Published in The Calhoun Times Saturday, January 16th
No doubt by now you know there was a big lottery drawing this week. On Monday there was a meme circulating on social media about how poverty could be done away with in the United States if we simply divided that historic $1.4 billion jackpot equally. According to the image, $1.4 billion divided by 300 million Americans would give each of us $4.3 million. That didn’t sound right to me and the first comment I saw said “Your math is wrong. It would only amount to $43,000 per person which would hardly end poverty.” Ever suspicious of anything online, I did the math and came to my own conclusion that it would really be $4.33 per person. Poverty would not come to end but we could all enjoy a cup of coffee together at Starbucks. Continue reading
There is an image, and various permutations of it, going around social media that claims the phrase “Do not be afraid” appears in the Bible 365 times. While positive and encouraging, those stats are wildly exaggerated. (The most occurrences I have found in any English translation is 70 in the NIV.) Sharing questionable facts online is certainly nothing new but in this case it not only bears false witness but also fails to rightly divide the Word of Truth. How many of you learned in elementary school that George Washington could not tell a lie about cutting down his father’s apple tree? Hold on to that thought, we’ll come back to it later. 
Unity Baptist Church 