Confessions of a Shiftless Mind

Finally Silent Spring is dying the painful death it so richly deserves!

I think it is a scandal that the USA eradicated Malaria in the mid-20th Century then the populist actions of certain misinformed environmentalists saw to it that the 3rd World never got to, resulting in 70 million deaths to malaria over the last 50 years in Africa. Good to see that steps are finally being taken.

Hat tip to Dr. Roy.

Took my two oldest boys, 5 and 3, fishing for the first time yesterday. We didn’t catch anything, but it was a good time. The oldest has a cool concept fishing rod - it actually loads the weight and the hook into a shell that is fired from a spring loaded gun instead of casting. Needless to say Daddy stores the rod between uses…

He earned that rod by swimming 25 meters in the open ocean at Crescent Beach. It is called “The Tank” swim. Keep in mind this boy is only 5, and until this summer, he was terrified of water on his head. He would cry every time I gave him a bath and washed his hair. His grandmother got him into swimming lessons and he stayed at their house in White Rock for more than 4 weeks this summer. I was so proud of him swimming that pool. He was slower than just about everyone who swam it, but he did it. I had a hard time holding it together.

Geez. What am I going to be like at his graduation? His wedding? Probably a blubbering idiot, but dang. He’s my son.

This is part 3 of a 3 part series on Birth Control. The first two parts here (Part 1) and here (Part 2). All comments are appreciated - I don’t pretend I have it all figured out, these are only my thoughts as of August 2006 and may be changed by this time next year, if I have misunderstood the Bible on this score.

The Stewardship Objection

The first thing I hear in response to this line of thinking is usually, “but God calls us to stewardship. We are told to be good stewards of our time, our resources, and our families.” This is all true. The logical leap meant from this is that kids cost money and kids cost time, and our time is better spent elsewhere. I find it interesting to compare this idea to tithing. Many people feel very strongly about tithing, and its priority. I agree with them when they talk about giving the first 10th of everything to God, not the last 10th. I say, “Amen” every time I hear about a person or a couple who are strapped for cash or lose a job but keep on tithing, and experience blessing as a result. So many people I have heard from have told me about how when they have kept 100% of their money, it seems to get used up and they are short, but when they only keep 90%, God seems to bless that and they always have enough. I don’t know if it is the mindset of the individual, getting away from the desire for more money by dedicating it to the Lord, or what, but money just seems to go farther.

I believe so too with kids. I mean, today we have the highest standard of living ever in the history of the planet. Yet, we are having the smallest families in the history of the planet. Most families have 2 or more cars, while even 20 years ago the average was 1. People eat processed everything, and all that processing you can be sure costs money. The fact is, money is no object to most people. Even those who are “just squeaking by” seem to have so much that nobody had a generation ago. I know families on welfare with XBoxes, eating take-out pizza every couple nights. Sometimes this issue is brought up in relation to going to school, and being able to focus on studies. Again I ask, what did they do before? Colleges had married dorms. Or you simply didn’t get married until you were done your schooling.

But let’s look past that for a minute. Say you are a couple on birth control. Say it fails. You are now pregnant. What are you going to do? Continue Reading »

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Foreword: This is Part 2 of a series on Birth Control. Please refer to Part 1 if you are just joining us. Click here for Part 3.

Birth Control is so common these days, that nearly every developed nation in the world now has a sub-replacement birth rate. The culture has become so self-centred that nobody even wants to have kids anymore, because they “get in the way” of their personal goals. The ideal platform for having kids: the marriage of man and woman has been under siege for decades now, with men preferring sex with men, and women with women, and even those who are attracted to the opposite sex are told they must put career before kids, education before kids, and fun before kids. It is no wonder that marriages fall apart at an atrocious rate. We have become so self-focused that even in marriage, we expect our spouse to enable us in our aspirations and dreams, instead of seeking to put our spouse before ourselves.

Enter into this Yahweh, El Shaddai, Elohim, Emmanuel, Jesus. Before all else, God commanded man and woman to have children. Yet, today it seems even to many Christians, this is the last thing on their priority list once they get married. They think of all the things they have yet to accomplish, and just see children as an obstacle, an expense, a bother to care for and a hindrance to their own personal goals. Some even try to rationalize by saying to each other, God wants to use us before we have kids. They don’t stop to think that perhaps what God wants from them IS kids, that this is the service God wants them to render.

God is the one who decides when we have children. He opens and closes wombs, and I can’t think of a single case where a woman did not rejoice in a child anywhere in the Bible.

Children are a reward and a heritage. Following this verse comes further descriptions about how a man should be proud of his offspring, how they will forever be of benefit to him. Continue Reading »

Foreword: I know this is a complicated topic. Below, I make a number of generalizations. I freely admit that the generalizations I make have exceptions, but I am speaking in general terms. You may be an exception. Someone you know may be an exception. I say these things to encourage examination. Some things we “just accept” are not necessarily God’s will. Discernment is something I strive after, and though I may not always find it, I am seeking it.

For a couple years now, I have been wrestling with the concept of birth control. Most protestants have no problem with using it. Most Catholics do. As a result, the theology against birth control is much more developed by Catholic theologians than Protestants, but I have known some people over the year who have deliberately avoided birth control because of their own personal convictions. I tend to lean that way.

Why am I even talking about this? To be honest, even my wife thinks I am wrong. However, I believe it is always fruitful to carefully examine every thought we have through the lens of Scripture, to make sure it aligns with God’s Will. Sometimes, something long-held and comfortable can be found to be in conflict with God’s will as expressed in Scripture. At that point we must yield no matter how uncomfortable it is.

The first major area to talk about is the reasons why people use birth control. When a Christian gets married, there is obviously a potential for pregnancy. The question immediately comes, “Do we want a baby?” Interestingly, this question was never raised prior to about the last 50 years. Before then, it was obvious - you got married to have kids (amongst other things). If you didn’t want kids, you didn’t get married. Without birth control, you just knew that the result of being married would be kids. With this expectation, it was heartwrenching for couples to marry then find themselves barren.

Today, people get married for different reasons. People don’t necessarily want kids when they get married. They often have a great list of things they want to do but it is usually all things THEY want. They want love. They want companionship. They want a job. They want to finish school. They rationalize all thise things by saying, “God wants what is best for me,” but they don’t stop and think about what IS best for them from God’s perspective. They only think about what they think is best for them. Continue Reading »

I have ranted on about asinine decisions by civic politicians before - don’t even get me started about “safe injection sites”.

However, you can all file this one under “gong show”.

Go ahead and read the article, but here it is in a nutshell. Little League tournament, want to put a “nice face” on Whalley, known as much for its homeless population and drug problems as for its world class kids’ baseball program. The politicos tell the cops to move the homeless out of the park next to the tournament locale, and onto a vacant lot next to an award-winning business that has operated on site for 34 years. In the subsequent 2 weeks, the business is broken into a dozen times or more. Nearly every day. The cops have since moved the “tent city” on to another lot, but not before the business has finally made the decision to leave Whalley for a more peaceful neighbourhood.

Do you blame them? I sure don’t. Last I checked the police are there to protect law-abiding citizens and their property. How is it that the police did not establish a regular presence near the building after… oh… I don’t know… the 4th or 5th consecutive break-in after the homeless people’s move? The owner of the business took a look at the lot after they left, and found a number of stolen items - how is it that the police did not search the tent city for stolen property when such a clear causal link was there for them? These people are SQUATTING! They don’t have property rights! The cops had every reasonable cause for searching them!

If I were that business, I’d be suing the city for damages, big time. When a city directive to the police clearly results in damage to your business, and nobody is brought to account, you have to simply blame the city. It was their responsibility to keep the business from danger. The odd break-in happens anywhere, and there is nothign you can do about that. But when the city’s actions precipitate the break-ins in such a direct manner, there has to be justice.

I am completely amused by the existence of this movie. I haven’t seen it, but DANG! It looks great! Check out their website, and while you’re at it, get a personal call from Samuel L. Jackson!

Or…

A different take on the movie -

I stumbled across a site full of ads for personal safety for women. Entertaining, and thought provoking. I thought I’d share them with you.

I totally agree that wholehearted endorsement of the decisions and leadership of the present state of Israel is not warranted. When I express support for Israel, myself, I speak of specific issues, specific circumstances. I do not believe that they are an infallible body by virtue of going by the name of Israel. Were they ever? I don’t believe that every move they have made to resolve the Palestinian question has been perfect - far from it. I am well aware that the people that currently comprise Israel have only a small minority of people who still faithfully follow Judaism as a religion. They are united mostly by racial ties, not by religious ties. In fact, I think there are probably more faithful Jews still living outside of the nation of Israel than within. As such, I think it is unlikely that their decisions are at all informed by Scripture.

Still, when Jeri says,

This is why the Land, without God indwelling His people, is a profaning of God. And this is why God promises that if the people rebel against Him, He will give the land over to her enemies, and if they continue in sin, He will banish His people from the land.

The way I read Scripture, God is profaned by anyone who refuses to acknowledge their creator and saviour. When Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, did God not agree to withold His wrath for the sake of even 10 men? And later, God sent Jonah to Nineveh, a pagan nation, to give them one last chance to repent. Still later, Israel broke His commandments repeatedly, yet even after His threats of banishment, He let them return from Exile. The latest banishment, from AD 70, was for rejecting His son. Yet, even that banishment is impermanent. God will gather them again, after Christ has called to the Gentiles.

That last verse is particularly interesting for those who hold the view that the Church has somehow replaced Israel. Let’s look at it carefully. Continue Reading »