Talking the Walk

What Happens in the Next Life to Evil Dictators?

2011-10-21T14:31:00.000-07:00

Where is Moammar Gadhafi now?

“The dictator is dead, the dictator is dead. Allah Akbar, Allah Akbar!”

These cries rang out unceasingly in Libya and other Middle Eastern countries on Thursday morning as word spread that Moammar Gadhafi had been captured and killed.

Ruling for some 42 years, Gadhafi was the longest reigning dictator in the world. And for the many who suffered under his crushing oppression, I’m sure it was a great relief to see him delivered to some form of justice.

Kathy Tedeschi, who lost her husband in the Lockerbie bombing said, “I hope he’s in hell with Hitler.”

Con Coglin, an expert in the Middle East, sees it as fitting that he should have been killed in a Libyan sewer since, “He had all the morality of a sewer rat.”

I wonder where Gadhafi is now. One of my Muslim acquaintances told me bluntly that such an evil man would now be in hell. My Buddhist friends would tell me that he will be reincarnated as some lower life form so that his bad deeds can be atoned for by his own future suffering. My Hindu friends would probably agree with this assessment. I don’t share this view for the Bible says we die only once (Hebrews 9:27), and then face judgment.

Where do I think he is? Well, I can’t be dogmatic because it is God who judges people. He decides their fate in eternity. Having said that, however, I am inclined to think he is in hell or will shortly be making his way there. I know, I know, to say that is so politically incorrect, and some will probably take me to task for saying it.

But please don’t shoot the messenger. Why not take it up with my boss, to whom I am accountable? For it was God who caused scripture to be written as it is; and I simply use it as a touchstone to measure all truth claims.

And the Bible is clear in Revelation 21:8 that murderers shall end up in the fiery lake of burning sulphur. This evil tyrant slaughtered his own people, which makes him a murderer. In simple terms, Gadhafi seems to be a prime candidate to end up in a very unpleasant future.

I know many reading this will say Gadhafi was a brutal, murdering wretch and he deserves to rot in hell just like Hitler, like Stalin, or like Pol Pot. And it will seem eminently natural to them that such a great evildoer should be judged and punished. But it will never occur to them that judgment day is coming not just for the likes of Moammar Gadhafi, but for all of us who live on Earth. Paul the apostle writing in Acts 17 informs us God is now calling all men everywhere to repent (turn from sin) for, “He has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”

Where is Gadhafi now? Let’s be frank—his fate is totally out of our hands. God, not we mortals, is his judge. However, historical Christianity teaches that Jesus one day shall be our judge as well. That will include every person reading this article.

Wouldn’t it be amazingly wonderful if on that day we could stand before God with serenity and confidence? Yes, it certainly would. Maybe, just maybe, that’s why the teaching about Jesus is such astonishingly good news.

Royal Hamel is an ordained minister with the Christian and Missionary Alliance and a freelance writer.

Published October 22, 2011 in the Guelph Mercury

My First Ever Hip Hop Poem

2011-10-07T07:05:00.000-07:00

Yeah, let’s be Talking the Walking

So let’s be clear you gotta have words! Your ears, your lips, they ain’t no extravagance.

God didn’t deck you out, two at the hairline just to keep your head in balance,

God didn’t shape pretty, pinkish puckered mouths just for eating…and...kissing,

You gotta have words! For us humans they do the communicating.

But, but, but… hold the horses now, for if words indeed are a must, without which we’d just be mutes doing the hand signals, which is really kinda cute,

You also gotta walk! Yeah, walking is living—living is walking, without which your horn is not ready to be tooting.

Excerpt from an unpublished poem by Royal

The Movie: COURAGEOUS

2011-10-07T06:32:00.000-07:00

Courageous is a very good movie. And I would recommend that every father try and see it. But, is it cheesy? Does it try and do too much with the story line? Yes to both of those questions. But, often Christian movies are cheesy...this one in my humble opinion is only moderately so. Again let me say that every father should try and see it...it is inspiring, motivational, has some intense pathos and excellent humour.

Would I invite a non-Christian friend to this movie. Nope. There are parts of the movie that reflect the fundamentalist Christian culture of the USA where the movie was made. And to a great many normal, ordinary, secular Canadians I think there would be a number of "huh, what's that all about" moments. In my opinion it might work as a good witnessing tool in many places, but I don't think many of those places are in urban Canada.

Courageous was far and away the most popular movie this weekend in probably every Cineplex where it was shown. Number of people per showing was 145% higher than Dream House; 110% higher than 50/50; 87% higher than Dolphin Tale and 81% higher than Moneyball. The closest was The Lion King and Courageous still had 67% more people on average in every theater.

Posted by Royal 07/10/11

Let's Learn to Talk About our Faith

2011-09-30T10:08:00.000-07:00

Walking the life is important...but talking is important too!

I think that most followers of Christ, even though they would like to share, hesitate to share the good news of Jesus because of their own fear.

They are afraid they may say the wrong thing,

They are afraid of rejection,

And they are afraid of what that rejection will do to their relationship.

Besides, most believers haven’t a clue where to begin that conversation.

That’s why I am letting you know about a workshop that will be held at the Freedom House Church and Healing Centre (8023 Hiway 7, East, Guelph) on Saturday, October 15^th(8:30am-3pm), titled: Talk the Walk Workshop(Helping Christians Share their faith).

In this workshop we will discover:

How to take the truth of Jesus outside of your church walls
How not to be afraid when you bring Jesus into your everyday world
How God equips and calls introverts to share as well as extroverts
How one church plant grew from 18 to 170 people in 5 years
That there are already key resources available such as:

Christianity Explored

“In all my years of ministry, Christian Explored, without a doubt, has been the most effective outreach tool we have ever used.”

-Pastor Erick Kalmbach, Markham Bible Chapel

While similar to Alpha program in format, Christianity Explored offers a more modern presentation, has a stronger emphasis on scripture and a theological orientation that has broader appeal.

H20- A Journey of Faith

This dynamically contemporary DVD series that is the latest generation of the Alpha/Christian Explored concept that a pastor friend of mine in South Western Ontario heavily used for his church’s outreach and by the grace of God has grown his attendance over 944%. And by the way one of the Pastors's at Crossings Church in Acton, Kellen Wiersma, will be one of the presenters on October 15.

Just Walk Across the Room – Simple Steps Pointing People to Faith

Based on the book by Bill Hybels, Senior Pastor of Willow Creek Community Church .

God calls us to share the Good News. And, yes, for only a small investment of $30 each (which includes lunch and snacks) this workshop will help equip both extroverts and introverts with tools on how to do just that.

So, mark your calendar and plan to join us. Why not bring along a friend who shares your passion to learn? On the basis of past workshops I promise you that both of you will be encouraged. But that’s not all—you will begin a new walk of sharing Christ with a freedom you've never had before.

I think that most believers are fearful about witnessing, and haven't a clue where to begin. So let's take those baby steps of preparing so that we can begin fulfilling the command of Jesus to take our “good news”to this desperately needy generation. JUST GO TO www.lightthedarkness.org for more details and information on how to register.

Rev Roy Hamel
Executive Director
Light the Darkness Ministries

Grab Every Opportunity for the Kingdom

2011-09-21T11:46:00.000-07:00

For those interested in military history I recommend, The Fall of Rome by Michael Curtis Ford. The hero of this book, a man named Odoacer, was the final barbarian who overthrew the Roman Empire in 476 A.D. The following is adapted from pages 274-275 of Ford's book:

Odoacer has a conversation with a hermit/monk, Severinus, regarding the parable of the talents. Severinus speculates the supposed existence of a fourth servant in the parable who would have invested his money to the best of his ability and tried to make a return, but in the end loses all. The following is a direct quotation from the book:

Odoacer looked at him in puzzlement. “What is your point? He asked finally, “God does not reward poor investors.”

Severinus shook his head.

“No, my son. God favors those who take the opportunities given them. Opportunities are blessings; like good health, or a faithful wife, or wine to make us glad. Accepting opportunities implies failure occasionally, perhaps often, because men are fallible and faith is weak. But they are blessings nonetheless.”

“I cannot believe that God rejoices in failure.”

“It is not failure in which He rejoices, but the attempt. Accepting an opportunity implies a faith in God, in the bounty of his gifts…But failing to accept an opportunity, failing even to try, signifies the opposite: a lack of faith, a separation from God, ultimately an arrogance and pride that says we do not trust the gifts God drops in our laps; we, as men, know better than Him, we trust in ourselves rather than rely on Him…

(Odoacer then suggests that perhaps the servant lost the investment because of stupidity)

Severinus responds:

“Perhaps; but that is no sin. God does not punish stupidity—He punishes pride, and lack of resolution, and timidity. Pride and fear, you see, are often one and the same.”

On our vacation this past summer I was astonished to hear from God by way of this totally secular book on the fall of Rome. Nevertheless, that is exactly what happened. God had already been speaking to me through this parable--and suddenly I was exposed to it again from a most unexpected source--only this time with a different twist.

So then, let us all fight vigorously, to our very last breath, against the sin of letting our talents rust. Nothing, but nothing must be allowed to dwell within us that will cause them to rust with disuse.

All Sin is not Equal

2011-08-22T00:34:00.000-07:00

Are all sins equal? In one sense, yes, in other ways no. That might sound like heresy to some Christians, but there is a lot of sloppy thinking on this subject. For that reason I am giving the link to an excellent piece that J. I. Packer penned on this very important subject.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/january/19.65.html

posted by Royal

Blowing Minds with the Spoken word

2011-08-18T11:11:00.000-07:00

I found an amazing, amazing piece on the power of the Spoken Word. One of the video pieces will literally blow your mind if you are a pothead. Whether you are or not, you will want to send this link to any and all the potheads you know. Never, but never have I heard anything so powerful on smoking dope.

The artist is amazingly compelling because of her talent, but also because of the words she is not afraid to say.

The whole piece along with the two powerful video spots makes me wake up and ask, "What's going on in the world of the spoken word that the church needs to use? Could this be a way of reaching out to a vast part of our world today that we will never reach in any other way?

Check it out! Prepare to be amazed!

'Spitting' in Church? More like in the Devil's Eye.

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=334485

My Mom: Woman of Faith

2011-07-22T11:22:00.000-07:00

I sighed numbly, my mind exhausted after hours of detailed sorting through books, “I think if I see even one more book on prayer I may go over the brink.” My brother-in- law, Ronnie, and I, had been given the job of sorting through my mother-in-law’s vast assortment of theological and devotional books.

Kay, whom I love as much as my real mom, has recently moved out of her home where she lived for almost sixty years. The kids including the sons-in-law now have the daunting task of sifting through all the possessions that Kay has accumulated over her 87 years.

Kay has been a reader all her life. She didn’t buy books to line up on shelves to impress people. Most of her books were about becoming a more informed, and committed Christian. She read deeply, widely, frequently and meditatively. Almost every single volume had at least one bookmark, sometimes two or three. Many of the pages had copious markings, and occasionally entire paragraphs were underlined. None of us will ever forget that she constantly aspired to know God better and to follow him more closely.

If she came across a book that she thought would help her to that goal she would buy it in a flash. As a young mother with three little girls in tow she would browse for her treasures, hours at a time, in musty second hand book stores. In our age reading is almost a lost art, but Mom’s love for it inspired her children to become readers as well, and some of them writers. And beyond her example, she leaves a trove of countless worthy books that helped her in her walk and will be of great help to us who inherit them.

Besides books there were personal journals and diaries recounting her own aspirations and pursuit after God, ink spilled for her sake, yes, but for us as well. Beyond that there were the cassette tapes of praise music, wall hangings, and the plaques that got collected over the years. For Kay, God was as real and as present to her as was her very breath.

As long as I can remember she was a woman of prayer who prayed not just for her own needs, but for her kids, grandkids and her neighbours. We felt like we could just call her up anytime when one of our kids was in trouble, and then we could rest easier. We knew the old amazon of prayer was on her knees. Makes you think she actually read a lot of those books on prayer, doesn’t it?

Kay is a woman who is constantly praising God. I have seen her only intermittently over the years as I live far away. Yet when we are together she always shares about what God is doing in her life. Her legacy consists not only in the old praise cassettes, but in the constant praise that is a hallmark of her daily life.

As I was going through Mom’s enormous library I over and over again mused on the words of, Find us Faithful, a well known song by Steve Green.

After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone
And our children sift through all we've left behind
May the clues that they discover and the memories they uncover
Become the light that leads them to the road we each must find

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
May the fire of our devotion light their way
May the footprints that we leave
Lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful

I salute you my mother. Kay Roberts. My footprints come behind yours--I have found you faithful.

Published in The Guelph Mercury, July 16, 2011

Ten Major Shifts For Impacting our Communities

2011-04-11T12:07:00.000-07:00

I've had the privilege of hearing David Macfarlane. He's worth listening to. He is primarily an evangelist and a mentor to the churches to help them fulfill their calling. Funny, that's how I see myself too...

Ten Paradigm Shifts Toward Community Impact
based on a message by Eric Swanson - used with full permission
By David Arrol Macfarlane

As I speak at conferences and in churches across Canada I see a quiet movement of the Spirit of God that is causing believers to re-examine how they “do church.” Churches are throwing out the old measures of success. It’s no longer merely about size, seeker sensitivity, spiritual gifts, church health, nor the number of small groups. It’s about people being genuinely transformed by Christ - making a significant and sustainable difference in the lives of those around us—in our communities and in our cities.
My Dad often said to me: “David, you cannot continue to do the same old things and expect different results.” To maximize our impact on our Canadian communities--urban, suburban or rural, we need changes in at least ten of our paradigms of how we currently view church.

1) From building walls to building bridges. “You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13,14). The first paradigm shift pertains to where we, as the church, see ourselves in relation to our communities. Will we remain outside of the community inviting people in or will we go to our communities, seeking to be a transforming agent?
More: http://www.davidamacfarlane.com/published-articles.html

Should Christians Burn the Quran?

2011-04-10T13:07:00.000-07:00

Five reasons why Christians should not burn the Quran

Royal Hamel, Faith

Friday,April 8, 2011 Guelph Mercury

On March 20, two Christian extremist pastors, Terry Jones and Wayne Sapp, burned a copy of the Quran in a Florida church. As news of the burning circulated around the world, it provoked an especially violent reaction in Afghanistan, where up to 22 people have been killed in various protests.

If you were to ask me why the two pastors felt compelled to destroy the Quran in this way, I would have to say, “I don’t know.” But if you were to ask, “Should they have burned the Quran?” I would have to say, “Absolutely not!”

I’m not interested in why the deed was done, nor can I deal with its horrendous consequences in this short article, but I consider it of great importance to reassure Muslims, and secular people as well, that the burning of the Quran was in fact an unbiblical, and yes, even an unchristian act of provocation. I do not hide from anyone that I seek to be a committed follower of Jesus, and on many issues my tendency would be to side with Christians when a dispute erupts with the Muslim community.

For instance, I abhor the blasphemy law in Pakistan which has too often been used by unscrupulous persons to persecute innocent Christians to the point of having them imprisoned for life, or even sentencing them to death.

That said, the burning of the Quran was an act performed outside the bounds of ordinary Christian love and decency and cannot be defended by any committed follower of Christ. In a press release issued this month, the World Evangelical Alliance roundly condemned the actions of these extremist pastors in Florida stating: “The WEA believes no book of any faith community should ever be burned or desecrated in any way … this action does not represent the true Christian faith or the world’s two billion Christians.”

Here are my top five reasons why Christians should consider this desecration of the Muslim holy book as an unbiblical act of attack and provocation:

First: Even if Christians in some parts of the world (Pakistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia to name a few) are unjustly persecuted by Muslims this gives no justification for Christians to retaliate. Jesus in his famous sermon on the mount calls his followers to love their enemies, and to pray for those who unjustly persecute them.

Second: Christians are called in the New Testament to always let their speech be filled with grace. This burning, by extremist pastors, of the Muslim holy book was a form of speech. And nobody in their right mind can accept that it was a gracious kind of ‘speech.’

Third: Christians are called by Jesus to: “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” We would not appreciate it if Muslims, or any others, were to burn copies of our scriptures. How then can we tolerate it when extremists among ourselves play the hypocrite, denying Jesus and his commands, even while they claim to be his followers?

Fourth: Jesus has called Christ followers to go into all the world taking the message of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, and the good news that sins can be forgiven. This is a message of love, peace and reconciliation with God—it is not a message that deliberately seeks to affront, blaspheme, or provoke.

Fifth: The second great commandment given by Jesus states: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” It shows no love to our Muslim neighbours to desecrate, deface, or in this case to burn an object that Muslims regard as holy and sacred. Christians to be sure have a different belief system regarding what is holy and what is profane, but the Christian disobeys Jesus when we act in a manner that is callous and disrespectful of the religious feelings of our fellow human beings.

Instead of burning the Quran, it would be far better if ungodly Christian extremism were to simply fizzle out and die quietly. Far better for all if the smoke in our neighbourhoods were to come from barbecues in the backyard—Muslims and Christians sharing a meal together.

contact author, watchman2003@sympatico.ca

http://www.guelphmercury.com/living/article/514324--five-reasons-why-christians-should-not-burn-the-quran

Loving Christopher Hitchens

2011-03-30T05:50:00.000-07:00

A recent story highlighted in the UK's Daily Telegraph should inspire us all. Renowned atheist and secular apologist, Christopher Hitchens, who is gravely ill with stage 4 esophageal cancer is finding help at the hands of an evangelical scientist. Dr. Francis Collins contended against Hitchens in a number of debates over the existence of God. Against the odds the two over time have become friends and Collins is now treating Hitchens with revolutionary genetic therapy to try and save him from the almost certain death he faces from the cancer. See the posted story below.

Here is a wonderful example of a Christian going out of his way to love an "enemy" by seeking to save his life. But even more amazing I think is the fact that the two ever became friends in the first place. Could it be that when we are obedient to God in actually loving our enemies that God will work it out that some of those very same people will become our friends? It would seem so. How cool and wonderful is that?

Christopher Hitchens is a guinea pig for a cancer treatment that involves mapping his genetic make-up Photo: PA

By Richard Alleyne, and Mick Brown 6:30AM GMT 26 Mar 2011

202 Comments

The author of God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything said that he is a "guinea pig" for a new personalised medicine partly developed by Dr Francis Collins, a geneticist with very strong religious views.

The two had often met in the past as adversaries in the debate about whether God exists.

Against the odds they had become friends.

Now Hitchens is one of the few people in the world who has had his entire genetic make up mapped and is receiving a new treatment that targets his own damaged DNA.

"I’m an experiment," Hitchens said.

50 books you must not read before you die
27 Mar 2011

"These are early stages, but in theory it should attack the primary site of the tumour.

"If that does happen, it won’t just be good news for me, it will be very exciting in the general treatment of cancer."

Dr Collins is a former director of the National Human Genome Research Project and is now the director of America’s National Institutes of Health.

He is the author of a bestselling book, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief.

"It is a rather wonderful relationship,’ said Hitchens.

"I won’t say he doesn’t pray for me, because I think he probably does; but he doesn’t discuss it with me.

"He agrees that his medical experience does not include anything that could be described as a miracle cure – he’s never come across anything."

Hitchens, 61, originally from Portsmouth but now living in Washington DC, is an old Oxford University friend of the writer Martin Amis and has had a long journalistic career on both sides of the Atlantic.

In September 2005, he was named one of the "Top 100 Public Intellectuals" in the world by Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines.

Since the publication of his book he has become a hero of so-called New Atheism movement.

His pre-eminence has been enhanced by his steadfast refusal to change his views even after he was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus last year.

The prognosis looked very grave until a few weeks after his diagnosis he was asked if he would like to be a guinea pig in the new science of genome sequencing as a possible cure for cancer.

Samples were taken from healthy tissue and from his tumour and on each of them six billion DNA matches were run, in order to catalogue any mutations found in the cancerous cells.

He was warned to have no expectations.

But in the New Year came the good news that there is a genetic mutation found in the tumour for which there already exists a drug.

Having been on varying types and doses of chemotherapy, he is now on a regime of one pill a day.

"At least it spares me some of the boredom of being a cancer patient because what I’m going through is very absorbing and positively inspiring," he said.

"But if it doesn’t work, I don’t know what they could try next."

He remains hopeful, although he has been told that of 1,000 men of his age and in his condition, half could expect to be dead within a year.

Hitchens said that he is constantly contacted by other atheists telling him he can beat the cancer and this in itself makes him feel "alarmed to be a repository of other people's hope".

People have even started asking him to officiate at their weddings.

"It started a couple of years ago," he said.

"It’s something I shall have to resist if I survive, and even if I don’t – this very slightly cultish stuff starts to happen.

"You get letters from people you can hardly remember meeting: “I shall never forget the kindness …

"Unbelievably trivial stuff, but they’ve made it into a thing in their minds."

Transformed or Merely Forgiven

2011-03-23T05:57:00.000-07:00

Recently I published an article in the Guelph newspaper in which I argued that Christians must be careful to call for and expect life transformation, as Jesus did, as opposed to preaching a good news that only deals with the guilt of sin and never addresses the power of sin. A fellow pastor wrote me a detailed letter challenging me on some of my points. Below I have posted my response(edited to protect confidentiality) to him.

Dear Pastor,

Thank you for your courteous, gracious and rather thorough response. I will try and respond in kind, but you may be a nicer person than me. Not sure I can get to all the points you raise, but I will at least address the salient ones.

But, before I touch those I have to note that unless I missed it I did not detect your yea or nay to the fundamental point in the article...that the gospel involves more than forgiveness and grace, as important as they are, but it also calls for transformation. I consider the point to be of utmost importance for if the call to discipleship and transformation is ignored, or even just relegated to the back room, we will end up with antinomianism. Indeed it seems to me that parts of the church are already swimming in those dark waters. Interesting that you should mention Bonhoeffer for if he were alive to day I think that he would describe some parts of modern day Christianity as having fallen prey to cheap grace. He, as you know held up discipleship, and advocated going against the grain of popular culture in order to be obedient to Christ.

I personally think that relativism is one of the chief enemies of the gospel in our age. If it cannot be in some way answered all we have left with is a pitiful, "We have a belief too, we have a belief too...” which is a far cry from the apostolic preaching of certainty that there was but one Lord and one way of salvation.

As for Calvinism, I find myself standing with the great Charles Spurgeon who said (more or less), that Calvinism was nothing more than biblical Christianity.

We are in agreement that the gospel spreads by love. But, only by love? No, for surely we also must both agree that the presentation of truth was essential. A quick read of the Acts reveals that over and over again the proclamation of truth by the apostles was a major way that people came into the kingdom. Should we not always be careful to insist that it is Word and deed that has been committed to us?

The culture war is a big issue all on its own. I will limit myself to saying that every Christian generation is bound to in some way fight that war. For in a broad brush way of speaking the world constantly seeks to evade the truth of sin by redefining sin on its own terms or denying that it even exists. Yes, the church can sit passively by and speak of other things, but for my part I think she is unfaithful to her Lord and her calling when she goes AWOL. I further think that to not speak and proclaim the hard truths of scripture is a terribly unloving act toward our neighbor who by our silence is left to figure out on his/her own what God requires. By refusing to point out clearly God’s way to them we, who are called to be salt and light, essentially hide God’s light from them. Will all joyously receive our message? No, but some will. But some might insist that it would be better to mute our message so that it is more attractive to seekers and will therefore get a better response. For my part I am persuaded that it is a most dangerous strategy to attempt to be more loving than Jesus by muting truth, and accommodating sin. More comfortable for us to be sure, but dangerous in the long run.

You raise the question of sex and won’t the world think that we’re prudish because we insist on God’s guidelines for it. The answer to that of course is to preach the full message of how good it is, as well as the importance of guarding its God-designed use. But, should we speak of it so much and so often? Good question. Doubtless we must be careful to cover the whole panoply of sins. That said, when one of the overwhelmingly prevailing sins of our culture is precisely sexual sin in its various forms how can we be silent over this particular form of idolatry anymore than Christians could be silent to the Nazi idolatry in the time of Bonhoeffer. Sadly, you and I know that in the main, Christians in that time were muted except for a few notable exceptions.

I must bring this note to a close. I apologize for making it so long a response, but you actually rung a whole lot of different bells. Do forgive me where I may have spoken harshly or accusingly, it is not my intention to offend. Thank you again for your willingness to dialogue.

Grace and peace,

Royal Hamel

Absolutely Amazing Video Clip on Shining Your Light

2011-03-14T11:38:00.000-07:00

I must share this marvellous video clip with you'all. It's all about being light of the world, shining into the darkness, being willing to go into the darkness. I guarantee you will love it...it may even transform your life. It sure encouraged mine.

Grace and peace to all,

Royal

It's called: Who do you think you are-Salt and Light! Check it out. It's worth it.

http://video.christianpost.com/20110314/who-do-you-think-you-are-salt-and-light/

Losing Weight: Truly Difficult, but Possible

2011-03-03T03:40:00.000-08:00

Losing weight is not for the faint of heart. It is for most people a huge, ongoing challenge. It is made even more difficult by those who falsely paint a picture of how easy it is. The following article blows that false picture away and brings us face to face with the reality of the struggle. Oddly enough the portrait of reality is encouraging and brings hope.

Keeping the Weight Off: An Interview with Ellen Granberg, PhD

Diabetes Health Staff
Feb 27, 2011

Ellen Granberg is an obesity sociologist who studies the processes that people go through when they lose weight and keep it off. As she says, "If the problem were that we don't know what people should eat to lose weight, that would be one thing, but we don't have that problem. There are a hundred weight loss plans out there that are perfectly good. We understand all about the physiology of weight loss maintenance and the metabolic impacts, but nothing about the social and emotional impacts. People who sustain weight loss over time move through a lot of different challenges."

Dr. Granberg lost 120 pounds 15 years ago. She says, "To this day, I weigh pretty much everything that goes into my mouth. It took me a while to make up my mind that it was worth it. Our cultural lore encourages the idea that losing weight is the most important thing you can do to bring about the life that you want. But people who successfully lose weight are motivated by rewards that are very specific and concrete--like lowering their blood pressure or being able to lower their insulin. It's all about coming down to earth and being motivated by something that could actually happen."

"It is a real learning process. You lose, you gain, you lose, you gain, you lose, and through that process, people who eventually do keep it off learn a little bit each time. Letting go of the idea that your life will be perfect if you lose weight is not easy. For the people who make it, that idea basically gets beaten out of them, until they are willing to trade ‘I'm going to be a movie star' for ‘I can walk up stairs more easily.'"

For people struggling to lose weight and keep it off, Dr. Granberg suggests "asking yourself if there are smaller, more manageable goals that losing weight could help you attain. Ask ‘Are there things going on in my life today that it would be really nice if they were easier? Maybe I could get in and out of the car easily, or could go up the stairs without difficulty.' Often we look at those kinds of goals and say ‘Well, that's just not enough to give up eating what I want.' It's important to keep in mind that people who do sustain weight loss over time take fulfillment from those small victories. In fact, those small victories are a big deal."

Dr. Granberg says, "You need to be motivated by immediate things, the near-term, pragmatic benefits that will sustain you in the end. The people who sustain weight loss talk about how happy it makes them that they can cross their legs." She adds, "People who are diabetic experience some important benefits right away. Many are able to reduce the amount of medication that they use. Don't focus on the distant future, long-term dangers of diabetes, but think about the immediate payoffs of losing weight. There are a lot of them."

Dr. Granberg also notes that if you feel disappointed at the results of your weight loss, remember that those feelings are normal and to be expected. In fact, they're just a predictable phase in the process. For people who have been heavy for years, it takes two or three years before they feel normal at their new weight. "It's really ‘slow and steady wins the race,'" says Dr. Granberg. "We are so conditioned to expect that it's going to be the hare and not the tortoise who wins the race. If it's not the hare, we immediately think that something's wrong, but weight loss is a tortoise thing."

"If you can just wait it out, hold on and not get frustrated, just live in the thinner body and hang on for a while, you will start to find things to appreciate about it, the small rewards."

Mom Jailed for Living a Holy Life

2011-02-24T06:36:00.000-08:00

Mother of twelve jailed in Germany for refusing to enroll children in sex ed classes

BY MATTHEW CULLINAN HOFFMAN

Wed Feb 23, 2011 14:26 EST
Comments (3)
Tags: Christian, Germany, Homeschooling, Sex-Ed

GERMANY, February 23, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A mother of twelve has been sentenced to 43 days in jail in the German town of Salzkotten for refusing to enroll her children in the sex education program in a local elementary school, according to two German Catholic news sites, Kath.net and Katholishes.info.

The woman, whose name is not revealed in the articles, is reportedly a Baptist who is opposed to the program based upon her religious convictions. The couple says that their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights, to which Germany is a signatory, are being ignored.

They cite article 2 of the convention’s first protocol, which states: “the State shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions.” The local elementary school has reportedly ignored this right since 2005, and is being supported by the judiciary.

The woman’s husband says that “his wife has really missed her family, but finds her solace in God” according to Kath.net, which also reports that the younger children “miss their mother,” but that suffering injustice is part of the experience of being Christian.

The persecution of Germans who homeschool or reject government sex education is an ongoing phenomenon. In April of last year the website Kopp Online reported several cases of German mothers who reside in Salzkotten spending up to a week in jail for refusing the local sex ed program for their children. Similar persecution was reported in the same town, which is located in the district of Paderborn, in December of 2009.

In January of 2010 a German family was granted asylum in the United States after years of harassment by the German government for homeschooling their children.

The above story uncovers the lie that democratic countries will protect the religious freedom of its citizens. The secular state will tolerate religious belief as long as it doesn't interfere with the values of the state. We in Canada must be wary of what the state is trying to impose on us in terms of sex education programs. It's shocking that a mom is in jail for not sending her kids to school. But it could never happen in Canada, right? Don't be too sure. If the jackboots are marching in democratic Germany against helpless moms, who's to say they won't soon march elsewhere. We must be vigilant. We must speak to protect the freedoms we now have.

Said Musa Should Not Be Allowed to Die

2011-02-21T20:54:00.000-08:00

National Review Online – February 18, 2011
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/260050/america-quiet-execution-afghan-christian-said-musa-paul-marshall
America Quiet on the Execution of Afghan Christian Said Musa
By Paul Marshall

A terrible drama is unfolding in Afghanistan: There are reports that Said Musa, whose situation I described at Christmas, will soon be executed for the ‘crime’ of choosing to become a Christian. (For background, see here.)

Musa was one of about 25 Christians arrested on May 31, 2010, after a May 27 Noorin TV program showed video of a worship service held by indigenous Afghan Christians; he was arrested as he attempted to seek asylum at the German embassy. He converted to Christianity eight years ago, is the father of six young children, had a leg amputated after he stepped on a landmine while serving in the Afghan Army, and now has a prosthetic leg. His oldest child is eight and one is disabled (she cannot speak). He worked for the Red Cross/Red Crescent as an adviser to other amputees.

He was forced to appear before a judge without any legal counsel and without knowledge of the charges against him. “Nobody [wanted to be my] defender before the court. When I said ‘I am a Christian man,’ he [a potential lawyer] immediately spat on me and abused me and mocked me. . . . I am alone between 400 [people with] terrible values in the jail, like a sheep.” He has been beaten, mocked, and subjected to sleep deprivation and sexual abuse while in prison. No Afghan lawyer will defend him and authorities denied him access to a foreign lawyer.

Any and every human being who is imprisoned, abused, or tortured for the free and peaceful expression of their faith deserves our support, but Musa is also a remarkable person and Christian. In a letter smuggled to the West, he says, “The authority and prisoners in jail did many bad behaviour with me about my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. For example, they did sexual things with me, beat me by wood, by hands, by legs, put some things on my head.”

He added a thing much more important to him, that they “mocked me ‘he’s Jesus Christ,’ spat on me, nobody let me for sleep night and day. . . . Please, please, for the sake of Lord Jesus Christ help me.” (View the full letter here)

He has not, in fact, even appealed to be released, only to be transferred to another prison. He has also stated that he is willing to give his life for his faith. “Please, please you should transfer me from this jail to a jail that supervises the believers. . . . I also agree . . . to sacrifice my life in public [where] I will tell [about my] faith in Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, [so] other believers will take courage and be strong in their faith.”

Newspapers in the U.K. and elsewhere in Europe have reported the story, but with, the exception of the Wall Street Journal and, of course, NRO, American outlets have not found it worthy of attention. The Journal reports that “Afghan officials have been unapologetic: ‘The sentence for a convert is death and there is no exception,’ said Jamal Khan, chief of staff at the Ministry of Justice. ‘They must be sentenced to death to serve as a lesson for others.’”

The U.S. government — reportedly including Secretary of State Clinton — and other governments have pushed for his release, but to no avail.

But the president has been silent, even as we fight a war that has among its goals the creation of a government that conforms to international human-rights standards.

An American president certainly needs to guard and shepherd his political capital, and should not speak out about every prisoner. But Musa himself has appealed to “President Brother Obama” to rescue him from his current jail. And when an obscure and aberrant Florida pastor, Terry Jones, threatened to burn a Koran, not only President Obama but much of his cabinet, as well as General Petraeus, weighed in on the matter.

If the actions of a Florida pastor who threatened to destroy a book holy to Muslims deserved public and presidential attention, then the actions of the Afghan government, ostensibly a ‘democratic’ ally, to destroy something holy to Christians, a human being made in the image of God, also deserve public and presidential attention.

— Paul Marshall is the co-author, with Nina Shea, of Silenced: How Apostasy and Blasphemy Codes Are Choking Freedom Worldwide, forthcoming from Oxford University Press in October 2011.

Christian World View Shows Why Jesus Came

2011-02-21T09:47:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago, I met a fellow at a local gym. The man was intrigued upon discovering that I was a minister, and commented that it must be a hard time for me these days, with the recent senseless killing of the cop in Toronto with the snowplow, and the equally senseless slaughter of those six people in Arizona.

Then he asked how I provide answers and help people cope in the face of such tragedy.

“I don’t have any difficulties at all,” I told him. “We Christians don’t have the common secular mindset that people are basically good. In fact, we find that notion laughable given all the evil going on in the world. No, we believe that man is fundamentally flawed, and needs fixing. So when people commit acts of evil it doesn’t catch us off guard, it just confirms our view of reality.”

This brief interchange underscores the tremendous gulf between the Christian world view and that of the average person.

It also directly points to the reason why Jesus came in the first place. In Matthew 1:21 it is recorded of Jesus: “ … for he will save his people from their sins.” For thousands of years, Christians have faithfully taught the message that Christ died to pay for the real guilt of our sins, and that he came to transform us by delivering us from the power of sin.

Many are comfortable with their guilt being removed and obtaining some kind of “heaven insurance” that will kick in on the day they die. But increasingly, the idea that Jesus transforms lives, delivering us from the power of sin is seen as intrusive. Some go further and suspiciously view it as an oppressive concept that cannot be allowed to stand.

So what changed? How did the 2,000-year-old notion of Christ transforming a life become offensive? One key factor is the now widely popular idea that truth is relative. The man on the street has become convinced that he alone has the authority to decide what is right and wrong for him. Consequently, the very concept of absolute truth with a universal morality is flatly rejected. Furthermore, countless people now view all outside authority, including God, with suspicion, for they harbour the conceit that they and they alone decide what is good and what is evil.

A good many Canadians now think that premarital cohabitation, for example, is perfectly OK. Many others have explicitly given their stamp of approval to same-sex relationships. Some others promote abortion as totally OK. And there are even others who go so far as to promote adultery. (Note the incredible success of the Ashley Madison website that encourages people to commit infidelity, and the growing acceptance of the so-called swinger groups.)

It is within this cultural framework that Christians must speak today. It is hardly surprising then that when we share the teaching that Christ forgives, but also calls for transformation, that we often run into a brick wall of judgmentalism and intolerance. For the secular world view, though priding itself on tolerance for opposing viewpoints, is remarkably intolerant to the Christian view that there is a right and a wrong. Astoundingly, some even accuse Christians of unchristian behaviour, not because their teaching is false to the Bible, but because they don’t like Christ’s call to change and transformation.

Christians, if we are honest, are often stung by the epithets and slander that are hurled our way by those who object to our message. Tragically some are backing away from, or softening the message so that they will be more acceptable to the nonbelieving community. But the point is this: the message calling for transformation and change is not our message to alter. It has been given to us to faithfully guard and teach.

I hope and pray that Christians today will not prove to be an unfaithful generation. May we compassionately and boldly speak the full truth of the good news. Christ, in fact, loves us too much to leave us alone; to leave us trapped and unchanged in our many sins.

Published in The Guelph Mercury, February 19, 2011

Good, But Not Great

2011-02-16T03:18:00.000-08:00

The following is from Mark Cahill's newsletter found at www.markcahill.org

February 2011

Good, But Not Great

As you know, I really enjoy talking with people. I didn’t use to be that way, so I am very thankful that God has given me an interest in people. Remember when you read your Bible what it says in the book of Genesis 1:26:

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”

Only mankind—and nothing else—is made in the image of God. That right there makes people the most interesting and special creation that God has put on planet earth! It is so much fun to talk with folks and see where they are coming from; how they got to this certain point in life; the things they can say to you that can help you in life, etc.

Well I was in one of those conversations with someone when I was speaking over in Hawaii last year. As we were chatting, it was obvious he was a very good athlete. One of those tri-athletes! Someone who is a much better athlete than let’s say a basketball player!!

He let me know that he trained for two hours each day before he started the rest of his day. Of course, that sounds to me like the day has already started!! He would do his training, and then get on with his job. Sounds like a good, hard working, dedicated man who wants to accomplish things in life.

He then told me that when he told his pastor about this, his pastor’s response was, “Good, but not great.” As they delved a little more into the conversation, the ‘what ifs’ began to pop up. What if you read your Bible for two hours each morning? What if you prayed for two hours each morning? That statement from his pastor really got me thinking.

We do need to take care of our bodies. It was one thing I talk about with men when I speak at men’s conferences. Here God gives us a temple to house the Holy Spirit, and we don’t eat right, exercise right, sleep right, etc. And then we begin to wonder why we are so sick. We sometimes want to put the blame somewhere else instead of the person that we see in the mirror.

1 Timothy 4:8 says,

“For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.”

Bodily exercise does so much for our total well-being. I love studying health and have learned a lot about it through the years. One study I’ve seen shows that by exercising regularly, you reduce your chances of getting a cold by 50%. Regular exercise can also slow down the aging process. Studies are also showing that exercise can cure insomnia, increase energy levels, lower pain, relieve pain and reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. Wow! What a list!

Now all of this is good, but is it great? You see that godliness is profitable for all things!

1 Corinthians 9:24,25

“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.

And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.”

Sports are such a big part to our culture here in America. For many people, it seems like their lives revolve around it. I was reading about people who are winning medals and awards for being the best in their age group in certain sporting events as they get older. So many folks are striving for a crown that will rot in the dust bins of history, but are we striving for that eternal crown that only Jesus can reward us with?

Hebrews 12:1 likens life to a race:

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,”

We are all actually in a race towards death. We are actually hurtling towards death. And after I take my last breath on this earth, only what matters on the other side will be important. We can’t let any sin or anything cut in on us as we are heading towards the throne of God.

So what is truly great compared to what is good? There is only place to find those answers: Your Bible.

2 Timothy 2:15 says,

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

I do hope that many of you are continuing on with reading your Bible front to back this year. I am doing it again. As you study your Bibles, not just read it, truths are going to pop out to you left and right. The question is: What are you going to do with those truths?

I am not going to give you an exhaustive list of what is good compared to what is great. What I want you to do is examine yourself. Hold your life up to the light of God’s Word. How will it look before the throne of God? I have people tell me all the time that they plan on hearing “well done my good and faithful servant” when they die, but are they really living a life that gives them cause to hear that in front of Jesus?

2 Timothy 4:7 says,

“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:”

To everyone reading this newsletter, the challenge is to finish well! To finish your life to your last breath for the Lord! To be like Jesus sharing His faith all the way to the end! You don’t know how many thieves on crosses will be next to you as you enter eternity. And make sure when you stand in front of God, that He won’t say to you, “Good, but not great.”

Until the nets are full,

Persecution of Christians Continues

2010-11-16T11:32:00.000-08:00

On November 7 Asia Bibi was sentenced to die. I reported on Asia’s tragic plight just over a year ago in this paper. According to published reports Asia, a Pakistani Christian, got into a dispute with her Muslim colleagues who were pressuring her to convert to Islam. She allegedly told her co-workers that Jesus had died, but had risen from the dead, but that Mohammed, the founder of Islam, had died, and had not returned from the dead. Her co-workers regarded her comment as an insult to their prophet. An altercation broke out; Bibi was beaten and charged with blasphemy. The 38 year-old mother of two was held in prison for more than a year, and on November 7 she was sentenced to death by a Pakistani judge.

Even if she escapes the death penalty on appeal the future does not look bright for Bibi as she would still be facing imprisonment for life. And in the unlikely event that the charges were to be dropped she would still be in constant danger. For in July of this year two other Pakistani Christians were shot and killed on the way home from the courthouse even though they had been acquitted of blasphemy charges.

Unfortunately this is only one more incident in a long list of cases of Christians being harassed and persecuted around the world. On October 31 fifteen Muslim gunmen entered the Syrian Catholic Cathedral in Baghdad during Sunday evening Mass. The terrorists during a four-hour siege murdered some 60 innocent hostages, and wounded 78 others before they themselves were killed. Since then attacks on Christian neighborhoods in the city have continued.

We in Canada have the notion that persecution ended when the Roman Empire officially became Christian way back in the fourth century under Emperor Constantine. And of course in this country we take it for granted that people have the right to freely express their faith and not endanger their life by doing so. But that freedom simply does not exist in many parts of the world.

According to the World Evangelical Alliance approximately 200 million Christians worldwide are denied fundamental human rights solely because of their faith. And a conservative estimate of the number of Christians who are killed for their faith each year is somewhere around 150,000.

This massacre in the Baghdad cathedral recently provoked a white-hot response from an agonized churchman. Father Raymond J. de Souza for the National Post blazingly wrote, “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord…But let us not blanch from raising our voices to the Lord, with righteous anger and hot tears, that He might visit His vengeance upon those who did this, bring down His wrath upon their heads and exact upon them a terrifying justice in full measure.” There are some Christians who would condemn de Souza for his cry for God’s justice on those who perpetrated this ghastly evil, but I am not among them.

Christians believe that Christ will execute perfect justice to all doers of evil when he returns as King and Judge. In the meantime surely we can emulate the prayers of many of the Psalms, asking that God would act sooner rather than later. Can it be wrong to pray to Christ as Judge that He would bring justice down on killers of the innocent, and on all who oppress through unjust laws?

Sunday, November 14 has been designated as International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Tomorrow, Christians will be especially praying for fellow believers who are being persecuted around the world in some 60 different countries. We do not know how or when God will choose to bring about his vengeance on evildoers, for that is his prerogative. But it is certainly appropriate that on one day of the year, at least, Christ-followers everywhere should particularly remember all the Asia Bibi’s living under the sentence of death. Let us never, never forget those living in dark places where to openly speak of Jesus Christ, Light of the world can land you in prison or put you in a hangman’s noose.

Published in Guelph Mercury on November 13, 2010

Reincarnation and Christianity

2010-10-01T06:53:00.001-07:00

Just a few weeks ago a clerk in a local store was attending me. He looked familiar to me, so I asked, “Do we know each other?” After exchanging names we concluded that we had not met before. But then he brightened and cheerfully said, “Hey, maybe we knew each other in a former life.” I could see that he was serious and I responded by saying, “I don’t think so, but I’m very interested in your comment about reincarnation because I’m a Christ follower, and the Bible has some very definite things to say about what happens after we die”.

According to a recent article in the New York Times, some 25% of Americans (more women than men) now believe in reincarnation. It seems plausible to me that a similar number of Canadians also embrace the notion that we die more than once and are born anew in some form.

So what gives? Why are so many gravitating toward an Eastern worldview that in the past was considered strange at best, if not an alien way of thinking?

From various conversations I’ve had I think that many people simply cannot accept that this life is all there is. I’ve heard this said by people with doctorates as well as ordinary store clerks. It appears to be a kind of a gut-level, intuitive thing. It reminds me of the text from the Bible that says, “God has put eternity in their hearts.” A Buddhist website I consulted opined that the strong interest in reincarnation, “is perhaps due to the comfort found in believing that each of us continues on in some form and that we have the opportunity to continually improve…increase our good karma and correct mistakes….”

Other people cannot accept the idea that this life ends all because it would mean that instead of justice people will in fact never have to pay for their crimes and sins. Hitler sometimes surfaces in these conversations, always with the premise that he will obviously have to go through a great many lives and suffer a great deal in order to pay for his crimes. This notion ties in with the belief that bad karma is carried forward into one’s new life and that this karma will have to be paid down, either by doing good or through suffering.

Stephen Prothero, religion professor at Boston University, believes that, “our fascination with reincarnation is related to Americans’ relative prosperity. Modern Americans, in their optimism and material success, see reincarnation as a chance to postpone eternity for another day.” Imagine it—a belief system that means you never have to say that you’re dead.

Some people reading this column may wonder what historic Christianity actually says about reincarnation. It happens that on this subject, in particular, the answer is startlingly clear. The Bible from beginning to end views time as linear, not cyclical. There is no vast system called the Wheel of Time that just keeps going round and round. We are born, we live, we die once and then we face the judgment of a fair God. The key scripture is found in Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment…”

Fundamentally reincarnation is an amazingly complex do-it-yourself project. The individual keeps cycling through birth and rebirth in order that he, himself, will get the opportunity to pay off bad karma while earning good karma so that one day he can finally break the cycle and go off to Nirvana.

But whatever else it is, Christianity is the opposite of a do-it-yourself mentality. Christians believe that every individual is born, not basically good, but rather basically sinful and desperately in need of outside help. They look then with delight to Christ who can destroy all bad karma in an instant of time, and who has all sufficient power to prepare them for one good death, and their one new life to come.

Published in The Guelph Mercury, Sept. 25, 2010

Anne Rice Rejects Christianity

2010-08-14T09:02:00.000-07:00

Feeling Sorry for Anne Rice as she Quits 'Organized Religion'

By Royal Hamel

From time to time I run into sincere people who tell me, “Well I’m into spirituality, but I’ve got no use for organized religion.” Often I’m tempted to tease them by saying, “Look, if you think organized religion is bad, just think how much worse it would be if it were disorganized.”

But, jesting aside, many people are rejecting so-called “organized religion” and embracing a “disorganized,” self-made religion often referred to as “spirituality.” Just recently the well-known author Anne Rice, who wrote Interview with a Vampire, bailed out of her Christian faith. Despite returning to her Christian roots in 1998 she recently spurned that return to faith by writing on her Facebook site, “ In the name of…Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen”.

From other comments Anne has made it appears that she has no problem with Christ and maintains that she still believes in him, but she has major problems with Christians and Christianity. She further commented on her Facebook site, “It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.”

In a National Public Radio interview Rice insisted that while it was difficult for her to reject Christianity, yet the teachings of the church on a wide range of ethical and social issues including same-sex marriage were not teachings that she was able to accept and embrace.

She stated in the NPR interview that, “We have to differentiate between a conversion to Christ and a belief in God, and a conversion to organized religion.” So it seems that Rice is seeking a spirituality that will allow her to in some way believe in Christ, but one that at the same time will allow her to pretty much believe what she wants about major ethical issues. From my point of view she wants to keep her faith in God and Christ while rejecting the values of the church that Christ established.

I am certainly not unsympathetic to the fact that at times there is much controversy, battling within the church, and even hurt as the church seeks to hold to truth in an age that widely rejects the very concept. And don’t get me wrong. In no way am I defending all the deeds of Christianity throughout its history. For on those occasions when she has acted against the clear teaching of scripture in violation of her own standards people certainly have a right to critique her. However I feel sad for Anne Rice for I think she is profoundly misguided in thinking that one can pick and choose, cafeteria style, what is right and what is wrong, and in the meantime somehow hold on to Christ. Does she truly believe that at the end of time Christ is going to be fine with that?

Suppose that people came up to me and praised me as a minister and said things like, “We just love you, we believe you are right on, we want you to know that we are right behind you, and we are going to continue to follow you”. So far so good--but what if they went on to say, “But we do have a problem with that wife of yours. Sorry, but she is old, out-dated, and way behind the times. Frankly we don’t want anything to do with her. Yes, we’ll accept you, but frankly she’s a hag.”

That’s exactly what people do when they say, “We want Christ without Christianity”. But here is a huge problem. For Christ gave his life for his body, the church; he loves his church with an eternal love; she is his beloved bride and he is the bridegroom. I wonder what Christ will say to people on that final Day of Judgment who claim to have loved him, but freely admit they despised his church and the values it stood for? Just wondering.

Published 14/8/2010 in Faith Section of Guelph Mercury

Truly Prepared to Die

2010-07-14T17:42:00.000-07:00

Preparing to Die
Atheist Paul Quarrington put time into thinking about his impending death, but he died not knowing where he’d land.
by Royal Hamel

Some folks think that only religious people are concerned about being ready to die, but that’s not the case. Perhaps nowhere is this more eloquently expressed than by the former, self-professed atheist, Paul Quarrington, who died January 21, 2010 at the age of 56.

It’s hard not to admire this man who so thoroughly enjoyed life.

I first encountered Quarrington in a moving article in Maclean’s magazine, written by his long-time friend, Dan Hill.

Though diagnosed with stage four lung cancer and given less than a year to live, Quarrington lived ardently to the last. Remarkably, right to the very end, like the true artist he was, he creatively wrote songs and books, ate and drank with gusto, fished and played, and traveled to see beautiful places. It’s hard not to admire this man who so thoroughly enjoyed life, and who delighted in giving back more than he took out. This well-loved performer, author, and playwright obviously put time into thinking about crossing over the divide of death. And, about ten days before passing, he expressed those thoughts in a song he performed with his friend, Dan Hill, entitled, “Am I ready”?

The first stanza offers these words: “Trying to hold it off, still I know/ It’s like trying to hold back that old freight train/ Coming down on me, still I’m not afraid/ Got this feeling that I can’t explain/ Like I’m falling through the evening rain? Wash me clean, before I make my stand/ Are you ready, am I ready/ I believe I am.”

Quarrington made no claim to be a Christian. How very fascinating that he should choose to use the language of “washing”—because for Christians there is absolutely nothing more crucial than having their souls washed by Christ prior to their meeting God the Father. But, I doubt he had that in mind here.

In his second stanza, Quarrington sings: “…No one can tell me where I’m gonna be, as I sail into this mystery/ I know I’m falling, don’t know where I’m gonna land/ Are you ready, am I ready/ I believe I am.”

In sharp contrast, Christians confidently confess that, yes, we know where we’re going, where we’re going to land. Oddly enough though this song is all about being ready for death, it’s author confesses he’s actually not prepared—for he has no clue where, “he’s gonna land.”

When Quarrington asks, “…am I ready, I believe I am,” it seems to me by the context that he’s actually saying, “I think I am.” In other words there was no certainty. I suspect a huge number of people think like this. My impression is that Quarrington was doing the best he could given the content—or lack of—of his atheistic worldview.

By contrast Christians believe we can be thoroughly ready to ford death’s dark river, indeed that there is such a thing as full assurance, even now in this life. To be sure this is more of a historic Protestant/Evangelical belief than a Catholic one. That said, it’s a widely held Christian view.

No doubt some may view this notion of complete assurance as triumphalistic, or perhaps even arrogant. But Christians understand they are made right with God not on the basis of how much good they have done, or how much evil they have shunned. They are made right by receiving the benefit of Jesus dying on the cross to make cleansing for our sins. In short, by putting faith in Jesus and the meaning of his death, Christians are washed clean, made acceptable to the Father, and are made ready to meet Him without fear. No, this doesn’t mean that good deeds, and virtuous living are unimportant, only that they are not the basis of our ultimate acceptance with God.

Quarrington was a remarkable talent in many ways. And we are poorer for his death. But in the end I’m not sure that the lyrics in his affecting piece give anyone much to hold onto as we all look ahead to our own death. The song seems tentative, uncertain, carries a mixed message, and gives no clue as to where Quarrington himself thought he would land.

A few years ago I spent some hours in hospital at the bedside of a young man who also was dying of lung cancer. At first he was not sure at all where he was “going to land.” But upon embracing the Jesus way, he was brought to remarkable readiness and peace for that dark journey that all of us shall one day face.

Royal Hamel is a former pastor and missionary. At present he is the director of Light the Darkness Ministries,www.lightthedarkness.org. He can be reached at watchman2003@sympatico.ca.

Originally published in the Guelph Mercury, June 25, 2010

New Tool For Evangelism

2010-02-04T15:04:00.000-08:00

I recently bought the evangelism tool called H2O. It's a DVD series similar in form to Alpha and Christianity Explored, but way, way more contemporary. It makes extended use of story telling and parable in its presentation and I think is much, much more likely to elicit discussion from those in attendance. I can't give it a total ten in terms of rating for I have not had a chance yet to use it with a group. But, it looks very promising and is certainly worth checking out. Best price I have seen is to order it directly from Amazon.com

Some might think that session two is a little too gutsy and sharp-edged. And personally I think that session ten goes over the top with a sometimes over-critical portrayal of present day church practice. But, don't be turned away, the series has been extensively used by a pastor friend of mine in his community groups with much success.

Final Words from Argentina

2009-11-25T15:40:00.000-08:00

Today is our fifth day in Buenos Aires and it has been for Linda and I, fantastico. When we left 22 years ago there was in a sense no opportunity to experience closure for either of us. And in a very deep manner that is what God has given to us in these last five days. We hope and expect that we shall one day return, but a great gift has been given to us that has affected us profoundly and we are deeply grateful to God.
Tomorrow I will be sharing a devotional with a group of Argentine pastors with my 22 year old spanish. Those of you who pray who are reading this, please do remember me that my words will be blessing and encouragement to them.
Tomorrow will be our last day here as we fly out in the evening for Miami and then on to Toronto. Carlos and Anna Maria Darino, dear friends who were a key part of the church over 20 years ago have planned for us a final time of celebration at their home in the afternoon, and then they will take us to the airport.
I will not have time or opportunity to blog tomorrow on this, so this is probably my last commentary written directly from beautiful Buenos Aires. Hasta luego...Royal for the family

Argentina; Astonishing Lessons from the Past

2009-11-24T19:03:00.000-08:00

We've been here now for four days and have met numerous people whom we worked with, ate with, laughed with, and knew deeply. Seeing them now after these twenty and more years I've heard many of them tell me about seemingly small things that I did or said that made a profound impression on their lives. What captures my attention is that I was only going about my work and seeking to be faithful and had absolutely no idea that these things were actually so significant in the lives of these people.
It is a wonderful lesson for me, for it is a reminder that perhaps more often than not we simply do not know what impact we are having on the lives of other people. In fact I dare say that perhaps even most of the time we have no idea if our daily lives are significant for the cause of the kingdom or not. I have learned that through the faithful carrying out of that which seems insignificant that God is building an invisible kingdom through us...and to be sure we may never know until we stand before Him whether our actions and our faithfulness were of any account, but by faith now we can and must believe him that every cup of cold water given to the thirsty, that food given to the hungry, encouragement given to the desperate, direction given to the wandering, the gospel given to the seeking one...that all these things count for the good of people in this life and they will count for us when we stand before the judge who sees all and forgets nothing.
Royal for the family

Argentina: DayThree of Unlooked for Delight

2009-11-23T18:44:00.000-08:00

The church in Ramos Mejia (a suburb of Buenos Aires) celebrated its 25th anniversary on Sunday night. I was glad to be there and to be able to share a little bit of how the work began so many years ago. Even at this distance I remember the seeming impossibility of the task that had been given of planting a new church. Linda and I were new to Argentina, our Spanish was barely understandable, we hardly knew anything about the culture--and here we were in a city of 13 million people seeking to establish a new church where the good news of Christ would be spoken and taught. We didn't have a lot of sophisticated strategy, but as I look back after all these years, and other people have confirmed it, we did have and still do have a very strong love for the Argentine people. It wasn't something that we put on...it was just there and we lived it and expressed it on all occasions. The other thing that is of great significance is that we prayed. We prayed personally and we encouraged and taught the church the importance of seeking after God for guidance and power to do the work that he had called us to do. In the end it is God who establishes churches and builds his church, and I believe he wanted another work for the fame of his name to be established in Ramos Mejia.
The church now has an attractive building and all the trappings that go with an established work. But I couldn't help but think as I sat in the celebration that in the end the outer trappings are of such minor importance. For the church is a people of God who have been reconciled to God, a people who live in the power of the Spirit and under the guidance of the spirit. They are a special, called out people who truly love and support one another to such a degree that a watching world is amazed.
Linda and I have been stunned at how profoundly this experience of returning to Argentina has touched our lives. The worries and anxieties that we had at first have not come to pass even in the slightest degree...the old relationships have been renewed and reestablished and it has been blessing, after blessing for us both. We see so clearly that even though we thought we were chiefly coming back to Argentina to attend a celebration that God in fact had so much more in mind. It has been immensely satisfying...words truly do fail. And even Andrew is beginning to relax and seems to be enjoying himself immensely. More tomorrow...Royal for the family in beautiful Buenos Aires

Enjoying some of the Best Food in the World

2009-11-22T18:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had supper (delicious Argentine pizza) with our worship leader of 22 years ago, a man who hails from Chile originally. Two other very dear friends who were part of our church plant were also with us. To be physically present with these friends who were in intense spiritual battle years ago with us-- and to see, hear, and physically touch them in warm greeting all in the context of the beautiful Spanish language was like a refreshing tall drink of cool water or perhaps like salve on an angry cut...almost impossible to put into words, but truly a healing ministry to our souls.

I went to Church this morning and heard a very good message on the importance of faith in the life of Elijah. It was well done and a blessing to me. I'm amazed at how quickly Linda and I are recapturing our ability to understand virtually everything spoken so that we are even now comfortable in any of the situations we find ourselves.
This afternoon a couple of our old missionary friends took us out to an Argentine restaurant which specializes in Argentine beef. Did I say mouth-watering, delectable, tender, palate- caressing, grass fed beef? I had forgotten how good food is here. The Argentine food culture is actually very comparable to European since there are so many Italians, Spanish, and also a powerful French influence. So you get fresh food all the time with an eye to careful preparation and presentation. Of course the Argentine beef is in a class all by itself and is famous all around the world.
We are seeing a pattern of some deep stress among our missionary friends. It's totally understandable as this field is being closed by the denomination and people who have done missionary work here for 20-30 years are being told that their career here will be over in just a couple of years more. Do pray for them and for us as we seek to be useful and a blessing in their lives at this time. More tomorrow, it's 12;30 am here and I'm muy tired. Royal for the family.

Arrival in Beautiful Argentina

2009-11-21T13:22:00.000-08:00

This morning at 5:am our time our Boeing 767 taxied to a stop in Argentina.

The trip started being a blessing while our friend and brother Eugene Clarke was driving us to the airport. For some reason we got onto the subject of worry and he was sharing how he simply refused to do that, that it wasn't part of who he was. Later after we said goodbye I reflected that while I was filled with excitement and anticipation at the prospect of seeing old friends and precious saints after a 20 year lapse, nevertheless I had some inner knawing worries. Before God, and by his power I decided to cast them aside and simply look forward to his blessing. From that point peace invaded my heart.

Our son Andrew had been super excited about the trip, non-stop for two weeks. Finally the moment of take off arrived and you should have seen his joy as the jet revved up the engines and tore down the runway like mad, His face glowed with satisfaction. All went well with our stopover in Miami except for a faux pas made by Royal. We had to walk a zillion miles to our next gate for the non-stop flight to Argentina. And we had enough luggage that we needed to rent a little cart. I found a long line of them and began looking for money in my wallet. I was not hopeful, for it needed a five dollar bill and I didn't think I had anything that small. To my delight the first bill I put my hand on was a fiver so I stuck it in the machine and got my four quarters back for the rental was only $5.00. We quickly loaded up and began our marathon walk, moving slowly for Andrew doesn't do fast very well. About five minutes later my mind recoiled with horror as I was reflecting on my good luck at finding this five dollar bill. I realized with much pain that I had just rented my little cart by putting a fifty dollar bill in the machine and getting back four quarter in change. There was no hope of getting my money back and we had a plane to catch. Linda was very kind to me and said something like, "Honey these things happen, you have to let it go, I've made mistakes too". So on we went to catch a plane pushing a very expensive rental cart to our next gate.

By the time of our next flight at 9pm that evening Andrew was tired and edgy. Once we got into the air for the eight hour flight he kept seeing lighting flashes (actually a blinking light on the wing), and he became quite scared. We were able to calm him with some of his medicine for stress, and finally all of us were able to get some sleep before landing.

Dear friends, whom we had not seen for over twenty years met us at the airport and our reunion was sweet and overwhelmingly powerful. Dan and Melody Taube, missionaries to Argentina for the last twenty-two years ,were there, and Rodolfo and Graciela (Andrew's godparents) were there to welcome us back. We had our first visit with these very special people over an argentine breakfast of European type pastries made with real butter which were just as scrumptious as I had remembered. Despite the fact that our Spanish fluency is greatly diminished we were still able to have a blessed time. And perhaps the key worry that Linda and I had about returning turned out to be misplaced--it has only been blessing thus far both for us and for our friends.

That's all the time I have now, will be back blogging tomorrow. God is faithful...all the time. Blessed be his Name. Royal for the family

Making the Most of Every Opportunity

2009-11-20T05:49:00.000-08:00

The Christmas season is upon us. And if its like past years zealous Christians, jealous for the true meaning of the season will begin fighting with the pagans for the privilege of wishing them a "Merry Christmas" instead of, "Seasons Greetings" or whatever.

I propose a new way of looking at the situation, and using it as an opportunity of letting our light shine in the darkness. For it occurs to me that one's inner
attitude and motive in wishing all and sundry, "Merry Christmas" is of
utmost importance. For I can draw a line in the sand
and say to myself, "thus far you pagans can come and no further for I will
defend freedom of speech, and fight political correctness on this point by
hurling joyous noels at everything that breathes. But surely such an attitude is contradictory to the spirit of the season, and cannot possibly bear good fruit. But, if our attitude is
rather, "I will not be afraid, but will consciously take every opportunity
to exalt Jesus--I believe we can move beyond mere pugnacity and move in the direction of true witnessing. So when the clerk wishes us something like, "Seasons greetings" or "Best wishes for the holiday", etc. etc. what if we were to look carefully at the person and say something like, "Thank you for your kind wishes, Jesus, Light of the world has come to me, may he come to you". All it takes for this kind of ministry is the courage to be transparent and the courage to confess Christ before men. Imagine a kind of built in ministry opportunity given to all of us to at this special season of the year. Paul says in Colossians 4: 5: "Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders making the most of the opportunity".

Return to Argentina

2009-11-18T16:20:00.000-08:00

In just two days time my wife, Linda, my son Andrew, and myself will be flying to Argentina. We left there in December of 1987 fully intending to return after a one-year furlough in Canada. Alas, near the middle of 1988 we concluded that due to our Andrew being born mentally challenged we would have to find a new mission field to in which he could get all of his schooling in English.

We came to our decision with very heavy hearts for after spending only one term as missionaries in Argentina we found that we had left our hearts in the country. But the welfare of our son had to come first and so with much sadness we made that decision and went on to serve in Mexico. Over these many years the pain of not being able to return to Argentina has abated to be sure, but we at least to some extent protected ourselves from the grief we felt by putting the country and its people largely out of our minds and hearts. I don’t say that was the right thing to do, but for us it was kind of a necessity because of the intensity of our feelings for Argentina and for its people.

Our arrival in the country on Saturday, Nov. 21 will be our first trip back after being away for some 21 years. We go with a great deal of anticipation and joy at the thought of seeing so many old friends. The trip for us is totally, but totally about the people whom we expect to see. In fact our schedule for the five days we will be there is more or less wall-to-wall visits with dear saints whom we truly thought we would never see again.

It is to say the least for both Linda and I a roller coaster of emotions—most of them connected to joy, gratitude and excitement, but there are some emotions as well of guilt and sadness, too for we will meet many people whom we more or less let slip out of our lives because it was just too painful at the time to keep in touch. It may be difficult for some of them to understand, and for Linda and I it may be difficult for us to cope with our own emotions.

So Linda and I are asking all of you who care about us to please hold us up in prayer as we return to this country where 21 years ago God gave us the privilege of being involved in the founding of a new church. Do especially pray that in all of our reunions with many dear friends and saints whom we never thought to see again that we might carry a blessing from Jesus.

I will try and blog each day about our experiences. If you would like to follow our progress and pray for us you can follow us on www.royalhamel.blogspot.com

Are We More Spiritual than Jesus?

2009-10-27T06:50:00.000-07:00

Should Christians be overly concerned about giving offense? Political correctness is the reigning secular creed of our time. It's the sea we swim in; we are faced with it everywhere in our culture. It cries out, “Don’t you dare say anything to offend me, and if you do I will be offended, and I will let everyone know, futhermore I will tell everyone that you are a bigot, and finally I will tell Daddy, er the government on you and they will make you pay for my hurt feelings." You know I do not exaggerate. So what are Christians to do? We must go back to Jesus and Paul. In Matthew 15 the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Your words have offended the Pharisees.” And Jesus was remorseful and broke down in grief that he had caused offense and apologized profusely. NO HE DID NOT! He was not even perturbed…he said, “Every plant which my heavenly father did not plant shall be rooted up. Let them alone they are blind guides of the blind.” Jesus was not afraid to offend. But I have seen too many Christians tie themselves up in pretzels in order to accommodate sin and not give offense. I ask you, why should we try and out Jesus Jesus. Are we more spiritual than him? I think not. But surely Paul was accommodating and tolerant, and would never give offense. Really? Try reading the book of Acts…almost everywhere Paul went riots broke out…why because he would not tolerate falsehood…he insisted on speaking the truth. But some would say there shouldn't be an adversarial relationship between Christians and an unbelieving world. And I would respond that yes, by all means let Christians everywhere speak truth in love and with grace. But let's give up the silly, unbiblical notion that light and darkness will coexist in mutual fraternity and harmony.

Islam's Many Faces

2009-09-29T17:27:00.000-07:00

Encountering the true Islam

by Royal Hamel

His name was Aladdin. In the late afternoon on a sunny day we met on a walking path that circled a beautiful man-made lake. Aladdin was reticent at first, but eventually he acknowledged that he was a Muslim from the Middle East. He seemed astonished at my unfeigned delight in meeting him. For I had been having conversations with Muslims from several countries, and I still had some burning questions. So to spend the next hour walking and talking with Aladdin was for me a most delightful treat.

In fact for some time now I have been looking for resources to help me better understand the Muslim world. And that is why I was so interested just recently to come across an excellent documentary that explores modern day Islam.

Joel C. Rosenberg’s Inside the Revolution: How the Followers of Jihad, Jefferson & Jesus are Battling to Dominate the Middle East and Transform the World found its way to number three spot on the New York’s Times best seller list in April of this year. This fascinating book with its related DVD documentary by the same title portrays an exclusive insider look at the multifaceted world of present day Islam. The author shines a spotlight on radical Islam, then on those intent on reformation, and finally on a group he terms the revivalists.

The documentary has mesmerizing interviews with noteworthy figures like Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel; Porter Goss, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and Lt. General Jerry Boykin, a former Delta commander. One of the most interesting interviews involves Tass Saada, a former PLO sniper and author of Once an Arafat Man.

Rosenberg avoids using a wide brush to portray all Muslims as being the same. He states that the majority of Muslims around the world ( 93%) are a moderate people who simply want to live a decent life. Among these moderates he claims there’s a movement dedicated to reforming Islam so that the jihadists will no longer kill and terrorize in the name of Allah. A Moroccan journalist horrified at the violence of Osama Bin Laden says of him, “For me he is not even a Muslim.” For these moderates the answer is still Islam, but armed jihad is not part of the solution. Rosenberg especially highlights Turkey, Morocco and Iraq as Muslim countries that are taking a lead in standing against violence and terror by the radicals.

In the first part of the documentary Rosenberg explores these radicals—the jihadists who though forming only a tiny percentage of Muslims worldwide (7%) nonetheless have tremendous influence and power. Rosenberg states that “the radicals say that Islam is the answer and violent Jihad is the way.” The radicals want to purify Islam by driving out the West, ridding the world of Jews and Christians, destroying the United States and setting up a world wide Muslim Empire. Perhaps the most chilling scenes on the jihadists deal with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Iranian president makes no secret of his intention to foment a second holocaust by ridding the world of the nation of Israel. The narrator shares at one point, “Never before in the nuclear age have the leaders of a revolutionary country held to the belief that the end of the world was at hand and that they were chosen to bring it about”.

Rosenberg concludes the documentary by exploring the phenomenon of so-called “revivalists” who inhabit the Muslim world. He explores the influence of various former radical Muslims who have been changed and are now reaching out in love as opposed to terror. In this section he also mentions what I have heard repeated from many reputable sources, to wit, that many Muslims around the world are experiencing dreams and visions of one of their prophets, Jesus Christ. The experience of former PLO sniper Tass Saada is a case in point. According to Saada the profound hatred he felt for the Jews since childhood was immediately taken from him after he experienced one of these visions.

Inside the Revolution is well researched and supported by a number of prominent experts in the field. People of varying persuasions, including Muslims themselves will profit from viewing it, and all of us will be better prepared for whatever the future holds.

But as good as documentaries and books are, there may be a better way to learn. Many of us have people living on our street with names like Maryam, Hassan, Mohammed, or even Aladdin. Perhaps these are Islamic friends we simply haven’t met yet?

Published in The Guelph Mercury/ Sept 29, 09

Concerned by THE SHACK

2009-09-06T20:25:00.000-07:00

The Shack: Pilgrim’s Progress or Heresy?[1]

If you haven’t read The Shack, you probably have a friend who has. It is currently one of the hottest books on the market. The novel, written by William P. Young and published by Windblown Media, has to date sold more than eight million copies. It debuted on the New York Times bestseller list in early June, 2008 and has stayed there ever since. No less a figure than theologian and author Eugene Peterson has given it high praise, saying, “This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan's Pilgrim’s Progress did for his. It’s that good!”

The story line centres on the profound pain of Mack, whose young daughter, Missy, was stalked, abducted, and then murdered by a serial killer. As the story opens we are presented with a deeply wounded middle-aged man who endures each day with great sadness, deeply cynical that anything could ever help him. At the heart of his pain there is a deep reservoir of hostility and anger toward God, who has made him drink such a bitter cup.

The novel quickly morphs into an allegory. Mack receives a mysterious note that invites him to meet God in the very shack where his daughter was murdered. There Mack encounters a feisty African-American woman named Papa (God the Father), a smaller Asian-looking woman named Sarayu (God the Holy Spirit), and an unimposing Jewish man garbed in carpenter’s clothes (God the Son)! Yes, for an entire weekend Mack eats with, hikes with, converses with, works with, jokes with the Triune God of the Bible. Without spoiling the book for those who have not read it, Mack’s encounter with the “Trinity” brings deep healing, rest, and some answers to his disturbed soul.

The novel unfolds the person of God to the reader in unexpected, sometimes funny, and, on occasion, emotionally moving ways. I will not soon forget Mack’s first encounter with Papa. This rather large, energetic African-American woman launches herself at him, lifts him off his feet, and whirls him round and round in an exuberant embrace of pure love, shouting his name over and over. The key to the book is revealed when “Jesus” confides to Mack, “You were really stuck and we wanted to help you crawl out of your pain.” In fact, people tell me they found themselves reading this book with tears streaming down their face. It seems something extraordinary and perhaps transcendent has flowed from the author to his reader.

Lynn Garrett, senior religion editor for Publishers Weekly, notes, “People are not necessarily concerned with how orthodox the theology is. People are into the story and how the book strikes them emotionally.” I think Garrett is right on and this is deeply concerning.

Despite my appreciation for certain aspects of the novel I remain deeply troubled by much of the teaching that comes out in Mack’s conversations with the various persons of the Trinity. Does the God portrayed in The Shack speak with the same voice as the God of the Bible? Sadly, in many instances the answer to this question must be “No.” For example, Papa says, “When we three spoke ourself into human existence as the Son of God, we became fully human.” But Historic Christianity, based on the Bible, has never believed that the entire Godhead became incarnate. Only one person in the Trinity became fully human, the second person of the Godhead, the Son, who became our Lord Jesus. If the author can be so wrong on so basic a point, can he be trusted with the other words he puts into God’s mouth?

Again, Historic Christianity has always taught that God’s nature includes both love and justice, and that God one day will punish sin. But William Young’s God says, “I don’t need to punish people for sin. Sin is its own punishment. . . . It’s not my purpose to punish it; it’s my joy to cure it.” In fact, in various places Young implies that God will in the end reconcile everyone to himself, contradicting the biblical concept of final judgment and punishment.

In Christian circles, The Shack is causing considerable controversy. Though highly lauded by some, others such as Dr. Albert Mohler rightly insist it contains “undiluted heresy.” And this positive reception of the book by knowledgeable Christians is what is ultimately most disturbing: how can they praise such a work? And what does this say for the state of current Christian wisdom and thought?

[1] The bulk of this book review was originally published in the Guelph Mercury, August 26, 2008. Republished with permission.

WHO WILL STAFF THE BROTHELS

2009-08-15T14:33:00.000-07:00

Did you know that legalized prostitution may soon be the norm in Canada? In 2007 two cases began working their way through the court system, one in British Columbia and the other in Ontario. Both cases seek to have the laws limiting prostitution overturned. To be sure no one knows how the judges will rule in these cases. But activist judges in Canada have certainly played a major role in reshaping societal mores in the past.

Justice Ted Matlow, who is presiding in the Ontario case, has recently created some controversy by disallowing two conservative Christian groups from participating in the proceedings. The Christian Legal Fellowship and the Catholic Civil Rights League argued that prostitution is damaging to society, and that there are good reasons why communities might want to restrict it. But Justice Matlow quashed their application to take part because, in his words, the Christian groups hold views that, “reflect the views of only small segments of Canadian society.”
Whoa, hold it right there. I know that Canada holds liberal views on many subjects. But I find it impossible to believe that only Christians would champion the view that prostitution is inherently harmful and degrading. Are we to believe that secular humanists, plain atheists, and agnostics have no moral code? Are people like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens lining up with their daughters hoping to get them into one of the better brothels? It’s far more likely that Matlow himself holds elitist views that would not resonate with the average Canadian. Even with the moral bankruptcy of our times, I do not believe that the majority of my fellow citizens are going to applaud a decision to yank the prostitution laws in Canada.

In fact, I’m hoping against hope that Canadians will stand up and shout, “NO-WAY” to legalized prostitution. Let no one be confused about this. When prostitution is fully legalized and the sex trade industry has the entire stigma washed away from it, there is no telling how far the ripples of damage will spread. Will our high schools begin to feature courses like “Soliciting 101” or “How to run your own Bawdy House?” or “Pimping made Profitable”? Will unemployed women under a certain age be forced into job interviews with brothel owners if they want to keep receiving employment insurance? (Before you laugh an incident like this actually happened in Germany in 2005)

So why am I so exercised about this issue? It’s simple: I care about people, all people, prostitutes included. And I hate and abhor the practice of prostitution because of the hellish harm that it inflicts on women. The violence, the virtual slavery by brutal pimps, the rampant drug addiction, the actual danger of being murdered by some deranged john, the wide spread sex trafficking that occurs—I could go on and on.

Advocates claim that these are the very reasons why we need to legalize and regulate the practice. But they are wrong.

Countries like Holland that have had legalized prostitution for years are finally scaling back and passing new laws to discourage and limit the practice. They discovered that legalization didn’t guarantee safety; they learned that it only caused more unregulated street prostitution; they saw how organized crime came into the scene; and they saw that the foreign trafficking of women was all part of the scene. In short the people in Canada who are calling for legalization because of supposed harm reduction are dead wrong. They need to do their homework. Here’s hoping Canada will look at the negative, harmful experiences of other countries that opted for legalization and now wish they hadn’t.

I am hoping and praying that Canadians will be shocked and appalled so that there will be an outcry against the whole idea of treating women as meat to be bought and sold. But I’m afraid that we may now be at the stage where we are so morally challenged that we won’t give it a second thought. Please prove me wrong—let your voice be heard!
Just remember that if prostitution is legalized the brothels will have to be staffed. I can guarantee that those girls will be somebody’s daughters. Whose daughters? I assure you that they will be the trafficked and helpless daughters of some poor peasant in a far off country, or they will be our own daughters. I hope that either prospect makes you thoroughly sick to your stomach.

Published in the Guelph Mercury, August 14, 2009

One Thing You Can't Do In Heaven

2009-07-10T11:01:00.000-07:00

Mark Cahill published the book "One Thing you Can't Do in Heaven" in 2004. The publisher is Genesis Publishing Group. I have to say that this is one of the best books on witnessing I've ever read, bar none. It's only a paperback of just over 200 pages, so it's a light and easy read.

It is no theological treatise, but its focus is more on encouragement and inspiration to share the good news of Christ. Indeed the book is so motivational that it may lead you to put it down in mid-paragraph while launching yourself out your front door looking for some to share with.

No book is perfect and this one easily meets that standard. But there is so much good information and zesty motivation that I will be recommending it far and wide. I plan, Lord willing, to obtain many copies just for giving away. Put it on your reading list for this summer. You will not be disappointed.

Christians who Shun Politics Lack Love

2009-07-02T10:38:00.000-07:00

So many, many Christian leaders and lay people alike are conflicted and confused about politics. Many have come to a position more or less to the effect that, "politics is a dirty business and Christians have better things to do like sharing the gospel, so I'm not going to get involved on any level whatsoever". That may be an oversimplification, yet I think it captures the essence of the thinking. I shall attempt to prove that it is in fact a non-biblical, non-thinking position.

First of all, any and every endeavor that we as Christians enter into the world is done in a place of falleness since the whole world is in sin and under sin. So to centre out the sphere of politics as unworthy is to somehow misunderstand the pervasive nature of sin over every aspect of life. If one were logically consistent with this position a Christian would have to divorce himself from every aspect of life in the world for all is tinged with sin.

Secondly, to ignore politics is to ignore the sphere where power is exercised, the arena where secular authority is legitimately exercised in a fallen world. And by ignoring this realmn the believer in Christ is often guilty of not loving his/her neighbour. For instance the Salvation Army in London in the 19th century entered the political fray and labored to get laws passed protecting young girls from the horrors of pimps, brothels and all the apparatus of white slavery. In short they loved God first, but then they loved their fellow citizen enough to get involved in the dirty business of politics in order to protect and save numerous of their fellow citizens from white slavery. I will content myself with that one example for now. But, they who are too spiritual to get involved in politics are trying to be more spiritual than the Bible that calls us to love both God and our fellow man. And to omit the love that is due our neighbour is a sin of grave omission.

Should The Burka be Allowed in Canada

2009-06-30T17:52:00.000-07:00

Guelph Mercury/ June 29,2009

Covering the Burka Issue from all Sides
Royal Hamel

Who would have thought that overdressed women could engender intense political controversy? But such is the case in France where just recently President Nicolas Sarkozy has strongly repudiated the burka, a tent-like garment worn by some Muslim women that covers them from head to toe. Sarkozy said, "In our country we cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen . . . The burka is not a religious sign, it's a sign of subservience, a sign of debasement . . . It will not be welcome on the territory of the French Republic."

But think not only of France, for a number of Canadian columnists and editorial boards see the burka as a danger to women in our own culture. A recent National Post editorial claims the burka is like "a mobile prison" that nothing in Islam demands, and that it harms women by denying them a face and identity in our open society.

If women want to wear it based on religious conviction, or simply as part of their cultural tradition, I think that any coherent free society has to give its consent. To deny such freedom in a matter of dress would be an attack on the basic rights of women. On the other hand if women are forced to drape their entire body in this manner by a cultural tradition of extreme male dominance I would oppose it. There I've said it. I know, I know, nobody in multicultural Canada is supposed to imply that some cultural values are better than others. But are some cultural traditions in fact undeserving of acceptance?

Oh sure, I can easily enough practise tolerance and live with the burka, but if I examine it somewhat more closely it seems to be largely a case of domineering men saying, "You will hide your form, your personality, and your identity behind this mobile tent because no one outside of this family has any right to know you." Isolating women behind a wall of cloth reminds me of eunuchs in other times standing guard over harems of women by isolating them behind walls of stone. I oppose the burka where it is imposed as dress code because I believe that the female half of the human race is also made in the image of God and is of equal worth to us men. It is neither just nor fair for their identity and person to be hidden and subjugated behind a wall of cloth. The issue of fairness to the hidden woman is crucial. If men in these cultures were similarly garbed there would be no issue since both would suffer equal disadvantages. But men are free to dress as they like.

But there is another side to this issue. If a woman from personal religious conviction wishes to robe herself in the burka, what right has the state to interfere? I would say it has none. And, in the same way, I believe the state has no right to interfere in my freedom as a Christian to carry the symbol of the cross, or in the case of the Sikh to wear a turban, or to oppose a Jewish man donning a skullcap.

At present it is France that is contemplating a burka ban. And since it has already banned the hijab in their state schools they just might pull off the burka in the wider culture. But Islam in its more traditional expressions is growing in many Western nations, including our own. And how deliciously ironic it would be if Canada were to ban the burka. After all our justice system winks at sporting nothing more than sandals at gay pride events in Toronto. How ironic that it might become illegal to overdress in burka fashion while across the street women are allowed to parade topless because the law has chosen not to forbid extremes in under dressing.

Will France ban the burka? Will Canadians in fact join the discussion and move toward the same solution? Your guess is as good as mine. If the world view of secularism tends toward the throwing off of most restraints, the world view of most spiritual people tends to move in the opposite direction seeking to restrain behaviour that causes harm to society. Is there any room for compromise in a liberal democracy between these two sides that are so far apart? My suggestion, let's get someone to design fashionable, see-through burqas.

Royal Hamel is a member of the Guelph Mercury Community Editorial Board.

Sin Beats Up Victims and Leaves them for Dead

2009-06-22T20:39:00.000-07:00

Just recently an old friend came back into my life. I hadn’t seen Oscar (not his real name) for a coon’s age. He broke off friendship because he didn’t want me around while he was ruining his life and marriage by an all consuming addiction with alcohol. But like the prodigal he has seen the error of his ways; he is in process of a long and deep repentance. My heart thrills to see him returning to his God, to sanity, to sobriety. It is a long road and hard, but he is moving in the right direction. I cannot help but see however that the sin that consumed his time, money and most everything of value in his life has left him traumatized, wounded and bleeding.

Often we think of the sinner as rebel and lawbreaker and he is both. Perhaps less rarely do we see him as one who is himself a victim of his own folly. But it seems to me that after sin has had his way with us over a period of time that often there remains only a husk of a man or woman. At times they are so traumatized, beaten up, bleeding and emotionally wounded that they require major surgery or hospitalization just to hold life together.

I say all this to say that when we call people to cease from lawbreaking and rebellion that we are often speaking to very broken, and wounded ones who are in desperate need of compassion and love because of the tragic wreckage their life has become. It behooves us then to be gentle and kind and to show deep compassion, even though they have brought all this on themselves by their rebellious and foolish choices.
May God cause us to see sinners not only as rebels, not only as breakers of God’s laws, but as precious fellow travelers in whom dwells the image of God, and to whom we owe a debt of love and compassion. Let no one think that I depreciate the place of personal responsibility. In the end all of us are responsible for our choices. But let us at all costs avoid condemning these ones. Rather, let us love precious people who may have made wrong and immoral choices, but have not disqualified themselves by so doing from the care and compassion owed to them by a people called to love even as our Father in heaven loves.

I'd Rather be in Hell with my Friends

2009-06-12T13:56:00.000-07:00

Just last night someone poured out her heart to me about heaven and hell. Turns out she is fearful that many beloved family members will not be in heaven. And so she raises the question, "What if I would rather be with my loved ones than in heaven"? A very profound question indeed. But, Jesus spoke directly to this issue. For he said at one point that those who loved husband, wife, brother, sister, son or daughter more than him were not worthy of him. So it is a terrible indictment...but those who would rather be in hell with beloved family members are actually saying I love my family more than I love Jesus. And Jesus I fear will honor their misguided and terrible choice.

A somewhat more crass approach is often expressed by some people who say on this topic in a flippant manner, "You can keep your heaven, I'd much rather be with my friends in hell". This answer too reveals profound ignorance about the actual conditions of hell. This person has to be told that if he knew how the Bible described hell he certainly would not want to go there for even one minute much less an endless eternity. For the scripture describes hell as a place of suffering and endless torment. By no possible stretch of the imagination are we to think that those who suffer God's judgment in this way are going to be "enjoying" some kind of a "girls gone wild" weekend that will last for an eternity. Hell is all about judgment for sin, those who are consigned there will never cease to regret their decision to treat Jesus and their eternal welfare so lightly.

Scattering Seed While Biking in a Park

2009-06-08T06:21:00.000-07:00

Thought I would tell you how the adventure of witnessing of Christ is continuing to unfold in my life. I share not for my glory, but for His...and to show how he can use any old clay pot. Here's what happened yesterday, Sunday, June 6:

7:30 am...I was in Tim Hortons having a coffee break while on a morning walk. In walks a person from my neighbourhood whom I'm seeking to know better. He's a bouncer in a nightclub, a great guy, kind of like a gentle giant...he gladly has coffee with me, and we talk, and I am privileged to begin to build a relationship with him.

5:30 PM I go for a bike ride with my bag of tracts and the following occurs:

I meet a latino couple in the park with their little toddler… I strike up a conversation on the basis of their cute little guy, because I'm intrigued by their obvious accent, and because of my knowlege of spanish. We share email addresses and before we part I am able to leave some excellent literature with them.

While crossing the covered bridge I give right of way to a young man with tattoos who was wearing a T-shirt with a cross on it. So I stopped him and asked about the cross....turned out it wasn't a cross...just an artistic "T"...but anyway I took opportunity to chat and gave him a tract before we both rode away in opposite directions. He warmly said he would read it and take it under advisement.

Further on the same bicycle path I met an 86 year old man whom I have often seen before. I stopped and we made conversation. He made a striking comment at one point when he said, "My father taught me to respect the almighty, but he also taught me that the church was not worthy of respect." I got a little defensive, but in the end offered my 86 year old friend a tract and encouraged him to read it. He assured me he would...we will meet again and he is open to talk more.

At THortons on my coffee break I met a cashier who hails from Afganistan...we talked about his unique name, for I wanted to make sure I pronounced it rightly. I asked him about the book titled, The Kite Runner (a story of Afganistan) and he assured me that he has read it. I told him I had written an article about that book, and he wanted to know about the article. I will be back in that T Hortons soon to give my friend a copy of that article in which the gospel is shared. And in future I will carry copies of that article for Muslims whom I may meet for many have read that book.

On the way home I met four Jordanian men in the park smoking the hooka (water pipe). I was so fascinated by the sight that I rode over to them and began a conversation about the water pipe, how it worked etc. At one point I asked them if they were Muslims, all said yes, and I told them that for my part I was a Christ follower. They seemed to be okay with that…I rode away, but these four Muslims met a Christian that day who expressed love, interest and appreciation for them.

On the way home I met a younger man riding his bicycle slowly, so I joined him and we talked for a kilometer or so about biking etc. No spiritual conversation, but as we said good-bye he said I could find him on the trail again as he bikes three times a week.

I was praising God for my encounters, and was now just intent on getting back home, but going through a parking lot I saw a man whom I had greeted earlier many kilometres away. He recognized me, so I got off my bike to talk. I asked him if he was walking to take off weight and he told me abut his personal struggle with weight loss. . Well he was most open, and we talked freely...I gave him a tract which he received warmly. He gave me his business card, encouraged me to email him and talk to him at any time.

Then I got on my bike one last time and headed for home arriving at 7:30pm

I know that I miss many chances to witness and do not consider myself any great expert. But I believe I have learned at least one thing. I think one thing that keeps many of us from witness is that we make it too complicated. We think that a witness has to be a full verbal presentation of the substitutionary atonement. And hey that's great when God opens such a door for such a complete sharing. But in the meantime there is a great need for a whole lot of ground to be seeded abundantly. What I'm doing is not complicated...it's seed planting...others will water, still others will bring in the harvest. Everyone has a part to play.

May God be honoured, may precious people actually hear the truth, and may Jesus call many into his kingdom.

Condemning the Murder of George Tiller

2009-05-31T16:09:00.000-07:00

George Tiller was murdered in the foyer of his church today in Wichita, Kansas. Over the years he had become a lightening rod of controversy in the abortion debate because he was one of the few who was willing to perform late-term abortions.

I denounce his killing in the strongest possible terms as being sinful, immoral, and fundamentally contrary to Christian morality.

Our prayers as Christians at this time should be for his family and that anti-life forces will be prevented from taking advantage of this tragedy to promote their agenda of expanding abortion services in America and around the world.

YES WE MUST BE OPEN TO THE CULTURE, BUT NO...we cannot baptize sin

2009-05-29T17:12:00.000-07:00

Last night I was at a meeting here in Guelph in which we were talking about how Christians can more effectively communicate the good news of Jesus. In a DVD shown the speaker pointed out that a great many Christians today are without knowing it, longing for a better past, kind of a golden era when Christian values were generally more accepted. He added that some Christians see the present culture, and its values as so anti-God that believers are actually angry and hostile at the culture in general.

I think, in part, the speaker is on the money. If believers are angry, contemptuous and hostile toward a culture they are seeking to witness to and win to Christ there is a fundamental problem. Now don't get me wrong, God help us not to fall into the error of being soft on sin and so tolerant and compassionate that we end up being more tolerant than Christ. But on the other hand, it simply will not do to so live and so speak that people only hear condemnation and judgment from our words and lives. Someone much more holy than us mastered this kind of living and speaking. For Jesus was not soft on sin, but somehow he communicated love not condemnation. God help us to learn from him. For there is error on either side of the road. Those who want to speak only of love, compassion and tolerance are also very much in error...for they are prone to leave out the truth about sin and God's hatred of it, and the result is that they are apt to baptize sin and make it virtuous when God has spoken otherwise.

This topic is made more complex by the fact that in several places in scripture Christians are commanded to 'hate that which is evil, and to hold fast to that which is good". We also know that there is such a thing as righteous anger. Who can contemplate the vile actions of pimps for example who seduce young women, or rape them, and then blackmail them into a life of prostitution. Such vileness causes in me a well of righteous anger, and I do believe that God would approve.

We must guard our soul against a generalized anger and contempt toward our culture. Certainly one aspect of such guarding is to love and exercise compassion both for sinners and sinned against, to see all people as lost sheep in need of a shepherd. Jesus modelled such love to both Zacchaeus, the hated tax collector, and as well, to the Samaritan woman. Both of these people would have been considered the dregs of society...but Jesus made it a point to reach out to them with his wonderful good news. We too by his power can and must love the people in our culture without baptizing their sins. And we must find ways of communicating that love.

I am aware that there are some so rebellious against God and truth who will insist that all judging between "right' and "wrong" is in itself an act of hate. Such libertines would do away with all right and wrong if they could, and in the meantime they malign and slander truth for their own ends. I do not say that we will convince them of their error, but we must try, and even with these, seek to do so with a gracious spirit.

Fierce the Conflict

2009-05-22T22:57:00.000-07:00

Norman Cliff has written a fascinating book on persecution of Christians in China titled, Fierce the Conflict. In one chapter that deals with the famous Watchman Nee, Cliff recounts how Nee in 1950 returned to China from the safety of Hong Kong for he believed that God wanted him back in the country to preach and witness.

"Nee was aware that he, together with many other Christians, would soon be suffering for their faith. And so he wrote a hymn based on Galatians 6:17 (I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus Christ) in which Christ is saying":

Why have you no marks?
I was persecuted and hung alone on the Tree,
Surrounded with coldness, cruelty and pride.
I was hurt by rod, spear and nails,
Why have you no marks?

Two years later Nee was arrested, sentenced and imprisoned for fifteen years.

We believers in comfortable places like Canada and the USA for the most part have very few marks, indeed most have none at all. Just maybe the absence of marks is proof of a lack of bold witness...just maybe the lack of bold witness is why there is so little growth in His church? Where do marks come from? What do they look like? Should part of our praying be directed to the acquisiton of some marks?

Royal

CONVERSATION IN HELL (Because its still Easter)

2009-05-20T19:28:00.000-07:00

If you were here on Christmas Eve, perhaps you remember the conversation we heard between Lucifer, the Prince of Darkness—Satan, the Devil, the Evil One and his assistant, Wormwood. Today, they return. So imagine, if you will, a conversation, about this time of day, on the very first Easter. A conversation in hell.

Sir, I have that preliminary damage report, the one you asked for on this morning’s incident.

Wormwood, I am the Prince of Darkness, the master of lies, the Sultan of Spin, the pioneer of propaganda. Don’t try to slip one by me! “This morning’s incident?” Don’t you mean “This morning’s catastrophe?” The major screw-up!!!”

Yes, sir. It appears that way. Significant damage was done. According to witnesses, everything seemed perfect, going just as expected. They all confirm he was dead—completely and totally dead. No deep coma, no faking it. Not the Trojan Horse strategy I originally suspected. Dead—definitely dead. We had him. Jesus, the Messiah, the eternal Word of God, Christ, dead and in our custody, just where we wanted him.

Of course, he was dead, really dead. No sleeper cell. No playing opossum. The Romans don’t make mistakes with their crucifixions. Crosses are very efficient—what a marvelous invention. But then what?

According to reports, just around sunrise, unexpectedly, inexplicably, everything began to shake and rumble, and suddenly he’s alive. Not just alive, but powerful, incredibly powerful. He blew the gates of hell right open, sir. You know, the sturdiest, most indestructible gates ever—just blown apart. The only possible explanation is that God did this.

Of course, God did this. Who else could? Who else can raise the dead? Who else could shatter our mighty gates? But don’t be too alarmed. I have a plan.

What is it, your Wretchedness? I don’t see how it could be any worse. How can we pull through this disaster?

Let’s not make it about whether he was really dead or not. Let’s make it about whether he is really alive. Put the ball in their court. Let them convince people he really rose. Just go into “plausible deniability mode.” Play the logic card. Pump up the skepticism. Alive? Really? Who will believe it? The body was stolen—by grave robbers, by overzealous followers. Who is proclaiming he’s alive? Hysterical women. Mangy, untaught fishermen. People won’t believe them.Yes, sir. We’re already putting counter-information out. The guards at the tomb have been bribed. But sir, we still have the issue of the gates of hell. They were blown open and are beyond repair. When Jesus walked out of here this morning, he took millions, perhaps billions of people with him. It was quite the jailbreak. All those people experiencing freedom and new life—incredible!! When word spreads that the gates of hell are open, won’t everyone leave?I’m not too worried actually. Those gates were more for show anyway, to frighten people. What you need to understand about human beings is that they are very impressed with themselves. They are quite proud of their ability to make their own decisions, to think through their choices, their “freedom”—they call it. Most of the folk that are here with us are so impressed by their ability to choose, they’ll stay right here, even if it is hell, because that is what they choose, and nobody better question their decision. The gates may be open, but most people won’t leave. Even though they hate it here, there are some you couldn’t drag out of here.

Really, sir? You think some will stay here voluntarily?

Of course! I’m sure of it. Honestly, even with the gates in a shambles, I expect we’ll still get pretty brisk traffic into the place, newcomers, people wandering in of their own accord. They just like thinking they’ve made up their own minds. This morning’s disaster won’t change them. I’m more concerned that one day Jesus might return to round up the stragglers and stubborn ones.

But sir, with Jesus alive, with many of the former residents now gone, with the gates of hell in smithereens, well, with all due respect sir, doesn’t this mean it’s over. We’re done for—doomed?

Wormwood, I am the Prince of Darkness. No one on earth is my equal. I can twist peoples’ minds. I can confuse them, bamboozle them, make them think what they’re doing is good. I can wrap them around my little finger. Still all my power pales in comparison to God Almighty. Always has. Always will. God versus me, good versus evil—no contest, really! I’m totally overmatched. That’s the way it’s always been.

Boy, your Wretchedness, I’ve never heard you be so blunt, so down. The past few days have been quite the roller coaster ride.

You’re right about that. When I think back to Friday, seeing Jesus hanging up there on the cross, I was giddy, on an incredible high, what a glimmer of hope. But l guess it just goes to show that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Sure, this morning’s resurrection is a disaster. But I was painted into a corner before and now I am again. Honestly, looking back over the last few thousand years, I think I’ve done amazingly well, exceeded everyone’s expectations. Somehow God has never wanted to take me on directly, or never wanted to resort to my tactics. I guess that’s what makes him God.

Well with you getting all nostalgic on me, I guess that means it’s over for us. Right, sir? We’re packing it in?

What? How can I hope to accomplish anything with help like you? What do you think? We’re going to retire and move south? What kind of fool are you? I have just begun to fight! I can still take lots down with me. Have you seen a wounded animal, a mortally wounded animal, Wormwood? Didn’t your mother ever warn you to watch out for a hurt and dying beast?

Well, sir. You forget, I didn’t have a mother.

Whatever. A hurt and dying beast is dangerous and unpredictable, desperate and crazed. That’s us. We’ve got lots of time before the story spreads from Jerusalem. We’ve still got lots of power and tricks at our disposal. We can do a lot of damage—so much damage people will doubt the resurrection ever happened. We may lose in the end, Wormwood, but we can make it long and bloody in the meantime.

Yes, your Wretchedness. Yes, indeed. But some people will know Jesus rose and I suspect news of the resurrection will spread.

But just think how much fun we can have with those who know Jesus is alive. We can divide them, corrupt them, distract them, cause them to lose their focus. Pointing out the hypocrisy and failings of Jesus’ followers—it is a definite growth industry.

Now you’re sounding like the Lucifer of old. I’m getting fired up, boss. Excited, hopeful.

And you, who are so concerned that our gates are destroyed, don’t forget that the beams of my empire pass through every palace on earth. The huge timbers of my empire are built right into the main street of every town and village. My cold grip is on so many hearts and minds, businesses, institutions and rulers. I may be going down, Wormwood, but not without pulling down a lot with me. And when the mighty beams of my empire finally do fall, they will crush millions. The ruins and wreckage of my empire will be dangerous for centuries still. Just watch and learn, Wormwood. Watch and learn!

Yes, sir. I will, sir. But still, there are some who do believe Jesus is alive. Your cold grip doesn’t control everyone and everything. Some people are truly filled with new life. There are people out there who genuinely know Jesus rose. There are people who believe love and forgiveness are the most powerful forces in the world. Who knows what they might do to us? Why isn’t it true that just one little word can fell you?—the simple name “Jesus” stops you in your tracks?

Wormwood— Don’t you ever have good news? What are you a bearer of doom and gloom?

Sir, that is exactly what I am—a bearer of doom and gloom. I don’t have much experience with Good News. But back to the gist of my original report, it is true: Christ is risen.

Shhhhh! Don’t say it so loud! Don’t you think I know that Christ is risen, indeed?

Author, Steve Mathonnet-Vande, Originally published in the Church Herald for Easter 2009, Published with permission.

Maybe this is the second coming of C.S Lewis and the Screwtape Letters. In any case I applaud his creativity.

Prophetic Preaching

2009-05-20T19:01:00.000-07:00

I don't know if you know John Piper or not. But if you have any interest at all in the subject of ending abortion you will not be sorry you took five minutes out of your busy day to see the following video on Utube taken from a sermon by John Piper. If this is what a truly prophetic word spoken to the powerful sounds like, then I must confess that I know virtually nothing about it. God help me before I die to know it.

Royal

http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1794_no_mr_president_killing_is_killing_no_matter_what_we_call_it/

2009-05-19T11:54:00.000-07:00

Bravo to the brave Miss California
May 19, 2009 The Guelph Mercury
Royal hamel

The United States is embattled in an escalating culture war on the issue of same-sex marriage. If the battle plays out as it did in Canada, many Christians and many churches will run for cover instead of speaking clearly what the Bible has taught for 2,000 years. But like a voice crying in the wilderness, a little-known beauty queen from California has stunned both Christians and non-Christians by her brave stand for traditional marriage.

In the final stages of judging at the Miss USA pageant on April 19, 21-year-old Miss California, Carrie Prejean, from San Diego Christian College, was the only contestant thrown a political bombshell. Pageant judge Perez Hilton, homosexual activist and pundit, asked, "Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage; do you think every state should follow suit?"
Carrie's remarkably brave answer included the words, ". . . I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offence to anybody out there, but that's how I was raised and that's how I think it should be -- between a man and a woman."

With that response, she lost her bid for the Miss USA tiara, and lit a fire of controversy that has not abated. On his website, Perez Hilton slandered her as a "b--ch" and defaced photos of her with sexually explicit drawings. He reputedly commented that he had given her a zero, and if she had won he would have ripped off her crown and would have run from the building. Since then, the radical left, much of the media, and many bloggers have scornfully attacked Prejean because of her seemingly politically incorrect views.

Some conservative Christians don't want Prejean defending marriage because they think she's not pure enough. I think they're wrong.If God in Old Testament times could use Rahab, a prostitute, to protect his spies, and a murderer like the apostle Paul to become his chief messenger, surely an imperfect, flamboyant beauty queen should pose no problem. Spiritual purists should beware of trying to be more spiritual than God.

Who can doubt that the question by Hilton was deliberately chosen to expose Prejean's beliefs? Knowing she was from a Christian college, he undeniably had a clear idea what she believed. He knew that she couldn't falsify an answer and still be true to her convictions. Hilton's question was designed to out Prejean as a Christian who believed in traditional marriage.

Who knew that a time would come when Christians would need to be "outed"? In any case, his question hit the mark.

Prejean admits she was tempted to fudge the answer. She said to Dr. James Dobson on his Focus on the Family program, "God was saying, . . . 'Carrie, do not compromise this -- you need to stand up for me . . . You need to show you're not willing to compromise this for this title of Miss USA.' "

After three weeks of relentless media attack, Prejean spoke out April 12 at a news conference called by Donald Trump. She publicly forgave her persecutors and those who had spoken maliciously against her. But she also held fast to her free speech rights as an American citizen, and insisted that the persecution inflicted on her was wrong.

This outright attack and bullying of a public figure because of their religious beliefs is more than a little troubling. To put this in perspective, Prejean simply stood up for basic Christian teaching on marriage (Jesus clearly defines marriage in Matthew 19 as involving male and female).

Doesn't it seem somewhat presumptuous to accuse Jesus of discrimination and hatred? Shouldn't God get to establish the basic ground rules of the institutions He created?

Carrie was outed and her private beliefs (which had nothing to do with the beauty pageant) were held up to ridicule, scorned, and belittled. Christians all over America and Canada would do well to take note. They can try and hide from the culture war by faithlessly keeping silent, thus hiding their truth. But they will not succeed, for there are legions of Perez Hiltons who will seek them out for exposure.

No, no, far better to openly own the truth that has been given.
Far, far better for timid, secret-agent type Christians and churches to celebrate the goodness of God's truth on marriage, and to share it faithfully and lovingly to all who have a heart to listen.

Royal Hamel is a member of the Guelph Mercury's Community Editorial Board.

Darkness in America

2009-05-18T21:48:00.000-07:00

The scandal of the most anti-life president in history speaking at Notre Dame continues to amaze me. How and why he was given permission by the Catholic hierarchy to do so is simply beyond me. Not being Catholic my knowlege fails me here, for I'm naive enough to think that the bishop in charge of the school should have had the power to prevent this from happening. Please help me out here if you are Catholic and know how this works.

The president called for "civility" of speech even when we differ on this profound moral question. Fair enough, but only up to a point. If a racist, or an anti-semite, or a terrorist wants to take a public podium and speak in defense of their action and attitudes would we be congenial to their explicit call that we should all engage in polite, civil discourse. I don't think so. There comes a time when truth must be spoken clearly. To do otherwise is to let the other side win by fudging and obfuscating the reality of the killing that is being carried out every single day by every baby aborted. Don't get me wrong. By all means let's be civil when we're talking about morally neutral things like color preference for carpets, or types of haircuts, or sizes of nose rings...but when we are talking about the direct breaking of God's commandment, "You shall not murder" (Exodus 20, NASV) we're no longer on morally neutral territory. We should have a profound moral distaste for all that is evil and not give anyone the comfort of covering it up with pretty words and euphemisms that hide its horrible reality.