What about your faith?

Salvation and faith are intimately connected.  Sadly many Christians receive Jesus into their hearts as Lord and Saviour and so are saved but then they put their salvation in a box far back in a dusty closet only to be taken out at Christmas, Easter and other special church occasions.  They live their lives in the hope of their salvation not in its certainty.  And they put their faith in that same box.  It’s time to teach the power of faith and how each and everyone of us can overcome by faith on a daily basis!

 

Salvation is a choice to receive and faith is a choice to live according to what you received.  Faith is what gets you through the tough times.  Faith transforms your life from the natural to the supernatural.  Faith allows you to live your salvation on a daily basis.  How sad to put faith away with your salvation and not to rely on it and live by it!

If I were to ask you; “Do you have faith?”  – what would you say?

The Bible says faith is; “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  (Hebrews 11:1)  GotQuestions.org tells us; “This definition of faith contains two aspects: intellectual assent and trust. Intellectual assent is believing. .  .  . Trust is actually relying on the fact that the something is true. A chair is often used to help illustrate this. Intellectual assent is recognizing that a chair is a chair and agreeing that it is designed to support a person who sits on it. Trust is actually sitting in the chair.”  You may believe in what the Bible says but how much trust do you have in its promises for your everyday life.  Do you practice that trust daily?

Where does faith come from?  The  Bible tells us; “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”  (Ephesians 2:8,9)  Faith and grace are connected.  Clearly grace is a gift but what about faith? Is it a gift as well?  Where does faith come from?  The Bible says; “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”  (Romans 10:17)  Obviously, the word of God doesn’t come from us –  it comes from God,  so faith is a gift too;  “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”  (Romans 8:3) Scripture proves this.

Faith is trust.  Trust is the capacity to act on what we hear in the Word of God.  But just like sitting on a chair – we may trust that it will support us but we still may not choose to sit on it.  And sadly, for some people we may not trust the chair because it looks too rickety, but still choose to sit on it, inwardly quaking with fear that it may collapse at any moment.  Why do some to that?  To be polite; they’re afraid to say no!  Like the chair, if we haven’t taken in the Word of God deeply and regularity to know it in our hearts how will we have faith?  If our ‘ears’ only listen to other people and Pastors (who are people too), and not His Holy Spirit how will we have faith to believe His promises?    We go through life, professing Christian convictions but inwardly quake in fear only hoping we are saved.  Yet  the Bible tells us; “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”  (Romans 8:16,17)

Would your faith increase if you saw a person  healed of a debilitating illness or if you saw a person delivered from a terrible crippling condition?  What would that do to your faith?  Would it increase?

I hope not – Why would I say such a thing?  I’m not against signs and wonders – I live in a world full of them – answered prayer, revealed prophecy and healings.  But the Bible tells us that faith comes before signs and wonders. Faith is necessary for signs and wonders to flourish (Matthew 13:58, Mark 6:5).  Signs and wonders have a purpose but not to increase faith – if you are Born Again you have faith – a mighty faith – do you chose to live by it?

Where does faith come from and why is it so necessary?

Faith doesn’t come from signs and wonders.  If you’re looking for faith in that you’re barking up the wrong tree!  The Israelites wandered for 40 years surrounded by signs and wonders on a daily basis yet only two had the faith to believe God’s Word about the promised land – Joshua and Caleb.  The Israelites saw signs and wonders and lived them daily but when it was  time to enter the promised land they doubted God.  They had no faith.  What good did signs and wonders do for the rest of them? They never entered the promised land.  Are we better than these Israelites?  What good will signs and wonders do us if we don’t exercise our faith?

What does Jesus say about this?   Jesus taught in His parable of Lazarus and the rich man that believing enough to change (which is trust and faith) doesn’t come from  signs and wonders.  He said; “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.” (Luke 16:31)  Jesus nailed the trouble looking for signs and wonders; “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed one greater than Jonah is here.”  (Matthew 12:39-41)  Faith based on signs and wonders doesn’t work.  Jesus warns; “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”  (Matthew 24:24)  – signs and wonders can deceive!

It’s not seeing a miracle that creates faith or increases faith – it’s hearing the Word of God –really hearing it by taking it into your heart and trusting it.  This is proved so well by Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well and her people.  The Bible tells us that Jesus did demonstrate His supernatural knowledge of the woman’s life and past (a sign and wonder) but that didn’t make her believe. She already believed; “ ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When He comes, He will tell us all things.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He.’ “(John 4:25,26) It was the woman’s testimony that got the rest of her people’s interest and Jesus’ Words that made them come to faith; “And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, ‘He told me all that I ever did.’ So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His own word. Then they said to the woman, ‘Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.’” (John 4:39-42)  Signs and wonders don’t produce faith (God’s Word does ). Nor do they produce revival (repentance does).  Signs and wonders are produced through faith (Matthew 17:20) and they are a part of our testimony and the testimony of those touched by Jesus.

The signs and wonders Jesus did are part of His testimony put in His Word; “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”  (John 20: 30,31)  We have His Word but do we exercise the faith to believe.  Without that faith His Words are of no benefit to us.  The Bible tells us that even though the ancient Israelites lived on signs and wonders for 40 years in the desert only  two of that generation got into the promised land; “For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.”  (Hebrews 4:2)  The Bible also tells us that those who chose to take God at His Word were righteous in God’s eyes; “Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”  (Genesis 15:6) and “What does Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’” (Romans 4:3)

We’d be wrong to look for signs and wonders hoping that they will give us faith or revival!  Don’t let anyone convince you to put your hope in signs and wonders to ‘spark’ your faith.   You have faith already! You have the God given capacity to say – I believe God’s Word over what I see and feel – over what the world says.   Faith is the decision to stand on God’s promises and not be swayed by the absence or presence of signs and wonders.  Faith is a choice and God gives us the power to make that choice!   Remember – faith makes the Word profitable; “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”  (Hebrews 11:6).  Salvation is a choice to receive.  Faith is a choice to trust what you have received.  Signs and wonders come out of those choices which open up the supernatural world to us in the here and now.

Let us live as the Bible says in order to please God; “Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”  (Hebrews 10:38)  Amen!

From falsehoods to the New Truth

How can a falsehood gain traction and become commonly accepted?  People will believe falsehoods if they hear them often enough.  This is called the ‘illusory truth effect.’ Wikipedia states; “The illusory truth effect (also known as the validity effect, truth effect, or the reiteration effect) is the tendency to believe false information to be correct after repeated exposure. This phenomenon was first identified in a 1977 study at Villanova University and Temple University. When truth is assessed, people rely on whether the information is in line with their understanding or if it feels familiar.”

Scientific American points out this effect was a successful propaganda technique used against the Jews ;

Joseph Goebbels, minister of propaganda for the Nazi German government of the Third Reich, understood the power of repeating falsehoods. “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it,” he asserted, “people will eventually come to believe it.” This phenomenon, pervasive in contemporary politics, advertising, and social media, is known in cognitive psychology as the “illusory truth effect.”

I Heard It Before, So It Must Be True, By Susana Martinez-Conde on October 5, 2019

Now the ‘illusory truth effect’ is being used against Bible believing conservative Christians.  Focus on the Family exposes the approach of Revisionist Gay Theology;

A key strategy in ushering in this uncritical acceptance and promotion of homosexuality into the wider culture has centered on churches and synagogues. Specifically, homosexual activists and their allies know that the Judeo-Christian sexual ethic found in the Bible is the last bastion of defense holding back the widespread embrace of homosexuality throughout the culture. . . .

It is in this context that a propaganda campaign aimed at biblically orthodox believers has been launched, with the goal of sowing seeds of doubt about God’s commands concerning homosexual behavior.

REVISIONIST GAY THEOLOGY: DID GOD REALLY SAY…? BY FOCUS ON THE FAMILY ISSUE ANALYSTS JULY 29, 2019

Michael Coren is a contributor  to  the propaganda campaign.  In his article, “LGBTQ people and ‘the harm being done by the Christian religion’“, he writes;

The issue of LGBTQ2 equality, the full acceptance of gay people, and the performing of same-sex marriages are perhaps the most divisive issues facing contemporary Christianity. Indeed for many conservative Christians, the litmus test for faith is less a belief in Jesus Christ than a rejection of homosexuality, which is bizarre in that the subject is hardly ever mentioned in the entirety of Scripture, and Jesus never refers to it at all!

Michael Coren, Jan 17, 2020

What is the falsehood? He says about homosexuality; ‘the subject is hardly ever mentioned in the entirety of Scripture, and Jesus never refers to it at all!‘  This is blatantly false.  Even a cursory review of Scripture will show Michael Coren’s statement to be false.  There are many passages in Bible that deal plainly with the sin of homosexual acts both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. This website at Bible Study Tools provides a sample of twenty five  such passages and points out;

God’s timeless Word reveals His plan for humanity and His intentions for marriage and sexuality. While Scripture teaches that homosexual acts are sinful, these Bible verses aren’t about condemning homosexuals, gays, lesbians, or transgender people. Rather, read God’s loving warning and offer of grace for those who have strayed from His will for sex. We live in a fallen world with a fallen nature, but in Christ, we can be new creations.

A falsehood becomes a lie when it is uttered by a person who knows better.  Is Michael Coren lying or simply ignorantly promoting this falsehood about homosexuality not being a big deal in the Bible?   Whatever the case, Michael Coren is wrong when he says homosexuality is ‘hardly ever mentioned in the entirety of Scripture, and Jesus never refers to it at all!‘  Jesus referred to gender and marriage; “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?” (Matthew 19:4,5)  How disingenuous  to suggest that Jesus didn’t speak to marriage and gender.

As with all mass propaganda, it isn’t hard to get an ignorant mob marching over the rights of others holding sincerely held religious beliefs if you can marshal ‘experts’ to promote the falsehood.  Michael Coren trots out a typical liberal academic and cleric, the Rev. Dr. Charles Fensham, and Dr. Fensham boldly proclaims;

Many people, still shaped by the biases described above, insist that the Bible condemns homosexuality.  Yet, the statement that the Bible condemns homosexuality is simply wrong.

Actually the Bible says;

Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves,  who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.  Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.  (Romans 1:24-27)

I have to assume that the Rev.  Dr. Fensham  has read the Bible including this passage and many others like it.  So, is he lying?  Does he know better?  And does he think people are so ignorant and so easily duped by his clever words, academic and ecclesiastical credentials?  He is lying if he knows what the Bible says.  If not,  he is just ignorantly passing along a falsehood.  Whatever the case may be, when falsehood become the new truth the quality of  public discourse is degraded.  Sadly we live in an age where technology  allows the quantity of a message to override it’s quality.  And all are harmed by it.

An ancient prophet of Israel saw this day and its many false teachers clearly:

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20)

A bitter harvest is coming.

Can you overcome by your boot straps?

This is an example of not letting yourself become a victim – Social Justice Warriors make more victims than they help – take a look at the video and decide for yourself –

You don’t know me or my privilege

Social justice warriors are quick to peg you on externals such as what your gender is, what colour your skin is and how old you are.  They don’t bother about who you are or how you  live your life.  They’re not really interested in your character or what challenges you’ve faced and overcome.  Social justice warriors have an agenda and putting you down is simply a weapon of choice in their shrill desire to dominate when they call you out for your ‘white male privilege.’

Douglas Murray puts it best – “What the hell do  you know about the person you’re doing that to!” [time 2:54]

 

It’s time to stop putting up with this nonsense.  When dealing with a petulant child – placating or cajoling them never works – they get worse.  Petulant children are best handled directly and firmly.  They need to hear; ‘Stop the nonsense and until you can it’s ‘time out!’  You won’t get what you want. You won’t get any more attention!’  Petulant social justice warriors are best dealt with in the same way.  They need to learn that their antics aren’t helping anybody;

The social justice movement has many well-meaning followers who want to make the world a better place. But most of its “activism” is little more than a self-centered quest for moral purity. Dropping “crazy” from one’s vocabulary won’t improve health services or job opportunities for the mentally ill. Protesting a white singer’s “appropriation” of cornrows or rap music will have zero effect on the actual problems facing African-Americans.

The Totalitarian Doctrine of ‘Social Justice Warriors’ by Cathy Young

Part of growing up and getting an education involves learning how to use a dictionary.  If you’re a social justice warrior prone to childish outbursts try looking up privilege in the dictionary.  If your a millennial – Google it.

Privilege is defined as; “a right or immunity granted as a peculiar benefit, advantage, or favor.”  If you check the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms you will see that every Canadian has no more ‘privilege’ than any other Canadian;  “The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.”

‘White privilege’ is an invention of left leaning social scientists.  Wikipedia states:

In the study of white privilege, and its broader field of whiteness studies, academic perspectives such as critical race theory use the concept to analyze how racism and racialized societies affect the lives of white or white-skinned people. For example, Peggy McIntosh describes the advantages that whites in Western societies enjoy and non-whites do not experience, as “an invisible package of unearned assets”. White privilege denotes both obvious and less obvious passive advantages that white people may not recognize they have, which distinguishes it from overt bias or prejudice. These include cultural affirmations of one’s own worth; presumed greater social status; and freedom to move, buy, work, play, and speak freely. The effects can be seen in professional, educational, and personal contexts. The concept of white privilege also implies the right to assume the universality of one’s own experiences, marking others as different or exceptional while perceiving oneself as normal.

Every ‘cultural affirmation’ of my own worth I’ve earned by getting an education, developing a career, working at keeping my marriage healthy and stable, living my faith, paying taxes, volunteering in my community and being a law biding citizen of the country that has provided these opportunities.  It wasn’t easy and I did face some prejudice growing up because my parents were immigrants but by God’s grace I didn’t become a victim to that prejudice. I forgave those who persecuted me.  The key concept here is ‘growing up.’

If I can grow up and live a successful life so can any other person.

If that means that I’m assuming the universality of my own experiences (which I do by pointing to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms) and that offends you, then all I can say is –

Grow up!

Woke privilege trumps all other privilege

Recently I had a ‘Facebook run in’ with a social justice warrior (again) who took issue with my suggestion that we might as a community try ‘forgiving’ the teenagers who posted a racist ‘promposal’ poster.  Since the teenagers admitted  they were wrong to do so and said they were sorry maybe it was appropriate for the rest of us to forgive them so we  could all move on with life.  I did say there should be consequences for their actions but they should not be branded permanently as social pariahs.

I decided to preserve and share most of the interchange I had with this social justice warrior because it is important to examine the pathology of today’s ‘woke’ culture.  The aggression, lack of tolerance  of counter views and virtue signalling of social justice warriors today is at the point where no dialogue is possible with them.  Their rhetoric has taken on a religious zealotry that is truly frightening and needs to be held up to a mirror so all can see.

Douglas Murray writes:

 “public life is now dense with people desperate to man the barricades long after the revolution is over. Either because they mistake the barricades for home, or because they have no other home to go to. In each case a demonstration of virtue demands an overstating of the problem, which then causes an amplification of the problem.”
― Douglas Murray, The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity

My suggestion that we as a community might ‘forgive’ these teenagers was met with vehement rejection.

‘NO WAY!’,  according to the ‘woke‘ social justice warrior.  Her opening salvo was;

Forgiveness will come when they truly acknowledge the harm this has caused to Black people. Forgiveness will come when white people, like yourself, write about the harm first rather than defending and asking for sympathy for the perpetrators. This post here is why forgiveness doesn’t always come. This was not an ‘unfortunate’ incident. Racism is not ‘unfortunate’ and it causes harm.

Wow.  She has made herself judge of the entire matter and she will decide when and under what conditions these two teenagers will be forgiven.   This self-appointed judge also wants to tell me what is permissible for me to write about.  For her it’s all about skin colour and race.

My reply was simply to quote an excellent view on forgiveness;

“We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

This prompted another angry rebuttal

. . . if you are going to use Martin Luther King Jr, then study the entirety of what he said and stood for including regarding the harm done by racism.

Trying to ignore and dismiss the harm of racism by quoting Martin Luther King Jr doesn’t lead to forgiveness. Seeking forgiveness is also about listening and fully recognizing the harm done and fully repenting. I don’t see any indication by this post that you have any recognition of the harm done.

By this time I wasn’t sure she had even read my article.   I wasn’t demanding that they be forgiven, it was a suggestion. And I had already forgiven them in my own heart.  (I also wish them well and hope that they truly learn from their mistake.)   I didn’t have a chance to reply because she continued with her own quote from Martin Luther King Jr about the problem  with ‘white moderates’ and  pointing out how wrong I am.

The fact that you are trying to equate one woman saying ‘white people smell’ to the racism that Black people face continuously proves that you are the white privileged male you mention. You don’t get it, you are not trying to understand it and your call for forgiveness will fall flat.

In this person’s universe,  it is ‘ok’ for a woman to say racist things about white people. But not ‘ok’ to forgive two teenagers for a racist ‘promposal.’  And my writing that I forgive this woman  ‘proves’ that I’m white privileged  male.   According to this social justice warrior –  ‘I don’t get it – I’m not trying and any call for forgiveness will fall flat’ – Did she just ‘cancel‘ me???

In exasperation my reply was:

What a sad little world of hate you have imprisoned yourself in. Does it satisfy you?

That was a mistake.  I make them too.  This social justice warrior jumped on it:

Try again. I didn’t say or imply in any way that I hate anyone. What an ignorant assumption. I said you are dismissive and ignorant of the harm caused. You would beg forgiveness for the perpetrators of racism rather than call for understanding and repentance for the harm. Which would, in turn, create dialogue and healing. Racism isn’t a ‘teenage mistake’. You are playing the typical dismissive game that is the reason why racism continues. And you are acting like a defensive child rather than understanding how your approach is harmful to those who are harmed by racism. But it is obvious you have no idea what Martin Luther King Jr stood for and spoke about. He called for the recognition of racism. He spoke against the white moderates who refused to stand against racism and would prefer a false peace by ignoring racism rather than the tension of dealing with racism. He spoke for civil disobedience and the breaking of unjust laws. He didn’t speak for a blanket dismissive approach to racism and hatred with fake forgiveness. He advocated for truth and reconciliation. What happened by these students was not ‘unfortunate’. It is hurtful and harmful and a discussion and understanding of the harm is what should be discussed. But if it makes you feel better to insult me rather than understand what I am saying, well, good luck with that.

Now I was ignorant and dismissive, playing a racist game, a defensive child, harmful to the harmed,  incapable of understanding Martin Luther King Jr. and insulting!  Dare I say this is a case of ‘the kettle calling the pot black?’ (no pun intended!)

Since she wasn’t interested in discussion with me I tried Jesus’ words hoping my Saviour would save me now from this social justice warrior:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43-48)

It didn’t work:

Jesus also spoke against the hypocrisy and harmful behavior of the Pharisees. Addressing the harmful behavior of racism and working to seek understanding of its impact on Black people is biblical. THAT is what ends racism and teaches society to treat each other in love. White people using Martin Luther King Jr and scripture to dismiss the impact of racism and the discussion to stop racism is not biblical.

But after quoting some  more scriptures to her she did invite me to her church after telling me that I was ‘weaponizing’ scripture;

. . . your approach is showing a refusal to have dialogue, seek healing among people and APPLY scripture. You weaponize the quoting of scripture to appear righteous and shut down helpful and useful discussion.

. .. you should come to my church and hear the series our minister is having on why people leave the church.

Wanting to know if it would be a ‘safe place’ for me I replied;

Forgiveness is the intentional and voluntary process by which a victim undergoes a change in feelings and attitude regarding an offense, and overcomes negative emotions such as resentment and vengeance. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forgiveness

Does your church teach forgiveness?

Asking her this simple question prompted this reply:

I fully understand forgiveness and the power of forgiveness. What I won’t do as a white person is weaponize it against Black people who deal with racism so I can pretend I am some great Christian and dismiss racism. I will not dismiss the impact and hurt caused by racism. I seek to have people understand each other and heal.
As a parent, your responses are so disturbing. As a parent, I could be very insulting to you, but my seeking to show grace stops me. I am a white parent to a child who is Black who faces racism constantly. You are a white man who is preaching about something you neither understand nor care to understand. You seek forgiveness to dismiss racism rather than seek to create discussion to stop racism and bring healing. It is people like you who allow racism to continue.

Sadly this person has so completely adopted  a social justice warrior persona she can’t seem to step out of her avatar enough to answer my simple question.

Undaunted I repeated my question because  I was interested in attending a service at her church.  She replied:

you don’t even understand what that means and you didn’t answer my question. You can’t ask for forgiveness without understanding the hurt an action caused. I feel sorry for the people of color in your community.

I reminded her that she wasn’t answering my simple question:

you invited me to your church remember; ” you should come to my church and hear the series our minister is having on why people leave the church.” so I asked ‘Does your church teach forgiveness?’ I [would] like you to answer that question.

She didn’t reply and  the ‘interchange’ ceased.

John McWhorter writing for the Atlantic provides insight into the religious zealotry of the social justice warrior today;

Third-wave antiracism is a call to enshrine defeatism, hypersensitivity, oversimplification, and even a degree of performance. Lukianoff and Haidt are useful here, in noting the three guiding tenets of the new antiracist culture:

1. What doesn’t kill you makes you weaker.

2. Always trust your feelings.

3. Life is a battle between good people and bad people. . . .

Social concern and activism must not cease, but proceed minus the religious aspect they have taken on. One can be fervently dedicated to improving the lot of black Americans without a purse-lipped, prosecutorial culture dedicated more to virtue signaling than to changing other people’s lives.

The Virtue Signalers Won’t Change the World

Perhaps this social justice warrior who cancelled me would give McWhorter’s article a read and think about it.  Life teaches that

• You can survive and thrive in a world that is hostile.
• Every response to insults, slights and even  racism need not be governed by negative feelings.  You can choose to forgive.
• There’s good and bad in everybody including yourself.

Privilege be it ‘white’ or ‘woke’ hinders rather than helps.

 

How about forgiving them?

Sometimes people do things that afterwards they wish they never did because they realize how hurtful their actions were.  I know this is true because I’ve done such things.  Thank God for forgiveness and grace.

How about extending some forgiveness and grace to the teenagers involved with the posting of the  unfortunate and racist ‘promposal’ picture.  As a retired high school teacher who taught in Kemptville for 20 years,  I know good kids can do some very crazy (and awful) things and then regret  it wholeheartedly after the fact.  I used to think they should know better but as I  grew into my profession I learned that  sometimes teenagers really don’t.  Research tells us: “It doesn’t matter how smart teens are or how well they scored on the SAT or ACT. Good judgment isn’t something they can excel in, at least not yet. The rational part of a teen’s brain isn’t fully developed and won’t be until age 25 or so.” (Understanding the Teen Brain)

Do these kids regret what they did?  Yes, they say so;

“We would like everyone to know that we’re very sorry for our actions in taking a picture with the inappropriate sign. We recognize that this act was wrong. This was a mistake that was made and we both feel incredibly bad about it. We apologize to anyone that it has offended and feel deeply and truly sorry for our actions. We hope to be able to move on from this in our lives.”
CTVNewsOttawa.ca

So how about forgiving them?  Sure, there should be consequences but let them move on with their lives without branding them forever.

I’ve been branded as an old white privileged male and Christian  – the least of the tribe we call Canadian.  But I forgave  Sarah Jeong for saying that white people are awful and smell.   If  I can forgive then surely, the rest of the  fully woke, tolerant and inclusive people of our Canadian community can find it in their hearts to forgive these teenagers.

Jesus says; “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14,15)

 

So kids, whoever you are, I forgive you and pray that others will forgive you as well.

Cancel-culture takes aim at an entire generation – and I don’t care!

I’m a ‘boomer’ and I was ‘cancelled’ long before cancel-culture came along.  I was cancelled for being an immigrant kid because my parents spoke English with an accent.  I was cancelled for being a farm kid because sometimes I smelled like a barn in school.  I was cancelled for being poor because I had to work at dirty jobs that made me dirty.

By God’s grace, I overcame and went on to become a successful citizen and not a victim of circumstances.  And my success came from hard work and a country that had opportunities for people.

Today, I’m being cancelled because I’m white, male, successful and of a certain generation.  Well, I can overcome that too – No Big Deal!