There was a farmer in our neighbourhood who lived a simple life. He had no need of electricity, running water or a lawn mower. He didn’t need a wife either though we heard that there had once been a lady of the house. Perhaps the rustic simplicity of the homestead soon lost its charm. This rustic … Continue reading The half-converted farmer
Bible
Mr. Average Canadian
This was first published four years ago. In 1926 Stephen Leacock tried to describe the average Canadian man of his day. Eighty-nine years have passed and Mister Average Canadian of that day is long dead and buried. Therefore, I will take it upon myself to describe his modern counterpart, according to census statistics. In 2015 … Continue reading Mr. Average Canadian
Meeting God in His Word
I grew up in a home where the Bible was read every day and we attended the Anglican Church every Sunday. I became a member of that church when I was 11; a few years later I became an altar boy and continued faithfully until I moved away from home to attend university. There was … Continue reading Meeting God in His Word
How Old Wives Lake Got its Name
When one travels south from Moose Jaw one soon enters a vast upland area rising from the flat prairie. This is the Missouri Coteau. The water in the streams and rivers east of the Coteau flow into the Assiniboine River and eventually into Hudson’s Bay. Streams and rivers of the Coteau flow to the Missouri … Continue reading How Old Wives Lake Got its Name
JOY
“I don't know why we are here, but I'm pretty sure that it is not in order to enjoy ourselves.” ― Ludwig Wittgenstein A bleak, hard and cold view of life. Wittgenstein, a native of Austria who spent much of his life in England, is regarded as one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th … Continue reading JOY
A “Christian” Tall Tale
First posted on June 26, 2012 NASA’s computers have discovered a missing 24 hour period in the distant past that corresponds exactly to the 23 hours and 20 minutes that the sun stood still in Joshua 10:12-13 and the 40 minutes lost in Hezekiah’s day (2 Kings 20:11 and Isaiah 38:8). Or so we are told … Continue reading A “Christian” Tall Tale
Let my people go
During the course of my lifetime I have heard the Nativity story told in many different forms at Christmas concerts and read still others in children’s books. Some have stayed quite close to the Biblical narrative, others have veered off into the land of make-believe in ways that left me bewildered. Fear not, I’m not … Continue reading Let my people go
The Only Man with “All Power”
“All power Is given unto ME In Heaven and in earth.” These seem to me to be the most audacious, the most astonishing words that ever fell from the lips of man. We are told that the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw … Continue reading The Only Man with “All Power”
Papa Panov should be Father Martin
Le Père Martin, a Christmas story about an old shoemaker who wanted to see Jesus, appeared over 130 years ago. It was the work of Ruben Saillens, writer, musician and Baptist pastor of Marseilles. Unbeknownst to him, the tale was soon translated into English and circulated without the name of the author. The Russian writer … Continue reading Papa Panov should be Father Martin
Fifty years ago
It is 50 years since the Jesus people movement began in California. It followed close on the heels of the Summer of Love, that brief period in time when disillusioned young people believed they had found the solution to all the world’s problems. “All you need is love” by the Beatles was their theme. They … Continue reading Fifty years ago
