Two weeks ago, during a flight from Toronto to Regina, I felt like a flu or a hay fever attack was coming on. Long experience has taught me that using a decongestant and an antihistamine at that point is often all it takes to stave off a full-blown episode. But my pills were in the … Continue reading The reason for my absence
Faith and life
Anabaptists were persecuted because of their purity
The following statement was made in 1538 by an unnamed Anabaptist leader during a meeting between the Swiss Reformed and Anabaptists in Berne: “While yet in the national church we obtained much instruction from the writings of Luther, Zwingli, and others, concerning the mass and other papal ceremonies, that they are vain. Yet we recognized … Continue reading Anabaptists were persecuted because of their purity
Why the top-down church doesn’t work
The pattern of Old Testament history is that as long as the people of God had a Judge or a King who knew God and walked in his ways, the people followed and all was well. All to often though, when that Judge or King died things quickly went downhill. We should not believe it … Continue reading Why the top-down church doesn’t work
Where have all the children gone?
I remember a time when most children were taken or sent to Sunday school. When those children grew up and became parents, many of them did not see the need of Sunday School for their children. And with each generation there is a diminishing number of children who have any contact with Biblical Christian teaching. … Continue reading Where have all the children gone?
Two or three gathered together doth not a church make
[Another post from 10 years ago] Why do people stop going to church? Could it be because so may churches are not really churches? Matthew 18:20 does not speak about Christians gathering for worship. It is a continuation of the passage beginning at verse 15 and speaks of the testimony of two or three witnesses … Continue reading Two or three gathered together doth not a church make
Homeopathic dilution of Christianity
First posted ten years ago. To describe it very briefly, homeopathy is a branch of alternative medicine that treats diseases with natural substances that are diluted well past the point where any trace of the original substance can be detected. Some call it quackery, others say that it works where other methods fail. It does … Continue reading Homeopathic dilution of Christianity
What’s in the bottle?
[First posted in October, 2017.] Image by Dmitriy from Pixabay Once upon a time a man was given a wonderful elixir that would cure every disease of mankind. He bottled it in plain brown bottles and offered it for sale to others. The price was very high and it didn’t taste very good, but it worked. As time … Continue reading What’s in the bottle?
The courage of Maria Braun
[First posted March 14, 2014] Maria Braun, a teenage girl in the Kirghiz Soviet Republic, was arrested in 1966 for teaching a foreign ideology to young children. She had organized classes for preschool and older children to teach about faith in Jesus Christ. Another lady was arrested with her and at their trial the judge … Continue reading The courage of Maria Braun
What is courage? Do I have it?
The root word of courage is cour, from the French word for heart, denoting the heart as the seat of feelings. The Oxford dictionary defines courage as: the ability to do what frightens one; strength in the face of pain or grief. The unknown in every new life situation brings an element of fear, such … Continue reading What is courage? Do I have it?
Let’s be Christians, not chameleons
[A slightly revised version of an article first posted March 31, 2019] Some members of the early church wanted Gentile converts to be chameleons. They thought that circumcising Gentile believers would make them appear to be converts to the Jewish religion, thus sparing Jewish believers from persecution by other Jews for associating with Gentiles. Such … Continue reading Let’s be Christians, not chameleons
Flatlander Faith 