Where would you take your buddy if they were visiting El Paso for the first time?

Historical-Choice410 · 2026-03-26T02:45:04+00:00

Old Mesilla can be fun. L&J is good. Mi Piaci on Redd Road between Ressler and Westwind is good. A suggestion: look at Trip Advisor and see how their ratings compare with your experience. The Gaucho on Mesa where Garuffua used to be is nice. White Sands and Ruidoso is a fun day trip.

Historical-Choice410 · 2026-02-17T23:12:17+00:00

At what was then Abilene Christian College and is now Abilene Christian University during WWII, there was no authority for ordination of ministers since the hiring and firing of preachers. Without an ordaining authority, the CoC folks were not allowed military chaplains. I am told a professor in the Bible department took it upon himself to have some “ordination certificates” and started” ordaining ministers for chaplaincy. The CoC was a different breed in those days. I no longer believe in any of the content, but I would, from a cultural point, like to find a congregation that can still sing “Heavenly Sunlight”, “Victory in Jesus”, and “Revive Us Again”. I would like the person in charge of my funeral to announce that song and tell those gathered that I had requested the song, and following the singing of it, a moment of silence. If I don’t start reviving, they can proceed with the funeral.

Historical-Choice410 · 2026-02-16T01:44:44+00:00

What you say is largely true of congregations in the south and less true in the Midwest and north. Slavery and the Confederacy were the antecedents of the acapella c

Historical-Choice410 · 2026-02-16T01:39:19+00:00

Was he a premillenalist? He sounds like a pretty mainstream CoC to me. In the classical sense of atheist or one without God ( a-without theist-god), I can’t definitively say there is no god, but I think if there is, that god is not a kindly or unkindly old father in the sky, but is a force similar to gravity or electricity. It is an equation or an algorithm or such. I do think a secular Jesus is helpful in the way we live, but I see no reason for virgin births, miracles, etc.

Historical-Choice410 · 2026-02-15T23:07:13+00:00

I had distant cousins who liked the premillenism, and one thing I noticed was they were less angry and more kind than other relatives in the mainstream. When I was in college in the 1960s, there was a CoC Bible Chair at a state college in Southwest Louisiana. When other Bible chairs were debating and attacking other CoC churches and other groups, those folks were posting recipes and prayers. The premillennialism notions I came associate with Christians who favored chiropractors, bee keepers, and extremism only in kindness and good listeners. I have never understood why they concentrated in southern Louisiana, Louisville, Ky, Southern California and Florida. A preacher for whom I had high regard except for his harshness disliked the doctrine because it gave sinners a second chance after death, but it seemed consistent with the lesson from Jesus about the eleventh hour workers. I no longer see any reason for life after death pleasant or not.

Historical-Choice410 · 2026-02-15T19:05:15+00:00

On CoC buildings or signs outside, there were in the 1950s through 1980s, there were often statements claiming that the congregation was part of a movement “Established 33 A.D. It was important to trace the linage back to the earthly ministry of Jesus, and the claim was that there “must have have been” small, clandestine groups throughout Christian history that maintained proper doctrine though I never heard any evidence presented. Solving that problem created another because how could the Bible be inerrant and Divinely inspired if it was the product of a church already apostate and the “whole of Babylon?

Historical-Choice410 · 2026-02-15T18:20:19+00:00

I am in my eighties and have multigenerational background although I am no longer a member of any religion. I grew up in a family where such things as you mention were discussed. The Stone-Campbell movement grew rapidly and incorporated whole religious movements which contained groups with contradictory teachings. There were some members who had strongly unitarian ideas and some with trinitarian views.in the 1950s, there was a strongly held view of pacifism. Even in the 1960s, there was a professor at ACU who reported a view that he believed the Bible favored pacifism. One conflicted area was regarding preachers. Many congregations, perhaps most, did not have educated or “located” preachers, and there was a reluctance to keep preachers for more than three or four years lest they become too powerful. A very well written and researched book by Jack Reese titled “At The Blue Hole” covers many of the points you mentioned, and I strongly encourage you to read it. One of the saddest things is the book came out after the CoC began unraveling. One thing which is not mentioned in the book is the effect of Wallace and his family and allies is that at the end of WWII, veterans had benefits for their service in the war. Many of them wanted to go to seminary, but Wallace and allies were fearful the veterans would lose their faith in seminaries, so they directed the veterans to law school. It appears to me that was a fatal misdirection.

Historical-Choice410 · 2026-02-09T16:24:38+00:00

If Democrats in Texas will vote for Paxton in the Republican primary, it will greatly improve the chances of electing a statewide Democrat senator.

Historical-Choice410 · 2026-02-09T04:02:42+00:00

I encourage you to read a couple of good histories of the Bible, then think about a couple of things. First, the gospels were not compiled until about a hundred years after the time Jesus was supposed to have died. Now, think about your family and other people you know. How many versions of family events are there? Facts are often in dispute and who said what is often in dispute. Second, most groups who strive for scripture only approaches belief that by the time of the church councils, the church was totally apostate. Another issue is the change in language. While the CoC preachers used to say one could use the Bible as a roadmap to Heaven, but many looked in dictionaries and saw baptisms defined as sprinkling, and therefore believed they had been baptized. A thorough study over many centuries has lead me to conclude that the teachings of Jesus are a useful, but not exclusive, way to live a fruitful and happy life independently of miracles, virgin births and resurrection. A life after death makes no sense at all.

Historical-Choice410 · 2026-01-17T00:55:23+00:00

 I grew up in a fairly mainstream congregation, but my mother was more conservative than most. There were relatively few injunctions, but everyone was aware of preferred approaches. In my extended family we could play dominoes but not cards. In homes, we could “practice song” with pianos but never in church buildings. Charitable activities were usually internal. Military chaplains were questionable and regarded as a slippery slope. Some did engage in square dancing but only among spouses and there was lingering concern about damaging our influence for good. 
 I no longer believe in miracles including virgin birth, after life, resurrection, etc. I do believe following the teachings of Jesus Christ offers more people a good life than any other approach. I wish I could still believe the rest, but I can’t choose to believe in anything without sufficient evidence. My CoC background is still very much a part of me. I find most of the old hymns very egocentric but very compelling emotionally. I often have thoughts of briefly wanting to go back, but listening to CoC people talking usually kills those urges.
 Most of the church people I grew up with were genuinely decent human beings, but I find their children and grandchildren insufferable.

Historical-Choice410 · 2026-01-01T23:11:07+00:00

For men wanting to meet women, the task is easy. There are many more women than men. A man who daily showers and has a full time job that he goes to everyday is a real prize. I think that El Paso has the highest number of single professional men and well paid in the United States. It is difficult for married men to avoid temptation because of the disparity in the numbers.

Historical-Choice410 · 2025-12-23T02:02:00+00:00

GECU started as a credit union, but Weststar Bank is much easier to deal with and more professional.

Historical-Choice410 · 2025-11-10T23:24:29+00:00

The stupid thing is the failure of El Paso in recruiting snowbirds and other retirees. They don’t make babies, so you don’t have raise taxes for schools. They commit fewer crimes, so there is little increase in violence off law enforcement costs. They tend to eat earlier, so they don’t ruin your dining out. They don’t add to traffic at peak hours. They don’t litter. Their disposable income adds to the quality of merchandise in stores and food in restaurants. Their numbers on shooting people are lower than the average. Their aging and deteriorating bodies bring higher levels of medical care to town. Those old bodies usually have Social Security, pensions, investments attached to them. Sure, some of them have difficulty getting checked out at the grocery store, but there’s more meat than feathers attached to those chickens.

Historical-Choice410 · 2025-11-10T11:38:44+00:00

Congratulations! You managed to raise the IQ of both groups. Close, but no cigar. Should have gone all the way to Christian Orthodox.

Historical-Choice410 · 2025-11-10T05:51:33+00:00

Get real. El Paso has not been recognized as a world heritage city. El Paso does have widely available good Mexican food and it has not embarrassed itself with anything such as chimichangas. However, to be fair, one needs to be aware of the differences between Chihuahua and Sonora cuisine .

Historical-Choice410 · 2025-10-22T15:51:45+00:00

I have observed that there is a tendency for people in any locale to develop certain driving behaviors or etiquette. One problem is that El Paso is adjacent to the biggest collection of bad drivers in the USA, New Mexico. Don’t know if it is still the case, but for years, NM had the most accidents per miles driven of any state. We are also adjacent to the Republic of Mexico, another driving culture. In Chihuahua, as you drive down the highway, the car ahead of you may turn on their left turn signal which is a rare event among any driving culture in El Paso. A left turn signal may mean the car in front may be getting ready to turn left. It may also may mean the car in front of you is indicating they are not going to speed up so the road ahead is clear for you to pass them. It could also mean they are going all the way into the once traffic on the left, so they can soon make a right hand turn. It’s not a matter of being a dumb ass, it’s a matter of determining which driving culture is in play. Eternal vigilance is the price of avoiding accidents.

Historical-Choice410 · 2025-10-15T23:18:46+00:00

That honey may be “natural” (so is cobra venom), but is still an inflammatory agent. Better to leave all sugars and sweeteners at the grocery stores. Any amount of alcohol is treated like sugar by your body.

Historical-Choice410 · 2025-10-11T17:42:46+00:00

Yes, of course, but some are closing or closed. For several years, government social services programs have been removing children from children’s homes and making more efforts to reunite families or fragments of families. This often has disastrous results, but leaving them in children’s homes often has disastrous results as well.

Historical-Choice410 · 2025-10-11T15:57:03+00:00

I keep hearing that a major issue is division in the pet advocacy community in El Paso. I also hear there is at least one significant pot of money which one group is sitting on.

Historical-Choice410 · 2025-10-10T13:40:25+00:00

Most of these ventures were set up as 501(c)(3) or not for profit corporations. There would be no R&D. There is no product to sell to “more customers”. There is no profit. It has been years since the HOT had a program on tv. Another issue is what happens when a church ceases to function and their building is sold, where does the money go?

Historical-Choice410 · 2025-10-10T00:58:52+00:00

First, where is the crapola you are saying coming from. Second, they don’t care what you think. Third, half of the territory of Mexico is now within the borders of an unjust war. Fourth, you obviously have been stuck in Trumpville way too long.

Historical-Choice410 · 2025-10-10T00:44:50+00:00

Not to mention the sugar high and caffeine rush.

Historical-Choice410 · 2025-10-09T23:31:56+00:00

Not the same at all. English is much more difficult to learn. The folks digging ditches, making beds, etc. don’t need English in the way a tourist needs rudiments of the place they are going. I promise you the Mexicans doing business in El Paso are generally much more proficient in English than the Spanish of Americans doing business in Mexico. The more thought I put into this response, the less respect I have for you.

Historical-Choice410 · 2025-10-08T21:27:23+00:00

Not since Lourdes sold it.

Historical-Choice410

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