Two sisters die from pandemics 102 years apart: Finding hope in surprising places
The Daily Article
The Denison Forum
4.9 • 576 Ratings
🗓️ 21 April 2020
⏱️ 6 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Selma Esther Ryan died last week from coronavirus at an assisted living facility in Austin, Texas. She was ninety-six years old. Her older sister, Esther, died at the age of five from the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic.
The deaths of two sisters from two pandemics are just one of the unusual aspects of this tragedy. Another is the timing of Selma’s death.
The Associated Press reports: “For a generation, mid-April has delivered some of America’s most cataclysmic moments," like the Oklahoma City bombings and the Columbine High School shootings.
In these fearful days, it is tempting to look for hope in the wrong places. But Christians know the source of true hope.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're listening to a bonus episode of the Daily Article podcast, presented by the Denison |
| 0:07.8 | Forum and featuring Dr. Jim Denison. |
| 0:11.9 | Hi, I'm Jim Denison with Denison Forum, and this is the Daily Article Special Edition for |
| 0:16.1 | April 21st, 2020. |
| 0:18.9 | Selma Esther Ryan died last week from coronavirus at an assisted living facility in Austin, Texas. |
| 0:24.4 | She was 96 years old. |
| 0:26.3 | Her older sister Esther died at the age of five from the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. |
| 0:31.7 | The deaths of two sisters from two pandemics is just one of the unusual aspects of this tragedy. |
| 0:37.3 | Another is the timing of Selma's |
| 0:39.0 | death. The Associated Press reports, quote, for a generation mid-April has delivered some of America's |
| 0:44.7 | most cataclysmic moments. The article points to the Oklahoma City bombing, the Columbine High School |
| 0:50.1 | shootings, the Branch Davidian raid in Waco, the Virginia Tech shooting, the explosion of BP's |
| 0:55.3 | Deepwater Horizon Offshore Drilling rig, and the Boston Marathon bombing. There is good news in the news as well, |
| 1:01.7 | according to the Associated Press, quote, a flood of new research suggests that far more people |
| 1:06.9 | have had the coronavirus without any symptoms. These reports feel hope that the virus will turn out to be much less lethal than was originally |
| 1:14.4 | feared. |
| 1:15.4 | However, the more asymptomatic people there are, the harder it is to know who around us is contagious. |
| 1:20.7 | This complicates decisions about returning to work, school, and normal life. In these fearful days, it's tempting to look for hope in the wrong places. |
| 1:31.6 | The psalmist declared in Psalm 111, verse 2, great are the works of the Lord, |
| 1:35.8 | studied by all who delight in them. Those who delight in the creation of God are obviously |
| 1:40.8 | moved to study his works from Aristotle to Charles Darwin to atheistic scientists today |
| 1:45.7 | like Richard Dawkins. But studying the works of God, apart from a relationship with him, is inherently |
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