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Most Recent

News

BC private property rights in question after court ruling

The City of Richmond, a suburb of Vancouver, sent out a letter in October to some of its residents, informing them of a recent BC Supreme Court decision which “has declared aboriginal title to your property which may compromise the status and validity of your ownership.”

The court decision, by Justice Barbara Young, is found in an 863-page ruling, resulting from what is claimed to be the longest trial in Canada’s history. She ruled that the Cowichan First Nations “have established Aboriginal title” to about 800 acres in the city, because the ancestors of the Cowichan once had a seasonal fishing village in the area centuries ago. The court ruled that the Crown’s granting of land to settlers was not valid because it infringed on the Cowichan Nation’s title.

The decision is causing understandable unrest among property owners in the area and around the province. If the Cowichan Nation still has title, what does that mean for their ownership? And if this is true for these 800 acres, what does it mean for the rest of BC, given that as much as 95% is claimed to be “unceded traditional First Nations territory”?

The BC government and City of Richmond are appealing the court ruling, though the NDP government has been promoting First Nations land title extensively in recent years. This included recently handing over title to the entire Haida Gwaii archipelago of 10,180 km² to the Haida Nation (or just over 1 percent of the province).

“I think this is one of the most significant rulings in the history of the province, and maybe the country,” Malcolm Brodie, the Mayor of Richmond, said to the Globe and Mail.

“I think it potentially could dismantle the land title system, certainly in our province, with ramifications across the country.”

This is the logical outcome of “land acknowledgements” being read out before meetings, sporting events, and university classes across the province and across the country. The Left kept accusing us all of living, working, and playing on stolen land, and it was only a matter of time before someone with power realized that if property has indeed been stolen then it needs to be returned – that only makes sense.

But so much of this doesn’t make sense. Do the Cowichan own this land because they walked through it hundreds of years ago? If so, then wouldn’t it make sense to apply that same standard towards the Indigenous peoples who walked through it before them? If we are going to restore property said to have been stolen 100 years ago, why not restore it to whatever tribe or nation owned it 200 years, or 500 years ago? Where does it stop? If my great-grandparents stole $10 a hundred years ago, should I feel any obligation to pay it back to the great-grandchildren of the guy whose wallet they took?

Lots of questions here, and there are plenty of biblical texts worth exploring for insight (Num. 5:5-8, Matt. 7:1-2, Lev. 6:1-7, etc.) but for now let’s consider just one. A theft is said to have occurred one hundred years ago, and the 8^th Commandment, do not steal, is the basis of the Cowichan complaint. But to hand over this land, as it is today, wouldn’t be righting a wrong, but perpetuating another. If my great-grandparents had invested $10 they stole into starting a business that, through the work of our family’s next three generations, became a multi-billion-dollar enterprise, would I be responsible for returning everything that $10 became? Because that’s what’s being considered today: were the Cowichan to take over this chunk of Richmond, they would be taking developed property worth thousands of times more than the open land that existed there before.

The 8^th Commandment, do not steal, is the basis for private property rights and, as economist Barry Asmus and Bible scholar Wayne Grudem have explained, it is

“the necessary foundation for all human flourishing on the face of the earth…. Whenever this commandment is ignored, entire nations remain trapped in poverty forever.”

It’s easy to see how that is so. If this ruling stands and this becomes the new normal in Canada, who would invest here? Who would want to put money down if a judge can decide with a stroke of their pen to give over everything they’ve developed? It’ll be impossible to build an economy without a stable foundation of private property beneath it.

Map at top of article produced with materials from the Native Land Digital App (https://native-land.ca/)

News

Arctic sea ice remains steady for past two decades

News

Saturday Selections – Nov. 15, 2025

Women don't belong in combat (5 min) That world won't acknowledge that it is Who made us, and in Whose Image we are made (Gen. 9:6), that makes us va...

News

Fewer young people identifying as “queer” or “trans”

Conferences

“We believe…” 1,700 years ago

Redeemer University conference celebrates the Council of Nicaea and the Nicene Creed ***** In times past, scholars and theologians may have found th...

News

Peanut allergies plunge … and they could plunge even more

Not that long ago it was thought that young children shouldn’t be exposed to peanuts, to prevent a dangerous reaction. But, as Prov. 18:17 notes, “The first to put forth his case seems right, until someone else steps forward and cross-examines him.” That cross-examination first began in 2015, when a ground-breaking study found that introducing peanuts to young children actually reduced the risk of getting food allergies by about 70 percent or more. In response, many doctors started changing their advice. An Associated Press piece noted that “About 60,000 children have avoided developing peanut allergies after guidance first issued in 2015 upended medical practice by recommending that caregivers introduce the allergen to infants starting as early as four months.” Now a 2025 study has reviewed the data. According to the AP account, peanut allergies in children aged zero to three decreased by more than 40 percent since the recommendations were expanded in 2017. In spite of the findings from the 2015 study, the AP reported that only about 29 per cent of pediatricians and 65 per cent of allergists say they follow the newer guidelines, suggesting that there could have been far fewer allergy cases still if more children were introduced to potential allergens at a younger age. Dr. Derek Chu, Canadian Institutes of Health Research chair in allergy noted to the AP that this guidance extends to all common allergens, including dairy, soy, wheat, egg, shellfish, and nuts....

News

Saturday Selections – Nov. 8, 2025

The baptism rap battle you never knew you needed This is the best of what A.I. can give us. Here's a rapping, axe-playing, Jonathan Edwards rebutting Charles Spurgeon’s case for adult baptism. Hilarious, and downright insightful too. Old earth vs. young: what are the differences between these two views? (10 min. read) Is the earth less than 10,000 years, or older than 4 billion? This comparison and contrast highlights where young earth creationism, old earth theistic evolution, and progressive creationism land on things like: was there death before the Fall? how was Man created? was the Flood global? If you ask A.I. for marriage advice, it'll probably tell you to get divorced It's vital we understand A.I.'s limitations. What we are getting back from it is oftentimes simply an average of all the answers it finds across the Internet, so if the 'net, as a whole, is wrong about something, that's what you are going to get back. And when it comes to marriage advice, there is a lot of the bad sort. Crime linked to missing dads J. Warner Wallace details here, what can happen when dad disappears: "During my years working the gang detail in Los Angeles County, I met countless young men and women caught up in the world of gangs. Over time, a single theme emerged – one that cut across backgrounds, neighborhoods, and stories. Nearly every gang member I encountered suffered from the same affliction: a profound lack of dad." Stranger things of the OT: Giants "The term 'giant' appears only seven times in most modern translations of these two passages (2 Sam. 21:15–22; 1 Chron. 20:4–8), but in the King James Version it appears over 20 times." (Real Talk recently did an episode that touched on some of the stranger things of the OT too.) Style vs. substance Here's a fantastic musical debate about whether it's most important to say things with flair, or say something important. Or, to let the two combatants frame it: GIRL 1: Who cares if the whole world's watching If you aren't saying something of meaning GIRL 2: Who cares what the crap you're saying If nobody's watching, nobody's hearing I've been involved in 10+ political campaigns, and this struck a chord – I was involved in a Christian Heritage Party campaign where the candidate seemed content to put out important but blandly-presented materials – stuff that got filed into the recycle bin immediately – and I've been part of campaigns where all the candidate was offering was graphically appealing signs and brochures and even swell sounding speeches, but all of which didn't say much of anything at all. They shied away from the real issues our culture is contending with – they refused to talk about God. So, what's the answer then to the style versus substance debate? It's about pairing, not contrasting, the two. God crafted His temple (Ex. 31:1–5), His world (Ps. 19:1), and us too (Ps. 139:13–14) – He is all about style. But what does He use His style to declare? His glory! How's that for substance! ...

News

Government leaves religious and pro-life organizations alone in 2025 budget

Pro-life Christians can breathe a sigh of relief. Actually, you can take two. The 2025 federal budget unveiled on Tuesday leaves the charitable status of religious organizations and pregnancy care centers alone. 2024 – the threat Both of these concerns were raised late in 2024 when the Standing Committee on Finance reported on its pre-budget consultations. This is a standard practice, where the government gives Canadians the opportunity to share what they want to see in the upcoming federal budget. The report made a whopping 462 recommendations, but two caught the eye of pro-life Christians: • Recommendation 429 suggested removing the charitable status of “anti-abortion organizations.” • Recommendation 430 proposed removing charitable status for religious organizations. The latter recommendation came out of left field. Organizations like the BC Humanist Association have long lobbied for the government to give religious activities less time, less money, and less recognition. But no mainstream political party or figure had seriously entertained the idea until this federal finance committee recommendation. Even after this recommendation was made, Karina Gould, the new chair of the Finance Committee, wrote the following to the Canadian Executive Director of the Christian Reformed Church “Charitable status for religious organizations is not under review, and this government has no plans to change that. Any suggestion otherwise is false. We respect the role faith-based organizations play in communities across the country, and religious organizations continue to enjoy charitable status under the same rules that apply to all charities in Canada. There have been no policy or legislative changes proposed that would revoke charitable status from religious groups including churches.” Roots in 2021 The idea of revoking the charitable status of pregnancy care centers, however, has a longer history. In their 2021 election platform, the Liberals explicitly promised to remove the charitable status of “anti-abortion organizations (for example, Crisis Pregnancy Centres).” This recommendation not only betrayed their pro-abortion stance but also accused pro-life organizations of providing: “…dishonest counselling to women about their rights and about the options available to them at all stages of the pregnancy.” Of course, they entirely ignored the material, emotional, and relational assistance these pregnancy care centers provide. Then last fall, the federal government announced its intention to introduce legislation to require pregnancy care centers to either disclose that they do not provide abortions or else lose their charitable tax status. Thankfully, gridlock in Parliament, the resignation of Justin Trudeau as prime minister, and the spring federal election prevented such a bill from being introduced. 2025 and onward These attacks on pregnancy care centers were dropped from the Liberals’ 2025 election platform. Though there is no mention of the revocation of charitable status for religious organizations or “anti-abortion” organizations in the federal budget, and though the current government seems to have different priorities than the last one, this isn’t necessarily the end of the story. Given that tens of millions of Canadians identify as religious and that revoking the charitable status of religious organizations would be a massive departure from four hundred years of charitable status tradition, this change seems unlikely to be implemented in the near future. Not only would this be bad policy, it would also be bad electoral politics for the government. However, the Liberal Party has firmly set its face against the pro-life cause. They’ve done so in every recent vote on abortion legislation, and in the change they made in 2017 to the Canada Summer Jobs program which required applicants to declare support for abortion, and in their continued funding for abortion. So the government may well set pregnancy care centers in their sights again in the coming years. A good test of the government’s intentions will be whether this recommendation reappears in the final consultation report before next year’s budget. We need to continue to remind our Members of Parliament of the benefits that both religious organizations and pregnancy care centers provide, so as to fend off attacks on their charitable status. Levi Minderhoud is a policy analyst for ARPA Canada (ARPACanada.ca)....

In a Nutshell

Tidbits – November 2025

Are you passing the baton? “My dad….made a great commitment in my life and had given me many things to pass on. His father had given him things to pass on. And what I have, I have passed on. You have to take it, develop it, learn it, and pass it on to somebody else. This is a relay race, and we are all involved.” – John MacArthur on the importance of telling the next generation what we have learned about God. Knowledge doesn’t save “The devil is a better theologian than any of us and is a devil still.” – A.W. Tozer. A third way God’s name can be used in fiction In a March 16, 2015 post titled “Fiction and the Third Commandment” Douglas Wilson continued a discussion that began in the February 2015 issue of Reformed Perspective. In that issue, I asked why so many Christian fiction authors have their characters taking God’s Name in vain. I argued that there were only two ways God allows us to use his Name. God says we can use his Name to talk to Him. And we can also use his Name to talk about Him. That meant that a writer may not use God’s name simply because his heroine has stubbed a toe and he want the readers to understand that it really hurt. In his post, Pastor Wilson noted that there is one more proper use Christian authors can make of God’s Name – an author can depict someone sinfully abusing God’s Name without being guilty of abusing it himself. As evidence, Wilson pointed to Christ’s parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18. Jesus tells us that both men were praying in the temple but whereas the tax collector was penitent the Pharisee prayed: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.” The Pharisee here is neither talking about God, nor talking to Him (bragging isn’t prayer) but rather is blaspheming God. What we have here, as Wilson notes, is a "…fictional depiction a high violation of the Third Commandment, committed by a character in a bit of prose composed by the Lord Jesus Himself." Since Christ does it, we can be sure that it is indeed permissible to depict characters taking God’s name in vain. If that strikes you as strange (and it did me) the key point to understand is that in Luke 18, while Jesus is depicting someone taking God’s Name in vain, his purpose is still to honor God’s Name. This third use of God’s name is an easy thing to mess up, which is why Wilson concludes with a caution to writers who are considering making use of this third way: they need to carefully assess whether they are skilled enough to pull it off. This is not the sort of thing to fail in the attempt. Don’t just think about it “The smallest good deed is better than the greatest good intention.” - unknown No need for false modesty “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.” – C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity The (honest) rich get rich by making us all wealthier God told us not to covet, but there are many, particularly in the government, who want to assure us it’s fine to demand what the rich have. They tell us it’s only fair to make the one per cent pay way more because when we look over the fence at all they have we can’t help but notice that it is quite a lot. Sure, God told us to stop looking over the fence (Ex. 20:17), but the world insists that all this ogling is okay because our neighbor’s wealth, well, a lot of it is really ours in the first place. The way they tell the story there is only so much wealth to go around, so our rich neighbor could only become wealthy by taking from the poor folk like us. And it’s about time he gave some of it back. That’s what they say …but as you might suspect, folks who tell us it is okay to do what God forbids often don’t have their facts straight. The truth of the matter is that, so long as our rich neighbor didn’t get their money from piracy, bank robbing or lobbying the government, he likely got his money by earning it. And if his money was earned, then this neighbor of ours didn’t take anything from anyone, but actually gave more than he got. As commentator John Stossel explains: "It is instinctive to think of life as a zero-sum game – if I win, you lose. Politicians think that way because that’s how their world works. And lawyers who sue people think that way – you either win or you lose. "But in business, you only win if you give your customers something they want. If you make a big profit, it doesn’t mean you took it from the customer. The customer voluntarily gave you his money. He felt he gained something too. It is why you get the weird double thank you moment when you buy anything. If you bought a cup of coffee this morning, you gave the cashier a buck, and she said, 'Thank you.' She gave you the coffee, and you said, 'Thank you.' “'Thank you.' 'Thank you.' "Why both? Because you both felt you won. "But that’s just not intuitive. It’s intuitive to think Bill Gates made $50 million because he took $50 million from other people. If that’s the case, how come there is so much more wealth in the world now with all these billionaires? They didn’t take a big piece of the pie. They baked lots of new pies and then took a big piece." An approved Christian pick-up line "Hey baby, wanna come back to my place? My parents are home." Matthew Henry would have hated The Hunger Games On the night that the author of Matthew Henry's Commentary was robbed, he prayed a prayer that showed his understanding of just how blessed he was, and how, when it comes to harm, it is much better to receive than to give. "I thank Thee first because I was never robbed before; second, because although they took my purse they did not take my life; third, although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed and not I who robbed." SOURCE: Chris Craig's book "Becoming a Person of Prayer." There is some question if this really is a quote from Henry. Wikiquotes says no, but several other sources, including Chris Craig's book, say yes. Now it all makes sense Johannes Gutenberg is best known as the first man to print a Bible using movable metal type. But did you know he kept his metal letters in drawers, called cases, with all the capital letters stored in an upper case, and the small letters stored in a lower case? That is the reason that even today, capitals are known as "uppercase" and small letters as "lowercase." Add a word, ruin a Christian book About a decade back, a meme circled the globe that had people tweeting famous Christian book titles with one-word additions that, had they been real, would have completely ruined the book. For example, C.S. Lewis's Surprised by Joy became Surprised by Joy Riding. Other notables include: Till We Have Smiley Faces (C.S. Lewis) Dave Ramsey's complete guide to money laundering Don’t Waste Your Life Reading (John Piper) The Silver Rocking Chair (C.S. Lewis) The Pilgrim’s Progressive (John Bunyan) Calvin Klein’s Institutes The Lion, the Witch, and the Locked Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis) Orthodoxy Schmorthodoxy (G.K. Chesterton) Strange Camp Fire (John MacArthur) One title was actually improved with an addition; Joel Osteen's Your Best Life Now became Your Best Life Isn't Now. "Okay then, if you cross this line..." Two aged orthodox Anglican priests knelt side-by-side in the trendy new diocesan cathedral, waiting for their bishop’s Easter service to begin. It commenced with a lonely, eerie wisp of Tibetan bells wafting through the rafters. Then a chorus of plucked hand-harps took up the icy harmonies. After the bell ringers and harpists came a dancing troupe of near naked young men in red speedos, streamers flying from their wrists. Then something new – six women in purple robes shouldering a litter which bore a larger-than-life-sized Buddha. The bishop brought up the rear, her tresses plaited with white and red ribbons hanging from the edges of her mitre, her brocaded cassock matching the thurible in her hand. One aged priest turned to the other and said, “Just one more thing, and I’m outta here!” SOURCE: Abbreviated version of a joke on Tim Bayly's blog baylyblog.com/blog/2013/10/silence-them That silver lining Father: "Well, son, with marks like these, at least we know you're not cheating."...

Parenting

The importance of risky play

“Make sure you're home by suppertime... and don't get your feet wet!” Mom called out as my brother and I hurried to our bikes. We were about 9 and...

Assorted

Learning

“It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.” – Psalm 119:71 Is it possible that something bad can be good for you...

News

Saturday Selections – Nov. 1, 2025

Luther vs. the Roman Catholic church In light of Reformation Day this week: Luther's stand, as a rock opera. A theology of bed Many of us go to...

Articles, Entertainment, Movie Reviews

Reading films: are Christians as discerning as they used to be?

Education

A load of lumber is a wonderful thing

Back in 2007 Ebenezer Canadian Reformed School here in Smithers decided to supply the students with an “imaginative play kit.” What was it? A pile of lumber, fence posts, plywood pieces, shovels, and rope. And since then the students have spent countless hours using these materials to make forts, obstacle courses, bike jumps, and many other creative structures. Over the years pallets and plastic pipes have been added, and the students complemented the supplied equipment with long grass and rocks from the grounds. Since the uses are limitless, the students’ interest has not waned. In fact, it is so popular year-round that a schedule had to be made to ensure that the grades all got their own turns. The entire package was less than $1000 – paid for by the school’s “Helping Hands” committee – an amazing value for the amount of enjoyment over the past 18 years (especially compared to the cost of ultra-safe playground equipment). Yes, many structures have collapsed, students get slivers and scrapes, and there have been minor injuries. But the kids also get to use their imaginations, learn how to cooperate and resolve conflicts, and grow in confidence as they take risks while having lots of fun!...

Interview with an artist

Paula Roth loves painting her studio

Hawkins Pond was painted at sunset to capture light sparkling off the leaves of the trees surrounding the pond. I enjoyed the contrast of the shapes of each type of greenery from spikey and straight, to ribboned and round. It’s no surprise that someone who has lived in as many beautiful places as Paula Roth has, would be drawn to landscape as the subject for her art. This very same landscape has also become a studio for Roth who now takes her easel and paints outdoors to complete her colorful paintings on location. Roth’s life journey includes time in Nigeria, Colorado, Washington State, Michigan, and finally Ontario, where she married a Canadian. Paula and her husband Ray currently live in Tillsonburg, Ontario where they are members of Hope Reformed Church. Paula minored in art in college and graduated in 2003 with a B.A. and B.Ed. from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She spent the first 20 years of married life teaching, finding particular fulfillment supporting students with unique learning profiles. “I learned patient perseverance, and hopefully grew in compassion.” Paula has since founded her home-based business, Early Bird Learning Consultant, to support children with learning challenges. Ruts & Paths was painted in August in Oxford County. I am often drawn to roads as they symbolize a journey. Life can feel uphill, and it takes faith and hope to see beauty in the midst of challenge. For Roth, art fulfills a need for creative expression and provides a sense of “balance and well-being.” The youthful dream of being an artist began when she was 9. A watercolor artist/neighbor, (also a Wycliffe Bible Translator), took her to buy her first art supplies. She also helped Roth set up a small studio in an old pioneer milking parlor on the property her family was renting at the time. The start was modest but exciting. The studio spaces have been even more modest since then. During her teaching career, Paula loved to teach art in the classroom setting, and enjoyed making beautiful bulletin board displays. After she left the classroom, to focus on special education, her creative outlets were mostly found at home where she made space for her creative work in corners of bedrooms, on desks, or at the kitchen table. Motivated in part by her parents’ mantra “You can always learn something new,” Paula is a lifelong learner. She has completed many art classes at Dundas Valley School of Art, including classes by mentors Marla Panko and Guennadi Kalinine. In 2008, Paula started illustrating for Open Windows, a Free Reformed publication for children creating collage images with paper. Then, about four years ago she discovered a passion for plein air painting. Currently, she is inspired by rural landscapes in Oxford County, ON. The dream of becoming an accomplished artist still captures Paula’s imagination. “If the Lord wills, I hope to keep taking courses, reading books about painting, and to be out in the field painting as often as I can.” Paula says, “Painting has taught me to be still. I lose all sense of time and am completely at peace. Pausing to observe, interpret, and represent creation makes me feel small and makes the Lord’s world feel gloriously large. When painting outdoors, I seek to capture a special moment in time, a scene that depicts the beauty, essence, and uniqueness of that location. Through my art I hope to share my enjoyment of my rural region and inspire others to appreciate its unique beauty too.” You can view more of Paula’s work at RuralHuesArt.com and Instagram.com/PaulaRoth.RuralHues. Morning Fog on Pigram Line was painted as the crops were ripening in the fall. The golden fields covered with dew and fog were enchanting. The saturated reds and fuchsias have drawn hummingbirds to my palate which makes time stand still for a few seconds....

Conferences

2026 Summit Reformed Young Adult Conference

Why you (or someone you know) should plan to go ***** I once heard a sermon in which the pastor compared faith to salmon. “A dead salmon floats downstream with the current,” he said. “A living salmon, however, must battle upstream, against the flow.” Then he smiled and said, “An imperfect analogy, but you get the point, right?” There is a deep flaw within the young community of Reformed circles; in day-to-day life, we don’t easily talk about our doctrine with each other. And we frequently fail to encourage each other in it. We might not be dead, but too often we seem to be doing little more than floating along. It’s not true of all of us. But it is true of too many of us. Sure, we may know what TULIP stands for, or be able to recite the Apostles’ Creed, but how often do we discuss theology outside of our church’s fellowship hall, or a weeknight bible study? We tend to avoid more personal conversations about faith, and don’t easily share our deep questions with each other, or invite each other into thought-provoking or challenging conversations. We float, leaving that all to the “grown ups.” It is almost as though there is an unspoken taboo: “We’re too young to get serious about that in our free time. Let’s keep things light; if we have questions, we can talk to older people. There’s no need to talk to each other about it.” However, in conversations I’ve had with fellow young believers about this problem, many of them have expressed the same thing: a desire for this mindset to change. Many of us do want to learn better how to grow together and push each other on to deeper faith walks; many of us have a hunger to discuss these important topics. The problem is, we don’t know how to naturally broach them, and we often let the fear of awkwardness keep us from pursuing them. We need help fostering this change and growth. Therefore, I would like to advocate for an event which has greatly helped me and many of my friends in this learning curve: the Summit Reformed Young Adults Conference or RYAC. This past year, I was privileged to be a member of the organization committee for the conference, which takes place every February (est. 2021) in Calgary and is hosted by the Bethel URC. This was my third time attending, and my first time helping organize. It is an extremely edifying event. The richness of it, as always, shed a light on the stark contrast that RYAC offers to the weekly culture of young adult life in our church circles. I had several conversations with attendees who were new to the conference, and many of them expressed a strong appreciation for the experience, often noting how “different” it was in its encouragement and doctrine-focused environment. In hopes of further promoting the incredible spiritual benefits of this event, I interviewed several other members of the organization committee – all young adults themselves, who have now attended the conference several times – to discuss the positive impact this conference has had on our faith lives. Additionally, this past year’s speakers, Rev. Paul Murphy and his wife Julie, also shared some thoughts. Q. RYAC encourages young believers to discuss theology and faith life. In today’s social climate, why is this especially important? Mark G: Young adults, especially young men, struggle to talk about faith and life, and a conference like this gives an organic setting for those conversations to happen. Even apart from the times set aside to discuss our faith, many conversations about faith and life happen, with others beyond your own church, over meals and games that do not happen very often in our everyday lives. John P: As young adults who are just venturing out into the world for the first time, it can be a confusing and challenging environment to navigate. At times it may feel like we are lost in this environment, but coming together with a group of likeminded people who are all in the same battle together not only strengthens you, but everyone in the group together, in the fight against the world and the devil. As Ecclesiastes 4:12 says: “Though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him - a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” Q. What would you say are some of the benefits of attending a Reformed conference specifically geared towards your age demographic? Mark M: In recent generations the wider church community in North America has suffered from a lack of sound doctrine. Having active discussions about theology is especially important among young adults, as we are the future of the Reformed churches, and thus it is essential for us to know what we believe, why we believe it, and how that aligns with Scripture as the ultimate authority. This is one of the many things that the Summit RYAC conference is good at. Both times I’ve attended the conference, I’ve had my understanding of the Bible and certain doctrines challenged, and that has strengthened my faith. It is also incredibly encouraging being around people my age who believe the same thing. Julie T: At its core, this conference is about training soldiers for Christ and sending them out as active members of God’s church, wherever they might be located. The conference helps build that sense of Christian unity and community: young adults leave the conference with newfound connections all over the country, knowing not only that their struggles or doubts or temptations are not unique to them, but also that the church of God is so much bigger than just their own little corner of it. Rev. Paul M & Julie M: This age group is often in university or in the workforce, maybe now living away from their parents’ home. These Christians need great friends; ones who live faithfully to their Lord and Savior in every area of life. Iron sharpens iron (Prov. 27:17). We need the benefit of each other’s differing perspectives, thoughts, and experiences. Together they serve as a multitude of counselors in which safety and wisdom are found (Prov. 11:14). Such conversations also serve as correctives to the subtle influences of our post-Christian culture; that is especially important in today’s social climate. As Paul states in 2 Cor. 10:3-5, we are engaged in an ideological warfare, in which Christians are assaulted almost daily by the thoughts and ways of the secular world. We need to encourage and equip one another to be strong and faithful in that battle. In conclusion, RYAC is not merely a fun weekend to meet friends, or find a significant other, or to simply get away on holiday. It is an event that presents incredible learning opportunities, as well as an environment in which to stretch new muscles of the mind and heart. It is an event that provides us with the opportunity to encourage one another forward, just as Timothy was encouraged by Paul: “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” For information on how to sign up for the 2026 conference visit www.summitrefcon.ca. Photos, and the video below, are by David Visser and Kyle Vasas from Faith to Film. ...

Politics

Introducing ARPA Academy

A one-month program in Ottawa to sharpen and shape you! ***** RP’s Nov/Dec 2024 issue – the “Get Educated, Not Schooled” edition – described all sorts of opportunities for young people to consider for after they’d graduated from high school. The possibilities discussed ranged from attending university to entering trade school to starting a family. Now ARPA is pleased to offer a new opportunity this coming summer: ARPA Academy! Abraham Kuyper famously said, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: Mine!” As Reformed Christians, we believe in the sovereignty of God and His providential rule over all things. What does that actually mean for Canadian law and politics? ARPA Academy seeks to help answer this very question. The 5 Ws ARPA Academy will be a one-month program in Ottawa to prepare young people aged 18-25 for faithful political engagement. Not only will the program be offered at no cost to participants, ARPA will also offer a small stipend to help cover expenses for the month. While participants will be responsible for finding their own housing, ARPA staff will suggest options and assist where necessary. Throughout the month of August, participants will explore biblical and Reformed worldview foundations for political action, learn about Canada’s constitutional history and legal system, study current policy issues, and develop key skills through readings, assignments, interactive sessions, and direct grassroots action. ARPA Academy will address questions such as “What does the Lordship of Christ over the political square look like in a society that largely does not recognize or understand His rule?” and “How does that apply to the wide variety of law and public policy issues?” The focus of ARPA Academy is on education and worldview training, but it also aims to prepare participants to be involved in politics in the future. While in Ottawa, participants will meet with political staff, lawyers, and non-profit leaders to learn about different careers. If a participant wants to pursue a hands-on internship, work on Parliament Hill, or get involved with a local non-profit organization after ARPA Academy is completed, ARPA staff can help make connections to pursue these goals. Some participants may go on to work full time in law, politics, or advocacy. Others may decide to pursue very different lines of work. In either case, participants will deepen their Christian worldview and be better equipped to be engaged and active Christian citizens. Lucas, one of last year’s ARPA interns, had this to say about his time deepening his understanding of politics from a Reformed worldview: “My experience at ARPA gave me a broad understanding of Canadian politics and the functioning of our political system. It also sharpened my worldview, enabling me to think critically about issues from a Christian perspective. This has allowed me to become a more effective citizen and has enabled me to take political action in my community.” Benefits to consider I’m excited about the ARPA Academy because in my own life it’s opportunities like this that helped me immensely. I spent a semester in Ottawa while in university, and that confirmed for me that I wanted to work in political advocacy for the long term. There were three other key components I learned from my own opportunities that I want to share, because they are also a focus for ARPA Academy. First, my time in Ottawa helped me better understand the nature of politics and political advocacy at a worldview and practical level, including a hopefulness because of God’s sovereignty over all things. Second, I had the opportunity to meet and learn from many devout Christians working on and around Parliament Hill, who were seeking to apply their Christian faith to politics for the good of their neighbors and their country. Finally, it allowed me to see what kinds of career options existed in the political and non-profit world and where I could fit into that kind of work. Whether you’re just out of high school, finished university, doing a trades apprenticeship, or between jobs, this is worth considering. This one-month program is an opportunity for Christian youth to engage with Reformed Christian thought and apply it to the world around them. Applications for ARPA Academy will open in December 2025. Check out our webpage for more information about the program and how to apply. If you have any questions, or would like to be added to an email list for updates, contact [email protected]....

News

Saturday Selections – Oct. 25, 2025

Easiest way to save 175,000 Europeans a year “Every year, around 1,300 Americans die from extreme heat. But in Europe, which has about double the p...

Culture Clashes

Jonathan & David and the difference between brave & crazy

Parenting

Why it’s good for teens and kids to do chores

We should do chores for the same reason we go to school – preparation ***** Chances are, as a part of the family, you are asked to do various meni...

News

Saturday Selections – Oct. 18, 2025

Should Christians celebrate Halloween? If we do, we should definitely do it differently. Whatever its historic origins, Halloween today has become...

Articles, Documentary, Watch for free

12 free must-see docs for Christian families

Documentaries aren’t your thing? Then you haven’t seen these. We’ve got brilliant scholars and scientists sharing, in just a line or two, all their study, and the many books they’ve read or written. And we get videos and pictures of birds, planets, or our own insides, that we’d never see like that on our own. Six categories each have two “winners” to create this "Top 12" list, but I’ve cheated a bit by sneaking in some honorable mentions. All the films can be watched for free online, and you can click on the documentary titles for longer reviews. 6-DAY CELEBRATED Some creationist videos limit themselves to beating up evolution, and while that can be fun and valuable – we are called to destroy false arguments (2 Cor. 10:4-5) – the best sort celebrate the truth of God’s Word and the genius of His design. The Riot and the Dance: the TV series 2022- / 30 minutes RATING: 9/10 The folks who brought us Riot and the Dance: Earth and Riot and the Dance: Water now have a TV series, and you can watch the pilot episode for free. It’s God’s creation viewed through the eyes of a poet and an adventurer. Narrator Dr. Gordon Wilson shares that while he teaches a marine biology class, he “needed to go back to school for this film – scuba school!” Why? “I don’t want to just sit back and narrate over some pretty picture. I wanted to get as close as I can to as many divinely crafted underwater miracles as possible.” Dr. Wilson can’t help but gush: “I love turtles, their eyes, their beaks, their scales like tiles on a fancy floor. What hilarious cartoon characters they are, and what a fantastic cartoonist God is.” This is just geeky cool! Is Genesis History? 2017 / 100 minutes RATING: 8/10 Del Tackett is best known for his excellent Truth Project video series, and this is every bit as good. He interviews PhD-holding scientists with various areas of expertise, all of them happy to share why their field of study backs a literal understanding of the first few chapters of Genesis. This is among the best creationist documentaries ever made, filled to the brim with heartfelt, concise, deep discussion! When that leaves you wanting more be sure to explore their YouTube channel and IsGenesisHistory.com for extras they just couldn’t fit in the film. HONORABLE MENTION: Remember all those cutesy story bible ark depictions that had the giraffes sticking their necks out of the top windows? No wonder many people – Christians included – are skeptical of the Bible’s Flood account. But as Tim Lovett shows in Noah’s Ark: thinking outside the box (2008/35 minutes), the ark’s dimensions have more in common with a modern ocean-going oil tanker. Computer animation, large-scale models, and a generous dose of humor make this a documentary that parents and teens will both enjoy. INTELLIGENT DESIGN Intelligent Design (ID) proponents celebrate a Designer but purposely won’t mention who He is. It’s a familiar enough strategy for Christians in the public square: the world demands we leave God out of it, and for some reason we listen to them rather than Him (Ps. 96:3)! But while ID is afraid to go much beyond toppling evolution, that shouldn’t stop us from taking their findings and going further, giving credit to the Brilliant Triune Engineer. The Master Designer: the song 2014 / 76 minutes RATING: 8/10 I appreciated this documentary’s patience, keeping to just a half dozen animals, to allow the time to explore each one in some depth. It begins with the bee and its amazing ability to make honey. Did you know “It takes 556 bees flying a total of 55,000 miles to gather nectar from an astounding 2 million flowers to make a single pound of honey”? Though a bee has a brain the size of a seed, it’s a brilliant architect, with a hive’s hexagonal honeycomb structure maximizing storage capacity. Weirder and more wonderful, the bee communicates through the language of dance – yes, really! – wiggling this way and that to tell the other bees where the nectar is to be found. And we shouldn’t forget that honey itself is amazing in that it never spoils! And that’s just the first of the six critters we get to meet. Revolutionary: Michael Behe and the mystery of the molecular machines 2016 / 60 minutes RATING: 7/10 Revolutionary is about what a quiet professor did to get Darwinian evolutionists very, very upset with him. Michael Behe seems to believe in an old earth and that some sort of evolution may well have occurred. So why would Darwinians be so very disturbed by him? Because Behe doesn’t believe the world came about by chance. While studying the human cell he realized the microscopic machines within it are so intricate and complex it’s inconceivable they could have come about via only random mutation and natural selection. This is in part, a history of the ID movement, which Behe had a big hand in beginning. But the real “star” of the show is one of those “micro-machines” that so fascinated him: the bacterial flagellum motor that can manage 100,000 revolutions per minute. Behe is too quiet to keep kid’s attention, but he’s also an ID giant, and someone worth knowing. HONORABLE MENTION: Michael Behe’s Science Uprising: a revolutionary case for Intelligent Design (2019-) series might be just the thing for teens. With 10 different short videos, just 6-10 minutes each, this comes in bite-sized chunks. And there’s still plenty to chew on here, with topics like “The myth of the Multiverse,” “Mutations break’ they don’t create,” and “No, you are not a robot made out of meat.” ECONOMICS Economics is a bigger spiritual battlefield than maybe most Christians realize. Just consider how, while God commands us not to covet our neighbor’s goods, those on the Left make envy out to be downright virtuous, peaking over the fence at what the millionaires and billionaires have. So, this often-neglected sphere is worth further study. The Pursuit 2019 / 77 minutes RATING: 7/10 The Pursuit is the story of one man’s search for the best way to lift the world’s poorest out of their poverty. And what the former French-horn player and current globe-trotting economics professor Arthur Brooks discovered is that it’s the free market that did this, that lifted literally billions out of extreme poverty. So why would a Buddhist/Catholic former French horn player make a good guide for Christians interested in learning about economics, and the benefits of the free market? It’s because, as much as he might differ from us in big ways and small, his case for free trade is built on principles that line right up with Scripture. He doesn’t quote it, but his foundation is the Second Greatest Commandment (Matt. 22:36-40) – Brooks is clearly motivated by a love for his neighbor. Love Gov: Breaking up with government is hard to do 2015 / 25 minutes RATING: 8/10 An economic argument for small government presented as a comedic romance? Hmmmm… Alexis is thinking of quitting college to start her own business, but then she meets the strangely charming Scott Govinsky (known as “Gov” to his friends). Gov is so very caring and supportive. And eager to help. And he never seems to runs out of advice. Perfect material for a boyfriend? Alexis thinks so…at first. The problem is, Gov’s advice isn’t nearly as helpful as it seems. Alexis’ new boyfriend Gov is a stand-in for our government, which wants to mind our business because it cares for us so deeply. But as much as the politicians and bureaucrats might mean well, that doesn’t mean they are doing well…which is what Love Gov tries to show. That’s a point worth sharing with our kids, and this series 5 short 5-minutes videos makes for quick viewing. But these are libertarians, not Christians, teaching the lesson here, so parental guidance is a must. Watch the whole 5 episode series here. THEOLOGY Theology is the study of God, and as the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it (Ps. 24:1) so, in a very real sense, all the other documentaries are theological too. But here it we get to learn more about God without anything distracting from our focus. The God Who Speaks 2018 / 92 minutes RATING: 9/10 The God Who Speaks makes the case that God still speaks to us today like He did with His prophets, doing so through Scripture. Alistair Begg, R.C. Sproul, Albert Mohler, Frank Turek, Kevin DeYoung, and Norman Geisler are some of the names here, all speaking to how the Bible attests to its own Divine origin. Really worth checking out! The Marks of a Cult: a biblical analysis 2005 / 115 minutes RATING: 8/10 How would you define a cult? What this documentary focuses on are religious groups that have some connections to biblical Christianity, but which have departed so far from it, that they are worshipping another God. The film offers Christians an easily understandable way of spotting those departures by using the four common math operations. As the host explains it, “A group can be classified as a cult when they: 1. Add to the 66 books of the bible… 2. Subtract from the triunity of God by either denying the personhood or the deity of one or more members of the Godhead 3. Multiply works necessary for salvation 4. Divide the loyalties of their followers from God…” These math symbols are then used as the documentary’s four “chapters” and serve as logical breaks for any who might prefer to digest this 2-hour documentary in chunks. PRO-LIFE Is there a bigger tragedy in our age? Are there any victims more vulnerable, and more in need of someone to speak up for them? Here’s some help to get you ready. Babies are murdered here 2014 / 54 minutes RATING: 8/10 This is a must-see for anyone sitting on the sidelines. Where the film gets controversial is in the producers’ argument that we must name the sin that is going on behind clinic doors, using stark, clear terms, like “murder.” Do they want us shrieking it as women enter abortion clinics? Not at all. The men and women we see here witnessing are carrying large signs that read “Babies are Murdered Here” but there isn’t a hint of self-righteousness about them. They are clear, and generally pretty winsome too; truth is being coupled with grace. Their approach is comparable to pro-lifers who make use of large graphic pictures and pair that with soft-spoken words. 180: from pro-choice to pro-life in minutes 2011 / 33 minutes Rating: 7/10 What kind of question would prompt a pro-choicer to become pro-life almost instantly? What street preacher Ray Comfort does here is confront people with the incoherence of their own views. When he asks them to explain what circumstances make it permissible to kill a baby, each of his interviewees is brought short. They don’t want to say we can kill a human being simply because they might grow up poor. Or because they are unwanted. Or because they are inconvenient. Their conscience convicts them with the knowledge that these are not good reasons to murder someone. By asking his pointed question Comfort makes them realize that they have never really thought through the issue of abortion before. Comfort’s approach will not work with any who have hardened their conscience. But for the ignorant or confused, what Comfort presents is incredibly clarifying. HONORABLE MENTIONS: While Fearfully and Wonderfully Made (49 minutes) is little more than a PowerPoint lecture, it’s an amazing lecture, which is why it was for years, among Answers In Genesis’s top-selling DVDs. A Christian looking at their newborn might call the child a “little miracle” but Dr. Menton reveals the insufficiency of this description. There isn’t just one miracle involved in the conception and birth of a child – numerous miracles are involved at every stage, even before conception occurs. Any adult who gives it 15 minutes will want to stay for the rest of it, and will be sharing this link with all their friends! Back 2019, to mark 50 years since Pierre Trudeau’s government first legalized abortion, pro-life organizations came together to make The Missing Project (75 minutes). It’s an important film, for the history lesson it provides, and for how it explains the division that exists among pro-lifers, between “abolitionists” and “incrementalists.” Who are these two camps? Abolitionists argue we can never settle for half measures – we need to push for a total ban on abortion. Incrementalists want this same end, but believe the best way forward is one step at a time. What’s missing from this film is any sort of explicitly Christian defense of the unborn. Our value, and everyone’s equality, can only be properly grounded in what we all share – being made in the Image of God (Gen. 9:6) – so that is a notable omission. APOLOGETICS We’re called to have a ready response to any who want to know about the hope we have (1 Peter 3:15) because of Jesus. How can we do that? What would it look like? Here’s a couple of masterclasses. Collision 2009/ 88 minutes RATING: 9/10 In May 2007, leading atheist Christopher Hitchens and pastor Douglas Wilson were asked by Christianity Today to dialogue on the question “Is Christianity good for the world?” They wrote six exchanges which were printed in the magazine and then, in 2008, compiled into a book. When the two men headed out to do an east-coast book tour, filmmaker Darren Doane tagged along. He captured their exchanges and interactions, both onstage in formal debate settings, and as they conversed over a pint of beer in the local pub. The end result is the most entertaining and enthralling debate you will ever see on film. This is a must see for its able demonstration of presuppositional apologetics. (Don’t know what that is? See the next documentary.) The attacks that Hitchens levels against God and Christianity are mimicked on secular campuses, so Wilson’s able defense of the faith will be instructive and will be an encouragement to our young people when they face these same attacks from their professors and fellow students. You can watch it on Facebook here. How to Answer the Fool 2013 / 85 minutes RATING: 8/10 While Wilson, in Collision, gives the better demonstration of presuppositional apologetics, Sye Ten Bruggencate gives the better explanation of it here. Some Christians will try to provide atheists with reasons for why they should believe in the Bible, and for why they should believe in God. In How to Answer the Fool, Ten Bruggencate teaches us to start with the Bible instead, and to present to the unbeliever the fact that it is only by acknowledging God, and the Bible as his Word, that the world makes any sense. Or to borrow from a C.S. Lewis analogy in Weight of Glory, this is believing in the Bible for the same sort of reason we believe in the sun. It’s not because we see it but because by it, we can see everything else. HONORABLE MENTION: The Fool (2019 / 65 minutes) is the true story of how evangelist Ray Comfort was ridiculed by atheists the world over for a silly joke he made that fell flat. But God was using Ray’s humiliation: these same atheists started inviting Ray onto their shows, podcasts, and stages and they let him say anything he wanted. So Comfort used these forums to share the Gospel with thousands of atheists at a time. Atheists even took Ray’s books and read through them on their YouTube channels, all in an attempt to mock him. But the end result was they read out a Gospel presentation to their listeners. As Ray asks, “Who but God could take atheists and not only have them listen to the Gospel, but have them proclaim it?” Find more than 100 other documentary recommendations, many of them also free to see, at ReformedPerspective.ca/100....

In a Nutshell

Tidbits – October 2025

No one even knows how to bake bread Our new Prime Minister is very sure he has just the right recipe to get the country’s economy going, and his plan involves more governmental control. But what if an economy is too complex for such top-down control? That’s the case Walter E. Williams (1936-2020) makes when he highlights how no one, on their own, would even have the know-how to bake a loaf of bread: “We’re all grossly ignorant about most things that we use and encounter in our daily lives, but each of us is knowledgeable about tiny, relatively inconsequential things. For example, a baker might be the best baker in town, but he’s grossly ignorant about virtually all the inputs that allow him to be the best baker. “What is he likely to know about what goes into the processing of the natural gas that fuels his oven? For that matter, what does he know about oven manufacture? “Then, there are all the ingredients he uses – flour, sugar, yeast, vanilla and milk. Is he likely to know how to grow wheat and sugar and how to protect the crop from diseases and pests? What is he likely to know about vanilla extraction and yeast production? “Just as important is the question of how all the people who produce and deliver all these items know what he needs and when he needs them. There are literally millions of people cooperating with one another to ensure that the baker has all the necessary inputs. It’s the miracle of the market and prices that gets the job done so efficiently. What’s called the market is simply a collection of millions upon millions of independent decision makers not only in America but around the world. Who or what coordinates the activities all of these people? “Rest assured, it’s not a bakery czar.” Hollywood romance ain’t right Hollywood tells us that there is one special someone, one soulmate, just one person out there who, as Jerry Maguire put it, completes us. Blogger Matt Walsh sums up the Christian position in one sentence: “I didn’t marry my wife because she’s The One, she’s The One because I married her.” How many did you know? By one estimate, there are 170,000 English words in common usage. Here a baker’s dozen of some that our kids probably don’t know, but you might. How many can you define? Answers are at the bottom of the page. • Agog • Dawdle • Defenestration • Discombobulate • Flibbertigibbet • Gobbledygook • Hullabaloo • Kerfuffle • Lollygag • Malarky • Skedaddle • Snollygoster • Verklempt A trick that’s a treat The Dutch have, through the years, earned a reputation for being wise with their money. We, after all, invented the Dutch treat, which halved the cost of dating! But while we worked hard to earn this reputation, we can’t just rest on our laurels and hope to retain our penny-pinching crown. In other words, what have we done lately? I've canvassed Dutch people across the world asking them for their best money-saving ideas (if you have any, please pass them on) and here's one that’s appropriate to this time of year. It seems a particularly smart Dutch mother used to send her children out trick-or-treating early. Very early. The children would hustle door to door, as quick as they could. Then, when they had enough, they would run on home to their mother, who would proceed to divide their bounty into two piles: one of stuff they liked, and the other of all the candy they didn’t want. She then handed out this second pile to the trick-or-treaters who came to her door! This is the sort of stuff that will let us keep the Dutch thrifty reputation intact. Why governments mismanage the economy You’d be hard-pressed to find, in the Bible, a role for the government in “managing” the economy. And you’d find plenty of texts warning against arrogance (Prov. 26:12, Rom. 12:3, etc.). Along those lines, one argument against big government is the capabilities of the people it puts in charge of billion- and trillion-dollar decisions. It’s a task that’s beyond any man, and all the more obviously so in recent instances. Was Justin Trudeau ever an astute businessman? Joe Biden? Canada now has a prime minister who has an extensive economic background, but with other people’s money. In contrast, an entrepreneur has his own skin in the game, and when he blows it, he pays the price. A politician is playing around with others’ money, and if his plan doesn’t work, the politician can hide the impact by saddling the next generation with the cost of his failure. That leaves politicians with a motivation to take risks that businessmen never would. Here's three more reasons that government is prone to economic mismanagement. “The first lesson of economics is scarcity: There is never enough of anything to satisfy all those who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics.” – Thomas Sowell “What our nation needs is a separation of 'business and state’ as it has a separation of 'church and state.’ That would mean crony capitalism and crony socialism could not survive.” – Walter E. Williams “One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.” – Milton Friedman English is a silly language No wonder it’s hard to spell correctly. As Bernard Shaw once pointed out, ghoti could quite logically spell “fish”: with the gh from the word enough, the o from women and the ti from nation. Now do you get it? Some years back in an issue Faith in Focus, Dick G. Vanderpyl told the story of Jack, and his blasphemous coworker. Jack was a good Christian lad, so when his co-worker started taking the Lord’s name in vain, Jack asked him to stop. Unfortunately, no matter how Jack begged him to stop, this guy just couldn’t do it. It was an ingrained habit! Well, one morning, just as they were starting work, Jack decided to use a different approach. When his workmate started swearing Jack started swearing back, not using God’s name, but instead using Queen Elizabeth’s name as an expletive. That got his mate really riled up, and he demanded that Jack stop abusing his Queen. “If you can abuse my Lord and King, I can abuse your Queen,” Jack responded. Though the whole incident almost resulted in a punch-up, in the end Jack’s mate laughed, apologized, and never swore around him again. Homeschooling: the why and why not One objection to homeschooling is that homeschooled children may not fit in with the world around them. One reason parents choose to homeschool their children is so that they won’t fit in with the world around them. More tricky treating If you’re not a fan of the blood and gore associated with Halloween, take a curmudgeonly stand this year and reserve most of your sweets for the sweet. When a cute little princess shows up at your door, give her a huge handful of goodies. An adorable fuzzy bear deserves at least a few Mars bars and a couple of those really good chocolate doppler candies. A courageous knight might even be worthy of a giant milk chocolate letter “C” (for courageous). The forces of evil should not fare as well. Dark sinister skeletons, for example, only rate a tootsie roll at best, while a guy with an ax stuck in his head should get no more than a breath mint (the undead probably have bad breath). This discriminatory candy giving is even more fun when a ghoulish zombie shows up on your doorstep at the same time as a lovable puppy dog. Give the Zombie his due, and then watch his eyes grow as the lovable puppy get richly rewarded. Have a happy Halloween everyone! Answers from the top of the page Agog – very eager and curious to find out what’s what Dawdle – to lollygag Defenestration – tossing folks out a window (happened so often in Prague during the Reformation that they had to come up with a word for it) Discombobulate – to confuse or disconcert Flibbertigibbet – a flighty, silly chatterbox Gobbledygook – nonsense speech, coming from babies or intellectuals Hullabaloo – quite the kerfuffle Kerfuffle – a commotion or goodly amount of fuss Lollygag – to move slowly, especially when speed is required Malarky – complete and utter nonsense Skedaddle – to leave, quickly Snollygoster – an unprincipled politician Verklempt – to be overcome with emotion...

Theology

Genesis: theology and history!

A common objection to understanding Genesis 1 as history is that we should instead take it as theology. We’re told that God wants us to learn about Himself, and not history here. But it doesn’t have to be one or the other. In 1 Corinthians 10, the Apostle Paul says something very important about the relationship between the “text” of Scripture and the “history” recorded in Scripture. We need to keep this connection between God's work in history and the message of the words of Scripture in mind, so we can rightly understand the importance of the events recorded in Scripture. Paul is speaking in this passage about the events of the Exodus and the wilderness wanderings, and the importance of these events for his readers: Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. – 1 Corinthians 10:6-11, (ESV) Note carefully the words Paul uses in this passage. “These things occurred.” “These things happened.” These were actual events in history, and that is important. To say that they were recorded in Scripture to make a theological point, a theological point that should have a great impact on all of God's people, is absolutely true. They were “written down for our instruction.” But not only were these stories written down as warnings, “these things happened to them as an example”! There is no dichotomy here between theology and history; the two are so tightly linked that they cannot be torn apart. It's not “either-or.” It's “both-and”! Did God use a recognizable pattern in his work of creation? Yes, he did, and that pattern was meant to teach us many very important things. But to say that his work is recorded in a pattern that is meant to teach must not be used as a reason to deny that what is recorded is a true and accurate account of actual events. Our God is the God of history, not merely the God of ideas. This first appeared in the June 2015 issue....

Assorted

Charlie Kirk in context

Many will condemn a man for an isolated sentence or two. Christians do it too. Instead, we should assess others just as we would like to be judged (Matt. 7:12). ***** If you have liberal friends or family, then in the days and weeks after Charlie Kirk’s murder, you probably saw all sorts of Kirk quotes, shared by them to warn people about what a problematic figure Kirk supposedly was. While Kirk had his flaws, the most common quotes being shared were generally not at all what they first seemed, being taken right out of context. As Proverbs 18:17 teaches us, “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him” so we need to go beyond that first impression, and do the cross examination. We can do so, not as people who must defend Charlie Kirk, wrong or right, but instead as God’s people, equipped by Him to discern right from wrong. Using our discernment, it’s easy to see that Kirk was attacked by the Left, not for what he might have gotten wrong, but for how often he expressed godly thoughts bravely and clearly. So, we shouldn’t accept their word for any of it. We need to check whether the quote is: 1) even accurate 2) in context So, what follows, are a few of the more common accusations stated in bold, and then put in context right below. “I don’t believe in empathy.” This is likely as much a misquote as it is a quote out of context. You can find Kirk saying he didn’t like this particular term, and wasn’t at all opposed to feeling for the injured and suffering. What he has said along these lines is: “I can’t stand the word empathy. Actually, I think empathy is a made-up, new age term that does a lot of damage. But it’s very effective when it comes to politics. Sympathy, I prefer more than empathy.” “Black women do not have the brain processing power to be taken seriously.” This was pitched as proof of Kirk being racist. Like the previous “quote” it is both inaccurate and out of context. Kirk wasn’t insulting black women in general; he found it ridiculous that four specific black women were proudly declaring they were beneficiaries of affirmative action. Kirk was arguing, during the July 13, 2023 episode of his podcast, that affirmative action is the opposite of earning something. He thought it funny, then, that anyone would brag about being an affirmative action beneficiary. “If we would have said three weeks ago... that Joy Reid and Michelle Obama and Sheila Jackson Lee and Ketanji Brown Jackson were affirmative-action picks, we would have been called racist. But now they're coming out and they're saying it for us! They're coming out and they're saying, ‘I'm only here because of affirmative action.’ Yeah, we know. You do not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously. You had to go steal a white person's slot to go be taken somewhat seriously. In other words, he wasn’t critiquing black women. He was criticizing these four black women. “If I see a black pilot, I am now going to wonder: Boy, I hope he’s qualified.” Charlie Kirk is no fan of affirmative action, which responds to past discrimination by flipping the script – you are still judged by the color of your skin, but the racism is directed the opposite way now. Here he was responding to a 2021 United Airlines plan to have half their pilot trainees be blacks or women, and among the points he was making was that this kind of DEI/affirmative action has the effect of undercutting blacks who are qualified, by giving people a reason to question whether they earned their position or were just given it on the basis of their skin color. Black economics professor Thomas Sowell made a similar point, on the Uncommon Knowledge podcast about how his students treated him: “I received more automatic respect when I first began teaching in 1962 as an inexperienced young man with no PhD and few publications than I did later in the 1970s after accumulating a more substantial record. What happened in between was affirmative action hiring of minority faculty.” "I think it's worth it. I think it's worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the 2nd Amendment to protect our other God-given rights." Longer and shorter wersions of this quote circulated again after Kirk was killed by a gun-wielding assassin. While Kirk’s enemies were sharing it gleefully, the quote was blunt enough to shock Kirk-appreciating Christians. Why would he say something like that? How can any gun deaths be “worth it”? In this case, the quote was entirely accurate, but in need of context. As Christians we know life is to be revered as a precious gift from God. But we live in a broken world in which death is an ever-present enemy – everything we do comes with risks of injury, and even death. The example Kirk used was that: “Driving comes with a price. 50,000 people die on the road every year.” Do we think that’s “worth it”? We could cut down on those deaths entirely by banning cars. But, of course, that comes with a cost too, in all the freedoms that come with driving, like a broader range of places you can live, or work, or people you can visit, foods you can eat, and entertainment you can enjoy. All of that would be severely curtailed. And, there would come a cost in lives too, in that without ambulances, some wouldn’t get to the hospital in time. We can agree or disagree with Kirk on whether the 2nd Amendment is worth the price being paid, but we should acknowledge his larger point. The Left will deny or ignore it, but life always involves tradeoffs, and freedoms always come with risks. Photo of Charlie Kirk during his 2024 “You’re Being Brainwashed” university tour. Picture is adapted from one by Gage Skidmore and used under a CC BY-SA 2.0 license....

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