Crossing the River

Currently Listening The Lost Christmas Eve By Trans-Siberian Orchestra see related

Businesses demote Christmas

Glory to the Brave

 It's that day of the year again. The day when some of us honor those who made the sacrifice for our nation not all that many years ago.  Throughout the rest of the year these people live in the shadows, all the while society makes heroes out of vapid Hollywood actors, and junkie rock stars.  But the veterans are the real life heroes in our society, and this is the day to show them we remember that.

My Grandfather served on a Lancaster bomber, one of the biggest bombers in the British fleet. When they were shot down over Germany by a fighter, he punched out a window of the now upside down and burning plane, and upon exiting he lost his leg to the cold spinning steel of the propeller. And he was one of the lucky ones.  Behind every single white cross that dots the European fields lies a thousand unfulfilled dreams; a lifetime of promise snuffed out, sacrificed to us and the noble cause our nation was engaged in. 

Therefore I attend Remembrance Day services not just to thank the vets, but in honor of all the sacrificed lives who did not come home from the war; such as every single other servicemen on my Grandfather's bomber.

Remembrance Day should not be solely about sadness; that would be defeatist and weak. It should also be about gratitude for sacrifices made; from a generation far less self-centered than we are today. And it is also about the victorious gains won from their sacrifice. The people at home and overseas who live in greater freedom because of what the veterans did. And I am certain, as a whole, the veterans are the finest men this country has seen. Finally as the poem "Flanders Field" reminds us, it should also be about standing on guard, carrying on the torch that has been thrown to us, lest the soldiers not rest, though they lie in Flanders fields. 

Perhaps it was put best by the King of kings, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." - John 15:13 (NIV).  How can one even start to repay an act of love made by someone they'll never meet, from a generation before their own?

A touching Canadian memorial in the city of Lethbridge Alberta; small text above the tablets read: "Lest We Forget. To the Glory of God, and in memory of those who fell during World War 2 and the Korean War"

Here are the locations of services today: November 11, 2006

Fort Langley service  10:45 AM at the cemetery

Langley City service: 11:00AM at the Legion; 20702 Eastleigh Cresent

Aldergrove service: 10:40AM at the Aldergrove Legion; 26607 Fraser Highway.

Conservatives should learn; sometimes a good defense is a strong offense.

The sex gap and the Church

The other day in the weight room as another wussy and irritating praise and worship song came on; I got to thinking about masculinity and the church.  I'm assuming most feminists would charge the church is too "patriarchal", especially in the case of the Catholic Church.  Ironically in the Catholic Church in America almost twice as many women attend services as men. In fact all across the west churches are becoming increasingly female in makeup, and substance. 

Listen to so many of the services that are preached, and the constant messages.  Soft sappy music is played, people are told to quietly meditate and listen to the voice within, mercy and grace are stressed almost exclusively.  The antithesis of what men are usually attracted to. 

TWU's brightest philosophy professor once told me that he believes the biggest problem facing western society and the church is the loss of a masculine identity.  Gone are the days when fiery preachers rallied their sunday troops to fight for what is right; most modern preachers are too busy making sure their congregations will make acceptable "brides" of Christ. Just look at the symbolism in that why don't you.

It seems like the last vestiges of masculinity are found outside of the church, amongst spiritually devoid activities such as sports, partying, and cheap sex.  By abandoning masculinity the faithful lost the ability to influence its definition. Young non believing men will see no relevance or usefulness in a church that abandoned the ability to offer a relevant alternative to the shallowness of secular masculinity.

Awhile ago at a social function a young woman who grew up in a military family told me that she had never actually seen a man cry until she went to Bible College, where there is no shortage of such events.  Wonderful.  If things keep going on like this expect to see the sex gap within Christianity continue to grow.