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...