Halfway through high school, it dawned on me that history is not a science like the others. Mathematics textbooks in Canada, England, France, Germany and the USA all agree that two plus two equals four. Textbooks from all those countries agree on the laws of geometry and that a mixture of saltpetre, sulphur and charcoal … Continue reading History tainted by propaganda
France
But they don’t speak the same French!
I don’t know how many times I have been told that there is no point in trying to learn French. You see, they say, the French spoken in Québec is so different from the French spoken in France that they cannot understand one another. If you study Parisian French in school, people in Québec won’t … Continue reading But they don’t speak the same French!
Seeing French as a Bridge
Some languages are walls, some are artefacts, a few are bridges. A language used only by one tribe or ethnic group is useful for communication within that group, but it is also a wall that prevents communication with, and assimilation by, another group. Some languages are no longer in daily use but are studied as … Continue reading Seeing French as a Bridge
Good news, somewhat disguised
1918, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. People began dying from the Spanish Flu in the first week of October. Sick soldiers returning from the European front were housed at the Moose Jaw Armoury and the disease spread from there. The Moose Jaw and District Medical Officer, Dr. Turnbull, ordered all gathering places closed until further notice. That … Continue reading Good news, somewhat disguised
The Church of God is not racist
But members sometimes do and say inappropriate things Several weeks ago the French news magazine Le Point carried an interview with a man who had come to France in his youth from Togo. The title of the article was France is not racist, a point of view staunchly upheld by the man being interviewed, although … Continue reading The Church of God is not racist
Electronic church today
Five weeks ago 2,500 members of an evangelical denomination in France gathered at Mulhouse for five days of prayer and fasting. This was before any alarms had been raised about COVID-19, but it was present. It is estimated that 2,000 of those who gathered caught the virus, then took it back to their home communities … Continue reading Electronic church today
Francophone Anabaptists
We may think of the Anabaptist faith as having originated among people who spoke German and Dutch. But before them most Anabaptists spoke French. Does that have any significance for us today? Most of the original explorers and settlers of New France were Protestants. The Roman Catholic Church in France soon moved to prevent further … Continue reading Francophone Anabaptists
One of the roots of poverty
There’s a nifty new all terrain electric quadricycle from France called the Swincar. Each wheel is independently powered, each wheel and the driver’s nacelle have independent suspension. I want one. But I don’t expect to ever have one. It costs $15,000 and there are more pressing needs for any extra money that comes in. Things … Continue reading One of the roots of poverty
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
Flatlander Faith 