Dr Paul Allen

“By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.” ( Hebrews 11:4 ) Abel, Adam’s second son, was a faithful, God-honoring man, but he was murdered by his older brother, Cain. From Genesis 4 we know that Cain’s bloodless sacrifice was not accepted by God, while Abel’s animal sacrifice was accepted. Cain’s pride, anger, and rejection of God’s offer of restoration resulted in the murder of obedient Abel. Our text tells us that Abel “being dead yet speaketh.” What does he say? To whom does he speak? First of all, he spoke to God. “The voice of thy brother’s [Abel’s] blood crieth unto me from the ground” ( Genesis 4:10 ). Many have followed Abel in martyrdom, and they all cry, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” ( Revelation 6:10 ). Secondly, he spoke to Cain. “And now ar...

Image via Wikipedia The Berlin Wall went up  50 years ago  – Aug. 13, 1961, to be exact. Although its builders called it the “Anti-Fascist Protective Wall,”  its purpose was not to protect the citizens of East Germany but rather to be sure that a planned economy could plan on the number of citizens it would have.  It stopped a population hemorrhage, as about a quarter of the country’s citizens had left all they had behind to escape a society dedicated to building a socialist utopia in a “better Germany.” The Wall served its purpose for the 28 years it stood. As many as 200 people died trying to cross it, but most East Germans , with little choice in a bad situation, turned their small nation into the most economically successful of the Soviet bloc states. Even so, once the books were opened it turned out that East Germany was hopelessly in debt. Twenty eight years is a moment in human history. Some past walls stood for centuries, even a millennium or mor...