Articles written by Tom Parsons

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About me - Tom Parsons

I am a retired pastor and Christian school teacher now devoting my time to the ministry of writing. I have enjoyed some success in writing over the years. I have had more than forty articles published in a denominational publication. And recently I published

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Politics, News & Issues > Constitutional & Contract Law Should a woman have the right to choose abortion?: 1 of 313
Quite frankly, I do not know when my life began. The date on which this earthly existence we call life began for me has been lost in the mystery of the past. The date simply is not known to me or to anyone now alive. I have a birth date, and that is well-documented. An official government document I have in my possession, plu... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Christian Beliefs & Culture Priests should be permitted to marry: 2 of 89
Not being a Roman Catholic I may not be qualified to speak to this issue. But having spent 25 years as a pastor, doing many of the same tasks a priest does, I know that it would be a good thing if priests were allowed to marry.One of the churches I pastored was across the street from a Roman Catholic church. The priest and I ... More..
Arts & Humanities > Meaning of Life Big Bang or Big Man: How in the heck did we get here?: 3 of 91
If you start with nothing, there is only one thing you can get. Nothing. Nothing will always produce nothing. Nothing comes nothing.The so-called Big Bang theory of how the universe came to be has one major black hole in it that dooms it. It really does not answer the question that is being asked here. It does not explain how... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Religion & Spirituality (Other) Does religion divide or segregate people: 2 of 49
There is no question that religion divides and segregates people. That is, after all, part of the purpose of religion. There is a tendency in our culture today to think that segregation on a religious basis is a bad thing. After all, we are taught that we should all come together, that we are in the process of building one w... More..
Creative Writing > Poetry Poetry: Expressions of love: 9 of 205
Forty times around the sun earth has on her journey run,Moving e'er at God's command bearing sea and sky and sand.Always with her silent moon, ever spinning to their doomDancing to a tune that's played in a Heavenly serenade.On that spinning, dancing orb two were drawn by love's cord,First to Him who made them clean by washin... More..
Travel > Public Transportation Public transportation should be free: 4 of 45
When I was a child living in a large city, buses ran up and down the major streets of the city at very regular intervals. I remember my older sister taking me on a bus to a downtown movie theater to watch Walt Disney's "Song of the South." The year was 1947, I was six, and the bus ride cost my sister a dime each way.Whoever p... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Drug Laws & Prevention Why education is the best weapon in the war on drugs: 1 of 11
Public education has already had the opportunity to prove its worth in the war against drugs, but it has failed miserably. The reason is simple. It has not and probably cannot get to the heart of the problem. It does not address the reasons young people turn to drugs. It probably cannot do this.Drug use is not a problem that ... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Christian Holidays & Celebrations Can Christians ever manage to reclaim Christmas as a holy day?: 3 of 31
In reality, Christians have no need to reclaim Christmas as a so-called "holy day." Historically, Christmas has always been much more secular than holy.There is no evidence in the Bible that early Christians celebrated the day of Christ's birth. And, since shepherds were in the fields caring for their sheep on the night Jesus... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Government & Policies Should smoking be allowed in public places?: 39 of 363
It is true that laws in the United States are sometimes obtrusive and arbitrary and every law that is passed does chip away at our freedoms. However, I must agree that the laws that ban smoking in public places are necessary and beneficial.Of course, it is easy for a non-smoker such as myself to say that. Such laws certainly ... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Heaven, Hell & Afterlife Can you get to heaven by being good?: 15 of 137
The Bible makes it clear. There is no one good enough to go to Heaven. Paul reminds his readers in Romans 3 that "there is none righteous, no not one," and that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."Every person's history contains "bad" things, however innocent we might view them in retrospect. God's law says n... More..