The Age To Come

“Nothing so effectually hinders hearing God’s voice as opening the heart too much to other voices. A heart too deeply interested in the news, the literature, and the society of this world cannot hear the divine voice. It needs stillness, retirement, and concentration to give God the heed He claims.” Andrew Murray, from the book ‘The Holiest of All’

This is something that I’ll be planning on doing this summer, God willing. More on that, shortly.

Back in May I was musing on the nature of identity, sin and judgment and how we lack understanding of the latter because we do not fully perceive the former, wrapped up as it is in many more layers than simply the individual:

So often when calamity hits a country, some folks will say ‘this was the judgment of God’. Now, that may or may not be true, but the reply often critiques the seemingly random nature of the casualties – utilising the ‘this person was good so why did it happen to them?’ argument. We often cannot wrap our minds around this. However, once you understand identity and sin as multi-layered, then judgments that impact a country (say), start to be seen in a different light.

There’s another angle to this as well, again related to our identity:

…This explains why Paul says we were powerless. We were powerless not because humanity really wanted peace with God but we were held in bondage by Satan and sin against our will. No we were powerless because our wills, our desires, our hearts are naturally turned against God. We are held in bondage not against our will but by our will. Our hearts are the problem. Notice the quotation marks that run throughout this text [Romans 3:10-18]. Paul is not making this stuff up. He’s stringing together quotes from the Psalms and prophets of the Old Testament. This is God’s verdict regarding humanity: our hearts are hardened against him, we are bent on destroying him, each other, and the world he’s made.

God could then, without a hint of injustice, act in accordance with this verdict. When you read of God acting in judgment against a nation or an individual the thought should not be, how can God do this to these innocent people, but why hasn’t God judged everyone. Why haven’t we all shared the fate of the Canaanites, Hittites, and Jebusites?

And there is, again, a very clear answer. “While we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” …

Back in April, I wrote about a Christian ministry in Canada that had its ability to remain distinctively Christian removed.

Different country, different month, same story:

A British-based Christian charity organization dedicated to aiding those with learning disabilities lost the right to control its own hiring practices after an Employee Tribunal ruled that it was “discriminatory.”

In a weekend ruling by the Tribunal of Abergele, North West Wales, the tribunal said that Prospects, a well-known charitable organization, could not require new or existing employees to sign and agree to a “religious ethos” or statement of faith in salvation through Jesus Christ.

Although the statement of faith did not require any standard of behavior in its employees other than to “work within both the Christian ethos and the policies of Prospects,” the tribunal ruled the charity’s statement of faith illegal because of its use of public funding.

…

Back in Canada our kangaroo ‘courts’ carry on bouncing on anything that seems to smack of WrongThought….

From here:

9th June – On Friday, the Alberta Human Rights Commission ordered Alberta pastor Stephen Boissoin to desist from expressing his views on homosexuality in any sort of public forum. He was also commanded to pay damages equivalent to $7,000 as a result of the tribunal’s November decision to side with complainant and homosexual activist Dr. Darren Lund. The tribunal has also called for Boissoin to personally apologize to Lund via a public statement in the local newspaper.

….

Most disturbingly, says Boissoin, is that the ruling calls for him to “cease publishing in newspapers, by email, on the radio, in public speeches, or on the internet, in future, disparaging remarks about gays and homosexuals.” Boissoin wondered to what extent the right to freedom of expression in Canada will be deteriorated, stating, “I am not allowed to hold on to my views.”

….

And here:

Saskatchewan Marriage Commissioner Fined For Refusing To “Marry” Homosexuals
He referred them to another commissioner but that was not acceptable to them

A Saskatchewan human rights tribunal has fined Regina marriage commissioner Orville Nichols $2,500 for refusing to “marry” two homosexual men who approached him for the ceremony in 2005.

Mr. Nichols told the two men, identified only as “M.J.” and his partner as “B.R.” in the court documents, he would not marry them because it went against his religious convictions as a devout Baptist, but referred them to another commissioner, Edna McCall, because he was aware that she would perform same sex marriages.

….

It’s pretty nifty if not only can you charge ’em after harassing, you can also charge ’em to harass….

A monthly Canadian Catholic magazine of news, analysis and opinion has been burdened by $20,000 in legal costs in the process of defending itself against a campaign of harassment – including a human rights complaint – launched by homosexualist activists.

…

Fifteen months after the human rights complaint was filed, CI is still awaiting a ruling from the Canadian Human Rights Commission on whether the matter will proceed beyond the investigation stage. In the meantime the magazine has already racked up $20,000 in legal fees, with no end in sight. Wells, on the other hand, has had all his legal fees covered by the state.

De Valk says that not only does he agree with Mark Steyn that, when it comes to human rights commissions, “the process is the punishment,” but he believes the system is “hopeless” and leaves a significant portion of Canadians who hold traditional values “in terror.” This is especially the case, says de Valk, since the various adjudicators who have been put in charge of the commissions, “all seem to come from one crowd.”

“They’re all people who no longer believe in truth, who believe that hatred is whenever you make me feel uncomfortable. They all have the concept of hatred and comfort mixed up. They no longer believe in the reason of law, the rationale of law, and they certainly don’t believe in the Judeo-Christian tradition.”

…

Truth, is a deceptive thing, apparently. In other news, black is now the new white.

Pro-Life Ads Pointing Out Fact that in Canada Abortion is Permitted Until Birth are Ruled “Deceptive”
Suppression of ads called “an attempt to silence the pro-life voice from public discussion”

In a bizarre ruling last week, Advertising Standards Canada (ASC) rejected evidence from Statistics Canada and declared that pro-life billboards which said abortions are allowed in Canada throughout all nine months of pregnancy were “deceptive.”

Joanne Byfield, president of LifeCanada, the group behind the billboards, said the decision was unbelievable. “Our ads simply state the reality in Canada that there is no law restricting abortion at any stage of pregnancy. This ruling says it is ‘deceptive’ to tell Canadians that,” she said.

…

But enough of all this. John 16 v33 seems appropriate:

“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.”