Reflections on the Fornight for Freedom

In the 14 days leading up to July 4th, American Catholics and many others who are concerned about religious freedom participated in the "Fortnight for Freedom," a campaign of prayer and teaching in support of religious freedom.

The campaign was kicked off in response to the Obama administration's new regulation forcing all employers including religious institutions such as schools and hospitals to pay for contraceptives, and chemical abortions for their employees. But as Dwight G. Duncan (not Ontario's Finance Minister) noted, there are numerous signs that religious liberty is being threatened world wide:

Now we are implicated in this battle over the HHS mandate concerning contraceptives, abortion-inducing drugs, and sterilization. It could’ve been another flashpoint. Denmark, for example, has just passed a law requiring the official state Lutheran church to solemnize same-sex weddings. In Ireland, the government is seriously proposing to abolish the centuries-old priest-penitent privilege, thus enabling the government to force priests to violate the sacred seal of confession, something that has been well-settled in the common law since the days of Henry II and St. Thomas Becket. In Nigeria, in what seems like a weekly ritual, Christians are being killed for attending church.

It's an incomplete list to be sure. Ontario Catholic schools will now be forced to sponsor gay clubs for students, and a German judge has just declared it a crime to circumcise a child.

Archbishop Chaput of Philadelphia kicked off the campaign with an excellent explanation of situation that was neatly summarized by Frank Weathers:

1. First, religious freedom is a cornerstone of the American experience.


2. Freedom of religion is more than freedom of worship.

3. Threats against religious freedom in our country are not imaginary. They’re happening right now. They’re immediate, serious, and real.

4. Unless we work hard to keep our religious liberty, we’ll lose it.

5. Politics and the courts are important. But our religious freedom ultimately depends on the vividness of our own Christian faith–in other words, how deeply we believe it, and how honestly we live it.

It's true, we must live our faith and not shy away from expressing its principles in public if we want to keep our freedom and contribute to a just and vibrant society.
Archbishop Chaput also gave an inspiring homily to close the fortnight:

In coming years, we’ll face more and more serious challenges to religious liberty in our country. This is why the Fortnight for Freedom has been so very important.


And yet, the political and legal effort to defend religious liberty – as vital as it is – belongs to a much greater struggle to master and convert our own hearts, and to live for God completely, without alibis or self-delusion. The only question that finally matters is this one: Will we live wholeheartedly for Jesus Christ? If so, then we can be a source of freedom for the world. If not, nothing else will do.

And so we have been called to "live wholeheartedly for Jesus" so that "we can be a source of freedom for the world." I pray that I can follow that call by taking every opportunity to defend religious liberty and by living faithfully so that I can be a credible witness.

I hope that a similar effort can take place in Canada in the near future.

World Youth Day Festivities begin in Madrid Today

I'm so excited for the pilgrims who are attending the World Youth Day celebrations in Madrid this week. I still remember how strengthened I felt after attending World Youth Day in Toronto in 2002, it truly was a life changing experience for me and I'm sure it will be for most of this year's young people as well. I haven't been following the news much, but I will as much as I can over the next week. So far it hasn't been too exciting:

Some short-sighted lefties are complaining that the cost is too high given the economic crisis in Europe. Hopefully the excitement and enthusiasm convinces them otherwise. I think this is exactly what Spain needs right now. After all this is a big deal even from merely economic terms. The article noted:

“More than one million outsiders will be circulating in Madrid,” said Alfonso del Álamo, the director of Madrid's civil protection agency. “A major event like winning the World Cup is only 500,000. We’ve never seen anything like this.”

He'll be happy to know that if my memory is correct, 25% fewer crimes were committed in Toronto despite the influx of people.

BUT the reporting isn't all bad. This article in the Irish Times was very positive, and this South African article even quoted Pope Benedict's Sunday prayer:

“Today, our thoughts turn to the young people now gathering in Madrid for World
Youth Day”, the pope told the faithful gathered for his Angelus prayer from the balcony of his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, near Rome.

“As I prepare to join them, I ask you to accompany us with your prayers for the spiritual fruitfulness of this important event”, he said.

No Problem. Those prayers are coming right up.

A Call to Leadership

Today's rain clouds did have a silver lining. I was able to pick up Faith FM 94.3 on the drive home. They played this new song called Lead Me. Actually it's not that new apparently it's been #1 on the Christian music charts for a few weeks but I just heard it today.



The song is a powerful reminder to men that we have to take a leadership role in our families and leadership means self sacrifice. The song also inspired the band Sanctus Real to post a special prayer on their website, which the announcer read on air today:

Lead Me- a prayer for husbands

Christ Jesus, you have called me to love my wife tenderly and sacrificially, even as you love the church, but too often I know myself to be a selfish man with a distracted heart. Please give me patience, gentleness, and kindness toward my wife, and the wisdom to value her for her gifts and ideas. Teach me to be vulnerable with her, openly sharing my own heart and thoughts, hopes and fears, even as I seek to better understand her.

Remind me to be ever mindful of her interests and needs with each decision I make and to structure my life in such a way that she receives the best of my energy and attention, rather than the leftovers. Give me courage to passionately pursue relationship with her even when I feel wronged or wounded. Let me become for her a man of tenderness, kindness, creativity, and integrity, protecting and cherishing her by vigilantly guarding my own eyes and heart.

Above all, teach me to lead as you led, Jesus, in humility and service. Only by your grace can I be a godly man and a good husband for my wife.

Lead me Lord, I pray.

As a rather remarkable coincidence today's readings at Mass included Ephesians 5:21-33:

Brothers and sisters:

Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord.For the husband is head of his wife just as Christ is head of the Church,he himself the savior of the Body. As the Church is subordinate to Christ, so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the Church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, that he might present to himself the Church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

So also husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the Church, because we are members of his Body.

For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church.

In any case, each one of you should love his wife as himself, and the wife should respect her husband.

Maybe God's trying to tell me something.

Is Religion a Force for Good?

75% of Economist readers think not. During a 10 day debate, polling was consistent with a daily maximum of 27% of respondents agreeing with the statement, "This house believes that religion is a force for good."

The result is not unexpected given the typically hostile view the magazine holds toward religion. But, the result is scary none the less as the magazine has a massive circulation and is read by leaders of industry, government, and academia as well as wannabe thinkers like me. I don't usually comment on online articles but I couldn't resist this time. Here's what I had to say:

Dear Sir,

It seems that the working assumption on both sides of the motion is that God does not exist and that religion's primary benefits are fostering a sense of community and the enjoyment of ritual. When weighed against the clear evils that have been done in the name of religion such as Islamist terrorism, the widespread conclusion that it is not on balance a force for good is understandable.

I suggest that if both sides started with the assumption that we are created beings longing to be in touch with our creator, this debate would have been entirely different. That said, without getting into the debate about the truth of religion it is still a force for good on both an individual and societal level.

On an individual level religion provides meaning and answers the basic question of why we are here and what is our purpose. There is no satisfactory answer provided by atheists.

Religion empowers people through prayer. When there is little or nothing you can do individually to change a situation, prayer offers something positive that can be done.

As a society, religion defines virtue. Secularists and unbelievers can claim to be moral (and very often are), but that morality must be measured against an objective standard and without religion no such standards would exist.

The point was made well that religion builds community. I can speak personally to that, attending world Youth Day in Toronto in 2002 was a chance to see 1 million people gather to participate in the mass led by Pope John Paul the Great. Looking around and seeing the faith, energy, and enthusiasm from people from countless cultures and every corner of the planet was a truly transformative event in my life.

The criticisms leveled against religion seem to assume that it is an irrational opinion to hold. However Pope Benedict has made explaining the mutual dependence of faith on reason and vice versa a cornerstone of his papacy.

I applaud the Economist for attempting to debate this important topic, however, next time I’d encourage inviting people with more theological depth and breadth
to participate.

I don't suspect my comments will have any influence, after all the Economist's debate has ended. The results are a warning especially to Christians who feel like their views are being deliberately excluded from public policy. People of faith must make the their views known eloquently and fight for the right to continue to do so. There's a large segment of the population that would prefer we be silenced.

Pope Benedict's Address at Westminster

Faith and Reason was again a major theme of Pope Benedict XVI as he addressed Britain's political leaders at Westminister Hall. He eloquently argues that faith is strengthened by reason and the reason and that reason is also strengthened when informed by faith and because of this faith must have a major role in informing public policy discussions:

The central question at issue, then, is this: where is the ethical foundation for political choices to be found? The Catholic tradition maintains that the objective norms governing right action are accessible to reason, prescinding from the content of revelation. According to this understanding, the role of religion in political debate is not so much to supply these norms, as if they could not be known by non-believers – still less to propose concrete political solutions, which would lie altogether outside the competence of religion – but rather to help purify and shed light upon the application of reason to the discovery of objective moral principles. This “corrective” role of religion vis-à-vis reason is not always welcomed, though, partly because distorted forms of religion, such as sectarianism and fundamentalism, can be seen to create serious social problems themselves. And in their turn, these distortions of
religion arise when insufficient attention is given to the purifying and structuring role of reason within religion. It is a two-way process. Without the corrective supplied by religion, though, reason too can fall prey to distortions, as when it is manipulated by ideology, or applied in a partial way that fails to take full account of the dignity of the human person. Such misuse of reason, after all, was what gave rise to the slave trade in the first place and to many other social evils, not least the totalitarian ideologies of the twentieth century. This is why I would suggest that the world of reason and the world of faith – the world of secular rationality and the world of religious belief – need one another and should not be afraid to enter into a profound and ongoing dialogue, for the good of our civilization.

Religion, in other words, is not a problem for legislators to solve, but a vital contributor to the national conversation. In this light, I cannot but voice my concern at the increasing marginalization of religion, particularly of Christianity, that is taking place in some quarters, even in nations which place a great emphasis on tolerance. There are those who would advocate that the voice of religion be silenced, or at least relegated to the purely private sphere. There are those who argue that the public celebration of festivals such as Christmas should be discouraged, in the questionable belief that it might somehow offend those of other religions or none. And there are those who argue – paradoxically with the intention of eliminating discrimination – that Christians in public roles should be required at times to act against their conscience. These are worrying signs of a failure to appreciate not only the rights of believers to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, but also the legitimate role of religion in the public square. I would invite all of you, therefore, within your respective spheres of influence, to seek ways of promoting and encouraging dialogue between faith and reason at every level of national life.

The Pope is correct and I truly hope that Western world leaders take his advice to heart and stop the deliberate marginalization of faith in our society.

I should also note that my primary source for analysis of the Pope's visit to England is Archbishop Cranmer's blog. At time's he is a harsh critic of the Catholic Church, but he is always reasoned and succinct in his analysis.

Merry Christmas!

It was just over 10 years ago at a university Christmas party when it struck me as odd when a friend of mine wished me happy holidays. I questioned, "Don't you mean Merry Christmas?"
"No, I mean Happy Holidays" she replied. I left the conversation perplexed and ever since I've been intensely aware of the 'war on Christmas.' Some years I've let myself get quite worked up about it. This year seems strangely different.

Now I find the ridiculous and supposedly inoffensive greetings that companies and "progressively" minded individuals simply humourous in a sad and pathetic kind of way. In a way the fact that Christmas is out of favour among progressive types makes saying Merry Christmas that much more powerful because it really means something. It's a thrill to see faces light up when you say the simple phrase. For me it's a thrill just to say it. It's a statement of Faith and that's powerful in itself that reminds us we are created beings who are loved and supported by our God who was willing to come to Earth, become human, sacrifice himself and rise again. So . .

Merry Christmas!

Godspeed Dr. Dobson

On Monday I heard Dr. James Dobson announcing his retirement from the Focus on the Family radio programs. It was a fluke that I was listening to the program at all; I rarely have the opportunity to listen, but when I do I often feel fed and encouraged by the episodes. Dr. Dobson has an exceptional gift at his ministry of helping families live faithfully, lovingly and successfully.

Focus on the Family Canada's press release is fitting noting, “Dr. Dobson’s impact on families in Canada has been profound. Over 26 years, he has left a rich and lasting legacy to Canadians through his books and radio broadcasts.”

That's true. If anything it's an understatement. Whether dealing with practical issues like building a stronger relationship with your spouse and raising godly children or somewhat more controversial responses to attacks on the family from same sex marriage to abortion, Dr. Dobson has always taken an orthodox Christian position and delivered it in an unassuming, deeply respectful way.

It's a testament to his leadership and faithfulness to God's call that he has been able to build such a strong organization and set it up for future success after he leaves the organization.

Godspeed Dr. Dobson, I'm sure whatever you do next will also bear much fruit.

My Reading List Just Got Longer

I'm still coming to terms with the fact that I read this book review in the Toronto Star. James Grainger has high praise for David Adams Richard's book, "God Is. My Search for Faith in a Secular World." I hadn't heard of this author before, but he's being compared with some pretty heavy hitters.

Author David Adams Richards is regarded as a rare voice of moral and spiritual certainty in the Canadian literary scene, rejecting the postmodern ambiguities of most of his fellow novelists and earning comparisons to Hardy, Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy. Richards' best fiction dramatizes the struggle of those rare heroic individuals who try to live by faith, and the almost equally heroic individuals whose struggles with sin and temptation often drive them to destruction.

The book appears to tell a personal story of God's active involvement his life as well as targeting a deeply entrenched bias against religion in Canada:

Richards was raised as a Catholic, and though he fell away from the church as a young man and still quarrels with many of its teachings, he has found his way back to the faith again and again. In God Is., Richards shares his personal and theological enquiry into the nature of faith, broadly defined as the belief in a fundamental meaning and order to life, one created and sustained in the individual believer by periodic glimpses of God's love and guiding presence.

That Richards' novels of sin and faith have attracted a largely non-religious (and certainly non-Catholic) readership is proof of his talent and vision. But to make an argument, in non-fiction form, that our struggles with faith and sin define us as human beings is a pretty bold move.

As Richards argues in the book's first section, a bias against religion, especially the Christian religion, is practically de rigueur for even mildly progressive types these days. (No less an authority than Brad Pitt recently stated that he understood why gay couples would want to marry but he couldn't understand why people still needed religion.)

That bias, Richards claims, is particularly strong in the Canadian literary community, where the denigration of religious belief is a "kind of swaggering doctrine that in its own way is as rigid in its essential belief as the evangelical or Catholic dogma it mocks."

Richards is not the first to make the point that atheism or secularism requires just as much 'faith' in unprovable assertions, nor is he the first to show how decidely illiberal 'liberal' thinkers can be. However, anti-Christian bias seems particularly strong in Canada, and I wish Mr. Richard every success in battling against it.

Barbara Kay is Right

Barbara Kay has an excellent article that slices and dices Maclean's cover story on Canadian attitudes toward different religions. To give you a flavour of the Maclean's story it finds:

Across Canada, 72 per cent said they have a “generally favourable opinion” of Christianity. At the other end of the spectrum, Islam scored the lowest favourability rating, just 28 per cent. Sikhism didn’t fare much better at 30 per cent, and Hinduism was rated favourably by 41 per cent. Both Buddhism, at 57 per cent, and Judaism, 53 per cent, were rated favourably by more than half the population.

AND

When asked if they thought “the mainstream beliefs” of the major religions
“encourage violence or are mostly peaceful,” only 10 per cent said they thought Christianity teaches violence. But fully 45 per cent said they believe Islam does, and a sizable 26 per cent saw Sikhism as encouraging violence. By comparison, just 13 per cent perceived violence in Hindu teachings and 14 per cent in Jewish religion.

The data leads Maclean's to conclude that, "many Canadians harbour deeply troubling biases." The magazine's pollster shares their conclusion:

“It astonishes and saddens me as a Canadian,” said Angus Reid chief research officer Andrew Grenville, who has been probing Canadians’ views on religion for 16 years. “I don’t think the findings reflect well on Canada at all.”

Mr. Grenville Canadians have nothing to be ashamed of. Maybe it's your questions and underlying assumptions that are the problem. Your comment seems to be based on an assumption that Canadians should have a similar view of all religions. That's just silly! Each of religion has radically different teaching so it's only logical that Canadians should have different opinions about those ideas.

Barbara Kay has more comprehensive criticisms. Here are some highlights:

The article assigns a preemptive judgment of racism arising from opinions rather than any actual racist speech or acts: Readers are informed at the outset that Canadians hold "deeply troubling biases" because fewer than one in three Canadians "can find it in their hearts" to view Islam or Sikhism in a positive light. . .

One of the poll's many weighted markers for intolerance is that far more Canadians point to Islam than to Christianity as a religion that sanctions violence. Maclean's thus unreasonably penalizes objectivity, implying it is bigotry to acknowledge world events, and racism to honestly assess cultural outcomes over history. . .

Through selection bias the poll reveals what "we" think, but not what "they" think. It permits "old stock" Canadians (Christians or Canadians of Christian heritage) to be held up for public shaming. But the views of specific minority groups such as Muslims, Sikhs and Tamils -- who might have revealed themselves to be insufficiently celebratory of religious diversity --are spared public exposure. . .

Hostility to officially sanctioned shariah law is falsely linked here with negativism toward Muslims. . . It is offensive that Canadians should be implicitly labelled racists for upholding democratic ideals over willfully blind multiculturalism.

Barbara you're right, the Maclean's story is a terrible example of push polling used to prove a foregone conclusion.

He's Walking

Back in February I wrote about my grandfather's (I call him Opa) struggle to recover from his stroke and that I would make praying for him a priority. Well I'm pleased to say he's walking, at least we were walking together briefly on Easter Sunday.

It was only the second time I saw him since his stroke and all I heard were mostly negative reports from my family about his ability and that he had zero strength in his legs. As far as I know he wasn't receiving any physiotherapy. However, I kept up praying that he would walk again consistently, most evenings and every time I went to Mass.

His children were scared to let him walk, but when I saw him rocking back and forth in his wheelchair, trying to get up, I convinced them that there would be no danger if one of us picked him up on either side. As soon as he was up, he had reached for his wife's walker and started leading us around the house, there was almost no weight on my hands as we walked around the house. Later when it was time to leave he got up again and walked with us to the car - he even walked down the rather steep stairs at the entrance to the house.

I'm really proud of him. Maybe he just had more strength than we gave him credit for. Maybe the hint of spring gave him more energy. Maybe he wanted to show his entire family what he was capable of. Probably it's a combination, but I'm certain the largest part of his success is God's answer to our prayers and for that I'm very thankful!

Nothing Extraordinary - One Man's Call to the Priesthood

Last Sunday Michal Bebjak, a second year seminarian in our diocese, gave a talk on his call to the priesthood and his decision to enter seminary. Michal was a regular guy going to university for engineering when he stumbled on a club for catholics. The club was about as organized as most campus clubs (i.e. not at all) but he kept coming back and one of his friends invited him to go to a weekend retreat. It was there one of the priests first asked Michal if he'd ever thought of becoming a priest. Michal said, "sure but never seriously," and the seed was planted.

He struggled with the idea for several months and then prayed that God would help him make his final decision. The next time he went to mass the gospel came from Matthew 9:35-38. In that passage Jesus says, "The harvest is plenty, but the labourers are few" as he is calling for people to spread the Word. That's a passage that's almost always quoted when we pray for more young people to enter the consecrated religious life. Michal said it was nothing extraordinary but he's feeling rewarded everyday about his decision to follow Jesus this way.

I thank God for choosing Michal and for allowing him to respond. The young man is caring and mild mannered and really seemed to love the people in the congregation even though he'd never met most of us. I don't think I captured it here, but I felt very encouraged and strengthened by his story and I could see that the rest of the congregation was too. I think the unspoken but powerful message was that we can all follow God and hear his direction for our lives, we don't need to be extraordinary.

Goodyear Controversy Blows Over

I wish I could find an electronic copy of the original Globe and Mail story that started off the whole Gary Goodyear controversy. I've read a number of articles and the truth is I respect the comments that most scientists have made about the minister of science and innovation. I read the front page story in the print edition and I'll admit I got a little riled up. Since I can't find the article I'll rely on Jonathan Kay's summary in the National Post:

Canadians differ on whether a supernatural entity had a role in the creation of human life. In a 2007 Canadian Press-Decima Research poll, 26% of respondents said they believe in creationism, 29% picked evolution and 34% said they believe in some combination of the two.

But according to militant secularists -- given disgracefully prominent play by The Globe and Mail on the front page of yesterday's edition -- that's not good enough. They want everyone in society, or at least everyone leading this country, to dogmatically subscribe to the minority view that God had no role at all in human creation.

In the article -- entitled "Minister won't confirm belief in evolution: Researchers aghast that key figure in funding controversy invokes religion in science discussion" -- Globe science writer Anne McIlroy breathlessly reported that "Canada's Science
Minister [Gary Goodyear], the man at the centre of the controversy over federal funding cuts to researchers, won't say if he believes in evolution"; that "some have expressed concern that Mr. Goodyear ... is suspicious of science, perhaps because he is a creationist"; and that "Mr. Goodyear's evasive answers on evolution are unlikely to reassure the scientists who are skeptical about him."

What really gets to me is the inquisition style questioning and the quotes in the article from the extreme activists that were calling for blood and suggesting that anyone who could be labelled as a 'creationist' has no business dealing with science. It's just arrogant and wrong headed. Jonathon Kay calls it a witch hunt and that's about right.

Fortunately I'm sure this story will blow over as I mentioned most of the comments from scientists are far more balanced than those in the original Globe article.

Finally I just wanted to make a couple of clarifications about my last post:

I don't strictly agree with the assertion that a politicians beliefs are irrelevant. I'm fond of a quote attributed to St. Thomas More, "I believe when men forsake their own private conscience for the sake of their public duty they lead their country by short route to chaos." Beliefs matter. I maintain, however, that when he was answering a question that he perceived as hostile he was right to avoid it and that his beliefs are irrelevant to his fitness for the job.

Some commenters questioned my assertion that Gary Goodyear is 'clearly competent.' He did stay on message during the interview highlighting the Government's consistent funding of science and technology:

Far from being hostile, Goodyear argued that the Harper government has increased
funding for science in every budget, including committing $5.1 billion over three years in the most recent budget.

Sounds like he's on top of his ministry.

Very last thing - Lots of people commented on my last post. I really appreciate that and I read them all.

Gary Goodyear is Right

Under attack for suspicion of being a Christian and a creationist. Gary Goodyear has responded:

"My personal beliefs are not important," he said, after speaking to the Economic Club of Canada on the government's vision on research and development. "What is important is that this government is doing the right thing for science and technology to support scientists."

He's absolutely right. Despite the flurry of criticism from media and some scientific circles, I'm certain Goodyear will survive this 'crisis' because he's focused on the task at hand and clearly a competent cabinet minister. I hope to have more to say on this later.

Cool As a Cucumber

With the economic meltdown that's happening, is this study timely or what?

Believing in God might help religious people block anxiety when under stress, finds new research from the University of Toronto that looked at brain differences between believers and non-believers.

The studies, led by assistant psychology professor Michael Inzlicht, involved a small group of participants who answered questionnaires about their belief in God and their level of religious zeal.

The volunteers were then asked to perform a Stroop task -- a well-known psychological test that measures the reaction time while performing tasts such as identifying colours quickly. The subjects were hooked up to electrodes that measured activity in the area of the brain called the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), which is involved in emotion control and helps us to modify behaviour during an anxiety-producing event such as making a mistake.

Inzlicht's team found that those volunteers who considered themselves religious showed significantly less activity in the ACC compared to non-believers -- suggesting they were experiencing less anxiety during the test and when they made mistakes.

The stronger their religious zeal and the more they believed in God, the less their ACC fired in response to their own errors, the study found. "In fact, we did not find religious people made more errors -- they actually made significantly fewer errors, which was very interesting to us," Inzlicht told CTV.ca. "We're not sure how to explain that yet."

I'm encouraged by this study. I know that I'm less stressed about most things than I would be if I didn't believe in God. There's just something reassuring in knowing that God loves us and he's in control. The big shocks in life are a lot easier to take when you can put them in an eternal perspective. This study suggests that even the little things in life like making a tiny error are easier to take too.

It was interesting reading the commentary around the story and the different takes from various news outlets. Funny how some of the atheists have outright rejected the study or just laughed at believers for being so committed to our delusions. There were plenty of references to Karl Marx' claim that religion is the opiate of the masses. However, one of the best comments was from a guy name Kris on CTV's message board:

"It may be that having this sense of meaning reduces their anxiety..."... or it may be that we were designed to operate optimally when we acknowledge the designer. Let's not overlook logical possibilities due to iconoclasm.

Well said.

More Thoughts on my Opa

I wrote about my Opa on Monday. He hasn't been able to walk after a stroke late last year. Based on some conversations I had last Saturday, I knew it was time to start praying more intensely for him. That message was confirmed for me on Sunday when part of the Gospel reading was taken from Mark 2:10-12:

But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on
earth"-- he said to the paralytic, "I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home." He rose, picked up his mat at once, and went away in the sight of everyone. They were all astounded and glorified God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this."

It's exactly for this reason that I still believe God answers our prayers. It's His way of demonstrating that he cares and that he really is in control of everything down here. Our job is simply to ask, believe, wait, and then give God thanks and glory when he answers. Most of my family seems to have given up on Opa, so I'm hoping that this time God answers the prayers by helping Opa to walk again.

There's no way to know really what the results of this would be. I don't know if God will answer this prayer the way I want him to. Even if He does, I'm sure some people will say it was only a matter of time for him to get his strength back anyway. BUT - if He does help Opa to walk again, I'll make sure my family all knows my explanation.

My last thought on this is just to be extremely thankful that Euthanasia is illegal in this country. I can see how my family could easily be ripped apart if this was considered an option. I think this is an important time for Opa to reflect on his life and get ready for the next. I don't want anyone ending his life before his time.

While I'm Waiting

I wrote on Sunday that I loved the movie Fireproof. On thing I didn't mention is the really poignant soundtrack. One song in particular was in my head all weekend and all of yesterday. While I'm Waiting by John Waller is a touching song with a very simple message. Keep trusting in God even while we wait for him to answer our prayers.

I've written before about some of God's answers to my personal prayers and there are many examples that I haven't written about, but I hope I haven't given the wrong impression. There are many prayers I've made that I'm still waiting to be answered - with some of them I've been waiting for years. Not being the most patient person by nature it's very hard to just wait and pray and hope and trust. That's why I love the simplicity and truth in this song:

I’m waiting

I’m waiting on You, Lord

And I am hopeful

I’m waiting on You, Lord

Though it is painful

But patiently, I will wait

Later the song encourages me saying:

I will move ahead, bold and confident

Taking every step in obedience

AND

I will serve You while I’m waiting

I will worship while I’m waiting on You, Lord

That's really hard to do, but I know it's the right response. Simply trusting in God and being faithful in worship and service will give us the strength we need to wait even when it seems like forever.

Fireproof - Rent it

Fireproof the movie just came out on DVD recently. We rented it Friday night and it was the best $5 I've spent in a while. The movie is a real romance, not boy meets girl they do lots of fun and exciting things and amazingly end up together. The movie is about a fireman who's been taking his wife for granted and their marriage is on the brink of divorce. His father convinces him to give his marriage one more shot with a 40 day challenge called the Love Dare. It's tough slugging and his wife keeps on rejecting his efforts, but with conversion, prayer and a lot of encouragement from a friend and his father, he's able to stick with it. There's just an amazing amount of self-sacrifice and personal growth for Caleb, the main character played by Kirk Cameron from Growing Pains. I knew my eyes were watery at times, but when I saw the damp spot on my wife's sleeve where I was resting my head I realized it was time to admit it made me all weepy.

Here's the trailer, you can decide for yourself if it's worth watching.



UPDATE: I cried the second time I watched it too.