canada day letter to john baird
After reading a pair of articles sent to me by a West Hill member living in Taiwan, one on LGBTQ rights and the infiltration of Christian fundamentalist hysteria into that otherwise tolerant nation and the other on the inclusion of Taiwan on a list of countries deemed “unwelcome” at Canada Day festivities, I decided Canada Day was a […]
what I said … progressive christianity
On a progressive pursuit, in whatever discipline, there must always be the risk of raising one’s consciousness beyond where it had previously been. But a raised consciousness cannot be forced back to what it once was; you move forward on such a journey, not backward. Facebook post, Skeptimergent, May 28 2014
halo of loveliness
Heading into week two of discussions on our VisionWorks document. This section deals with our intereconnectedness with all life so my focused moment turned toward visualizing what that might look like. < p style=”text-align: center;”>Into and through, over and about, within and beyond, above and below – we live and move and have our being […]
Fair Elections Act – A Letter to Canadian Senators
Based on a letter offered by the Council of Canadians, I chose to go personal and tell Canadian Senators that my son deserves to vote. Here’s my letter. You can send one, too. by visiting the Council of Canadian’s Fair Elections Act webpage. Dear Senator, I am so proud of my son. He is graduating […]
prostitution – yes? no?
The Culture Clash this week brought Charles and I together on a topic that is likely as divisive today as it has been for a thousands of years. Oh, except whenever religion used it as part of their ritual – prostitution. Charles’ position is a widely lauded one: prostitution is exclusively about forcing unwilling women […]
intentionally focused contemplation: prayer beyond belief
Doesn’t it seem like the plethora of interactive electronic means for communication available to us has made it harder and harder for us to make time in our daily schedule to be truly attentive to those things that matter most in our lives: our relationships; the issues that are important to us; the values we […]
on birth certificates and birth control – the culture clash
So, I am called a bully by Charles McVety for suggesting Rob Ford, as mayor of the city hosting World Pride, should attend the festivities but Charles believes he is within the bounds of human sanity for demanding that it is appropriate to deny a woman access to birth control and then force her to […]
change room etiquette and board room equity
The Culture Clash on the John Oakley Show this week raised the spectre Charles McVety has long been warning of: a sexual predator identifying as a trans woman using protocols in place to support trans people to access the women’s change room of a public swimming pool and make inappropriate advances on a woman undressing […]
the grammys and all that
Faith Goldy and I seared the line between us on today’s Culture Clash as we looked at the weddings performed by Queen Latifa at the Grammy’s earlier this week. Tell me, do you think Satan was conjured by Katy Perry’s antics? Or do you think Satan is a figment of an overly dramatic imagination? Or […]
alone yet not alone
A controversy has erupted over the inclusion of the Christian song “Alone Yet Not Alone” among nominees for Best Song by the Oscar Nominating Committee. Central to the controversy is the fact that the movie (of the same name) is virtually unknown inviting all kinds of queries into how the song got into the short […]
getting angry yet? religious rights, a philandering french president, and allergies
This morning I learned that Culture Wars is now known as The Culture Clash and clash it was, this time with Faith Goldy on the other side of the desk. Faith works for Sun TV which claims it has changed the face of Canadian media. I think they think that’s a good thing. Our conversation […]
favourite letter to the editor of the observer
It’s been two months since the articles of the “Beyond Belief” piece in The Observer were published so it was with some trepidation I opened my newly arrived copy to see what the response had been. Eight years ago, when the first article “Out of the Box” was published, letters flooded the editor’s office and […]
culture war: economic disparity
I am not qualified to speak on economics with anything that could even be suggested to be an authoritative voice but hearing Tory Cabinet Minister James Moore claim it’s not his job to feed his neighbour’s child stunned me. (Why oh why am I still surprised when I hear stuff like that?) And it was […]
mandela and the obama/castro handshake
It was a feisty morning again on the John Oakley show with Charles McVety and I sparring over the legacy of Nelson Mandela just as his memorial service was coming to an end in South Africa. And, as you have no doubt heard, there was that handshake. Barack Obama and Raul Castro actually connected, flesh […]
culture war – what’s normal in the sexuality of children?
This morning, November 19th, 2013, we addressed the Parents’ Guide, Children’s Sexual Behaviours published by the Prince Edward Island Government. Charles McVety, my sparring partner on the Culture War segment of the John Oakley Show, was furious that the pamphlet identified some behaviours as normal arguing that allowing them would lead to sexualization of children […]
the culture war with john oakley
The date: November 12, 2013. The issues were legion: * Because women can opt out of accidental pregnancy through abortion, should men be able to opt out, too, by not paying support? * Would you leave your kids at a daycare run by a man? * The HPV vaccine is now being made available in […]
symbols and an altered crest
Last week, I posted a response to a query regarding my beliefs and their seeming dissonance with the statements of faith of the United Church. I augmented that response with a picture, a crest fashioned from the United Church’s official crest but altered to replace the figures in the lower portion of the crest, an […]
essential agreement
As a result of various Facebook conversations taking place that pose questions about the appropriateness of my ministry as an atheist within The United Church of Canada, I’ve been asked by Evan Smith, who is in the process toward ordination, to address the issue. Here is her question, followed by my response. Hi Gretta. I […]
beyond belief – the united church observer conversation
It was an interesting call. David Wilson, Editor of The United Church Observer, calling to invite me to sit down with Connie denBok and have a recorded conversation. Connie is also a United Church minister but, unlike me, she doesn’t believe the word god should be left out of church. She hasn’t had a lot […]
cbc tapestry – letting go
It was wonderful to be able to share an hour with Mary Hynes of CBC’s Tapestry talking about the challenge and reality of letting go. Mary is a gracious, welcoming host so our conversation was incredibly comfortable and I very much enjoyed it. I’d love your feedback. Here’s the program. Letting It Go, CBC Tapestry […]