[First posted in August 2013.] If anyone is wondering what is happening to our society, a little time spent reading the Humanist Manifesto of 1933 will provide considerable illumination. Here are some excerpts: Religious humanism maintains that all associations and institutions exist for the fulfillment of human life. The intelligent evaluation, transformation, control, and direction … Continue reading Humanism versus humanity
propaganda
History tainted by propaganda
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
More than one side to history
My Grade 11 and 12 classroom had a library — a two shelf bookcase. I read all the books in that library, in class time, during those two years. One book was a history of an era we had recently studied in Social Studies, but gave a different version of that history than our textbook. … Continue reading More than one side to history
Fake news about COVID-19
Here are a few of the rumours circulating on social media about COVID-19, as reported in the French news magazine le Point and other sources. All are false. 1. The COVID-19 virus was created in a US laboratory. This rumour comes from a faulty reading of a US patent granted in 2003. The patent was … Continue reading Fake news about COVID-19
Useful idiots
Russian Communism always had a throng of loyal and vocal supporters in the Western World. These were progressively minded people who endorsed the social experiment being carried out in Russia and who were blind to the brutality of the regime and the fact that conditions were not improving for the common man. They wanted so … Continue reading Useful idiots
The right and wrong use of statistics
[This is an article I wrote a year ago for The Business Bulletin.] A few weeks ago I went into a small town branch of the Royal Bank of Canada with a cheque received for some translation work. The cheque was in US dollars and I asked the teller to convert it to Canadian dollars, … Continue reading The right and wrong use of statistics
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
We are not machines
A week ago I went into a small town branch of the Royal Bank of Canada with a $500.00 cheque I had received for some translation work. The cheque was in US dollars and I asked the teller to give me $80.00 in Canadian cash, $20.00 in US cash and deposit the rest in my … Continue reading We are not machines
Flatlander Faith 