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Book Reviews

The Fallacy Detective

Thirty-Six Lessons on How to Recognize Bad Reasoning

*****

Two young fellows, brothers Nathaniel and Hans Bluedorn wrote this book as a course in logic for the Christian home-schooling adherents. Why? Let them tell you:

“We see a need for Christians to strive for a higher standard of reasoning. We believe God wants his people to become aware of their lack of discernment, and logic is an important part of the science of discernment. For instance, many Christians adopt beliefs and practice without properly evaluating the arguments which are used to support them. We need to rediscover the way of the Bereans, who searched the Scriptures daily to see if the apostles’ teachings were true (Acts 17:10-11).

“As we grow older, we become more aware of how poor many people’s reasoning is. But we also need to realize how poor our own reasoning is. This is a humbling thought, and with it we embark on a journey towards higher standards of reasoning. We will never be as logical as the Lord Jesus Christ was, but we must work at it.

“Besides just learning logic, we also see a need for a truly Christian logic. We want to take logic back from the unbelievers. Our challenge is to define good reasoning in a truly biblical way. Logic was not invented by a pagan philosopher named Aristotle. Logic is the science of thinking the way God thinks (more correctly, the way God wants us to think) – the way Jesus taught us to think…”

This book is…

This book is for all Christians… It is important that we learn our reasoning skills from a genuinely Christian worldview.

This book focuses on practical logic… It teaches you to recognize the everyday fallacies you are confronted with in your work, in the newspaper, in advertisements, in listening to politicians, and also in our discussions with brothers and sisters in Christ.

This book is self teaching... It is written in an easy-to-read style that reminds me a bit of the best of the …for Dummies books, but I can assure you, you’ll learn a lot and enjoy it while doing so.

Two thumbs way up

Supposedly this book was written for children and parents to use together, and there is no doubt that it could be an effective teaching tool that way. But it is much more than that. The first few lessons are easy enough and might lull you into thinking the book is just for children, but as you progress, you’ll enjoy the challenges of recognizing and refuting many more difficult fallacies. So the book is truly for all ages.

Most of the lessons deal with a single fallacy, give an example or two, and end with varied exercises that sharpen your thinking processes so that you can solve them as they become progressively more difficult.

The fallacies covered include many that are readily recognized by most of us, such as loaded questions, red herrings, weak analogies, and generalizations. But many are new to almost all of us. How many times haven’t you listened to a speech or read a newspaper article and thought to yourself, “there’s something wrong with that scenario, but I just can’t put my finger on it.” Learning to recognize a fallacy is also the beginning of being able to respond to it.

In short, I heartily recommend this book on the Christian view of logic. It is suitable for anyone from teens to senior citizens; all that it requires is a desire to learn practical logic skills. It would also be a valuable addition to the curriculum of our Christian schools.

“The Fallacy Detective” is available on christianbook.com

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Assorted

“It’s only a dollar!” – on bingos and raffles

Some churches hold bingos and sell raffle tickets, so can gambling really be wrong? ***** “I think we should have a bingo night to raise money for our community.” “All you spend is $1.00 on a ticket and you could win $1,000,000!” “Our organization is having a raffle to raise money for the handicapped; will you buy a ticket for only $1.00? You might win a 10 speed bicycle!” “I just won $2,000 in the lottery – isn’t that great?” Often we have friends and neighbors and perhaps even relatives who participate in the lottery, raffles, or other types of games of chance. And among secular and some professing Christian groups, games of chance are popular fundraisers because they are a fairly easy way to raise a large amount of money fast. I once came under quick attack in a neighbors’ meeting for refusing to participate in a raffle. “What do you mean it’s against your Christian principles? St. Whoever’s church at the corner has bingo every week, and raffles twice a year to raise money. How could it be wrong?” It was too difficult on a moment’s notice in a suddenly hostile group to formulate and express my reasons. I finally stated that I was not going to defend myself there in front of an entire group; however I would be willing to explain to them individually at another time just why I was against all forms of gambling. Happily, one Baptist neighbor spoke her agreement with me and the issue ended. It is sometimes difficult to give a quick answer because there are no specific Bible verses which state, “you shall not gamble.” Is it “only a dollar” and therefore unimportant whether we participate? Or are there principles from God’s Word which regulate even this small purchase? Does it become acceptable when the recipient is a worthwhile cause? Furthermore, how do we react to a friend or relative’s big winnings? Though the odds are ridiculously high, you might know a winner from time to time. Should someone feel so generous as to spread his/her newfound wealth in our direction, what should be our reply? (The questions only get harder, for instance: what if a relative won a large sum of money – what about accepting a Christmas gift of a new car?) I spoke with our minister, the Rev. Kenneth A. Kok, concerning how to express an answer to the basic question, “What’s wrong with gambling?” He provided three answers: 1. It encourages a “something for nothing” mentality Throughout the Bible, we clearly find that God expects us to work to provide for our material needs: “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread…” (Gen. 3:19) “He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, but he who pursues vain things lacks sense. The wicked desire the booty of evil men, but the root of the righteous yields fruit.” (Prov. 12:11,12) “He who tends the fig tree will eat its fruit; and he who cares for his master will be honored.” (Prov. 27:18) “…give her the product of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.” (Prov. 31:13-31) Why would we want to get something for relatively nothing? Aren’t we thankful to God for all He has given us? Doesn’t He provide us with all that we need? And as LD 42, Q 111 of the Heidelberg Catechism states in regards to the commandment “You shall not steal,” here we also learn, “In addition God forbids all greed…” Perhaps we are tantalized with the thought of what we would do if we could only have $1,000, or maybe $5,000, or better make it $10,000, or what if we got a million? With the character Tevye, from “Fiddler On The Roof”, we inwardly pray: Lord, who made the lion and the lamb You decreed I should be what I am But would it spoil some vast, eternal plan If I were a wealthy man? Does this reflect the same sentiment expressed by Paul in Philippians 4:11-13: “Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” It is one thing to work hard and have God bless your endeavor. It is another to look for an easy break. 2. It encourages poor stewardship Gambling often encourages the people with the least amount of money to be irresponsible with what they have. Much money is wasted on chances and this money could be put to better use – saved, spent well, or given to a worthy cause. As Heidelberg Catechism question 111 goes on to say, “…God forbids all greed and all abuse or squandering of His gifts.” Numerous references are listed there. By participating in even a small way, we promote an activity which may be weakening the financial status and even the family life of others. Only one or a few win, at everyone else’s expense. Is this loving our brother as we love ourselves? As Question 112 further states, “I must promote my neighbor’s good wherever I can and may, deal with him as I would like others to deal with me, and work faithfully so that I may be able to give to those in need.” Even if the “chances” benefit a worthy cause, we still have the question from point 1 regarding our attitude. In this case, if we want to help, we should simply donate the money and not take the raffle ticket. 3. It encourages seeing money as one’s savior People begin, with the larger gambling items, to see money as their savior. Their hope is placed upon money, rather than God. This is evident in the long, long lines which form as the state lottery “pot” soars to $24 million or more. People call friends in other states requesting the purchase of these tickets for them, just for that chance – that possibility of being one of the ones to win. Conversations at the office turn to: “What will you do with it if you win?” Smiles and sighs. “Pay off all my debts.” “Buy a fabulous house.” “Quit working here.” “Take a trip to Hawaii.” Or perhaps even “Make a large donation to the school/church/hospital.” It seems, in those few moments of dreaming, as though our main problems in life, i.e., financial ones, would be solved. We do not believe the various accounts we’ve read or heard about money causing new problems. But the point here is this: “My God shall supply all your needs, according to His riches in glory” (Phil. 4:19). We must behave as children of God, children who present our needs and desires to Him, who work diligently for them as far as possible, who trust Him to provide, and who accept with thanksgiving, not as a young child asking after Christmas, “Is that ALL I get?” “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant… ungrateful, unholy, unloving… without self-control… reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; and avoid such men as these” (II Tim. 3:1-5). The next time we are faced with the temptation to “get rich(er) quick,” to spend “only a dollar” with the mostly false promise that we might gain much more, let us ask ourselves, “Why am I doing this? Does this reflect a godly, thankful attitude? Am I looking for a different savior?” God’s Word answers the whole question the best: “Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (I Tim 6:6-12). This article was originally published in RP's March 2006 issue....

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Theology

Celebrating the Sabbath

“Many people see the Sabbath or the Lord’s Day, as an infringement of their personal liberty – a day that God has taken from them, instead of a gift that He has given to them, for rest, worship and celebration” – Rev. Bruce Ray ***** Scientists and secular historians can account for the division of time into years, seasons, months and days on the basis of ancient observations of the cycles of nature. The year and the day obviously are tied to the cycle of the sun and the rotation of the earth. A month finds its origin in the cycles of the moon. But secular historians are puzzled by the week. There is no natural basis for the week, and since they reject Holy Scripture as a historical source they can’t turn to it for an explanation. However, whether they acknowledge it or not, the weekly, seven-day pattern of work and rest has its origin in God’s work of creation. We have the week because God ordained it, and indeed this is the origin of Time, not only of the week, but all divisions of Time. God is the Sovereign over Time. This is one of the first points that Bruce Ray makes in his book Celebrating the Sabbath. And he notes that if God is sovereign over time, then it only makes sense that He is sovereign over what we do with time, both work and rest: "Six days you shall labor" God said, “but the seventh is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work.” The Sabbath through time Now many people assume that work is the result of the Fall, but Adam had a job assigned to him before the Fall (Gen 2:18-20) so that assumption is wrong. And just as Adam had work do before the fall, so too there was a Sabbath rest before the fall. In fact Bruce Ray identifies from the Scriptures four distinct stages in the Sabbath: 1. Creation Sabbath – Sabbath rest before fall into sin 2. Exodus Sabbath – Sabbath rest given to Israel 3. Resurrection Sabbath – New covenant, new Sabbath 4. Final Sabbath – Christ’s return ushers in this final rest Intention of the Sabbath "The Sabbath was designed as a day of gladness and not as a day of gloom," notes Ray. It was intended by its Creator to be a day of rest and worship in celebration of God’s wonderful works. The Sabbath promised both physical and spiritual refreshment for the whole man. The Sabbath was a day off from work, a day when men and women, their families and servants, visitors, and even livestock could enjoy the gift of rest from God. It was a day for "complete rest" (Exodus 35:2), a day to leave the briefcase at the office, and the tools locked up in the shed. Even during the busy times of the year, during the plowing season and the harvest (Ex. 34:21) the people were commanded to rest on the seventh day in honor of, and in obedience to, the Lord who made heaven and earth. "Moonlighting" was prohibited on the Sabbath. The worker who tried to get ahead of others by working on the Sabbath was even subject to the death penalty! Exodus 23:12 reads: "that you may REST" and rest here isn’t only about “not working." The Sabbath was appointed to minister to the whole person, and it was therefore also a day of spiritual rest. Legalism Bruce Ray writes an interesting little chapter on the "Babylonian Sabbath." During the Babylonian Captivity the elders and Rabbis of Israel became very interested in spelling out precisely what people could and could not do on the Sabbath. Eventually they came up with over 1000 rules. The spirit and intention of the law became lost in a sea of technicalities. When Jesus came, that is, when God, the eternal Son, took upon Himself the nature of a man and visited His people, He came to set the captives free, including the captive Sabbath. Jesus challenged the Pharisaic distortions of His holy day. He repeatedly and purposely did things on the Sabbath that violated their legalistic understanding of Sabbath keeping. But make no mistake, Jesus came to restore the Law, including the fourth commandment, not to dismantle it (Matt 5:17-20). So Jesus blasted the Pharisaic Sabbath, but in doing so, he did not harm the biblical Sabbath at all. Indeed He liberated it, restored it, and filled it full of meaning once again (Matt 5:17) Ray examines one by one, the six skirmishes Jesus had with the Pharisees over the Sabbath Day: 1. The Battle of the Wheat Field (Mark 2:23-28) 2. The Shrivelled Hand skirmish (Mark 3:1-6) 3. The crippled-woman conflict (Luke 13:10-17) 4. The Dropsy disaster (Luke 14:1-6) 5. The Battle of Bethesda (John 5: 1-9) 6. The Spit Spat (John 9:1-41) These texts are well worth looking up and show, as Ray puts it, how "the conflict was not so much a conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees, as a conflict between the Holy Sabbath of God and the painfully distorted Pharisaic Sabbath. It was part of Jesus’ mission to liberate, heal and redeem the Sabbath from captivity.” Do’s and Don’ts? Coming to our modern day celebration of the Sabbath/Lord’s Day, Ray speaks about keeping the Sabbath "Holily and Happily," saying: "In the fourth commandment, God declares that He is sovereign over time (He made it), and over our use of it (He made us!). He has from the very beginning of time appointed one day in seven as a day for rest and refreshment in Him" "All people observe the Sabbath, all people everywhere do. Sunday comes along once every week without fail, and we all do something with the day. The question is not whether we observe, but how we observe it." Now, finally the reader may be thinking to yourself: "He is going to get to what I wanted in the first place. I can still have my laminated, wallet sized card with "do’s and don’ts" after all." Sorry folks – as author Bruce Ray writes, life just is not that simple. It is about thinking out principles. That is the real hard part. Many of us would like to have someone in authority – a pastor perhaps – tell us what to do and what not to do in great detail. That would certainly make life simpler and tidier. May I jog on Sunday? Go sailing in the afternoon? Mow my lawn? Go shopping at the Mall? Fire up the grill for a barbeque? And so on. But don’t despair. The good news, Ray writes, (that is if you are a Christian), is that you have everything you need to figure out what God wants you to do on the Sabbath. God has given you His Word and His Spirit. What then are the general principles that will help us to keep the Sabbath as the Lord wants us to? The author mentions four: Keep it Holily, Happily, Honestly and Humbly. Keep it Holily This includes gathering with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s Day and realizing that corporate worship is necessary, not optional. Keep it Happily The author stresses the great importance of bringing joyful worship to our God, and quotes Psalm 100 "shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs." Keep it Honestly The Sabbath is also a day for physical, emotional, and even intellectual "rest." God is concerned with our bodies as well as with our souls. On the Sabbath we need to cease from our works and pause and refresh in God’s rest. Rest, however, does not require idleness. Rest can also be active. Throughout the Old Testament rest is defined as refreshment. The prophet Isaiah zeros in on the essence of the Lord’s Day (Is. 58:13-14 – this is another great text to look up). He brings into clear and bold focus: whose Day is it? Who is the Lord of the Sabbath and will I bow before Him? How does the Lord of the Sabbath want me to use the day for my good and His glory? Keep it Humbly The Sabbath is admittedly a problem for many Christians, but that problem is primarily spiritual in nature. That is because of the rebellion in our hearts. We must remember not to come into our King’s presence and to our spiritual family reunion tired, late and unprepared to worship Him Conclusion In conclusion: Sabbath keeping is a means of Grace to all who love the Lord. Someone said about this book:" Bruce Ray’s book is a wise and balanced book, helpful, biblical and encouragingly, taking a fresh look at what the Lord’s Day should be for every Christian." Definitely recommended....

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Theology

Will animals go to Heaven?

What happens when animals die? The question of whether animals exist in heaven has been debated for centuries. Do people share the same spirit and afterlife destination as animals? Will pet owners see their beloved pet again? Will their pet go to heaven? For many these are sentimental, frivolous questions. For others they are important. Children especially will want to know about the fate of their dead pets. What are we going to tell them when they ask? Cats, dogs, birds and more Children are routinely told that their pet has gone to heaven. Someone wrote to Randy Alcorn, the author of Heaven, "My children are hoping extinct animals will be in Heaven, maybe even dinosaurs." Alcorn thought it a possibility, arguing that the primary beings shown articulating God's praise in Heaven, along with the angels and human beings, are animals. Even in secular society many people tend to believe in an afterlife for our fellow creatures. Gift shops sell collector plates depicting “feline paradise” showing that the lost kitten enjoys a magnificent afterlife in paradise. A Hollywood version of dog afterlife is described in the full-length feature film All Dogs Go To Heaven. Evangelical author Angela Hunt argues in her 2005 novel Unspoken that birds and horses and creatures are in heaven now. For proof she refers, for example, to Elijah being taken to heaven by a chariot of fire and horses (2 Kings 2:11). She says that when her “buddy Justus” (a 275-pound mastiff dog) died, she promised him that she would meet him in heaven. “My heavenly Father loves me, he loves his creatures, and I am almost certain I'll meet my beloved Justus in eternity.” Cute little furry almost humans? Why have so many people in North America become so sentimental about their pets? Some suggest that the growth of cities and suburbs has deprived most North Americans of instrumental contacts with animals. Many suburbanites have never spent time on a farm and with farm animals. They have not seen what they are like. Consequently, they romanticize animals as quite human-like, though more innocent and pure. This humanization of pets encouraged sentimentalism. Many pet owners keep photos of their pets in their wallets or on their desks; some celebrate their pets' birthdays. Estates have been left to cats and dogs. Some even use the services of pet psychologists. While no one would wish to denigrate pets, our modern affluent society frequently puts more value on pets and even wild animals than on people. The current trend toward the humanization of animals contributes to the blurring of the boundaries between man and animals. The theory of evolution, New Age philosophy, and the rhetoric of the animal rights movement have greatly impacted our society's attitude toward animals. The recent movement for the protection of animals usually labeled "animal liberation" or "animal rights" is often in the news. The more uncompromising among the animal liberationists have demanded equal moral consideration on behalf of cows, pigs, chickens, and other apparently "enslaved and oppressed" animals. Many animal liberationists put their ethic into practice by becoming vegetarians. In Rattling the Cage. Toward Legal Rights for Animals Steven M. Wise, a lawyer promoting animal rights, declares that it should be obvious that "the ancient Great Wall" that has for so long divided humans from every other animal is biased, irrational, unfair, and unjust. He believes it is time to take it down. Consequently, in his book he strongly argues for the extension of personhood to chimpanzees. The “talking” gorilla But if chimpanzees are supposedly people, why can't we communicate with them? This type of thinking led to research on animal communication and intelligence. Several historic attempts were made to teach human language to animals. In the 1960s R.A. and B.T. Gardner, in extensive studies carried out in America, considered the possibility that although primates might be unable to vocalize speech, perhaps they could learn to communicate with their hands via sign language. So they set out to teach an eleven-month female chimpanzee – Washoe – the sign language used by deaf people. But it should be noted that the sign language they taught (called Ameslan) is constructed differently from spoken or written language, so direct comparison with human speech is difficult. Experiments have also been made with a gorilla. The American Gorilla Foundation portrays gorillas as part of the human family. In 1972 Penny Patterson began to teach sign language to Koko, a gorilla born in the San Francisco Zoo. This experiment promoted the idea that animals have human qualities. It also contributed to the animalizing of man. The Gorilla Foundation's funding appeal stated that Patterson's experiment resulted in "an astonishing breakthrough in our understanding of the world. The news is that a very remarkable gorilla named Koko has changed myth into fact...by speaking to humans." The public was invited to "become part of Koko's extend family." Christian author Angela Hunt expresses some interesting but speculative thoughts about animals in her novel Unspoken, a story about a talking gorilla. In the novel Unspoken Christian author Angela Hunt writes that many years ago she saw a video about Dr. Penny Patterson and Koko, and she thought then that their story contained the seeds of a novel. Recently she saw an updated version of the video and that's when she knew the time to write had come. Besides the video inspiration, Hunt's novel shows indebtedness to the views of Randy Alcorn, who combines Biblical exegesis, evangelical theology, and imaginative speculation about heaven and the new heaven and earth. It is not surprising, therefore, that Unspoken is highly recommended by Alcorn. The main characters in Hunt's novel are a young woman named Glee Ganger and Sema, a western lowland gorilla, who was entrusted to the care of Glee. Glee – not a Christian in the beginning of the book, conducts unique research in the field of interspecies communication. She teaches Sema, who is fascinated with words, how "to talk" by using American Sign Language. She says that her research has proven that Sema not only understands the words for most common things and activities; she also has a firm grasp on many abstract concepts. Glee believes that Sema is a thinking animal. She frequently evidences signs of advanced intelligence, even intuition. Glee treats Sema as her child and calls the young gorilla "sweetie" and other endearing names. She reads picture books aloud to her. She even asks, which book do you like to read? Sema answers: "Pumpkin Patch." Sema also knows God and communicates with Him. Glee asks, “Sema? Why did you talk about God?" Sema replies, "Because God is." Sema also says, "Word made world, word loves Sema, word made gorillas people apples bears." "Sema good gorilla Sema loves God thanks." Will Sema go to heaven? To be with God? Sema believes she will. "God make trees sky. God make home gorillas people." How does she know? Sema says a shiny angel had told her these things. At the novel’s conclusion Sema meets a tragic, but heroic end. She dies protecting Glee from a tiger which got loose in the zoo and charged at Glee. She saved Glee's life by tackling the tiger. As Sema is dying she says, "Shiny man say... Sema go now. Sema happy. Sema love." Glee, therefore, believes she will see Sema in heaven. Sema's sacrificial death is also instrumental in Glee becoming a Christian. And Glee testifies, "How ironic that animal could be used to bridge the gap between me and God." Many questions The humanization of animals, pretending they are so much like us, is also an animalization of humans. The humanization of animals and the belief that they go to heaven raises many questions. Historically, people didn't always view animals in a positive light. Negative qualities of animals are often mentioned in reference to humans such as "as evil as a hyena," "as sly as a fox." In the early fourteenth century, Dante had condemned to the eighth circle of his Hell those guilty of "the sins of the wolf": seducers, hypocrites, conjurers, thieves and liars. In the Bible there is also a reference to animals capable of being possessed by an evil spirit. Jesus allowed a demon to enter a herd of pigs who rushed into the lake and were drowned (Mark 5:1-13). William Barclay adds his comments about those who criticize Jesus for allowing the death of the pigs: "We do not, presumably, have any objections to eating meat for our dinner, nor will we refuse pork because it involved the killing of some pig. Surely if we will kill animals to avoid going hungry, we can raise no objection if the saving of a man's mind and soul involved the death of a herd of these same animals.... in God's scale of proportions, there is nothing so important as a human soul." Are animals able to "talk"? Alcorn claims that this is possible. He refers to the account of the serpent speaking to Eve in the Garden of Eden. He argues, "There's no suggestion Eve was surprised to hear an animal speak, indicating that other animals also may have spoken." He also mentions the story of Balaam and his donkey (Numbers 22). He suggests that the wording of the text doesn't suggest God put words in the donkey's mouth, as in ventriloquism – He "opened the donkey's mouth," permitting it to verbalize what appears to be actual thoughts and feelings. I believe Alcorn and Hunt are mistaken. For example, the vocal tracts of gorillas are constructed so they can't speak. They can be trained to make signs. But they can't produce verbalized speech. They do not have structured grammatical language. They are deprived of reason and forethought. And they cannot, which may be highly significant, draw representational pictures. Newspapers have reported on monkeys daubing on a canvass and receiving an art award. But at best they only doodle. Furthermore, it is not possible for them to search for a solution to a puzzle, let alone ask them what they see or hear or smell, or what they think of their cage-mates, or of us and our experiments. Man can verbalize his thoughts in speech. The uniqueness of human language reveals man's intellect, will, emotion and general ideas about space and time, and abstract concepts. It is man's key to communicate concerning the past, the present and the future. Calvin brings human speech in its proper Biblical framework. He notes: "The use of the tongue and ears is to lead us into the truth by means of God's Word that we may know how we were created incorruptible and that when we are passed out of this world there is a heritage prepared for us above, and in short to bring us to God." Do animals have a soul that continues to exist after death? On the one hand Alcorn argues that they have "non-human souls." On the other hand he says that though man continues to exist after death, it "may not be the case for animals." But the Bible does not say that animals have souls. But neither does the Bible deny this. The question whether animals have a soul is not new. The medieval theologian St. Thomas Aquinas decreed animals were soulless, and graded them according to their utility to people. Wolves, bears, and hairy beasts useless to human comfort were demonic. The twentieth century Reformed theologian R.C. Sproul observes: "Traditionally many have been persuaded that there is no future life for animals. The Bible does not teach that animals go to heaven. One of the key arguments against the idea that animals do not survive the grave is the conviction that animals do not have souls. Many are convinced that the distinctive aspect that divides humans from animals is that humans have souls and animals do not." Will animals be with the Lord in the intermediate heaven, the stage of eternal life before the coming of the New Heaven and Earth? An animal is not religious. Man is incurably religious. Even in his denial of God man struggles with the God question. Dr. J.H. Bavinck comments that: "in his religion man is aware that he is not alone because he knows that he is living in the immediate presence of someone who is infinitely greater than he." Only in man do heaven and earth meet each other. Animals were not created for a life in the heavenly realms. The Bible clearly states that eternal life is not merely "life after death" (cf. John 3:16). The twice born have eternal life right now. But the Gospel does not only mention heaven, but also hell. Apart from the saving work of God carried out when He gave his Son for our sin on the cross of Golgotha, He would have to assign us the agony of hell. The Gospel also proclaims that there is only one way to God the Father. "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Our Lord Jesus said, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him" (John 6:44). These texts do not include animals being drawn to the Father through Jesus Christ. Only man is capable of having a personal relationship with the infinite personal triune God. Man created in the image of God The Bible affirms the dignity of man. Man is sharply distinguished from the rest of God's creation. He is unique! Nothing in creation can be greater or have more dignity than man, for God alone is greater (Ps. 8). Man is different from all other creatures; he is created in the very image of God. Man, as God's image bearer, is elevated above animals and destined to have dominion over all the world (Gen.1:16, Ps. 8:5-9). Of all God's acts of creation recorded in Scripture, this is the only one preceded by the statement that God, as it were, consulted Himself before acting ("And God said, 'Let us make man'" (Gen. 1:26)). This formal fact alone is of great importance because it shows that this creative act differs from all the others. It is the fact that God created only man and woman in His image and likeness (vv.16-27). In the New Testament mankind is also referred to as being "made in God's likeness" (Jam. 3:9). The apostle Paul describes Christ as the perfect image of God. He says, “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit" (2 Cor. 3:18). Scripture testifies that man is a worker and developer. He is the steward of God's world and has been called by God to responsibly enfold creation through his work. Animals and plants are under his dominion. Adam named the animals (Gen. 2:19,20). Scripture also shows that people are allowed to use animals as work animals and for food (Gen. 9:3). Man is the scientist at work in God's laboratory – earth. People may speculate whether animals go to heaven. But Scripture shows that the world is to be understood only in relation to man. Calvin notes, "The Lord Himself by the very order of creation has demonstrated that He created all things for the sake of man." The world created and endowed as a habitation for man in such a way as to serve his true destiny in the worship and adoration of God. The first question of The Westminster Larger Catechism asks, “What is the chief and highest end of man” The answer? “Man's chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully enjoy him for ever.” The same belief is expressed by John Calvin. He states that God made man erect, unlike the other creatures, that he might know and worship God. He wrote, "God created us after His own image in order that His truth might shine forth in us." The New Heaven and Earth When our Lord establishes the New Heaven and Earth upon His return with renewed men and women, will animals also be redeemed? According to Hunt the new earth will be populated with animal life. Alcorn argues that animals will be on the New Earth, which is a redeemed and renewed old earth, in which animals had a prominent role. He believes that on the New Earth, after mankind's resurrection, animals (pets included) who once suffered will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay. Alcorn refers to Romans 8:21-23 for proof text. He assumes animals – as part of a suffering creation – are eagerly awaiting deliverance through mankind's resurrection. As I see it The first chapter of Genesis reveals that God's purpose was that nature in paradise be at peace with itself. Isaiah 66:22 says that the Lord will make the New Heaven and the New Earth. It is making something new from the old. Therefore, no new creation, but recreation, renewal. The New Earth will be the renewal of the old. Isaiah anticipates an eternal Kingdom of God on the New Earth. He describes the glorious future which God's people prayerfully and eagerly anticipate. He points to a time of the renewal of the old paradise where predator and prey will lie down together and be at peace. “The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox...They will neither harm nor destroy in all my holy mountains, says the Lord” (Is. 65:25). Will there be animals on this new world? Apparently there will be plants, rocks, trees and animals on the New Earth. But asked exactly what it will be like, we cannot say because Scripture has not revealed it to us....

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

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? Register for the July 21-30 nationwide challenge here. 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. 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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Economics

Work is Worship

Done right, it is an expression of God’s character and beauty **** There we sat under the starry skies, talking faith, family, fun and business. A familiar space. Like many of you, I get to enjoy some nice campfire-convos each summer. But this particular night challenged me. It didn’t take long for the business conversation of this committed Christ-follower and marketplace leader to leave me saddened. “We’ve tried investing in people for years, even hired consultants to help us! At the end of the day, nothing works. We’ve just resigned ourselves that there’s only one reason we’re in business: to make money. At the root of it, that’s what it’s all about.” Similarly, a Christian business owner recently told me the purpose of his business was to simply retire with a healthy nest egg so that he didn’t have to worry. It's a familiar business ploy by the great Deceiver. Skewed view See, many Christians hold a decidedly skewed image of work. Some view it simply as a curse post-Genesis 3. Others make a false distinction between what they perceive as the sacred (God), and the secular (everything else), separating Sunday’s worship from Monday’s work. The problem with these is that these views of work always disappoint. They force us to view God as an evil taskmaster and you just have to buck-up because “that’s your lot in life.” Or, when my identity is not a reflection of God’s character and design, that’s because I’m choosing to run parts of my life on my own, thank you very much. Both these approaches to work will leave you banging your head against the wall – we're hungry for something more, because we’ve left God out of the picture. Work is a gift Work is God’s gift to us. It’s not a result of the fall into sin. In giving Adam and Eve the job of cultivating and caring for the garden, He not only made them the first landscapers, He designed their DNA so that whatever they put their head, heart and hands to is a form of worship. The same is true for us. Made in His image, vocation is an extension of God's work of maintaining and providing for His creation, bringing Him glory and enjoying Him. Hundreds of times in the Bible the Hebrew word “avodah” is used to mean both “to work” and “to worship.” Our work is meant to serve God’s purposes more than our own, which prevents us from seeing work as a means to stock up our coffers, set ourselves up for retirement, or just plod away ‘cause it's a necessary burden. Simply put, work is worship. The Gospel actually gives us new lenses to see work through: we actually work for God Himself! Consider Eph. 6: “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people...” Now there’s a reason to get out of bed in the morning! Why does it matter? Martin Luther said that you can milk cows to the glory of God. Why? It's your attitude that says, “God I'm doing it for you.” So whether you’re cutting flagstone or someone’s hair today, your handiwork, even with imperfection, is for God’s glory. Your and my work is an expression of His creativity, because we’re made in His image. That’s a calling. That’s worship! So why does having the right understanding of work matter? Because it is only when we understand it rightly that we can best use it to: GIVE GOD THE GLORY: a response of gratitude for what He did for us REFLECT HIS CHARACTER: made in His image, we get to display this to others SERVE PEOPLE: we are conduits for God’s grace and kingdom to extend GIVE: we earn so we can to give to others MEET OUR NEEDS AND INVEST OUR TALENTS: by exercising God-given gifts He provides for us So, the next time you arrive in your office, on the plant floor or at your client's site, remember who you are, and then consider what you are doing. Your spiritual life is being expressed through your work. Your work is worship. It’s life changing. Col. 3:23 says: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people.” It’s my prayer that you will see your work as significant and view that significance in the light of God’s favor and plan. We are created to intimately know God, glorify him and enjoy Him forever. Let’s do that in our work! Deliberate application: How does seeing work as a form of worship change my company’s purpose and values? If I begin doing everything "as though I’m working for the Lord and not for people” (myself or others), how would that change the way I work? Because God loves business and the marketplace, and because we are called to imitate God (Eph. 5:1) let’s consider, how would Jesus do my job? Which people would He serve? What would be His vision or S.M.A.R.T (or specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time) goals? When we finish a job, can we say, “Thank you Father, for making me for this purpose”? https://youtu.be/oqxo3PiIYIU Darren Bosch is a partner at DeliberateU, a group offering business leadership mentoring for Christian business owners in their workplace, families and communities, with the goal of increasing their capacity to grow in both faith and business effectiveness. Their conviction is that God uniquely uses the marketplace to extend His kingdom purpose – to serve others while growing in faith, hope and love. You can learn more at DeliberateU.com where this article first appeared. It was published in the January/Feb 2018 issue of Reformed Perspective....

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Adult non-fiction, Internet

13 quick thoughts on "Screen-Smart Parenting"

Parenting is _________.  You fill in the blank. It is so many things. It is an adventure with no shortage of ups and downs. I am sure we have felt at times proud and accomplished and then just as quickly felt embarrassed and insecure. These beautiful children God has entrusted to our care lead lives that are also filled with adventure and with healthy doses of curiosity. Screen time: less is more This year, we have been reading Screen-Smart Parenting in our homes and coming together to discuss its content together as parents. Our children have access to so much now and the book is encouraging us all to be good gatekeepers so that our children do not develop unhealthy habits and behaviors that the Devil longs to exploit. The digital devises in our homes and that many of our children possess provide opportunities for growth, learning and connection. Here are some tips that the book gives for healthy homes and habits: 1. No TV in the bedroom. 2. No background TV in the home. 3. Turn off devices at least 30 minutes prior to bedtime. 4. Teach your children to ask permission to use technology. Make technology a privilege, not a right. 5. Download/buy games and apps yourself, don't let children do so. 6. Oversee YouTube. Tell your children to report any inappropriate games/sites/social networks to you. 7. Keep family computers/devices in as public a space as possible. 8. Don't permit technology use during meals. 9. Designate screen-free times for the entire family. Smartphones: you need complete access Our children need help with time management online and offline. They need protected study and sleep time. They need coaching on how to use good judgment online, with sticky and uncomfortable situations online. If your child has a smartphone: 10. Parents, you should know all their passwords. 11. Start with having all texts come to your devices. 12. Hold the phone when your child is sleeping (set up a nighttime charging station in a common room). 13. Encourage selfies in moderation. Most of all, our children need for us as their parents to be good digital role models for them. Model that we can be engaged and present with our children without digital technology. We are now reading the last section of the book, Part 3. In it, the author Dr. Jodi Gold walks readers through the development of a Family Digital Technology Agreement. Each will look different but it will help shape the healthy practices you commit to as a family. I am really looking forward to completing this for our own home! Technology: the Devil wants it for his ends Ultimately, we understand that this world is God's and He made it good.  We believe that there is not one square inch of God's world that doesn't have his mark and stamp as creator - and ultimate redeemer.  Satan is not a creator.  He is merely creative in how he has distorted and twisted what God has made.   Technology is a gift. It is good - and we see and experience its benefits all around us. But it is also something that needs boundaries and limits in order for us not to fall into traps of unhealthy habits and behaviors that the Devil has set up to exploit. This is good, hard work, parents. But it is important. And you are not alone! May God continue to give us courage and grace and wisdom as we raise up a generation of young people to know, love and serve Him. To His glory!  Randy Moes is a high school principal at Calvin Christian School in South Holland, Illinois  This article was originally published in our June 2017 issue....

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Interview with an artist

Ruth de Vos is quilting kids and creation

Textile art is perhaps not the typical career choice for someone with both science and engineering degrees, but Australian artist Ruth de Vos says there are “surprisingly many engineers-turned-artists in the world!” A New Thing200 cm by 150 cmThe eucalyptus tree is known by its fruit. A Christian life, too, is one of growth, of maturing in fruit-bearing faith. How beautiful when the transformation from old nature to new nature manifests in ways that cannot be contained internally, like the vibrant eucalyptus blossoms that cannot be contained within their hardwood shells, and burst forth exuberantly for all to enjoy. Ruth has enjoyed arts and crafts, particularly sewing, for as long as she can remember. It was in high school art class that Ruth was introduced to quilting as an art form, and she was hooked. She knew right away that this was something she wanted to pursue further. Ruth recalls, “I think I spent as much time on my art homework as on all my other subjects combined.” But it wasn’t until she became a mother in 2003 that she began playing with quiltmaking techniques more seriously. Children turned out to be a major inspiration and subject for her art as well. “As a mother, I was privileged to experience my little children discovering this wonderful world for themselves, and it often struck me how much joy and wonder they experienced around the little things that we can so easily take for granted as adults. I have put many, many stitches into capturing and sharing that childlike wonder through my artwork!” Ruth also loves to capture the uniquely beautiful Australian flora, where she finds “so much beauty in each leaf, nut and flower.” Not Even Solomon147 cm by 180 cmThese vibrant blossoms were dancing on their pale stems with no regard for the more sombre foliage surrounding them. The frivolity of the blossoms, contrasted with the line and form of the tough and sturdy leaves, displays the beautiful attention to detail in God's creation. It’s clear from the titles and descriptions of Ruth’s art that her view of the world is informed by her faith in Christ. A eucalyptus tree is a jumping-off point to consider fruit bearing in the Christian life. Vibrant blossoms remind Ruth of Scripture verses, and yet another piece reminds Ruth to “embrace the beauty and wonder of the world has made and trust in His provision and care.” Ruth lives with her husband and six children in the beautiful Perth hills of Western Australia, where they enjoy views of eucalyptus trees from every window. She works almost full-time in her home studio as a textile artist, quiltmaker, and illustrator. A drawing table is set up in her lounge. There is a vintage sewing machine, always ready to stitch, in the living room, and a “whole lot of sketching happens poolside while supervising my children during the summer months.” On any given day, Ruth says there are a million ideas floating around in her mind, so the challenge for Ruth is not so much where to find inspiration, but how to decide which idea to run with next. In 2007, Ruth won “Best of Show” at Western Australia’s QuiltWest. A year later, she held her first solo art exhibition. Some ten years after that, Ruth ran her first piecework workshop. More recently, Ruth launched Creative Piecework, a quiltmaking class. Indeed, there’s no shortage of ideas and avenues for Ruth to share her work with others. To find out more about Ruth and see samples of her work, and maybe learn more about quiltmaking, visit her website, or follow her on Instagram. Wind of His Words129 cm by 171 cmThis textile artwork is a response to the final chapters of the Book of Job, where God speaks from the whirlwind, reminding us of His sovereignty over all creation. The imagery of children playing in the rain captures the innocence and joy found in the natural world, even amid life’s storms. Just as God sustains the rain, the clouds, and the wind, He sustains us through every season of life. This piece serves as a reminder to embrace the beauty and wonder of the world He has made, trusting in His provision and care....

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News

Saturday Selections – April 26, 2025

Christianity & global warming (10 min) Some Christians think global warming is a scientific, and not a theological, question. To that, Jeff Durbin replies: "I'll approach it as an atheist...As an atheist with an atheist worldview that believes that all of us are cosmic accidents and that our ancestors were bacteria and then into fish and then to African apes into where we are now, I have a question: Why should humans care? Right? Not a theological question? Really?" Your phone habits aren't just about you "The worst thing about collective action problems is that even those who are most resolute in opposing the trend have no choice but to either join it or suffer its effects anyway: if I decide to stubbornly hold out as the one person in the room not bending over my phone, I’ll only have the pleasure of looking at the tops of everyone else’s heads." Ontario's top court rules against a COVID-era gatherings ban "This is the first major court ruling that found COVID-era restrictions on gatherings unconstitutional..." Coming away cold "'The reason we come away so cold from reading the Word is, because we do not warm ourselves at the fire of meditation.' We must slowly ponder it, we must diligently apply ourselves to it, we must let ourselves meditate upon it until we have grown not only in information but in wisdom." The Golden Rule's 3 impacts on a business's bottom line So many employees hate their jobs. Changing that might be hard but it isn't complicated: follow the Golden Rule. Taking down the arguments for tariffs (15 min) Trudeau, Carney, and Poilievre have all agreed to impose tariffs on the US in response to Donald Trump's tariffs. So what's the other side (Prov. 18:17) you aren't hearing? As British economist Daniel Hannan notes, "Just because somebody else is shooting himself in the foot, the worst possible response is to take aim and blow off a couple of your own toes in order to show them." He notes free trade, rather than tariffs, always makes countries richer. So why isn't free trade more popular? While Hannan says free trade is unpopular, he doesn't go too deep into why. One reason might be because it runs up against our sinful instincts. Those in power seem incapable of, or too arrogant to, consider a problem might be made worse via their active intervention. And citizens facing difficulties likely wouldn't accept their government doing nothing – tariffs might not make economic sense, but hitting back makes great political sense in the midst of an election. In the secular world, government is a God-substitute, and the world wants their god to act. ...

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News

Pierre Poilievre: sometimes access comes with too high a cost

During the English-language leaders debate on April 17, the Conservative Party’s Pierre Poilievre was challenged to explain why he hadn’t gotten his top-secret security clearance. Prime Minister Carney noted that the other three party leaders on the stage had gotten their clearances, so why had Poilievre refused to do so too? The Conservative leader explained, “…when the government made this recent offer, they said that if I got the secret security clearance briefings that I would be gagged under the security law and I could be prosecuted if I spoke freely about matters of foreign interference. Now, given that Canada has experienced Chinese interference by Beijing, the government of China, in two consecutive elections, I needed to do my job, to speak freely without fear of prosecution, and that was not something I would be allowed to do.” He's presenting a principle – silence can be too high a price to pay for access – that Christians need to take to heart too. It’s safe to say that this magazine’s readership has very little interest in the other three parties represented on the debate stage. The Bloc Québécois, NDP, and Liberals all ban pro-lifers from running for them – only the Conservative Party is open to Christian participation. But what does the Conservative Party expect of Christians when we join its ranks? During the campaign Poilievre made this pledge: “I can guarantee you there will be no laws restricting abortion passed when I'm prime minister…. There will be no laws or other restrictions imposed on a woman's right to decide to do with her body as she wishes and that is something that I am guaranteeing to you and to all Canadians." He’s allowing more than 50 pro-life candidates to run for his party, but should he win, does he want any of his MPs, or any of their supporters, crying for justice for the more than 100,000 preborn children who are killed each year? He’s offered us memberships in his party, and the chance to have our people run for elected office, but he certainly wants something in exchange: don’t embarrass your party leader by demanding that the unborn’s blood “be precious in his sight” (Ps. 72:14b). But like Mr. Poilievre, we mustn’t let our silence be bought. What can we do instead? God’s people can take a page from the persistent widow of Luke 18:1-8 who wouldn’t stop presenting her pleas, even though the judge wasn’t interested in delivering justice. Why did he eventually hear her? Because she would not be quiet. So if Poilievre wins, we need to be every bit as loud as we can be, no matter what access it might cost us. If God’s people won’t advocate for the unborn, who else is left? Of course, the primary lesson of this passage in Luke is not about persistence in politics, but in prayer. We can try what we might, but God can do what He will. And God tells us we should never stop praying to Him, because unlike the unjust in positions of power, He is sympathetic to our pleas: “Will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?” That’s something Mr. Poilievre also needs to hear from us, lest he ends his days standing before this just Judge in blood-soaked robes. ...

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News

Becoming Chinada? – a look at our country, from the eyes of a recently arrived Chinese family

"The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which." Everyone should recognize this passage as the dreary finale of George Orwell’s Animal Farm. While it can be a slow journey from pigdom to humanity – from oppressed to oppressor – one who watches can see signs of the slide to where “some are more equal than others.” Liang and his wife Qi are uniquely positioned to observe this slide. They recently emigrated from China to Ontario. My husband and I sat down with their family a few weeks ago and they opened up a page from their history. When I asked them, “So why did you come to Canada?” their 9-year-old piped up, “Because we had too much homework in China!” We all laughed, but in his own way, the kid was right on. Liang was quick to explain, “We came to give our children a better future, and some real options when they grow older.” Options are exactly what the young Chinese person does not have. There is only one road to success: do well in school, go to university, graduate with good marks, wear a suit and live the Chinese dream. The one rule which cannot be broken is compliance. Students must answer the same, act the same, wear uniforms, sport the same hairdo and walk in lockstep with the regime. “It’s like students walking into a factory and each coming out the exact same,” Liang commented. Critical thinking is shunned. Commands must be followed to the letter. These are the winners in Chinese society. And the losers? They become tradesmen, groveling in dirt, shame and dishonor. “Tradesmen often give up on themselves, use drugs, find mediocre jobs – and live the animal life,” Liang said. Why this big focus on compliance? Liang says it’s because robot citizens are easily controlled. And control is what the Chinese government is all about. Liang’s family experienced new layers of repression as the government’s “social credit” system was rolled out, which brought with it closer scrutiny of individual’s behavior. Liang and Qi saw that coercion grow to stifling levels under COVID, being forced to spend months on end stuck inside their house. They wanted better for their kids. In 2020, they made the decision to move to Canada, but weren’t able to actually leave China until a few years later. When the family did finally arrive in southern Ontario, they were ready for a fresh start, fresh opportunities and freedom. The family began adjusting to Canadian culture. But Liang began to see little things about Canada that reminded him of China. “The symptoms are the same,” Liang explained, describing a concerted attempt to destroy freedom and democracy. He sees socialism as a train, with education and censorship pulling hard as locomotives. The ultimate destination? A place eerily similar to totalitarian China. Influencing what’s said and read Censorship of free speech and the media became abundantly obvious to the average Canadian during COVID. Then, as a result of Trudeau’s 2023 Online News Act, Google and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) were told to either pay the government millions, or restrict users from sharing news articles. Google chose to pay $100 million a year, and Meta decided to put a news ban in place rather than pay out. This ban has greatly decreased online discourse and hurt small news outlets across the country, which had already been on the cusp of shutting down. Further restrictions were pursued in the 2024 Online Harms Act which has not yet been passed. In the name of safety, the Liberal government was seeking more control. Space doesn’t permit getting into the details, but Jordan Peterson called it “truly the most authoritarian law conceivable.” And of course, there’s the government’s ongoing funding of the CBC, at $1.4 billion a year, effectively cementing its role as a Liberal mouthpiece. As Christians, we staunchly believe in the freedom to speak the truth. As Peter and the apostles responded to the high priest and council, “We must obey God rather than man” (Acts 5:29). On a civil level, that manifests itself as freedom of speech. But when government doesn’t acknowledge God, they start seeing themselves as the arbiters of what is true, and see for themselves an increasing role in suppressing speech they deem harmful. And so, socialism stifles free speech and the spread of truth, instead requiring citizens pay homage to the government. Molding the next generation Talking about education really got Liang going. His kids have been in the system for some time now, and it’s “a different method for the same purpose” in Liang’s books. “They’re trying to kill your thoughts… In China, they make education extremely hard. Here in Canada, they try to stupefy the kids!” There’s a strong focus, he said, on being nice, mellow and compliant. Critical thinking isn’t taught, and students are expected to regurgitate what they’re told. “Woke stuff,” Liang said, “is the ultimate compliance test. We give you absurd things to go along with and then check – are you compliant?” Fostering anger and envy Presenting a target of hatred is an important car in the socialism train. The most recent example of this is the Elbows Up campaign, and the increasing antipathy towards a nation who has been, by and large, an excellent ally for most of our history. This diversion tactic for the Liberal party has been shockingly successful with the vast majority of Canadians, who were once sick of Trudeau, now jumping on this bandwagon. A more subtle element is creating artificial tension, or in Marxist terms, class warfare. Liang summed up Jagmeet Singh’s campaign as a posed dichotomy: “Do you want a government for millionaires or for the people?” That’s fair commentary, given Singh’s comments that he doesn’t work “for the rich and powerful,” but for the people, and his putting the blame of soaring costs squarely on “corporate greed.” Singh is honing in on our inclination to covet our neighbor’s stuff… and the big boss’s position and power at work. Of course, the Bible condemns extorting the poor, and Christ calls us to avoid showing favoritism to the wealthy. But wealth in itself is not a sin – in fact, it can be the blessed result of hard work. Biblical “big bosses” like Abraham, Boaz, Job, and Joseph of Arimathea are honored as blessings to the community, and we, too, should honor those who administer well. For Liang this is another cog in the wheel of socialism – there’s a strong push to create division between groups who historically have worked well together. Where would Canadians be without economic drivers like capitalists, corporations and entrepreneurs? Unemployed, most likely. Scared and poor In that train of socialism, Liang would add rising crime (which creates dependency upon the police), and rising taxes and inflation, which creates – you guessed it! – more dependency. When those fail, there is always force. The truckers going to Ottawa and having the Emergencies Measures Act invoked on them? “That’s very Chinese,” said Liang. “After everything fails, they have the guns,” he said, recalling China’s silencing of whistleblowers. “Lazy education, censorship of free speech, government-owned news, rising crime, taxes, inflation… It’s a master plan of socialism. The people in power remain in power, those in lower classes remain there. And everybody is supposed to be happy. You’re like pigs on a farm.” Intentionally or not so, Liang has brought us back to George Orwell’s pigs on a farm. Given the track we’re on, is there any way to “Stop the train!”? Liang believes hope lies in providing options to our kids and teaching them to actually think. “As long as you have options, you have hope, and can choose wisely.” Ever present refuge It’s a troubling time, and hearing a piece-by-piece comparison of Canada and China from a veteran of communism is not encouraging. Will our nation continue its sprint towards becoming Chinada? This election is a watershed moment. But there’s one thing George Orwell didn’t factor into his stories: God Himself. Our King reigns. As Psalm 2 declares, our King laughs in derision at the raging politicians. He will speak to them in His wrath and terrify them in His fury. So be wise, oh prime minister! Be warned, oh rulers of the earth! Serve the Lord with fear. And for us – blessed are all who take refuge in Him. Amen. Names and some details changed to protect sources from reprisals by the Chinese government....

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Saturday Selections – April 19, 2025

Embrace reality - brought to you by the letter f This is both fantastic – encouraging a farm hand to embrace reality over his feelings – and falls short because Granny points to a changeable dictionary as the final arbitrator of reality, rather than to the author of reality Himself, our God, and His unchanging Word. So God's people need to point to our sure Foundation. Does the 2nd Commandment apply to the King of Kings? Does the 2nd Commandment apply to film portrayals of Christ? This is a pertinent question at a time when there are three bio-films about Christ scheduled for theaters, including the animated The King of Kings for kids, and also the popular streaming series The Chosen, now in its fourth season. Roman Catholics, Mormons, and many an evangelical don't believe the 2nd Commandment applies. But as this article highlights, some Reformers such as Herman Bavinck, Joel Beeke, and John Calvin thought this commandment forbids any representation of any member of the Trinity. Why? Part of it may be practical – how could we ever visually depict the immaterial God the Father, or the Holy Spirit? But Jesus was a man, so isn't that different? Well, another practical consideration is that in extending what was written down into a visual medium, additions will not only have to be made, but made up (because we don't know what they were wearing or looked like, etc.). And as happened with The Chosen, once producers and writers are making additions, they seem to feel free to change what was written down too. Albert Mohler on IVF Mohler notes that the New York Times is asking questions that the world really can't answer. Christians need to ask these same questions, and we do have answers. So, "what do we owe the embryo?" Mohler knows "Christians must now face the question of IVF and embryo ethics head on." Creationist lessons from Australia’s rabbit plague From 24 rabbits 166 years ago, Australia now has a rabbit population of approximately 2oo million! This article is about how creationists... "...are often asked: how could we get so many people in such a short time since the Ark landed (about 4,500 years)? Similarly, how could we have so many land vertebrates today if most came from a pair on the Ark (seven pairs for ‘clean’ animals)? The answer is exponential growth." Australia's News South Wales has passed its own "anti-conversion therapy" law A law that makes it illegal to help someone convert from homosexuality to heterosexuality is now in effect in NSW Australia. The wrongs it is supposed to right are forced conversions, but as Anglican Archbishop Kanishka Raffel has noted, "the initial consultation paper provided no direct evidence of conversion practices in New South Wales." So why this law? Well, if we lived in a rational world then laws would only be proposed when needed – again, as the Archbishop put it, "Good laws must target extraordinary harm not ordinary faith." But the law is here anyway... because the world hates God (John 15:18-19, 1 John 3:13, 2 Tim. 3:12). "...now it’s time for churches to call this out for the massive intrusion it is on liberty of conscience, and its naked attempt to force self-censorship on faith communities at the risk of prosecution. And now is the time for faith-based schools to remind their students and their key stakeholders – government and well-heeled parents – that the gospel is actually all about conversion. Always about conversion." What's not fair about free trade? The key point here would be "we shouldn't make things harder to obtain simply on the grounds that they originate somewhere else." This gentleman has an evolutionary slant – he thinks the reason people instinctively object to free trade is a remnant of our evolutionary programming – but what he attributes to evolution can be better explained by our sinful nature. We are envious and seek our own advantage even if it hurts others, so no wonder then that we'll, for example, push for tariffs that help our industry even if those tariffs make things more expensive for everyone else. ...

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