Most Recent

Politics

Top 10 political wins in recent years

Reformed Christians spend a lot of time discussing and resisting bad policy developments. We have much to lament when it comes to public policy in Canada in the last few decades.

But we often forget that we’ve had some wins too. And so, the ARPA Canada staff brainstormed more than two dozen political wins in the last decade or so and voted on which were the best. Each staff member gave 10 points to their top pick, 9 points to their second pick, etc.

Here’s the consensus on the top 10 political wins in Canada in recent years.

#10. Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Initiative

(18 pts)

In 2010, Canada played a leadership role in the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Initiative (MCHN), a joint project among several developed countries to end the preventable deaths of newborns and children in developing countries across the world. Canada committed $6.5 billion to this endeavor.

While that program itself is a laudable pro-life policy action, it was a victory in another regard. In almost every possible measure, Canada has succumbed to the sexual revolution, and to the pro-abortion advocates, as evidenced by the fact that we are the only democratic country in the world not to have any laws against abortion whatsoever. There was enormous pressure for the Harper government to include funding for abortion in this program. But they resisted the pressure and excluded funding for abortions in developing countries.

#9. Reversal of Alberta’s gay-straight-alliance policy

(26 pts)

In 2017, Alberta passed Bill 24, An Act to Support Gay Straight Alliances, which required all schools to establish a gay-straight alliance club upon the request of any student. The legislation deleted the requirement that parents had to be notified if their children joined the club. It also required schools to “immediately grant permission” to any activities and events initiated by the club and threatened to revoke the funding and accreditation of independent schools who failed to establish these clubs.
Christian schools and Christian parents were rightfully alarmed by this legislation. They fought back. And they won. Just a couple of years later, a new government deleted the worst of Bill 24’s provisions via Bill 8 (2019).

#8. National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking

(30 pts)

After the landmark Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act was passed in 2014 (see #1a), the Canadian government realized that simply having this good law against prostitution wasn’t enough to stop the horrendous crime of human trafficking. Far too many women and girls were being trafficked into sexual slavery in Canada.

And so, in 2019, the government created a National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking that ran from 2019-2024 to provide greater focus on enforcing the existing law and helping trafficked women escape prostitution. The strategy promoted greater cooperation among various federal government departments and even provincial and local police forces.

#7. Removal of hate speech offences from Canada’s Human Rights Act

(37 pts)

Free speech has long been under attack in Canada. Many of the most egregious violations of free speech in our country happened under the hate speech provision of the Canadian Human Rights Act.

It was relatively easy to bring a successful hate speech complaint. Many of the complaints brought to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled against Christian speech and let non-Christian speech off the hook. For example, musicians were found not guilty of hate speech for a song that repeated “kill the Christian,” but Christian ministers and activists were found guilty of hate speech when criticizing homosexuality. Given that this hate speech law broadly violated our society’s guarantee of free speech and was often aimed squarely at Christians, we rejoiced when this section was deleted from Canada’s law in 2013.

#6. Improvements to provincial drug policies

(39 pts)

Tens of thousands of Canadians have died from illicit drug use in the past decade. These tragedies sparked many calls for provinces to change their approach to drug policy. British Columbia went perhaps the furthest, effectively decriminalizing the possession of a wide variety of illicit drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine, handing out “safe supply” of drugs on the street, and even allowing the public consumption of these drugs.

But in recent months British Columbia has begun to realize the errors of this approach to drug policy and has changed direction, recriminalizing the use of illicit drugs in public and promising to require those who are unable to escape their addiction to go into treatment programs. Another province, Alberta, has adopted a robust drug recovery program policy in response to this growing crisis.

#5. Manitoba’s conscience rights legislation

(39 pts)

In 2016, right after the legalization of euthanasia across Canada, Manitoba passed legislation to ensure the conscience rights of health professionals not to participate in euthanasia if the practice violates their conscience. This legislation trumps any policy that a medical regulatory body might try to impose on its members. In many other provinces, medical regulatory bodies have policies that require health care professionals to provide an effective referral for euthanasia even if they don’t want to participate in euthanasia themselves. For many Christian doctors and nurses, effective referrals amount to aiding and abetting a suicide so these referrals violate their conscience. Manitoba is the only province that has passed legislation to protect the right of such health care practitioners to follow their conscience in this matter.

#4. Saskatchewan Parents’ Bill of Rights

(41 pts)

Last year, Saskatchewan passed a comprehensive parents’ bill of rights in education, becoming the first province in Canada to do so. Other provinces have some statements and protections of the rights of parents in legislation, but none go as far as the new Saskatchewan bill of rights. Among other things, this legislation guarantees the right of parents to act as the primary decision-maker for their child’s education. This includes requiring that parents be informed on a regular basis of their child’s attendance, behaviors and academic achievement in school, be informed of any sexual education in the classroom, and give consent before a school uses a student’s newly preferred name or pronouns.

#3. Delay of expansion of MAiD to mental illness

(82 pts)

Euthanasia was first legalized in Canada in 2016. Over the last eight years, through a combination of court rulings and new legislation, Canada’s euthanasia regime has become increasingly permissive. It has often seemed like Canada’s euthanasia laws only change in the wrong direction.

Thankfully, it is still illegal to euthanize someone who requests MAiD on the basis of a mental illness alone. While the government had planned to legalize this earlier this year, significant pushback led Parliament to delay this expansion until 2027. That might not seem like a huge policy victory. But this delay does protect Canadians with mental illness from euthanasia for four years longer than the original legislation intended. Furthermore, 2027 is after the next federal election and the party currently leading in the polls (the Conservatives) has vowed to entirely cancel this planned expansion.

#1b. Alberta’s new gender identity laws

(85 pts)

Next up, we have the suite of laws newly introduced (but not yet passed at the time of writing) in Alberta to combat gender ideology in the province. Three separate bills aim to:

ban medical transitioning for minors under the age of 16
require the consent or notification of parents for their children to learn about gender and sexuality in the classroom or change their gender identity at school
limit women’s sports to biological women only

While all three bills could be improved in various ways, they are by far the most ambitious steps taken by any Canadian government to reverse the spread of gender ideology. While New Brunswick and Saskatchewan (see #4) took steps in this regard, Alberta has gone further with its changes to the education system and, if these bills pass, will be the only province in the country to significantly limit medical transitioning for minors.

#1a. Canada's revised prostitution law (PCEPA)

(85 pts)

Tied for the top of the list is Canada’s new prostitution law, the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act, commonly known as PCEPA. It was passed in 2014 after the Supreme Court of Canada struck down Canada’s existing prostitution laws. The original prostitution laws criminalized almost every part of prostitution except the actual act itself. So, while prostitution itself was legal, it was illegal to advertise the sale of sex, operate a brothel, or profit from someone else’s prostitution.

When the Supreme Court struck down these laws, Parliament seized the opportunity to adopt a very different policy model. Canada’s old laws treated prostitution as a public nuisance to keep out of public view. But PCEPA treats prostitution as a form of sexual exploitation, which better accounts for the ugly realities of prostitution. This new law criminalized both the sale and the purchase of sex, thus publicly condemning prostitution in every circumstance. However, it gave individual immunity to prostitutes to better enable them to seek the help of police and other community services to escape the abusive system of prostitution.

PCEPA is both a good and durable law. Originally introduced under the Harper government, the legislation has survived several court challenges. The Trudeau government hasn’t touched the legislation, despite the Liberal party officially favoring the legalization of prostitution. PCEPA is an important piece of legislation that was intentionally designed to help women escape prostitution, enable law enforcement to crack down on pimps, and discourage men from purchasing sex.

Note: this list only includes laws passed by the federal Parliament and provincial legislatures, and policies that the Prime Minister or Premier have the power to enact. A top ten court decisions would be an entirely different list!

Full Article

Interview with an artist

Jason Bouwman is finding hope in the desert

Antelope CanyonOil on birch panel | 12X16May 2024Antelope Canyon in Page, AZ. is possibl...

Assorted

6 on Anxiety

“I have anxiety.” How often do we hear this phrase nowadays? And most of us can relate to it. There’s so much to be anxious about in our mode...

Tidbits – December 2024

Red flags apply to politics too John Piper thinks that deciding who you are going to vote for is a lot like picking out a potential spouse. In both c...

Being the Church

On encouraging courage

Part of God’s equipping us to courage also involves rightly understanding what real courage is ***** Fear. We all feel it at times. We might be facing a job interview or something even more serious like a disease, or the loss of a loved one. We wonder, What’s going to happen? Even though we trust in God’s sovereignty, our weak selves cannot help but flail about at times. So what’s the answer to such fear? Courage, of course. But not simply the sort that depends on the steadiness of our own resolve. God calls us to a different sort of courage, and He equips us to it too. Part of that equipping is the communion of saints He gives us. I find it intriguing that the word “encouragement” is, well, full of courage. To encourage is, as the dictionary puts it, “to inspire with courage, spirit, or confidence: to stimulate by assistance, approval, etc.” Our words and deeds can aid others to feel courageous and tackle or re-tackle whatever situation was frightening them. We’ve all experienced it – a person comes along at the right time, and offers the right words to turn discouragement into hope. Or your support may have come from a sermon, a book, a family member, or a brother or sister in Christ. From feeling downcast (the word that Psalms uses), you began to see your way forward. We all need courage, which means we all need the encouragement of others. Specific attributes of courage Part of God’s equipping us to courage also involves rightly understanding what real courage is. We all admire the person who’ll run into a burning building or jump into a river to save someone’s life. This takes courage, for certain. As the actor John Wayne once said, “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.” That is so true. But as we look at our daily lives, we can find many less dramatic but important ways that this virtue should also be applied. Before we look at a few specific ways we may need to “saddle up,” let’s delve into a few more specific attributes of courage. In a recent presentation at my church entitled “You’re Gonna Need That Spine,” Dr. Joe Rigney gave the following in-depth definition of courage: “Courage is a habitual, sober-minded self-possession that overcomes fear through the power of a deeper desire for a greater good.” Along those lines, Rigney exhorted us to consider the following summarization of its attributes: Courage involves double vision. You not only see the danger out there that’s frightening you, at the same time you can also foresee the good that would come in overcoming your fear. For example, a child is drowning and though you are afraid of the cold water and waves, you know that your swimming ability may save the child’s life. Or perhaps you are afraid of presenting yourself poorly at a job interview, but you go because you foresee the good that will come if you are hired. Courage is a habit. You don’t just wake up one morning and have courage – to have it, you need to cultivate and grow into it. This will involve facing difficult situations repeatedly, and successfully overcoming them. For example, public speaking is a common fear. But if you go ahead with your speech even as your knees and hands are shaking, then repeating the experience will build courage. Living through a difficult situation teaches you that God has given you these abilities, and assures you that you’ll be able to manage future such situations, through God’s strength. Courage manifests in risk-taking and fortitude. There is a daring or risk-taking that is about seeing the good we don’t yet have – the girl you’d like to ask out, or the job you’d love to have – and being willing to risk danger, despite the fear we feel. This the courage that’s needed to take a hill in battle. Then there is the kind of courage involved in keeping that same hill when the counterattack comes. This fortitude or endurance is about holding onto the good that we already have. It resists the impulse to flee or retreat in the face of hardship and difficulty and pain. This is the courage that has us fight for our marriages, even if the going gets tough. Instead of giving up, we courageously address the problems. Recklessness is the opposite of courage. We understand that cowardice is the flipside of courage – cowardice shrinks back from danger, gives in to fear, and retreats in the face of pain, difficulty, or death. But courage is also the opposite of recklessness, which it is sometimes confused with. Reckless is more akin to crazy – thoughtlessly punching the gas pedal on an icy curve. Courage is always guided by reason, wisdom, and what is true. Courage recognizes the difference between necessary and unnecessary risks – some risks are not worth taking, so the reason you’d take a risk matters. Everyone needs a spine Just as Esther in the Old Testament was told, we have been placed in this world now, “for such a time as this.” We live in an unrighteous culture, where Christians are attacked as narrow-minded or haters when we dare to speak God’s truth. We need to hear again the words of Joshua 1:9, where God encouraged Joshua: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” As Rigney said, “ is the source of our strength. There’s a reason. He is both the good that you cling to and the power that enables you to cling to it. He enables us to hold on when we want to let go.” In an article from the C.S. Lewis Institute on courage, Arthur W. Lindsley says: “How can we be free from this fear and have the courage to live for the truth in our times? Jesus says, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free’ (John 8:32). Jesus exhorts us to continue obeying His word as the path to knowing the truth (in an experiential way) and to freedom. This is especially true with fear, anxiety, and worry.” Lindsley goes on to say, “Courage is not the absence of fear but acting despite it.” It is also important to note, as Rigney stated, that “Courage is a human trait, not a masculine one. It is required of everyone.” How many ways do we often give in to fear, anxiety, or worry instead of courageously trusting God to take care of us? If there is an illness that must be remedied by a difficult and frightening procedure, we must step forward in courage. If we are in need of a new job or home, we need courage to take the necessary steps to find one. If we are supposed to provide for a family, it may take courage to go day by day to a job that we really don’t love. If we have a rift between us and a brother or sister in the Lord (or anyone, really), we may feel fear about addressing the situation. But Christ says that we must (Matt. 5:24; 18:15), and so we need courage to do so, even within our own households. If a woman finds it a scary thought, to follow a fallible man in her marriage, she needs courage. 1 Peter 3 describes a submissive attitude and action and a gentle and quiet spirit, and he ends that section by saying that we can take inspiration from “holy women of the past who put their hope in God” – we can be like Sarah “if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.” Rigney states that “Courage is about what happens when things get hard.” He encourages us to face hard situations by Christ’s strength without grumbling and self-pity. “It’s such hope that firmly believes that hardships, trials, and dangers are instruments in the hands of a good God for our good. This subdues the passion of fear and the anxiety that rides up – What’s going to happen? I can’t control the future, what about the kids? One of the key traits of the Proverbs 31 woman is that she laughs at the time to come. She looks at the future with all the possibilities, including the horrific ones, and she says ‘bring it on.’ Sarah is a model of the sober-minded hopeful obedience and submission to her husband. Because of her hope in God, she conquered her fears, maintained that gentle spirit in submission first to God and then to Abram.” Imagine the absolute trust in God that made David step forward and challenge Goliath. Imagine the courage that enabled Jael to invite her enemy into her tent and conquer him. We may never be in that sort of danger. But we need courage to face the fears that we encounter in our daily lives. As this quotation from Mary Anne Radmacher suggests, “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, ‘I’ll try again tomorrow.’” We all have fears that need tackling, and we all need to do what we can to inspire courage in others. Conclusion How wonderful that God has established a community life for us in our churches where we are told to stir up one another to good works (Heb. 10:24), to have the older ones teach the younger ones from their experience (Titus 2), and to show compassion and love one another in every way (John 13:34-35). After we have stepped forward courageously, we are in a position to help someone else to do the same. Whom might you encourage today? Sharon L. Bratcher has just published her new book "Life and Breath and Everything" containing over 50 articles that were published in the past 15 years. You can find her book on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca....

News

Saturday Selections – Dec. 14, 2024

Why you shouldn't lie to your kids about Santa... ...or else this will happen! For more lies check out this follow up. And for a more serious take on why not to lie to your kids about Santa, check out "Yes Virginia, there was a Santa Claus." Responding wisely to pop psychology Much that trades on the name of "Science" is trying to claim for itself that same credibility that we all found in our basic physics and chemistry classes back in high school. Drop that ball and it will fall at a steady 9.8 m/s² every time. But the "science" of evolution is not reproducible like that. And in the field of medicine, the human body is so complex that the same treatment on two different people could result in two very different outcomes. So there's certain science, and then there is a whole realm that shares this same name but which involves guesswork, assumptions, and even philosophy. Christians need to be aware that psychology isn't as measurable as physics – it isn't that sort of firmer science – and it has, over the decades, had trends that at times were clearly unbiblical, like the 1980s self-esteem trend. Christian counselors that leaned too hard on popular psychology then baptized this trend with the biblical text "love your neighbor as yourself" and put a twist to it, saying self-esteem was important because you can't love your neighbor if you don't love yourself. Which isn't at all what Jesus was saying. This isn't a long article, and it is worth a slow read. Did Pangaea really exist? "Today, we have seven continents scattered across the globe. North America, South America, Africa, Asia, Australia, and Antarctica. But once upon a time, did all of these continents link together to form one single supercontinent?" More scrolling = more marital problems Smartphones are causing problems for our children, but did you know more smartphone usage is also associated with lower marital happiness, a higher inclination toward divorce, and infrequent sex? 5 ways the world would be worse without Christianity ...and number 5 is the big one. The one thing that'll free you from FOMO When you look upward, with a heavenly mindset, you won't be obsessed with FOMO – the Fear Of Missing Out. God is better than anything here, so don't make your life about experiences – make it about Him. ...

Economics - Home Finances

How do you buy a house when you are 19?

Our son pulled it off with hard work, and more than a little help from his parents ***** Our son Seth read this story and gave his permission to share it. How do you buy a house when you are 19? The answer in our case is hard work, lots of saving and a whole lot of parental help. My husband and I have four children of whom Seth is the oldest at 19. I’ve always enjoyed keeping an eye on the housing market, and after I learned Seth was interested in buying a house, my eyes were glued to the daily real estate listings. It wasn’t long before one came to my attention due to its low, low price. It was a 920-square-foot, 72-year-old small house on a large lot, right in town, listed for $315,000. To put the price of this house into perspective, in our town right now there are 16 houses listed between $385,000 and $777,000. We set up an appointment to see the house the very day it was listed and it had already had five views and one offer on it. We looked at it at 5pm and put in an offer a couple hours later that same evening. As my son says, he went to work without any idea that he would even be looking at a house that day, never mind putting an offer on one that very evening. This was the first house he had looked at. He started at 13 Seth started working at McDonald’s at 13. We live in a town where if your family is trying to limit screen time and your kids aren’t really interested in sports, there isn’t a lot to do. So, that meant there was lots of time to work Saturdays and a couple hours for a couple days a week after school. The rule we made for our kids when they started working was that 10% of what they made went to church, 10% to spend on what they wanted, and the rest went to savings. These savings could only go towards something big, like a car or a house. As this was something we also did with their allowance when they were younger (although different percentages) it was a natural progression, and did not come as a shock to the kids. As we provide everything our children need, we didn’t want them to have access to huge amounts of spending money – we did not think this was wise, or a fair representation of what life as an adult is like. Baggie budget Also, wanting our children to learn more on making wise financial decisions, at age 13 we instituted “baggies.” We take plastic Ziplock baggies and mark them with an amount and a description, and every month we fill them with the amount listed on the baggie. Money in the baggie can only be used for what it says it is for on the baggie. For example, we have a baggie for clothes that is $45/month. Every month we fill that baggie with $45 which the child uses for all his/her clothes needs. The child can decide to shop the sales, save the money for a couple months for a larger purchase, buy second-hand or even possibly have to wait for a couple weeks if money is not spent wisely. Some other baggie examples we have used are for gifts and school supplies. We started out with a lot more categories, but eventually found these to be most useful. Invest low During the spring of 2020 when the stock market crashed, I talked to Seth about investing his savings under my name as he was too young to open an account himself. I used this time to teach him how to look for solid companies, read financial documents, search for past dividend payment history, and explain the difference between owning a part of a good company versus gambling your money away by putting it into meme stocks hoping to get rich quick. By 2024 Seth had saved up $30,000 for a down payment, and having graduated in 2023 he was working full time at a small company. Actually, more than full time: he was picking up an extra half hour each day of overtime, as well as working any Saturdays that he was offered. A day or two after we put in our offer, we got word back that the seller was willing to work with us. I think the seller picked us over the other offer partly due to the fact that we did not make the offer subject to financing, and because we were willing to consider taking on the renter (a relative of the owner) with the property. Help from mom and dad Probably the biggest factor in being able to buy this property was that we, the parents, were willing to use the equity that we had in our own house to take out a loan to cover the other house. We bought our own house 7 years ago and since then it has almost doubled in value according to our BC assessment. So we actually hold the mortgage that Seth pays for – all three of our names are on the title to our son’s house. As soon as Seth is able to take on the mortgage amount himself (as he pays the mortgage down and gains equity in his own house) he will do so, and we will take our names off his title. Another way we have helped out is that Seth lives at home rent free (he is renting his house out at $1900/month), with the understanding that the extra money he makes will go towards making extra payments on his house. This arrangement won’t be long term, as we will be reassessing in a year and a half. After that he can either move into his house or try to find a smaller, cheaper rental for himself so that he is still making extra by renting out his house. We could allow him to stay, either with or without rent, but we think it is also good for young people to struggle a bit, not always relying on their parents, because, as the Apostle Paul says (in a different context), suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, which does not put us to shame (Rom. 5:3-5). The pros to the situation include the obvious: that not only was Seth actually able to purchase a house without a huge down payment, but also that, with our names on the title, it brought his house insurance down as we haven’t ever had a claim. Probably the most concerning con is that lending and borrowing between family members can lead to strain and resentment and family discord (according to Dave Ramsey). Another concern for us is that if Seth ever needed to make an insurance claim it would probably affect our own insurance rates in the future. From 25 to 10 years Right now, Seth pays $683 bi-weekly with only $212 of that going towards his principal. His mortgage is 25 years, but he makes as many extra payments on his principal as possible, which will hopefully see him paying off the house within 10 years. It is pretty crazy to see how much interest there is on a 25-year loan and how little your regular payment actually goes towards paying off your debt. On the other hand, it is amazing how putting extra payments on your mortgage can take months and even years off the mortgage payment schedule. I feel like as parents we have tried to teach our children to be good stewards of their money, tried to open their eyes to different opportunities and tried to show them how to use the gifts that God has given them in ways that glorify His name....

Assorted

A New Atheist loves that old time Religion

In 2007, four now fairly famous atheists – Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, and Richard Dawkins – met to discuss their views. They filmed the discussion, titled it “The Four Horseman,” and when it went viral, they became known as the “Four Horseman of New Atheism.” The name of their group was ironic, since they certainly had no interest in the book of Revelation, in which four horsemen bring God’s judgment on the rebellious world; however, it was also fitting, since the Four Horsemen of Revelation are destructive, as are the New Atheists. Even they seemed to understand the destructive nature of their godless stance. Daniel Dennett saw Darwinism’s Dangerous Idea (the title of his 1995 book) as “a universal acid" that would eat through whatever it came into contact with. The despair of our current culture supports that, though in a way that Dennett did not intend. Cultural Christian? Of these “horsemen” the most famous today is Richard Dawkins, who is best known for his book The God Delusion. His prominence is partly because he is one of only two still living: Christopher Hitchens died in 2011, and Daniel Dennett died just this past April. But Dawkins’ fame is also because he has repeatedly made news for embracing aspects of the very Christianity he’s made his name attacking. And God has allowed Dawkins to live long enough to see some of the impact of his own form of atheistic evangelism, so that the lead horseman could begin to understand the destructiveness of his godless stance. This past year, in an interview with journalist Rachel Johnson, Dawkins declared that he “was slightly horrified to hear that Ramadan was being promoted instead” of Easter, because: “ culturally a Christian country. I call myself a cultural Christian. I’m not a believer.” Dawkins noted that “there is a distinction between being a believing Christian and being a cultural Christian.” But as British evangelist Glen Scrivener noted, Dawkins has maintained his “cultural” Christianity for quite a while now. Dawkins offered to read a chapter of the King James Bible for the Bible Society during the 400-year anniversary of the publication of the KJV back in 2011. Dawkins wasn’t paying tribute to the truth of God’s Word – he was only expressing a “historical interest” in the KJV, equating it to a similar appreciation for Richard Wagner and the Greek gods, since all three give us a better understanding of English literature. He also said that “it is important that religion should not be allowed to hijack this cultural resource.” Scrivener also noted that in 2018, Dawkins tweeted a picture of himself with the following caption: “Listening to the lovely bells of Winchester, one of our great mediaeval cathedrals. So much nicer than the aggressive-sounding ‘Allahu Akhbar.’ Or is that just my cultural upbringing speaking?” Dawkins was more pointed in his 2024 interview with Rachel Johnson. He said: “I love hymns and Christmas carols. I sort of feel at home in the Christian ethos. I feel that we are a Christian country in that sense,” And later in the interview he added: “Christianity is a fundamentally decent religion.” Comparing the treatment of women and homosexuals in both religions, Dawkins admitted that Christianity’s treatment of all people, whatever their sex or sin, is fundamentally more decent than that of Islam. But he still cannot, or will not, acknowledge why it is more decent. And that why is rooted in Christianity's working out of the truth of Genesis 1: that all people are created in the image of God. There is no fruit without the root Glenn Scrivener makes a great point about Dawkins’ inconsistent positions: he said that Dawkins is like the birds pecking at the seeds of the gospel in Jesus’ Parable of the Sower (Matt. 13:1-8). You can see such pecking in his Easter conversation with Rachel Johnson. He kept pecking at her own limited faith, asking, repeatedly, whether she herself believed in the virgin birth or the resurrection of Jesus Christ (she could only reply that she’d like to believe it). Scrivener says that Dawkins wants the fruits of Christianity without the root that brought it into being. He makes a connection to a later parable in the same chapter: the Parable of the Mustard Seed where a giant tree grew out of a small seed (Matt. 13:31-32), and suggests that Dawkins is one of the birds that is allowed to perch in the branches, enjoying the earthly fruits of God’s kingdom, even while he saws at the root of the tree. Every knee shall bow (Phil. 2:10) So what is the good news in Dawkins’ claims of cultural Christianity, even as he continues to deny the objective truth of Christianity? Let’s go back to the first Horseman we looked at: Daniel Dennett, who saw evolution – Darwin’s dangerous idea – as the acid that would transform everything it came into contact with. Dawkins has been admitting the terrible truth of Dennett’s boast. Evolution’s attack on the root of Christianity has left the West vulnerable to false gods, like Allah and trans ideology – two things that horrify Dawkins. Dawkins’ confused, but stubborn and hostile, attitude toward Christ shows the truth of Galatians 6:7-8: “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” And some people have, unexpectedly, been brought by the Spirit to begin sowing to the Spirit. For instance, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who first embraced atheism in her rejection of her Muslim upbringing, has seen, like Dawkins, how the New Atheism helped open up the West to destructive gods, and how atheism had nothing to counter them. She has been brought to acknowledge both the fruit and the root of Christianity – Christ himself – and in a conversation with Dawkins, opened him up to at least admit that the existence of God is “a dramatic important idea.” The good news is that the lead horseman has to acknowledge that what he and his friends have been sowing – the wind – is reaping the whirlwind. Even better, that whirlwind is preparing some to be blown over by the wind of the Spirit that Jesus tells Nicodemus about (John 3:8). In that way, willingly or unwillingly, they already have to fulfill the truth of Philippians 2:10, and bend the knee before the King....

Movie lists, Movie Reviews

Adults, why not try a cinematic time travel experiment?

Education

Higher Ed advice: 34 women, 6 principles

After connecting with at least thirty-four women about their experiences considering higher education, I discovered several key themes running through...

Assorted

RP’s guide to “adulting” – our top articles to help you gain the skills to feel grown up

News

Saturday Selections – Dec. 7, 2024

Click on the titles for the linked articles... I want a hippopotamus for Christmas If a boy wants a puppy for Christmas and his parents are reluct...

Entertainment

The case against MMA, boxing, gladiatorial combat, cockfighting, bullbaiting and other blood sports

Violence might sometimes be necessary, but it should never be amusing ***** Under what circumstances are Christians permitted, in good conscience, to view adults deliberately inflicting violence on one another for the purposes of entertainment? This may seem like a strange question, but it isn’t. On social media, Christians regularly post commentary on the latest UFC match – most recently, several prominent accounts posted minute-by-minute updates on the fight between veteran boxer Mike Tyson and Jake Paul. The sight of two adult men inflicting violence on one another for the entertainment of others was enormously popular, which is why Tyson was paid a staggering $20 million, and Paul was paid $40 million. I’ve been thinking quite a bit about this issue recently. Last year, I was invited to participate in a long-form discussion on a range of cultural issues with Catholic podcaster Matt Fradd on his podcast Pints with Aquinas. One of the topics that came up was the acceptability for Christians of viewing violence – and combat sports – as entertainment. We both agreed that we found combat sports fascinating, and that we were attracted to them as feats of strength and skill. Yet, we both concluded that watching violence as entertainment should be avoided. Now, I am aware – after years writing on cultural issues – that nothing attracts a backlash like criticizing someone’s preferred entertainment. Tim Challies has observed the same trend, and I think the fierceness with which people defend their entertainment is evidence of how central it has become in so many of our lives. But when considered objectively, it is not difficult to conclude that inherently violent combat sports such as Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) are inappropriate entertainment for Christians. Entertained by what we shouldn’t do? Biblically, we are forbidden to do violence to others and to harm our own bodies outside of specifically justified circumstances, which would include a just war or law enforcement. I want to make clear that I am not making the case against learning or practicing skills such as boxing, mixed martial arts, or other forms of fighting and self-defence. My argument is that violence should not be entertainment, which is defined as “the action of providing or being provided with amusement or enjoyment.” I would apply a similar standard to films that glorify violence, which is distinct from depicting violence. A film about war or genocide that portrays reality would not, I hope we can agree, be “entertaining” as such. There is a distinction between learning to inflict violence in the context of a legitimate vocation (like soldier or police officer) or learning how to do so in self-defence, and watching violence to amuse ourselves. The early Christians were universal in their condemnation of gladiatorial combat, and the difference between gladiatorial battles and UFC fights is one of degree, not kind. We know what the physical effects of combat sports such as UFC and boxing are, and we cannot pretend that the fighters are not doing permanent damage to themselves and others. Violence is inherent to these sports, as the intent is to win by inflicting physical violence on the opponent until he or she is knocked out or submits. The research into the physical damage that fighters inflict on one another is extensive and conclusive. From that perspective, I suspect that we may one day come to see violence in sport the way we now view bullbaiting or cockfighting. Young men should not be sacrificing their bodies and their cognitive abilities for the entertainment of the masses. While it is true that other sports can also result in physical harm – hockey, basketball – violence is an aberration rather than an intrinsic part of these sports. Those who make this point are making a category error. For those who think violence as entertainment is acceptable, I would be interested in hearing their answer to this question: How is sport and entertainment a justifiable exception to the general Christian prohibition on violence? Two defences In order to claim that combat sports such as UFC are justifiable entertainment for Christians, you must defend this thesis: Human beings are morally permitted to inflict violence on one another for money and the entertainment of others. I have yet to see this thesis convincingly defended. In most discussions I have had on this subject, people are remarkably unwilling to apply Christian standards to entertainment combat fighting. Instead, one of two responses is usually offered: “You’re being legalistic” or “I really enjoy watching fights.” The first response is the lazy Christian’s preferred defence of many indefensible things (and misunderstands the term “legalistic” to boot); the second is irrelevant. Many violent combat sports – especially UFC – bring out profoundly unhealthy and unchristian attitudes in the spectators. The bursts of particularly savage violence are not incidental – they are a key reason many enjoy these sports so much. The sight of two men attacking one another and physically damaging one another sends crowds into a frenzy that in many instances can accurately be described as bloodlust. Skilled yes, but brutal still Many fans rightly note that professional fighters display enormous skill, and that fights resemble a game of enormous chess. But surely we can agree that the atmosphere at the fights as well as the attitude towards physical violence being cultivated by the spectator are profoundly unedifying. In short, I believe UFC is to human relations what pornography is to sex. Some lusts should not be stoked. Some things should not be entertaining. ...

News

Saturday Selections – Nov. 30, 2024

What actually is fire? (8 min) In a "don't try this at home" spectacular, a BBC hosts tries to figure out what actually makes up fire. And the wonder of it is, there's kind of nothing to it. It's another marvel that God created for us to investigate – slack-jawed, we discover that the closer we gaze, the more wonder there is to find. How could 10,000 dinosaurs end up in just 1 meter of mud? "There is a layer of mudstone that is 1 meter (3 feet) thick and it stretches for 80-acres. That’s really shallow and really wide. But it’s filled with over a million bones. The big bones are at the bottom and the little bones are at the top, having been 'graded' through a gravity-sorting process." How to get things done: deal with interruptions Appreciated this – I'd never really thought through how the way I deal with interruptions had theological implications. Can Satan perform miracles? What Pharaoh's magicians pulled off in Exodus 7–8 has always had me wondering about the limits on what Satan can do. Clearly, his magicians couldn't do everything Moses and Aaron were enabled by God to do... but they did seem to be able to "create," at least in a sense. So can Satan do miracles? This gent makes a good case to think not. The case for and against visual depictions of Jesus Are images of Jesus violations of the Second Commandment? On top of the cases for and against detailed in the articles above, I'm going to add an additional thought: if you don't know one way or the other, you shouldn't do it. If something might be sinful, and not doing it is fine, then why would you risk doing what's sinful? Jay Adams explains that thought further in his article "What To Do When You Don't Know What To Do." Keith Green rebuts the other world religions in 1 minute He cuts right to the core. ...

Education

10 lessons learned at 8 post-secondary institutions

Like most high school students, I didn’t really know how to answer the “what are you going to do after school?” question. The world was so big and my experience was miniscule. How was I supposed to commit to something when I had no idea how it would go? Geology sounded interesting, but I knew it wasn’t a good idea to spend weeks in the mountains and away from church and family. And my teachers’ feedback suggested that I may be better suited for something that involved a classroom or office. I decided to aim for a teaching degree, in part because my wiser and older brother blazed that trail ahead of me. College or university had some appeal, but I was more interested in getting a job in the “real world.” Perhaps that was in part because I had to pay for my studies out-of-pocket and always had a hard time remembering what I learned. So, I would never have guessed the post-secondary path and resulting careers that the LORD had planned for me since then. It has straddled 25 years and eight different types of institutions so far: Northwest Community College University College of the Fraser Valley BC Institute of Technology Laurentian Leadership Centre Trinity Western University University of Lethbridge Crest Leadership Centre Colson Fellows Although I didn’t see it at the time, in hindsight I can see how God was directing each step and weaving it to accomplish His purpose in my life. The careers that resulted didn’t even exist when I graduated from school. Lessons learned If I could sit down with the teen or young adult version of myself, or if my own teenaged children were willing to ask, I would offer the following lessons based on this journey. 1. “Seek first His kingdom” Our lives aren’t first and foremost about us. God put us here, and wants us to follow Him where He leads. So do your best to filter out motivations that are self-interested and people-pleasing. And listen carefully when you see a need in the world that aligns with how God made you. Many of these callings, like being a mom or a carpenter, don’t require post-secondary studies. 2. Trust God to guide… and provide Yes, jumping into a particular program or stream can be daunting and comes with a cost in both time and money. But, assuming that you made the decision wisely, you can trust in the LORD to provide. That also means not closing doors that God hasn’t closed for you. I would never have expected that I would have the financial means to get a degree from a private university, or do grad studies. But God provided through many means, from a generous Christian foundation, to a scholarship from the government. Whether we devote eight years to becoming a minister, or work for eight years pouring concrete or fixing vehicles, either way we are working hard. Life is hard. Don’t look for shortcuts. God will walk with us every step of the way. 3. Start walking Instead of being overwhelmed by all the options, just start taking steps. As Kevin DeYoung says so well in his book Just Do Something, we don’t have to wait for mysterious signs from above or crack the code to a secret plan for our life that God expects us to find. If we are seeking first His kingdom, we can pick from many wonderful options. Don’t expect to know what is a good fit without experience. There is nothing wrong with pivoting along the way. 4. You don’t have to plan too far ahead We may want to have a satisfying answer for those who ask What are you going to do with your life? But there are just so many more options than we can ever foresee from where we are standing at 18. If we are too fixated on “our plan” we may miss opportunities where we can be even more effective in God’s kingdom. Keep your eyes and options open. While completing a very good semester studying marketing management and entrepreneurship at a technical institute, I surprised everyone (including myself) by leaving the program to seize an opportunity to study at the Laurentian Leadership Centre in Ottawa, even though it hadn’t been anywhere on my horizon. That switch changed the trajectory of my whole career from marketing to political science. Yet I can now also see how God used those marketing studies to assist with building ARPA Canada years later. None of it was a waste. 5. Work experience can be the best education Although I’m generally grateful for all my studies, my jobs have taught me as much, or more, than I learned in school. And jobs can be much more rewarding, as you get to apply your work to the real world, rather than put a lot of time into something that never goes beyond your professor. Be as intentional with what jobs to pursue as which programs to apply for. Over the last fifteen years I have hired many people. Some of the best ones had no, or limited, post-secondary studies. They were able to learn on the job. What mattered far more was their character and work ethic. In other words, you may not even need the degree or diploma that were expected in the past. 6. Study within your means As much as possible, avoid student debt. When you are done your studies you likely will be prioritizing being married and having a family. “The borrower is a slave to the lender” (Prov. 22:7), especially at a time in your life when there will likely be a lot of pressure and expenses already. Unless you are very confident that you can pay off your student debt within a couple of years of graduating, it may be best to pick a different track. 7. Keep your eyes wide open Satan is the author of lies, and he seems to thrive at post-secondary institutions. I experienced this head-on in my first year, when my “Christian” professor at a community college attacked anyone who wasn’t fully committed to evolution. But I also experienced it in more subtle ways at Trinity Western University, where many of my philosophy classes simply weren’t taught from a biblical worldview. Instead, most involved confused professors teaching confused students about secular ideas, with little or no biblical basis. If you are going to study at a private institution, make sure that the professors are fully committed to God’s Word, including things like creation and God’s design for sexuality. Don’t trust the brochures or the smiling person giving you a tour of campus. Talk with people who study there and ask the hard questions. For example, ask them how God’s Word is used in the classroom. Is it opened and examined? Does the professor demonstrate humility under God’s Word? Is there a willingness to apply Scripture to sensitive topics, without compromise? Otherwise, why pay big bucks for an education that isn’t going to help you think and live faithfully? 8. Don’t just jump through the hoops I was so keen to finish my program as quickly as possible that I didn’t take the time to treasure what I was being taught nearly as much as I should have. Later in life, people often wish they could have the time to study at a college or university again (or for the first time). Don’t squander the gift you have been given by treating it as a means to an end. Take the time to really listen, think, and engage. The goal isn’t getting studying over with. Rather, the goal is to get an education. And if the content isn’t worth learning, that should make you question whether you ought to be there at all. There will always be some garbage being taught in secular institutions that require you to hold your nose and get through. But if that is a big part of your program, it is probably best to study something else or somewhere else. 9. Education really is life-long Although the years out of high school are often the only window most of us have to devote time to post-secondary studies, in more recent decades so many new opportunities have been made possible that allow people of all ages and all positions in life to get a great education, at very little or even no cost. Some of my favorite studies have been the online programs that I have done in the past four years, like the Colson Fellows program (ColsonFellows.org). The wonderful thing about these opportunities is that they are accessible to most people, regardless of your experience, your financial situation, or whether you even finished high school. And if you aren’t able to go through a program, simply reading good books and listening to good podcasts/lectures may be just as valuable. 10. It isn’t necessarily about the degree, or the cost Most of my certificates, diplomas, and degrees are hidden. They really don’t matter. The more important take-aways from the studies are being able to focus, discern, analyze, and write, among other things. And these skills are all the more necessary in a world where concentration levels keep diminishing and people have trouble writing more than a few words in a text message. LOL LMK TTYL. Although studies may not result in a great return on investment for you personally, we need to think about God’s kingdom as a whole. If everyone pursues the trades, what impact will that have around the consistory table, or when it is time to send elders to synod? Now would my teenaged version of myself have listened? Well, sometimes we need to experience life to be open to learning. And I still have a long way to go....

Interview with an artist

Jordan Feenstra is copying His work

“I’m talking to you. Yes, your faith. Believe it, test it, prove it, show it, share it. Start small, take one step in faith. Your faith is your sharpest tool – don’t forget to use it. All you need to start is faith like a grain of mustard seed.” - JF Jordan Feenstra is back in British Columbia for the second time in her life. Jordan, who was born and raised in “small town” Ontario, first moved to BC as a teen to pursue a graphic design diploma in Vancouver. This move was temporary, however, she returned to the province in her late twenties, along with her husband and young daughter. Jordan describes herself as “a lifelong follower of Jesus, a wife, stay-at-home mom, designer, small business owner and adventurer.” Her favorite place to be? Outside. Her love of the outdoors makes the mountains, forests, and rivers of British Columbia feel like home. Feenstra is also the mind behind “A Thousand Elsewhere,” a boutique design firm offering handcrafted inspirational goods and creative services. Whether it's pen on paper, or paint on the kitchen wall, chalk, paint, markers, or pixels, Jordan has used it. Jordan has been hand lettering and drawing for as long as she can remember. But it was after studying graphic design in college that Feenstra challenged herself with a unique project – to hand letter a Bible verse every day for 5 months straight, and to then share a photo of the work to social media no matter what, mistakes and all. The purpose of the project was for Feenstra to refine her lettering and illustration skills while letting go of her need for perfection (a tendency she was struggling with at the time). The project was also intended to encourage Jordan to spend more time with God. “That project,” she says, “changed my life.” “Jesus, looking at the disciples said, ‘you are the salt of the earth.’ He didn’t say that they should be salty or that they needed to do something in order to become salt. Instead, at the moment of conversion, a believer becomes the salt of the earth.” - JF Feenstra continues to share her experiences through writing and hand lettered artwork on social media and her blog. As a mental health advocate, this includes sharing her experiences with anxiety and postpartum depression. In 2015 Jordan, together with her husband, completed the Life Renewal program – Jordan then founded A Thousand Elsewhere with the vision of helping others fight the same battles she once fought. It is now many years and thousands of creative explorations later and Jordan continues to, in her words, “share imperfect gospel-centric musings and creative meditations while living ‘a thousand elsewhere’ until she can spend a day in His courtyard” (from Ps. 84:10). “I don't consider myself an artist, but a creative,” Jordan says. “I think God is the original Artist, and we're all just copying His work.” She continues: “In my experience, pursuing a life outside of Jesus is in vain so I am poised to live a life that brings glory to Him (the original Creator, my inspiration), and brings others to Him. I am restless for His return and can think of no better way to spend ‘a thousand elsewhere’ than caring for my family, exploring creation and sharing His word in the form of creative meditations, goods and resources with the world around me along the way.” You can view more of Jordan’s art at Instagram.com/AThousandElsewhere, and visit Etsy.com/shop/AThousandElsewhereCa or her website, AThousandElsewhere.ca, to buy her artwork on shirts, hoodies, wall art, toques, greeting cards and more. If you have a suggestion for an artist you’d like to see profiled, email Jason Bouwman at [email protected]...

News

Walmart rolls back the woke

Walmart is rolling back more than prices. In late November, Walmart’s CEO John Furner shared that the company is pulling back from some of its “di...

Parenting

Obstacles and roadblocks to having children

Some obstacles to having children aren’t entirely in our control. But there are also roadblocks that we can set up in our own way ***** On my 20th...

News

Saturday Selections – Nov. 23, 2024

Click on the titles to go to the linked articles... Debunking the best proofs of evolution in 12 minutes Some of the best "proofs" of evolution have...

Education

Advice from grads

12 quick tips from those who have gone before you ***** • Don't be shy about sharing where you went to high school or that you go to church on Sun...

Education

Thriving at a non-Christian university?

You can be blessed, and be a blessing, at a secular college ***** When Gillian, a 21-year-old from Langley, BC, talks about her love for art, her face lights up. Throughout high school she saw art as a way to glorify God and use her talents, so when it was time to make post-secondary plans, she decided to pursue a visual arts degree at the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV). However, it didn’t take long for her to realize that the program wasn’t for her. She describes walking into the hallway of her building at UFV and seeing a large, irreverent parody of Michelangelo’s famous “Creation of Adam,” now filled with LGBTQ imagery. Art here was not about glorifying God; it was about “how we’ll break the status quo.” With no Christian friends in her classes, and the culture shock of her new environment, Gillian also felt very alone on campus. “It just wasn’t good for my personal and faith life,” she says, adding that the experience – including recognizing the negative impacts – was still a beneficial time of growth for her. Gillian finished her term, then took some time to reconsider her options and try out a few jobs. She says these were valuable months of figuring out what she did and didn’t want to do. One thing she concluded was that she still wanted to do something creative. As she explored different programs and talked to different people, she was intrigued by commercial interior design. Happily, she was accepted into the interior design program at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), which has turned out to be a much better fit. She enjoys the work, as well as the more professional environment: “People talk about their career plans, not their pronouns.” When she reflects on her post-secondary journey, she advises younger students to know what they’re getting into: “Know the bias of your chosen faculty or department.” She recommends talking to other Christians who have gone through a program you’re considering. And when you’re on campus, she suggests searching for a Christian club to join, and making the most of what they offer. As well, she says, don’t lose touch with your church and Christian school friends: “You have to hang onto them.” A good fit? As Gillian discovered, one secular university or faculty may not be a good place for a particular student while another program may be a great fit. Non-Christian universities have their own challenges for young Christians, but they can also be places where Christians can be blessed and be a blessing. So why might someone choose a secular college or university – and what might their experiences be like? How can their time at a non-Christian institution be beneficial for them, and a blessing to their neighbors? And how can they thrive there? I asked a number of current and former students for their thoughts. Making the choice For many, the choice of school was based largely on very practical considerations: cost, location, or acceptance into a particular program. Non-Christian colleges are significantly less expensive to attend than Christian ones, and chances are there’s one close by. James, a recent nursing graduate from the University of Northern BC, chose his school because of the generous scholarship he received, as well as its location in Prince George, BC – a town with a good Reformed church, and with a manageable cost of living, that is only a few hours away from his hometown of Smithers. Amy, his younger sister, opted to try out the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV), where she could live with her grandparents and attend one of the many local Reformed churches. The smaller campus and smaller class sizes of UFV also appealed to her. Luke, a young articling student in Edmonton, AB, chose the University of Alberta so he could live at home during his studies and save money (“Thanks, Mom and Dad”) and stay connected to his Christian friend group. U of A was also a “top 5” university in Canada, so he felt it would be a good place for his personal and professional development as he pursued his law studies. While most of the students I talked to cited considerations such as cost, convenience, and alignment with career goals, they also all noted that proximity to a solid church remained an important factor. Mixed experiences So what was it like for these students, many of whom had attended a Christian school and lived largely within a Reformed community their whole life? Experiences, both socially and academically, were mixed. Emily, a young physiotherapist who grew up in the small, largely Reformed town of Lynden, Washington, found tolerance and respect among her classmates at the Okanagan campus of the University of British Columbia (UBCO) – but also some real hostility from her dormmates. She formed some close connections with her fellow human kinetics students: “Even though we were quite the blend of upbringings and backgrounds, we respected each other’s differences and it was in these times that I got to speak about my faith and answer their questions, without being attacked or ridiculed.” At the same time, she found it difficult to be the only “church girl” on her dorm floor. “There is a difference between living among unbelievers and living with unbelievers. I was accused of being a ‘hater’ yet teased about ‘being the good girl who went to church.’ Home (my dorm) was no longer a safe space like it was growing up; now it was a spiritual warzone. And yet this experience was one of the best things that happened to me. This taught me how to defend my faith – when to do it and how to do it – with people I lived with.” Ben, who is studying criminology at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, has found that the social sciences are a tough place to express Christian viewpoints. He says there’s lots of “anti-Christian rhetoric” in fields like psychology and sociology; “Christians are the number-one bad guys.” And although there are several small conservative groups on campus (made up largely of Christians), he says they don’t feel particularly welcome there; Ben mentions that any pro-life or anti-pornography materials that the groups post are very quickly ripped down. James, at the University of Northern BC, didn’t find as much overt hostility to Christianity in his classes, but did soon notice that his Christian worldview and values were an exception on campus. He remembers a first-year English professor who repeatedly used “very explicit” writing samples in his teaching; week after week, “I would sit there, quietly and awkwardly,” James remembers wryly. Eventually James gathered up his courage and talked to the professor about it during office hours. “I explained that the examples made me uncomfortable, and could he tone them down a bit?” James says that the professor was “surprised, but receptive. He apologized and promised to change his examples. He was a nice guy, actually.” As Sam, who is completing a history major/English minor degree at UFV with a view to teaching, notes, how much conflict you encounter is partly up to you. “A debate will only break out if you spark a debate.” There may be times to (constructively) stick out your neck, like James did, and other times when you need to consider your response carefully. “There are times to refuse being drawn into silly questions, which Paul told Timothy to avoid,” says Emily, citing 2 Timothy 2, “yet times to answer, but with gentleness, so that might have a chance to come to know the truth.” More and more difficult? Is it harder to be a Christian on a non-Christian campus now than it was ten or twenty years ago? Harma-Mae, a regular RP contributor who completed a history degree in 2013, reflects on the ideological shifts that have taken place in the last few decades: “When I was in school there was a good amount of postmodernism (i.e., there are many perspectives and we can’t tell which one is true, or if there even is any truth), which seemed to result in many perspectives being allowed to be shared and voiced, as long as it was just another perspective. So there were times when I could say what my perspective was. Now I think there is much more tolerance for censorship – it seems to be allowed to view some perspectives as wrong, though they would probably be called ‘harmful’ rather than wrong. Which means that a young person today would face different challenges than what faced!” Secular vs. Christian colleges When I was a student, there was a saying in our church community that the devil wore “klompen” (those noisy wooden shoes that the Dutch are, apparently, so fond of) at the public universities, but snuck around in “stocking feet” at the local evangelical Christian one. The point wasn’t so much to disparage Christian institutions as to acknowledge the different, more subtle dangers and attacks against their faith that young people might encounter at such places. There’s something straightforward about attending a secular university. You know that you won’t agree with a lot of what you hear; you’re on your guard; you take what’s useful, but don’t particularly expect to find your new best friends or a community where you’ll belong. As Harma-Mae puts it, “I preferred to be taught from a secular perspective because I found it more tiring to try to evaluate Christian teaching I didn’t agree with. It was easier for me to assume I disagreed and figure out where there might be some truth poking through rather than hearing things that sounded kind of right but something was off.” Emily echoed some of these thoughts, pointing out that it’s easier to spot the “counterfeit” truth at a secular university, where it’s often so much more obviously wrong. Whether you choose a Christian or secular university, of course, it’s important to keep the bigger picture in mind of why you’re there and what your primary goal and purpose is. I love how Ben put it: “Your number one goal in life is not to get an education and get a good job, but to live as a Christian in this world” – wherever God has put you right now. Maturing in your faith Grappling with your faith, and having it challenged, is also an important part of maturing as a Christian – and preparing for life as a Christian in a world that won’t always appreciate your beliefs. This may not be why you’d choose a secular college, but it is something that many students appreciate as they look back. “Seeing your worldview challenged serve to strengthen your faith and belief,” comments Crystal, who studied English and creative writing at UBC. “When you see how broken the world is, and how flawed many accepted ideas are, it only points to how much better God’s way is.” James felt it was useful to get outside his somewhat sheltered community, and understand some different perspectives better. “It’s easy to miss nuances” until you’re up close to those who are different from you, he says. “Knowledge is very different than experience,” Sam adds. “It’s very important to... know the other side well.” “I feel like I was taught to view ‘the world’ as a scary place as I grew up in the Canadian Reformed bubble,” says Harma-Mae, “and that I did need to get outside that bubble and learn to talk to other people who were not the same as me, and learn how to live in the world as a Christian, face that fear.” Ben comments on how his time at Simon Fraser University has led him to depend on and appreciate his Bible more, and to learn to “exercise spirit of discernment,” while Luke found that the challenges of university life helped him learn “to trust in the Lord at all times, God has a plan for our lives. University allowed me to grow.” Asia, who recently completed a Bachelor of Science at the University of Alberta, reflects on how university was good for her growth not only spiritually, but in many areas: “I learned a lot about myself and what practical life skills I was good at or needed more practice in (e.g., my time management, how I handled high-stress situations, the best way I learn, my communication skills, work-life balance, how the views/opinions of secular students and professors affected me, my ability to shine as a light on campus). I think I’ve grown up a lot since I graduated high school and I attribute a significant part of that change to four years of university.” Of course, the same challenges to their faith that may lead to growth for some – as they learn to defend their Christian worldview and really learn to trust God – can cause others to stumble. That’s why the solid foundation of a good church with which you’re connected, regular time for Bible study and prayer, and relationships with strong Christian friends, family members, and others are so vital. You can withstand the storms of a secular post-secondary experience, and even come out stronger for them – but not if you try to go it alone go it alone ("a three-fold cord is not quickly broken," as Eccl. 4:12 puts it). As well, everything that happens before you head off for college – the training you receive at home, church, and school for the first eighteen years or your life – should give you a firm foundation. As Emily puts it, and as she experienced it herself, “Both the church and home are training grounds to expand and increase a child’s knowledge in their faith ... needing to know what you believe and why.” Salt and light Students also shouldn’t underestimate the value of their Christian presence and witness on campus. You may be intimidated by the idea of debating your faith, but you can start by simply being “the Christian who, just like me, has the cross around their neck, and maybe someone will ask you ,” says Sam. As Harma-Mae relates, “I was often surprised by how open people on campus were at having conversations about faith ... I think university is a time of life where people are often searching and also curious about other perspectives – at least in one-on-one conversations.” If we really believe that “every square inch” of this world is God’s, then we can’t abandon any of it – including our local universities with their many lost and confused young people. And in our increasingly secular society, you may be the first or only Christian some of your fellow students interact with in a meaningful way. Choosing wisely To gain the benefits and avoid the biggest pitfalls of a secular university experience, it’s important to choose your school and program wisely. Several students I talked to said they “wouldn’t bother” taking an arts or social science degree at most secular universities, because the ideological biases can be so insurmountable. Others recommended researching programs and even individual classes and professors before signing up, and talking to other recent and current students. Amy, from Smithers, BC, found it very helpful to visit multiple campuses before making post-secondary plans. Groups from her school regularly come down to the Fraser Valley to check out different institutions, and she made such a trip in eleventh grade. She comments on the very different “vibe” she got from UFV, where she is now pursuing a sales and marketing certificate, versus at the very liberal Simon Fraser University; she felt she would be comfortable at the former, but not at the latter. Thriving on campus When I asked current and former students about their tips for thriving on campus, they were unanimous on the point that staying connected to your church community and Christian friends is absolutely vital. James remembers gratefully how the Prince George congregation supported him and kept him grounded during his years at the University of Northern BC, when he was exposed to so many new things and, in his field of nursing, saw so much brokenness up close; “there was lots to process.” He says the church was very welcoming to students, and he enjoyed the strong Bible study and lots of good discussions. “That was my community – not the college,” he explains. Staying connected to a church like that is key, he says – especially if you’re living away from home – and having one nearby should be a determining factor when you’re considering a university. Emily strongly agrees. As she faced hostility and confrontation in her dorm, “the church was now my only ‘safe space’ – how beautiful, actually. It gave me a different perspective on how the church is a sanctuary, a place to be spiritually nourished and refreshed after a long week living in the trenches.” Pastors, elders, and mentors in the church prayed for her and helped her continue to learn and grow in her faith; in her weekly Bible studies, she could even practice answering questions like “‘can God be a loving God when people suffer? How are we saved? How can you believe in Christianity when there’s no science to prove it; I believe in science and you don’t?’ ... On that note, we prayed for the Holy Spirit to give me the words and the wisdom for when to say it.” “You cannot do it without a local church and church family,” she concludes, adding, “Even if you’re going to stay in your local church and commute to/from campus, be prepared. Living in dorms or not, start practicing defending your faith in your home and church now. We know the world asks us difficult questions – and some of them are out to kill.” “It’s good to have some people you look up to in your church that you can discuss challenges you are facing as a Christian at university,” Luke adds. Asia reflects on the need to be on your guard constantly in a secular educational environment. “I wasn’t used to having my ‘spiritual armor’ on all the time because in high school I was with a good group of friends that generally encouraged me in my faith. I quickly realized when I started university that I had to actively make sure I was in the Word.” Sam notes the value of having Christian friends on campus, as does Ben, though he has found that if you join a Christian club, you still need to be discerning. “Many are letting their education and the culture impact how they interpret the Bible, instead of vice versa.” They key is to “know your Bible inside out,” he says, so you’ll also “know when the things of the world are influencing you, and not the other way around.” Sam agrees with that as well. “Realize that when you are going to a secular university you are going to come across people who disagree with you, but... just because someone disagreed with you doesn’t mean you can’t have an open conversation with them.” He adds, “Get your values straight. Understand your faith. Don’t just follow the book on arguments; bring your own. Figure it out yourself.” Flourishing in exile Daunting? Perhaps. But also a chance to grow, to mature, to prepare yourself for whatever mission God gives you in this life. As well, attending a secular university may give you a chance to make a real impact. As Crystal notes, “In order to have more influence on the world, we actually have to participate in the world, and having more voices can only be a good thing.” The world needs Christian nurses and welders and security guards, salespeople and librarians and social workers. And its campuses need Christians who are willing and able to “speak the truth in love” and show what it looks like to live with gospel hope and meaning. And, really, why should we be afraid? We have the God of truth behind us – and He is certainly able to bless us, and make us a blessing, wherever He puts us....

Christian education

What about a Christian university? My experience at Dordt University

I love learning. Whether that love is innate or whether it was instilled in me as I grew up, I don’t know. I’ve always loved learning about pretty much anything. The biological intricacies of life, the vastness of space, the stories of history, the nuances of political philosophy, or the mysteries of the end times have all taken their turns at seizing my imagination. And that learning didn’t stop at head knowledge. I remember a specific story from Ralph Moody’s Little Britches, a novel that my dad once read aloud to me and my younger siblings. I’ve forgotten most of the plotline, aside from the fact that the homesteading setting reminded me of the Ingalls in The Little House on the Prairie, but I remember the analogy that the father relayed to his younger sons. “Your character is like a house,” Pa said, “You can either add boards to build it up, or you can tear boards off.” Ever since, that idea that your character requires constant building and maintenance has been etched into my mind. And so, when I was in my final year of high school, I naturally looked for places to pursue this love of knowledge and continue to build my character as a young Christian man. I didn’t even bother applying to secular institutions. I knew that I might glean some knowledge there, but that they certainly wouldn’t form me into a godlier Christian. To borrow from some of the parables of Jesus and the analogies of James, why would I expect a bad tree to produce good fruit or a salty spring fresh water? No, if I truly wanted to mature in my faith, I felt that an education in an institution that is antithetical to God simply wasn’t a wise option. I had spent twelve years being homeschooled, studying at a Christian school, and attending a Reformed church. My parents, my teachers, and my pastors all emphasized the importance of Christian education. Why would I forsake that lynch pin in my Christian formation after graduating high school? And so I applied to the Christian institution I was most familiar with: Dordt University. My parents had both attended the rural university in northwest Iowa. I had just stayed on campus for a week during a family reunion the previous summer. I had extended family in the area. I got a decent scholarship and was lured by the opportunity to play on a university hockey team. And so, two months after graduating from high school, I packed my bags and made the twenty-five-hour road trip stateside. Now, I have no idea what God has in store for me over the remaining years of my life, but my four years at Dordt have been the best four of my life. And I count myself a wiser, godlier, and more successful person for them. The benefits The formal academics were part of it. Dordt is a liberal arts university, meaning that every student has to take a wide range of courses in addition to required courses in their field to graduate. All of these courses were based in a Reformed Christian worldview, focusing on the religious orientation, creational structure, and creational development of all the subject matter and contemporary responses of Christians in these fields. In my experience, this Reformed worldview was applied just as consistently – if not more consistently – than the Reformed high school that I had attended. The relationships that I formed, though, were even more impactful. In university, you might be shaped by professors in the classroom 15-20 hours a week, but I interacted with other students almost every waking hour. Over 90% of Dordt’s student body lives on campus in dormitories or apartment buildings, so you are with fellow Christian students virtually all of the time. Because of this continual contact, I formed more and deeper friendships with fellow students at Dordt than at any other time of my life. I developed deep friendships with roommates, hockey teammates, and members of my “Dordt family.” These friendships even extended to the professors. I visited the homes of three or four professors over the years, attended church with some of them, and even exchanged Christmas cards with one over the years. Some of the godliest role models that I have met were fellow students from Dordt’s hockey team and from student Bible studies. Dordt is also where I met my wife, Jillian. Now, both Jillian and I very intentionally went to Dordt not to find a future spouse. We were there to study and learn, particularly in our first couple years of study. But God, in His providence, had other plans for us. He brought us together in our first year of university. We dated and were engaged most of our university life and got married a few months after we graduated. One of the most important decisions of your life is finding a spouse. I’d hazard a guess that most members of the Reformed community have found a godly spouse from their local church or local Christian high school, though some may have gone further afield to a regional youth retreat in search of marriage partners. One of the advantages of a Christian post-secondary institution is that it brings young Christian men and women from across the country – and, in my case, across the world – to the same spot. And while I firmly believe that the primary reason for education is for personal formation – formation of character as well as knowledge and skills – getting a post-secondary degree is certainly an ancillary bonus. With so many professional jobs today requiring or giving preference to applicants with a post-secondary degree, getting a degree opened up a whole new world of employment opportunities and has made me better at the job that I have now. There would be no way that I could write in this magazine as well, or analyze policies for ARPA as astutely, without having attended a Christian post-secondary institution. And finally, attending a Christian post-secondary institution was just plain fun. I stayed up well past midnight almost every night for four years laughing with friends and engaging in deep conversations with roommates. I hit the ice four times a week for hockey practice and traveled the central states playing back-to-back hockey games Friday and Saturday evenings. I started a Sunday afternoon board games club to challenge friends to friendly games of Settlers of Catan, Seven Wonders, or Tammany Hall. I traveled to Washington, DC, to attend a national conservative political action conference and volunteered at a presidential debate with the College Republican Club. I volunteered to visit a fundamentalist Mormon community in Arizona, a Navajo reserve in New Mexico, and hurricane-battered New Orleans for short-term missions trips on three of my spring breaks. I won a campus air band competition, participated in the campus choir, and jammed with talented student vocalists and musicians. A growing number of people point out that a university education might not have a positive return on investment. In other words, it might end up costing more to attend in tuition payments and lost years of income than would be made up in higher salaries over the rest of your working life. And, depending on your field of study, that can be true. But, in my opinion, that is a pretty bare, narrow calculation. If it is just about the money and just about the degree, don’t bother with Christian post-secondary. You can definitely find cheaper alternatives to get a university degree. But Christian post-secondary is more than just about dollars and cents. If you prioritize deepening your spiritual walk with the LORD, developing a godlier character, making lifelong friends, and cultivating a more consistent Reformed Christian worldview, then Christian post-secondary, especially when it has a solid Reformed base, has a lot more plusses in its column. The dangers Of course, that doesn’t mean that there are no minuses to Christian post-secondary. No institution this side of glory is perfect. Even the best Christian post-secondary institution has its faults. The temptations common to young people in every other sphere of life don’t simply disappear because they are on a Christian campus. Discerning parents and prospective students should certainly be aware of the imperfections of Christian post-secondary institutions. I saw students kicked out because of substance abuse and disciplined because of sexual sins. Some students seemed to be more interested in partying and troublemaking than studying. A saddeningly high number of students didn’t attend church on a regular basis, much less twice a Sunday. Most students thought that it was perfectly acceptable to study on Sundays. Some professors were fired for bad theology or inappropriate conduct. And some unorthodox views will certainly be present on any Christian post-secondary campus, either among the student body or among the faculty. I encountered a belief in theistic evolution, the embrace of LGBTQ identities, and an egalitarian view of gender. Many Christian universities certainly leave something to be desired on these topics. The bottom line In my experience, the perceived and real dangers and costs of Christian post-secondary have led many in the North American Presbyterian and Reformed churches (NAPARC) orbit not to even seriously consider a Christian post-secondary education, much less actually pursue one. At the end of the day, I’m sharing my positive experience with a Christian university. And I’m not necessarily arguing for a specific Christian institution. There are lots of Christian universities, colleges, institutes, and Bible colleges in North America that are faithful to God’s Word to varying degrees, and I think that there is a strong case to be made that new orthodox institutions need to spring up to train the next generation to participate in all areas of society with a Christian worldview. But I certainly am arguing for the concept of Christian post-secondary education. I’ll wrap up with an application of the familiar parable of the talents. In this parable, a master gives each of his servants different amounts of money to steward while he is away. When he returns, he rewards the fruitful servants who grew that money and rebukes the fearful servant who simply hid his talent in the ground. Sandwiched as it is between other accounts of the final judgement in Matthew 25, the central message of this parable is clear. God expects us to develop the gifts that He has given us to their fullest extent. Burying those gifts is not only a waste. It is condemned. Not every high school graduate has the academic aptitude, moral character, or the financial means to attend a Christian university. But to those who do, I encourage you to at least seriously consider one Christian post-secondary institution. It can be an excellent way to cultivate the gifts that God has given you and to grow in your development as a follower of Christ....

Education

I’m graduating – now what?

You’re a high school senior; you’ve worked hard from kindergarten through 12th grade, and now you’re almost ready to graduate. You’re a little tired of being asked by friends and relatives: What are your plans after high school? You know they mean well, and are genuinely curious about your next steps, but you can’t answer them, because you just don’t know! I was once in your shoes, and I’d like to help you make fewer mistakes than I made as I muddled my way through the morass of post-secondary schooling and different job opportunities, before finding the right path for me. I stumbled, and I muddled, but am grateful that the Lord provided in all circumstances. What direction? When I was your age, most young folks who showed interest or aptitude inside the classroom were encouraged to pursue a university degree, for two main reasons. First, most people believed that to be able to provide well for your family, you needed a college or university degree to get the kind of job that would generate a reasonable income. Second, many Reformed Christians believed that we as the children and grandchildren of immigrants needed to have more influence on the academic and professional culture of North America. Therefore, it would be good if more Christian young people obtained undergraduate and graduate degrees. Have things changed since my high school graduation in 1986? In a word: yes. A college or university degree remains a necessity for some professions, and a helpful résumé addition for many others. But you can go without and still generate an income that will allow you to support your family, your church, and your community. If you have a specific plan that requires a degree – if you want to become a lawyer, or a minister, or a teacher – then university is your path. But what if you’re not sure? Don’t be a Logan Consider this fairly common scenario for two young Canadian students. Good buddies Logan and Josh both got pretty good grades at school, although Logan didn’t have to work very hard to get them, thanks to his good memory. He even qualified for a scholarship to McMaster University that enabled him to get reduced tuition! Josh and Logan both enjoyed working in the summers for a small local company, Boomtown Builders, doing small renovations and building decks, learning from their boss how to build efficiently and safely. Offered an opportunity, Josh decided that he would stay on full time at Boomtown after high school graduation. Logan was looking forward to his new university life at McMaster. But there were a couple of problems: Logan didn’t really know what he should study, and he hadn’t really learned how to study – in high school, he had rarely needed to crack open the books in the evenings. But of course, this was all about to change. In order to find his way, Logan took general courses in English, History, Biology and Calculus – he would have time to declare a major later. But with no one to look over his shoulder and remind him to get his assignments in on time, and without a clear direction and target to inspire him, Logan started to fall behind. Feeling behind the curve, he started to skip classes. Not going to classes meant he was ill-prepared for quizzes and tests, and he didn’t hand in some of his assignments. At the end of his second semester, Logan had failed two courses, and his marks were so poor overall that he lost his scholarship and would have to pay full tuition the following school year. Will Logan end up going back for his second year, or has he just wasted ten months and thousands of dollars? Meanwhile Josh was taking on more responsibility at Boomtown, even running a small job on his own so the company could take on a few more projects. With the boss’s encouragement, Josh enrolled in a college course on estimating, so that he could help out on that side of the growing business. His responsibilities grew, and his income grew, and Josh became a very valuable member of Boomtown Builders, with a promising future. In this simple story, Logan wasted his time and treasure by not working hard, and Josh made good progress and established a healthy direction for his life by applying his skills and working diligently. Had Logan just worked hard, attended classes, and applied himself, perhaps he also would have charted a path towards a successful career. But by enrolling at university without a clear target and direction, Logan ended up spinning his wheels ineffectively. It might have been far better for him to work a year at Boomtown to find out more about what he was good at, and what he enjoyed, before deciding on a target, and how to get there. Have a plan In Proverbs 21:5, Solomon reminds us “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.” Earlier, in chapter 19, he advises “Listen to advice, and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.” There are many resources available to high school students to help you make a plan for your post-secondary life. Your school has guidance counselors who would be glad to make you aware of opportunities that may suit your skills. Your parents, your uncles and aunts, and grandparents all might encourage you in different directions. The next time they ask you, “What are you going to do after high school?” you can ask them what they think you should do! You can’t follow everyone’s advice, but you can certainly listen and reflect on what those who know you well give you as counsel (Prov. 1:8-9). By the end of your high school years, you’ll probably have worked part time, or during the summers, with different employers. These job experiences can be hugely valuable in discovering your skills, your interests, and what long-term prospects are like in these fields. Whatever your current job is, work diligently and industriously for the benefit of your employer and their customers. On your breaks and at lunch time, ask lots of questions to your boss and your co-workers, especially about what this business needs to be even more successful. What kind of talents are needed there, and what kind of education or training might one need to fill the areas of need? Even if you determine that the type of work you did as a student isn’t something you would want as a career, you haven’t wasted your time. The experience will leave you more determined to find an occupation that you enjoy, and more motivated if you do enter college or a trade school to push through to get your qualifications: “I know I don’t want to do that, so I’ll work extra hard to chart out a different path!” Knowing how hard a restaurant server works, or how difficult it can be to work construction on a cold winter’s day will also help you gain appreciation for your neighbors who do labor in these occasionally thankless fields. Consider the cost! In Luke 14:28-29, Jesus says: “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will mock him.” It’s a basic principle in life, also echoed often in the book of Proverbs: have a plan, and count your costs up front! Before enrolling at a college, trade school, or university, you should carefully consider how much your certification will cost, and how you will pay for your years of schooling. One financial analyst recommends that a student spend no more on tuition and books over the course of their schooling than how much they could expect to make in their first year of employment in that profession. As an example, if a newly certified teacher could be expected to earn $45,000 in his first year of teaching, then he should find a way to spend less than $45,000 in educational expenses to earn his degree. This is just a general guideline, not a hard and fast rule, but it may give you some direction for a reasonable and prudent budget as you begin your studies. It is even more important to consider how you will pay for your degree. In the United States, it is very common for young people to borrow over $120,000 to obtain a four-year degree, and lenders have made it very easy for them to get these loans. According to Statistics Canada’s latest numbers in 2020, on average, Canadians graduating with an undergraduate degree have $30,000 in student loan debt, and will take an average of eight years to pay off these debts. Avoid the debt trap The Bible has warnings against becoming indebted, at one point comparing debt to becoming a slave: “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is a slave of the lender” (Prov. 22:7). For many, student loan debt is a trap, easy to fall into and hard to get free of, so I would strongly advise against borrowing to pay for your degree. If you find yourself short of your first-year tuition, perhaps you need to work for a year full time before starting school again. Count on working part time during the school year, and full time during breaks between semesters. Yes, homework takes time, and studying requires many hours: that is why it’s great to get your degree while you are young and have the energy and focus that may be more difficult as you take on more responsibilities later in life. Living at home and commuting to school can have a huge impact on your ability to stay out of debt. Moving out into a dorm apartment, or into a house near school with roommates may sound great, but these scenarios introduce all kinds of additional costs: groceries, utilities, rent, fast food, entertainment – these bills go up exponentially when you are away from home. No one cooks like your mother, and she would love to still have you home at dinner time. Your parents would most likely greatly encourage you to live at home so that they can enjoy your contributions to the family culture for a few more years. I know, it may sound lame, and you may wish to spread your wings already now… but your older self will thank you for your decision to study from home! Stay north young (wo)man! While researching this article, I was surprised at how low annual tuition is in Canada compared to the average costs in the USA. A full-time student at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, BC may pay less than $7,000 CDN for one year; while the equivalent cost at Western Washington University in Bellingham is nearer to $14,000 USD! Costs at private colleges may be considerably higher, but again the rates at Canadian schools can be far more reasonable than those at American institutions. Consider that tuition at Redeemer University in Ancaster is currently less than $10,000 CDN (thanks in part to some generous donors!), while Calvin University in Michigan begins at nearly $40,000 USD annually! (It is very common for Christian university students to get discounts and scholarships relatively easily, but these numbers do provide a helpful baseline.) Since most readers of Reformed Perspective live in Canada, I can unequivocally advise, “stay north to study – your wallet will thank you!” Are you mature enough? University can be exciting and enjoyable when you find the right course of study, but are you ready? It’s possible that you are not yet spiritually mature enough to take on the intellectual challenges of what is often a hostile environment for Christians. Professors and teaching assistants at most colleges and universities are no longer sympathetic to a Christian worldview. When you assert that there are two genders, that life begins at conception, or that you believe homosexuality is against God’s created order, teaching staff and students will let you know you have fallen far outside of the mainstream of opinion. Perhaps even more dangerous, you may begin to feel “old fashioned” or “out of touch” – does the Bible really say that? Christian post-secondary schools are not necessarily havens of safety either. Just consider how many universities were founded as Christian and aren’t now – Harvard, Yale, Oxford, and the University of Toronto to name just a few. So, drift is common, and the lecturer at the front of your class may call himself a Christian, but his view of what the Bible teaches may be vastly different from how you have been taught, and what you know to be true. I don’t mean to infer that every teacher at a Christian college is dangerous – not at all! But you must be thoroughly grounded yourself in the truths of God’s Word so that you can weigh others’ theories in the light of Scripture. How do you know if you’re ready? Ask people whose opinion you trust for their thoughts. Your grandmother, your uncle, your elder, your parents – those folks who know you well will be able to offer good insight on your readiness to make your way in the post-secondary world. Ask them to be honest, and don’t be offended if they give different counsel than you expect! Stay grounded If you haven’t yet publicly professed your faith, continue pre-confession classes while you are at college. Yes, it may fill up one more evening in your busy week, but the Lord gives us the great gift of ministers and elders who are qualified to teach the church’s confessions to young people, and who enjoy the task. So take their instruction seriously – they may be providing the very answers you’ll need when you are challenged in university. If you have professed your faith, stay diligent in your Bible study opportunities with brothers and sisters in your congregation. Take the opportunity to ask questions about anything you’ve encountered at school: you may be surprised at the wisdom of a farmer or framer, or the insight of a housewife or teacher. Chances are very good that what you are wondering about has been faced by the saints before! Closing thoughts University is not for everyone. There is nothing shameful in deciding that you don’t want a degree, and would rather get a two-year college diploma, or a certification in the trades! But if you do decide to enroll at a university, I pray that this short article can give you some guidance in how to plan your years of study. The Lord has given many different gifts to His children: work diligently with what you have, and be wise in how you use the talents He has entrusted to you....

News, Transgenderism

Trump says what few dare about transgenderism madness

A Donald Trump campaign video made almost a year ago resurfaced after he secured his second term as American president. In Canada, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has spoken against transgender “surgeries” on children, and south of the border, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis denounced them more pointedly, labeling them “mutilation.” But neither was anywhere close to as plainspoken as President Trump in this 4-minute presentation. It is remarkable enough to warrant printing in full: “The left-wing gender insanity being pushed on our children is an act of child abuse, very simple. Here's my plan to stop the chemical, physical, and emotional mutilation of our youth. On day one I will revoke Joe Biden's cruel policies on so-called ‘gender affirming care’ – ridiculous – a process that includes giving kids puberty blockers, mutating their physical appearance, and ultimately performing surgery on minor children. Can you believe this? I will sign a new executive order instructing every federal agency to cease all programs that promote the concept of sex- and gender-transition at any age. I will then ask Congress to permanently stop federal taxpayer dollars from being used to promote or pay for these procedures, and pass a law prohibiting child sexual mutilation in all 50 states. It'll go very quickly. I will declare that any hospital or health care provider that participates in the chemical or physical mutilation of minor youth will no longer meet federal health and safety standards for Medicaid and Medicare, and will be terminated from the program immediately. “Furthermore, I will support the creation of a private right of action for victims to sue doctors who have unforgivably performed these procedures on minor children. The Department of Justice will investigate Big Pharma and the Big Hospital networks to determine whether they have deliberately covered up horrific long-term side effects of sex transitions in order to get rich at the expense of vulnerable patients – in this case, very vulnerable. We will also investigate whether Big Pharma or others have illegally marketed hormones and puberty blockers, which are in no way licensed or approved for this use. My Department of Education will inform states and school districts that if any teacher or school official suggests to a child that they could be trapped in the wrong body, they will be faced with severe consequences, including potential civil rights violations for sex discrimination, and the elimination of federal funding. As part of our new credentialing body for teachers we will promote positive education about the nuclear family, the roles of mothers and fathers, and celebrating rather than erasing the things that make men and women different and unique. “I will ask Congress to pass a bill establishing that the only genders recognized by the United States government are male and female and they are assigned at birth. The bill will also make clear the Title IX prohibits men from participating in women's sports, and we will protect the rights of parents from being forced to allow their minor child to assume a gender which is new, and an identity without the parents’ consent. The identity will not be new, and it will not be without parental consent. No serious country should be telling its children that they were born with the wrong gender, a concept that was never heard of in all of human history – nobody's ever heard of this, what's happening today. It was all when the radical left invented it just a few years ago. Under my leadership this madness will end. Thank you very much.” As thankful as we can be for the President’s courage – can you believe he actually said this? And imagine if he follows through! – Christians mustn’t overlook what he didn’t say, because someone still needs to. Trump has guts, no doubt, but he took this stand more as a matter of smarts – he understood this is still what most of his country believes. But we know from history that this sort of common-sense conservatism is shifting sand. Traditional marriage was once common sense, and only about a decade back everyone knew that killing our elderly was murder, not medicine. That sense isn’t so common now. In Canada, we have Pierre Poilievre and other conservative leaders heading our own “common sense revolution,” and it too has appeal. But what it doesn’t have is staying power: the conservative common-sense of today is merely the liberal’s position of 10 years back. We’re sliding, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, but always in the same downward direction. The only way to turn it around is to set our feet on something solid, and we know the only unshakeable foundation is God and His Truth. It’s up to the Church, then, to tell a very confused world where they can find traction. Will they join us atop the Rock? We can’t know what the Holy Spirit will do with the Truth we share, but we can be certain that we’ll honor God in the sharing of it. So, let’s say what no one else dares to: that God made us male and female, and that only He decides our gender. And let’s explain that when we ignore reality as He has made it, then craziness results, like men playing women’s sports, and people cutting off their genitals. Let’s speak what even our most courageous, common-sense politicians are scared to: that it isn’t just crazy when it is done to children; it is abuse too when mentally ill adults are maimed for some doctor’s profit. We know God’s Truth; our neighbors need to hear it. May God grant us the courage to speak. !function(r,u,m,b,l,e){r._Rumble=b,r||(r=function(){(r._=r._||[]).push(arguments);if(r._.length==1){l=u.createElement(m),e=u.getElementsByTagName(m),l.async=1,l.src="https://rumble.com/embedJS/u4"+(arguments.video?'.'+arguments.video:'')+"/?url="+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+"&args="+encodeURIComponent(JSON.stringify([].slice.apply(arguments))),e.parentNode.insertBefore(l,e)}})}(window, document, "script", "Rumble"); Rumble("play", {"video":"v2597vg","div":"rumble_v2597vg"});...

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32

Life's busy, read it when you're ready!

Create a free account to save articles for later, keep track of past articles you’ve read, and receive exclusive access to all RP resources.

Search thousands of RP articles

Equipping Christians to think, speak, and act

Get Articles Delivered!

Equipping Christians to think, speak, and act delivered direct to your Inbox!

Kids

Magazine

Articles

Book Reviews

Movie Reviews

Daily devotional

More of Reformed Perspective!

Newsletter

Real Talk

Manna

About Us

Advertise

Contact Us

Shop our merch!

Search CATEGORY: RP App

Politics

Top 10 political wins in recent years

#10. Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Initiative

#9. Reversal of Alberta’s gay-straight-alliance policy

#8. National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking

#7. Removal of hate speech offences from Canada’s Human Rights Act

#6. Improvements to provincial drug policies

#5. Manitoba’s conscience rights legislation

#4. Saskatchewan Parents’ Bill of Rights

#3. Delay of expansion of MAiD to mental illness

#1b. Alberta’s new gender identity laws

#1a. Canada's revised prostitution law (PCEPA)

Interview with an artist

Jason Bouwman is finding hope in the desert

Assorted

6 on Anxiety

Top 10 RP articles of 2024

In a Nutshell

Tidbits – December 2024

Being the Church

On encouraging courage

News

Saturday Selections – Dec. 14, 2024

Economics - Home Finances

How do you buy a house when you are 19?

Assorted

A New Atheist loves that old time Religion

Movie lists, Movie Reviews

Adults, why not try a cinematic time travel experiment?

Education

Higher Ed advice: 34 women, 6 principles

Assorted

RP’s guide to “adulting” – our top articles to help you gain the skills to feel grown up

News

Saturday Selections – Dec. 7, 2024

Entertainment

The case against MMA, boxing, gladiatorial combat, cockfighting, bullbaiting and other blood sports

News

Saturday Selections – Nov. 30, 2024

Education

10 lessons learned at 8 post-secondary institutions

Interview with an artist

Jordan Feenstra is copying His work

News

Walmart rolls back the woke

Parenting

Obstacles and roadblocks to having children

News

Saturday Selections – Nov. 23, 2024

Education

Advice from grads

Education

Thriving at a non-Christian university?

Christian education

What about a Christian university? My experience at Dordt University

Education

I’m graduating – now what?

News, Transgenderism

Trump says what few dare about transgenderism madness