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  • Charles Manson and the Bible

    Michael J. Brooks|Sep 1, 2015

    I was probably the only one sitting in Sunday School yesterday thinking of Charles Manson. Manson was the crazed cult leader who directed two terrible mass murders in 1969. I read Vincent Bugliosi's "Helter Skelter" years ago, and the author explained how Manson used the Bible to brainwash his followers. Our scripture yesterday was Revelation 9. John wrote about scorpions who torment the ungodly in the days of God's wrath. It's scary stuff. Manson had a unique interpretation according to...

  • Lessons From The Potter's House

    Michael J. Brooks|Aug 1, 2015

    Abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher brought an arm-load of chains and manacles to the pulpit one Sunday. He threw them to the floor and the sound reverberated throughout the auditorium. "God have mercy on a nation that puts men and women in the chains of slavery," he thundered. Another memorable visual occurred in the Old Testament. The prophet Jeremiah stood before the leaders of Judah and smashed a clay vessel into hundreds of pieces. "Thus says the Lord," he thundered. "Judgment is coming and the...

  • A Friday To Remember

    Michael J. Brooks|Apr 1, 2015

    The wind in my face was bitterly cold in downtown Dallas a few years ago. My continuing education classes had ended at the seminary in nearby Ft. Worth, so the afternoon was free for some sightseeing. A chill came over me independent of the temperature when I walked onto Dealey Plaza and saw firsthand those sights emblazoned in my memory: Elm Street, the triple overpass and the sixth floor window. I thought back to that terrible Friday in November, 1963. Our class had just returned from lunch...