Conspiracies are everywhere these days. Many conspiracy theories surround secret societies and what the rich and powerful really do behind closed doors. Maybe some of them are true. It would be a strange world if all of them were true. The ones that seem more fantastic are great plots for science fiction and horror movies. The ones that seem plausible or at least less fantastic are interesting and provide for great conversations.
While I was a student at the University of Victoria, I studied politics. Out of curiosity, I decided to compare the facts in a Russian encyclopedia and an American encyclopedia. Events we accepted as factual and accurate were recorded from a completely different ideological angle. This often changed the facts. The two countries role in World War Two were very different yet the American version is that they won the war. The Russians claim it was their troops that won the war. When you write, or as is happening now in North America, rewrite your own history, you get to write whatever you want. Often truth suffers. According to the Baltimore Sun, a crowd tore down the Christopher Columbus statue near Little Italy and rolled into the Inner Harbour. In Canada, there is a request for a mayor to take down the statue of John A MacDonald in Regina. These statures represent discovery and growth in how America and Canada were founded and settled. The conflicts regarding Indigenous people and their culture and the way …
I am so sick of the news lately. And I am a news junkie. The problem is that all the news outlets cover all the same stories with all the same angles. Here is a summary of every mainstream newscasts. Covid19 will get you. Trump is bad. Terrorists are peaceful protestors. Oh, and my favorite news item. A celebrity who knows nothing about what is happening released a statement saying the Covid19 and Trump are bad and here is a million bucks to help the protestors who are victimized by the police. And then there is good old Canadian Pamela Anderson. Her news item was about if she would pose nude one more time for Playboy. This according to Fox News Entertainment Section. Thank you, Pam! In case you’re wondering, she said no. Now this is about as newsworthy as the woman who was offended by the man who held the door open for her. But it is a bit of relief in a news world gone mad with intent to scare and divide. The …
There is an old saying, “People who believe nothing will believe anything.” A man named G.K. Chesterton said that or something similar, and I know it is true. We all believe, we are incurably religious, and if we don’t have truth, we will attach our belief to something false. If life has no meaning, we will find a purpose; and some purposes are bad for us. When I was a boy, my family went to church. Every adult in my life was strict, and apparently, following their rules was the way to God. I didn’t always believe them, but I learned early that it was important not to get caught. I grew up in the days of beatings, and at school the principal had a regulation strap issued by the school board. I only got one regulation punishment, around the age of eight, and that was enough for me. I didn’t want more of that pain, so I carefully stayed out of trouble, and avoided anyone who could punish me. My parents were also generous …
I’m a Christian and I know what that means. I know, but most of the world seems to know what I should be. Whatever you believe, other people will try to make you into what they want you to be. You might hear ‘You people should …’ They have a preferred image for people like you and you are wrong if you don’t do follow the program. Unmarried marriage counsellors don’t play the game, but they do make the rules. When I was a student in a university, I took a course from a professor that we all liked. He was an excellent teacher, and we all enjoyed learning with him. He also talked openly about his connections with a church, and my family went to a church; I thought we had something in common. One day I had an appointment in his office, and after we finished talking about my assignment, I told him that my family went to … church. I expected a smile, at least. I still remember that severe look on …
What do we do when one of our deepest held beliefs offend another person’s deepest held belief? In the world viewpoint we used to just go to war. Some cultures still do. Most just compromise their values in order not to offend. It is easier to give up truth than stand firm. In Canada, we have a government that legislates such things and tells us we are to compromise our faith and beliefs to accommodate others. The second problem is even deeper. When we are forced to compromise our values, we erode our belief system and eventually our world view is taunted as wrong and even criminal. Then what happens is we start believing these lies and the truth of Christianity is no longer perceived as truth. We compromise our faith and allow the world to determine what is right and wrong. Unfortunately, the world is a fallen place infested by sin. Quite simply, the world does not know the truth. How do we then hold to the truth without offending others? We can not. …
Are you a feminist? [Answer yes or no.] If you answer yes, I can tell you the correct type of feminist you must be. You don’t have a choice. You must think a certain way. If you are on the team, you must be orthodox. If you answer no, you are incorrect, and you are the enemy. That is an example of binary thinking. You have the choice to be correct, and then you must be completely correct and orthodox, or you are on the other side, and they are always wrong. I used the word “feminist” because it gets attention, but any belief fits the conversation. I grew up with Christians who were binary in their beliefs; people who were proud to be called fundamentalists. As a young boy I learned to avoid all discussions in the house and play with my friends outside. When I became an adult, I wanted to be a Christian, but the choice was hard for me. I didn’t want to win the argument, I wanted to know God. …
You might know the story of Galileo Galilei, the Italian astronomer, sometimes called the father of modern astronomy. He discovered ‘Heliocentrism’ which means the Earth revolves around the Sun, and not the other way around. For this, he was tried and condemned by the Inquisition of the Roman Catholic Church, forced to repent of his sin, and placed under house arrest for life. RELATED: Galileo Galilei: Wikipedia It turns out he was correct, but his research interfered with the powers of his time and place. Truth was less important than the opportunity to gain and hold power. This happened at the time of the Protestant Reformation, and it’s one of the reasons why we have Protestants today. Clever people moved north to Protestant regions, and initially research and industry were mostly in the northern parts of Europe, in countries like Germany and Sweden; the wealthy countries, today. That was a big mistake for the Catholic Church, and they are still embarrassed. The story of Galileo is also a warning to us today, especially religious believers …
I love to tell stories Sometimes it’s hard to tell if what I am saying is actually true. When I worked in a clinic for a few years as a counselor, my co-workers would phone my wife to ask if what I was saying was true. Kind of weird since how did they know she was not lying to them? I guess you could say that some of my stories were deceitful. I disguised them as the truth until the very end when I admitted I made the whole thing up. One time my son and his girlfriend, Judith, were camping. I suppose he was bored because he asked us to join them around the campfire. Now I have a reputation as a bit of a story-teller so when we get there, I sit at the campfire and start making up a story. I can make up a story at any time about anything. On this particular night I started rambling on about nothing in general until it formed itself into a story. Although I …
On the evening of October 1, 2017, a man named Stephen Paddock used a gun to kill and injure spectators at a country music concert in Las Vegas. You probably know something about the story, but have you noticed all the comments and conspiracy theories that have spun off from the incident; the story about the story? It’s interesting because Mr Paddock is such a mystery. We don’t know why he shot those people except that he made a decision. His background story gives us no clues, so we are free to make our own judgments. That’s useful for some people. RELATED: Las Vegas Shooting: Wikipedia A few days later, on October 5, the New York Times published an article about Harvey Weinstein, one of the most powerful men in the Hollywood movie industry. He has been accused of gross misconduct with young women who were trying to make careers in movies and television. At this time, it is fair to say the accusations have been denied, and any accusations are only alleged; but that …
