We Should All Feel Shame! (letter to National Post re shooting in Ottawa)

Mrs. Bibeau (October 27) is not alone. We have all probably failed to give our children the instruction and guidance they need to survive in a deceitful world and have a meaningful life. Her son was not ‘crazy’ when he went on a shooting rampage in Parliament as Dr. Frances noted. He was misguided. In fact he was born into a culture that is seriously ignorant and misguided in the area of religion. His life, like the lives of many people, had no meaning or purpose. We have inherited a post-Christian culture in which many people have lost touch with their Christian roots. Many Christians have been misguided by Liberal Protestantism’s denial of an active spiritual force of evil in the world.  Many parents do not have a faith – any faith, to pass on to their children. Schools do not teach the basics of Christianity and the Great Religions. The consequence is young people searching for and finding meaning for their lives in a Satanic religion of violence and conquest. We all need to wake up and smell the gun smoke.  Our schools need to teach the basics truths of all the Great Religions to give young people hope, meaning , context and the basic knowledge they need to resist misguided religious teachers - and get over their fear of offending someone!

 P.S. The meaning of life is to love God and enjoy God forever.

Luke Teaches Us to Proclaim the Healing Power of Jesus (St. Luke's Day, Oct. 18)

Luke / Acts is the longest and most practical of the Gospels. Luke focuses on the Good News as healing. This includes physical healing and spiritual healing. In fact spiritual healing often leads to physical healing. The goal is to restore individuals to wholeness or holiness so they can be in a right relationship with God – who is holy. Humanity is imprisoned by sin, guilt and fear under the power of Satan and destined to die both physically and spiritually. Jesus claims (Luke 4.16-21) the Prophetic mission of Isaiah to free humanity from this captivity to sin and death and restore us to physical health, right relationship with God and eternal spiritual life. This is accomplished by our proclaiming the forgiveness and healing power of Jesus.

 1. Jesus is the “ANOINTED” teacher and healer

Unlike the “false teachers” 2 Timothy 4.3 warns us about Jesus is anointed by God to teach the Good News to the poor. This anointing is critical in teaching and preaching. The history of the Church is a history of false teachers promoting heresies and conflict over doctrine. We seem to be living in an apparently kinder and gentler time when it is considered wrong to condemn heresies and disagree. Many people are concerned that some Church leaders, including Bishops, have caved in to political pressure around the Good News of healing. For example instead of offering healing prayer to the sexually disoriented; our Anglican Synods has affirmed ‘the sanctity and integrity of same-sex relationships”. This indicates that we have lost our Faith in the healing power of Jesus – and are listening to false teachers.

 2. We are to PROCLAIM the healing power of Jesus