Five reasons Christian communes don’t work

1. They isolate members from other people Relationships with family and friends outside the community that do not further the goals of the community become suspect. 2. They disconnect members from the reality of the world around them People who don’t have to choose and pay for their own food, clothing and shelter can hardly … Continue reading Five reasons Christian communes don’t work

Religious communes in Canada

Reading posts by Jnana Hodson about religious communes in the USA prompted me to compile a list of some of the more notable communal groups of the past and present is Canada. Read Jnana Hodson's posts here, and here. 1. The Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy and the Huron Confederacy could be considered as having been … Continue reading Religious communes in Canada

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

Government sponsored morality

“Every generation, no matter how paltry its character, thinks itself much wiser than the one immediately preceding it, let alone those that are more remote. ” -William Shakespeare Old Mr. Shakespeare was a pretty keen observer of human nature with all its foibles. I guess that's why his plays remain so popular, we are still … Continue reading Government sponsored morality

Uncharted Seas

Everything is changing and we must change with the times or be left behind. Nothing we knew yesterday will be of any value to us tomorrow. But tomorrow will be better than today and the day after that even better. This is the age of progress. But where is this progress taking us? Hush! It … Continue reading Uncharted Seas

Sins of omission?

James 4:17: “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” The last clause of this verse is written in the passive voice which leads some presumptuous readers of the Bible to take it to mean that there are sins of omission which are much less serious … Continue reading Sins of omission?

Some spirits need to be quenched

I was alone in the lunchroom when Rhonda came in. She sat down on the other side of the table, opened her lunch bag and announced “He told me I looked like a horse.” “What? Who did?” “Doug, that young guy who got a summer job here. He just walked up to me and said: … Continue reading Some spirits need to be quenched

She never gives up

Saturday afternoon Bianca Andreescu won the U.S. Open women’s tennis tournament. She is 19 and the first Canadian ever to win a grand slam tennis tournament. A comment made by one of her opponents has stuck in my mind: “She never gives up.” In several matches she seemed to be faltering, on the verge of … Continue reading She never gives up

God loves messed up people

Adam and Eve disobeyed God. Abram was ready to sacrifice his wife to the lusts of powerful men to save his own skin. Jacob gained his brother’s birthright by dubious means, and with his mother’s connivance. David had way too many wives. These were the kind of people God used to accomplish His plans here … Continue reading God loves messed up people

The Christian nation heresy

Time was that most Canadians attended a church where Christian values were taught and claimed to govern their lives by those teachings. In such circumstances governments found it expedient to pay lip service at least to Christian principles and to legislate accordingly. Times have changed. A survey several years ago found that 16% of Canadians … Continue reading The Christian nation heresy