Do you check expiration dates?

It is my normal mode of operation to use these “Question of the Month” articles to explore various interesting topics in a fairly simple manner, while making an important “larger point”. This month will only be a slight, temporary diversion from the norm, taking somewhat of a break and providing some comical relief.

I recently received an interesting package in the mail from John P., one of the ministry’s supporters. It was a bulky envelope which piqued my curiosity. Upon opening the package, I discovered a salt shaker and a brief note stating the following:

“I hope you find this as humorous as I did. Perhaps I was just in a good mood. I was at a friend’s home and found this salt shaker on the table. Being a fanatical label reader, I picked it up and began reading. The label states that this salt is ‘250 million years old’. Not surprising, but then I read the label on the bottom and it said, ‘BEST BY 12 2023’. I’m glad I can use it up before it expires!”

Very funny!

Sometimes we walk into a store, and it just happens to be the last day of a week-long sales event. How lucky we may feel!

In the case of the salt, what a fortunate coincidence to have happened upon this very valuable, multi-purpose substance within the last 0.0000024% of its useful “shelf-life”! (Side note: Where did I come up with that figure? I divided the remaining years [6] by its current age [250 million years]). The obvious question is– if the salt is truly about 250 million years old, how do they know it’s just now soon to expire? And a closely related question– since the 250 million years is just an approximation, how can they be so precise with the “Best by” date?

As an added note of interest, the reason the label even mentioned the alleged age of the “Himalayan” salt was to make the point that this salt was created at a time when the Earth’s eco-environment was much more pure and pristine which, therefore makes their product more valuable than salts produced in more modern times.

Those of you who know me (and the ministry) realize I personally don’t believe the millions and billions of years designations are scientifically justified, but it is not my intention to turn this into a discussion of radiometric dating methods and the whole “age of the Earth” controversy. I simply wanted to pass along something of a humorous nature. I’m also not the kind to contact the company that produced this product to challenge them regarding their claim. Most likely, they are not experts in geology and simply had a clever marketer develop this label as an effective way to increase their bottom line. If you look carefully enough and often enough, you will find quite a few of these types of examples throughout the retail world.

How’s that for a brief article? I partially wanted to provide a slightly less serious “change of pace”, but maybe even more so, I was just too busy (with Christmas coming up in a few weeks) to write anything significantly more in depth or lengthy. (How’s that for transparency?)

Is the rapture near?

I was very tempted to answer this question by simply saying, “I don’t know,” and then welcoming you to contact us if you have any further questions. That would be kind of funny, but not very instructive!

What is your reason for hope?

“Christmas is a feeling in your heart!” That is the title of a song first released by Andy Williams in 1955. Doesn’t that sound warm and wonderful? It might, but it’s also far from the truth! For those who don’t know (and there actually are some), Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, who was prophesied as being the Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior of the world, who came to die on a cross to pay for the sins of all mankind and rose again three days later and ascended back to heaven. That’s what Christmas is truly all about!

Social justice… How do you respond?

Alright… I’m already in trouble. Why? Just for daring to offer a comment about social justice and other related issues. If I completely support and celebrate the politically correct stance on these issues, I’d be fine, but if I veer even in the slightest, I am automatically wrong, insensitive, intolerant, bigoted, homophobic, ignorant and not deserving of holding or voicing an opinion.

What is “Critical Thinking”?

Most of you have a general idea of what critical thinking is, but for those who don’t, I want to make sure you know what it is not. It has nothing to do with the aspects of being critical in a mean-spirited manner. The Oxford Dictionary states that it is, “the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgement.”

I used to be a Christian?

I heard someone say, “I used to be uncertain. Now I’m not so sure.” That’s kind of funny. It’s also my kind of humor. One of my favorite lines came from Yogi Berra, a famous baseball player of yesteryear who was known not only for baseball but also for his unique whit. Someone asked him if he liked a certain restaurant, to which he replied, “No one goes there nowadays, it’s too crowded.” There’s somewhat of an internal contradiction there, which is what makes it funny.

Apologetics: Not what you think it is

Some of you don’t know what apologetics is. Others possess a proper understanding of the term. However, many think they know, but are unaware they have an erroneous perception. In which category do you fall? Let’s find out.