Author: Dennis A. Gray

Newsflash! Science can’t explain everything!

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Well, I’ll admit the London Times isn’t real high on my list of must read newspapers so it took a while for this to come to my attention. 

Bernard d’Espagnat, an 87 year old quantum physicist with a fair bit of international cred, has been awarded the Templeton Prize, a £1 million prize ($ 1,790,400 CDN) that honours scientists who contribute to religious thought.  Dr d’Espagnat, professor emeritus of theoretical physics at Paris-Sud university, believes that science cannot fully explain “the nature of being.”

As stated in the article:  Dr d’Espagnat said in prepared remarks that, since science cannot reveal anything certain about the nature of being, it cannot tell us with certainty what it is not. “Mystery is not something negative that has to be eliminated,” he said. “On the contrary, it is one of the constitutive elements of being.”

I’d keep going but Ruth Gledhill (Times religion correspondent) has covered the topic quite nicely, so if you’re interested you can read the entire article at the following link…

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article5918050.ece

Until next time…  keep thinking those deep thoughts.

To Much Time on Thier Hands

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Okay,  I’m beginning to understand why the cattlemen in the US protested the introduction of sheep.  Shepherds obviously don’t have nearly enough to do.  This is weird on sooo many levels.

The floor is now open for attempts to connect this video to shepherding the Christian flock.  Best attempts will be acknowledged in a future post.

Until next time… try not to get fleeced.

Dennis

First Day out of Das Boot

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I know I should have posted this on Saturday, but I’ve been too busy enjoying the freedom. 
Das Boot is History!

I went to see the physio-therapist on Friday and after talking for a while about what my doctor said on Thursday the decision was made to go ahead and loose Das Boot.  She warned me not to over do it, wear really solid footwear, and put the boot back on for a while if I feel the foot getting weary or sore.  Makes sense doesn’t it.

So what’s the first thing you do when your foot is out of a cast for the first time in almost three months?  Go to the Toronto International Bicycle Show of course!

Late Friday night my brother Alex called me and reminded me that the show was on this past weekend.  So Saturday after band rehearsal we headed down to see what there was to see. It was really a great afternoon.  Since both of us have fairly busy schedules we don’t get a lot of time together and so it was definitely good to have the time to spend just talking back and forth, sharing a Tim’s, just hanging together for a while. It’s like the commercial says,

Lunch at Tim Hortons – $10

Tickets to the Bicycle show – $13

Spending time with my brother – Priceless!

That said however, the show itself left me less than fulfilled.  I don’t know where the Toronto show fits on the bicycle equipment manufacturers schedule, but I’m willing to bet it’s a way down the list of “places we have to be”.  I was very disappointed in the low turn out from the big bike and accessories players.  The vast majority of the booths were local bike shops, and while I don’t begrudge them the chance to increase their public face, what I was hoping to see was a showcase of the newest and best innovations in the development of cycling gear. The stuff was there, but you had to worm your way past the bikes they wanted off the shop floor to find it.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that it was a waste of time or money – it wasn’t. There were a few things that really impressed me.  Shimano had a great display, and Thule was very well presented, but there were few other large manufacturers.  The Trek display was just the local dealer with a large rack of bikes.  I should have suspected it when the event was advertised as being sponsored by Shimano.  So basically, it would appear they were able to buy out the show.  They sponsored the BMX demos and the like so I guess they owned it.  At least, it certainly looked that way to me.

The problem is, it’s not just the bike show.  In Toronto, this is increasingly the case with trade shows aimed at the buying public.  It is no longer about building the dream, pushing the envelope, trying to out perform the competition in who can put on the more impressive display.  It’s only about holding the flea market.  Which in and of itself is not a bad thing, but even in this I saw very little that I could not have acquired for a similar price at my local bike shop.

I realize some will accuse me of being over nostalgic here, but I remember going to these kind of shows when I was younger and the understanding was that the purpose was to inspire me to dream.  I would get a chance to see in person all the great stuff I’d only seen in magazines.  I could touch it, feel it, smell it; it was an experience in of of itself going to these shows.  Not so much anymore.  Now the Toronto shows feel more like a trip to a discount mall, only not as appealing.

I will give credit where it is do however; as usual Gears Bike Shop in Mississauga did a great job.  Their display rivaled even that of Shimano.  But most importantly, unlike many other vendors at the show they didn’t have the elitist air about that that seems to permeate cycling culture here in North America.  I’m happy to report they treated this over-weight, hobbling on a crutch to protect my ankle, 50-something with as much respect and dignity as I could hope to be treated anywhere.  In too many of the booths I was greeted with the usual enthusiastic indifference. Not so at Gears, I felt like they were just as interested in helping me as anyone else, and when the subject of my injury came up they even had a few moments for that as well.  Well Done!

Bicycle-Friendly Guelph makes an appearance at the Toronto International Bicycle Show

Bicycle-Friendly Guelph makes an appearance at the Toronto International Bicycle Show

Another thing that I was surprised to see was not only a number of Guelph venders (WIKE Trailers for example) but also the city of Guelph itself, promoting the Royal City as a bicycle friendly place to live.  They had a great display, right at the entrance, decked out with a European style cargo bike, banners, decals, maps, and plenty of information on the initiatives Guelph has in place to promote increased cycling infrastructure. I felt more than just a little proud.

All in all, it was an acceptable afternoon. Alex picked up a few things for his three-wheeled recumbant, I met a friend or two and had a chance to get out and about for the first time in nearly three months. Spring is in the air, and if my achilles tendon continues to cooperate I hope to be on my bike by the end of April.

So keep a good thought and if you have not already done so, click on the banner at right and sponsor either myself or one of the other members of Team Kortright in the Ride to Conquer Cancer.

40 Lashes for 5 Loaves of Bread?

/ Dennis A. Gray / 1 Comment

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (James 1:26-27 ESV)

There’s a story by Maggie Michael of the Associated Press in today’s Toronto Sun that seems to fly in the face of James’ definition of true religion.   It appears that a 75 year old widow in Saudi Arabia asked her late husband’s nephew and his business partner to save her a trip to the market and bring 5 loaves of bread around for her.  Seems like a reasonable request to us, but the Saudi religious police arrested the trio after the bread was delivered and charged the woman with “illegal mingling” with men who are not close relatives.

The 75 year old Syrian woman (her late husband was Saudi) was convicted as a result of “citizen information” (she was ratted out by her late husband’s brother) and her conviction was confirmed because “she doesn’t have a husband and because she is not a Saudi.”  She has been sentenced to 40 lashes, followed by 4 months in jail to be followed by deportation back to Syria.  The two men also were sentenced to lashes and jail time.  Her lawyer will appeal.

Now I will be the first to admit I’m no expert on Islam or Mohammed. I’ve only read the Koran once and that was some time ago. But I really have a hard time believing that lashing a 75 year old widow for “corrupting the morals of young men” because they did her the favour of delivering bread was what the Prophet had in mind. And to be sure it would seem that even in the Muslim world this level of fundamentalism is pretty much restricted to Saudi Arabia and is garnering criticism even from Muslim quarters.  But this post is not about the horrors of fundamentalist Islam.

It’s about Christian fundamentalism and the separation of church and state.

As I mentioned in my review of ‘Nine Parts of Desire‘ (see book list) whenever I read about Muslim abuses I find myself thinking about the sordid history of my own religion.  Since the days of Constantine whenever the church has found itself in the role of Head of State it has inevitably led to abuse of the general populace.  It has been said that “absolute power corrupts absolutely” and it would seem the church is even more susceptible to this since they feel they have a direct link to the source of absolution. (pun intended)

And it doesn’t seem to make a lot of difference what flavour of Christian you may claim to be.  The Reformationists in Europe where fully justified in throwing off the ‘shackles of Rome’ because of the corruption that had found it’s way into the papal system; however, once in power their persecution and execution of ‘heretics’ for such infractions as baptizing an adult soon came close to making the Spanish Inquisition look like a sleepless night a Guantanamo.

It’s no wonder that the Anabaptists started pushing for separation of church and state. Even though the idea appears to fly in the face of Old Testament theocracy, given the predisposition to tyranny displayed by so called Christian governments, it does seem to be the better option. Of course this too was opposed with many European monarchs, such as Austria, effectively declaring open season on anyone even suspected of being a “separatist”.

Which brings us to the present day. The lines being drawn in the U.S. and Canada between believers and humanists, conservatives and liberals, and the barrage of rhetoric being lobbed back and forth between them lead me to believe that a “Christian” party in power in a modern democracy would be no less tyrannical then their neo-Roman predecessors; only the manifestation of that tyranny would differ.  This has led me to the conclusion that ‘Christian politics’ is just not a great idea.

Not that I think Christians shouldn’t hold politicians accountable on moral issues, we are certainly called to be the collective conscience of the nation. And the best way we can do that is at the ballot box voting out those whose professed neutrality actually leans more to the dark side.  But when I hear talk of ‘Christian government’ it makes me cringe just as much as the idea of Saudi religious police. The greatest ‘real and present danger’ we face is when we try to translate personal morality into government policy. People being people, I just don’t think it can ever work.

The only Christian government that will ever succeed in achieving true justice will be the government led by Christ himself in the next age. Until then, as much as I hate to admit it, politics might possibly best be left in the hands of the morally neutral.

Experiencing Technical Difficulties

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2009 Rayal City Ambassadors Show

2009 R0yal City Ambassadors Show

I’d like to invite you all to one of my favourite events of the year.

Every year about this time The Royal City Ambassadors put on their annual charity show.  The Ambassadors are a men’s chorus and quartet organization that promotes the performance and enjoyment four-part a cappella harmony. The natural, un-encumbered music of the human voice.

This year, as found in the title of this post, the show is called, “Experiencing Technical Difficulties.” It’s a great evening of… well, why don’t I let them tell you:

“The Royal City Ambassadors are pleased to be on the stage of River Run to present their 41st annual show.  “Experiencing Technical Difficulties” will delight young and old in the audience as the chorus shares their infectious humour and love of singing.  In addition, the zany antics of this year’s guest quartet CORNERSTONE will complement a great evening!

The Ambassadors are a group of men from all walks of life who love to sing in four-part a cappella harmony.  Every Tuesday evening they gather from Guelph and surrounding communities to enjoy singing, fellowship and fun.  The Guelph Chapter is proud to raise funds annually in support of “Harmonize for Speech”.  These funds assist organizations locally and provincially to assist individuals with speech disorders.”

I’ve attended a number of these shows in the past and have always enjoyed them. None of the men are professional singers, just a bunch of regular guys; bus drivers, computer geeks, accountants, and the like, who really enjoy getting together just to sing.  And they do it very well.

The show includes not just great comedy and great songs by the chorus and it’s member quartets, but specials guests “The Cornerstones” and a late addition, the Centennial Concert Choir.

But most importantly, the show supports a very worthy cause. As mentioned above the Ambassadors sing to raise money for Harmonize for Speech, an organization that provides much needed support for those who suffer from speech disorders.  This can happen for a variety of reasons from birth defects to stroke.  They as their motto says, “We Sing That They Shall Speak.”

So if you’re going to be in the Guelph area on March 27th or 28th, follow the link below to the River Run box office and grab a few tickets for the show.  use the email link to have a member of the Ambassadors arrange to get the tickets to you.  You be glad you did!

Until next time…  Sing!


Click here to Purshase Tickets from the River Run

Click here to Get Tickets from an Ambassador