Mr. Chase, I would have to agree with you that only the Man from Gallilee has the inside track on the straight poop, as they used to say. it is true that many wacky religious fads, including some very prominent cults today, have come out of the north woods, and yes, I will even say apostasy from the true gospel. Take for example the American know-how spirit celebrated by Twain in a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, which is a good-natured poke and at the same time glorification of "Tinker Americanus," the pragmatic, can-do mentality that ultimately put man on the moon.

But in all that, I think it is fair to say that man having made a god of himself, has forgotten his creator. And that's not just Yankees, that's everyone. If you don't believe it, take a look around these days. But like Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes, nothing is new under the sun. That has always been our sad story ever since that first chomp back in the Garden of Eden.

Jim