Month: December 1997

Hanging on a wall in our guestroom is an old framed piece of linen on which someone long ago laboriously embroidered: I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, "Give me a light, that I … Read more

Forget God and forget that there is ultimate truth worth striving for and indeed you get a society in which people cannot trust each other. Remember the Flatterer in The Pilgrim's Progress? The flatterer always gives to the flattered a … Read more

When God speaks in Psalm 12, the emphasis alters from evil ways in evil days to what is happening to the weakest in society. Listen: "Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan, I will now rise up", says … Read more

Friends, freedom is not the right to act like the devil or destroy the fabric of society, which, in most democracies, is considered to include the greatest good for the greatest number of people. VLTs, massage parlours, gambling, and drinking … Read more

The mayor of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, was writing about the lack of religious awareness in the city of Hamilton specifically and in the province of Ontario generally and called for the churches and community to get together to help teach … Read more

We all have a litany of complaints we offer to the Almighty when the days are dark and we are down and life is hard and circumstances make even getting up in the morning a real chore. If pushed, we … Read more

My mother, "of good old Scottish stock", and a Presbyterian all her life, went from the amenities of a city in Ontario to a small frontier town in north-eastern British Columbia. She saw, and was part of the community's growth … Read more

Who would leave the shepherds out of the Christmas story? Not me, that's for sure. You see, I'm one of them. The passage from Luke says there were shepherds in the fields that night, keeping watch over their flocks by … Read more

Luke is careful throughout his gospel to place Jesus in history. That was important back then because there were so many "mystery" and "fertility" religions which claimed to have miraculous births and gods who died and rose again. So Luke … Read more

Little Sue is standing before the Christmas tree in tinselled delight. More than the tinsel and lights, she sees the presents there that have her name on them. It is a good feeling, because she is an important person, beloved … Read more