The volcano

Back in November last year I received a vision of a picturesque bay of water, with a town nestling by the waters edge and securely protected by a headland. Water gently lapping in the bay, blue sky overhead.

But in the bay, most incongruously, a smoking, lava-spewing hill – perhaps a volcano. Not erupting, but restless and with the ominous potential to do so. The volcano did not fit – simply not part of the idyllic scene.

A deeper understanding of the vision did not come to me until January this year. I had left off in November with the sense that the volcano was wrong for the picture – it did not fit or feel right. But in January I began to see this volcano as the mountain of God – his judgment. I had read of a similar vision, and then Rev 8 v8 came to mind:

The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood.

Truth is, the mountain does not belong, and more than our sin belongs, but there it is. I wonder if we can grasp just how much sin and the resulting judgment is as far from God’s desire as the East is from the West? We consider God to be an angry and often judgmental God, and if we are honest we often secretly delight in His judgment, as long as it happens to someone else. But both the sin and the mountain are a mar on the original purposes of His creation, neither are His wish. Hence the ‘wrongness’ of His judgment – the wrongness that comes from our spewing of toxins into what He called good.

We need to come to understand the seriousness of sin, the seriousness of judgment, and the overwhelming goodness, holiness, mercy and justice of God.

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Declaration of war

To my mind, the article below is indicative of where all parts of Western society will go, devoid of the restraining power of God. The coercive power of the state, brought to bear in the attempt to enforce a new morality.

The real failure here is of the Church – the Church that is called to be salt and light in the world, but failing to be either. The judgment falls on the Church first, as it dwindles into irrelevance. Then upon society as it receives the ultimate judgement – freedom to do as it wishes.

MONTREAL, Quebec, February 3, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A professor at McGill University has published a strong condemnation of the Quebec government’s “policy against homophobia,” which was released in December. Warning that this policy represents a “declaration of war” against any who oppose the homosexualist agenda, Dr. Douglas Farrow, Professor of Christian Thought, calls on his fellow citizens to take a stand against it.

When the Quebec Ministry of Justice released the policy before Christmas, it was held up as the first of its kind from a North American jurisdiction. The Ministry asserted that, with homosexuality having achieved full normalization in Quebec law, the present policy aims to normalize homosexuality on the social level.

Dr. Farrow’s article, entitled “The Government of Québec Declares War: on a ‘homophobic’ and ‘heterosexist’ populace,” was published on the Catholic Civil Rights League website.

The Quebec policy, writes Dr. Farrow, “diagrams a full-scale assault, to be coordinated by an inter-departmental committee, against ‘homophobic attitudes and behaviour patterns’ and ‘sets out the government’s goal of removing all the obstacles’ to full recognition of LGBT interests and modes of life.”

“What is thus promulgated is no ordinary policy document,” he continues, “for it aims at the conversion, not merely of this or that piece of public infrastructure, but of the psychological and moral and sexual infrastructure of a generation.”

He emphasizes that the initiative represents an unprecedented interference of government into private affairs, and that it thus threatens basic freedoms. “Herewith the Ministry of Justice moves boldly and decisively into territory once reserved for the voluntary organs of civil society,” he explains. “Not only is homophobia to be eradicated ‘at all levels of society,’ it is to be eradicated as a matter of government policy and by means of government action.”

The policy is “an official endorsement of – indeed, the assumption of full responsibility for – the activist agenda of so-called LGBT groups,” he says. “As such, it is also a declaration of war by the Charest government on all groups and citizens who oppose that agenda.”

“Can the government win such a war?” he asks. “Perhaps not. But a government so lacking in constitutional modesty, in moral judgment, and in political sense as to wage it, is a government that can and will wreak havoc in Quebec society.”

Farrow undercuts the ideological assumptions driving the government’s plan, dissecting, for example, a statement on it from Premier Jean Charest. “Our society has everything to gain from accepting sexual diversity and fighting intolerance,” Charest proclaimed.

While such a claim is commonly accepted at face value, Farrow raises some of the numerous questions underlying Charest’s assertion. “Refusing to accept sexual diversity as a public desideratum may indeed be a form of intolerance, but is it a bad form of intolerance or a good form?” he asks, for example.

The document focuses on combating “homophobia,” but Farrow says that “we cannot get the measure of this document” without a grasp of what he says the government sees as homophobia’s ‘twin evil’: “heterosexism.” “Heterosexism,” according to the policy, is “affirmation of heterosexuality as a social norm or the highest form of sexual orientation.”

Farrow points out the fact that, in rejecting “heterosexism,” “the Government of Quebec has rejected heterosexuality as a social norm!” and he says that it is there where “the full scope of this absurd war begin[s] to appear.” He relates the obvious fact that Quebec society, as all others, was built on ancestors “who all took heterosexuality as the social norm.”

“The Government of Quebec, giving a mind-boggling twist to the doctrine of original sin, has
declared all the implicit and explicit ‘heterosexism’ that is built into these undeniable
facts an enemy of the state,” he says. “In its breathtaking stupidity it has declared war, not only on its own citizenry, but on nature itself.”

“Institutions, public and private, will be pressed into partnership,” Farrow warns. “The cooperation of every citizen is already expected, and will soon be demanded. A supportive school curriculum, mandatory in nature, will be forthcoming – indeed, the Ethics and Religious Culture program has already laid the foundations.”

Farrow connects what he calls the government’s ‘impaired judgment’ with the formerly Catholic province’s denial of its faith during the Quiet Revolution. “[The government’s] thinking has become futile because it no longer acknowledges what every human being should acknowledge about the Author of morality or about the fundamentals of morality,” he says. “In other words, because it has carried an earlier revolution, the Quiet Revolution, much too far, and got it all mixed up with the sexual revolution that began about the same time.”

Heterosexuals are equally to blame as homosexuals, he says, for “what John Paul II dubbed ‘the contraceptive mentality’ helped to produce our moral blindness and corresponding intellectual futility.”

Farrow concludes by urging his fellow citizens to stand up against the government’s attack. “War has been declared, and war there will be,” he states. “Let those who intend to fight, fight now. Let them fight with the weapons of St Benedict, yes, but with the weapons of Martin Luther King, Jr, too. Let them meet and consult, and determine to act publicly and in concert, laying aside their customary deference, which has no place in a time of war.”

Fight we must, though I suspect it may be a guerilla war.

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11:11

I recently came across a post that shed some light on something puzzling that has occured to me and also to friends from time to time:

FOR some time now, I have spoken with the occasional reader who is befuddled as to why they are suddenly seeing the number 11:11 or 1:11, or 3:33, 4:44, etc. Whether glancing at a clock, a cellphone, television, page number, etc. they are suddenly seeing this number “everywhere.” For instance, they won’t look at the clock all day, but suddenly feel the urge to look up, and there it is again.

Is it just coincidence? Is there a “sign” involved? My first reaction was that it is just coincidence, that it is what it is, and that there is a even a danger to attempt to read something into numbers (ie. numerology). But then… I started to see this everywhere myself, sometimes 3-4 times a day. And so recently, I asked the Lord if this has any meaning. Immediately the “scales of justice” came into my mind’s eye with the understanding that 11:11 shows a balance, so to speak, of mercy vs. justice, but 1:11 shows a “tipping” of the scale, as does any triple number such as 3:33.

Tipping in what direction…?

Having had this happen to me from time to time, and being unable to discern any particular significance, I simply filed it in the ‘unknown’ basket. Having googled it and read a few less-than-helpful sites, I was well aware of the danger of numerology. At the same time, I was also aware of the ‘red car’ syndrome, by which I mean that should you take ownership of a red car, it becomes amazing as to how many red cars there are on the road.

I still don’t know for sure what to make of it. However, I did resonate with Mark’s post above, in particular with the description of the scales balancing mercy and justice. I received the impression of the world being actively weighed on God’s scales.

The other thing that came to mind was Amos’s plubline:

This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass by them;” Amos 9 v7-8 ESV

From Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

7:1-9 God bears long, but he will not bear always with a provoking people. The remembrance of the mercies we formerly received, like the produce of the earth of the former growth, should make us submissive to the will of God, when we meet with disappointments in the latter growth. The Lord has many ways of humbling a sinful nation. Whatever trouble we are under, we should be most earnest with God for the forgiveness of sin. Sin will soon make a great people small. What will become of Israel, if the hand that should raise him be stretched out against him? See the power of prayer. See what a blessing praying people are to a land. See how ready, how swift God is to show mercy; how he waits to be gracious. Israel was a wall, a strong wall, which God himself reared as a defence to his sanctuary. The Lord now seems to stand upon this wall. He measures it; it appears to be a bowing, bulging wall. Thus God would bring the people of Israel to the trial, would discover their wickedness; and the time will come, when those who have been spared often, shall be spared no longer. But the Lord still calls Israel his people. The repeated prayer and success of the prophet should lead us to seek the Saviour.

It shouldn’t be any surprise that we are – as individuals, communities, and nations, being actively weighed in the balance. In a sense, it has always been thus, but this may be a particular Kairos moment.

Kyrie Eleison, Christi Eleison.

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Overcoming the world

As we enter into 2010, a word from my sponsor:

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16 v33 NIV.

I believe we will come to know the reality of these words as we are faced with the choice of either throwing our lot in with the world, or with the overcomer of the world. The middle ground will become thin indeed.

Increasingly we are faced with stories such as this, folks forced to choose between their faith and their job, or their kids, or their family, or whatever pressure point can be brought to bear to ensure compromise and compliance.

Is this an overreaction to a few isolated cases, or is it indicative of a deeper trend? I would argue for the latter. Things never start with a final solution, there are always first steps. New laws and policies are gradually introduced that marginalise and chill, touch those who are public facing, put pressure on them to compromise. It is a smiling evil, always presenting a sunny face with teeth bared.

But why should we care, it doesn’t affect us, we’re OK? Until you have an new “tolerance and equality” workplace ethics rule that you are required to sign. Or something similar. What then? Compromise is probably the easiest path, it always is. After all, greatest good for the greatest number. Why should you lose your job and the support for your family over signing a bit of paper that will never really mean anything anyway? What are you, an extremist? Just get along.

Surely society – most decent, law abiding people – won’t abide such injustices? Truth be told, they will. At the end of the day, most people simply won’t care enough to raise a finger, either tacitly approving or not concerned enough to do anything about it. Neutered sympathy at best, perhaps.

Don’t believe it? See Exhibit A from an Equalities minister, the very department generating the persecution legislation. Legal action taken against Churches is all the rage nowadays, and we know how that’s going to work out. Still , as the minister says, “if the church’s argument is good enough – which I believe it is – then the church should win through” – very comforting indeed. George Pitcher gets it – the whole point of Equality legislation is that some groups are more equal than others. You don’t need a degree to decode this, it’s really quite simple:

Tolerance, meaning intolerance.
Diversity, meaning conformity.
Equality, meaning inequality.

Returning to the first article I linked to – I note the courts opinion, and using principles above, put the quote in plainer language:

What the court said:

The Court of Appeal’s Lord Neuberger said, “It appears to me that, however much sympathy one may have with someone such as Ms. Ladele, who is faced with choosing between giving up a post she plainly appreciates or officiating at events which she considers to be contrary to her religious beliefs, the legislature has decided that the requirements of a modern liberal democracy, such as the United Kingdom, include outlawing discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services on grounds of sexual orientation, subject only to very limited exceptions.”

What the court meant:

The Court of Appeal’s Lord Neuberger said, “It appears to me that, however little sympathy one may have with someone such as Ms. Ladele, who is faced with choosing between giving up a post she plainly appreciates or officiating at events which she considers to be contrary to her religious beliefs (note the use of language to personalise and inject doubt as to validity), the legislature has decided that the requirements of a modern liberal democracy, such as the United Kingdom, include enshrining discrimination against the exercise of traditional religion, subject only to very limited exceptions (which will be removed in due course).”

But this is just the UK, yes? Surely it could not happen wherever you live, should you live somewhere different? It’s happening to somebody else, somewhere else. Apathy is bliss, until it lands on your doorstep one day. Then you will know the truth of Jesus’s words – the world really does hate you, and who you represent. Then you will have to decide which master to serve. The world will offer you temporal comfort and cheer – nirvana for a season. Jesus offers no such thing – but does offer the gift of following in His footsteps and overcoming the world – “that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe” (Phil 2 v15).

UPDATE – Related links below:

We need a shared story to underpin our national life.

Amendments To Equality Bill
We wish to alert you to amendments to the Equality Bill which are to be voted on in the House of Lords on 14th January. These amendments have the potential to remove the right of every citizen to live according to her or his conscience and faith tradition, especially with regard to employment and the operation and ethos of their places of worship. The Equality Bill will strike out all exemptions on the basis of religion (with two modest exceptions) which will mean that all will be forced to conform to secularist values and ideology even in their churches, synagogues, mosques, temples and gurdwaras.

Archbishop of York Would Not Qualify as Clergy under Labour’s Equality Bill

British Christian Teacher Sacked after Offering to Pray for Ill Student

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Happy Christmas

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Winter storm

Some pics from the winter storm we had last Friday, it was quite something! Gale force northerly, snow and blowing snow, temps dropping to -10c, etc. Now sitting at a frigid -20c…..

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Chinook arch over Calgary

I thought you might appreciate this picture of a Chinook arch over our Church in Calgary. Quite something, eh?

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The Gospel

“If you believe what you like in the Gospel, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself.”

St. Augustine of Hippo

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More regrettable news

It appears that my church does not learn a thing. Not content with appointing me Assistant Rectors Warden in 2007, they have now compounded the mistake by asking me to serve as Senior Rectors Warden.

Near as I can work out, this seems to involve signing pieces of paper vaguely insinuating that it doesn’t matter who broke it, it’s my fault. 😉

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A UofC kerfuffle – UPDATED x 3

Since it happened in my local neighborhood, I thought the story below, presented in chronological order, may be of some interest.

University of Calgary Once Again Attempting to Censor Campus Pro-Life Club
University of Calgary Pro-Life Students Defy Threats of Arrest over Pro-Life Display
High-ranking Political Science Profs Say U of C “Overreacted” To Pro-Life Demonstrators
University of Calgary Pro-Life Students Victorious (for now – ed) – Administration Backs Down from Arrest Threats

Such stories are only really a surprise if you subscribe to the old canard that universities are all about ‘free speech’, ‘open enquiry’, ‘thoughtful discourse’ etc. Simply put, that is a fiction and fallacy. I have two degrees, and I never saw universities like this. Usually they are hotbeds of ‘rightthink’, ideology of which swallowed by many (not all – but many) immature people who really don’t have much of a clue, or interest in finding one. Full of people required to jump through lecturers hoops to get the grades needed and hardly able, interested or encouraged to study further.

Sorry for the rant (not one of my better days, alas). Everything is broken, universities included, and only Jesus Christ can redeem us.

UPDATE: So apparently the U of C is now charging their own students with trespassing (here and here). This would be the University of free and open enquiry, debate, exchange of ideas etc (you can see my viewpoint on that above), now helpfully moderated by the University administration, courts and police?!

UPDATE2: And the SU joins in the persecution. Pathetic.

UPDATE3: There’s an online petition here – please add your support. Thanks!

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