Articles written by Keith Cantrell

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About me - Keith Cantrell

I was born into a fundamentalist family in a small, conservative town in Oregon. As a child I had no reason to doubt what my parents taught me and so I grew up believing in God and the authority of the Bible. I was a Sunday School teacher, youth group leader,

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Politics, News & Issues > Presidential Elections 2008 US elections 2008: Why Republicans may feel sorry for Hillary Clinton: 1 of 21
I don't think that Hillary Clinton needs anyone's sympathy but I do think that she has been the most maligned candidate in this entire race. Don't believe me? Well, then, let's look at some of the facts.Going all the way back to her husband's presidency there were murmurs from insiders, journalists and others about the possib... More..
Travel > Travel Planning & Advice Alaska travel: Your northern adventure awaits: 1 of 7
The name "Alaska" is thought to have been derived from an Inuit word meaning "...the big country." It has one of the smallest populations of any of the states, a huge backcountry that is virtually empty of human habitation, unparalled beauty, untamed wildlife and incomparable hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities.The ... More..
Society & Lifestyle > Social Values & Norms Guide to general public etiquette: 1 of 6
As a former fundamentalist and evangelical Christian there was a time in my life that I believed that only Christians knew how to be ethical and therefore to show any sort of viable etiquette in public. Since then, of course, I have discovered that the desire and benefits of good public etiquette is a deeply seated human char... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Bible Study Was Mary Jesus' mother?: 5 of 29
Yes, but only in the sense that she was a major character in a legendary fictional tale like any other character. In other words, this question is like asking if Isis was the mother of Horus or if a Greek goddess was the mother of a Greek hero. It simply depends on the context in which you are asking the question. It also has... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Religion & Spirituality (Other) Can God and Darwinism coexist?: 7 of 30
No, absolutely not! Why not? Well, that's the crux of the matter, isn't it? Simply put, God doesn't exist but Darwinism does.Let's look at Darwinism first. Charles Darwin was a true scientist. He looked at the world, observed natural phenomena and tried his best to understand what he saw. That's what scientists do. They obser... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Government & Policies Should smoking be allowed in public places?: 125 of 363
The issue of smoking is an old one going back to the early colonial period. Since then advances in science, technology and medicine have given us unprecedented knowledge about the effects of this hideous practice. We know that smoking kills people and causes billions of dollars worth of health problems. The reason for this si... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Atheism & Agnosticism Atheist belief versus Christian belief: 6 of 16
First of all it is erroneous to imply that atheists even have beliefs. Whoever implies that doesn't understand the basic definition of the word "atheist." Let's look a little closer. The "a" in atheist is taken from the Latin root for "without" and the word "theist" is taken from the Greek root for "belief in theos (god)." So... More..
Education > Education (Other) Do you support any form of redistricting to alleviate overcrowding at Stratfield School?: 1 of 2
When a school experiences overcrowding, there is only one thing to do: move students. The best and most fair way to do this is redistricting. There is a reason why political boundaries are changed through redistricting and the same is true of school districts. It keeps students at a manageable level and is one of the tools to... More..
Health & Fitness > Aging & Longevity Why do women live longer than men: 16 of 26
I hope no one is offended if I start this article with a joke. The joke starts with a question: Why do more men than women get struck by lightning? And the answer is, because women are too smart to play golf in the rain!Beyond the humor in that joke lies a statistic that is part of the general longevity differences between me... More..
Parenting & Pregnancy > Teens (Other) Fathers: How to deal with a teen daughter's pregnancy: 13 of 20
I can speak to this subject firsthand even though it's been a few years. My daughter was barely 19 when she told me she was pregnant and I know that doesn't make her as young as some girls, but it was still a traumatic experience for me.Fortunately, she had a boyfriend who had already committed to marrying her and making a li... More..