Jay's Blog part Deux

 As this year comes to a close, here are a few thoughts on the past year. This COVID pandemic has brought the best and worst in us as it has been the worst one since the Spanish flu of the 1910’s. We have seen the response of our politicians ,churches and the public in general. We saw churches mostly respond well during the lockdown although there were a few who held out and went ahead with services. Some of politicians responded well to the crisis while others dropped the ball (probably caused Donald Trump the presidency). Also, issues of rights and government intervention as mandatory crowd sizes and public mask wearing came into effect. Personally, I supported these measures as a means of containing the virus and admittedly the mask wearing took some getting used to. Speaking of politics Americans did the right thing and turfed Trump from office as there was a need more some subtlety to the office of President. Between poor race relations, Trump’s underwhelming response to COVID...

 With what has gone on south of the border over the past week,I thought I would add my two cents to what was the closest election in recent history. The world was watching this one closely and many Canadians (myself included) were anxious about the results. First, I am glad Biden won because especially with everything going on they need a steady on top. His predecessor was a polarizing figure and has not handled the COVID-19 situation very well. The United States has been one of the hardest hit countries and need a statesmen and not someone who plays into conspiracy theories or attacks people who have the facts. The country however is very divided as the map of the US looked like a national flag as it was blue,red and blue again. It is divided by geography but by race as well as we have seen the racial divide with police shootings and the separation of immigrant families which have not been helped by this administration. It is also divided by religious and secular almost among part...

 I have debated this topic for a while in my Christian walk and have come to some conclusions as I researched it .What I am talk about is the Calvinism vs Arminianism debate and have come up on one side. This is the Arminian side of this debate and these are some reasons why. The first reason is the most central to this issue is free will which goes back to the Garden where Adam and Eve had a choice and unfortunately made the wrong one. Since then we have all become deprived and have the choice whether or not to follow God. There are of course consequences if we choose to follow him or not. This is not taking from the sovereignty of God but as created beings we have we will. The issue of election which is conditional as we have a choice whether or not we want to accept God’s gift of grace. We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.(1Cor 6:1)  It is like if someone gives you a gift, you can choose whether or not to acce...

 A happy labour day to everybody out here. Take this day to remember all the workers that are a viral part of the economy. Also, remember all the labour unions who made life easier for the worker as we got better wages, the 40-hour work week , better benefits and not to mention better working conditions. There are those who are continuing this fight on our behalf and with them shape that the world is in to continue this fight.

 At least that is what I am prediction here in 2020, While many pundits are saying there will be I am thinking otherwise despite the shaky ground this minority Liberal government is on. First of all the Liberals will not pull the trigger despite them leading in the polls during this COVID-19 crisis as they are in the midst of a scandal. The WE charity has hit them hard and has caused the resignation of the Minister Of Finance (Bill Morneau) to resign and has put the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on very shaky ground. Not to mention that they don’t want to be as opportunistic during this crisis. The Conservatives while being the official opposition aren’t likely to being down the government any time soon as they have been trailing in the polls. Also, they just elected a new leader and want to get him acquainted with Canadians as many have no idea who he is before going to the polls. They are probably the party most ready to fight an election but need to tread lightly through this cr...

 I should mention that in regards to my post on Aug 17 which was titled What Church Do I Belong To that is was more of a case of entertaining my curiosity more than it was me actively seeking a new denomination. I am actually quite content of where I presently attend. I do have to admit that I have not been able to attend a house of worship since this COVID-19 crisis and between that my wife’s autoimmune disease as well as my job now requiring me to work every other Sunday that I have only check out worship services online. Plus, with the restrictions in place right now there are only a certain amount of seats available at church. I still have however checked out other church services online (usually via YouTube). These include Anglican,Presbyterian, Lutheran,Eastern and Greek Orthodox and Wesleyan churches. I found most of these interesting but I had trouble with the Wesleyan too “hip” and “seeker friendly “ I know this may be not be true of all Wesleyan churches and may have to c...

 Last night as many of you know Erin O’Toole (Durham MP ) won the leadership for the Conservative Party Of Canada. It comes a bit of a surprise as I thought for sure that Peter McKay (who finished second)had a lock on the leadership as he was the front runner O’Toole may be too right-wing to win the next election and may have been dismissed as an also-ran a few months ago. However, with the governing Liberals in the middle of the WE charity scandal which saw the resignation of the Minister of Finance and put Justin Trudeau’s leadership into question. I would say that he has a very good shot of becoming Prime Minister. However, he can’t merely preach to the choir but will have to at least appear moderate in order to appeal to voters in Ontario and Quebec where the Conservatives need to win in order to form a government. Also,I’m not sure about how well O’Toole speaks French but he may want to brush up on it. Not only he is going to have to share his policies with the public but also...

 The short answer to that is the Baptist church which is part of the Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec. But recently I across a series of surveys which tell you what Christian denomination best suits you or in some cases what religion best suits you. The first one is from Playbuzz and Asks What Christian Denomination Should You Be Part Of? I took the survey and the answer I got was Lutheran which is a bit strange since I have never foot in a Lutheran church. But I do use a Lutheran Book of Prayer in my devotions sometimes. I came across a blog by Internet Monk and the post was titled Where do I belong? On it he had a bunch of surveys he had taken the results given. One was Belief Net-Belief-O-Matic and I learned that I am a Conservative Christian Protestant The next one was What is Your Spiritual type which learned that I am a Confident Believer. Two other ones were the Christian Denomination Selector which has as 100% Wesleyan/Methodist and 100% Southern Baptist but would be...

 My politics have shifted over the past few years as I have gone from being a libertarian to social conservative to being middle of the road. The position I have embraced is Red Toryism as I was a supported of the Progressive Conservative Party Of Canada and later the Conservative Party Of Canada but I have not supported the later in years. My political heroes have included former Prime Ministers Sir.John A MacDonald, Sir Robert Borden and John Diefenbaker. But the problem I am having is what does it mean to be a Red Tory and what Red Toryism is. It is often described by the media as “fiscally conservative and socially liberal” but many Neo-conservative governments such as Mike Harris in Ontario and Ralph Klein in Alberta espoused these views are definitely not Red Tories. What is a Red Tory then?  In Oxford”s Dictionary it is defined in Canada “a member of a political group who,while maintaining some conservative principles,supports many liberal and socialist policies “. Wiki...

Lately, I have been doing some reading about various Bible-based cults and one group that has stood out is the IFB which stands for Independent Fundamentalist Baptist. The reason was I attended and was a member of an IFB congregation for two years. I just figured they were another Christian denomination and never thought of them as a cult but there are some issues bought up the make me believe it is a cult. How I got involved the IFB was there was new Baptist church near a grandmother’s house that held services at an Inn. I was disgruntled with evangelicalism particularly my former denomination and was seeking and looking for a new church home. Although the piano music was not my cup of tea the fact that they used the KJV Bible(King James Version) was to my liking. Also, it was a lot different from most of the evangelical churches I attended (I would later there was a reason for that).The pastor was a Hyles-Anderson graduate. Like most IFB churches it was KJV only and there was the bel...

As promised I am following up my last post which I talked about my belief in a deity and will mention the reasons why I believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate. These are some of the reasons why I embrace Christianity. 1. It Was Prophesied In the Old Testament There are several mentions of a plan to redeem man who consistently fall into sin. The old way was the people had to offer animal sacrifices to atone for their sins. This was insignificant as it only covered past sins and was a”shadow of things to come”(Col 2:17.  ) The prophets were told this and pointed people to a coming Messiah or Saviour:        Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear A son, and          Shall call his name Immanuel.                                                       ...

This is kinda of my statement of faith and my attempt at apologetics. Many who read this know about my Christian faith and know how it sharps many of my views. These are some of the reasons why I follow God. The universe is to far orderly for it to have come into existence by accident. The earth will orbit around the sun without falling off course. The stars do not all spontaneously fall out of the sky and all the other planets remain in orbit. Not to mention the sun doesn’t just burn out or disappear and goes out every day or for that matter hurl toward Earth. There is natural law such as marriage which goes back to Adam and Eve and is a universal  institution that goes across numerous cultures. All world religions celebrate this rite and seems natural to the world to get married and rise a family.  Even the gay community have been fighting for this right as they recognize this as universal expression of love between two people. I feel that this had to be designed by a higher...

Earlier this week Canada’s Finance Minister released a fiscal update which has grown to 343 billions dollars and our national debt to 1 trillion dollars. This is up from 34 billion the previous year meaning the deficit has swollen over one hundred percent. This is largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic which shut down our economy and created the need for stimulus for both businesses and individuals. Missing however was any cohesive plan to get our finances back in order. The government may not want to release any action plan being in a minority situation and not wanting to risk defeat. However here ares some predictions of some measures that will be taken: Personal income taxes will be raised as well as the GST likely up to 7% again. Transfers to the provinces will be cut leading to cuts in health care and education. Property taxes will go up as municipalities look for ways to cover shortfalls in income. Corporate taxes will remain frozen neither going up or down. The civil service cuts ...

Things have calmed down a little bit in Ontario,Canada with the Corona virus as we even had a day where there were no reported deaths. As a result business and churches are slowly opening up to the public as well as many parks and beaches. Many municipalities are passing laws that require people wear masks in public to protect others. However, there is reason to believe a second wave may be coming soon. While in most places people have been good about wearing masks and social distancing there are a few places where these guidelines have been ignored. For instance my wife and I went into a pharmacy where virtually no one including the staff were wearing masks and the shopping carts were being sanctioned. Not to mention social distancing was not being practiced. I would like to believe that this was an isolated incident but I am led to believe this is going on more places than we realize. Beaches and parks where they are being open are being crowd by people and social distancing is not b...

Today is Canada Day and our proud nation turns 153 years old. I am very fortunate to live in (my opinion) the greatest nation on Earth. It is great to live in a country that is diverse ,has public healthcare, there is freedom of religion, democracy, four seasons, some cool wide life and some terrific scenery. I am very proud to call Canada my home. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CANADA!!!!

Today I have become a year older and hopefully over the last few years a lot wiser. I look back at how some of views have charged and realize that things and situations charge when you get older. I look to expand on these in future blogs but for now enjoy the rest of my night as I had a great day.

Recently, with all that is going on right now several statues of historical figures have been vandalized as they have been deemed racist. One of these is a couple of our first Prime Minister of Canada Sir.John A MacDonald. Statues of him in Montreal and Kitchener Ontario have had painted on them. This has put me in a bind as I have studied and admired the man for many years. As a matter of fact I have  looked up to him and shaped some my political views based on his. I can honestly as a father of confederation he is a big reason why Canada is not a part of the United States and cling to our British roots. My uncle posted a picture of a vandalized statue on Facebook and suggested (he a bigger admirer of Sir John A than I am) that he would put him aside. I found this difficult as I see him as a nation builder especially at a time when our country is very divided geopolitically and also by racial strife. He managed to help bring English and French Canada into a single country independ...

In the midst of what is going on with COVID-19 and worldwide protests against racism(also some riots) there is a leadership campaign going on in Canada. This is for the Conservative Party Of Canada which is the official opposition here and is sufficient because the next leader could become the next Prime Minister of Canada. Party members are voting by mail-in ballot in August. The candidates here are: Peter McKay former MP for Central Nova Nova Scotia and a former cabinet minister in the Stephen Harper government. Was also the last leader of the old Progressive Conservative Party Of Canada until they merged with the Canadian Alliance in 2003. Erin O’Toole MP for Durham Ontario and a former Minister of Veteran Affairs. Ran unsuccessfully in 2017 leadership race finishing third. Derek Sloan rookie MP for Hastings-Lennox and Addington. Leslyn Lewis a lawyer from Toronto who does not a seat in the House Of Commons. While there are four people in this race, it is clearly a two horse race be...

Until recently I thought the idea white privilege was a myth. I am white but I also come a working class background and work a blue collar job. Growing up in the GTA I saw people around me from all walks of life have more than me. I didn’t feel privileged as I had to work for everything I got and had very little handed to me. But I have realized that there are other factors to privilege besides economical background. While not a racist I never saw my skin note as making me privileged in society. First, I am privileged in that my appearance doesn’t automatically put a target on my back. I don’t usually have to worry about police pulling me over or many people viewing me with suspicion. I can walk into a store and/or shopping center without people thinking I am automatically going to steal something or be followed around. I can walk walk around most areas without being harassed. Second, my name on a resume is less likely to disqualify me from a job or a profession.Unfortunately there i...

With what’s going down in the United States in their major cities with the protests and in some cases rioting and looting going on. There are some things that have to be said about it. There is no question that there is systemic racism in Western culture and that the racial divide has gotten bigger over the last few years. It is also a democratic right to protest injustice in society and anyone has a right to participate. After all many things have been accomplished by this such as the civil rights movement(which I will touch more on in a bit), better conditions for the working class, rights for women to vote etc. However, those who chose to riot and loot are only negating the work of the demonstrators who are calling for change. I know these a only a small few who commit these acts and there are those who this as an excuse to commit these acts. Unfortunately this often begets more violence. One just has to look to the civil rights of the 1960’s led by Dr. Martin Luther King. They h...

On the heels of what is going in North America and to kinda follow up with my last post here are some verses from the Bible on racism with a little bit of commentary. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek ; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. Romans 10:12 ESV In Christ all ethic and racial differences are obliterated as we are all brethren in Christ. The is no superiority as we are all fallen and are in need of a saviour. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. John 13:34 ESV We are commanded to love one another just as Christ loves each of us. We are all united as we are all created in the image of God. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. 1John 2:11ESV It is impossible to love God and hate our brothers and sisters. It is s...

Many of us have heard about the death of George Floyd an African-American man who died of suffocation while being arrested for allegedly passing a counterfeit 20 dollar bill at a Minneapolis grocery store. The officer who put his knee on Floyd’s neck and cut of his oxygen off was been charged with manslaughter. The other officers on the scene were fired as a result. This has sparked numerous protests in various US cities (some of them have turned violent). Also, has bought back attention to use of excessive force by police especially on African-American males and the problems of race relations in America. There was clearly the use of excessive force for a guy who allegedly passed a counterfeit bill. He probably was confused at first and maybe disoriented which may be seen as aggression but there no reason use a hold such as this. When I worked as a DSW many years ago part of my training was using holds to subdue violent  behaviour and one of this we were taught was to never to co...

A very hard rebuke for those who packed in the parks inToronto on the weekend.I understand that people are itching after being cooped up for two months. But going from 0 to 100 is just going to prolong this. As my recent scare (I had to be tested and mercifully it came back negative) got me to think it is no time to be gambling with lives right now. The reason things are opening are to stabilize the economy and not because everything is safe. Also,I wondered if our political leaders are bracing for a second wave.

Recently President Donald Trump has given State governors the green light to reopen houses of worship and the power to override governors who fail to do so. 1They have been deemed places that provide essential services. As A Christian I agree that provide aid to the community such as outreach to the poor, prayer for the sick among other things to reach to the community. Christians are instructed to ‘Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” Heb 10:25 ESV. And unity among believers is crucial at a time such as this. Not to mention in North America there is the freedom of religion. But there are some factors to consider. First is what exactly is meant by the church. We in society tend to think of churches as buildings with steeples and stained glass windows. However, the church refers to the body of believers as it comes from the Greek word Ekklesia meaning assembly. Church can also refer a b...

These are more things I have learned during this pandemic and/or become aware of. That some of our unsung heroes in our society work in the healthcare, emergency response and grocery industries. They often the first ones that face the axe when a government or corporation needs to cut back. Hopefully what has happened the last two months will change things. This has been a way to see how competent our political leaders are. Some have proved to competent while others not so much(President Trump). Shows how we should take elections and politics in general more seriously.   That you can still have the world at your fingertips when you are locked inside your home. Thanks to the internet. We have to view church services and worship ,check out new sites, FaceTime people, shop and order food on line. Heck you don’t really need a television and you can’t view programs online. We as a society were not well prepared for a pandemic and may have to be better prepared in the future. Also...

Here are some things about me as things have changed since the last time I posted. I am a regular working stiff who lives in the Orillia Ontario area in Canada.I have been employed by the same company for the past eight years. I worked at various jobs in the past these have included construction worker, landscaper ,developmental support worker and retail store clerk among others.I still quite have not found my niche yet. But I am working on it. I am married to an attractive and very lovely woman for over a decade. I am basically a homebody who reads,surfs the net, wastes time on Facebook and learns languages (right now Latin) in his spare time.I look in begin blogging again regularly. I am an evangelical Christian who attends a Baptist church with Calvinist leanings. However, with the whole predestination vs free will debate I often find myself leaning in the Arminian camp as I have looked into the issue. I am not tied to any one denomination as I have belonged to different Bapti...