Farewell 2006. Hello 2007.

It was exactly one year ago tonight I became a blogger. My daughter Rebecca taught me the basics as we sat by a crackling fire in Charlottetown, PEI and 2005 gave way to 2006.

A new world was opened to me.

Tonight, as 2006 gives way to 2007 my wife and dog and I are in our townhouse apartment in Toronto, watching an oldies movies TV channel.

It is with a profound sense of gratitude I give thanks to God for a wonderful life. What a beautiful world he has given us. How much greater still will heaven be, where we shed these vile bodies for incorruptible bodies undefiled by sin.

How good God is. He did so much more than "merely" cleanse us from our sins. Through Christ, He has brought us to a place where Adam never dreamed to go.

Incorporated for eternity into the Beloved One, to rule and reign with Him forever!

The gospel is simply too good to be man-made; it's too good not to be true.

May all who read this be blessed by the Spirit of the One who stooped so low to raise us up so high.

May he raise us all up in Him in 2007. May we soar to places we could never soar to in our own strength.

This is, I believe, my 250th post.

Not bad for one years' output.

See you in the new year.

And that's the way the Ball bounces.

Is the Bible literally true?

We know that Jesus used parables which are creative works of fiction, at least, they are not necessarily true.

But what about the Old Testament. Is it all full of allegories and stories that are not to be believed literally?

I would say no, it is not. When something is presented as historical, it should be accepted as such.

Still, the Old Testament is rich in imagery and sometimes even allegory --

* The prophet Nathan uses a parable in 2 Samuel 12 to teach David about his sin with Bathsheba. However, it is clearly used as such and should not be equated with stories such as Jonah and the great fish, which are clearly presented as factual.

* The apocalyptic writings in Daniel, and the dreams requiring interpretation in the life of Joseph, are clearly not to be understood literally but to be interpreted.

I like to stick to the idea that the Scriptures are inspired and true according to the authors' -- both human and divine -- intent. We should avoid placing a false literalism or false precision on Scripture where none is intended.

For example, if I say 500 people attended a church service, and another account says 512, is one of us lying? Not necessarily. I may have been just using a round number, and my intent may not to have given a mathematically precise number. The other person who said 512, may have been wishing to be precise. Both accounts may be said to be "true".

A good example of this in Scripture is when Luke or Paul in Acts says "For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing." If taken literally, they never ate, never slept, never went to the bathroom. But this was not the intent of the author, and is taking the literal words to an absurdity.

In some areas, it is hard to know exactly how a verse should be interpreted. Is the tree of life in Genesis literally a tree? Elsewhere in Scripture, it is used figuratively -- see Proverbs.

Is the snake in Genesis literally a snake? In Revelation 12:9 the dragon is revealed to be the snake, which in turn is revealed to be the devil.

We understand that Jesus IS the Lamb of God; at the same time, none of us would suggest that he is or was at any time a barnyard animal. Sometimes words are used to convey spiritual truths, and yet they can be true without being physically true, and yet more than just a metaphor. Calling Jesus the Lamb of God is not metaphorical; He really IS the Lamb of God; it's just that He's not a barnyard animal.

Scripture has a profound integrity to it, and, as we approach the new year, we should remind ourselves that struggling to understand it is one way we love God with all our minds as well as our hearts.

Maybe we should all resolve to read the Bible more in the new year!

And that's the way the Ball bounces.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Icebergs (PETI)

The latest outrage in Canada, and it's gone clear around the world, is news that a great chunk of Canada has broken away from the rest of the country, and, no, it's not Quebec.

In former days it would would have been known as an iceberg.

But in these climate-catastrophe times iceberg sounds too much like ice cube; it's been upgraded to an "ice-island". And it comes complete with micro-organisms and its own eco-system that some would argue makes it a distinct society within Canada.

Laval University's Warwick Vincent claims (and this is the money-quote):

"This is a piece of Canadian geography that no longer exists."

Flags will be flying at half-mast across the country as the enormity of the loss sinks in:

"There are microscopic organisms and entire ecosystems associated with this ice, so we're losing a part of Canada's natural richness."

Entire ecosystems. Let's face it, he's good.

But he could have taken it even further.

Consider these comments by Arkay Ball, president of the newly-formed PETI:

"Newborn babies consist of 78% water.

We share more with icebergs than has been acknowledged.

Icebergs have rights too; after all, they're almost human. The breaking off of an iceberg is a form of infanticide.

Let's work to stop the slaughter."

Oh, and Arkay also wants to wish everybody a happy, iceberg-free new year.

And that's the way the Ball bounces.

Saddam Hussein - "How hath the oppressor ceased!"

A reading from KJV Isaiah 14:

And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,

That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!

The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.

He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.

The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.

Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.

Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?

Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?

All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.

But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.

Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.

Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.

For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD.

I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts.

The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:

That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.

This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.

For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?

Quote of the month

"Remember, we are not just working for victory, we are working from victory.

Victory is our starting point, because Christ is risen.

The outcome of the battle for life has aready been decided. It only remains for us to be sure to do our part to proclaim, celebrate, and serve that victory and bring its transforming power to every segment of our society."

-- Fr Frank Pavone, Priests for Life

What a great quote, and how true! And this applies not only to the battle over abortion and euthanasia, but to all aspects of our Christian life and witness.

The coming reign of Christ is assured; it is non-negotiable; it is inevitable.

Christians minister from weakness, as it pertains to themselves and their own righteousness, or, rather, the lack thereof, and the inclinations of our fallen, unregenerate human nature, which are, how shall we put it, not good.

But, we minister from strength, as it pertains to the Christ whom we believe in, before whom we have bowed, and before whom we shall one day stand.

We proclaim not a defeat, but the greatest victory this world has ever or will ever witness -- the defeat of the enemies of God at the Cross -- death, the devil, spiritual rebellion, deception -- all forever defeated at the Cross.

The resurrection makes sure, it clinches, what Christ accomplished at the Cross.

The resurrection is God's Great Big Stamp of Approval on all Christ said and did; it is his vindication, and, because we are His, ours as well.

And it is our assurance that what God has begun, He will bring to completion and fruition. It is not Christians who should be shaken -- it is atheists and unbelieveers of all stripes who are on the ropes and heading down for the count.

Let's never forget it -- we minister out of strength -- not ours -- but His -- His future reign is as certain as His past triumphs in life, death, and resurrection.

All praise, honour, and glory be to the One who stooped so low to raise us up so high, and to give us a gospel that is simply too good not to be true!

Well, I've "preached myself happy"!

Let me add a pentecostal, "thank you, Jesus!".

And that's the way the Ball bounces.

My Roots are showing

In my last trek to Zambia, I did a one-night stop-over, coming and going, in London. I found that my arm got very sore from lugging around my overnight bag from the tube stop to the hotel.

I decided then that it was time for me to try a backpack; all the young kids have one; why not me?

Well, the planning for the next Zambia trip is underway. I've already had my shots, and there's a brew in the refrigerator that I'm to drink a week before the trip. And so my thoughts turn to backpacks.

I did some research last night online. Roots has a leather backpack on sale at 50% off, for around a hundred dollars, plus taxes. So, after checking out Costco today, I swung over to the Roots store at the Bayview Village. When I asked about backpacks, I was told that the leather ones had all sold out within an hour or two of the store opening yesterday. I take that to mean they were a good value at that price.

No leather ones, but I spotted a decent backpack that originally sold for $50. On sale for $35. And then 50% off that; so I got it for just under $20, taxes included. In other words, I got it for about the amount I would have paid in taxes to buy the leather one!

There was just one left. And I got it! Nice little Canadian flag on the side and back. I'm looking forward to trying it out on my next trip through London.

The leather one is still available online at 50% off and free shipping; I think I'll order it too, and see which one I like the best!

And that's the way the Ball bounces.

The radically inclusive message of Jesus

Liberals, who are certain that God thinks homosexuality is wonderful, like to talk about the "radically inclusive message of Jesus", and how it offends many people.

You know what? They've got a point.

Jesus is certainly inclusive when he says we are ALL evil-hearted. He is inclusive when he says there is NONE good but God. He is inclusive when he says NO-ONE's self-righteousness cuts it with God. And, he is inclusive when he says that except we repent, we will ALL perish.

So, it's true. The radically inclusive message of Jesus does offend many -- primarily liberals.

Liberals who are forced to distort and change Christ's gospel of the narrow door because it offends them.

Liberals who are offended by the thought that all religions might not be equally acceptable in God's sight.

Liberals who are offended to think that God would blast all of humanity for its sinfulness and wickedness and speak in the blunt terms of Christ: repent, or perish.

Consider the following beloved verse of Scripture.

1. God so loved the world
2. That He gave His only begotten Son
3. So that whosoever believes in Him
4. Should not perish
5. But have everlasting life.

Liberals like the first line because it speaks of God's love -- He loves not just a few, but the world. They really like that one.

They like the last line about eternal life. If there is a heaven, they take it as a given that they will be there. Along with just about everybody else, regardless of faith or creed, it seems.

They tolerate the second line about God giving His Son, but they work hard to obscure Christ's male gender which is an embarrassment to them, and they find the idea of a blood sacrifice repulsive, primitive, and completely unacceptable. Which is why you are not going to find a hymn like Nothing but the Blood in a liberal-editted hymnal.

They dislike the third line about believing in Christ because it offends their warm-fuzzy sense of inclusiveness. There just shouldn't be any conditions put on entering into the love of God. (What was Christ thinking when he said it? If only he had had access to 21st century liberals, he could have avoided a lot of substandard, unchristian thoughts and ideas.)

But it's the fourth line they detest.

"Should not perish."

The idea that anyone might perish is a non-starter with them. To put it bluntly, there simply is no hell for the liberal to avoid. Or to warn his neighbour, or the person labouring in another faith, to avoid.

And yet, that is what Christ states, and that is the backdrop for Christ's sacrificial death -- we are perishing, and, unless He offers Himself in our stead, there is no hope for us.

And that is the heart of the evangelist's cry:

Souls in danger,
Look above
Jesus completely saves
He will lift you by his love
Out of the angry waves
He's the master of the seas -- billows his will obey
He your Saviour wants to be
Be saved today

Those who talk about God's love, but refuse to obey His command to turn and surrender, trust and obey, will find themselves eternally outside of friendship and fellowship with God.

My prayer is that God would raise up evangelists in our day to warn people of the danger they are in, and to present to them the open door of forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus Christ.

I'm hoping that my CD, which will be out shortly, will serve just such a role.

And that's one reason why it features the song Love Lifted me -- because the inclusive message of Christ is that whosoever believes on him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

It's also why the CD includes that great hymn by Robert Lowry, Nothing but the Blood.

Twice.

And that's the way the Ball bounces.

Goodbye, Max.

Max, our new DVD player, is gone.

His adoption into our home was described in a nearlier blog.

He lasted 14 days.

And then, he expired.

I mean, he wouldn't even light up.

We returned him to from whence he came -- Future Shop.

An autopsy was performed -- primarily to retrieve the Murder, She wrote DVD Max had had for dinner the night before.

He was vibrant, he was in the prime of life. He was $29.95.

Fortunately, he died the night before we left PEI for Toronto, so I was able to return him for a full refund.

So, we enjoyed 14 nights of DVD-watching at no cost.

I think, when we return to PEI, I'll splurge and spend, oh, maybe $40 to get a top-of-the-line DVD player.

And that's the way the Ball bounces.

Customer? Service?

I called our cableTV provider on Monday to do a temporary disconnect.

After listening to all the various voicemail options, and making a couple of levels of selections, I got a message saying that they were upgrading their system to serve me better, and as a result, I should call back, but not before Wednesday.

O-K.

Why did they make me listen to all the options, if I was just going to get this message? Couldn't they start with this message?

* * *

Today is Thursday and I'm on the phone again.

Waiting.

Listening.

To the following cheery-voice message:

"We have recently upgraded our customer care system to serve you better. As a result, you may experience longer wait-times. We thank you for your patience. Please stay on the line..."

Makes sense. After all, if they are going to serve me better, I have to expect a longer wait.

Fifteen minutes and counting.

No end in sight.

Getting thirsty.

Eyes growing dim.

Stuck to chair.

Is this the way it all ends? Is this the way I'll be found?

Stuck to chair with phone dangling to one s

Gotta go -- they just answered my call.

And that's the way the Ball bounces.

Holy cow!

The United Nations has produced a 400-page report that reveals the world's greatest environmental threat to the planet's climate.

This threat is also responsible for damaging forests and wildlife. causing acid rain, the introduction of alien species, producing deserts, creating dead zones in the oceans, poisoning rivers and drinking water, and, finally, destroying coral reefs.

No, we are not talking about Americans on vacation.

The report by the Food and Agricultural Organisation, is talking about herds of cattle -- one point five billion of them.

According to the UN (and we know they never lie), livestock are responsible for 18 per cent of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming -- more than cars, planes and all other forms of transport put together.

Now all we need to do is spin this so we can blame mankind in general and Americans in particular for the cow menace (while sensitively offering Hindus a multicultural exemption).

Meanwhile, I'm going to do my part for the environment by continuing to own and drive a car, while absolutely pledging never to own a cow.

I hope you'll join me on this new crusade to save the planet.

Little Mosque on the Prairie

I was surfing through Mark Stein's site and took one of his links to something he had written. My eye was caught by an ad on the page -- "Little Mosque on the Prairie", premiering on CBC in January.

Satire, right?

The site says Macleans.ca.

I keep looking for something that will indicate that this is satire.

My next thought is that someone has hacked into Macleans.ca and placed a satirical ad mocking the CBC, ultra-liberal values, and the desire to pander to and appease Islam before it bites them.

Even the CBC wouldn't be multiculti-nuts-enough to present a series like this.

Or would they?

And that's the way the Ball bounces.

Homosexuals up the ante

Having achieved their goal of gay marriage, militant homosexual advocates have moved on to their next goal: the indoctrination of Canadian school children.

This was confirmed by the National Post's lead-off letter on the same-sex marriage issue.

Gay advocates will frame the issue as "making schools a safe place for gay children".

Here's an amended version of the letter I wrote to the National Post in response.

Having robbed marriage of its role in protecting a child's natural right to know the love of both mother and father, the next goal of militant homosexual advocates will be to rob Canada's children of their moral innocence by insisting that every Canadian school child be taught the defiling knowledge of sodomy as a normal, natural, and healthy behaviour.

Given that homosexuality is intrinsically anti-procreative, the up-the-ante goal to control what our children are taught can only be viewed as a grievous perversity.

Gay marriage debate today at the Globe and Mail

The G&M is having an online discussion today on the gay marriage debate.

Here's the question I submitted:

Homosexual relations can never result in procreation, yet homosexual activists both insist that their behaviour is normal and natural and also insist on their "equal right" to children, in the process tacitly nullifying a child's natural right to a mother and a father.

They claim to be for marriage definitions rooted in sexual orientation rather than human biology, and "equal marriage for all", yet have not advanced the case for one of their own constituents, i.e., "bi-sexual marriage". It appears that some sexual orientations are more equal than others.

Could you please discuss the apparent contradictions.

* * *

We'll see if they use it. I've noticed that whenever I insensitively bring up the topic of teaching the act of sodomy to our school children as a normal, healthy behaviour, they always nuke the post. Perhaps they think it's impolite to bring up the subject, or perhaps they think it is irrelevant to discussions of homosexuality.

In the end, it's the children that get shafted.

Gay Marriage coming for a 2nd vote in the House of Commons

Gay rights and gay marriage are an extension of the "sexual liberation" that Canadians granted themselves in the 60s. Unfortunately, these liberations generally come at the expense of children's rights. Children used to have the right to expect to be born and raised by their natural parents, barring either immorality or natural disaster. Now, they're lucky if they're even born. If they get past that hurdle, there's single-parenting, divorce, and same-sex parenting -- all of which deny a child his or her natural right to be raised by and know the love of both his father and mother.

The fact that jurisdictions like Ontario have banned the terms "father" and"mother" from legislation should give you an idea that something more than tinkering at the edges is at work here.

The fact that people will insist a child really doesn't need his or her mother and father, just "parents", shows that this is a society in deep denial to the obvious.

The fact than anyone who opposes any aspect of the fundamentalist homosexual agenda is immediately branded as hateful and bigoted shows that this is a society that has overthrown a love of reason and truth for unvirtuous tolerance and misguided kindness.

A society anchored in sexual "liberation" rights is a society that will lack the moral discipline to succeed in the long run.

Who is fit for office?

Who is fit for office? For a position of responsibility in government, including the courts.

During a past election, a prominent Liberal suggested that Stockwell Day was unfit to be the Prime Minister. What made him unsuitable? Because "he believes that Jesus is the Son of God". The argument was that this was exclusionary to all other beliefs and therefore made him unfit for office. The person who voiced this view presumably forgot that Roman Catholics, who have occupied the highest offices in Canada for a generation, also presumably believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

I guess that the countering argument would be, "yeah, but Stockwell Day REALLY believes it!"

At the time all this was going on, I made some "talking points". Here they are:

* Any aboriginal who believes an Indian creation myth involving a turtle or an eagle is "unfit for office".

* Any Muslim who believes that an angel dictated the Koran word-for-word to Mohammed is "unfit for office".

* Anyone who believes that his religious head is infallible is both scary and "unfit for office".

* Anyone who believes that undirected evolution is a sufficient cause for the wondrous beauty, order, and compexity of nature is "unfit for public office".

* Anyone who fails to acknowledge the humanity of an unborn baby is "unfit for office".

Meanwhile, the Canadian media today refers to "so-called" family values when voiced by conservatives, but does not use the "so-called" qualifier when liberals go on about "Canadian values".

So, in that spirit, here's a bonus "talking point":

* Anyone who believes there is no God undermines the basis for positing the intrinsic dignity and worth of human beings, upon which all "so-called" human rights are based, and is thus "unfit for office".

And that's the way the Ball bounces.

The UN weighs in

Kofi Annan has "agreed" that the situation in Iraq is like a civil war, and that the Iraqis were better off under Saddam Hussein.

A biased UN leader speaking to a biased press. The under-theme: the US is bad.

Talking points:

* The head of the UN is a thoroughly politicized figure; anything he says should be understood in that light.

* We all long for the good old days when Saddam's torture chambers were running 24/7; perhaps the UN will offer to take over from the US and do in Iraq what it did in Rwanda.

* The US has given Iraq a chance at democracy; strong elements within the Muslim population are showing they have no interest in democracy when power can be obtained and held by brute force.

* We should keep that last point in mind; if this is the "Muslim mind", we are all in trouble as the Muslim presence in our countries grows.

$29 gets you a new DVD player

We were in the process of watching the last two episodes of the MacGyver TV series when our SONY DVD player went on strike. It's pretending that I haven't put any in the player. It's really insistent. It's playing hardball.

What to do?

I could take the $200 SONY DVD player in for servicing, or, for $29, buy a new, off-brand, made-in-China model.

I opt for the $29 model. I buy it at Future Shop (although I could have just as easily bought one at the SuperCentre). They try to sell me the four-year insurance package, which, at $10, or the price of two double-doubles a year, I guess really is a good deal. But, as a matter of policy, I don't buy them. I know that, statistically, the reason they are so eager to sell me one is because they make a lot of money from them.

Get the new DVD player home, plug it in, and voila! MacGyver never looked better.

Plus, this new player has features my five-year old SONY player doesn't have. The best is the improved sound. It has Dolby, and I immediately noticed better, cleaner, stereo sound coming from my $29 model.

The remote is, admittedly, goofy. Way too many tiny buttons illogically placed. And you have to point it just-right at the TV.

But, at $29, I'll take it.

This reminds me of a day about 10 years ago when VCRs were in vogue. Our dog "ate" our SONY VCR remote. I phoned SONY in Toronto to find out how much a replacement remote would be.

It was well over $100; I think something closer to $150.

I found out later that this high price was supposedly to inhibit theft, since apparently many VCRs were stolen and the thieves would forget to take the remote. I suspect it was more likely because SONY thought they had a captive audience who would cough up more than $100 for a remote.

Anyway, last night I got both a functional DVD player, and a working remote, complete with batteries and cables, and a fabulous ninety-day warranty,

for $29.

And that's the way the Ball bounces.

The god of Tolerance -- under Christ's feet

My university, Carleton University, in Ottawa, is proposing banning student groups that are not in favour of a woman's right to destroy her unborn child. They would not be allowed to form clubs and receive funding.

Ah, the Tolerance crowd in action once again.

I remember during my days at Carleton there was a Communist Club. I always considered communists an esoteric bunch, so outside the mainstream of thought and society. I remember talking with one chap in particular. I was a newly minted Christian. He looked on me as a relic from a bygone age. He talked about what they would do when they assumed power.

I would rather talk about what is going to happen when Christ returns to reign in glorious moral, ethical, and holy power. How awesome that is going to be! And all the politicians and those scratching for power today and supporting every liberal cause from abortion to euthanasia to same-sex marriage, shunted aside by the Holy One ruling in awesome power.

At that time, the Bible says, the saints shall rule. "We shall judge angels!" the apostle Paul says.

Christ must reign until he has put every enemy under his feet.

Oh Lord, I want to be in that number, oh when the saints go marching in.

The key is to be on Christ's side on the great moral issues of our day.

It's not only the right side, it's the winning side.

And that's the way the Ball bounces.

I'm dreaming of a lunar Christmas

The liberal west's tendency towards self-parody hit a high point recently -- you might say, in terms of lunatic, this was a full-moon.

According to reports, the City of Chicago has declared that a public festival celebrating Christmas is no place to promote a move about the Christmas story.

City officials are worried ads for the new film "The Nativity Story" might offend non-Christians.

Notice that no one has actually said they would be offended by this, the officials are just worried that it might offend.

It reminds me of when I saw an ad in a Toronto paper for a homosexual festival. The festival was sponsored by the Royal Bank of Canada. One of the prominent persons featured in the ad was a gay porn star; the picture in the ad was suggestive of his occupation. I phoned in to complain that the Royal Bank was sponsoring and promoting pornography, without mentioning the gay angle. They were flabergasted. They simply saw it as supporting and marketing to homosexuals.

I pointed out to the Royal Bank person that we now live in a society where people are no longer free to wish someone a "merry Christmas", because it might offend someone, but it is apparently OK for a major corporation to support pornography in a public newspaper.

We cannot teach Christianity in public schools, because it might offend; however we must teach homosexuality in all its glorious details, regardless of who is offended.

That's how the liberal west's worship of the god of Tolerance works.

This Christmas, I'll be worshipping a Man who began life as a babe in a manger. Those who looked on him saw the face of God.

Wise men still seek Him.

Oh come, let us worship Him.

Christ the Lord.

"Merry Christmas to everyone."

Who ever thought that these would be viewed as seditious words?

And that's the way the Ball bounces.

Quebec a "nation"? What was the Prime Minister thinking?

The Conservative Prime Minister has presented a motion to Canada's Parliament to recognize the province of Quebec as a nation within Canada.

Can you imagine the United States declaring Hawaii or Alaska a "nation" within the U.S., thus reducing all other states to some kind of second-class status?

Unimaginable.

In Canada, however, this has widespread support among all federalist parties, who have been giving away the store for a generation now.

For years, arrivees have descended the escalator at Dorval Airport in Montreal and been confronted with a large illuminated sign that reads "Immigration Quebec". Newcomers must wonder what country they have landed in.

Can you imagine landing in Dallas and seeing a "Texas Immigration" sign?

Didn't think so.

I remember crossing by car into Quebec from the US at a border station where there was not a single sign or flag or symbol that indicated the country you were entering was in fact Canada.

Can you imagine a similarily unadorned US border crossing?

Didn't think so.

In Canada, we refer to our native Indian populations as "first nations".

I guess this makes Quebec a "second nation".

One thing that the first nations and Quebec share in common is that none of them are net contributors to the wealth of Canada -- each one of them, Quebec included, receives sizable subsidies from the rest of us plain-Jane Canadians who comprise the rump of Canada.

Canada should make it a condition of nationhood that a tribe or province or other organizational entity is a net economic contributor to the rest of the country.

The mighty nations of Alberta and Ontario, anyone?

And that's the way the Ball bounces.

Tell us something we don't already know

This will come as no surprise to Boopchile and frappeur:

It's in, and it's official: conservatives are more generous than liberals; those on the right are more generous than those on the left.

The book, "Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism" (Basic Books, $26), is due for release Nov. 24.

Here are some of the main points:

* Religious conservatives donate far more money than secular liberals to all sorts of charitable activities, irrespective of income.

* Conservatives who practice religion, live in traditional nuclear families and reject the notion that the government should engage in income redistribution are the most generous Americans, by any measure.

* Liberals give less than conservatives in every way imaginable, including volunteer hours and donated blood.

Don't you just love the phrases: "irrespective of income", "by any measure", "in every way imaginable"!

The article, referenced in the Drudge Report, is written by a researcher with a liberal background who was surprised by the results. To read it go to:

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/204/story_20419_1.html

The Big Bang is in the news again

The Big Bang is helpful to creationists because it demonstrates that the universe has a beginning (as recorded in the opening lines of the Bible). However, the Big Bang cannot explain the singularity which supposedly pre-existed the Big Bang, nor what caused the Big Bang to occur and upset the presumably eternal state of the pre-existing singularity.

If you suddenly heard a loud bang outside your home, you would assume it was caused. If someone said, "nothing caused it; it just happened", you would not believe them. And yet serious scientists suggest that nothing caused the Big Bang.

Anything that begins to exist has a cause; the universe began to exist; therefore, the universe is caused.

With our miraculous eyes we can see evidence of exquisite design and process this evidence with our remarkable minds.

It takes darkened minds to ignore this evidence and postulate an uncreated, arbitrary, and ultimately meaningless, universe. The Bible also speaks about this: "The fool has said in his heart, 'there is no God'".

There is a moral dimension to life that non-belief in God allows us to skirt around in this life-time. However, when we stand before the uncreated One who stands outside of time and space, our efforts at avoidance will have come to an end.

And that's the way the Ball bounces.

France snubs Canada snubs China snubs Canada

Yesterday France suggested a tariff on Canadian goods because we are not walking lock-step with them and other socialist countries on climate change. The Canadian left sided with France.

Also yesterday, China supposedly rebuffed Canada's PM for making human rights an issue. The Canadian left sided with China.

Think about it --

The same people that oppose Canada standing up to China for fundamental human rights violations cheer France when it threatens Canada because of mere policy differences in climate change.

Perhaps this is as good an insight into the warped mind of the left as we are going to get.

And that's the way the Ball bounces.

Climate Change: France throws its weight around

France has proposed that those countries that don't fall in line with the socialist-led climate-change agenda be punished with tariffs.

Because things are getting scary: "Scientists attribute at least some of the past century's 0.6-degree-Celsius rise in global temperatures...."

"At least some"?

What does that mean? The earth has always been warming and cooling.

Global warming, er, "climate change", is based on pseudo-science designed to advance the anti-west, anti-capitalist, socialist-environmentalist agenda. It's all about seizing power, not taking care of the planet. Count on it: it will require ever-more government intervention and control over people's lives.

France's latest pronouncement on the subject shows the intolerance and bigotry of this pseudo-scientific socialist movement.

I would suggest instead that countries simply boycott countries found to be in collusion with murderous dictators like Saddam Hussein. That would take care of France.

And that's the way the Ball bounces.

The Anglican Church advocates letting newborns die

The Church of England has come out in favour of allowing doctors to let seriously or severely ill newborn babies die.

Here's where I stand on this. First, babies should be fed and cared for; they should not just be "allowed to die" and starved to death. They should be cared for and comforted. However, I think there may be cases where going to extraordinary means to maintain life though artificial devices, such as being strapped to a machine, may not be warranted. [I am open to hear other views on this position; I may be wrong.] In some cases, just as at the end of life, it may be best to "let nature run its course".

From what I have read, the Church of England is advocating a more radical approach one that would not just withhold extraordinary medical interventions but which would, in effect, abandon a child and let him or her starve to death. This position would, in time, no doubt lead to active euthanasia of infants.

Here's my view on this;

We were all -- every human being -- disabled and malformed through sin. We may not see ourselves this way; but God does. Jeremiah said that the heart of man was "desperately wicked". Jesus spoke of a wicked and sinful generation.

God could just "let us die". He was just when he destroyed the world of old by a flood, and merciful when he spared eight souls. If God were to let us all die, he would be just to do so.

Those who favour euthanasia of the disabled should, logically, accept that it would be just as right for they themselves to be killed by God, since, in His sight, we are all disabled; we all fall well short of his original plan and intent for humankind. I suspect that most of them do not hold to this view, and would attribute wrong-doing if not wickedness to God if He were to execute destructive judgement upon us.

INSTEAD!

Instead, he paid an incalculable cost -- the death of His own Son -- to redeem us. We are of infinite worth because of Christ's saving love. This is the heart of of why Christians value all human lives. First, because we are created by God. Secondly, because we are created in His image as the highest expression of His nature and glory on this earth, and thirdly, because of the infinite worth of the blood of Christ which was shed to redeem us.

Secular liberals who tout human rights and dignity conveniently forget where the basis for rights and essential dignity come from -- they come from the Christian view of man created in God's image.

When people rebel against God, and reject the light of the gospel, God gives them over to a reprobate mind; people think that they can adopt select ungodly, "liberal" positions, and then stop. They can't. The Anglican Church is showing every sign of being given over, by God, to a reprobate mind.

Which means, left to their own devices apart from the sovereign grace of God, their views will become more and more heretical and ungodly.

Understood in this light, it can be said that the latest position by the Church of England is shocking, and sad, but understandable.

And that's the way the Ball bounces.

The mighty nation of PEI

The "nation" of Quebec is in the news -- again.

As a member of the mighty nation of Prince Edward Island (population One Hundred and Forty THOUSAND), I must insist that Quebec is not the real nation-province; PEI is.

We are the only province whose land mass is entirely separate from the rest of Canada (ROC). That means that we, and we alone, are the true separatists!

Yes, and we're proud!!! (but, like the pretender province of Quebec, not too proud to accept hand-outs from the ROC).

We'll agree to remain in Canada, but only if the ROC panders to us.

Let the pandering begin!

The Episcopal Church's Dreamer-God

The Presiding Bishop-Elect of the Episcopal Church has been enthroned. She is now the Presiding Bishop, carrying on the work of Peter and the apostles. Or so she thinks.

Her latest sermon talks about God's "dream" of shalom that the Episcopals are now busy bringing to fruition. Here's a quote: "the episkopeis of the saints, their ministry, cleans the fields of that which cannot survive in God's dream of shalom, it burns away whatever limits that dream or cannot contribute to it."

During this latest sermon she carefully avoids male pronouns in reference to God.

I'm not really up on God's "dreams", but I'm sure His dreams include being referred to as He revealed Himself, i.e., as "Father", "He" "Him" and "His". Jesus did, and, guess what?, God was not offended! Well-pleased, in fact.

Of course, God didn't have really smart people like the present Episcopal leadership back then to help him out. Had He, He no doubt would have avoided all the problems associated with representing himself as Father and Jesus as Son.

However, with the Episcopal Church's help, God is evolving. Faced with "new information", "new knowledge", as they say, He's already completely changed his mind on the whole in-the-beginning-I-created-them-male-and-female thing. Now, He understands that same-sex attractions and sexual acts were all part of HIs original intention all along.

He's becoming a God even the devil could like.

United Church Bobble-heads

The United Church of Canada (UCC) has come up with a ten million dollar solution to declining enrollments caused by its abandonment of the gospel: an advertising campaign.

One ad features an automobile bobble-head Jesus.

Another ad has a wedding cake with two men on top, with the tag-line "Does anyone object?". Apart from God, who makes it clear that he created us "male and female" (and not "heterosexual and homosexual"), apparently not.

The UCC 's purpose is not to convert anyone, however, just bring in Christians who are floating around in society, presumably unattached to any church. Or maybe their idea is to merely siphon off the converts made through other churches' hard-fought, hard-won, efforts.

Where does this leave Jesus, who commanded His followers to "go into all the world and make disciples of all nations"?

Outside the UCC. The Jesus of Scripture is far too narrow, far too exclusive, far too fundamentalist for the UCC.

Instead, it's "come as you are", and "stay as you are -- no conversion required!".

When you consider the UCC alternative, fundamentalism is looking better all the time.

Abortion and the Book of Revelation

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Two articles side-by-side in today's National Post. One is on abortion. The other a dismissive article on the New Testament book of Revelation.

The juxtaposition of an article on the book of Revelation with one on abortion was probably coincidental. But one of the central tenets of Revelation, that the devil continues to deceive mankind, is surely found in the sulphurous statement quoted in the abortion article, which says, "for most women, abortion is safer than carrying a pregnancy and having a baby".

As the abortion article indicates, many women suffer terrible psychological effects after abortions. They increase their risk of breast cancer. They kill their unborn child [at least half of whom are female] and jeopardize their soul.

People would do well to pay more, not less, attention to the book of Revelation, and its message of a heroic battle between good and evil, truth and deception, destruction and redemption. In John's companion work, the gospel of John, Jesus says concerning the devil, "The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."

More on "Jesus is not the only way to God"

The presiding bishop-elect of the Episcopal Church in the USA continues to get a lot of flak for going on record stating that Jesus is not the only way to God. Here's my latest take on the matter.

This woman is not fit to teach Sunday School, let alone lead a denomination.

The fact that Jesus is the way, and the only way to the Father (not "God", because Jesus Himself is divine), is Christianity 101. Since Jesus is, Himself, divine, this woman is postulating that there are other ways to Jesus besides Jesus, and that religions which flatly contradict the words and teachings of Jesus can also lead to... Jesus.

The fact is, liberals find the plain sense of Scripture repugnant. I guess they think that Jesus the Word is at odds with the written Word of God. And that the Spirit of God who inspired the Scriptures is now inspiring them along different lines.

And these are people who claim to value reason over "mindless fundamentalism"?

At least when you think along fundamentalist lines there is a coherence to your beliefs, and an alignment with what Scripture actually teaches.

Liberals are hopeless. They disconnected themselves from Scripture in the 60s, and are now hopelessly adrift. They are heading for shipwreck.

If you are in a church lead by a liberal, it's time to abandon ship. Nowhere did Jesus command us to submit to false and ungodly leadership. Follow Him.

And that's the way the Ball bounces.

Healthcare and the Federal Government

If the federal government does have a role in a provincial matter such as healthcare, it is surely this: to ensure the complete transferability of services between one province and another; a PEI health card should be accepted in Ontario or Quebec without problems such as partial or even non-reimbursement of services.

Instead of advancing this clear federal role, the federal government has chosen rather to meddle in provincial matters such as private vs. public delivery of services. In doing so, it has demonstrated more interest in advancing an ideological agenda than in meeting the actual healthcare needs of its citizens.

For what it's worth, I have just returned from receiving an ultrasound test at an Ontario clinic, easily and conveniently booked a week ago. I've been waiting since August to receive the lottery-like letter from the PEI health authorities regarding the booking of the same test.

Thank God for the existence of privately run clinics that provide needed healthcare services.

Have I paid loads and loads of dollars into the PEI tax treasury in the last decade? Yes. Will I be compensated by the PEI government for the cost of these tests? I have no idea. They tend to look unfavourably at such extra-provincial forays. Sometimes they'll pay for half the cost or less.

One thing I do know: there is a sizeable bureaucracy that exists to determine whether this expense will be covered or not. Their salaries will definitely be covered -- by my tax dollars.

And that's the way the Ball bounces.

Women, veils, and slabs of meat

An Australian Cleric is in trouble for saying that women who fail to cover their faces are like slabs of open meat on a table, just inviting attack.

Fortunately for the Christian church in Australia, this intemperate remark was made not by some batty Anglican bishop, but by a cleric of the Muslim persuasion.

I know, I know -- you're shocked.

The fact is, this comment says more about the self-identity of Muslim males, as potential sexual predators stopped only by the complete covering of women's bodies, than it does about Australian women.

It also contrasts the difference between Islam, which emphasizes outward appearance and self-effort, vs. Christianity, which offers inward regeneration and empowerment through faith in Christ. Anyone who suggests that Islam and Christianity are compatible or even comparable faiths doesn't understand the profound differences between the two.

During the reign of Golda Meir a parliamentarian suggested a ban on women being out on the streets during the evening, as a means of cutting down on sexual attacks that were taking place. As Golda perhaps dryly but no doubt correctly observed, since it was the men doing the offending, it was they, and not the women, who should be banned from the streets.

Having said all this, women should dress modestly, but there's a difference between dressing like a you-know-what and being draped from head to toe.

Meanwhile, if a ban on Muslim males on Australian streets, or, perhaps, eye-blinkers, is what it takes to keep the women safe, so be it.

And that's the way the Ball bounces.

I'm married to my dog

The Bishop-elect of the American Episcopal church is at it again. In a recent speech she used the fact that Scripture uses marriage as a metaphor for the relationship between God and His people as a launching point for the redefining of marriage.

Listen to her logic:

"Most often marriage is a metaphor for the relationship between God and the human soul."

[Actually not true. In Scripture it represents the unique, exclusive relationship that God has towards his covenant people (as opposed to people outside his covenant), and the exclusive faithfulness they are expected to have towards Him.]

"And if each one of us is made in the image of God, then it is also an image for all human relationships, not just those that fit our understanding of marriage."

[Not true. We may be made in the image of God, but we are not God. She makes a leap that is unsupported in Scripture or logic. Notice the effect: marriage is now no longer a concrete "fact" used to describe the intimate union of a man and a woman, but a word used to represent "all human relationships". Liberals resort to this kind of logical sleight-of-hand because the plain meaning of Scripture is repugnant to them. Unfortunately, for the ignorant and gullible, such twisting of words and meaning passes for great spiritual insight.]

"What about the relationship between parent and child, among friends, or the relationship between human beings and the rest of creation?"

[According to her view, parents can be "married" to their children, and I can be married to the cow I had for dinner, or, more likely, my dog, Robbie.]

"One of the great insights of the monastic tradition is the vow of stability. The monk promises to stay with these brothers (or sisters) until death comes, for the very reason that Jesus is pointing to in saying, “what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

[Complete and utter rubbish. Jesus' quote of Scripture represents the correct and valid use of Scripture, in which the institution of marriage by God is affirmed; hers represents the wild leap of a liberal desperate to escape Scriptures' plain meaning and majestic force. Jesus confirmed and validated marriage; she empties it of meaning. Coincidentally (or perhaps not), this is a point that critics of same-sex marriage have been making: that the real goal of radical homosexualists is to destroy the institution of marriage.]

Marriage, the fundamental institution of human society that predates nation-states and governments, is under attack; from both those in and outside of the Church. It is at times like this that one wonders if the conditions are not being put in place for the glorious return of Christ (physical, literal, actual), who will destroy his enemies and establish his kingdom -- concepts that liberals find, like the rest of Scripture, preposterous and repugnant.

Jesus said, "heaven and earth shall pass away; my words shall never pass away". I believe Him. We can put more trust in the words of Jesus than the very ground beneath our feet or the sky above our heads.

The battle rages, but, at the end of the day, the words of Jesus, in their plain and normal sense, will prevail.

And then where will liberals be?

The terrorists win!

I'm back in Canada. At YVR (Vancouver), waiting for my connecting flight to YYZ (Toronto).

The check-in process was not as efficient as one would hope -- some security lines were clogged, while others were empty, because there was a bottleneck when you entered the area, and it wasn't clear that there was more than one security line open. I hate to say this, but this is typical for Vancouver.

The security line I went through had a senior guy manning the X-ray machine. He asked to check my bag. I thought he had detected the pocket knife that I had inadvertently left in the bag -- one of those Swiss Army deals, a gift, inscribed with my name, with all kinds of dangerous pull-outs, knives, corkscrews, etc. I wasn't looking forward to giving it up.

But that's not what he was after. Apparently Canadian air terminals are still on a no-liquids diet. He confiscated my unopened souvenir Coke can from Korea, and also.... my Meswak toothpaste with 70 proven ancient herbal remedies!

Bin Laden wins!

But the last laugh is on him. I've got an extra tube in the checked luggage!

And that's the way the jet-lagged Ball bounces.

Imagine!

Imagine!

Imagine something that's a rare combination of ancient wisdom and modern science. Imagine something containing a natural herbal ingredient recommended in renowned ancient scriptures, and providing SEVENTY (70!) different health benefits for the ENTIRE BODY!

Imagine something that is scientifically proven to help strengthen gums, prevent tooth decay, eliminate bad breath, and ensure strong teeth ALL AT ONCE!

Now imagine that this costs less than four dollars!

There's only one such item, and I AM HOLDING IT IN MY HAND!

I have, in my hand, a tube of toothpaste with the pure extract of Meswak plant. I bought it down in Little India, here in Singapore for $4 SIN ($3 CAD).

And, let me tell you this toothpaste really works. I haven't used it yet, but, I already feel better! Ancient herbal properties at work!

* * *

OK, I've tried it now. It even tastes pretty good!

I'm already feeling better-looking, and I'm pretty sure that the tightness in my scalp is the sudden surge of growing hair!

I see myself opening an import-export business, and importing this wonderful product to Canada and the USA.

If you want a tube, let me know and I'll pick you up one. That's right, using this product has made me completely altruistic!

And that's the way the Ball bounces!

Genesis and the National Academy of Sciences

I attended a lecture Friday night in Singapore by a young-earth creationist from Australia.

Anyone listening to his talk would realize that darwinian evolution and the Big Bang both have serious problems, not the least of which is that they -- especially darwinian evolution -- are incompatible with what the Bible teaches about creation, the entrance of sin due to disobedience, and the subsequent effects of death and the fall.

I googled creation and evolution and came to the National Academy of Sciences website. Clearly, they view themselves as battling against anyone who dares suppose that God might have had anything to do with this present universe.

Here's what they say about origins (in a book brazenly titled Genesis):

"Life on Earth arose nearly 4 billion years ago, bursting forth from air, water, and rock. Though the process obeyed all the rules of chemistry and physics, the details of that original event pose as deep a mystery as any facing science. How did non-living chemicals become alive? While the question is (deceivingly) simple, the answers are unquestionably complex. Genesis tells the tale of transforming scientific advances in our quest for life's origins. Written with grace, beauty, and authority, it goes directly to the heart of who we are and why we are here. Published by Joseph Henry Press, an imprint of the National Academies Press. The views expressed in this book are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Academies. [read FREE online]"

My question to them would be this: since you do not know, and cannot know, how life "burst forth", how can you possibly state that it "obeyed all the rules of chemistry and physics?

They can't. But they do. because to admit otherwise would be to admit to the possiblity of God. As it is, they are "in charge". The way they state it, they almost make it sound that the universe is subject to THEM, obeying the "rules" -- their rules -- of chemistry and physics.

In general it is true that Christian societies have promoted science as a legitimate enterprise of seeking to understand God's world through objective experiments. True science has thrived in Christian cultures.

But what passes for scientific objectivity today is really the philosophy of materialism -- that the material world is all there is -- dressed up in scientific garb.

And that's a shame.

Ball at the Great Wall

I was down at the Business Centre at the Holiday Inn Beijing Central Plaza promptly at 8am. to book my Great Wall tour, only to find out that it had to be booked the day before.

Rats!

(Are Christians allowed to say this?)

I was told that a private tour could be arranged with Gray Line for the sum of 980 Chinese Yuan. At first I declined, reasoning that this was twice as much as a coach tour. Then I relented. For about $130 Canadian I would have a car, a driver, and a personal guide who speaks English for an eight hour period.

Deal, or No Deal? Deal, Howie! (frappeur -- this is an allusion to a current American game show hosted by Howie Mandel.)

I could tell that the young woman in the Business Centre was very uneasy about this. I could tell that, for her, 980 Yuan was a princely sum, and far too much to spend on oneself for a day, or even for a week or a month. I could tell that, for her, it was unimaginably expensive. But, I reasoned that all-in-all this was not a bad deal, and, with my back hurting, a driver and a custom trip could not be a bad thing.

And it wasn't.

It was a great day.

We drove through Beijing. Took about an hour to get outside the city. Lots of signs of getting ready for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. They are going to install something like 150 new, additional subway stops between now and then. Can you believe it?

First stop -- the Ming Tombs. Very impressive. Lots of Feng Shui talk from the driver. In Chinese thought, the wind is bad, water is good. So you build your tombs in an area surrounded by mountains, to block the wind, but where there is water.

I took the chance to explain that, in Christianity, both the wind and the water are considered good, and that they are both used as symbols of the Holy Spirit. I spoke of Jesus being resurrected and returned to heaven, from whence he poured out the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, and how the Spirit came like a "rushing, mighty wind". Also how the ruach or wind or Spirit of God moved upon the waters during creation. Also how Jesus said that for those who believe on him, out of their bellies would flow rivers of living water.

He also talked about the chi -- the Chinese idea of a life-force. I explained that Jesus brought a new kind of chi, that he said that the words he spoke were Spirit and Life, or chi.

The guide explained that he thought that religion was good. Nobody believe in communism anymore -- not even the communists! And the university students who have been taught not to believe in religion, and who no longer believe in communism, basically believe in nothing. A lot of them commit suicide, he said.

The last Beijing guide I had, about 10 years ago, was much more into the soft communist propaganda, and religion wasn't even on the radar of Chinese thought. In fact I believe I recall her saying that nobody believed in God anymore, and seemed rather astonished when I assured her that I and many others still do!

Second stop -- the Jade Factory. Somehow, I got the impression that they wanted me to buy some jade!

Third stop -- lunch! Lunch in the cavernous Friendship Store, run by the government. I did buy one small item. A nice aspect of this was there were no taxes. No provincial tax. No federal tax. I guess there is an advantage to the government running something, after all -- when it's taking in all the money, and setting the price, there's no need to slap taxes on top!

For lunch I had, wait for this... chinese food! A spicy chicken dish, along with soup and rice and veggies.

Fourth stop -- the Great Wall of China. What a magnificent sight! So very impressive. And, of course, what we were seeing was just one small bit of it -- it stretches for thousands of miles. I was especially interested in seeing the watchtowers, as I am working on a song right now about standing on a watchtower. Actually seeing watchtowers helped make the biblical metaphor of a watchtower that much more real.

Bible trivia time: which OT prophet talks about standing on his watchtower?

After the Wall, we headed back into Beijing, with a side-trip to "old Beijing", where they have low-lying housing and narrow streets. This part of town was originally inhabited by Mongolians. Turns out our driver lives there.

Then, back to the Beijing Holiday Inn Central Plaza. "Central Plaza" sounds so central, and, well, plaza-like. Yet it appears to be neither -- mainly a lovely new hotel at a great price in the midst of a drab complex of apartment buildings that stretch as far as the eye can see -- in all directions. I ask my guide why it is called Central Plaza. To the best of his knowledge, it is because 900 years ago, this area was in fact the centre of Beijing.

Nine hundred years ago.

And that's the way the Ball bounces.

Greetings from Beijing, China

I'm in Beijing, China.

Hoping to head out to the Great Wall today.

Will keep you posted!

The 1972 Canada-USSR Hockey Series - on CBC

The 1972 Canada-USSR hockey series was a great event in Canadian history. It is seared into the collective memory of those who were alive at the time.

Commemorating this event through a four-hour miniseries on TV would be a great contribution to Canada's culture and self-identity. And, it could be a great show for our kids, to help them understand what we saw and felt.

Except if it were produced by the CBC.

I watched it for about one minute. Two profanities later, I had had enough.

It was unwatchable.

One can only hope that Canadian parents had the sense to not allow their kids to watch this latest offering from the CBC.

More of my hard-earned tax-dollars down the drain.

And there's nothing I can do about it.

My role as a Canadian citizen and tax-payer is simply to "pay up", and, I guess, "shut up".

People say, "if you don't like it, change the channel".

Right, except I am paying for this.

What they should be saying, in a free society is, "if you don't like it, don't support it".

But, socialism is not about being "free", it's about being a subject of the state.

Afghani Reconstruction Canadian-Style

Former PM Paul Martin has taken a swipe at Stephen Harper, saying that Canada should focus on re-building the infrastructure, not fighting.

If that's the case, shouldn't we be sending construction workers, rather than soldiers? What could Paul Martin have been thinking when he sent soldiers and not construction workers to Afghanistan?

By all means, rebuild the infrastructure.

Only, let's do it Canadian-style.

We should open a Tim Hortons on every corner. That would do more to pacify the locals than anything else.

Then, we must implement a gun registry. Register those guns! Any Taliban fighter found with an unregistered weapon would be banished from Tim's for a year.

Finally, we should lay the blame for the Taliban insurgence squarely where it belongs -- on the shoulders of the politics of exclusion and the mean-spirited Afghanis who refuse to recognize the contribution the Taliban make to Afghani society.

If that doesn't bring peace, we may just have to go back to fighting.

The Pope apologizes...

Muslims have reacted to the Pope's characterization of Islam as a religion of coercion and violence by bombing churches and shooting an elderly nun dead -- three shots in the back.

Elsewhere, a Canadian has died in Thailand at the hands of a terrorist bomb.

The Islamists are sticking to their guns -- the Pope should have stuck to his.

The Pope weighs in

Muslims have reacted with rage and violence to a quote from the Pope suggesting that Islamic forced conversion is contrary to Reason.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam has been quoted as saying, "Anyone who describes Islam as a religion as intolerant encourages violence".

Consider Islam:

No regeneration and empowering by the Holy Spirit.

No human-divine Saviour.

No appreciation for the trinitarian complexity of the person of God; indeed, an explicit disavowal of it.

No path to God by vicarious suffering and faith; a reversion to a you're-on-your-own works-based religion.

No respect for the historical witness concerning Christ; instead, an audacious 6th-century doctrine that Christ did not actually die on the cross.

Islam tears the guts out of Christianity then expects Christians to honour it as a legitimate revelation when, in fact, it warrants outright repudiation.

The CBC Celebrates 9/11

Been driving from PEI to Toronto. Radio on. The CBC is live and on the air! Here's the way CBC radio commemorated the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

On the 9/10 leadup to 9/11, they had one of their "experts" on who assured us that, in the grand scheme of things, terrorism really isn't worth getting exercised about. Only 5,000 persons per year die from terrorist attacks. More die from eating Big Macs! He actually said this (or words to this effect).

Ah yes, the CBC at its best.

On the day of 9/11 they used the attacks on the World Trade Center as a segue into the present-day effects on Iraq and Afghanistan. The "sin" of the Americans vis-a-vis Iraq is that they are there. Things were pretty darn good under Saddam Hussein, weapons of mass destruction a fabrication, and the American/British liberation of Iraq all a big mistake.

The "sin" of the western troops in Afghanistan is not that they are there, but that they are not doing enough. Instead of just enhancing security, the West should be building factories and establishing a prosperous western-style economy.

And there you have it. What passes for fair and balanced reporting from the distant reaches of the far-left minds that inhabit the CBC.

Academics Challenge 9-11

Academics are questioning the "official" story on 9-11, you know, the one involving 19 Islamic terrorists ramming planes into the Trade Towers and Pentagon. It seems that for some people the straightforward answer isn't good enough for them. There has to be intrigue. There has to be cover-ups. There has to be the word "covert" in the story. Also another one I can't think of at the moment, but will come to me after I've posted this. Wait a minute. Clandestine. That's it. There has to be covert and clandestine in the answer.

Fine.

But what a lot of people don't realize is that this whole academia 9-11 conspiracy theory is in fact phony.

It is being faked to draw attention away from the war in Iraq; it is being promoted by radical right-wing extremists to discredit the left.

Things are not as they appear!

Even this post is in fact a fake.

Richard Ball does not exist; it is a cover used by a radical right-wing operative with ties to the Kennedy Assassination. Hint: where were the four Beatles the day Kennedy died, and who were the four "tramps" arrested by the railroad tracks that day? Follow the Coca-cola trail and see where it leads. Lee Harvey Oswald drank cokes from those small glass bottles; so did the Beatles; it all fits!

Quote of the Day

"The problem with Christianity is Christians. The problem with Islam is Islam." -- Richard K. Ball.

The Apple Ads Rule!

Just saw the latest PC vs. Mac ad on TV.

These ads rock!

So clever.

And, low budget -- low production values; two no-name actors who both do a terrific job.

In the latest one, the PC has suffered some kind of electrical anomoly, and it is having a death-vision -- "seeing wheat fields of amber", that sort of thing.

The Mac guy says, "your screen saver, right".

And the PC guy says, "yeah".

These ads rule the universe!

They should get some kind of pop culture award.

Quote of the Day

"Our prayers lay the track down by which God's power can come. Like a mighty locomotive His power is irresistible, but it cannot reach us without rails." - attributed to Watchman Nee

Prayer is like breathing. We need to breath. We need to pray. If we are to be men and women of-the-Spirit. Sharing the life of God.

Through Jesus Christ.

The only Mediator.

The only Way.

The only Savior.

By Him all things were made.

Before Abraham, He was.

Word of the Father in flesh appearing.

The best possible Saviour and Lord this world or any other world could ever have.

Supreme.

By Him

I'm

Redeemed.

May all who read this be blessed.

The NDP are passing resolutions

The NDP wants to do great things; they just need all our capitalist-generated money to do it. They don't mind if we make it, just as long as they get to spend it. In fact, they pretty much need us to make it for them.

They don't mind if we abort all our children, just as long as we abort boys and girls in equal numbers.

And, to support same-sex equality, they are willing to trash the historical definition of marriage and support the notion that a child can have two men or two women as its legal parents on its certificate of live birth.

There's currently a court case working its way through the system where a lesbian mother wants to add her partner as one of the child's parents, legally giving the child three parents (two mothers and a dad). The NDP will likely support this. And why not? Once the male-female procreation thing is dispensed with, there is no necessary reason why marriage should be restricted to two persons, or why a child's parents should be limited to two.

Cruelly, though, the NDP's ears remain deaf to the call to end the bigotry, prejudice, hate and small-minded mean-spiritedness towards another marginalized and oppressed sexual minority -- those who are attracted to the under fourteen crowd and who have the same right to equality under the beloved Charter as everyone else.

Someone in the NDP should propose a motion guaranteeing the equality of all sexual orientations, and not just those that are state-approved or favoured by society.

Otherwise, the Charter's sexual equality guarantees aren't worth the paper they weren't written on.

Scientists: ye shall be as gods

Scientists are only human.

In the theory of darwinian evolution (even if we accept the notion of progression from one species to another) the mechanism of evolution -- random chance vs. divine direction -- is equally unproveable on either side, although the apparent and exquisite design we see all around us provides practical evidence of the latter.

Yet the former is dogmatically embraced by scientists.

This opened the door to science based on worldview assumptions, in this particular case, the twin assumptions of the sufficiency of human scientific endeavor (God cannot exist because we cannot prove Him), and its attendant consequence, a commitment to the philosophy of materialism (the material universe is all there is).

The end result of all this is to, in effect, make scientists themselves gods.

And this brings us back to Genesis chapter 3. "Eat from the tree of knowledge -- you shall be as gods."

Advise many scientists apparently find impossible to resist.

Jean Coutu and the Wise Executive

The Jean Coutu chain branched into the States recently, and got clobbered. They bought the Eckerd and Brooks drug store chains from J.C. Penney and got mired in outdated stores requiring extensive renovations. Maybe they paid too much. At any rate, they had no money for the needed renovations.

Today it is announced that they are selling these stores to RiteAid for cash plus 30% ownership of RiteAid. Sounds like a good deal to me. Their stock was up yesterday on the news of a likely deal. Wel'll see what it does today.

----

The executives of a company makes critical decisions that either increase or decrease wealth and prosperity to the company, and, ultimately, to society. The result of wise decisions is profit -- something that is despised by many in Canadian society today as evil. The result of unwise decisions is loss. The value of a wise executive cannot be overstated. Let's hope this works out for the hard-working and industrious Coutu family and the enterprise they run, along with its shareholders, employees, customers, not to mention the governments and citizens that also benefit through the taxation system.

Mushy Multiculturalism and the Islamic Threat

The Liberal Party is reportedly in a disunified state over their Middle East policies, as they strain to be all things to all people, or, at least, all voter groups.

The Liberal's mushy multiculturalism (in which all cultures, despite the evidence, are viewed as equally peaceful and productive), works when the world is at peace; it doesn't work as well when the modern civilized world faces the threat of global Islamic terrorism. For such times, a firmer, more clear-cut, policy is needed. And that is the policy being offered us by the Conservatives.

The Liberals are understandably in disarray as their philosophy of unending accommodation and appeasement collapses in the face of the very real threat of Islamic aggression against the West.

The Mathematician Guy who Lives with his Mother

The Mathematician Guy who Lives with his Mother in Russia must be intelligence squared. He's just won a big award which he has declined. Something about a Poincare conjecture. This from the Globe and Mail:

"The Poincare conjecture essentially says that in three dimensions you cannot transform a doughnut shape into a sphere without ripping it, although any shape without a hole can be stretched or shrunk into a sphere.

Proving the conjecture — an exercise in acrobatics with mindboggling imaginary doughnuts and balls — is anything but trivial. Colleagues say Mr. Perelman's work gives mathematical descriptions of what the universe might look like and promises exciting applications in physics and other fields."

Now this from a sensible Canadian:

This can only mean that the universe is either shaped like a doughnut or a Timbit.

If a doughnut, what flavour would it be? Would it be glazed? Sprinkled?

If a Timbit, would it be sour cream, or fruit-filled?

Maybe someone will come up with a unifying theory of everything in which they prove that the universe is actually a Timbit encapsulated in a donut. I figure that Timbits are always trying to return to Mamma, from whence they came.

Hard of Hearing

A Canadian court has ruled that the deaf are entitled to expect professional sign language interpreters at all government-provided offices and facilities in the country.

This means that the government must now provide all services in English, all services in French, and all services in ASL.

And, since the court defined this as a right, it means that all Canadians have a duty to provide these facilities.

And that's what's wrong with this ruling.

The deaf community may have lobbied for these services, and our society may have democratically decided to provide them, and that would have been a good, even wonderful thing.

But when the deaf demand this as a right, and a court imposes it on the country, it becomes a bad thing.

If sign-language interpretation is a positive human right, then the rest of us become obligated to provide it; we are no longer free citizens, but slaves to the rights of others and to the Charter and its unelected, unaccountable judges.

Quote of the Day

William F. Buckley Jr. quoting a Viennese critic:

"The trouble with socialism is socialism. The trouble with capitalism is capitalists."

The United Church vs. Jesus Christ

Someone has suggested that if Jesus were Canadian, he would be a member of the United Church of Canada, because of its far-left social views (the latest being the idea of banning bottled water).

Would Jesus join the UCC? I doubt it. Firstly, I doubt he would be attracted to its watered-down gospel. Secondly, unless he "repented" of his fundamentalist mindset, I doubt that he would be welcome. Actually, I take that back. The UCC welcomes everybody, regardless of belief. But would he be welcomed into the corridors of power within the UCC?

Perhaps the the question should be, "would the UCC accept Jesus' application to be an ordained UCC minister".

Let's consider the UCC vs. Jesus Christ:

"My Father..." -- offensive

"Our Father..." -- still offensive

"I am the Way, no person comes to the Father but by ME" -- offensive

"He who believes and is baptized shall be saved; he who believes not shall be damned" -- offensive

"Except you repent, you shall all likewise perish" -- offensive

"I am THE Truth" -- offensive

"He who is angry with his brother without cause is in danger of hell fire" -- offensive

"Think not that I have come to bring peace on the earth" -- offensive

"This is the new covenant in my blood... -- offensive

I think it's pretty clear that Jesus just wouldn't be considered "Christian enough" to be ordained within the UCC.

Urination and the right to free speech

The woman who caused a US-bound plane to be diverted to Boston apparently urinated on the floor, as if this was some big deal:

"About 35 minutes later, when she tried to go to the bathroom, the flight attendants directed her to a different lavatory. Instead, she pulled down her pants and urinated on the floor..."

Given the context, she was clearly making a statement of protest. Surely urinating on the floor constitutes a form of speech, protected under the Constitution. Once again we see the Bush Republicans trampling on basic human rights by insisting that people use lavatories. Are we going to lose all our freedoms? Are we going to take this sitting down like women, or stand up like men?

I would just say to her, "Yer innately expressive, aren't you?

If we lose our Constitutional right to urinate on the floor of an aircraft, the Republicans and Terrorists have won.

And that's the way the Ball bounces.

The Well-Meaning Stephen Lewis

I have been to a hospital in Africa. The squalor, the stench, the deprivation, are unimaginable. Relatives have to bring the sick food to eat, or they go without. There are no elevators, so you walk the stairs, trying to ignore the stench and the decades-old peeling paint on the wall.

Now, into this context of extreme and pervasive poverty, where there is virtually no medical supplies or facilities, we have well-meaning western groups wanting to flood impoverished HIV/AIDS victims with life-extending drugs. It is all out of proportion. They barely have enough to eat.

There are just as many people who are sick with other ailments -- TB, malaria, etc. who are equally deserving, and yet we apparently care little or nothing for them; only for those inflicted with one particular disease transmitted through sexual promiscuity -- which is absolutely rampant.

I saw one of my students die before my eyes, in a public ward with about 40 other sick or dying patients. There was no money for care or treatment. Facilities were practically non-existent. The aid being suggested by the West is out of all proportion to the situation.

The only message that will save Africa is one of sexual responsibility involving abstinence before marriage and faithfulness within it. Period. And, that's the only message they can afford.

Branded

When it comes to brand recognition, here are some that immediately come to mind:

Western Brands: Coca-Cola, IBM, Microsoft, Mercedes-Benz, Rolls-Royce, McDonalds

Asian Brands: Sony, Toyota, Samsung, BenQ

Muslim Brands: al-Qaida, Hamas, Hezbollah

What a bunch of under-achievers! No wonder they're mad at their underachieving status vis-a-vis the West. Western civilization has rolled right over them and they're stuck somewhere in the middle ages, dreaming of achieving Islamic domination by force. So, they attack our buildings, they attack our planes, they attack our trains, they attack our subways, they attack our religion.

I wouldn't trade my religion, rooted in the warm love of God, for theirs, rooted in cold submission to Allah, for anything. I can sleep peacefully at night knowing that Christ, not "Allah" is Lord, and that He has reconciled me to God His Father through His death on the cross.

I wouldn't trade this for anything.

And that's the way the Ball bounces.

The Authenticity of Christianity: Too good not to be true

There is a difference between asking for evidence of something and demanding proof.

Of course Christianity remains a matter of faith -- that's the whole point. Christ said, "The person who believes, and is baptized shall be saved, the person who does not believe shall be damned".

Christianity, at its core, is a message, than can be accepted or rejected or ignored. The Originator claimed that what one did with this message would determine their eternal destiny.

The "evidences" (not "proofs") that come to mind for the authenticity of Christianity include the following:

1. The superior moral/ethical nature of the Jewish Scriptures -- especially when compared to what was being written by contemporaries, as evidence that the Jewish Bible is an authentic revelation of the one true God. Contemporary dieties were often capricious and arbitrary. Yahweh is a God of scrupulous justice.

2. The prophecies in the Old Testament which predict a coming Messiah and the establishment of a new covenant.

3. The numerous OT prophecies which were fulfilled in Christ -- many fulfilled on the day of his fateful death.

4. The ring of truth concerning the NT stories, such as the conversion of Peter, of Paul, the arguments, the disagreements, the successes, the failures, the realistic view of shortcomings and failures among those professing faith in Christ.

5. The eyewitness testimonies concerning the resurrection appearances of Christ.

6. The fact that the NT scriptures were not written hundreds of years and hundreds of miles away from the events they purport to describe, but, rather, written in the very milieu and within the same lifetime of the events portrayed. In other words, if miraculous healings had not in fact occurred, if the body of Christ had not "gone missing", etc. contemporaries could have easily disproved and dismissed the spurious claims of the apostles.

7. The missing body of Christ. Given the historical events surrounding Christ's death, including the posting of the Roman guard, etc., no satisfactory alternative explanation has been given concerning what happened to his body. Obviously, if either the Roman or Jewish authorities had his body, they would have produced it, and it would have been "game over". If the Christians had it, you have to ask how they could have gotten it, given the Roman guard, and why they would bother suffering the social ostracization, the imprisonment, and even death, for a message that they themselves knew to be false.

8. The uniform and unchanging witness of the apostles to the resurrection of Christ, to the point of death. Being willing to die for a belief does not make it true. And people may be willing to die for a belief that the believe to be true but is not, but how many people are willing to die for a belief that they know to be untrue? Even secular historians today admit that the evidence supports the idea that the apostles themselves believed Jesus to have risen from the dead.

9. The apostles were not fanatical or even prone to being particularly religious (with the exception of the apostle Paul). They came from a variety of backgrounds, from semi-literate fishermen to members of higher social standing.

10. The apostle Paul's message and ministry was accepted and validated by the apostles who were direct eye-witnesses to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.

11. The early Church fathers quote almost every verse of NT Scripture in their writings, which precede the formal canonization of Scripture. This shows that the Roman Catholic Church did not "decide" which books would be authoritative, as some like to suggest to today. Rather, the Church met and ratified the books that were already in widespread circulation and which already enjoyed, unlike the spurious gnostic texts, widespread acceptance within the Church universal.

12. There is about 1,000 times more manuscript evidence for the text of the New Testament than any other ancient writing.

13. Jesus said that in the last days the nations of the world would surround Israel. For 1,900 years this could have not been fulfilled, since Israel ceased to exist. This prophecy of Jesus is now fulfillable, in our generation. The book of Revelation speaks of believers from every tribe and nation being gathered. If Christianity had fizzled, this Scripture would have gone unfullfilled. In fact, the gospel has prospered, and now has adherents in most if not all countries of the world.

14. The New Testament speaks of sin, and not just sin in an outward kind of way, but sin going down to the deepest motives and misdirected desires of the human heart. Its authentic and accurate diagnosis of the condition of the human heart lends credibility to its prescribed remedies.

15. Unlike other religions which allow for human merit and effort, Christianity is humbling to man's pride. It says that there is nothing we can do to be worthy of a holy God, or to merit his acceptance. The good news is that there is a way to God. But it is His way, not ours. It is His provision, and not our efforts. So it is very humbling -- exactly what we need.

16. Unlike Islam, which demands submission to Allah, the NT record makes it clear that God honours the free-will that he gave mankind in the beginning. A message is presented. This message can be believed, and acted upon, or rejected. The NT record says that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all come to repentance. But He is not going to force anybody to love Him or submit to His gentle yoke.

17. Moderns tend to think that they have a love for truth that the ancients did not possess. So we tend to think that we have a love for objective truth while the ancients were happy just to make stuff up. Reading the early Church historian Eusebius will correct this false idea. It is clear from his writings that Christians from the get-go were very concerned with the factual and truthful nature of their beliefs. Christianity is a faith that is rooted in historical events. The historical events are not just important to the Christian faith, they are indispensible.

18. For various philosophical and mathematical reasons, humans are stuck with the logical necessity for a Creator. The fact that we live in a space-time universe means that the universe had a definite beginning, a start-point, prior to which it did not exist. How do we know this? One "proof" is based on the logical finiteness of time. If time were eternal, that would mean that there were an infinite number of past points in time, meaning we could never arrive at the "present" -- there would be an infinite number of past prior moments which would preclude arriving at the present one. Anyone who believes that the present exists, logically must believe in a finite universe.

19. Another evidence is based on an argument first raised by Christian monks, but refined by Islamic thinkers. It goes like this. A) Whatever begins to exist has a cause. B) The universe began to exist. C) Therefore, the universe has a cause. This cause we understand to be God.

20. Whoever or whatever created the universe must logically possess certain attributes. These include eternality, existence outside of time-space; great power; personality (since it is illogical for a greater Creator to create a lesser creation that has attributes that the Creator Himself/Itself does not possess); creativity; and we could even infer such things as goodness, love, etc. as we see these to a lesser degree in the created creatures.

21. While this kind of Creator can be logically deduced, we see in the world around us evidence of discreation, of chaos, of blight, decay, cruelty -- evil. The Old Testament witness to the entrance of evil into the world, and the despoiling of it is accepted as an integral part of the Christian worldview.

22. The NT testifies of a divine corrective to the disorder that is presently seen in the world. Sin will be destroyed. Death will be destroyed. The rebellion will be quashed. And God's order and kingdom will be established. It even gives the name of the Person who is going to pull this off. Without this, sin wins, rebellion wins, evil wins.

23. The words of Christ. Even is completely false, they are fantastic. "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father but by me". "I am the Bread of Life". "I am the Resurrection and the Life". "Before Abraham was, I am". "I am the Door, by me if any many enter in...". Where did these thoughts, these words come from? Collusion on the part of the apostles? Or did Jesus really say them? And, if he really said them, then who is he? Delusional lunatic? Demented liar? Or,... "Who do men say that I am"? "Who do you say that I am". And Peter's confession, "You are the Christ the Son of the Living God".

Please note that I am not trying to meet your demand to "prove" anything. I am simply trying to show that Christianity is a faith that, while remaining faith, is based on reason and evidences, and that, given all the facts of observable human existence, including consciousness (difficult to describe in purely materialistic terms), conscience, ingrained sense-of-justice, the reality of immaterial things such as mathematics and logic, the longings of the human heart for immortality, the existence of love, the logical necessity of a Creator, etc. etc., Christianity provides the best explanation of reality as it exists, of the human condition as it exists, and, if we accept that there is a God, the best revelation of His character, and HIs program with regards to humankind.

The fact that He would sacrifice His Son to win us makes Him just about irresistible in my mind. The fact that He would not only forgive the repentant rebels, but elevate us to the status of adopted sons and daughters for eternity, makes Him a God worthy of worship. And this message -- adoption through propitiation -- is so mind-blowing, it provides the final evidence that the gospel is something other than of merely human origins.

The gospel -- too good not to be true.

The five Israeli soldiers

The three Israeli soldiers who were killed by the initial incursion by Hezbollah remain firmly dead. And the two kidnapped Israeli soldiers remain in the hands of a vicious, murderous terrorist organization. It is incredibly generous and accommodating of Israel to agree to stop fighting on the mere promise of the return of these soldiers and the forced disbanding of Hezbollah. The eyes of the world are now on Lebanon, Hezbollah, and the UN, to see if they will fulfill their promises to Israel.

Canadians shouldn't feel so smug

An article came out today saying that a sizeable minority of Americans reject Darwinian evolution (which Canadians accept as established fact. So Canadians are feeling quite smug today. But should we be?

Evolution and Darwinism are not the same thing. Scientists believed in evolution within species prior to Darwin -- and this is what people cite when they say that evolution has been observed and has been "proven".

Darwin lost his faith in God and sought to discover a natural, materialistic explanation for the teeming complexity of life on this planet. His theory arose from this viewpoint. So Darwinian evolution is not really objective science; it is driven by the philosophy of materialism and a desire to disprove the necessity of a Creator. So, when someone says they are a darwinist, they are really making a philosophical statement about themself more than a scientific one.

Even if the evolution of species could be proven, Darwin's central tenet, that random selection (rather than directed design) is the mechanism, would be completely unproveable. So, Darwinism is no more "scientific" than intelligent design, in the sense that neither can be "proven".

To settle the argument, you need to step back and consider the origin of the universe.

For various reasons, we are stuck with the conclusion that the universe -- time and space -- had a definite begininng. And that has us staring face to face with the likelihood, the probability that the world is in fact the product of an eternal Creator who exists outside of it. The design that we see in the present world confirms this. So, intelligent design becomes in fact more likely than random chance as an explanation for how we got to where we are today.

As it turns out, Americans are quite sensible to say that they reject darwinian evolution. Canadians shouldn't be so smug.

And that's the way the Ball bounces.

Live and Let Live?

The list is in. And, once again, we find the would-be perpetrators of the British bombing plot are Muslims.

Someone suggested yesterday on a G&M List that "if we got out of their countries, they wouldn't be doing this". Since these were all mostly British-born Brits, shall all non-Muslim Brits leave Britain?

The fact is, Islam has spread a poisonous ideology of hate and conquest world-wide. And let's be clear: their goal is not to avenge grievances; it is world domination.

This is not about live-and-let-live; this is about live-and-let-die.