Jon Kontz, a good buddy from Philly, came up for a few days. We spent a couple nights up on Abbots Pass.

Lake Oessa

The AAC cabin where we stayed blends pretty well into the mountainside. It has got to be one the coolest places I have ever slept. Literally!

The night sky with the lights of Calgary in the distance. It was as though every star in the sky was visible that night.

Sunrise – Abbots Pass

Panorama taken on a ridge of Mt. Victoria.

Lake Louise

Part way up Mt. Victoria. It was so windy up there I thought it might take us right off the ridge.

Bit of snow on the way down. Thankfully it let up soon after this picture was taken.

A perfect evening on the Crowsnest River.

A Rainbow out of the Oldman River. It took around 30 minutes to bring it in!

A very respectable cutthroat taken on Lynx creek.

Couldn’t ask for a better fishin partner!

RATCLIFF, Doris Clarice (nee Baker), November 18, 1917 ~ June 17, 2009 – The family announces with both sadness and joy her death at 91 years of age, in the comfort of Fairvern Nursing Home, Huntsville, ON. Sadly missed because she was such a loving and caring wife and mother; joy because she has left this world for a far better place and we know we will see her again some day. She is survived by her beloved husband of almost 69 years, Floyd, formerly of the family farm west of Stouffville, and three children, MaryLou (David) Hisey, of Huntsville, ON, Malcolm (Doris M.) of Timmins, ON, and Janice (John) Cross of Olds, AB. Doris is survived by sister-in-law, Helen Baker of Stouffville, ON; Shirley Baker of Chester, CT; brother- in-law, Howard (Helen) Ratcliff of Stouffville, ON; sister-in-law Pauline Ratcliff of Stouffville, ON; and sister-in-law Maureen Ratcliff of Huntsville,ON. Doris is predeceased by two brothers, Merlyn and Alan Baker, and sisters, Alma (and husband, Jim) Oldham and Mary (and husband, Keith) Hutchinson. Grandma is fondly remembered by seven grandchildren, Scott, Meredith, Brad, Stephanie, Julie, Andrew and Naomi as a kind and gentle grand- mother. She had six great-grand- children, Jasmine, Cody, Robyn, Ellie, Adelaine and Ethan. A private committal service will be held at graveside of Springvale Baptist Church cemetery on Monday, June 22 followed by a memorial service commencing at 3 PM in the church auditorium. Remembrance donations may be made to a mission of one’s choice through the church office. Springvale Baptist Church is located 4 miles west of Stouffville on the family farm.

Ratcliff, Floyd Grenville: April 11, 1917 – July 11, 2009 – The family wishes to announce his peaceful departure in the comfort of Fairvern Nursing Home, Huntsville, ON at the age of 92 to join his wife, Doris (nee Baker) who passed away on June 17, 2009. They were faithful, loving companions for almost 69 years. Dad was such a kind and caring father who will be sadly missed but we are comforted by the thought that he is in a far better place. Formerly of the family farm west of Stouffville, he is survived by three children, MaryLou (David) Hisey, of Huntsville, ON, Malcolm (Doris M.) of Timmins, ON, and Janice (John) Cross of Olds, AB. Floyd is also survived by one brother, Howard (Helen) Ratcliff of Stouffville and sisters-in-law, Pauline Ratcliff of Stouffville, and Maureen Ratcliff of Huntsville. He is predeceased by two brothers, Donald and Charles. Grandpa is fondly remembered by seven grandchildren, Scott (Janice), Meredith (Dave), Brad, Stephanie, Julie, Andrew and Naomi (Troy) and six great-grandchildren, Jasmine, Cody, Robin, Ellie, Adelaine and Ethan. A committal service will be held at graveside at Springvale Baptist Church cemetery on Friday, July 17 at 2:30 PM followed by a memorial service commencing at 3 PM in the church auditorium. Remembrance donations may be made to a mission of one’s choice through the church office. Springvale Baptist Church is located 4 miles west of Stouffville.

memories
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Many of my memories of Grandpa revolve around a small but well equipped shop in his garage. Grandpa was an excellent carpenter and as a young boy of around 12, visiting for the summer, I was his eager apprentice. I think one of our most memorable projects was a live squirrel trap. Grandpa came up with a magnetic trigger that made it work really well. We eventually managed to trap a squirrel but our first catch was two black starlings. I was so excited I carried the whole box inside the house to show Grandma. In the process I released two unhappy starlings in the house. I will never forget Grandma chasing those two birds around the house with a broom! Grandpa’s willingness to let me dull every blade and drill bit in his shop gave me an opportunity to discover something I loved and set me on a course for a future career. But more than that, Grandpa was an example of a man I want to follow.

Those who know Grandma, know that she kept a very clean and tidy house where everything had its place. Grandma was a gracious host and very hospitable. For Sunday dinner, Grandma would often put a roast in the oven, set the table with her fine china and invite guests over. Although she added very little spice to her meals, Grandma placed a mean horse radish on the table that instilled a new found respect in her grandson. Her meals were great.

Both Grandma and Grandpa lived during times of tremendous change. They watched the land surrounding their small dairy farm transformed from quiet countryside to suburbia. Once quiet country lanes were paved and then doubled. Their church went from being a small sanctuary that held 125 to one that seated 450 and then over 2000. The culture that they knew and loved changed, morals changed and so did technology. I remember Grandma speaking of some of the changes she saw and how it was sometimes a struggle to respond in the right way. That short conversation has always stuck with me. Grandma was a very astute and thoughtful women whose living faith in Christ constantly shaped her thinking.

Grandma and Grandpa have left us, their grandchildren, with a rich heritage, and I count it a great blessing to have had them as my Grandparents. They will be deeply missed.

A Paraphrase from 1 Peter 1:1-9

Grandma and Grandpa, strangers in this world, from a dairy farm outside Stouffville, Ontario, but at home now, chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace are theirs in abundance.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! It is because of his great mercy that we are assured that Grandma and Grandpa passed through death into life because of Jesus ressurection from the dead, and have received an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade that was kept in heaven for them. Through faith they were protected by God’s power unto salvation. In this they rejoiced, for though for a little while they suffered grief in all kinds of trials, these have proven their faith genuine, a faith which is more precious even than gold which is not eternal though it is purified by fire, and has resulted in praise, glory and honor to our Lord Jesus Christ.

For him who they loved they now see and him who they believed in they see and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for they have received the goal of their faith, the salvation of their souls.

Harvard establishes chair in gay and lesbian studies

Professorship is being billed as a turning point in the prestigious university’s history

Harvard University has taken a step towards shrugging off its image as a fusty straight-laced academic institution by endowing America’s first named professorship of sexuality.

The chair in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender studies introduces a discipline still in its infancy into the heart of the country’s academic establishment. Its supporters claim that the move by one of the world’s most august universities will send a message to other institutions globally that “queer studies”, as some call it, has finally arrived….

more here

I came across this the other day. It was written by George Pellew, the class poet at Harvard, 1880.

We ask but time to drift,
We deem it narrow-minded to excel.
We call the man fanatic who applies
His life to one grand purpose till he dies.
Enthusiasm sees one side, one fact;
We try to see all sides, but do not act.
…We long to sit with newspapers unfurled,
Indifferent spectators of the world.

‘Mornings on Horseback’ – David Mccullogh

Went for a little jaunt in Kan country the other day. It was great to get out!

The mountain won the day though as there was more snow up there than I thought.

On my way down, I stopped to take a break at the top of a small cliff. I took my shoe off to shake rocks out and ended up dropping it! It rolled down the hill towards the cliff and the only reason it did not go over was a small branch that was growing just at the edge! haha, I would have been in serious trouble if I had lost that shoe as there was a lot rock to walk through on the way down. Besides, that is my favorite pair of shoes.

(shoe in bottom of picture)

I went to a lecture tonight on the creation / evolution debate at a church here in Calgary. The church was of the new variety with candles and round tables and carefully placed spotlights and projectors and LCD displays. The modern cathedral I guess.

The speaker was probably one of the most educated individuals I have met. He has three post doctorates in dentistry, Old Testament hermeneutics and evolutionary biology… (I think I have that right)

His essential argument, as I understand it, is that evolution is an indisputable fact; that it is right for Christianity to accommodate scientific theory and that to not do so is to set up an unnecessary stumbling block in the way of genuine seekers. Rather than interpret Genesis as historical literature, it should be interpreted as poetic literature. His main defence of this position is the pre-scientific three tier view of the universe that comes out in the writings of the Hebrew prophets.

I thought I would take this chance to think out loud while the ideas are still fresh and maybe things will become clearer as I write.

1. The classification of Genesis as poetic literature is fairly subjective. There is no doubt that the structure of the days of creation are arranged in a very structured way so that the environments are first created and then they are filled. So God created the world in a very structured way. But let’s say that Genesis is a poetic description of the creation of our world.
2. If Genesis 1-3 is an allegory of creation then probably one of the main ideas I would take from it is that death is a foreign intruder into what was an otherwise perfect world.
3. This does not correspond well with evolutionary theory.
4. Death is the vital mechanism necessary for evolutionary theory to operate.
5. Evolution requires that populations coexisted in the past in the same way they do now. One population is held in check by the predatory or competitive pressures of another species or by organisms within the same species.
6. Two observations:
7. This world is incredibly beautiful and complex.
8. Nature can be extremely cruel and at times even perverse.
9.. All of nature is adapted for either defence or attack.
10. Nature red in tooth and claw.
11. These realities make it virtually impossible for us to imagine a world without death.
12. Any account of origins that states that the world was created perfect and w/o death must give a reason for death’s intrusion.
13. Genesis attributes death to sin.
14. It is interesting that every aspect of the curse of man and Satan involves a change in nature.
15. Women’s pain in childbirth required some kind of anatomical change.
16. Once useful plants became pests.
17. The serpent would slither.
18. Together these imply a much greater change so that the world we experience today is so different from the original world that we cannot begin to imagine what it was like or explain its dynamics based on our current understanding of biology.
19. Is it possible that the changes induced in the created world as a part of the curse were some form of adaptation? Species were given by God the ability to adapt and change in response to their environment as a matter of survival in a fallen world.
20. Adaptation, then becomes another astounding aspect to the design of life. God made life self replicating, self healing and able to adapt.
21. These characteristics all trace their roots to the genetic code and the truly marvellous way that individual characteristics are coded for by multiple genes.
22. Creation currently groans and is waiting to be redeemed. If it was never perfect and has slowly evolved to its current condition, then it has been groaning for 10-15 billion years. That is a long wait.
23. If massive adaptation is an aspect of the design of life, does it then follow that we should also believe in the descent with modification of all life from molecules?
24. Micro evolution lacks the explanatory power to explain the formation of the first cell.
25. To say that Christians use the ‘God in the gaps’ theory to explain everything that science has not is false.
26. The gaps in macro evolutionary theory are more like oceans. To argue that these ‘gaps’ must have a natural scientific explanation because this is the only kind of explanation that is acceptable is nothing more than methodological naturalism. It is a philosophical belief and is not necessary for good science.
27. All knowledge should lead us to understand how little we know and lead us to the conclusion that we are little children.
28. Knowledge can lead to idolatry.
29. It is possible for a great number of extremely intelligent and well educated people to be very badly mistaken. Much of our current economic crisis was created by very smart people with a thorough understanding of economic theory.
30. Truth is not found in the consensus or in doctorates.
31. The further science deviates from the present, the more arbitrary and uncertain it becomes. G.K Chesterton says it well,
32. An inventor can advance step by step in the construction of an airplane even if he is only experimenting with sticks and scraps of metal in his own backyard. But he cannot watch the Missing Link evolving in his own backyard. If he has made a mistake in his calculations, the airplane will correct it by crashing to the ground. But if he has made a mistake about the arboreal habitat of his ancestor, he cannot see his arboreal ancestor falling off the tree. He cannot keep a caveman like a cat in the backyard and watch him to see whether he does really practice cannibalism or carry off his mate on the principles of marriage by capture. He cannot keep a tribe of primitive men like a pack of hounds and notice how far they are influenced by the herd instinct… Thus while most science moves in a sort of curve, being constantly corrected by new evidence, this science flies off into space in a straight line uncorrected by anything. ‘The Eternal Man’
33. Was the Spirit of Christ evident in words that were spoken?
33. …Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Colossians 2:2-3

This article caught my eye and is worth a read.

I am not sure if I agree with everything here but it provides an interesting perspective.

The Coming Evangelical Collapse

This is from David Wilkerson’s blog. I came across it on the Drudge Report under the headline “Christian Pastor Warns of Impending Doom” or something like that. I can’t remember exactly. So here is the text from Wilkersons blog:

I am compelled by the Holy Spirit to send out an urgent message to all on our mailing list, and to friends and to bishops we have met all over the world. AN EARTH-SHATTERING CALAMITY IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN. IT IS GOING TO BE SO
FRIGHTENING, WE ARE ALL GOING TO TREMBLE – EVEN THE GODLIEST AMONG US.

For ten years I have been warning about a thousand fires coming to New York City. It will engulf the whole megaplex, including areas of New Jersey and Connecticut.
Major cities all across America will experience riots and
blazing fires—such as we saw in Watts, Los Angeles, years ago.There will be riots and fires in cities worldwide. There will be looting—including Times Square, New York City. What we
are experiencing now is not a recession, not even a depression. We are under God’s wrath. In Psalm 11 it is written,“If
the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (v. 3).God is judging the raging sins of America and the
nations. He is destroying the secular foundations.

It reminds me a little of some of the things said after Sept. 11. when several ministers (I can’t remember who they were) said that Sept. 11 was Gods judgement on America. I guess I have been hearing more of this lately and it has me asking questions and thinking some about what it means to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd and how that differs from prophetic words like the ones Wilkerson has spoken.

The prophets of the OT often began their message with “Thus says the LORD…” So, what do we do when we hear people today begin their statement with the same line? By what authority are they saying these things? Has God chosen again to speak through prophets like he did in the past? If so, then their words should be marked with the same power and wisdom that marked the minsitry of men like Jeremiah or Isaiah.

And it seems kind of propitious that these statements are made when things already seem pretty bleak and the whole world is talking about it… (another example is the multitude of books that came out about the millenium bug) Go on any financial blog today and you will find a lot scared people making much the same predictions David Wilkerson is… except without mention of God. What is the value of preaching doom when events are already in full swing and the media is having a heyday with it? Wilkerson says that he has been saying the same thing for 10 years… and in fairness, I haven’t read his past remarks, however I remain skeptical, not so much of his predictions (maybe things will get that bad… although I choose to remain more optimistic) but the nature of his statement and authority he claims for his words.

Maybe if I get some time I will do a little more homework…