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Tree of life signifies more than immortality

By Samuel L. Boyd University of Colorado Boulder THE CONVERSATION After weeks of wrenching testimony, jurors delivered a guilty verdict June 16, 2023, for the gunman who killed 11 worshippers in a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 – the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. The next phase of the trial will focus on sentencing, and whether Robert Bowers should face the death penalty. The name of the synagogue, Tree of Life, has almost become shorthand for the tragedy. Yet it highlights a symbol from the Bible that has transformed over time, coming to represent how the human ...

Religion Briefs

Editor’s note: To submit a nonprofit announcement to The Sentinel’s Religion section, contact Tom Laub at (717) 248-6741 or by email at living@lewistownsentinel.com. Items also may be faxed to (717) 248-3481 or sent to The Sentinel, 352 Sixth St., Lewistown, PA 17044. Items must be received by Tuesday for publication in the Saturday edition. Submissions will be published as space allows. The editor reserves the right to edit all submissions. ••• First Bakers UMC to host Bible study LEWISTOWN — First Bakers United Methodist Church will host a Bible study every Wednesday ...

And then Jesus came

Matt 9:9-13 The money was good, but was the job worth it? Matthew had a loathsome job--working for Rome, taxing his fellow Jews. Tax collectors were social outcasts. Devout Jews avoided them because they were usually dishonest. The job carried no salary. They were expected to make their profits by cheating the people from whom they collected taxes. Patriotic and nationalistic Jews hated them because they were agents of the Roman government and hated them with a double hatred if (like Matthew) they were Jews, because they had gone over to the enemy. They were betraying their own ...

Anxiety-free living

In Luke 12:22-25 you will read some very familiar phrases. Phrases like ‘do not be anxious for your life’, ‘consider the ravens’, ‘consider the lilies’, ‘seek the kingdom and these things shall be added unto you’, where your treasure is there your heart will be’. This text is an almost direct parallel to another passage starting in Matt.6:19 to the end of the chapter. What makes this text so fascinating to me is a statement repeated by Jesus three times: v.22 “Do not be anxious’, v.29 ‘Do not keep worrying’, and v.32 ‘Do not be afraid.” So we could title ...

Only one way to salvation?

I remember a discussion while still in seminary, as I was training for pastoral ministry. Our professor posed the question to our small group – “is Jesus the only way to salvation”? There were about 10 people in our group and only two answered, “yes” to that question. The sad thing was that the professor himself denied the exclusivity of Christ. In the years since then I have come to realize that this view is not uncommon among professing Christians. More and more people deny that faith in Jesus is the only way to be saved. This is tragic. The bible is crystal clear that ...

What’s going on when the Virgin Mary appears and statues weep?

By Mathew Schmalz College of the Holy Cross The Conversation Claims of appearances of the Virgin Mary and weeping statues have been common in Catholicism. And now they’re going to get a closer look – but on a worldwide scale. The Pontificia Academia Mariana Internationalis, or PAMI, recently announced an “observatory” to investigate claims of appearances of the Virgin Mary and reports of statues of her weeping oil and blood. This announcement extends PAMI’s mission of promoting devotion to Mary and study of phenomena related to her. While still waiting for full Vatican ...