DEATH OF A BEAUTY QUEEN

The Edmonton Sun, January 25^th, 2009. I don’t know anything more about Mariana Bridi than what the article tells me. That she was a beauty queen is obvious. Youth and beauty seem to defy corruption, maybe especially when in the form of Woman. The truth is, youth, energy, and beauty seem like a trinity of incorruptibility. And so their death strikes us like a thunderbolt and makes headline news. Let us not forget, though, that every death is tragic.

The death of Mariana Bridi is a terrible exhibit of a truth that is easily and regularly confirmed by observation: Death can happen to anybody at any moment. In his meditation on the meaning of life, King Solomon concluded that we should fear God and obey him in light of the judgment to come. This conclusion is begged by an observation he earlier made, “I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them” (Ecclesiastes 9.11, 12.) What he means is that swiftness or strength or wisdom or whatever advantage a person may have over others, is no guarantee of an escape from surprising pitfalls. Does this beauty queen not look swift and light, sound and strong, rich and wise? but alas! also like the gentle bird that gets caught in the snare?

Strength does not always win; wisdom is no security; beauty may be cut short. King Solomon was well acquainted with this principle. This was not just a proverb to him. He had had this older half-brother, Absalom, “from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him” (2 Samuel 14.25.) He was the epitome of abundant life, just like this girl. His hair, for instance, grew so richly that for curiosity’s sake it was put upon the balance once a year to be weighed (verse 26.) Absalom was not only a beauty, but a beauty who would be king in place of his father, just as Mariana Bridi would surely have displaced many reigning beauty queens. But both were cut short by snares lurking in the paths they trod.

What snares lie ahead for you? Of course, you cannot know, for the nature of a snare is that you step into it unawares, without noticing. Because of this, and for reasons innumerable, the advice of Solomon should be taken to heart. You need to look into it. What is this fear of God? this obedience? these commandments? this judgment to come? What to do? Is there no snare waiting for me?

The reader up in Canada will say, ‘This is a southern bug that killed the beauty queen down in Brazil. But I’m okay.’ Yes, and the reader down in Brazil reads his or her own newspaper, and says, ‘This is a faraway avalanche that buried the ski bunny way up in the Rocky Mountains. But I’m okay.’ Shall we not say that such reasoning is pure evasion? Is it not reckless to maintain that the snare is always laid for someone else? Will you put off this warning to fear and obey God? Do you think that beauty, wisdom, or strength is a guarantee of time, life, and opportunity to do later what you know deep down you should do now? “For let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecclesiastes 12.13, 14.) Fearing God is Old Testament faith. Fear God today by trusting Christ for tomorrow. 

GAY BASHING

Homosexuals have sometimes been attacked and even killed because of their homosexuality. This is true. But when someone who’s gay simply gets into a fight because of a circumstance common among men, some gay community or other, rallies to persuade the public that the thumping he got was unprovoked bashing. How often have we heard instances of this? Recent behavior and ancient history show that the homosexual is sometimes the aggressor. Unlike the kind of unverified grounds that are sometimes put forward by gay activists in support of an allegation that so and so was beat up because he was gay, we will confine ourselves to actual data to prove that gays indeed bash, or try to. And it will be evident that their violent intent includes the most extreme form of bashing.

First, this article from The Calgary Sun, February 20, 1995. Homosexual blood was then more likely than any other to be tainted with this killer virus called AIDS. That is a stated fact. Yet some particular homosexuals insisted, even to the point of crying discrimination, that they be allowed to donate it! Here is a disregard for human life, if not a murderous intent. Practically no one, not even back in 1995, was ignorant of the risk associated with homosexual blood. Why insist on giving blood when you’re a high-risk donor? Is it not because you don’t care who might get infected through your own dubious blood? Should lives be risked just to placate whining homosexuals?

Second, brutish aggression by gays was extant way back near the dawn of this dark deviancy the sophisticated class call ‘same-sex partnership.’ “The men of Sodom…called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them” (Genesis 19.4, 5.) Context, etymology, comparison of Scripture with Scripture, and traditional interpretation—all of these hermeneutic appliances together force us to admit that here is an instance of unprovoked homosexual aggression. This historical event and the news article evidently demonstrate a bashing intent by gays that is as mean, ferocious, and deadly as any homophobic desire there is in the whole wide world to gay bash.

The wonderful thing is that God has not reduced the gay world to ashes like he did once at Sodom and Gomorrah! For the sake of those who are saintly in the gay quarters of a city and those who haven’t repented of their lifestyle but will, he holds back. But his discriminating thunderbolts do regularly single out sinners of all types and degrees for the grave and hell! Whatever your sin, dear sinner, whether homosexual sex, or adultery, or fornication, or even lying, look to the Bearer of sin while mercy lasts for this dying world! Look to him whose mission it was to donate his very heart upon the cross that sinners like you may be saved!

YOUR OBITUARY NUMBERS

One of my favorite things to do is to roam through graveyards to read the various obituary numbers on the gravestones. The obituary page is not as poignant. But it’s better than nothing. I do not enjoy this kind of thing because I love death. I like it because it gives me a sense of what humanity is. Seeing the obituary name and number reminds me that a soul once occupied the body that now lies buried beneath the earth and that this person once walked and talked and laughed and cried and had a life as real as my own. Then, back among the living I am reminded that each walking, talking person must soon end up in a gloomy place like the one I have just visited. And this reanimates my love for fellow man.

Not much is known by most of us about the persons whose names and numbers we see on the gravestones or in the obituary columns. We know that the deceased persons were cherished and will be missed; we know their names and numbers. Conversely, some persons whose numbers we are unsure of we know more about than most other persons. The exact dates of the birth and death of Jesus Christ are unknown. But every theologian and preacher worth quoting will maintain that we either do know or can know more about Jesus from what has been revealed of him than any other human that has ever lived. The Bible is a big Book of knowledge on Jesus Christ that can never be exhausted. About the Old Testament, Jesus said, “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5.39.) So both Testaments are all about him whose years, if we could know what they are for sure, would include an extra set of numbers, first, something like this, 0-33, meaning his birth and death, and then this, 33—, meaning the resurrection and ongoing, never-ending Life of JESUS OF NAZARETH KING OF THE JEWS. Is it not extraordinary that he whose numbers we are unsure of has become the foundation of how we count off our own years? Our numbers are based on A. D.: Anno Domini: in the year of our Lord. So 2012 is 2012 because we count up from the birth of Jesus. Like Jesus, you will die and rise again. Unlike Jesus, you will not do this in your own power. (Even a suicide is done by the power God animates man with.) Jesus said, “No man taketh it [my life] from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have the power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father” (John 10.18.) What kind of Man is that who has the right to decide his own death and the power to take his life back up again? He is more than a Man, even God the Son, the eternal Judge of every mere mortal. A positive judgment for heaven instead of a negative one for hell will hinge on your dependence on him for the forgiveness of your sins before your number comes up. Are you depending on Jesus Christ for the salvation of your soul?   

Obituary names and numbers are the most truthful parts of any newspaper. These persons lived and died. We are still living. But we will die too. We are mortal, though death seems like a dream until it happens. Do you have a name and number? You know what your name is. But what will your numbers be? That is a terrible thought! ‘Oh, you’re just trying to scare me into being religious! and into believing in Jesus!’ Is that what you say? But why am I doing it? Is it not because you have an obituary number? You have a number. It’s just not written yet. Is it 1964-2015? Is it 1951-2017? Is it 1983-2014? Maybe your last two digits will appear this year! “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,” the Bible says (Acts 16.31.) You need to trust Jesus so that he can forgive you your sins. It’s the only way, for only the forgiven will make it to heaven. 

MIGHTY FORTRESS LUTHERAN

Vandalism is a crime of spite and disrespect. We can never approve of such a thrilling misdeed. Nothing but a wicked form of titillating satisfaction may be gained by the vandal thereby. It calls for a strict sentence of menial community service, if only the delinquent could be found out. But is not the question that was spray-painted on the front doors of this church exactly a question God himself might ask? ‘The motivation for this’ is of little account. The ‘refurbishment’ that should follow the vandal’s act is what counts: that which could make this church more ‘about Jesus’ and as Luther-like as its heroic name.

How far has this Lutheran church fallen from the cross? A comparison between what goes on there and the sermons of Luther shows that it is far below the gospel standard that Luther set. Mighty Fortress Lutheran should heed even the vandal’s call if it has fallen from that standard by even one inch. It must get back up on the cross where the death of Christ is found, from which alone must flow any spiritual benefit sinful man can ever hope to obtain.

Substandard church services go hand in glove with unholy ties. This Mighty Fortress Lutheran is part of the Red Deer Ministerial Association. So are the local Catholic churches. And so, by virtue of this Ministerial being a spiritual partnership, these Lutherans and Catholics are content to forward the illusion that the gospel Luther preached must be the same as the Pope’s.

Mr. Ratzinger (Pope Benedict) has lately reaffirmed the old Popish opinion that Protestant churches are not true churches on account of their lack of certain elements like the Catholic ‘Eucharistic Mystery.’ How did Luther interpret such an opinion? The Pope’s declaration means that “the Pope goes to work…and blots you out of the book of life, and casts you four thousand miles on the other side of hell, and you are now a rotten member cut off from holy Christendom” (Luther, Sermons, 3.1, p. 94.) In other words, the Pope maintains that one cannot be saved by Christ so long as one is outside the Roman Catholic Church. Concerning the Pope’s ‘Eucharistic Mystery,’ the supposed sacrifice of Christ in the Mass, Luther thundered, “This is the most monstrous abomination that ever arose on earth” (Sermons, 3.2, p. 48.) Why? Because the Bible says that salvation is by the historic death of Christ upon the cross, not by some magical concept of his being re-crucified.

So the truth is, the Pope is still at odds with Luther and the gospel, and yet local Lutheran and Catholic ministers rub shoulders as if they’re in spiritual unity. How can a Lutheran pastor honestly exclaim with Luther that ‘A Mighty Fortress is our God’ if he steps outside the fortress to fraternize with priests who “crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh”? (Hebrews 6.6.) If this Lutheran pastor were worthy of being under Luther’s banner, he would fearlessly shout with Luther, “Hearken, then, ye deceivers of the world and blind leaders of the blind; ye Pope, ye bishops, priests, monks, learned and idle talkers; who teach the purification of sins by human achievements, and that satisfaction for sins may be made by men…Listen to the teaching here: Purification of sins is not effected by human effort, but solely in Christ and through himself. Christ is communicated to us, not through any work of ours, but through faith alone” (Sermons, 3.2, pp. 180, 181.) Faith means a believing trust or confidence in Jesus to save your soul by his merits. Amen. 

OUR MYSTERIOUS LIFE SPAN

Through scientific progress we are able to neutralize viruses that used to carry death warrants in their teeth. Medical knowledge has knocked out great levelers like smallpox and diphtheria. Numerous branches of understanding have matured passed the wisdom of the fallen, wild Nature that would devour us. Stronger architecture protects against the earthquake; we have better boats for squalls, hot showers for chills, etc. But modernity wields a double-edged sword. The car might get you to the hospital on time; but a car crash could certainly kill you before you get there. Despite the untold number of good and bad effects that emerge from applied science, the following ancient Scripture verse is still fulfilled, “The days of our years are threescore years and ten” (Psalm 90.10.)

Take history from the Psalmist’s time (about 1400 B. C.) until now. Civilizations have had their several fluctuating life spans. But because of wars, famines, discoveries, and laws, it is not hard to believe that 70 years for an average life span rings true. Life spans in nations around the world today fall not too far above or below 70 years. It seems safe to assert that the statement in this verse is more than a comment on a historical period, but a prophecy also. Some persons live more than 70 years, while others die young. But that’s exactly how we come to an average. In Adam Clarke’s (1762-1832) commentary on Job 14.5, he mentions “a Thomas Parr, who died in 1635, aged 152; and a Henry Jenkins, who died in 1670, aged 169.” But such life spans are rare since the time of Moses, the man behind the voice in Psalm 90.

The women of our article fall on either side of the average, more or less by the same amount. Ages 95 and 49 yield an average of 72, as if to remind us of how many years the Lord has granted. But the numbers 95 and 49 are far enough from 70 to remind us how foolish it would be to bank on 70. God arrives at the number 70 by averaging out the lesser and larger life spans. A 67 year old might get 30 years more; a 20 year old might not see the light of 21! Such is the uncertainty we have to live with!

How many years do you have left? If you’re over 70 you’re on borrowed time; if you’re under 70 you have no guarantee. Is it wise to live one day more without finding out what you must do to be saved from the penalty of your sins? Being born into this world places you on the edge of eternity. You might be on your way to an everlasting realm of misery because of your sinful state and the sins you’re guilty of, or to joy and peace forevermore on account of what Jesus has done for sinners. What makes the difference between these two possible destinies is whether you have or have not placed your faith in Jesus Christ of Nazareth who died in Jerusalem upon the cross. This is the historical event that divides the destinies of each one of us; and the deciding factor is faith, which includes knowledge of the facts of Jesus’ existence, agreement with these facts, and confidence in Jesus because of the importance of these facts. The basic facts are these: Jesus lived a sinless life, died for the sins of sinners, was buried, and rose up from death to grant and to judge. He grants eternal life to any that trust in him, and will fiercely judge all that refuse his appeals. You might feel offended by being told that your destiny hinges on what you believe concerning Jesus. This is good, for it proves that your heart may still be moved. But don’t just be offended. Do your own research, and by God, place your trust in Jesus Christ! 

ZOMBIES IN OUR MIDST

(Red Deer Advocate, June 28, 2008.) Here’s a picture of some fashionable dude walking down a catwalk in Milan or some place like that. There is a time to subject a person to ridicule: when that person is being ridiculous. Odds are that this model will never read what he made possible for me to write. But should he stumble upon this article, very well. Then he might be inspired to ‘man-up,’ as they say. Should a man allow designers to make him look like a frankenstein on estrogen supplements? Is it not easy enough to appear freakish in this fallen world without fabricating more of it to put on?

It isn’t just the models who thoughtlessly plod through life being whatever they are told to be. At the mall I see the zombied boys being pulled along by their precocious girls. I see all the cars lined up in the left hand lane waiting for several lights’ time to get to that mall, about a dozen drivers in a row not thinking enough to turn left a couple of intersections back to avoid the traffic jam. Remember the year teenage girls wore soothers around their necks ‘just because’—just because some celebrity, no doubt, told them, by example, to do it? Look at all the boys, some above the age of twenty, going through contortions to keep their pants drooping down below their underwear without having them fall to the ground. Look at them waddle like ducks, and tell me this is normal! Tell me they’re not zombies, and chances are you are one yourself. And what about these men who go around saying, ‘Let me ask the boss’ for fear of doing something without the wife’s consent? These are the most pathetic zombies of all! They must act like the henpecked sissies they’ve become because they’re convinced that we must change with the times, no matter what that change involves, even if it means that men may no longer be men!

For those of us who no longer regard ‘the times’ as the determining factor for what we believe and how we think, speak, and act, we can cite instances of zombie-like behavior from our past. I recall being at my dad’s grave beside the shovels. Like a zombie marching the way I was programmed to march, I did not seriously deliberate about what I was craving with all my heart to do. And so the traditional gravedigger, a stranger probably, got to bury the father who should have been buried by his three sons.

Before we follow the herd or run with the pack, we should inquire about the wisdom of our age to find out what sort it is. Our herd mentality might be a sign that we are unthinking persons on the broad way that leads to destruction (Matthew 7.13.) When you become converted to truth, Jesus Christ, and reason, you begin to think for yourself and to question what you do and why you do it. Is it natural for a man to cower before a woman? To wear his pants down in public? These are signs, my friends, of a mentality that is twisted against nature, reason, decency, and God. Men must be woken up from their zombie sleep. Then they must separate themselves from the zombies that remain, take Jesus’ advice, and ‘let the dead bury their dead’ (Matthew 8.22.) The man who follows Jesus will be neither a sissy nor a brute. Like Jesus, he will rebuke his own mother when she’s out of place, and he’ll reach out to the lepers of society out of compassion. This man will not be afraid to overturn a tradition or spurn a fad that is contrary to righteousness. ‘By faith in his name’ it is possible to pick up the cross and follow Jesus and his iconoclastic, trend-breaking lifestyle. This is the narrow way that leads to life—everlasting life. 

THE SLEEP-MONSTER

The content of this article proves less than what the title would have us believe. It would be more correct to say that ‘Dens, or some rooms, are designed around flat screen TV.’ But generally speaking, the home-life, if not the house, is designed around the TV. Leisure time revolves around the program schedule in homes all across our country and so many others around the world. With the increasing popularity of the internet, the TV and the computer will probably merge into one. But it will still be true that the home-life revolves around a one-eyed monster from which people are seduced and then sedated into a dreamy state where they aimlessly drift from one image to another as if there were no real life to live and no ultimate reason to make life meaningful. As I walk in the neighborhood in the evening I see the flashes and images from the TV set through the windows and I am in awe that people are content with a virtual reality!

In Battle-School we had to sit through lectures on rifle drills and battle techniques. Because we were overtired from all the rigorous training outside, in the classroom we had to fight that hypnotic foe we called the ‘sleep-monster.’ That sleep-monster, if it got us, only had us for a few seconds, until the Master-Corporal barked us back to attention and back into the real world. The TV is a kind of sleep-monster. And many do not fully wake up from its valium effect their whole life through! But with what consequence!

There is a verse in Romans that contains the words, “It is high time to awake out of sleep” (13.11.) In his application of this verse to the unconverted, M’Cheyne the preacher says, “Oh sinners! you are fast asleep, you are lying dormant—dead. O, sleepy souls! it is high time you should awake…You are living in a dream. Every Christless man will find at last that he has been dreaming…And is there no pleasure in a dream?…But, ah! you must awake…Now unconverted men, you are taking a sleep; but…you will awake from a bright dream to a bitter reality.” What he’s getting at is that people live as if life is but a dream when the reality is that there’s an angry God to be reconciled to through Jesus the Mediator while there’s still time! Are you acquainted with any of this? Is your soul not worth enough that you should look into it before you subject yourself to another hour of mind-dulling television? Snap out of it, man! woman! child! sinner!

Some preachers speak of a ‘judicial hardening’ of the heart that may occur after sin has been too much indulged at the expense of knowing God. John Bunyan speaks of one’s day of grace possibly passing by even before one’s life is ended. It is high time to awake! Ask God to wake you up—plead with him for help to do it; you can do that, can’t you? You must do at least that and then dive into the Bible for all you’re worth, for this I know for sure: If you die ‘Christless,’ as M’Cheyne puts it, you will end up in hell where the comfortable dream-state you enjoyed on earth will not be accessible. There in hell you will be awake like never before to sense more sensibly than you ever have. There your senses will be made more alert and sensible than ever before so you can pay as well as a poor sinner can, the payment required for sins committed against a holy, agitated God! Awake! Turn the TV off and look to Jesus!

JUSTICE IN BACKWARD CANADA

Red Deer Advocate, October 8th, 2011 and November 26th, 2011. These two clippings considered together will give us a fair sense of what passes for justice in backward Canada. First clip: A man gets 60 days more jail time than the thief he defended his property against. Second clip: A stay of execution is granted to a couple of mangy, mauling dogs. So in Canada, justice goes like so: Punish the hero who defended his right to his own property; but protect the dangerous beasts who attacked the defenseless. Punish the righteous; protect the dangerous. Punish upstanding citizens; protect rampaging dogs.

We should use our immigration policy to some good purpose: exchange a few of our Canadian judges for ones from Texas or Singapore. That way, we would get some real justice over here, while our backward judges could receive some on-the-job training over there to learn what real justice looks like and how to execute it. 

If we were to steer our judicial system just a little in the direction of our good, old, neglected Bible, the thief caught stealing would have to make restitution; that is, if the owner didn’t righteously kill him first (Exodus 22.) And as for the dogs, they would be put down without argument and delay, and their owners would be made to pay for all the injuries and trauma their dogs caused to the victims (Exodus 21.) And if dogs, like oxen of old, be not hemmed in, and end up killing someone, then the owner should pay with his life (Exodus 21.29.) A society must protect innocent lives. Otherwise it is unjust. A society requires a robust law so that you can go for a safe walk. Otherwise its freedom is impaired. When justice is not enforced, freedom is cut back. Some people balk and squawk at the mention of the Bible for a guideline on justice, as if it implies that those appealing to the Bible must want to enact all the civil laws (like stoning for adultery) that the LORD gave to the Israelites. That’s the common accusation. But it is far better to pick and choose among laws from God’s holy book than to rely on the ideas that come from our philosophers and out of our universities! It is better to live in a society where the law is rigid enough that you are on edge just a bit, than to live in one where a man can just come and take what’s yours.   

There is an outcry for justice from the public concerning both of these unjust rulings. There is a natural law in the spirit of man, and it leans toward common sense justice and restitution (Romans 2.14, 15.) For example, in the case of Mr. Knight, who shared some honest buckshot with his thief, “many people believe what he did was right and totally justified,” says his lawyer. Moreover, “people from across the country contributed several thousand dollars to Knight’s defence fund.” Intuitively, the people know what’s right and wrong, at least when it comes down to a basic issue like stealing. Without realizing it, segments of the public agree in principle with biblical justice. Judges are not so reasonable and moral. It is only after a bad dose of liberal schooling that persons, like judges, lose their common sense radar and then get these seared spirits that no longer care to make righteous rulings.

What part of the legal curriculum could surpass the training that the Bible would provide would-be judges? “Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment. Thou shalt not wrest judgment” (Deuteronomy 16.18, 19.) In particular, this part of the curriculum should be what the judges are made to abide by from the powers of parliament. And laws ought to be in place to enforce punishment upon judges who ‘wrest judgment.’

The judges named in these clippings, and who ‘wrested judgment,’ must be known by someone. They have to live somewhere. If you know one of them, or a judge like them, one who ‘wrests judgment,’ express your disapproval when you see him or her about town. Or maybe write a public letter expressing your disagreement. But be very gentle and law-abiding when you speak, or else judgment may be wrested upon you! Do not forget to be civil, meek, and soft-spoken with spineless, backward judges. Judges like these are very quick on the draw when their space is invaded. Judges like these are paranoid with fear for all the wrongs they have done. Judges like these will suffer criminals gladly; but law-abiding citizens who challenge them with a word of correction they will suffer not at all. Be sweet-tempered and wise in all your dealings with unjust, pampered people who occupy positions of power. But still, be firm; it is still possible to be firm if you are careful and discreet with your words.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF MOLESTATION

We live in an imperfect world. But we must believe, if God was wise to set into motion what the world has become, that this imperfect world is the best way to a better world, the best world of all. Offences must happen in this world, said Jesus. And no doubt when he said this the offence of his own crucifixion was not out of his view, the greatest offence that must take place, and ordained by God as the Bridge to allow all to pass who would enter into this better world. What’s remarkable about Jesus’ statement on the necessity of offences is that they pertain even to little ones being offended, be they disciples or actual children. “It is impossible,” said Jesus, “but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones” (Luke 17.1, 2.) Only God can entirely understand why horrors like molestation and persecution must take place. But then, woe unto him, through whom they come! Jesus himself will punish those through whom these offences come. This prophetic certainty can be a mighty preventive against the victim being catapulted into a depression leading to suicide, if only someone would tell him about it before it’s too late! It is a fact needing to be thundered from judgment seats and pulpits everywhere! It would surely prevent many suicides and be a departure point from which to reverse the depression caused by the offence. The promise of Jesus is rendered all the more weighty and menacing if the offender be guilty of causing to his victim, not only an offence, but an unmentionable one, and not only that, but a suicide resulting from the offence, and then an immediate, permanent stay in hell because of that self-murder. What fierce punishment in hell will that person endure who is guilty of prompting another soul to suffer the same destiny?! Is the greater penalty the offender will receive an incentive for the victim to commit suicide? Hardly, for who wants to go to hell?

Informing victims of molestation that the Lord of the universe will yet take matters of judgment into his own hands, this is not liable to promote a spirit of vengeance. On the contrary, this knowledge tends to create peace of heart because the spirit of vengeance is turned over to God. Hurt ones must let the saying of God, then, sink down into their ears, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay” (Romans 12.19.) God does not pledge in vain! Lingering injustice that seems will go on indefinitely, this is what tends to cause bitterness and self-destruction.

Now, can it be wrong to comfort hurt souls with what Jesus and the Father promise? Jesus promises to crush the offenders! The Father promises to take vengeance! The Holy Spirit is a fire hotter than hell itself! Christendom has lately so misinterpreted the command to be inoffensive that it has become ashamed of some of the most precious promises that are just now most needing to be spoken into the ears of the most needy! Let’s not be afraid nor embarrassed of God’s own promise, ‘VENGEANCE IS MINE; I WILL REPAY.’ And let’s find our own selves under the cloak of Jesus’ blood, by faith, by trust, by confidence, in order that the almighty vengeance of God may pass over us without consequence. Look to Jesus and be forgiven of all your offences. This Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified God did raise from the dead, the Bible says. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4.12.) Forget about suicide; don’t leap into hell but into Jesus’ arms instead.

GLOBAL WARMING

That some scientists actually believe or support articles like this one is no wonder. They either believe because they simply want no other point of view; or they support the cause for political purposes, which engenders monetary gain. Warming conditions have not caused ‘catastrophic flooding all over the world.’ How much, or even whether at all, this melting iceberg contributed to global warming may be impossible to tell. We just know that its feared effect must have been overrated. Whatever happened to it between 1995 and 2012, whether it has fully melted yet or whether some modern Titanic has run into it, we have not heard. The reason why this piece of ice so quickly drifted off the media map is likely because its ominous danger was soon realized to be nebulous, if not entirely erroneous. Like Y2K, the iceberg once loomed large. But it must have disintegrated without catastrophe like the common snow-bank does come spring. Many ice shelves have been lost since 1978, says another article from 1998 on the same subject (‘Antarctic Ice Sheet is Melting,’ Red Deer Advocate, April 23, 1998.) The ice chunk in our pasted article came from the Larsen B Ice Shelf, which was scheduled to begin ‘crumbling rapidly’ by 1999. Concerning this, Ted Scambos, research associate from the National Snow and Ice Center of the University of Colorado gave warning in 1998, “This may be the beginning of the end.” I admit that language is somewhat guarded in reports like this by the use of words like may and could. But the tone and drift are calculated to incline one to believe the speculation, to believe the worst.

Back in 1995, and even as late as 1998, I regarded articles like this with some respect. But I’ve since learned that many warnings of doom are nothing more than the ‘great swelling words’ of Jude 16. And just as was done by these huffers and puffers chided by Jude, scientism’s prognosticators utter their doomsday climate change prophecies ‘because of advantage.’ There’s money and glory in it.  Don’t get me wrong, though. It is naïve to insist that the way humans treat the planet is not negatively affecting it. But it is equally unwise to sound an apocalyptic trumpet because of something as innocuous as a melting chunk of ice, no matter how large it is. Do not exaggerate climate change like some Liberals and Democrats. But even more, do not stick your head in the sand like some Conservatives and Republicans. Global warming will indeed happen, and much more unexpectedly and extremely than all of us can imagine. “The elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (2 Peter 3.10.) Then your destiny, whether heaven or hellfire, will be confirmed by Jesus based on your faith in him, or your unbelief of him, before your death. Am I now guilty of what I just reprehended? Am I blowing an apocalyptic trumpet unnecessarily? No. There may be some kind of global warming trend. But there will be a fiery end to this world. Scientists frequently err. The Bible never errs. Jesus is coming back to judge. We better all get ready!