Haiti

All of my life Haiti has been the poorest of nations in the western hemisphere. It has struggled continuously and endured the dismissive and reproachful attitudes of her neighbours in North, Central and South America. Haiti has always been a disaster waiting to happen.

Only relatively recently (in the 1980s) did we intervene, when the stench of the atrocities perpetrated by "Papa Doc" and "Baby Doc" Duvalier became too much of an offense to our righteous sensibilities. Then, when the military committed a coup and President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was exiled to Africa, we did little. The fate of Haiti once again fell into internal disarray and our relationship with them was relegated to the bureaucratic morass of international diplomacy. And the country languished without proper government, institutions, social services or effective international support.

Haiti as a nation was/is the "homeless street person" of the Western Hemisphere. We all continued to go about our daily business, averting our eyes whenever our pursuits led us to pass by them. We watched Haiti's sister nation, the Dominican Republic, raise itself up from its own poverty and comforted ourselves with the thought that "a rising tide lifts all ships". But we believed lies and would not look at the truth. Denial is the strongest of human sins.

On January 11th, 2010, our "homeless person" fellow nation was on fire as we went to work in the morning. Our neglect and indifference over the decades resulted in establishing circumstances that compounded the difficulties of attempting to help Haiti. Our shock and dismay is now mingled with our shame and regret as we trip over one another to rush to aid the wounded and dying - cursing the circumstances that hinder our benevolence. Circumstances that we could have changed if we had chosen to be engaged with Haiti rather than ignore her.

In "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens the ghost of Jacob Marley retorts strongly to Ebenezer Scrooge when the miser offers an excuse for their mutual disinterest in human affairs and benevolent causes. Scrooge says, "It's only that you were a good man of business." "Business!" cries Marley in reply. "Mankind was my business! Their common welfare was my business!"

I read Dickens' brilliant words every year - and every year I am personally convicted by those lines and compelled to reassess my own engagement with those who have less than I. While I am aware that many, many people and organizations exist to do good and caring works - many already in Haiti before the earthquake - I am also aware that many, many, many injustices lie unattended because political, social, economic and spiritual leadership fails.

In the light of events in Haiti we are - at least I am - sickened by our recent (and not so recent) history that testifies how we will go to extraordinary lengths to address issues in foreign lands, especially when - at least from the perspective of our corporate and political leaders - there are compelling economic reasons to do so. We will send our sons and daughters to die - and they will go willingly - when the stakes seem most likely to threaten our luxurious lives. But we will not sacrifice even a small portion of our opulent lifestyles to lift another people up so they can be stronger, safer and have greater dignity if there seems to be no immediate benefit for us. At least not until they are on fire.

Haiti is a hard lesson. I pray fervently that we, who are blessed beyond what words of any language can adequately describe, might learn this lesson well. That addressing the needs of others is always in our best interests, for when we do so we help ourselves - so intimate is our connection to one another on this tiny planet that we share. And that we might come to realize that when we do offer comfort to others we act in love that touches the very face of all we hold most sacred and good.

In speaking of charity, benevolence and simple care Jesus of Nazareth said, "Whenever you do this to the least of my brothers, you do this to me."

Shalom

The Great "Climate Change" Debate

I have been skeptical for some time about the position the most strident proponents of "global warming" have taken, mostly due to the inordinate amount of effort they have expended to limit debate on the subject. When the rhetoric took on the tone of religious debate about three years ago, I was fairly convinced that we were being sold a bill of goods. When my wife began working for a major western Canadian university she told me that professors indicated to her that they had to write their research proposals with an intentional eye on keeping their lines of research within the sphere proscribed by the "green" science cabal - or at least avoid asking questions that might ruffle feathers - or else they ran the risk of not receiving the funding they need. When the lines of scientific research are constrained by what amounts to social and political policy - however well-intentioned it may be - then it has lost it's academic independence and, I would argue, much of its usefulness to humanity.

One of the writers who has consistently poked holes in the "global warming/climate change" conclusions and proposals is Patrick Bedard, a staff writer for Car and Driver (Yes, yes I can hear the cat-calls and hissing saying "Vested interest!" - SHHH CHILDREN! Listen and LEARN!). Mr Bedard is an engineer, and his mantra isn't "cars at any cost" it's more "does this add up?". If you take the time to survey a few of his articles you'll quickly come to see that he does his homework and he doesn't fudge the figures. Now his perspective is going mainstream thanks to a recent article by Lorne Gunter.

Of course, if one has been paying attention to stories on the fringes of the media and the subtle shifts in the rhetoric of the "green" movement, these revelations should come as no surprise. A recent report suggested that the climate change movement was heading for a "tough decade" because global temperatures were trending down, not up - a fact Gunter's article supports. And the label "global warming" has been shifted over recent months to "climate change" - a suitably non-specific moniker that can be interpreted in any fashion to fit the facts. It seems that political expediency, power and money have co-opted the science community, the media and our political leaders. And we probably shouldn't be surprised.

I am a Christian, and as such I am deeply concerned that we take seriously how we use God's creation. I believe we are charged with stewardship of this planet, and all places we may touch - but if we are to be able to do this we need truth in the information we use to help us make our decisions. We need scientists, academics and researchers who are politically, socially and economically independent so they can pursue the lines of investigation they want to without fear of reprisal or censure. And helping maintain and protect this independence must be the first and the constant goal we should pursue in science.

Sadly, most people want the "academic eggheads" to provide us with solutions that we can understand with eighth-grade education and that can be explained in 30 seconds by some "talking head" on the six-o-clock news. And we want solutions that will not require much from us. We are the common denominator in this power struggle and it is by and to our low expectations and selfish lifestyles that the arguments and policies of our leaders are shaped and directed. We are getting what we demand - just like angry, hungry babies. We should be getting what we need.

So my exhortation to the one or two of you who read this blog is this - do some more reading on this. Don't let me or others make up your mind for you. Question those who are sanctimoniously using their authority to dictate what questions may be asked and what answers may be accepted. And talk amongst yourselves. Then talk to your local politicians, write letters to the editors of newspapers, email the news directors of broadcast news, comment on the electronic news sites and share the info. Because - and here I agree wholeheartedly with the leaders of the "green" movement - we ALL need to get involved.

Up to this point there has been no real debate on this subject - it's high time we had one.

On the Road to Forgiveness

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has set Canada on the road to finding forgiveness between First Nations People and the culture (our culture) that has dominated and damaged them for so long. The range of reaction to his apology on our behalf read in the House of Commons yesterday was to be expected. Thankfully, even the most negative reactions I have heard so far have at least acknowledged the open honesty of Harpers words, even if some could not bring themselves to accept them, yet.

It is now that the Gospel has a real chance to influence the path our country will take in the coming months and years. Colossians 3:13 says in part, "Forgive as the Lord forgave you."

We have an example, a model, a benchmark to reach for in our pursuit of forgiveness and reconciliation. We need to pray for and work for nothing less.

If we do follow Christ's example our destination will be true Shalom.

Lies, Gossip & the Internet

About once every couple of months or so I get a email that purports to be a true story about some shocking, unfair or disturbing event that I have heard nothing about previously through the various media channels I monitor. While I'm not an obsessed news junkie (please keep your opinions and snickering in check for a moment), I do like to think I'm reasonably well informed across a range of topics and a bit too informed on a few I really enjoy. Still I receive these "e-rumors" with enough regularity that I feel I must respond. It is interesting to note that although most of my friends and contacts are "Christian", and these messages come from many of them, few of them have considered what impact on their witness is caused when they forward an untrue story to their email list.

I am including the text of my latest e-mail response to one of these "e-rumors" below in the hope that the two or three of you who read this blog might take this cause to heart and at least consider doing what I do in response to receiving such a message.


Dear Friends,

As much as I enjoy getting messages from you, I really only have time for ones of truth and value (humour is good, too). The story attached to the original email I received about the removal of studies related to the Jewish Holocaust in WWII at the University of Kentucky is a hoax. Please follow the link I am providing to see the article regarding this posted at Truth or Fiction.com.

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/h/holocaust-kentucky.htm

While I encourage people of good conscience to be informed and to oppose (and seek support for opposing) evil and wrong things, I believe we all would agree that there is no benefit in 'tilting at windmills'. Here are some helpful guidelines I use to help me weed out the truth from lies.

1. Be suspicious of any story that does not include a verifiable citation. If the story claims to be from a particular media outlet but has no live link to the original included, then go to - or contact - the claimed media outlet to get verification. The more information included with an article forwarded to you the better the likelihood it is a true story. Live links to real websites are best, but having the information as to the media source, date the article appeared and an author byline included are also good signs of reliability - but the most important thing you can do is confirm the story yourself. If you do not confirm the story and forward it anyway, you are vouching for its authenticity. Be careful lest you attach your name to a lie. From a moral perspective doing so is to engage in gossip.

2. Be suspicious of any very scandalous, shocking or outrageous story that you have heard nothing about through regular media channels - unless you never follow news, which is an issue all of of its own. It is unlikely in the extreme that the media would 'miss' or even suppress a story that would cause a strong reaction in you (and certainly a large number of other people) because of the obvious benefits they would gain by reporting it. If you believe the majority of western media is controlled to the extent that serious and disturbing stories are routinely being deliberately not reported then I'm afraid you are not going to follow my suggestions, regardless. I do believe in media 'bias' but that's not the same thing as willful suppression. The best defense in regard to media bias is a good offense. Set yourself up with a variety of media sources so you can sample what is being reported from a wide range of perspectives. I also suggest adding a site like http://www.maisonneuve.org/ which offers an alternative to traditional established Canadian media while interacting with what those media outlets report. Another good perspective is available from http://www.evangelicalfellowship.ca/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=178 which offers a decidedly Christian perspective on Canadian news, albeit from a somewhat narrower viewpoint.

3. Put the link for Truth or Fiction.com in your browser's favourites so it is just a click away. If you cannot verify an email news story that has been sent to you, just check it out at this website. In the case of the message that prompted this response, I simply searched the word "holocaust" at the Truth or Fiction.com website and the story about this hoax was the first item it found. I have used Truth of Fiction.com for almost 10 years now and I have yet to be unable to verify or debunk an email message I have received.

4. When you get an email hoax do what I did. Respond to the sender(s) with this information. I have also been trying to spread the word about internet and email hoaxes for 10 years and I still have to do this about two or three times a year. It would be VERY helpful if we could harness the same power of the World Wide Web that brings these annoying untruths into our lives to spread the word about how to deal with them properly. At the very least you can teach your children how to deal with these messages properly. That would be, in my opinion, your minimum responsibility.

Thanks for reading this (if you did). Thanks even more if you take some steps because of the message.


Shalom

In Search of the Free Lunch

At my friend Lee Distad's blog was a recent comment to an article he published that got my gears turning. You can read the article and the comments, including mine here.

I urge you to do your own investigation into the claims this company is making, if you want to be informed when the media "reports" on this subject. Sadly, you won't be getting useful information from most mass media outlets.

As promised, I am going to spend a few electrons in explaining the Biblical theological truth as to why we can't find an energy "free lunch" in the universe. As I do, remember that people have understood this truth for 5000 years or more, so this ain't news, folks.

In Genesis 3 we find the story of the fall. Humans mysteriously reject God's authority, in spite of having a relationship with Him and fully understanding their position in creation. Both men and women fail, there is no gender bias here unless you want to read it in. Both knew what they were doing was wrong.

God's response is gracious. Instead of wiping the slate clean and starting over, or not starting at all, He allows for hope, but there are immediate consequences. In Genesis 2 God made humans the "stewards" of the created earth. It was ours to care for in partnership with God, and it was easy work because our relationship with God was righteous, and thus our relationship with creation was righteous, too.

The fall and the introduction of sin created a series of events that changed all of that, resulting in humanity's relationship with God and the natural created order being broken. Nature is no longer our partner in life. We are at odds with the universe. But we are still the stewards of earth, though our job has become much, much harder.

In Genesis 2 we are in the garden with a purpose for the garden - "to work it and take care of it". After the fall only "painful toil" will garner us what we need to survive.

Unlike the media image of the "stereotypical evangelical", I'm not an anti-ecology guy. I am deeply concerned for the earth and I am upset by what we do to it. My family met and exceeded the "one ton challenge" and we still seek ways to do better. But I also have no illusions as to whether or not we can come to some Utopian point where we are in complete harmony with nature. Nature isn't even in complete harmony with itself. If there were no humans on the face of the Earth natural pathogens would wipe out massive populations of plant and animal life all on their own. Weather patterns, huge storms, forest and grassland fires, volcanic activity and other geological and climate events would shatter vast eco-systems and destroy natural habitats. Imbalances in animal, plant, bird, fish, reptile and microbe populations would spell doom for thousands of species. In truth, natural processes have brought many, many more species of plants and animals to extinction than humans have in our entire history.

Before we hear the argument that "natural processes" work and that "death" is part of life I must remind you that the Christian, and the more ancient Jewish understanding is that death is bad. That death can serve any purpose that appears to be good is a miracle of God.

Now all of this is no justification for the squandering of natural resources nor the raping of the earth's riches. And humanity will have to answer for that, of that I am most sure. But the path to shalom (which means essentially the "perfectly balanced life" or "true peace") goes directly through our relationships, firstly with God, then one another then the rest of the world. As long as our sinful greed, fear, violence and mistrust are prevalent, any attempts to heal our broken relationship with nature are doomed to ultimate failure.

The truth is that if we were to choose to live in a world where the one rule was to love others - to make a conscious choice of the will to choose the true good for others, all others - our ecological problems would be few.

My hope for the ecology and for humanity rests in Christ. The Bible says "God so loved the world". My faith is in the One who loves everything, crabs and cheetahs, sagebrush and sycamores, turtles and tigers, dolphins and dung beetles - and us. I know that when we live our lives in love with Jesus we will love what He loves - and the more of us who do, the more of us there will be to change the way we relate to the world and it's natural beauty and resources.

We won't find an energy "free lunch" that will allow us to continue to live self-indulgent lives of leisure and indifference. If you really think about it, such a discovery would spell our ultimate doom as the only possible destination for humanity at the end of such a road would be a world so decadent and corrupt that it would implode.

The irony is that Jesus is the "free lunch" we all need and are looking for. And He is free. But don't take my word for it. Read it for yourself.

Shalom

Where Do The Children Play?

The unintentional spotlight of media frequently seems to shine its vexatious light upon apparent trends in our society. So it seems this week with a trio of stories regarding the brutality of the life of children in Canada. While it may seem that this has been a particularly brutal week, the more awful truth is that daily children across Canada suffer much and find little protection afforded them by the state.

It would be easy to point fingers here at government agencies, political or social agendas, blame moral decline or simply rant about racial inequalities, but I'll try not to. The sad realization is that what the children of this generation are experiencing is no different from any previous generation or time in human history. Even the Biblical record attests to Israel sacrificing their children to bloodthirsty gods of the day.

The children always pay the highest price for our greed and anger. But they can be saved. I have a friend who has risen above the cruelty of the childhood abuse they faced and is becoming one of the most beautiful people I know. I have faced my own experience of abuse and come through it to a place where I can forgive and be released. But, even so, even as these stories give me hope that God can reclaim what we throw away, I am convinced that we do not yet do enough to protect the least vulnerable in our society.

Our society is voting not to have children. The number of childless couples by choice has risen to over 17% in the last generation. Canadians no longer produce enough offspring to replace our dying numbers, let alone replace our retiring workers. In such a state can children ever hope to become a priority?

Right now as I write this entry I'm listening to the sounds of 5 children attending the play school held in our church. They are upstairs, gleefully playing on a plethora of percussion instruments. In the face of ugly stories about children abused and lost it is the most beautiful sound in the whole world to me.

Any society can best measure its capacity for fairness, justice and compassion based upon how well it cares for the most vulnerable of its members and how far it will go to protect them. I refute what P.E. Trudeau said about our nation. We are part of a society that is neither fair nor just. And until the children of Canada occupy the position of most cherished of our citizens - we never will be.

Get Out There and Vote

Not to put too fine a point on it, but GET OUT THERE AND VOTE. If democracy in Canada isn't working it's because we are all too laiden with Tim Horton's products to care. Marx called "religion the opiate of the people" but that was before double chocolate dipped donuts and on-line poker sites. We may not like what we have to choose from, but at least we still get to choose. If we give that up then we might as well get plugged into the Matrix and just let the system suck our energy 'till we die. I'm not going to advocate a particular political party, ideology or candidate in this forum because frankly I think the bigger issue is just getting YOU engaged with the process. It may well be that none of the parties or candidates really seems to reflect your issues and perspective, but that doesn't mean that you can't have access to them. But if you don't even get involved in choosing what hope can you have that there will be anyone to hear your voice?

Vote! Then you will have earned the right to truly vent spleen during the coming months.