Susan Beckett

Most of us want to live life to the max - feel great, be strong, have purpose. Remember that old Lady Clairol slogan, “If I’ve only one life, let me live it as a blonde?” My upgrade of that would be, “If I’ve only one life, let me max it out and live it for God.” Of course, this is challenging in light of the culture we are currently experiencing, with many opposing our right to even voice our opinions if they don’t line up with their contrary or incompatible ways of thinking.

An amazing thing happened this past week in the religious community, and just in case you've been boycotting the news - I sure wouldn't blame you - let me fill you in. Harvard University, which was founded in 1636 for the purpose of educating ministry students and meeting the unique educational needs of Christians, has just appointed an atheist as the school's chaplain. The school, whose motto is "Truth for Christ and the Church," evidently feels this is an excellent choice. As one student said, "Greg's leadership isn't about theology…."Apparently not!

When you hear the names, Penn and Teller, if you immediately think magicians, comedians and fabulous entertainers, you would be 100% spot on. These guys have been entertaining crowds for decades and are still going strong. I recently read an insightful quote from Penn that I actually had to read through twice to get its full impact. Coming from a well-known atheist, Penn’s words about religion are profound:

This is going to be hard to believe, but in 1980 a young lady named Rosie Ruiz cheated her way to a win at the Boston Marathon. How does someone do that? Many believe Rosie jumped onto the subway for sixteen miles, then got off the subway, then got back into the marathon, and crossed the finish line! Her cheating was found out and, of course, she was stripped of her "first place" champion title. The story made headlines and Rosie acquired public notoriety and lasting name recognition. To this day, "Doing a Rosie" is runners' slang for cheating by taking a shortcut.

RED TEAM. I recently heard this term and my brain immediately shot to politics - red states vs. blue states. But this was not in context with what was being said, so I had to check it out. Turns out, a “red team” is a group that plays the role of a competitor or an enemy, and provides feedback from that unique perspective. Basically, the red team’s objective is to improve security for the good guys by role-playing the bad guys. In essence, they’re playing the devil’s advocate. Not a bad idea.