Did you know that much of what we know is not true?
The Vikings didn’t wear helmets with horns on them. The horns were added later by 19th Century artists.
Marie Antoinette didn’t say, “Let them eat cake.” That was a quote from an unnamed princess when Marie was only nine years old.
George Washington didn’t have wooden teeth. His teeth were made of ivory and other materials stained brown.
Medieval people didn’t believe the earth was flat. Ancient Greeks long before the Middle Ages knew it was round, but they didn’t sail away from land because of the dangers.
The Continental Congress didn’t declare America’s independence on July 4. John Adams said it happened on July 2 and refused invitations to July 4 celebrations.
None of the Salem witches were burned at the stake. Nineteen were hanged and one died from torture — and later it was discovered that all the evidence was fabricated.
And now I wonder if all this is true? History is like a game of “gossip” where something is passed around until it becomes something else.
I have a science degree and a background in science, so I spent the first part of my life asking and re-asking questions because that’s what science does.
The five fundamental questions are who, what, why, when, and where. Those are the “elements of circumstance.”
In journalism, they’re see WHATLEY, Page 7A the “five w’s,” the guidelines for any interview, and the standard for every first paragraph.
Sometimes there’s a sixth question for reporters, “how.”
And now we’ve come to the second chapter of Luke beginning in verse 41. It’s the only story we have about Jesus from his birth to the beginning of his ministry. He’s 12 years old, his parents have taken him to the temple for the Passover Feast, and the questions begin.
“Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when He became 12, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast; and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents were unaware of it, but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day’s journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances.”
— Luke 2: 41-44
The first question is “who?” This is a story about Jesus asking that first question. Who am I? Do you know the answer? Lots of people don’t.
Charles “Buddy” Whatley is a retired United Methodist pastor serving Dawson Street Methodist Church in Thomasville, Ga. With wife, Mary Ella, they are missionaries to the Navajo Reservation.
yahoo.com
