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Page 4A - Pike County Journal Reporter - Wednesday, October 27, 2021 Opinions Ruffin’s Renderings: A theory of everything BY MIKE RUFFIN ruffinml@gmail.com S ome scientists dream of and work on developing a theory of everything. Ac cording to Space.com, A theory of everything (TOE) is a hypothetical framework explaining all known physical phenom ena in the universe. Re searchers have searched for such a model ever since the development of quantum mechanics and Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity in the early 20th century. Each of these pillars of modern physics describes its respective area of inquiry — the very small est and the most massive things in the cosmos — with astounding accu racy, but both quantum mechanics and relativity fail when applied to each other’s subject matter. So far, an overarching theory of everything has eluded scientists, and some be lieve the ultimate goal is unrealistic. Now, I readily admit that 1 don’t understand what most of that means. But 1 appreciate and admire the goal. It would be great to have a theory that explains everything that exists—from the tini est to the largest—in the created world. 1 also ap preciate and admire both the persistence of those scientists who keep pushing toward develop ing such a theory and the humility of those who don’t think it possible to find one. I write about the Bible rather than about sci ence. And while 1 am not claiming that the Scrip ture passage I’m writing about here—Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12—is trying to offer a theory of everything, 1 am saying that it pulls together and presents some of the cen tral elements of God’s plan of salvation. We can look at what the au thor of Hebrews says and think, “Well, that doesn’t say everything we need to know, but it sure says a lot of it.” For one thing, the writer of the book of Hebrews says that God created the universe through God’s Son (1:2). So, God’s Son has been involved in God’s cre ative work from the be ginning. This means that he has always been involved in God’s pur poses, plans, and actions. And since the Son also “sus tains all things” (v. 3), he continues to be involved in the ongoing work of creation. The writer also says that Jesus is the culmination of what God wants us to know. God had previ ously spoken through the prophets—and people needed to hear and heed the prophets’ words, which came from God (1:1)—“but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son...” (v. 2a). The prophets spoke and lived the word of God. Their words and actions helped bring about God’s will and purposes in the world. The preaching of the prophets paved the way for the coming of God’s Son into the world. But the Son of God is the Word of God who was with God and was God (Jn 1:1). He is the Word of God who was made flesh and dwelled among us. He was filled with God’s grace and truth (Jn 1:14). The Son shows us everything we need to know about who God is (Heb 1:3a). The writer also says that God’s Son has ac complished the work of salvation (1:3). He “made purification for sins” (1:3b) by dying on the cross. He suffered and died to make God’s grace available to everyone (2:9). Having perfectly accomplished his saving work through his suf fering and death, God’s Son entered his glory (2:9) and took his place at God’s right hand (1:3). And because of what the Son has accomplished, we too will enter glory (2:10). So, perhaps you can see why I suggest think ing about Hebrews 1:14; 2:5-12 as a Christian theory of everything. Our writer covers the sweep of God’s plan of salvation from creation to glori fication, with the cross of Christ standing at the center of it all. But it isn’t just a theory It’s the Gospel truth. Mike Ruffin is a Barnesville native who lives and works in Macon. His new book, Praying with Matthew, is available at helwys.com and at Amazon. What’s in a name? THINKING FOR A CHANGE 1 was supposed to be named Deborah Lou Ben ton. Lou was my father’s mother’s middle name. However, the year before 1 was born my father’s sister gave birth to a little girl whom she named Bonnie Lou Fuller. Sadly, Bonnie only used that name for three years because she died of leu kemia at that tender age. So, when 1 came along that year later my middle name was Jean instead of Lou. Then, when the doctor wrote my name on the birth certificate (yes, that was a thing back in the day) he wrote Debra instead of Deborah. Did any of that change me as a person? No, Debra Jean Benton is still alive and kicking today 67 years later, but my name has changed over the years. 1 spent a great deal of my younger years being called Baby by my father. That continued until he was in his 90’s. Many people will automatically call me Debbie when ever 1 introduce myself as Debra. Some even call me Deb. Now, there is nothing at all wrong with those names, and many people prefer the nickname ver sion. I, however, have pre ferred to stick with Debra. Does it change who 1 am if someone does decide to use the nickname ver sion? Absolutely not, and 1 will answer them without comment. Of course, 1 changed last names a couple of times. Each of those changed me in many ways, because of the essence of the relationship. As the years passed 1 collected several other names through friends, spouse, children and grandbabies. 1 have also taught school which brought its own set of names. So here is a list of names which I answer to: Debra, DJ or Debra Jean, Debbie, Mom, Ms. Davis, Ms. D., Mrs. Kblinger, Mrs. K., Mawdy, Monnie, Grandma, Aunt Debra, Miss Debra, Taz. 1 think probably most people reading this have experienced the same thing with names. Usually each name is special and we all love hearing it spo ken by our loved ones. But there is one name that we should all desire above any other. That name is not the one given by our parents, our spous es, children, grandchil dren, relatives or friends. That name which we should all desire above all others is the name our Maker, the Holy God, gives us when we accept His salvation. We become child of God. No other name can hold as much importance or worth to us. This is the name that will last an eternity Does this name change who 1 am? It absolutely does! As 1 take on more and more of my heavenly Father’s characteristics 1 am changed. The Bible says, “And we all, who with un veiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed (changed) into His image with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthi ans 3:18 N1V. So, friend, enjoy being you and all the names that have been given you in your lifetime, but please don’t miss taking on the most important name, the one which will last forever! DEBRA KIBLINGER Rocky road BY ANTHONY VINSON advkdv@att.net “Trump won! Biden is not my presi dent!” Well, no, he didn’t, and yes, he is. It really is It was equally simple 20 years ago when the names and parties were different, but the senti ment was the same: Bush was president and Gore lost the election. Of course, Gore chose not to throw a hissy fit and decry the process as rigged, even though he had sufficient rea son. He instead chose the high road. The fabled high road is not well-travelled. Just ask Robert Frost. In current vernacular, taking the high road refers to making the moral choice, doing the right thing, or making a painful personal choice in service of the greater good. Oh sure, every one thinks they’re on the high road, but they also believe themselves to be above average, which is a statistical impossibility. Taking the high road requires levels of courage and humility most Americans appear to have traded in for groupthink and tribal ism. Evidence is sup planted by belief, and fact by opinion. Many have self-sorted into factions, each con vinced that the other is the enemy. We shield ourselves within thick- walled echo chambers where we hear only what supports our beliefs and presup positions, summar ily declaring all other voices not only null, but treasonous and sacrile gious. We dehumanize the other side, tagging them as libtards or con servatives or worse. Much worse. As Mick Jaggar sang, “He can’t be a man ‘cause he doesn’t smoke the same cigarettes as me.” 1 operate on the philosophical certainty that everyone is doing the best they can with what they’ve got. This is not to excuse bad behavior, or to deny that everyone could do better, but rather an acceptance that we are who we are because of who we were. We exist as the total sum of a great big ball of lots of stuff, most of which was beyond our control, including our genome, our upbring ing, our schooling, our influences, our access to nutrition and health care ... we are pro grammed, as it were, through those influ ences and more. Our influences inform our beliefs, likes, dislikes and capacities. Not everyone was fortunate enough to hit the jack pot. Some, in fact, hit the porta-pot. 1 was among the for tunate, raised in a lower middle-class family by parents who, while far from perfect, did their best by me and my sib lings. We were fed and clothed and nurtured. Even so 1 managed to come away with enough anxieties and insecuri ties to keep a team of mental health profes sionals in gas and gro ceries for decades. My personal great big ball of lots of stuff formed a left-of-center libertarian secular humanist. 1 am what 1 am, but one thing 1 am not is your enemy. Well, at least 1 don’t want to be your enemy. We never get ev erything we want, but to again summon the Rolling Stones, if we try “sometimes we get what we need.” Prob lem is, what we need is far too often confused with what we want, and what we want can lead us along the low road, which we fail to recog nize as such because it is congested with fellow travelers, all convinced that they, and they alone, are right. That is far too treacherous a road, and 1 would never travel. Think about it! Anthony Vinson is a freelance writer, speaker and humorist for hire. He lives in Williamson, GA, and can be reached at advkdv@att.net. that simple. Pike County Journal Reporter's letter printing guidelines The Pike County Jour nal Reporter welcomes letters to the editor. For a letter to be con sidered for publication, include the writer’s ac tual name, address and telephone number when submitting it. We pub lish name only. Letters from individual authors will be published no more often than every other week. Limit letters to 250 words or less. Shorter letters are appreciated. All letters are subject to editing. Personal attacks on private citizens, political endorsements or letters that are racially divisive will not be considered. Drop letters by the office on the court house square, mail them to P.O. Box 789, Zebulon, 30295, fax them to 770.567.8814 or email them to news@pikecounty- georgia.com. For additional information, call 770.567.3446. Pike County Journal Reporter www.pikecountygeorgia.com P.O. Box 789 16026 Barnesville St. Zebulon, Ga. 30295 770.567.3446 The Pike County Journal Reporter is the official organ of Pike County, the cities of Zebulon, Moiena, Meansville, Williamson and Concord. It is published weekly by Hometown Newspapers Inc. Second class postage is paid at the Zebulon, Ga Post Office. Publishers: Walter and Laura Geiger; staff: Jennifer Taylor, Brenda Sanchez and Rachel McDaniel. r WHEN I WAS ~ YOUNG, I DREAMED OF BECOMING A PILOT -THEN I MARRIED A S FARMER... y r NOW, " ALL 1 DO IS PILE IT HERE ANP PILE IT THERE/ ■ '-MYV ■Y v ¥ " "M*ffftntr AT PIKE BY DWAIN W. PENN 100 YEARS AGO October 28,1921: Front page: The potato storage house is ready for use by the public. Notice in an ad jacent column: From the way the potatoes are being received, the building will not be near large enough. 75 YEARS AGO October 31,1946: A Boy Scout rally was an nounced for Pike troops on Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m. at the Zebulon gym with a court of honor following the rally Scout membership in Pike reached an all time high with 76 members compared to 68 in January 50 YEARS AGO October 29,1971: Five churches combined voic es for an evening of singing at Hollonville Baptist on Oct. 31. Churches with choirs and congregations participating were Providence, United Methodist and Christian Church all of Williamson and the Unit ed Methodist and Baptist churches in Hollonville. 25 YEARS AGO October 30, 1996: Incumbent Meansville mayor Tom Burns, challenged by Dan Hamrick on Nov. 5, contended that Hamrick had a garbage collec tion contract with the city and could not serve as mayor. Hamrick, who paid the qualifying fee by the deadline, was on the Nov. 5 ballot.