Somebody ought to do something

Just about every day the media presents new evidence of bullying, neglected and mistreated children, juvenile prostitution, verbal, physical and sexual abuse, youth gangs and all the other problems that seem to afflict the children and youth of our society. Cries of distress and outrage go up and there is a universal feeling that something … Continue reading Somebody ought to do something

Love, motherhood, joy

Anne Cloutier has a doctorate in socialogy, but chose to be a stay at home mom to her three children. She has recently published a book about her choice, entitled Aimer, Materner, Jubiler. The title of this post is a rough translation of the book title. Anne Cloutier is not an all-out anti-feminist, but in … Continue reading Love, motherhood, joy

A tale of two nations

How Children Have Taken Power is the title of a book recently published by Swedish psychiatrist David Eberhard. I am going by a story in a French language newspaper so the title is my English translation of the French translation of the Swedish title of the book.  An English edition will be out later this … Continue reading A tale of two nations

Who were the “sons of God” in Genesis 6?

There are three lines of thought on this: 1. They were angels who took human wives. 2. They were kings exercising the “right of the first night” with any woman who was being given in marriage. 3. They were men from the godly lineage of Seth who took wives from the ungodly lineage of Cain. … Continue reading Who were the “sons of God” in Genesis 6?

Hasn’t learned the rules yet

Last Sunday as we were walking up the stairs afterSunday School, I took note of our youngest minister and his youngest daughter ahead of me. Heidi, two years and almost four months old, was walking up the stairs beside her dad, her right in his.  In her left hand was the strap for her dad's … Continue reading Hasn’t learned the rules yet

The importance of being weak

Maria Braun was arrested in 1966 for teaching a foreign ideology to young children in the Kirghiz Soviet Republic. 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 sentenced the other lady to five years in … Continue reading The importance of being weak

Is the trumpet giving an uncertain sound?

For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air. (1 Corinthians 14:8-9) The issue in question when Paul wrote those … Continue reading Is the trumpet giving an uncertain sound?

Discovery learning

The Province of Alberta recently announced a complete transformation of their teaching methods. The new model is based on the wonderfully naive expectation that a classroom of 30 children of the same age will learn much better if the teacher is relegated to the background and not allowed to teach. Where does this dewy-eyed credulity … Continue reading Discovery learning

Verla’s first prayer

Verla didn’t know what to think when a group of Mennonites came to sing for her husband. Neither did they for that matter; they did not know the people in this house.  However, someone had suggested they sing for this dying man and so they did. Verla and the children stayed in another room until … Continue reading Verla’s first prayer

Doctrines of the humanist religion

1.  Nothing is real that cannot be understood by the human mind. People choose to believe in spirits, magic, witchcraft, astrology, scientific theories or various "holy books." These are merely attempts to fit all things seen and experienced into a framework that appears to give a logical explanation for every detail and event. I may … Continue reading Doctrines of the humanist religion