius Institute, personally glad to tell anyone, anytime, anywhere, about Jesus.

AFTERWORD: What people say about Jesus is what they believe about Jesus.

The centurion’s claim, “Son of God” Matt 27:54; Mark 15:39; Luke 23:47

The Syrophoenician woman’s claim, “Son of David” Matt 15:21-28; Mark 7:24-30

Jesus claim, “Son of Man” Dan 7:13-14, Matt 9:6 (30x in Matt, 80x in NT), Rev 14:14

The Centurion’s Claim

            1st use of the phrase in Mark, uttered by a Roman soldier, referencing Messiah (2 Sam 7:14)

The Woman’s Claim

            A Gentile woman uses Jesus’ Jewish name, a link to His Divine identity (Matt 1:1)

Jesus’ Claim

            Jesus uses what would seem to be simply a human name, but marks His divinity (Dan 7:13-14)

 

Jesus Triumphed Over Death

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Jesus nailed sin and death on the cross

Triumphing over our enemies on the cross.

Watch our Truth in Two to discover why (full text below).

 

Support MarkEckel.com (here). Find the MarkEckel.com YouTube Channel (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in public university (1 minute video), teaching at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis, and interprets culture from a Christian vantage point (1 minute video). Consider becoming a Comenius patron (here).

Picture Credit: Luke Renoe, Snappy Goat

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Clint Eastwood is an iconic Hollywood actor and director. When I reviewed one of Clint’s most popular films, Gran Torino, I said, “We need to learn that getting justice may only be won by giving ourselves.” In short, true victory is achieved through sacrifice.

Eastwood’s symbolic gesture of a cross-like pose at the end of Gran Torino has been used repeatedly since Jesus sacrificed Himself on the Cross for human sin. The importance of the cross is more than a symbol to be worn around a person’s neck. Jesus’ death was a finished work. We remember Jesus dying on the cross because that is where He defeated both sin and death.

My favorite passage of Scripture about the cross comes from Colossians 2:14-15. It reads, “God cancelled the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside by nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them at the cross.

In the Roman world of Paul’s day, a defeated enemy was paraded in front of a crowd of people. The people would showed their distain for the defeated foe by throwing garage and human waste on the prisoners, a final sign of defeat. In the same way, Jesus’ death was an announcement to all supernatural and natural authorities: I have conquered death.

What is Eastwood’s symbolic gesture? You will need to see the end of the movie. But if you want the basis for the movie’s ending, you will need to read about Jesus’ crucifixion, the voluntary gift of His death that defeated death, at the Cross. A symbolic gesture, arises out of a factual event – Jesus’ sacrifice for the world’s sin.

For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, president of the Comenius Institute, personally seeking truth wherever it’s found.

My review of Gran Torino can be found here: https://warpandwoof.org/gran-torino/

 

 

Tradition and Resurrection

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Why should we pass on what we know

to the next generation?

Find out in our Truth in Two (full text and footnotes below)

 

Support MarkEckel.com (here). Find the MarkEckel.com YouTube Channel (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in public university (1 minute video), teaching at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis, and interprets culture from a Christian vantage point (1 minute video). Consider becoming a Comenius patron (here).

Picture Credit: Luke Renoe, Snappy Goat

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When I was a boy my sister and I had to find our easter eggs and easter baskets. I hated every minute of that tradition. My sister, loved it. To this day, a look of glee comes over her face as she contemplates finding hidden treasure.

You, your family, your friends could have an Easter tradition. Maybe you enjoy Easter egg hunts. Or maybe someone cooks a big meal for your whole family to enjoy. Perhaps you look forward to spring with reminders of little chicks and bunnies. Or, perchance, you can’t wait for the yearly sale of marshmallow “Peeps.”

Some traditions are just rituals. They may not be right or wrong, good or bad. But there are some traditions that arise out of truth claims. The apostle Paul used the word “tradition” to explain truths given in Scripture. In our English Bible translations, a person was to “hold on” to a “received” (1) truth and that teaching was “passed on” (2). These words and phrases come from the Greek word for “tradition,” paradosis – something passed down through generations. “Tradition” meant the transfer of important information to be kept intact from one person to another. The word “tradition” comes from a root word meaning the content and its communication are fused. The truth was inseparable from the truth telling.

1 Corinthians 15:3, for instance, records the key content of the Christian belief system which Paul had both received and passed on: Jesus’ atoning death and resurrection. But verse one says the Corinthians themselves had also received this information. The Gospel which Paul preached to them was where they had taken their stand. (3)

So I am telling the truth about Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. We Christians say, “He is risen!” and I can hear my brothers and sisters in the The Faith respond, “He is risen indeed.” For Truth in Two this is Dr. Mark Eckel, president of The Comenius Institute, personally accepting the truth-tradition of Jesus death, burial, and resurrection given to me.

 

AFTERWORD

FOOTNOTES (1) 1 Co 11:23; 15:1, 3; Gal 1:9, 12; Col 2:6; Phil 4:9; 1 Thess 2:13; 4:1; 2 Thess 3:6.

(2) Oral transmission of religious instruction is meant. Fee NICNT First Corinthians, p. 499, n.29; p. 548.

References to “received,” “passed on,” “hold to,” “teaching,” and “tradition” all come from the same root word making the meaning of this word multidimensional: content and its communication are fused.

(3) “On which you had taken your stand” might be better understood as “in which”; the difference being not so much a change in location but our submissiveness to the Truth.  See Romans 15:2 for the same construction.

 

A Fire in My Bones

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There are many uses of “fire” in the Bible.

None are more personal.

Find out why by watching or reading our Truth in Two (full text below).

 

 

Support MarkEckel.com (here). Find the MarkEckel.com YouTube Channel (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in public university (1 minute video), teaching at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis, and interprets culture from a Christian vantage point (1 minute video). Consider becoming a Comenius patron (here).

Picture Credit: Luke Renoe, Snappy Goat

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Blaise Pascal was a famous French philosopher and mathematician of the 17th century. But today he is most famous for his writings entitled Pensées meaning “thoughts.” Pensées were Pascal’s theological writings collected after his death at the young age of 39. His conversion to Christianity was so abrupt, so transformational that Pascal devoted his final eight years to a focus on God’s work in the world. Blaise Pascal was so changed by his conversion that he wrote the word “fire” on a parchment and sewed it inside his coat, reminding him of the all-consuming fire of his internal transformation.

The word “fire” is a prominent biblical word. When God invited Moses and Israel’s elders to experience Him on Mount Sinai, Exodus 24:17 says “the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire.” “Offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire,” says the writer of Hebrews in chapter 12. Because God alone is God, Scripture often repeats the truth of Deuteronomy 4:24, “Your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” Placing our worship on anything else is considered idolatry, the trigger for God’s jealousy.

And so, in the context of worshipping false ideas, God says in Jeremiah 23:29, “Is not my word like fire?” God’s Truth consumes falsehood. How does that experience of “fire” translate into our lives? One of the great lines of Jeremiah 20 verse 9 has always motivated me. The prophet declares that he must speak God’s Word because,

“There is in my heart, as it were, a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot”

I identify with Pascal’s “fire.” I feel it every day. It is the unquenchable fire of God’s Spirit who lives in me. The Word of God is a fire in my bones, and I cannot hold it in.

For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, president of the Comenius Institute, personally seeking truth, with light, from the fire of God’s Truth.

7 Biblical Reasons to Temper Expectations

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What we think is bad . . .

. . . may not be so bad.

Find out why by watching our Truth in Two (full text below).

 

Support MarkEckel.com (here). Find the MarkEckel.com YouTube Channel (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in public university (1 minute video), teaching at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis, and interprets culture from a Christian vantage point (1 minute video). Consider becoming a Comenius patron (here).

Picture Credit: Luke Renoe, Snappy Goat

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Every day students come to my class, they know we will be investigating the etymology of a word. An etymology means the development of a word’s history.

A word’s meaning grows over time. Consider the word “temper.” Now if someone is angry, we might say, “Cool your jets!” and by that we mean “Control your temper!” But if we say “bring the heat to temper the metal” that would be closer to the original meaning. The word “temper” originally meant to bring metal to a suitable, useable state. Picture a blacksmith heating a horseshoe to make it pliable so he can fashion it for a horse’s hoof.

Sometimes in life we must work with what we have been given, “Tempering our expectations.” What we mean is, “Things may not always go our way” or “We may not get everything we want.” Another phrase we use is, “Make do with what you’ve got.” We may be frustrated by our situation. A poker player might say, “I’ve got to go with the hand I’ve have been dealt.”

Solomon teaches temperance by his proverbial wisdom. For instance, Ecclesiastes 7:8 says, “Better is the end of a thing than its beginning.” So, I can say, do not be too quick to label something “good” or “bad.” The end of something may matter more than its beginning.

Here is how we practice Solomon’s wisdom of temperance.

Do not believe that one event is the best or the worst.

Be wary not to put all your eggs in one basket.

Wisdom suggests that our best plans may not work out.

Having a Plan B, is better than just having Plan A.

Preparation is good, expectation, not so much.

Things are not always as they seem.

What you see, isn’t always what you get.

These proverbial statements underline Solomon’s point: temper your expectations.

For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, president of the Comenius Institute, personally trying to temper his expectations with biblical wisdom.

 

The Importance of Doctrine

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Rebar is necessary for strengthening cement.

Doctrine is necessary for strengthening Christian living.

Watch our Truth in Two to find out why (full text below).

 

Support MarkEckel.com (here). Find the MarkEckel.com YouTube Channel (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in public university (1 minute video), teaching at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis, and interprets culture from a Christian vantage point (1 minute video). Consider becoming a Comenius patron (here).

Picture Credit: Luke Renoe, Snappy Goat

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Cement, by itself, is not enough. A strong foundation needs rebar. Concrete columns holding up highway overpasses use it. Sidewalk masonry depends on the stability it brings. The “it” is something called “rebar.”

I remember working with cement as a teenager, pouring driveways and house foundations, always making sure that steel rods and wire mesh were embedded in the cement before it dried. You see, cement by itself can crumble under severe compression. Steel rebar – or reinforcing rod – is necessary to withstand the stress and strain of wind for columns and the weight of 18-wheelers on the roads. Materials, such as concrete, that can become brittle in extreme cold or hot environments, need the sustaining concentration of rebar. Concrete structures depend on the strength steel rebar provides.

Rebar illustrates the structure of belief. The steel reinforcement rods for a well lived Christian life are the rebar of biblical doctrine. Paul in the fourth chapter of Ephesians gives the reason for a believer’s structural stability saying we should not be “blown about by every wind of doctrine.” Doctrinal doubt is the concern of James who says the person who doubts is “tossed by the wind.” And Jude says that contending for The Faith necessitates not being “swept along by winds.” The teaching of Scripture supplies the doctrinal core strength for a believer’s life. My belief in the reality of a supernatural world, created and governed by The Personal Eternal Triune Creator, is the poured footer of my foundation, supplied by the rebar of biblical doctrine.

The next time you see a high rise, a skyscraper, a highway overpass, or a business tower, remember rebar. And then remember, that the strength of your beliefs depends on strong doctrine.

For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, president of the Comenius Institute, personally thankful for the foundation supplied by God’s Word, the Bible.

 

Progressive-Conservative

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Is it possible to disagree agreeably?

Watch our Truth in Two to find out if it is possible (full text below).

 

Support MarkEckel.com (here). Find the MarkEckel.com YouTube Channel (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in public university (1 minute video), teaching at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis, and interprets culture from a Christian vantage point (1 minute video). Consider becoming a Comenius patron (here).

Picture Credit: Luke Renoe, RIT

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Denzel Washington is famous for saying,

“It is easy to spot a red car when you’re always thinking of a red car. It is easy to spot reasons to be mad when you’re always thinking of being mad. You become what you constantly think about.”

If you’re always looking for it, you’ll find it. If you think the worst of some person or group, that’s all you’ll see. I am constantly concerned about the one-sidedness of viewpoints.

To my conservative friends I say, go conserve something. If you care to be a true conservator of the great ideas and ideals given us, then be proactive, participate, do good, above all – be kind to those who disagree with you. And to my progressive friends I say, remember the “progress” in progressive. If you care to be a true progressor of future possibilities available to us, then celebrate goodness, growth, improvement, above all – be kind to those who disagree with you.

And let me be very clear. I care deeply for all my friends, no matter your social or political positions. I need my progressive friends to remind me that human concerns still need immediate attention. I need my conservative friends to remind me that human concerns are still rooted in perennial truths.

I encourage everyone hearing my voice to go make a friend with someone who has a very different view of the world than you do. Find out why they hold that view. Read a book together, one from each of your perspectives. Organize a symposium together about a hot-topic and then kindly discuss your differences before the crowd. Practice what I call “the hospitality of ideas” so that people can see an example of civility. Defend the other person in the presence of those with those who agree with you.

And, to Denzel’s point, think about the color blue, so you’re not always seeing red.

For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, president of the Comenius Institute, personally pleased to have many friends who disagree with me.

The pictures herein are of Cornel West and Robert P George. They are progressive-conservative friends.

Celebrate Women’s History Month

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She escaped slavery into a life of freedom.

Watch our Truth in Two as we celebrate nurses and women everywhere (full text and links below)

 

Support MarkEckel.com (here). Find the MarkEckel.com YouTube Channel (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in public university (1 minute video), teaching at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis, and interprets culture from a Christian vantage point (1 minute video). Consider becoming a Comenius patron (here).

Picture Credit: Luke Renoe, Carnegie Center

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At the beginning of Women’s History Month, we at the Comenius Institute want to celebrate Lucy Higgs Nichols.

According to the Historical Marker Data Base, Lucy was born a slave April 10, 1838, was owned by the Higgs family that by 1850 lived near Bolivar, Tennessee. She gained her freedom in 1862 by escaping to the 23rd Regiment, Indiana Volunteers camped nearby. She worked as a nurse for the soldiers as they fought in many major battles of the Civil War. She mustered out with them in Louisville in 1865.

According to the Carnegie Center in New Albany, Indiana, Lucy was more than a nurse. Listening to the recording on Carnegie’s website, Lucy would sit with the wounded and dying Union soldiers. She would tell them they were brave, and their families were proud of them.

According to the men from the camp, Lucy was a ray of light who sang songs reminding the men of their homes. She gave the men hope. Because Lucy had no home, after the war some of the men invited her back to Albany, Indiana. There Lucy married and tended to the needs of her neighbors as a nurse. Fifty-five surviving veterans wrote depositions acknowledging Lucy’s role as a nurse in the Civil War. A special act of Congress awarded Lucy her pension from the U.S. Army. Today, you can visit Lucy’s grave and the Carnegie Center in New Albany, Indiana.

Take a good look at the picture of Lucy from the Carnegie Center. It was taken at a reunion of the 23rd Indiana Volunteers. Notice how Lucy is at the center of that photo. She is surrounded by white men, Union soldiers for whom she cared. I can think of no better way to make a statement about Lucy’s heroism as a woman and the honor of remembering her story.

For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, president of the Comenius Institute, personally thankful for the everyday heroism of women everywhere.

Indiana. #veterans #indianablackhistory @blacknurses #civilwarnurse

https://carnegiecenter.org/exhibitions/remembered-life-lucy-higgs-nichols/

 

1776unites.com

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A voice deserving to be heard.

Robert Woodson and 1776unites.com

Watch our Truth in Two to find out why Woodson should be heard (full text and links below).

 

Support MarkEckel.com (here). Find the MarkEckel.com YouTube Channel (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in public university (1 minute video), teaching at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis, and interprets culture from a Christian vantage point (1 minute video). Consider becoming a Comenius patron (here).

Picture Credit: Luke Renoe, 1776unites.com

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The 1619 Project has received applause throughout the majority media since it was published by The New York Times. There are those who have risen to acclaim its importance. There are others who have stood to question the document’s historical accuracy. You can find the pro and con perspectives in hyperlinks at the end of this Truth in Two.

The 1619 Project suggests that the real commencement of America should begin when the first slaves were brought to this country. I had heard quite a bit about the publication. So I studied it. As I began to research the claims of its writers, I also started to read about those dissenting voices. But my eyes went wide when I read the writings of Robert Woodson and his work at the website 1776 Unites. Since Mr. Woodson’s work has received far less press attention, it is appropriate to consider his claims.

Robert Woodson was born in 1937 in Philadelphia. He and his four siblings were raised by their mom after his dad died. Woodson is an Air Force veteran and has a long history in the Civil Rights movement and community development. Woodson’s concern is for the best approach to upward mobility. Woodson, an African American man, has brought together a cadre of black scholars and activists who study workable ideas. Together, they believe that the country best able to deliver opportunities for success is the United States of America. 1776 Unites has created curriculum to teach both the history of our country and its opportunities for people today. And among many essays on the site, 1776 Unites is critical of ideas found in the 1619 Project.

The year 1776 was chosen as the basis for Woodson’s work, as he says,

“Throughout her checkered past, America has been and remains a beacon of hope to people around the world. Join us in exploring stories of truth, perseverance, and triumph that acknowledge America’s failures but celebrate her enduring promise.”

For Truth in Two this is Dr. Mark Eckel, president of the Comenius Institute, personally thankful for the life and work of Robert Woodson.

https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2022/01/24/the-1619-false-history-project/

https://1776unites.com/essays/the-crucial-voice-of-1776/

The demands of public history (New Yorker)