Soldiers in the Army of God

Just watching a documentary on a group that calls for the murder of abortion doctors and others they deem are responsible for the deaths of unborn babies. The abortion issue aside, these people have some very strange ideas about who God is and what he asks of his followers. They quote the OT in regards to what should happen to those who perform/support abortions, and yet there is no call for grace and love, which I believe is central to the heart of who God is. There is a lot of confusion and misleading happening. Paul Hill is a hero to them, and he was convicted of killing an abortion doctor in 1994.

If you google "army of god", you'll easily find their website. I don't want to link to it, as there are very graphic images on it.

What I don't understand is how they are blind to their own predicament. They kill in order to stop killing. I know that this has been an ongoing debate for years, but this film strikes be as unbelievably sad.

Clarion Journal - The Misguided Quest for Relevance

I found this article very interesting. It echoes a quote I read in one of Henri Nouwen's books that basically said that we do not need to strive for relevance. Jesus is already far ahead of us in this respect. He knows what people actually need; he's not guessing and trying to be "Buddy Jesus" to the masses.

One of the Best Grey Cup games ever.

Awesome ending to a wild wierd season for the Edmonton Eskimoes. I was an Eskie fan for a lot of years, so this is exciting.

ABC News: Chinese Christians Forced to Worship in Secret

I found this story fascinating, as we in the west argue abut worship and philosophy (which ae important), people on the other side of the world deal with pressures we can't imagine. Here's an excerpt:

ABC News witnessed the restrictions firsthand in a heavily Christian area south of China's capital of Beijing.

There used to be a shrine in Bao Ding, China, visited by tens of thousands of Christians a year — until the Chinese government closed it and tore it down, forcing many worshippers underground.

Deep in the countryside just after sunset, ABC News found a 110-year-old Catholic church revered by residents. Now, it is a ghostly ruin.

Many villagers were afraid to talk about it, but a man who identified himself as a lay minister said the police came suddenly in 1995, arrested the bishop and told the villagers to leave the church. Then, they closed down the church for good.

Now, like many Christians in China, they hold Mass in the middle of the night, changing locations to avoid police raids.

Tens of millions of Chinese are braving the same risk, just to practice their faith.

CBC Arts: Bono 'crushed' PM hasn't reached foreign aid goal

CBC Arts: Bono 'crushed' PM hasn't reached foreign aid goal

For anyone who keeps track of these things, I've added a couple of links to the right. Both have to do with my new position as Saskatoon Comunity Chaplain. The 'official' one covers general news on what I've been doing, as well as links to sites dealing with corrections and ex-prisoners.
The other is a prayer blog where you can go to be updated on the spiritual stresses and challenges of the job from my pespective. I try to update them at lest twice/week, but am not always successful.

I just liked this picture from a concert a few nights ago.

"The reason I'm attracted to the light of Scriptures is because there's another side of me that is dark."

Hell is real...

I just saw an ad for some country singer, and it seems that the big hit in country music these days is TEQUILA MAKES HER CLOTHES FALL OFF. This is why I HATE country music.

TIME.com: How to Tell if The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a Christian Film -- Page 1

Here's an article that looks at a question many believers are wondering about. Unlike "The Passion", there is room to move on this one, and the general ideas of the story will (I think) be loud and clear, even if they don't include the following four lines, which some say are the crux of the issue.

The White Witch: "That human creature is mine. His life is forfeit to me. His blood is my property."

Aslan (later) : "The Witch knew the Deep Magic. But if she could have looked a little further back... she would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor's stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backwards."