Global warming or global warning?

I love my nation of Canada. I have lived in four of her provinces – born in New Brunswick, raised in Nova Scotia, trained in British Columbia, and cultured in Quebec. I have criss-crossed the country numerous times, by car, air and rail. It’s a beautiful land, home to a great people.

I know I am not that different from most Canadians. When we watch the news and see the “acts of God” manifesting around the world – and in our own land – it makes us a bit more spiritual. Are these natural or supernatural disasters? Do they occur as a result of the hand of man or the Hand of God?

We see the devastation of the Tsunami in Japan and fears of radioactivity on the Pacific West Coast. We watch the ongoing civil strife and rioting in the Middle East against kings and dictators. We look at the spread of ash from the Icelandic volcano, and growing global socio-economic problems.

Then, our eyes turn to North America. We see loss of life, limb and property as a result of tornadoes and drought in Texas. We watch the migration of people from thousands of homes due to flooding; what some are calling “fascinating, unprecedented and frightening…the greatest flooding in 150 to 300 years.” We see fires threatening communities in Alberta.

Whether you follow Glen Beck’s, An Inconvenient Book or Al Gore’s, An Inconvenient Truth you have to know something is going on. Some scientists are saying that it’s all about global warming trends, and believe that they can predict future catastrophes.

G8 grandstanding or grand scheming

I have visited Israel a number of times. I was there when the Muslim Ramadan was celebrated. I have stood beside Jews praying at the Wailing Wall at the foot of the western side of the Temple Mount. I prayed with Christian believers in the garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives.

Jerusalem is unique: it is the holy city to three major Abrahamic religions – Judaism (since King David’s time), Christianity (since Christ’s crucifixion), and Islam (since the first Qibla, 610 CE). It has been called the “center of the world.” However, Yerushalayim, known as the “Abode of Peace,” has seen anything but that in its long history.

President Truman extended de jure recognition to the Government of Transjordan (making it a de facto Palestinian state) and the Government of Israel on the same day, January 31, 1949. This affirmed what was considered a final territorial settlement in Palestine stated in the General Assembly of the United Nations on Nov 30, 1948.

62 years later, President Barack Obama, at the most recent G8 meetings in Deauville, France stated, “The United States believes that the borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines… so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states. As for security, every state has the right to self-defence, and Israel must be able to defend itself – by itself – against any threat….”

Was this grandstanding or grand scheming? Ask most Americans whether or not they would support a UN resolution to give back Texas to Mexico? Remember the Alamo? Texans wanted Texas to be free from Mexican domination and Santa Anna’s grip. When invaded, the Texans defeated the Mexican troops, and declared independence.

Anyone remember the Six Day War (1967)? I was living in Montreal during the time of Expo 67. On June 5th, Egypt, Jordon, and Syria, along with co-belligerents from Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Sudan, Tunisia and PLO, attacked Israel. Within six days Israel had decisive victory, along with effective control of the Gaza Strip, the Sinai, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. 

Cyber-Space and Inner Space

Image Courtesy Future Blogger

Last weekend I was invited to attend The Vancouver Symposium on Christian Education for the 21st Century, hosted at the extra-ordinarily beautiful Morris J. Wosk Center for Dialogue, Simon Fraser University, downtown Vancouver. I was deeply impressed, not only with the degree of professionalism demonstrated at each one of the venues, but also with the deep-down sense that this may become an historic event.

Eighty-six leaders from nations as far away as Russia, South Africa, Malaysia, and Australia assembled to brainstorm what education will look like in the foreseeable future and to share their wisdom, vision, and technical expertise on how to make the appropriate changes. The ultimate intention of the gathering is to formulate a pedagogical manifesto that will guide Christian Education over the next few decades.

One of my colleagues, Greg Bitgood, who has written a book on Discipling this Generation for a Digital World, has had a burden to see Christian schooling in Canada emerge as a model for modern education. He leads the Heritage Christian Schools’ movement out of Kelowna, BC. Heritage has a progressive campus and online component and is influencing how education is being done locally, provincially and globally – www.onlineschool.ca.

What an exciting day to be a student and an educator! Stephen Harris, from the Sydney Center for Innovation in Learning – www.scil.com.au, shared about blending architecture with new teaching strategies and has created an open, no walls approach integrated with virtual space. Dr. Mark Beadle of Sevenstar Academy – www.sevenstaracademy.org spoke about enhancing education in the classroom through digital tools like Mobile Social On Demand, YouTube, Twitter, social bookmarking, and so on.

I realise that not all technological advancement is necessarily good. Just because something is digital doesn’t make it better – just current. However, whether we like it or not, technology is here to stay and it is producing a type of tsunami in the educational sphere that few schools are prepared for. One leader shared, “If we are going to teach our children how to drive a car, you don’t do it by placing them on a horse.” Enough said.

Post-Election Blues

Well, the nation is singing the blues today. Last Monday, May 2nd, 2011, Canadians from coast to coast, witnessed an historic and demographic shift in our nation. We awoke to what many people were saying was impossible, a Conservative majority. However, the Tory blues hit the country, from one end to the other, and the miracle occurred.

Though this election attracted one of the lowest voter turn-outs in Canadian history (61.4%) – what some are referring to as voter fatigue – it may have become the catalyst for producing some of the most dramatic changes to the political landscape that have been seen in close to two decades. There were so many firsts and upsets, and so many ways to interpret the outcome.

Canada experienced what may well become a political tipping point, both in regional representation and in political philosophy. The Liberal Party, steeped in tradition and history, is now without a leader, and has lost its position as the Leader of the Opposition by a significant margin. The Party Quebecois, failing to see the shift within their province on sovereignty, lost their leader and their standing as a Federal organization.

The NDP, energized by a charismatic leader, loosened the grip the Party Quebecois had on their own province, and made significant inroads in other parts of the country to become a truly national party. However, they face some uphill battles on the hill with the rise of the blue. They can propose change but they cannot oppose change in the role they are now in. They were the kingmaker, but last Monday the Canadian people chose their king.

Political Engagement – The Cultural Imperative

Courtesy Virtual Tourist

Canada again is facing a pivotal point in its young history. A government will be formed within days. Advance polls are clearly stating that more Canadians are taking this election seriously, and we are seeing historic shifts in party allegiances. There are only hours left for politicians and party members to try and shift the prevailing political winds.

Many Christians believe that the Church has been asleep while other, more sinister values and principles have slowly crept into some of the highest places of governance in the nation. Some believe the Church has suffered from a spiritual stupor that has left them politically impotent and, according to the polls, basically irrelevant to Canada’s future. Does the Church have a role in helping reshape the nation’s future? Can it rise from silence to become a voice again? What does engagement look like?

If it is to rise, it must reject a faulty theology. Unfortunately, for generations Christians have been put to sleep in the pew by ministers who have bought into an indifferent and impotent message. Regardless of their social standing on the totem pole of influence, I believe that ministers still have a key role to play in rousing citizens to wake up, get up, and stand up for people and positions that will make a difference.

To have any effect at all, Christians have to stop functioning as though “separation of Church and province” really means the “separation of righteousness and nation.” The early Confederation Fathers did not believe that. They believed that Biblical principles established the foundation for righteousness in our nation.

Canadian Politics in Crisis

For many Canadians this year’s election process has been highly disappointing. We have listened to two televised debates. We have heard the party rhetoric. We have seen the negative ad campaigns. We are tired of the party and people bashing. If anyone brings up the word coalition again, I might just turn the TV off.

Let’s face it: most civilized organizations operate with some form of coalition. Every family has a leader, but that leader has to learn to work in co-operation with other family members to get anything done. Organizations have CEOs, but everyone has to serve a united vision of efficiency and profit making, or the company ceases to exist.

I know that Canadian political culture is unique. It is a hybrid of North American and European politics. We have separatist parties (the Bloc Quebecois), decentralist parties (the Tories), and centralist parties (the Liberals), and we have their mutual commitment to partisan politics. Members of those parties, to be nominated, must adhere to the party line.

Personally, I believe that partisanship undermines the good genetics of putting conscientious thinkers into government, but according to our political process, an elected government can be defeated if everyone voted according to conscience.

Is Canada broken?

I remember hearing the story of a child staring at all the bubble gum in a broken down bubble gum machine. He had put the money his mother had given him into the coin slot, turned the knob, but hadn’t been able to get the bubble gum to fall into the tray. He could see the many coloured gumballs but he couldn’t get them. His mother’s explanation for the trouble was insightful: “Son, something has gone wrong on the inside. The sign says, ‘Out of order.’”

Maybe it is just me, but perhaps there are others that can identify with my angst. I deeply love my country, and have a great desire to see it take its rightful place of influence among the nations and enter into its destiny. It is filled with every kind of goodness, and everyone can see it. But, I sincerely believe that something is broken on the inside, and unless what is broken is fixed, we may never taste what we see. Something is out of order.

Does it bother anyone else that more air time was spent haggling about finding a time that did not conflict with the NHL play-off schedule than was spent on the debate itself? I have watched hockey from my earliest recollection of childhood. Hockey Night in Canada was a family event, and was accompanied with Mom’s homemade burgers and fries. I have many shared memories connected to some of the greatest hockey moments in Canadian history.

But, as much as I like hockey – “Go, Canucks, Go” – it was embarrassing to realize that each candidate believed that if their debate was televised during a play-off game it would cut so deeply into the numbers who would watch that the times had to be changed. I don’t know what was more upsetting: the fact that political debate had fallen to such a low level of national esteem, or the fact that Canadians have such a skewed sense of what is important.