Articles : Carpenter's Line
Feb. 13, 2012 issue
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‘Forks’ cuts to the quick
With the Academy Award season upon us, several excellent films are in theaters right now. I want to tell you about a much less well-known film I think is worthy of your time. It is Forks Over Knives, a 2011 documentary that explores how our eating habits have caused a health crisis.
It begins with Diane Sawyer on ABC Nightly News saying, “The average American carries an extra 23 pounds.” Katie Couric of CBS Evening News follows with, “We are facing a health crisis. Forty percent of Americans are obese.” The explosion in obesity has led to an increase in heart disease, which is now the No. 1 killer of both men and women. The film’s narrator notes that “diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure are all diet-related.”
Dec. 5, 2011 issue
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Jobless but not idle
How do you deal with life when it becomes mundane? Life has its moments when work is exciting or circumstances are challenging or even blissful. But what about the in-between times? Not many of us derive meaning from mowing the lawn, raking the leaves, cleaning the gutters and doing laundry. What do you do when life’s routines become mundane, when cold cereal turns to mush?
Oct. 10, 2011 issue
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Access is enough
The debate about how to stimulate the weak U.S. economy reminds us that our economic system is not driven by government or business spending but by consumers.
Aug. 22, 2011 issue
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Racism undermined
The Help is a memorable new film about civil rights set in Jackson, Miss., in the early 1960s. Based on Katheryn Stockett’s best-seller of the same name, it is not only heartwarming and entertaining but also wrestles with serious issues.
July 18, 2011 issue
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Pilgrims in the Holy Land
On the day my wife and I returned from a 24-day trip to Israel-Palestine, we read an editorial in our local newspaper filled with misinformation about the situation in the Holy Land. I am writing now to help readers understand what I saw there.
June 20, 2011 issue
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Roadside signs of the gospel
Before creating CNN, Ted Turner got his start in his father’s billboard advertising business in Atlanta. Although he would not understand the cultural reference, Dennis Bennetch is the Ted Turner of roadside gospel signs. At 65, his passion for sign evangelism is palpable.
May 23, 2011 issue
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Seven times seven
Among biblical scholars who reflect on the religious meaning of numbers, seven is known as the perfect number because God made the Earth in six days and rested on the seventh.
April 11, 2011 issue
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MDS on TV
Often the network evening news broadcasts end with a human interest story. On March 29, NBC Nightly News featured Mennonite Disaster Service.
Oct. 4, 2010 issue
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God’s grace exceeds ours
Recently, I fired an employee. It was the first time I have taken such action, despite many years as a supervisor.
April 12, 2010 issue
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Bond of brothers
My parents had four children, all sons. When I was 6 years old, the six of us moved from a cramped city apartment to a modest 1,200-square-foot, three-bedroom, ranch house in the suburbs. Sharing a bedroom, stacked with bunk beds, wasn’t a particular hardship. Having only one bathroom was more challenging. Although we lived together in a confined space, we brothers have not been particularly close, partly because we were separated by 10 years, oldest to youngest. Being the “baby,” by the time I was 8 my oldest brother Bill had moved off to college.
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