Opinion

MY PERSPECTIVE, Gary Damron

We started this series by looking at the purpose of the gospel writers, which was to introduce us to Jesus. We began with John’s account of the pre-beginning, ever-existing person of Jesus. Last week, we researched Matthew's genealogy of His birth, tracing the lineage of "Jesus the Messiah" through His earthly father Joseph.

There's another genealogy recorded by Luke, but it is different in several ways. While Matthew began with Abraham and moved forward, the record in Luke chapter 3 traveled backward. It also started with Joseph, but commentator Adam Clarke explains that it appears instead to be Mary's line since her father Eli is listed. In this case, Luke used the term "son" to describe Jesus as the son-in-law of Eli. Both Joseph and Mary were descendants of David, with Mary's ancestry through David's son Nathan, and Joseph's from Solomon. [Thus, when the census was ordered, Mary and Joseph traveled to the homeland of their ancestors, to Bethlehem which was called the City of David.] And rather than stopping at Abraham, Luke's lineage goes as far back as "Adam, the son of God" (Luke 3:38).

GUEST COLUMN, J. Basil Dannebohm

Every year around this time, as the leaves begin to change and the days grow shorter, I spend my evenings revisiting some of my favorite Halloween movies. It’s become an annual tradition that I kick off the season with “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken.”

The film tells the story of Luther Heggs, a typesetter who aspires to be a reporter in the fictional town of Rachel, Kansas.

Heggs lands his big break when he sets out to solve a hometown murder. Hoping to land the story of the year, he stays overnight on the 20th anniversary of the crime in an abandoned house where the tragedy unfolded. There’s just one problem: Heggs is a chicken, and local lore suggests the house is haunted.

GUEST COLUMN, Harold Wimmer, American Lung Association

Denise Lee smoked up to two packs a day for 40 years, but when she quit at 54, Denise made one more lifesaving decision.

After seeing an American Lung Association billboard that read "If you smoked, this lung cancer screening could save your life," Denise scheduled a low-dose CT scan. The next day, her results came back: a mass was detected, which they later confirmed was lung cancer.

When she scheduled the scan, Denise had yet to develop a single symptom -- and catching her lung cancer that early meant she had multiple treatments available. It's been eight years since, and Denise remains cancer-free.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR, Starley Craig, Liberal

Everyone needs to be careful with our wonderful English language since it can be used to obscure information and yet leave the listeners or readers with the impression he/she is hearing truth.

After the forum for the candidates for Board of Education, the superintendent was featured in the Leader & Times speaking on his aims for USD 480.

But I’m confused, primarily because important words/phrases were never explained, although a casual reader would probably think he knew what was being told.