Tag Archives: Aristotle

Word of the Week: Temperance

“Temperance is moderation in the things that are good and total abstinence from the things that are foul,” wrote, Frances E. Willard, a 19th-century American educator and president of the Women’s Temperance Union.

In Willard’s time, the concept of temperance was often linked to the total abstinence of alcoholic beverages. Continue reading

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A Passage To Ponder: Matthew 23:13-36

“Anybody can become angry, that is easy,” observed the ancient philosopher Aristotle, “but to be angry at the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose and in the right way–that is not within everybody’s power and is not easy.”

Often called “righteous indignation,” Jesus is the perfect example of channeling his anger against sin, especially religious folks who were guilty of hypocrisy and hurting others. Continue reading

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A Passage to Ponder: Romans 12

In the first century, there were basically two views of the human body. One was that it should be worshiped for its beauty and idolized for its strength. The body was something to be proud of and to flaunt.

On the other hand, some believed that the body was inherently sinful. That the body didn’t matter. Only the spirit mattered. In fact, the body was just a shackle and a prison house. It was something to be despised and ashamed of. Continue reading

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Word of the Week: Gentleness

Gentleness

J. Upton Dickson, who brands himself as a Christian humorist, joked after writing a pamphlet called “Cower Power,” that he was thinking about founding a society called D.O.O.R.M.A.T.S.

It is an acronym for “Dependent Order of Really Meek and Timid Souls.” Their logo would be a yellow caution light. And their motto would be “The meek shall inherit the earth…if that’s okay with everybody.” Of course, Upton quipped, the society didn’t last very long when someone objected! Continue reading

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