I first took note of Norman when the camp leaders took us all on a hike to Lebret. He was a quiet boy, walking with us, yet alone. He seemed like the rest of us, except that he could not hold his head up straight. It tilted towards his right shoulder, almost resting on the … Continue reading Leadhead and the Golden Rule
Christianity
Freedom of religion
From the time that mankind began to form separate nation states it was the custom of each to have its own gods and for each to believe that their gods were superior to the gods of other nations. Thus, if any individual or family in a nation would choose to worship another god, that was … Continue reading Freedom of religion
Learning the craft of writing
The child that was myself was born with a little talent, and I have worked hard, hard, hard to shape it. Yet even this could not have made me a writer, for there is no book can tell anything worth saying unless life itself has first said it to the person who conceived that book. … Continue reading Learning the craft of writing
Cultural amnesia
One hundred years ago, when the Social Gospel was well on the way to infiltrating and taking control of many of the major Christian denominations of North America, my father was already 24 years old. It has lately dawned on me that because I was born when he was 50 I have a window on … Continue reading Cultural amnesia
Driving home beneath the lunar eclipse
We left out friends in Alberta just after 4:00 PM to return home to Saskatchewan. We stopped for supper at Provost and when we got back out on the highway this great white moon was straight in front of us and just above the horizon. There was a little bite out of the left size … Continue reading Driving home beneath the lunar eclipse
The Logos
Why do we have four gospels? Wouldn't it be enough to tell the story once? Evidently Matthew, Mark, Luke and John didn't think so and the early church agreed that they all merited a place in the Holy Scriptures. Some skeptics have claimed to find discrepancies and disagreements in the accounts, but these all disappear … Continue reading The Logos
Intellectualism, reason and faith
Intellectualism is the idea that all truth can be discovered by reasoning. René Descartes started with "I think, therefore I am," and proceeded down this line of reasoning to discover all that was worth knowing, to his own satisfaction at least. The fatal flaw in this is that God is considered as irrelevant and thus … Continue reading Intellectualism, reason and faith
Is Christian humilty the same thing as stoicism or zen buddhism?
Consider the following: "Humility is perfect quietness of heart. It is for me to feel no trouble, never be fretted, or vexed, or irritated, or sore, or disappointed. It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when … Continue reading Is Christian humilty the same thing as stoicism or zen buddhism?
Jesus is not my enforcer
"My Dad could beat up on your Dad any day!" "Oh yeah? My Dad would just clobber your old man!" Are conversations like that still heard on schoolyards? They were common when I was a boy, little boys trying to establish superiority over others, based on their fathers' credentials. I never joined in those taunts, … Continue reading Jesus is not my enforcer
What is wrong with the world?
"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him"(1 John 2:15). The Bible has a lot to say about the world and the danger there is if Christians become worldly. Why? What is there about the world … Continue reading What is wrong with the world?
