When I was a boy I read historical novels by Canadian and English writers. The hero was always English, honest, brave, generous and kind. Other people were shifty-eyed, dishonest, traitorous scoundrels. As I was an English Canadian, I accepted this as self-evident truth. Later I learned to read French and found historical novels in that … Continue reading But they are different from us
History
The value of history
Some folks dream of the coming of a golden age, when the gospel will have created a state of peace and benevolence on earth almost approaching that of heaven. Most of us dismiss such ideas as folly, the pride of man. What about the good old days? Many folks believe things were better in the … Continue reading The value of history
More than one side to history
My Grade 11 and 12 classroom had a library — a two shelf bookcase. I read all the books in that library, in class time, during those two years. One book was a history of an era we had recently studied in Social Studies, but gave a different version of that history than our textbook. … Continue reading More than one side to history
A pure faith
Catholic originally meant a faith accessible to all people, in all countries, in all eras. Early in the Christian era, imperial pretensions developed in the church at Rome toward other churches in the empire. That process sped up when Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in 313, granting religious freedom in the Roman empire. Again it was … Continue reading A pure faith
The origins of the Waldensians
One thing that is clear is that there were Waldenses before Peter Waldo, thus it cannot be said that he founded the Waldensian movement, or church. Waldenses, Vaudois in French, means “people of the valleys,” referring to the valleys in the Alps which form the border between France and Italy. Peter Waldo, Pierre de Vaux … Continue reading The origins of the Waldensians
True conservatism
The conservative believes that there exists an enduring moral order. That order is made for man, and man is made for it: human nature is a constant, and moral truths are permanent. Our twentieth-century world has experienced the hideous consequences of the collapse of belief in a moral order. Like the atrocities and disasters of Greece … Continue reading True conservatism
The Legend of the Qu’Appelle Valley
by Emily Pauline Johnson I am the one who loved her as my life, Had watched her grow to sweet young womanhood; Won the dear privilege to call her wife, And found the world, because of her, was good. I am the one who heard the spirit voice, Of which the paleface settlers love to tell; … Continue reading The Legend of the Qu’Appelle Valley
There is no valid baptism without the new birth
The beginning of the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite in Western Canada owes much to the spiritual vision of one man. Peter Toews was the Elder of the largest part of the Kleine Gemeinde (Little Church) which had separated from the main body of the Mennonite church on the Molotschna Colony in Ukraine in … Continue reading There is no valid baptism without the new birth
Persecution of the Lollards
William Swynderby (sometimes spelled Swinderby) and Walter Brute were active exponents of Lollard beliefs in the last 20 years of the 14th Century. Swynderby was burned at the stake for his faith in 1401 at Smithfield, London. G. M. Trevelyan, while not entirely sympathetic, gives a glimpse of the views of Brute and Swynderby on … Continue reading Persecution of the Lollards
The fulness of the time
Solomon’s reign was the golden era of Israel. All the promises of God were fulfilled in the natural sense. The son of David built the glorious temple and God showed His acceptance by sending fire from heaven to consume the sacrifices. Solomon’s reign was a reign of peace over all the territory promised by God … Continue reading The fulness of the time
Flatlander Faith 