Paradigm (pronounced pair-a-dime) means model, pattern, example. The word was first popluarized by Thomas S Kuhn to describe a framework for scientific research. He wrote: "Men whose research is based on shared paradigms are committed to the same rules and standards for scientific practice." ¹ Paradigm then escaped from this narrowly scientific application to become … Continue reading Paradigms – effective and defective
spirituality
Paradise
This is Crescent Park in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Not really paradise, just a pretty nice spot to find smack dab in the downtown of a city on the arid prairies. The first home of mankind was in a true earthly paradise, the Garden of Eden. As a consequence of their sin, Adam and Eve were … Continue reading Paradise
The great and terrible God
In order to reduce Christianity to moralistic, therapeutic deism, we must reduce God to a warm fuzzy, namby-pamby therapist whose only desire is to help us find relief from the emotional and existential complexes that befuddle our lives. That is not the way that the Bible describes Him. Nehemiah twice speaks of God as being … Continue reading The great and terrible God
Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
There are two ways of reading the Bible. One way is to see it as a repository of morally edifying stories. One can label that the pietistic approach or the moralistic, therapeutic deism approach. The other approach is to see the Bible as a history of how God revealed, step by step, the redemption story. … Continue reading Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
Bees in the wall
A few years ago we shared a house with a colony of bees. We weren’t aware of their presence when we moved in. We knew the house from visiting the previous tenants, who had never mentioned the bees. Perhaps they moved in during the few months the house was unoccupied. They made us nervous at … Continue reading Bees in the wall
Life isn’t fair
These are real people that I’m going to write about, but I’m not going to use their real names. Elsie and Elizabeth were already quite elderly when we knew them; the story of their earlier life was told to us by others. They were sisters, born in pioneer days on a prairie farm and grew … Continue reading Life isn’t fair
To drink, or not to drink, is that the only question?
During my growing up days practically all my relatives were total abstainers. There was an uncle out in B.C. who was probably an alcoholic, according to my Dad's tales. The only memory I have of this uncle is of a time when I was very young and he was trying to unload a gun at … Continue reading To drink, or not to drink, is that the only question?
Echoes of invention
The Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) gradually began to downplay some of the distinctive teachings of Daniel Warner, leading some of those who believed strongly in those teachings to leave the church. In 1980, Daniel Layne left the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) and assumed the leadership of those who had separated from that group. … Continue reading Echoes of invention
Reading each other’s mail
How long does the honeymoon last when Christians marry? How long does it take for the husband to realize that his bride isn’t submitting to him like the Bible teaches? How many days does it take before the young lady becomes aware that her husband isn’t giving himself for her like it says in the … Continue reading Reading each other’s mail
A sense of wonder
There are sober and serious Christians who object to C.S. Lewis’s Narnia books and Tolkien’s Hobbit books on the ground that they are not real life stories. To which I would ask “Is this visible world all there is to real life?” Children are aware that there are unseen forces influencing the events around them. … Continue reading A sense of wonder
Flatlander Faith 