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Book Reviews, Graphic novels

Eric's Greatest Race

The Inspiring True Story of Eric Liddell
by Tim Challies
2025 / 128 pages

Eric Liddell is probably best known as the man who refused to run the 100 meters at the 1924 Olympics because the finals were going to take place on a Sunday. He wanted to obey his LORD, and God's 4th Commandment:

"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns...." (Ex. 20:8-11).

Instead of the 100, Eric competed in two other events that weren't his specialty, the 200 and 400-meter races. While Hollywood played a little loose with the facts in their 1981 biopic Chariots of Fire, they got the gist right – Liddell went on to win a gold in the 400.

Tim Challies' comic book biography does better than the film in keeping strictly to the facts. It also includes more of Liddell's life. He and his brother were often separated from their missionary parents, but they both enjoyed their schooling and many athletic ventures. After his Olympic win, Liddell went on to become a missionary himself in China. When the Japanese invaded China during World War II, Liddell spent his final years as a prisoner in a Japanese internment camp where he encouraged other prisoners by pointing them to the God who was still in control, even in these circumstances. Liddell died in that camp right as the war was nearing an end in 1945.

Cautions

None.

Conclusion

I liked, but didn't love Eric's Greatest Race. What I liked was the opportunity to learn a little bit more about the man I'd first encountered in Chariots of Fire. But with only about 30 words a page, this was still quite a brief overview of his life. The black and white artwork is solid, but it isn't vivid enough to grab a young reader's attention. I pitched this to my teen daughter, and she echoed my own take: this is a solid base hit, but no home run.

That said, the comic format makes this more accessible to any interested audience than a book-length treatment could ever be. And those 30 words per page mean it is also a quick, easy read. I think Eric's Greatest Race would make a great addition to any Christian school library; however, there are more exciting options to consider as a gift for your kids or grandkids.

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Internet

Less screens = more life

What we learned by stepping away from our phones for 10 days ***** We were hoping for 200 to sign up. Turns out a lot of us were ready for this – more than 900 registered for RP’s July 21-30 screen-fast challenge, and we heard about others who joined the fast without signing up. Safe to say, over a thousand people across the country came together to put our screens in their place. That is amazing! But maybe it shouldn’t have been surprising. God’s people know He wants us to make good use of the time He’s given us, and we know that our phones too often have us wasting moments that turn into minutes, which can add up to lost hours each week. We needed to hit the reset and get back control. So how’d we all do? Of the 160 responses we received, three-quarters managed to stay away from their screens for 9 days or better. They also shared stories, tips on what worked, what they found toughest, suggestions on how we could do this even better next time, and what got them most excited about the fast. And we’re very excited to share their thoughts with you. EYE OPENING One term kept popping up in the feedback – “eye-opening.” “It was a very humbling experience for me. I am a fairly busy person as it is, between nursing school, 2 kids, and running a household, but I will say that the amount of hours I still managed to waste away doing mindless scrolling or pointless video-watching was disconcerting, to put it lightly.” “I thought I was pretty good about staying off my phone, but I really had to remind myself not to pick it up. I've only had a phone since October, and already it has become such an integral part of my life.” "The screen-fast started while we were away on vacation, and what a blessing this was! At first, I thought it would be easy; after all, I had books to read, family to visit with, and a beach calling my name. I had deleted all of my social media accounts a couple of years ago. I thought I barely used my phone in comparison to others. Boy, was I wrong. I never realized how often I was reaching for my phone, oftentimes for no specific purpose other than to fill time or cure boredom! Looking at the weather, reading the news, playing games – my phone sucked me in even without social media being present! The screen-fast has truly been a blessing. It reminded me of the value of being present, of shared experiences, of all the little moments that I would have missed out on had I been scrolling on my phone. I learned that it's okay to have moments of quiet, stillness, and even boredom! Sometimes, it is in these quiet moments of being in creation that God speaks the loudest: His power in the wind and waves, His beauty in the flowers, His tenderness, care, and grace towards me in that He used these moments to calm any anxieties that were lurking within me. Thank you, Reformed Perspective, for encouraging this experience!" “My oldest (11) had a hard time sticking to the screen-fast and caved 3 times. Hard to believe how much of a pull a screen has on a person! Makes me want to live in the Little House on the Prairie times, where screens just weren’t available and outside play was their entertainment.” “I just itched to check social media and would find myself comforted by just holding my phone close, even though there was nothing to look at. I realized that I don't like this about myself.” “It was well needed and brought my screen time down to about 15-30 minutes a day from my usual 2-2.5 hours. I hope to keep my screen time down as much as I can because I’m so much more productive and observant of the world around me when I’m not on it.” TOGETHER IS EASIER Some participants didn’t know anyone else doing it, even with a thousand across the country involved. Those with friends and family joining in found it much easier. “My sister and I challenged each other and we both finished (almost) successfully. We both started reading again after having lost the habit of reading and gained the habit of scrolling. I’m very happy to be reading again and I noticed how much I can get done with the time I used to waste. I will definitely be more careful with my screen time in the future.” “I found that since my family didn’t participate, it was hard to maintain self-control when others were using their devices.” “I did it with my wife – we found that especially when we were both free in the evening, we would be more productive, but also, we spent more quality time with each other. It made me realize how often I would just reach for my phone when I was bored or between tasks; it feels great to have kicked that habit.” "We had family come for summer holidays and they willingly partook (kids too)! Fishing and bike rides at 7 am rather than cartoons…win! We enjoyed creation so much more, especially in the evenings. I loved having it as a challenge; it kept me more accountable and successful. Thanks for doing this for us!" DON’T ALWAYS NEED INSTANT ANSWERS “I have a tendency to google everything as it comes up in a conversation, and not being able to was refreshing, and kept me more focused on the person instead of the topic.” “The thing that surprised me was how often I had the compulsion to Google a question that popped into my mind, or research the proper way to do something, or make a quick purchase of something I remembered I needed. I realized that technology is very helpful, but also there is benefit in taking a pause, making a shopping list, or asking a friend rather than Google when I have a gardening question. My 10-year-old said that she found more space to be creative when the computer and TV was off. " “My kids didn't miss their own screen time, but they realized how much they asked me to look things up for them. Not having immediate access to information is not such a bad thing.” FAMILY-LIFE Less screens = more life was evident on the home front. “We had meals at the kitchen table instead of in the living room while watching YouTube.” “I noticed our kids really improved in playing for longer periods of time. If they complained they were bored, I would suggest they try an activity for 20 minutes, and often 1 hour later they would still be busy.” “We did do more different things together when we didn't spend as much time playing games or watching videos on the TV or computer. It forced my kids, in particular, to stretch their imagination a bit to come up with more different things to do. The intermittent cries of 'I'm bored!' were met with, 'Well, then you need to find something to do!' My kids had always been good at keeping busy, but it was good for them to exercise those creative muscles, and remind us all of all the options that we have, both on and off the screen.” “The main things I've been struggling with were not wasting time on my phone (e.g., games, videos), not using my phone during time with my toddler, and not using my phone in bed, so I focused on those and was able to significantly improve in those areas. It definitely helped with spending quality time with my son without distractions so that I was more focused on him and his needs.” “It helped me reconnect with my wife. Instead of sitting on the couch consuming content in the evenings, we went for more walks and had more time to talk about what was going on.” “There was a lot more interacting happening throughout the family, and everyone seemed happier. It felt like a lot less fighting happened.” “It was easier to connect and interact with my kids. I realized how much I used my phone when they were awake even though I thought I was being conscious of not using it while they were awake." “My children (4 and under) appeared less needy, and I think it is because I was more focused on what was going on around me.” “Because I was screen-free, my kids didn't even ask for screen time. My 18-year-old daughter loved it. She noticed she was far more creative and read more books (which is her natural habitat) than when she had a screen to distract her.” “It was harder than I thought it would be. Especially right before bed. But not being on screens before bed allowed more time for my wife and I to spend time together.” WANTING TO BE AN EXAMPLE “Helped me to realize that in a screen-filled world, as a parent and adult, I am an example to my daughter and the younger generation as to how much a phone has a hold on me." “It was better when the children are around not to have YouTube on in the background; I could be more present with them, even while doing dishes. I think I will continue to try to save my Podcast/YouTube listening for when the children are in bed.” “I am disappointed that I didn’t do this sooner. My oldest kiddo is 7 and I feel like my phone has been a large part of her life. It’s my job now, as it was before, to teach her, along with my other kids, how to use this technology properly and not to use and abuse it. I am striving to use it less and less, and more for emergencies, or for the free time that I’ve allowed myself to use it.” DEVOTIONS Many mentioned how helpful the fast was for their devotions, making sure time with the Lord didn’t get crowded out by inconsequentials. “Just made me realize I need to read my bible FIRST……not after the morning's scroll!” "I found I actually had time to do my devotions in the morning, even if my kids were up. Before I had been grabbing my phone if I wasn’t going to have perfect uninterrupted time for devotions.” “My morning devotions improved immediately! When you don’t have your phone in the morning you really do need to replace it with something. " READING In addition to the Bible, many, many other books (and at least one magazine) were read too. One person shared: "More reading in 10 days than the last 3 years!” "I definitely did more reading! I haven’t picked up a fictional book in a long time because, as a busy mom, I found it a ‘waste of time’ to read fiction…. somehow scrolling on my phone every evening to have some mindless down time was better?! I don’t think so. I enjoy that time in the evening to relax for a bit, but it is much better spent reading an engaging book!” “I read the whole RP magazine front to back in the moments that I would pick up my phone when I was bored.” “The biggest difference for me was dedicating more intentional time to read. I managed to finish 3 of Jane Austen's novels. I'm thrilled to add them to my recommended reading list!” “…relearned how to read a book in under a day. Been through so many books.” “…for downtime, instead of watching a show every night like I normally do, I read more and had more conversations with my family as well.” BETTER MENTAL PLACE Sociologist Jonathan Haidt is convinced that social media is fueling this generation’s teen mental health crisis, but doing without Facebook and Instagram isn’t just good for the kids. “In regards to social media particularly, the fast made me realize that while social media can be enjoyable and good, it's also almost like a subconscious burden to try to ‘keep up’ with everyone and everything all the time. Being off of it for 10 days was really freeing and refreshing.” “I… learned that when I'm anxious, instead of running to Google to try to ease my anxiety, I should run to God in prayer.” “It felt good, in the sense that my brain didn't feel distracted by useless information coming in at a fast pace. I found I could spend time on my screen sorting photos, but I didn't scroll Instagram. It took a few days to notice that my brain felt a little less full, and I felt totally focused on my life, instead of having a 20-minute binge session after lunch to be inundated with strangers’ lives. I did read more, during that after-lunch quiet time, and also before bed. My screen time didn't interfere with family time, it was just something I would do to 'wind down' or 'relax' once kids were napping or in bed for the night. I didn't miss it. One evening I did log on to find a recipe I'd saved on Instagram and ended up scrolling...I felt gross. It felt like I had to re-join the real world when I finally put my phone down, and it became very obvious to me how little value it adds to my life for the amount of time spent on the app.” “One of the biggest things for me was not checking my work email on my phone. I didn’t realize how much head space that had been taking up! It was a big relaxant to have set hours to check only on my laptop.” “My brain felt quieter. All those little moments where I would have quickly checked Facebook, or scrolled, to ‘relax’ were removed from my day and I didn't realize how much they cluttered my mind. The screen-fast really helped me to be more aware of that, which will hopefully give me more control over those impulses to reach for my phone moving forward. My husband and I both did it and found ourselves going on more evening bike rides, having more chats, and just doing more quality time things than we did before. It was so refreshing, and I think we definitely feel more connected. I also had more focused time for devotions, and because I deleted many apps from my phone, I had no reason to pick it up and get distracted. I'm hoping to keep a lot of the habits enforced by the fast because I definitely need them, and life is better when your phone has less time in your hand!” “What a beautiful challenge! My experience was that I suddenly became much more present: in my home life, my church life, and my friend life. It brought me closer to God in my devotional time, provided time for reflection, enabled me to read most of a book, and granted me a peace that I didn't even realize was missing.” “I also felt less stress because I was not being inundated with news…. Although a person never thinks they are spending ‘that much’ time on their phone, it's not just the physical act of scrolling or being on social media. It occupies mental space after you put the phone down. Your attention is divided and things you see and do on your phone inadvertently affect your mood and ability to focus throughout the day. You may be worrying about something you saw in the news and it will affect how you treat people around you, even if you cannot do anything about it, or it doesn't even really affect you. You may be in the habit of checking your phone for notifications every few minutes (you'd be surprised how often you may do this) and it can make the simplest tasks take much longer than required, which will in turn make you feel frustrated. The less time you spend on your phone, the more wisdom you will use when you do pick it up. I noticed I was much less likely to scroll Instagram and more naturally inclined to listen to a sermon in the evening after the children were in bed. I was always feeling stressed about the time I thought I was spending on my phone, and appreciate the push to try just being on it less. It has certainly been an eye-opener for me!” “I found myself more content with everything, and could easily enjoy hobbies I had long forgotten. I found myself thanking God for the little moments and was reminded of the blessings He has given me." “I listen to a lot of podcasts and audiobooks while doing housework, and not doing that for 10 days made me realize that always having something on to listen to does not help me be present with my family. It was good to have the quiet space, and engage in some spiritual warfare by taking thoughts captive that are not obedient to Christ. I’m not going back on any social medias because I’ve broken the spell that says I will miss out or not be in-the-know…. They take up too much brain space that is needed for more important things.” BETTER SLEEP "I feel I slept better because of no screen time before bed, and I read a biblical book in the morning instead of going on Facebook.” “…I had to get used to sleeping without going on my phone right before bed. I had dreams that I could remember in the morning!” MORE PRODUCTIVITY Ten minutes here, and ten minutes there, can really add up in time wasted, but also in time put to good use. “I somewhat reluctantly signed up for the screen-fast, as my wife and kids were participating, but reflecting on it now, I can see God's hand working through them and the screen-fast. I spent more time reading the Bible and additional study material, and more time in prayer and reflection. I was able to think more clearly after the first few days, as the cheap distraction of screens was gone. This gave me time and focus to think through issues at work which I've been contending with for around a year, and come to difficult decisions there that I had perhaps been avoiding.” “I am working on a baby blanket for my son (knitting) and I was able to set a minimum for how much I wanted to complete on it daily, a minimum that seemed impossible to me before, and I was actually able to meet the minimum no problem.” "My husband participated as well, and has continued to not go onto social media. I found it most difficult to not pop onto social media when waiting for the mundane things, like water to boil/meat to cook. I would often go onto social media in these moments; at first it felt odd to not scroll, but I quickly would start to tidy the kitchen in these moments, so the result is a cleaner house :) and I did spend more time in God's Word, and reading short devotions here and there instead of picking up my phone." “The first few days I noticed a significant amount of improvement in my productivity. Without doom-scrolling on my phone, I was able to head out for a walk, dust off my book, and go to bed on time. I was able to spend a little more time with family and friends. Rather than watching a movie with my girlfriend after a long day, we decided to head out for a drive to enjoy the summer weather, which was awesome! I was able to spend more time reading my Bible before bed by keeping my phone in the kitchen, and used a good old-fashioned alarm clock to wake me up.” DOWNSIDES While there was lots to love about putting our phones aside for a time, there were some downsides too. “…I also found that it made me less likely to organize get-togethers if I had to phone people up instead of fire off a quick text; the kids and I ended up not doing as many things with friends or neighbors. I did make a few nice phone calls to people, since I was conscious of phoning instead of texting.” “I had a hard time not listening to my audiobooks and podcasts. I was more available for my kids (when I listen to audios, I have noise-cancelling headphones), but I had less ambition to do projects around the house that I would normally listen to something while doing. I also missed watching something at the end of a long day, but did enjoy my walks, and more reading of a physical book compared to an audio.” "I felt very disconnected from my family without WhatsApp group messaging! I was available via regular messaging, but it turns out that one-to-one messages are a rarity... if you aren’t on the group chat there isn't much to say. My 10-year-old son said: ‘It affected me because you didn't know as much about what other people in our family were doing.’ Keeping email off my phone (both work and personal) will stay. It was very restful to not be constantly checking emails and going down rabbit holes in the moment." “I missed seeing update posts from friends on Instagram or Facebook. For example, there was a family wedding and I wanted to go on social media to see some photos. I felt that I was missing out, not being able to do this. I came to the conclusion that family and friend updates can be one of the fun things about social media.” LASTING IMPACT? How can we apply the lessons learned? Some are planning on “having periodic screen-fasts in the future.” “…our family has decided to do a ‘modified fast’ for the rest of the summer and this was initiated by our children. Our stage of life (everyone working and/or attending post-secondary) means we don’t often have large blocks of time together but it was nice to spend more time in the evening sharing about our days and chatting.” “Going forward, I’ve used the settings in my phone to limit my time on certain apps. I’ve also cut out around half of the influencers I follow on Instagram so that I’m only following people I learn from (news, DIY, Christian content, etc.)" “Now that I’m done, I’m way more okay with leaving my phone in a bag or even at home.” “Going forward, I will be deleting social media apps from my phone. Thank you for prompting us to give this challenge a try! I think that it's fair to say that it will be life-changing.” “I intend to do this screen-fast again in the future and strongly encourage anyone who has not done it to do so, and aim to grow in service of our gracious God.” “I enjoyed the screen fast, and hope to do it again, and include more of my family members.” “From the get-go, I decided not to try 10 days but figured I could do 5. And you know what? It was easy! And it was good for me. I know I spend too much time on social media and playing games on my phone. I plan to do it again on a regular basis.” TIPS The most common tip mentioned was to delete social media apps from our phones. Another idea was to buy an alarm clock instead of using your phone to wake up. Here’s more… “…eliminate phones from your bedroom. Reading my Bible nightly is way more likely to happen when Instagram is more than a click away. That Christian influencer's advice might be insightful, but God's Word will not return empty (Isaiah 55:11)." “I …have continued a few habits I built, like delaying the first phone check of the day.” “I found freedom also in separating my phone from bedtime and wake time. This led to more prayer time. I think I was allowing the phone, instead of faith, to ease me into my day and I’m looking forward to continuing practice.” “We realized that phones are still an essential part of our lives but that the 'social media' part of it doesn't need to be so extensive. A regular phone call to someone can be so enjoyable and truly connecting. I have since called many people and just had a good chat. Hoping to keep this method up. I will keep my notifications 'OFF.'” “I made a rule for myself a couple years ago, that at the start of every day, I may not look at my phone until after my breakfast devotions were finished. It really helps to be very disciplined about not falling into bad habits. Make rules and stick to them. I also tell myself that it's okay to be bored.” Cartoons by Hannah Penninga....

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Saturday Selections – Aug. 16, 2025

Life's building blocks: everything, everywhere, all at once (1 minute) You can build some of the basic elements of a cell in a lab. But there's no process that can build them all together, which is what you need for life. In other words, even with a blueprint at the ready – scientists have cells they can observe – and refined materials and supercomputers and skilled geniuses, they not only can't make life in a lab, they demonstrate how it could never happen by accident out in the wild. The amazing ways fathers matter "Involved fathers made an especially big difference for girls’ mental health, with 10 times the number of female students being diagnosed with depression and risk of self-harm when they had disengaged or absent fathers." 6 ways that Christianity answers the "problem of pain" ... and also worth noting, the world doesn't have much of any answer at all. Should we ban smartphones from our schools?  Jonathan Haidt thinks so. Here are five key quotes from his book, The Anxious Generation... On "replacement theology" Rev. Witteveen on God's plan for Israel today... What's wrong with censorship Prov. 18:17 is known by some as the journalist's proverb, but its value extends to far beyond just reporters. It says: "The first to present his case seems right, until a second comes and questions him." This, in a nutshell, is the Christian case against censorship. What we know of fallen human nature means that we don't trust any one person or institution to have the necessary brilliance or character to always be right. The Christian case for free speech is also, essentially, the freedom to pursue God, and His Truth. All sorts of questions and skeptical arguments could be allowed in this pursuit.... though blasphemy need not be. We have good reason to be for free speech... but not without restriction. After all, God is our god, not free speech. ...

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Assorted

Why I don’t have a bucket list

Admittedly, to get guilt tripped into a camping trip exposes character weakness on my part. When someone bounds up to you, excited as a kitten encountering his first ball of yarn, and says they have the best idea for a geology fieldtrip, spanning 3 days (“ooh, ooh, no let’s turn it into 4!”), 400 miles, and something like 8 piles of rocks, any person with their wits about them would laugh and say, “Y’all have fun now, I’ll be over here, sleeping in my own bed.” People who camp on purpose, non-ironically, are an utter mystery to me. The more I learn about camping, the more outrageous and certifiable it seems! Did you know that KOA (one of the largest campground empires in the United States and yes, there is such a thing as a campground empire) stands for Kampgrounds of America?? How are we not promoting illiteracy and the overall degradation of our dignity by paying these people to borrow their dirt so we can sleep on it? Did you further know that after you have paid to sleep on dirt out in “nature,” you still are required to either buy or pack in your own wood for building campfires? In the (wait for it...) woods? Yet for the longest time during the diabolical planning of this trip, whose chief stated end was to go and stare at rocks, I could not bring myself to say “no, absolutely not, life is too short.” Which leads me to the character flaw, and my grandmother. ***** In the same week that this trip was scheduled to take place, I received word that my grandmother, my dad’s 94-year-old mother, had suffered a severe stroke. As I write this, I await further word on her condition; things didn’t look good last night. So I have been contemplating my grandmother, someone I have always found to be remarkable and not, perhaps, for the usual reasons. My grandmother was the quintessential farmwife. She raised four children, kept a lovely home, and was known for feeding people well. In many ways, I didn’t truly get to know her until I got married at age 20 and we both discovered that I shared her love of beautiful dishes, and of tables set to appeal to the senses. It was something she was teased about a bit over the years, her large collections of glassware, full sets of tableware, antique bowls and coffee service, but it has captivated me since childhood. She gave me my first everyday serving bowls when my oldest was a toddler – the same ones she used when her kids were little, and then proceeded to gift me antique glassware for my birthday for the next nearly 20 years. The year the glassware stopped was the same year she stopped calling on my birthday; that was, perhaps, the first time a birthday ever made me feel my age. I was blessed with 2 beautiful, intelligent farming grandmothers growing up; my mom’s mom went to the Lord a couple of years ago, and I like to think there are flavors of each of these women’s influences in my own farmwife homemaking. My maternal grandmother was known for ingenuity with the food at hand, with using her abundant garden to set visually peaceful tables, with the sort of minimalism that employs only that which is meaningful. My paternal grandmother was known for overflowing tables (why serve one kind of meat when you could serve three?), and for leftovers that could feed an army, created with simple recipes that everyone loved, served with what I find to be an uncommon blend of elegance and utility. She had no shame in making her mashed potatoes from a box, and paper napkins were a blessing. No one ever left her table hungry. I asked her once to teach me how she cooked various meats, how her meals always taste so good. She shrugged and said, “just a little salt and pepper?” As a person tempted by gourmet magazines, it was an important lesson for me. ***** And this, obviously, leads me to the ill-fated camping trip (not obvious, you say? We should spend more time together). The thing that guilted me into agreeing to this grand adventure of curiosity and literally leaving no stone unturned was the feeling that good mothers, or for that matter, that really interesting people, are the sort who long to travel the world, to always be experiencing new things. They are the ones who cannot simply read about a volcano, they have to climb it! At sunrise! And then go glissading down it, trying all the while to avoid hidden frozen lakes (you think I am making this up. Friend, I couldn’t make this stuff up. I refer you to your friendly neighborhood internet browser to prove the point)! How could I be worth anything at all if my bucket list was not perpetually on the verge of overflow? What does the truth – that I don’t even have a bucket list– say about me, about my value as a mother, as a wife, as a Christian? My grandmother has run well. She has lived an extraordinary life, and why? Because her life has been marked by extraordinary faithfulness to the task at hand. She has steadily built the portion of the kingdom wall God put in front of her. The pitfall I fell into was to believe that true faithfulness had to look different than embracing the life God has given me – it had to look both more “normal” and more exciting. I gave room to the lie that setting a gracious table was inferior to seeing something new, to having an adventure outside my own home. I am kicking myself as I write this... how could I have been so daft as to think that kicking rocks was more full of glory than grilling fresh corn on the cob, that sleeping on dirt had more inherent value than putting clean sheets on my family’s beds? Sitting here in the morning light, having removed myself from the geology fieldtrip, the truth of what it means to live well shines brightly before me. Only what’s done for Christ will last....

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News

Can you track all the ways you’re taxed?

Each year the Fraser Institute observes a “Tax Freedom Day” – this year it happened on June 8 – that tracks Canadians’ total tax burden when you add up all the municipal, provincial, and federal tax burdens. Across the country, the average Canadian spent up until June 8 earning money to cover their taxes, and it was only June 9 going forward that what they earned was what they could keep. So Canadians need to work nearly half the year just to pay our taxes. The average Canadian family with two or more individuals (i.e., this isn’t tracking individuals living on their own) is said to earn $158,533 a year, and pay $68,266 in taxes, or 43% of their income. This Tax Freedom Day differs from province to province, depending on their tax burden. In Manitoba, it arrives May 17 (37.5% of their income), the very earliest date in Canada, with the latest occurring in Quebec, on June 21 (47%). Do those figures strike you as higher than expected? They did to me, so I dug a bit deeper. The biggest tax we’re all hit with is income tax, but it is far from the only one. The government taxes us all sorts of niggling ways, which has the result of hiding from us the cumulative total. Just consider all the different ways you get taxed when you earn a dollar. The amounts below are based on the Fraser Institute’s purported $158,533 average family income. Payroll taxes: $16,199 – Before you even get your cheque, both you and your employer will have to contribute to the Canada Pension Plan, Employment Insurance, and some provincial Health Taxes. Income taxes: $23,100 – The federal and provincial governments each have their own income tax on the money you take home. Sales taxes: $10,091 – When you spend any of your remaining income, both the federal government, and all provinces except Alberta (and the territories) will charge you a sales tax. Capital gains tax: $6,656 – If you invest your money hoping to make it grow, you’ll be taxed on any gains you make. Property taxes: $2,310 – If you used your money to buy property, then every year you’ll be taxed on that too. Sin taxes: $2,310 – All taxes make things more expensive, but sin taxes are specifically geared to do so, to discourage consumption. They are placed on alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis. Tariffs and fuel could fall under this category too – both are meant to punish consumption – but the Fraser Institute placed them in other categories below. Fuel/vehicle/carbon taxes: $2,267 – There are additional taxes placed on gas, and while the Trudeau carbon tax is now hidden from consumers, it is still applied to industry, which will, of course, have to then pass it on to their consumers. Other miscellaneous taxes: $1,136 – These include import duties (i.e., tariffs), amusement taxes, natural resource fees, etc. and etc. So, that’s how it all adds up. And, to make matters worse, the Fraser Institute figure doesn’t even include what we should call the hidden inflation tax. Over the last 4 years, prices in Canada have risen, cumulatively around 17.5%. If our average Canadian family spent what income remained, that rise in inflation would amount to another $13,000 worth of impact from this “tax” – their $90,267 of remaining income would now have only $77,000 worth of purchasing power, compared to just four years previous. But to a fiscally profligate government that’s piled up a huge debt, inflation can be attractive. It not only deflates the value of the dollar, but deflates the value of the country’s debt too, easing the pressure on the government to curtail their spending. In other words, inflation really is a tax, raising revenue of a sort for the government, at the expense of citizens. And we’re still not done tallying yet, because our governments are planning on spending more than they even collect, which, if that additional sum had to be paid now, would require another $5,500 from our average Canadian. Instead, our federal and provincial governments are borrowing it to a cumulative projected deficit of $84.9 billion in 2025, saddling future generations with repayment, making this a tax on our children. Why so many different and even hidden taxes? Well, if everyone knew just how much we’re paying, would we stand for it? The more important point might simply be the enormous amount. God says that where our treasure is, there our hearts will be also (Matt. 6:21), and the amount of treasure we’re investing in our government – half of everything that families make – shows where Canadians’ hearts are turning. We’ve made a god out of government, and that needs to stop (Ex. 20:3). So next election, when the politicians come knocking, we need to demand less from them. And we need to explain why they don’t need nearly so much money, because, after all, God has called on other levels of government, including the Church, families, and even self-government, to fill so many of the roles that our political leaders have tried to take over....

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How to stop taking the Bible for granted

“Scripture has never been easier to obtain, and Scripture has never been more difficult to absorb.” Let that sink in for a minute. I read that quote the other day in The Me I Want to Be by John Ortberg, and was struck by that sad truth. It reminded me of a recent discussion around our dinner table, when Pop told us the story of Mary Jones. She was a poor young Welsh girl who saved and saved for a Bible, and when she finally had the funds she needed, she walked 26 miles to buy one (just a heads up that is 42 kilometers – a literal marathon!). So, after a long arduous trek barefoot through the countryside, Mary arrived at the house of the clergyman Thomas Charles to make her purchase... only to discover there were no Bibles left! She burst into tears. Her heart was broken, because she could not buy her own Bible. Do not worry though, the story does not end there! There is a happily ever after! Mary ended up with a Bible (one set aside for purchase by someone else, but a Bible nonetheless). And God used this interaction in the push for more Bible translations! What a beautiful chain of events. Now, as we contemplated this story at home, Pop asked a question I would like to pose to you: How many Bibles do you have? Most of us probably have a few Bibles, either from our school days or due to the changing translations within our churches. And that does not even take into account the access we have through the internet! But with all this access, all these Bibles... do you ever desire to read Scripture like Mary? Satan knows the Word has power. Saving power (John 5:24; 1 Cor. 1:18; Rom. 1:16). So any time you even think about opening the Bible, you may well find yourself faced with temptations and distractions placed there by the devil, the world, or simply your own sinful flesh. Suddenly there is something else that requires your immediate attention, or there is a notification on your phone, or you just do not feel like it. And once the first battle has been waged and won and your Bible is open... the spiritual war resumes! You are once again distracted, or start skim-reading, or your brain just goes numb. The sad, unspoken truth is that many people find the Bible boring. The length and strength of our attention span has been weakened by our dependence on external stimuli. The overconsumption of short and shallow content through social media has decreased our capacity to focus. Therefore, in a world with so many easy options to amuse or distract our minds, we all have to learn to be fed by the Bible. So, how can we do this? How can we make sure we are truly listening when we hear the Bible all the time? How can we make sure we are still looking for God’s Word when it is right in front of us? John Ortberg had a few suggestions for improving our engagement with the Scriptures, and I would like to share them with you. 1. Read with expectancy Sometimes people bring energy to a gathering. Sometimes they just show up. Consider this: when you spend time in the Word of God, you get to spend time with the God of the Word (James 4:8; Jer. 29:13). If I really understand that, then when I open up my Bible, I do not just “show up.” My mind is awake. I am building my relationship with my Father. It is His turn to talk. I am expectantly waiting to hear what He has to say! 2. Read with an active mind Satan loves to paint a mental glaze over the familiar words of the Bible. So break through it! Use your critical thinking, voice your musings, and ask questions! Read the way you watch a movie. Nobody “tries harder” to watch a movie, but everybody is engaged. Everyone has something to say. However, when it comes to the Bible, the conversations become stilted. People are so concerned with making sure they get the “right” answer, that everyone backs out. The good-natured revealing of different perspectives creates much more learning than just anxiously filling in the blanks with the right answers. 3. Memorize the Word I can’t emphasize how much I believe in hiding God’s Word in your heart (Ps. 119:11). I know it can sound hard, or tedious, or time-consuming, but you can start small! Just start! The words we carry in our minds are available to transform any moment. Memorize the encouragements or warnings that you need most. When God’s Word pushes out lies and resides within us, we will reach for truth, and it will be ours to have. 4. Don’t just read. Do something! It is easier to be smart than to be good. In all our love of debating what we need to do, sometimes we just need to do what we already know (James 1:22)! Practice loving a difficult person (Luke 6:27-29; Col. 3:12-14). Give away some money (Deut. 15:10-11; 2 Cor. 9:7). Be patient with your siblings (1 John 3:16-18; Ps. 133:1; Eph. 4:31-32). Respect your parents (Deut. 5:16; Ex. 20:12). Confess your sins (James 5:16; 1 John 1:9-10; Prov. 28:13). Trust God’s plan (Ps. 37:3-5; Rom. 8:28; Prov. 3:5-6; Matt. 6:25-34). Now I cannot promise this is the perfect recipe for engaging with the Scriptures. Reading God’s Word is part of a relationship we cannot build on our own. Pray for the Holy Spirit to work within you, daily transforming your heart and your desires. If you truly love God, then His Word will never be boring. I’ll leave you with a short text to hide in your heart. “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night” (Ps. 1:1-2). A version of this article first appeared in the June 2025 issue of “Contender, the FRCA Youth Magazine” under the title “Boring Bible” and it is reprinted here with permission....

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News

Saturday Selections – Aug. 2, 2025

Josiah Queen's Dusty Bibles As a tribute to everyone who participated in RP's just-complete screen-fast challenge, Josiah Queen's newest. Lunar tales: what's going on here? Even kids are confronted with conflict between what the world says about our origins and what God says. "What’s going on here?" That was the question a perplexed fifth grader asked me during a recent church service. She’d been learning about the Moon in her public school science class — and was confused. What she heard in class didn’t align with what I had recently presented to the church...." WiFi companies can track movements in your house In George Orwell's 1984, citizens are monitored in their own homes via a "telescreen" that brings new into the house – the government-approved news – but more importantly, allows them to look through it at you. Today, we're not far off of this same 24/7 oversight. We live in a world where our online presence is being monitored by tech companies, and even the US government's NSA (as whistleblower Edward Snowden disclosed back in 2013). And, now it turns out, you can be monitored when you are offline, in your own house... as a security feature. As one person tweeted: "it blows my mind how many conspiracy theories turn out to be true." We are all late bloomers It can be downright depressing to think of all we could have done and accomplished for the glory of our Lord, if only we hadn't been so slow to respond, or so quick to turn to sin. It's depressing because there is no denying the truth of it. But God forgives. And He most certainly can be glorified too, by us late bloomers. How Jacob Arminius effectively said no one would be saved If you sinned right before you died, you would then be dying unrepentant of that sin. So... would your unrepentant sin send you to hell? Is God's grace dependent on you repenting of every sin? Christless conservatism saves no one Matt Walsh, Donald Trump, and to a more limited extent, Pierre Poilievre have made the case that guys in dresses aren't girls. But... so what? Tearing down one lie without pointing people to the Truth they can actually stand on only leaves them falling for the next lie. The world needs God, which means the world needs God's people to speak as God's people. ...

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News

Supreme Court of Canada upholds prostitution law

In an important decision that didn’t get covered by the mainstream media this July, Canada’s highest court made a unanimous decision to uphold key parts of the country’s prostitution laws. The law, passed in 2014, went after the Johns rather than the prostitutes, making it illegal to purchase sex, but not penalizing the selling of it. Why? The goal was to reduce the demand for prostitution while making it possible for those trapped in prostitution to leave without prosecution. Mikhail Kloubakov and Hicham Moustaine worked as drivers for a sex-trafficking business and were charged under sections of the prostitution law relating to procuring people for prostitution and benefitting from the prostitution of others. They appealed this all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, and also asking the court to declare the entire law to be unconstitutional, which could have left Canada with no restrictions on prostitution. ARPA Canada teamed up with the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) in a joint intervention before the court, arguing that the law be maintained to uphold human dignity and equality, and to expose the harm that results from commodifying sexual intimacy. Lia Milousis, a lawyer who worked on behalf of the EFC and alongside ARPA’s lawyer John Sikkema, expressed gratitude for the decision. As she noted in The Acacia Arc newsletter, “The Court notes that Parliament views profiting from the commodification of another human being’s sexual activity as inherently involving exploitation…. It deferred to Parliament, which I would say and the EFC and ARPA argued, is the correct approach.” The law is also being challenged separately in an Ontario case, which ARPA is also intervening in....

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Animated, Movie Reviews, Watch for free

The George Müller Story

Animated / Biography / Drama 2019 / 30 minutes Rating: 8/10 In his day, I'd imagine George Müller (1805-1898) was accused of being irresponsible, or maybe even insane. He ran orphanages that helped thousands of children, and yet he never sent out an appeal letter or solicited donations. Instead, he went to the Lord to ask for help. And again and again the Lord delivered what Müller and his orphans needed. One of the most extraordinary examples of God's providence – an account that made it into this fantastic animated biography – is the morning that there was no food for the children for breakfast. So, Müller and the children prayed, and shortly thereafter a baker showed up with fresh bread for the children that, as he put it, God had put it on his heart to donate. And a milkman came knocking, wondering if the children might like his milk, since his truck had broken down nearby, and the milk would spoil anyway. Müller's orphanages served 18,000 children over the years, all of them helped without a request being made to any but the Lord. Cautions I knew a man whose multiple sclerosis had trapped him in a wheelchair. His suffering was physical, but also brought on mentally and spiritually by the brothers and sisters in his Pentecostal circles who questioned if the reason he was in his wheelchair was because he hadn't yet prayed for healing with enough faith and trust. They thought, if you prayed the right way, then God had to do what you say. And that's not so. Our children watching this need to understand that yes, God does provide, and in extraordinary fashion sometimes – twenty years later, this same man was able to walk away from his wheelchair, his MS in remission. But God also answers in ways that might not match with our hopes, and we will simply have to trust that He knows what is best for us, even if that means difficulties and even death. Other cautions could be offered with regard to some of Müller's views, but this video doesn't really get into them. Still, he had his faults and confusions. Parents can address this, not so much by researching him and finding those flaws, but simply by directing young hearts to where their admiration most belongs. George Müller was quite a man, but he served an astonishing God! Conclusion I've seen God act in amazing ways in my own life at times, and I don't think it a coincidence that it was at times when I stepped outside my own comfort zone and acted in obedience to meet a need that I knew was beyond my own ability. I've seen the same happen, all the more so, in others' lives who have been all the more obedient to act in faith and trust. I know of how God has precisely answered prayers, sometimes providing the exact sum required and not a penny more – whether it was as small as a nickel raise, or as large as a cheque for $30,000. Müller got his milk, yes, and that's not the first story I've heard of a Christian having milk arrive out of the blue on their doorstep. I've been told of a needed house downpayment appearing in the hands of a mysterious stranger who was never seen again. Our God is our Father indeed, and He loves us, and generously provides for us. And I do wonder what He might work through us, if we were bolder still, like a Müller, a Corrie ten Boom, or a Brother Andrew (of God's Smuggler fame). This, then, is a film to watch to see what God has already done with a man obediently acting in such faith. And you can watch it for free below. ...

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RP’s 10-day screen-fast challenge is going nationwide July 21-30

If you want to register for the July 21-30 nationwide challenge click here. If you want to learn more about why you should consider it, including some tips on how to go screen-free for 10 days, read on! *****  How many times are you scrolling on your phone or tablet each day? Do you have any idea? What pulls in your children most: books, games, physical activity, or a screen? Christian homes, including seniors, aren’t immune from the addictive nature of screens. Although screens and digital technology can be a great blessing, we have a very hard time keeping them in their proper place. But we want what should be our priorities – family, friends, and faith – to remain our priorities, don’t we? So enough talk. It’s time to act! The challenge Are you, or is your family, willing to go 10 days without screens and/or social media? Do you have the ability to function without them? It is one thing to say so, and another to do it. A 10-day social media and screen fast will open your eyes to the power that our devices have on our lives, and on our family’s lives. It will provide a window of time to experience what life is like without them. This break can also provide a fresh opportunity to very deliberately decide how you and your family will utilize these devices moving forward. It may be fun to invite another person or family to do this with you. If you are willing to give this a try, encourage your friends, care group, or others to do the same. Nationwide July 21-30 You can start any time you like, and there's no better time than now. But we're also trying to generate some positive peer pressure by having a nation-wide screen-free challenge for July 21-30. We can all do this together at the same time! Some generous supporters have recognized how important this issue is, so for the July challenge they are offering up a little extra motivation for us all. They have pledged to donate $10 per day for every day you manage to go screen from from July 21-30. The money will be split between two fantastic kingdom causes – Reformed Perspective and Word & Deed –  to a maximum of $20,000 split between both causes. Go all 10 days, and that'll be $100 donated. Go just 8, and it will still be $80. If you manage just 1 or 2 days that will still be $10 or $20 donated... and a hard lesson learned on dependency. How long can you go? If you don't think you can, isn't that the best reason to try? A few tips Commit. Don’t allow yourself to make easy exceptions, even if you are having a hard day. For example, just because you are at someone else’s home doesn’t mean you can enjoy screens again. If your fast includes screens, but you still need screens for basic functions that are essential, ensure that you are only using your tablet and phone for those functions. For example, if you need a phone for directions, don’t take the opportunity to scroll the news. If you need a computer at work, or to write a report for a committee you are on, don’t let yourself go to other websites or play an online game. Turn your devices off and hide them. Take the TV off the wall. Make them difficult to access. Log out of your social media accounts so that it isn’t easy to open them. Move the icons of your apps so that the social media apps (including YouTube) are hidden. Come up with a plan: whenever you find yourself wanting to reach for a screen or open your social media, what will you do instead? It doesn’t have to be hard. Perhaps say a prayer, take a drink of water, try to memorize a verse (keep some verses on a piece of paper in your pocket), do a set of 10 jumping jacks, or read a couple of pages of a book you’ve been meaning to get to. Have alternatives waiting and ready for you and your children: books, magazines, art supplies, a soccer ball, a walk to the park, etc. Invite accountability: let loved ones know what you are doing, and ask them to check in on you regularly to see how it is going. Tell them not to let you off the hook! Don’t read this and conclude a screen-fast challenge is only important for youth or young adults. Be sure to check out our article "What can I do anyways? 35 screen-free alternatives." You can register for the July 21-30 nationwide challenge here. The results We would love to hear how this goes for you and what impact it had on you and your family. Please send the editor a note. Or send us a good ol’ fashioned letter via Reformed Perspective Box 3609 Smithers, BC V0J 2N0 We look forward to hearing from y’all, and sharing the results!...

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Book lists, Book Reviews

50 "Great Books"

What are the "Great Books"? There is no one list, but the term is meant to describe a compilation of classics from Western Literature. Some lists are very long, topping hundreds of books, while others limit themselves to as little as 50, but the idea behind all of them is that these are foundational books – read these and you will have a better understanding of some of the key ideas shaping the world today. A Christian list would look different than a non-Christian, though a Christian list should contain non-Christian books. Placement is as much or more about a book’s influence as it is about its genuine insight, so pivotal infamous books do make their appearances. So what exactly might be on such a list? Here is an example: The Unaborted Socrates by Peter Kreeft The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis Chosen by God by R.C. Sproul Macbeth by Shakespeare Beowulf The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom The Heidelberg Catechism Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton Time Will Run Back by Henry Hazlitt The Bondage of the Will by Martin Luther The Epic of Gilgamesh Divine Comedy by Dante The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien Animal Farm by George Orwell The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Christianity and Liberalism by John Gresham Machen Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift Gilead by Marilynne Robinson Lord of the Flies by William Golding Art and the Bible by Francis Schaeffer Desiring God by John Piper Aesop’s Fables by, well, Aesop Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie City of God by Augustine Here I Stand by Roland Bainton The Prince by Machiavelli 1984 by George Orwell Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne 95 Theses by Martin Luther Knowing God by J.I. Packer The Brothers Karamazov by Fydor Dostoevsky The Giver by Lois Lowry The Republic by Plato The Koran by Mohammad The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn The Odyssey by Homer Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe The Westminster Confession of Faith Competent to Counsel by Jay Adams Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt Hamlet by Shakespeare A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift Ivanhoe by Walter Scott Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin ...

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Economics

On why freer trade is best

The following is based on Real Talk’s episode #126, “Mere Economics and the Issue of Tariffs,” with host Lucas Holtvlüwer talking to economics professor and author Dr. Caleb Fuller about the only four ways that people can get the things they need. **** We might not be medical experts, or have a law degree, but we all know a lawyer, and a nurse or two. But how many of us know an economist? Not too many, and I think that's why economics can seem an intimidating field. But it doesn't have to be complicated. When it comes to how we can best get the things that we want and need for ourselves and our families, Dr. Fuller boiled things down: “…there's only actually four possible ways for me to get what I want. And these four ways are logically exhaustive.” What he means by "logically exhaustive" is that these four are it – there are no other possibilities. So what are these four ways? And more importantly, why should we know? To answer the second question first, this is vital information because only one of the four ways will actually work for a society. So it is key we pick the right way. 1. Getting gifts One way we could get the food, clothing, and shelter we need is to simply receive it from someone else. That’s what we do for our kids, after all. But there is a problem, as Dr. Fuller explains: “I could rely on gifts from someone else. But if you think about that for a couple seconds, you realize that if everyone was doing this – if you kind of systematized that way of getting what you want – the world would be incredibly poor. It also pushes the question back a step. You know, where did the gift-giver get what he's giving?” 2. Stealing what we want and need A second option is chosen by some, but we’d all starve if everyone did the same. “You could steal from others. Ethical problems aside, if you universalize that means of getting what you want, you also live in a world ‘nasty, brutish, and short,’ to quote Thomas Hobbes. And, also, just like the first option pushes the question back, where did the person who's being stolen from…get the goods in question?” 3. Making it all ourselves So, that leaves us only two more possibilities. We can either make everything we need ourselves, or, instead, use our particular skills to make something others want, and trade with them for what we want. So, our options are make or trade, and one of the reasons President Trump instituted his tariffs is he wanted less trade with other countries, and more of the making done in the US. Dr. Fuller highlights the problem with this approach. “Let's think about make for a second. There's a great book called The Toaster Project by a guy named Thomas Thwaites. Thwaites chronicles his attempt to build a very simple toaster from scratch, that is, without cooperating with anyone else. So he's not going to engage in buying, he's not going to engage in exchange, he's just going to make, okay? “And it takes him about nine months. He does cheat a little bit along the way. And after this nine months of full-time work on this toaster, he plugs the toaster in, and five seconds later it shorts out. “There's a small fire that melts it down. After nine months of work, that was the consequence. And that is a little vignette of what our lives would be if we systematized or universalized this third means of getting what we want – just making everything that I want to consume.” 4. Specializing/trading And as Fuller shares, that “brings us to this fourth option, of specialization.” Few of us will be any better at making toasters than Thwaites was, but we might have other skills we can offer. One person might be a great nurse, another a very good farmer, and a third might be a skilled high school teacher. We all have our specialties, and it doesn’t take a lot of imagination to recognize how much worse off we’d be if we didn’t specialize. Then the nurse would have to build her home, the farmer would have to teach his kids high school physics, and the teacher would have to fix his son’s broken leg. Specialization helps us do and make more. Dr. Fuller specializes as an economics professor producing lectures and books that others value, and he trades those away for money and then uses that money to buy what he wants. “That's why I say that the ability to exchange is not optional if you want to observe ‘mass flourishing,’ to use economist Ed Phelps’ term. And so that's why economists are so obsessed with specialization…” Conclusion Of these four ways of getting what we need, God’s commandment against stealing rules out the second. His call to be fruitful (Gen. 1:28 and in the Parable of the Talents, Matt. 25:14-30) eliminates the first as an option – we can’t just live off of our parents, even if they were willing. A fruitful life would also address the third option. It doesn’t make sense for us to try to do everything ourselves. If everyone did, we’d all be not simply poor, but quite likely dead. What’s true for individuals is true in large part for countries too. The US is currently trying to use tariffs on foreign goods to drive companies to produce in-country more of the goods that Americans consume. But even the US can’t be better than everyone at producing everything. So, for example, in a June 3rd House Appropriations meeting, Rep. Madeleine Dean questioned Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick about the tariff being imposed on bananas. The US grows less than a tenth of one percent of the bananas that Americans eat. The other 99.9% are imported. And, as Secretary Lutnick noted, the tariff is “generally 10%.” Lutnick defended the tariff, arguing that, as trade deals are made, the tariffs will eventually be eliminated. But he also argued that “if you build in America and produce your product in America, there will be no tariff.” To which Rep. Dean pointed out, “You can’t build bananas in America.” Free trade remains best, and not simply for banana lovers. ...

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