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Education

Podcasts to get you educated, not schooled

Only universities give degrees, but you can get an education even while you’re driving, jogging, or mowing the lawn

*****

About forty years ago, when I was taking my Bachelor of Education degree at the University of Alberta, I got schooled, but not all that educated. I was schooled in both senses of the word – both getting some training in how to teach, and just plain made to feel like a fool.

GETTING SCHOOLED AT A SECULAR U

My “Educational Foundations” professor was, I found out, a lapsed Catholic, and proselytizing atheist. I’d met atheists before – kids in my neighborhood as I grew up – but never one who was educated and articulate and eager to use class time to pitch his anti-Christian worldview.

My instructor seemed pretty confident about his atheism, and that left me shook. And it got me studying how to better understand the Christian worldview and be able to defend it. This self-study is really where my education started. My actual education degree never did set me up well to make year plans (the first thing a teacher needs to start organizing the courses they teach), but the very secular university’s library thankfully included several books on worldview and apologetics. I started my defense of my faith in two different libraries – the university’s, and also my dad’s much better stocked basement bookshelves (better in quality, if not in quantity).

In short, while university did not educate me well, it did provoke me (and even equip me, to some degree) to educate myself.

Could that happen now? It seems doubtful. I wonder whether the university library would still stock books as useful as the ones I took out to learn more about the Christian worldview. As well, how many (even lapsed) Catholics or Christians of any kind are still teaching in secular universities?

Even if you wanted to build up your faith in university, you would still face the monumental challenge of trying to absorb solid Christian teaching while (as I had to do at some points) reading (and taking notes on!?) fifty pages a night from the secular textbooks mandated for the courses you were taking.

GETTING AN AUDIO EDUCATION

So, how now shall we learn? If you don’t need or want post-secondary education, or you’re finished yours, and (like all of us), your time is limited, and (like many of us), you’re “not a reader” (!?) then what? How can you get not schooled, but educated?

One answer has been promoted by Jordan Peterson, who believes that this generation could be the best educated in history, because we have access to the internet, and through it, to podcasts and videos from the best thinkers of our day. One way to see the potential advantages of Peterson’s suggestion is to compare this method of self-education with one from a hundred years ago. The Everyman’s Library book collection started in 1906 to promote the reading of classic literature.

One obvious advantage of internet education over Everyman’s Library is cost. The cheapest volume I could find from Everyman’s had a price of £10.99 or roughly $20 Canadian. Meanwhile podcasts and YouTube videos are free (although there is always more material behind a subscription paywall!).

The second advantage of education online is the time involved. Although I can always find time to read a book (brushing your teeth, during breakfast…), reading generally demands exclusive attention, while “talking head” videos and podcasts can be heard while you are otherwise active (of course, not while juggling or other involved activities). It is worth noting that audio books have the same advantage.

The final advantage of internet learning over the Everyman’s Library is the sheer volume of material on the internet. Of course, that can be pretty overwhelming; hence the list of great places to listen below.

DISTRACTION VS. EDUCATION

A couple words of caution are warranted.

First, the internet can be a dangerous place to spend your time, even when you are getting educated. It’s easy to go down rabbit trails, because everything connects to everything else. The very fact that book learning involves more commitment in time and money tends to promote greater care in the selection of authors and their work. As we often hear about grocery shopping, stick to your list. Browsing the internet may not be as expensive as browsing the supermarket, but it is potentially at least as great a waste of time.

Secondly, let me offer a word about “outrage porn.” Podcasts and video creators make money on getting more clicks and longer time on their platforms from their audience, and one sure way to do that is to stoke our anger…. but God warns us against both anger and worry about things that we have no power to change. James exhorts us to be “slow to anger, for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:19-20), while Christ, who is Himself “gentle and lowly” (unlike many podcasters), asks, “which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” (Matt. 11:29, 6:27). A good rule of thumb is to focus on podcasts or YouTube channels that bring an appreciation of God’s glory in creation and redemption into your life, that make you more effective in your service to God and your neighbor, or that equip you to be salt and light in a society that desperately needs both, and needs even more the Christ that they deny.

6 TO START WITH

With all that said, here are half a dozen great bets for your internet time. Click on the headings below for links to their respective websites.

1. Real Talk
Let’s begin with what might already be near and dear to RP readers: Real Talk, which you can also find on our own Reformed Perspective app. The two hosts have settled into a great rhythm, with over 100 episodes behind them. When the podcast started in July 2020, both Lucas Holtvlüwer and Tyler Vanderwoude appeared together to interview guests with extensive practical experience in such areas as Christian education and the missional church, with feedback every second episode. As time went on, each became more confident to host certain episodes solo, and the feedback episodes are now called “Real Talk Roundup” and feature other RP personalities, best book lists, and other highlights, with recent topics of real relevance, like “Death and Dying” and “Parenting and Pornography.” You can find them on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Amazon, Spotify, and www.RealTalkPodcast.ca.

2. Two Stewards
For more Canadian content, check out the Two Stewards. As the homepage says, they explore “money, economics, real estate investing and more from a Christian worldview.” Although the podcast opens with the warning that Mark Krikke and Brent Vanderwoude are not giving professional financial advice, the listening enjoyment they do provide is packed with plenty of insight. For example, they rightly saw the latest hostility to giving your children an inheritance as motivated by covetousness, and contradicting the Biblical commendation for “ good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children” (Prov. 13:22). Wisdom backed up by God’s Word combined with good-natured banter between the two stewards (and with their guests) makes this podcast both entertaining and thought-provoking. Find them on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

3. The Briefing… and more
While Albert Mohler, a Southern Baptist, has experienced his share of controversy, his website has a wealth of listenable resources:

•    The Briefing – Mohler’s take on the day
•    Thinking in Public – roughly hour-long interviews with noted Christian and/or conservative writers
•    Speaking and Teaching – shorter takes on a variety of Christian and current topics
•    and clips from his “Ask Anything” tours.

These can all be found on Apple PodcastsYouTube, Spotify, and AlbertMohler.com.

4. Ligonier
From a solidly Reformed (and generally paedobaptist) perspective, Ligonier Ministries has even more resources than Mohler, some of them current, and many more in archives: seven different podcasts of varying frequencies, at least 545 sermons from the late R.C. Sproul, daily videos on doctrinal issues, and more than 100 teaching series from multiple teachers (with multiple videos in each series) all of which are available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Ligonier Ministries also has a YouTube channel that includes enlightening and sometimes entertaining clips of question-and-answer sessions from Ligonier Ministries conferences, with answers from such well-known writers and speakers as Stephen Nichols and Sinclair Ferguson.

5. Breakpoint this Week
Another solidly Christian organization, Breakpoint Ministries gives you several ways to get educated while listening, including the daily Breakpoint Podcast and a podcast called Breakpoint This Week – with a focus on applying Christian worldview to current events and trends. A recent daily podcast applied the Biblical command to “bear one another’s burdens” to the stress of intensive parenting, while the September 13 weekly podcast discussed, among other topics, abortion distortions in the presidential debate and the younger generation’s view of 9/11. Breakpoint This Week can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

6. Created to Reign
The Cornwall Alliance has a solidly Christian perspective on economic and environmental stewardship, as is evidenced in their multitude of current articles. That worldview is evident in their podcast too, hosted by Dr. E. Calvin Beisner and Dr. David Legates, and titled Created to Reign. Two recent episodes of Created to Reign explained why free markets are generally not only more effective in helping the poor, but more just. Find it on Spotify, Amazon Music, and Apple Podcasts.

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News

Saturday Selection – Oct 5, 2024

Click on the titles for the linked articles... Christian filmmakers are getting creative... The knock on Christian films has always been two-fold: poor production values, and a shallow depiction of good and evil with the good guys simply too good and the bad guys utterly soulless. There are some bad folks who are simplistically wicked – I just saw a chilling bit about a euthanasist in Canada who reveled in her death-dealing – but as the Bible shows us with the wise and weak Solomon, the righteous and murderous David, the believing and mistrusting Abraham, God's people sure aren't saved by their own merits! Even the best people are seriously flawed. Now, I've only watched the trailer for Average Joe (see below), so I can't speak to the characterization. But I wanted to share it for the production value side – it shows a level of skilled playfulness that we haven't seen often in Christian films. Coming out later this year, Average Joe is the true story of a public high school football coach who got in trouble for praying publicly after games. Funnest bit of the trailer is when the coach and his wife break the fourth wall, the two of them sharing their different recollections of a kiss. I hope the film is as good! Did God create life on other planets? Otherwise, why is the universe so big? "The Bible’s ‘big picture’ seems to preclude intelligent life elsewhere" but it wouldn't seem to preclude something like bacterial life, or even animals, on other planets. So why haven't we found any? Might it be because, while the Bible would allow for alien life, evolution needs it? Evolutionists argue that life from non-life is plausible, and if it is, and it has happened here in abundance, then of course it must have happened elsewhere amongst the billions of stars and planets. So the lack of alien life is a message from God – another blessing from Him – highlighting just how impossible life from non-life, without an Omnipotent Creator, really is. How was the pronunciation of God's Name lost? Today Christians treat many words as absolutely forbidden - you won't find a Christian novel using the F-word, and Christian movies don't have anyone, even farmers, using the other four-letter word for "poop." But you will regularly find both using God's name in vain. Thousands of years ago, the Israelites had it the other way around, being so careful about God's Name that the pronunciation of it was lost – no one living today knows how to pronounce YHWH. So, "why did the Israelites go from swearing by Yahweh’s name, and using it in prayer, song, and greetings, to forbidding its use altogether?" Tim Challies: Stop swiping, start serving You probably didn't get drunk this past week. But you likely succumbed to other forms of escapism whether it was hours of video games, Netflix binging, or swiping through your phone's feed. 11 reasons two-parents is the ideal Sometimes it isn't possible, but let's not lose sight that it should be the goal. Contra mundum Here's one for Church History teachers when you're tackling Athanasius. And here's one for politicians when the media, or your party leader, directs their attention your way. And here's one for all the rest of us when we are tempted to back down, not because we are wrong, but only because we are standing against the room. ...

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News

Alberta to help pay for independent school construction

A massive growth in population had Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announce $8.6 billion in funding, over three years, towards building new schools in the province. And for the first time ever, a provincial government has said it will help cover the construction costs of new independent schools too. It’s this decision to fund private schools' construction that has received the attention and predictable outcry. “This policy shift increases the siphoning by funneling what sounds like unlimited public capital funds to pay for the construction of exclusive buildings that most Albertan kids cannot access,” complained the communications director of the activist organization Support Our Students Alberta in a column in the Edmonton Journal. Independent schools in Alberta currently qualify for 70 per cent funding of operating revenue, but they have to cover all their own capital costs. Michael Van Pelt and Catharine Kavanagh, from Cardus, defended the premier’s announcement in their own hard-hitting article, also published in the Edmonton Journal: “Public education includes 45,000 Alberta kids attending independent schools. They too are members of the public — and their education is as much public as it is in any government-run school.” Van Pelt and Kavanagh explained that every child that is educated at an independent school leaves an open space in a “big-board” school. And that saves the province $3,400 per student. Further, independent schools have grown at three times the rate of public schools since 2022, so they are experiencing far more expansion pressure. Specific details haven’t been shared yet about how the province hopes to help fund capital projects for independent schools. While government funding can be a massive relief to Christian parents, increased funding can so easily result in an increased reliance on the government. It was only six years ago that a previous Alberta government demanded Christian schools add terms like gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation to their policies, allow “gay-straight alliance” clubs, and remove some of their references to the Lord and the infallibility of Scripture from their policies. Schools that didn’t bow their knee were threatened with a loss of funding and accreditation. So, while funding can be a blessing, let’s be careful to not make our children’s education dependent on it....

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Politics

What is going on with Canada’s conservative leaders?

Pierre Poilievre, Danielle Smith, and John Rustad have discovered success in a “blue ocean” ***** When the leaves rustle and the winds blow in the valley that I call home, there is a good possibility that a new weather system is brewing. Over the past year, a political wind that began in Ottawa and carried on through Alberta has reached BC. Something significant is changing, and the new system is catching the old guard in Canada’s political and media landscape off guard. Under Conservative Party of Canada Leader Pierre Poilievre, New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, and now also BC Conservative Party leader John Rustad, conservative politicians are figuring out how to champion conservative principles, skirting the mainstream media gatekeepers. And they are being rewarded with a growing and energized base of support that has eluded their predecessors. Now, for something completely different The concept of “blue ocean vs. red ocean strategy” was first introduced in a 2015 bestselling business book called Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne. The book explained how businesses’ traditional strategy involved them trying to outperform their rivals to capture more of the existing market – businesses succeed by taking market share away from their competitors. With this strategy the ocean is red because there is blood in the water from all the fierce competition. In contrast, those who employ a blue ocean strategy leave that contested realm altogether by creating an entirely new market space through innovation, where there is little to no competition. Now there’s no need to beat the competition, because the competition doesn’t even exist. A classic example is the introduction of the iPhone to the mobile phone market. Apple made something people didn’t even realize they wanted and had the market to themselves for years, still dominating it today. Although the blue ocean strategy is usually confined to business school, conservative politicians, and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre in particular, have discovered a place for innovation in Canada’s political landscape. By championing conservative principles publicly, and communicating them directly to voters via social media (like his YouTube channel), Poilievre is making both the mainstream media and the traditional way of doing politics far less relevant. This innovation is not only translating into political success in the polls and ballot box, it is emboldening other conservatives to champion conservative principles, and to do so with a level of conviction that hasn’t been seen for many decades. Out with the old For fifteen of my past seventeen years, I devoted much of my livelihood to promoting Christian principles in Canadian law and public policy. The organization I led worked closely with MPs, MPSs and MLAs, encouraging them to advance laws that would uphold life, freedom, and flourishing. Although we developed good relationships with government officials from a variety of political parties, we worked most closely with conservative officials, since many of them shared similar principles. Some of these MPs and MLAs were champions. They were willing to devote their political career to defend the values that motivated them to run for office in the first place. But, without fail, the chief obstacle to these principled men and women was not their political adversaries inside or outside the legislature, but their own parties. The party leader, as well as a relatively small group of un-elected staffers, were convinced that their chief purpose was to form government, at which point they could really make a difference. And the only way to form government was to hide or minimize many of the principles that activated the party base. But as Reformed Perspective’s editor Jon Dykstra explained so well in a piece already back in 2016, “while power is a wonderful servant it is a terrible master. When getting elected is our first priority, then everything else – including our message – must serve that goal.” And those who wielded the sword decided that conservative principles, especially social conservative ones, were a liability. If there was even a whiff of social conservative values being promoted beyond the office walls, these MPs and MLAs were often put in their place. That meant staying in the back benches and being denied opportunities for influence. Time and again I witnessed how, after hundreds of hours of work to spearhead and build a coalition of support around a worthy initiative, such as a new bill, inevitably the MP behind it would get a call from above, scuttling the effort. “It isn’t the right time” was the most commonly used and accepted justification. “Perhaps when we form government.” Of course that would change to “when we have a majority” to “we don’t want to lose this majority.” It was never the right time. These leaders and staff were perpetually in fear of the media. Talking points were carefully crafted in a way that the media may find them worth sharing in a favorable light. Yet in spite of all their efforts, the media had its own interests and were happy to share the narrative the way they wanted. So what happens when the desire for power overrides conviction, principles, and ideology? It doesn’t take long and the party is little different than any other parties that share this same prioritization of power. It is little surprising that only about 6 in 10 eligible voters bother to vote when the parties don’t stand for much. But it isn’t just demoralizing for voters. It also takes away the motivation to volunteer for, donate to, and even care about candidates and parties. Speaking from experience, it is hard to be motivated to give my time and money to candidates who say one thing in private and something entirely different in public. What has come from the leadership of Andrew Scheer and Erin O’Toole (federally), Tim Hudak and Patrick Brown (Ontario), Brian Jean (Alberta), and Kevin Falcon (BC)? Have they left any legacy, either through principled policy that was advanced, or through championing conservative principles so that Canadians would at least understand the direction we could have gone? After so many years of failed ambitions, have these leaders and staffers learned their lesson? More often than not, instead they chose to blame their lack of political success on the “extreme” elements in their party who dared to speak up for principles that they believed in and were “caught” by the media. What a contrast this is to leaders from the other side of the political spectrum, who have continued to champion their “progressive” values, even back when these values were considered extreme. Pierre Poilievre finds a blue ocean Quite the change happened on the federal scene when a relatively-unknown MP, Pierre Poilievre, won the leadership of the Conservative Party in 2022, in the first ballot. Poilievre was a whole lot more than a good communicator who happened to come on the scene at the right time. That is red ocean thinking – competing in the existing market to win. Instead, Poilievre is to be credited with showing that the old way Canadian conservatives did politics is obsolete. He did this in two ways. First, unlike the leaders before him, Poilievre was willing to take a stand on conservative principles, even if it risked making him the center of fire from the political and media elites. For example, he showed up at the Trucker Convoy in Ottawa in 2022, standing with those whom all the other mainstream political leaders declared to be on the “fringe.” And although previous Conservative Party leaders were fearful about making any principled stands on social issues, he was clear and public in his opposition to providing surgery and puberty blockers to gender-confused youth. And he stood up for parental notification in cases where children want to change the name or pronouns they go by at school. He regularly challenges woke culture and says out loud that he wants to defund the CBC. But having ideological conviction isn’t itself enough to have created a whole new “ocean” of possibilities. He combined this with a new medium of communication. Instead of relying on the mainstream media to reach Canadians, he largely ignored them and spoke directly to the public through his own channels, especially YouTube. Poilievre’s videos allowed him to not only frame an issue the way he wanted, it also allowed him to explain it with a depth that the mainstream media rarely provides. For example, he produced a 15-minute documentary about housing that has been billed “the first of its kind in Canadian politics” and has garnered millions of views across platforms. It is one thing to get 30 seconds to communicate a message to distracted Canadians on TV, and another entirely to have Canadians choosing to give 15 minutes of their own time to be educated about why housing has become so expensive, and about possible policy solutions. And when the media tried to nail him with accusations of “taking a page out of Donald Trump’s playbook,” Poilievre responded with simple questions of his own, all while munching on an apple. That too has become a YouTube sensation, with millions of views. Yet another strike for the “legacy” media. More leaders find the blue ocean Poilievre’s approach has struck a chord with millions of Canadians who no longer trust what they are being told by the legacy media. The Conservative Party polls have climbed to levels not seen in their 21-year history. They are currently tracking twenty points beyond the next party. In the past year we have seen other conservative leaders copying these tactics by: 1) being willing to demonstrate their own convictions 2) actively circumventing the legacy media Danielle Smith is the most notable example. I followed her personal newsletter during Covid and didn’t think it was possible for someone with her strong views on the subject to be elected to office. But I was wrong. She didn’t back down from her opinions, and was rewarded with the top role in the province. And I’m seeing this play out in even more dramatic fashion in my home province of BC right now. The BC Conservative Party hasn’t held power since 1952 and didn’t elect even one MLA in the last election. They weren’t even considered a serious contender in BC politics until last year when they received official party status in the legislature after two MLAs left the BC Liberal Party to join the BC Conservatives. One of those MLAs was John Rustad, who went on to become the leader of the fledgling party. Yet within a year, he has this party neck and neck with the NDP, contending to win the upcoming provincial election in October. I first met John Rustad when he kindly agreed to join a group of local residents in a neighboring community for a dessert social, so that they could get to know their MLA. What was striking about him then hasn’t changed today – he is an ordinary guy who cares about this province. He is humble but confident about the truth. And he isn’t scared to say the truth, even if his party leadership or the mainstream media disagree. Rustad didn’t leave his former party because he was looking for better opportunities. He was kicked out, after challenging the established thinking on climate change. And then, for his very first question in the legislature as the party leader, he called on the Premier to replace the government’s sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) program in the province’s schools. SOGI, like climate change, was another sacred cow that the BC Liberals didn’t want their members to publicly talk about unless they were upholding the “progressive” consensus. Not only have the BC Conservatives exploded in popularity, the BC United Party (formerly known as the BC Liberal Party) collapsed almost overnight. Kevin Falcon, the United leader responsible for kicking Rustad out, humbly chose to not run the United party against the Conservatives. And the NDP, who were favorites to win the election, are suddenly rethinking their own progressive policies, announcing that they support getting rid of the carbon tax if allowed by the federal government and reversing their opposition to involuntary care for those with mental health and addiction issues. This is all the more remarkable when you consider BC was the first province to put a carbon tax in place. From blue oceans to blue skies We may be encouraged by, and even rejoice in, some of what these politicians and parties are now embracing. It is a welcome change from the political leadership we experienced over the past decade. But just as their new approach was unthinkable a few years ago, there are so many more principles and opportunities that are still unthinkable in today’s political climate… but which would be a great blessing to our nation and society. Imagine a country where our leaders humbled themselves under our sovereign God, acknowledging that He is Lord over all. Imagine a constitution and laws that uphold God’s unchanging will for humanity. Instead of appealing to “common sense,” our leaders would direct our eyes to God’s Word. Imagine the blessings that would flow from a nation that prioritized marriage, as God designed it, and the children that God so graciously gives to many. A nation where the rule of law is upheld and our leaders are hungry to pursue justice and uphold the fundamental freedoms that God has granted. It isn’t just the world that gets mixed up on priorities. I’m also guilty of prioritizing power over principles. If I’m in a public forum, I’m tempted to stick to values that others will share. I downplay or hide what God has made very clear in His Word, even though I confess that “I delight in your decrees” and “I will speak of your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame” (Ps. 119:16, 46). Yes, we need to be prudent and not throw pearls before the swine (Matt. 7:6). But if we love our neighbors, we should want the very best for them. Cutting taxes and shrinking government is great, but it doesn’t get close to addressing the real brokenness in our culture and country. The real problem isn’t taxes or restrictions, but sin. And the amazing reality is that there is a solution! Jesus Christ offers the kind of life and freedom that can never be taken away. So while we can be grateful that some of our leaders have discovered blue oceans, and that may be as good as we get in the political realm today, let's point them and all our neighbors to blue skies. Real and lasting hope are found in Christ alone. Picture credits: Pierre Poilievre: screenshot from “How do you like them apples? Part 1”; John Rustad: screenshot of a Sept. 13 tweet; Danielle Smith: Marvin Samuel Tolentino Pineda / istockphoto.com...

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In a Nutshell

Tidbits – September 2024

Lord of the Rings on dating If you’re having trouble mustering the courage to ask out the girl you’re interested in, just know you aren’t alone. Dilly-dallying when it comes to dating is common to many a man… and even a hobbit or two. As a certain Jesse Cox tweeted, in the Lord of the Rings films we see: “… Samwise Gamgee traveled across the world and carried his best friend up a volcano in order to gain the courage to ask out a girl who was already interested in him.” Samwise did finally get around to it, and his Rosie said yes, and they went on to have 13 kids. But hobbits live longer than we do, so if you’re going to have 13 kids too, don’t be dithering as long as Sam! Dads rock “If masculinity were truly toxic, then kids growing up without fathers would presumably be better off than those who have them. But they’re not.” – Noelle Thea I wish this guy had won The new girls' team? This past election I recognized the gentleman at the door as a fellow youth league basketball coach. He was running for the public school board, so we got to talking about what he’d do when the transgenderism the government was pushing made an appearance in our small town. What would he do if a visiting girls' basketball team included a couple of very confused guys? His answer? He’d get the guys' team to identify as girls, just for the day, then beat the out-of-towners by a hundred or so. And, hopefully, that would put an end to that. I’ve shared his plan with friends, and the question comes up: would it be honest? I think so, and far more honest than letting the transgender lie go unopposed. After all, no one involved in this stunt – on either team or in the stands – would think our boys are really saying they are girls. These young men would be making the exact opposite point, loudly and clearly, and be protecting our girl athletes too. If we wanted to be even more up front we could have our guys explain that they “identify as girls to the same extent that #3 and #11 on the other team are girls.” No lie there. We can see this sort of thing in the Bible too – consider how the prophet Nathan used an entirely fictitious scenario to have David judge his own adultery (2 Sam. 12:4). The Bible teaches (see also 1 Kings 20:27-43, not to mention Josh. 2:1-7) that there is a time when a lie can serve the truth. In this high school setting the real deception is on the other side, and the proposed stunt would only expose their lie. Last year Canadian powerlifting coach Avi Silverberg did something like this in his sport. The bearded Silverberg showed up at a women’s event, and then, according to the New York Post, he “casually bench-pressed nearly 370 pounds,” beating the previous Alberta women’s record by almost 100 pounds. And who held that record before him? A confused guy by the name of Anne Andres. Silverberg exited without explaining himself, but his point was quite clear. Christians could do something like this and be even clearer. The problem isn’t primarily that these confused men are ruining women’s sports. The real battle is over whether God made us male and female (Gen. 1:26-27). For the sake of our confused world we need to bring them God’s clear proclamation, and not simply the half measure of someone's common sense. Darkness is an opportunity to show the way, shining the light of the Gospel – it's an opening for evangelism, if we take it. Then and now “The early church wanted to know 'What must I do to be saved?’ Today’s church is asking, 'What can I do and still be saved?’” – Paul Washer Same outfit on repeat Author Amy Krouse Rosenthal once decided to conduct a year-long experiment that involved wearing basically the same outfit every day – a solid black top and gray pants, with the occasional black dress thrown into the mix. She had several of each, enough to make laundry easy to manage. She didn’t tell anyone about her experiment except for family and a few close friends. As she described the experiment, it seems like she didn’t even know why she was doing it. A bit of it was about how it might be freeing to never have to spend time thinking about what she would wear. But it wasn’t like she spent all that much time thinking about it in the first place. After more than six months of it, she was getting tired of her limited options, and found that “getting dressed was always easy but never pleasing.” Still, she finished off the year. And, after 12 months, here was her biggest illumination: “No one noticed. Not one single person ever said to me, Amy, why are you wearing those same gray pants and black shirt every time I see you? This information is equal parts humbling, depressing, and liberating." Humbling, yes, to realize that folks aren’t paying much attention to us. But liberating, too, because it means that as embarrassed as you might have felt today, folks probably aren’t going to remember how you tripped over your own feet. Getting cut down to size can be a very good thing, so long as we remember Who really is the center of the universe, and remember too, our special status, being made in His Image (Gen 1:26-27). Down low on the Down Under Did you know that boomerangs are Australia’s biggest export? And they're also their biggest import. A poem for the upcoming election season I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed: And on the pedestal these words appear: "My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" No thing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away. — Percy Shelley, "Ozymandias" Hasn’t he heard “Boy named Sue”? “I don’t like country music, but I don’t mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means ‘put down.’” – Bob Newhart Best ads from the 2024 US election Election campaign ads are too often just name-calling but every now and again they say something significant. What follows are a few of this year’s more revealing ads. A Trump campaign ad highlighted how Kamala Harris has supported taxpayer-funded sex changes for prisoners. The ad’s tagline? “Kamala’s for they/them; Trump is for you.” In an ad for Kamala Harris, voters were urged to vote for change: “There’s promise that lies in change, and the time for change is now… it’s time for hope, for change….” The Babylon Bee spoof of the ad wasn’t all that different: “'I will fix things if you vote me into office,' says woman currently in office.” The Constitution Party ran an ad that pulled no punches: “… We’re reaping what we’ve sown. The blood of millions of babies cries for vengeance, and God hears their blood. We must repent as a nation to avoid the wrath of God for killing His children. That means we must stop voting for Democrats that murder babies by abortion." In a nostalgic turn, the Trump campaign shared Ronald Reagan’s closing comments from his 1980 debate with Jimmy Carter: “Are you better off than you were four years ago? Is it easier for you to go buy things in the store than it was four years ago? Is there more or less unemployment in the country than there was four years ago? Is America as respected throughout the world as it was? Do you feel that our security is as safe? That were as strong as we were four years ago? If you don’t think that this course that we’ve been on for the last four years is what you would like to see us follow for the next four, then I could suggest another choice that you have.” Thermostat, not thermometer "There was a time when the Church was very powerful – in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the Church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being 'disturbers of the peace' and 'outside agitators.' But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were ‘a colony of heaven,’ called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment... By their effort and example, they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contests. Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound….” – Martin Luther King Jr....

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Sports betting explodes across Canada

Since Canada legalized sports betting in 2021, the industry has exploded, and last week the Edmonton Oilers and the Alberta government were just the latest to cash in. On Sept. 9 the Oilers announced that they were getting sponsored by Play Alberta – the government’s own online gambling platform – to put a patch on the team’s home jerseys. Many fans weren’t impressed; an online poll by the Edmonton Journal’s hockey writer David Staples had the majority annoyed with the Oilers for degrading their uniform. But what about a government that promotes a vice that harms their own citizens? Those harms aren’t limited to Alberta. With three years of data on hand, the Christian think tank Cardus has just published an extensive report about the hidden harms of sports betting in Ontario. Their report shared that sports viewers in Ontario now get hit with 2.8 gambling references every minute of a live sports broadcast. The advertising is effective – the number of sports betting accounts is climbing quickly in Ontario, from 492,000 in the first quarter of 2023, to 1.3 million today. The average being lost by each of those 1.3 million gamblers is $283 each month. As is always the case with gambling, the biggest winner is the company, organization, or government behind the scheme. Revenue from betting increased from an already huge $368.1 million to a staggering $588 million just from 2023 to 2024. It isn’t only sports betting that has taken off. Revenue from casino gaming saw an even greater spike, doubling from $854.8 million to $1.78 billion. Gambling is bad stewardship of what God has entrusted to us, because the odds are always stacked in favor of the house. Even if you do win it is only because your neighbor has lost, and lost big. And gambling is also addictive – sadly, those who have the least to steward are often the most likely to be hurt by this addiction, adding the additional yoke of debt to their already-challenging lives....

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Liberal MP reminds journalist who holds the purse strings

Ongoing funding of Canada’s media by the federal Liberal government appears to be emboldening some government officials to demand favorable reporting. On Sept. 7, Liberal MP Taleeb Noormohamed weighed in on a tweet made the previous day by Terry Newman, a senior editor at the National Post. Newman’s tweet on X was critical of immigration minister Marc Miller specifically and the Liberal government overall, and that didn’t sit well with Noormohamed who replied with his own public post: “Your paper wouldn’t be in business were it not for the subsidies that the government that you hate put in place....” Newman was quick on the draw. “Okay. You win. You pay my salary,” she replied.  “I’ll stop criticizing your government now. Please don’t fire me.” Mr. Noormohamed is well aware of the National Post’s funding, since he sat on the “National Forum on the Media” parliamentary committee this summer where he argued that since reporters were taking government money and were still remaining critical of the government, clearly such funding wasn’t a problem. However, now, only a couple months later, he is the one making what appears to be an implicit threat to a journalist who dares challenge his government. For years now the Liberal government has been channeling hundreds of millions of dollars to media outlets that meet their criteria. “We’re pretty close, by my estimation, to a 50 percent wage subsidy on journalist salaries up to $85,000 per year,” noted Rudyard Griffiths, executive director of The Hub, a relatively new non-profit media organization that has been very intentional about not taking government funding. A recent poll has found that more Canadians say “a lot of the news is just government propaganda” than “the news is fair and transparent.” And almost twice as many respondents said “I don’t think I get the truth from mainstream news in Canada,” as said “I get the truth from the news.” Media outlets have been struggling financially in recent years as the public is increasingly unwilling to pay for a publication, relying instead on social media and other online content to stay informed. The federal government stepped in to help with direct funding, including a $595 million dollar bailout and a “Special Measures for Journalism” fund that provides tens of millions in cash to numerous publications each year. But one of the inevitable consequences of a government-funded media is that it makes it difficult for the public to trust that such media is independent of the government, and able to report objectively about the government’s decisions....

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Saturday Selections – September 14, 2024

Why not raise the minimum wage to $100? Transgender thinking has infected economics too, with politicians applying the same wishes-can-reshape-reality thinking as they hike the minimum wage. They've decided if they say workers are worth $15 a hour, then they will be. But if such wishing really did make it so, why not hike it to $25 an hour? Or $50? Or as this video (from 7 years back) asks, why not $100? It's because in the real world, the minimum wage is actually an employment ban on anyone who can't bring that amount of value to their employer. Inexperienced workers, handicapped workers, or elderly workers who might work at a slower gear could all be barred from employment. And if we made the minimum wage $100 an hour, that would ban a lot of people. But why is it okay when we ban smaller numbers of people at $15 a hour? And how did it become the government's role to decide not simply whether or not people should be allowed to offer their labor at a lower rate, but whether they should be allowed to work at all? Why did God create viruses and bacteria? While we don't understand all that bacteria and viruses might have done before the Fall into sin, some of their current useful functions give us some clues. 4 arguments against doctor-assisted murder These are 4 really good arguments to stack on top of the foundational truth that our lives are given by God, and therefore are not our own to dispose of as we would. As He has said, don't murder. Psychology of marriage There's an old joke about a band of scientists and researchers who set out to scale Mount Intellect, rising up from the valleys of ignorance. They scrape their way slowly up, and as they finally summit the highest peak, they find a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries. God made us for marriage, for commitment, and thus that's so much better for us than "shacking up." And now some psychologists have discovered and explained how making the choice to commit is better for us. Welcome to the summit, gentlemen. A Christian’s practical guide to reproductive technology 3 key takeaways: Doctors create an average of 15 embryos in a single round of IVF. Unfortunately, only 3-7% of all created embryos result in the live birth of a child. The outcomes of IVF are not neutral. Children born through IVF have a higher likelihood of cancer, autism, minor cleft pallet, or a congenital heart defect. A diagnosis or season of infertility does not mean that a couple will never have children; only that it may require more work and time than they initially expected. Is Gen Z really the poorest generation?  God forbids covetousness in the 10th Commandment, and one powerful way to counter temptation in this direction is to count our blessings. So, yes, many are worse off than they were just 5 years ago. But even the struggling Gen Z is probably doing a lot better than their grandparents were in the 70s. This video is American, but there's a lot of transfer to what's going on north of the border. ...

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Dying Well

The five Ws of funeral planning

I can think of many times I’ve answered the phone at the funeral home and the person on the other end of the line expressed a need to plan a funeral, but didn’t know where to start. They wanted to have the conversation, but did not know what questions to ask or how to begin the conversation. Hopefully, by asking and answering some basic questions I can help prompt your thoughts and ideas about end-of-life planning. Who? Funeral planning can be done by anybody. At some point in the Christian life, we are confronted with our own mortality and that gets us thinking about our exit plan. Christians should give careful attention to funeral planning, since a funeral is a final witness to those left behind about what we believe and hold dear, and is an opportunity for the gospel comfort to be presented to our family and friends and leave a lasting impression. My father, a retired pastor, has said on occasion that he prefers to preach at a funeral rather than a wedding, because those in attendance at a funeral are usually listening more closely. A great question to ask yourself is, “What do I want my funeral to communicate?” Funerals are for the living, so funerals must be relevant and meaningful to those left behind. Planning ahead for your own funeral may be the only time you arrange an event for everyone in your life to attend but not yourself. Funeral planning is often done by the recently bereaved. Death comes sooner than expected many times, and a sudden, tragic loss can cause us to go numb, and feel like we are going through the motions in a daze. A trusted funeral director is vital to help you navigate all the decisions that need to be made and help you to stay within budget as plans are formulated. Ultimately, your executor (or if there is no will, your closest kin) has legal authority to make your funeral decisions. They should be carefully selected and clearly informed of your wishes. What? Planning ahead can take many forms. It can simply be a conversation between spouses, parents and children, or friends about wishes a person may have regarding a funeral. It could also involve a conversation between a parishioner and a pastor about what text, songs and message should be incorporated into the funeral liturgy. Planning ahead can also involve some more practical steps, such as purchasing cemetery interment rights, selecting a funeral home to assist your family, choosing services and other items like a casket, cemetery vault, marker or monument, and even setting aside the funds to pay for them. In many areas you can research some of this information ahead of time from a funeral home’s website to educate yourself. There is typically no cost for a funeral planning consultation appointment and recording your preferences on file at a funeral home. If a death has already taken place, decisions need to be made rather quickly. There could be as many as 25 or more things to decide in a short period of time about a loved one’s funeral, ranging from which funeral home should look after the arrangements to what outfit he or she should be dressed in, to who the organist or pianist should be. Choose a funeral director who you know is going to be a helpful guide through all the decisions that need to be made. When? Funeral planning should be done at your own pace. Any cemetery or funeral provider who is aggressively pursuing you or pressuring you should be avoided. Your funeral provider should provide plenty of information and choices and show a long-term commitment to your local community. Look for a referral if you are new in town. Planning ahead for a funeral is often done in conjunction with retirement planning, or when a family home or other assets are sold, or when conversations about aging and end of life tend to come up naturally. Funeral planning without making a will is like building a chair with only two legs. These things should be done in tandem. The timing of funeral planning conversations can be difficult to navigate, especially when one party is more willing to discuss the topic than the other. But talking about it doesn’t make it happen any sooner, it only helps you to be more prepared. Maybe that sounds cliché, but there is truth to this statement, especially as we confess God’s providence in life and in death. Involving other family members, such as adult children, in the conversation can be helpful to move along in a productive way. Funeral planning should be done earlier than you might think. For those who are married, funeral planning is a mutual gift that you can give to your spouse (kind of like when my wife and I signed our wills on our anniversary). It allows you to make decisions together. I have seen many surviving spouses burdened with making the final decision on all the details when nothing has been planned ahead of time. If you are single, planning ahead allows you to have some control and say over the details of your own funeral, rather than leaving everything in the hands of your executor. Planning early also allows you time to consider all the options, and plan for the expenses. Where? Conversations can be shared anywhere. They can happen while on a drive, over a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, at a family gathering, or while sharing a quiet moment. Somewhere along the way you need to capture the content of the conversations and put it on paper. We often sit around the family kitchen table to help people, whether for planning ahead, or when someone has died. Arrangements can also be discussed at the funeral home by appointment. Why? Planning ahead has a financial benefit, as a prepaid funeral arrangement offers guarantees and the investment of funds that protect the family from any future inflation of costs. Planning is preparing. It allows you to face difficult realities with loved ones, and to say confidently that even though it will be so hard, we will be able to face death, that last enemy, standing on God’s promises, as they are boldly proclaimed to us as part of a well-planned funeral. Having those conversations ahead of time can really make all the difference and set us off in the right direction on the grief journey when the time comes to say goodbye to a loved one. Garnet VanPopta Rick is a funeral director at Kitching, Steepe & Ludwig Funeral Home in Hamilton, Ontario. You can email him at [email protected]....

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Internet

On becoming tech-savvy Christians

Technology changes so quickly that we can become bewildered over what to think about all the new products, services and platforms that appear and disappear. A new technology can be hyped to the sky one moment, and fall into disuse the next month. (Case in point: who still uses Clubhouse?) But some technology has a profound ability to change our world. We wonder, how do we approach these? What should we think about them, from a Christian point of view? Here are a few pieces we’ve published in the past that can help us with several new technologies that seem to be sticking around a bit longer. Click on the titles to go to the linked articles. CHATGPT AND OTHER AI Demystifying ChatGPT The latest thing being hyped is artificial intelligence, and the most well-known example of AI is ChatGPT. What is ChatGPT and how does it work? If you feel confused, Thomas VanDrunen breaks it down in simple terms. 3 things we need to tell our kids about ChatGPT It’s one thing to understand technology such as ChatGPT, it’s another to know what we should teach our kids about it. Here are some pointers about what kids might need to know. Is AI just another tool, or something else? New technologies often appear to be useful tools that make life easier, and their negative consequences can take more time to reveal themselves. Artificial intelligence is one of the latest technologies to catch attention, but we should be aware of these potential drawbacks. CRYPTOCURRENCIES Christians can’t “invest” in cryptocurrency For a while, “investing” in cryptocurrencies looked like the newest and greatest way to make money. Here’s why Christians shouldn’t “invest” in these projects. THE SOCIAL WEB Our dangerous diet of clips, tweets, memes, and headlines This article doesn’t even mention TikTok, but it illustrates a trend that’s gotten far worse. Our tendency to absorb information in bite-sized chunks has decreased our ability to know much about any one thing in depth, even while we might have a larger number of things we know a little bit about. When navigating the online world, it’s good to keep this in mind. What might we be missing? Where should we be more humble about our understanding of an issue? TikTok passes 2 billion downloads Speaking of TikTok, what is TikTok? Here's a quick summary of this incredibly popular app. One week in: Facebook isn’t for everyone What is it like to give up Facebook? It can reveal a lot about our dependence on so-called “social” media. REST OF THE 'NET Is our curiosity controlling us, or are we controlling it? The answer to almost everything is a quick internet search away. Anytime we wonder about something, or have a friendly debate over a piece of trivia, we can easily settle the question. But curiosity, while often a force for good, can also become an endless search for something “new” and interesting. Our brains thirst for the next intriguing bit of information. Then we should consider whether it’s really us in control, or our curiosity. Solomon on smartphones and the pull of pornography Speaking of the online world, we should all be well aware by now of some of the dangers of the shadier corners of the internet. That doesn’t mean we always navigate the internet wisely, especially with devices in our pockets that offer us 24/7 temptation. In this article, Ryan DeJonge walks through the guidance that the book of Proverbs offers Christians and how it can help with the battle against pornography. …the Internet can pervert anything Pornography is the obvious danger when it comes to the Internet, but it’s not the only thing to watch out for. The internet can pervert anything. Emily Arend gives some examples of how innocent interests can lead down a darker path. Wikipedia: reader beware Wikipedia is one of the most well-known and well-used websites on the internet, and it’s been around for a long time (by tech standards). But its limitations are becoming more apparent. Sure, there’s a chance Wikipedia can be inaccurate, but a bigger issue is the potential for bias, especially in topics that venture into the realm of controversy or opinion. SMARTPHONES Reflections on “12 ways your phone is changing you” We know cellphones have changed our world drastically, but they might have a bigger impact than we realize. Author Tony Reinke has written a book on exactly this, which we review here. Our phones’ always-available distraction, disconnection from face-to-face interaction, sense of privacy that encourages temptation, and one-sided algorithms can lead us away from the Christlikeness we’re called to. The smartphone stack There are many suggestions to increase face-to-face interactions and get off our phones, and it’s worth trying a few to figure out what works for you. Here is one simple yet practical suggestion to try with a group! TOWARDS A POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH TECH Technology and our anxious hearts As a pastor, Reuben Bredenhof has noticed more and more people dealing with a sense of unease, and feeling unsettled, fearful and restless. A lot of this anxiety can be traced back to our use of technology. Here he addresses some of the common anxieties that technology brings out in us, and counteracts these messages with a Christian response. God can give us peace even when it comes to technology. Elon Musk and visions of the future Elon Musk has a vision of the future. Christians should have a vision of the future as well, but do we know what it is? In our tech-obsessed world, we should have our eyes fixed on our ultimate hope! CONCLUSION The cycle of new technology will continue to turn, and we will keep being confronted by innovations, and new decisions about how to interact with these new things. But ultimately “there is nothing new under the sun” – the creations of humankind will be influenced by our sinful nature as well as our God-given creativity. It will take a lot of wisdom and prayer to navigate our changing world, but we can rest in the security that ultimately every tool is under God’s control....

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Saturday Selections – August 24, 2024

Abe Lincoln with a lesson on lying The smartest politicians don't break promises; like Abe here, they try not to make any promises at all. Pro-life voters need to watch out lest their votes go to politicians who won't be pinned down as to what they'll actually do for the unborn. Aging peacefully It comes to all of us, that moment when we realize that there's that certain something that we enjoyed before, but we have to let go of now because of age. This is a mom writing, but I think guys will empathize too. An old challenge to old earth assumptions 20 years ago creationists sent coal samples to secular labs to test for Carbon-14, which has a half-life of 5,730 years, and shouldn't exist in coal beds that are said to be 50 million, 100 million, and 300 million years old. And yet, it was found. So either those coal beds are much, much younger or.... Well, two decades later, evolutionists still don't have much of an answer to offer. How to minimize digital distractions in your marriage "Do you struggle with digital distractions? Is it sleeping next to your phone? Watching TV at night to 'wind' down? Most of our time is spent in front of a screen instead of being in front of real people – most importantly, our spouses – who are looking to us for connection." When “helping” kids hurts them Christians should be wary of secular psychology (and any Christian counseling that leans heavily on it) as it understands us as minds but not also as souls. It also doesn't recognize our true purpose and true identity (as created by God to glorify and enjoy Him forever) and so can't offer any sort of corrective to patients confused about these most important matters. It's lack of any firm footing means it's liable to fall for the latest thing, as it has in siding with the transgender agenda, pushing the impossible notion of "transitioning" on already troubled patients. And it also means that, as this article details: "...over 40% of young adults have a mental health diagnosis, twice the rate of the general population. So, the generation most treated for psychological well-being is doing the worst psychologically." More unintended consequences One of the premises behind government-run economies is that people are simple. The socialists don't put it quite that way, of course, but that's what they'd need if their governments were to have any chance at managing the economy: citizen's interests, desires, and actions would need to be easy to predict and easy to direct with just a push or pull of the right political lever. But what this video, and the many others in this series, show, is that leaders is government and industry too repeatedly fail at properly predicting how folks are going to act. And if people are complex, then the best government is going to be the one that recognizes its own inability to know, let alone meet, those less than predictable, desires. ...

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Dying Well

Let the little children come

Children can’t be sheltered from the death of a loved one. But they can be comforted. ***** Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matt. 19:14) A year before I was born, my oldest brother Sidney died in a car accident. My parents and nine siblings navigated the visitation and funeral as best they could. In 1984, death and grief were not as openly discussed as they are today. In hindsight, my parents wished they would have slowed everything down a little, giving themselves more time as a family to take in what had just happened and also to prepare my two youngest brothers for the experience. These brothers were kindly babysat by a lady from their church during the visitation and funeral. But now, as grown adults and parents themselves, they still have clear memories of that time and they wish they had been included in the funeral events. Ten years later, when I was eight years old, we lost my brother Justin in a car accident as well. This time, as siblings, we were able to experience things together as much as we wished to be included. Not everyone wanted to go to the accident site, but some of us did. There wasn’t a question of whether we were too young to attend his visitation and funeral; we all attended. From the oldest to the youngest, we shook hands with hundreds of people who came out from our church community to support us. My brother Reuben, who was 11, and I might have taken breaks to run around the funeral home for a bit, even getting in trouble from the funeral director just once. Sidney, Justin, and Jason, three of Diane’s siblings who died young. I share this to be realistic. I strongly believe that children need to be included in all family events in an age-appropriate manner. This starts with being truthful about what has happened. “Grandpa has died, and his soul has gone to heaven to be with Jesus.” We need to steer away from terms like sleeping or resting. Not being honest with a child can cause confusion and even unnecessary fear of what death actually is. Telling them they cannot see their loved one in the casket because “it is not appropriate for kids” only makes their imagination run wild, potentially leading to real fear and avoidance of death or funeral homes in adulthood. I know adults who were made to fear funeral homes and caskets as children, and now they struggle to attend visitations and funerals to support their own friends and church communities. This is unfortunate, as death is a part of life, as God speaks of this in Ecclesiastes 3:1-2: “To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted.” In 2014, we lost my brother Jason to cancer at 45 years old. Now, as an adult, I had also been a funeral director for over eight years. This was a different grief for me than when I was eight years old. I had this brother my whole life; he was my friend, and now it was time to say goodbye. Navigating the funeral details with my brother’s wife and ensuring his children felt included was crucial. They all came to the funeral home the day after his death to pick out his casket. They stood in the visitation receiving line and attended the funeral. Seeing their young friends come to support these grieving children was so special to see. I am glad that, as a society, we see more and more children coming to support their friends who have lost a loved one. This will help raise young people with a healthy perspective on death and dying and with the understanding that those who are grieving need their support. God has also made it possible for us to share these difficult experiences in a positive way! “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” (2 Cor. 1:3-4) Diane Vanderwoude Russell is funeral director at Kitching, Steepe & Ludwig Funeral Home in Hamilton, Ontario. You can email her at [email protected]....

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Saturday Selections – August 17, 2024

Click on the titles below to go to the linked articles... The wrong folk think God, the Bible, and Christianity are relevant in the political sphere After Trump was shot, a picture circulated showing Christ with a bandage on his ear – they were equating Trump with the Son of God, and that wasn't the first time either! On the Left, California governor Gavin Newsom's campaign paid for billboards to run in Mississippi that read "Need an abortion? California is ready to help" and underneath were the words from Mark 12:31: "Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment than these." In the clip below you'll see 50 preachers who are taking their talking points from the Kamala Harris campaign, preaching to their congregations that they need to support one of the most pro-abortion candidates ever. This isn't a reason to keep religion out of politics. It is a reason for God's people to speak up more, lest we abandon the public square to blasphemous pseudo-Christians. SUPERCUT: The week after Biden dropped out of the presidential race, I found over 50 churches hyping Kamala Harris during their worship services, clearly using shared talking points. Here we see some of them sharing the good news of the Vice President's fundraising numbers: pic.twitter.com/Z7BPr8x6VZ — Woke Preacher Clips (@WokePreacherTV) August 9, 2024 How long pets live Parents, if your kids are asking you for a giant tortoise, just say no! They might not eat all that much, and be easy to keep up with, but getting one for your family is a commitment that could last 300 years! To find a pet that won't outlast your children's children, click on the link above for a very helpful chart. Conspiracy fact: there really is a brilliant malevolent force working behind the scenes Peter Mead writes on how Christians are "inclined to bury our heads in the sand regarding evil in this world." We'll affirm Satan is real but won't acknowledge his work "in almost every layer of human influence and authority." And the problem with overlooking our spiritual adversary is that we're liable to miss the spiritual nature of the battle we're in – it's all about God's glory. The Devil would love it if he could get the world to follow their feelings, but he'd also enjoy everyone submitting to an objective reality so long as they do so without holding to God as the Author and Creator of it. When we mistake the battle we're in for some sort of merely political or cultural one, then we'll defend it as such, never mentioning God and robbing Him of the glory that is His due... which is the end the Devil was after in the first place. The curious case of the Christian Reformed Church (10 minute read) "'How many denominations have gone this far down the road toward theological liberalism and then put on the brakes in a significant way?' Monroe asked. None." This is a longer piece, but a fantastic overview of the liberal and orthodox twists and turns that have happened in the CRC denomination over the last 40 years, and in particular the last half dozen. On the brink of plunging into all sorts of sexual perversion, the CRC seems to be solidly reversing course. Praise God! Green Greenland was good A headline from the New Scientist this month read, "Fossils show Greenland was once ice-free – and could be again." That has some rather big implications for our climate change catastrophists who hold that it is a crisis for the Earth to be warmer. A shovel dance? (3 min) I'm not going to bother mentioning the title of the old Western this comes from because this is the best scene in it. And boy is it good! ...

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