Newspaper columns Archives – Page 31 of 62

The long and mysterious road to sainthood

Leave a Comment / Hamilton Spectator, Newspaper columns / October 18, 2014 / 2014, African plagues, Amurk Corp, Bethany Paquette, Christianity, death, ebola, Graham Greene, humanity, intolerance, Olaf Amundsen, sainthood, spirituality, The Power and the Glory / 4 minutes of reading

(The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday, October 18, 2014)

KAMPALA, UGANDA ✦ It’s hard to know what it means to be human some days, let alone a saint, but there are clues here and there, like in this novel, The Plague, by Albert Camus, where two atheists – one a doctor, one a journalist – have a brief conversation.

They’re in Africa fighting a devastating plague when one says to the other, “It comes down to this. What interests me is learning to become a saint.”

There’s a mystery to the whole thing, a hunger, a longing …

The long and mysterious road to sainthood Read More »

Learning to be a kid again

Leave a Comment / Christian Week, Newspaper columns / October 14, 2014 / 2014, adoption, African adoption, children, Christianity, Froese biography, God's love, Thanksgiving, Ugandan adoption, Ugandan children / 3 minutes of reading

KAMPALA, UGANDA✦It’s the children who in the end will be given the keys to the Kingdom.

This is what Jesus said on the matter. Be a kid again. The way up is down. If you want even half a shot at eternal life, as if it were somehow possible, go and grow young.

Learning to be a kid again Read More »

Your life is much more than your career

Leave a Comment / Newspaper columns, The Standard / October 9, 2014 / 2014, African university life, careerism, careers, Christianity, Jesus Christ, spirituality, the incarnation, work / 3 minutes of reading

(The UCU Standard – Monday, September 29, 2014)

MUKONO, UGANDA ✦ The problem with university life is that it can bypass your heart and feed your mind directly with foolish notions about the work world, namely that some grand career will make you a personally large being.

“Hey, look at me! I have this job now. It’s who I am!”

And maybe you’ll win much of that war that’s so well-known around the world, that is the war to get ahead.

Your life is much more than your career Read More »

The dangers of too many cats

Leave a Comment / Hamilton Spectator, Newspaper columns / October 2, 2014 / 2014, African culture, animals, cats, humour, pets, training cats, travel / 4 minutes of reading

(The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday, September 27, 2014)

KAMPALA, UGANDA ✦ Back in Africa, I’m not overly worried about Ebola on the other side of the continent or even al-Shabab terror cells like the one just busted in a slum here in Uganda’s capital – 19 Somalian suspects were arrested.

I’m worried more about my underwear. They could soon all be taken by my daughter and her cats.

The dangers of too many cats Read More »

We’re told to love our neighbours

Leave a Comment / Hamilton Spectator, Newspaper columns / August 23, 2014 / 2014, advocacy, assisted living, community support, disabiltiies, fear, fear and anxiety, neighbours, suicide / 4 minutes of reading

(The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday, August 23, 2014)

HAMILTON, CANADA ✦ He needs a home with others. Assisted living. There are options in Hamilton. He needs one before he’s destroyed by his uncertainty and fear, his black as midnight darkness.

He’s not a star, not a celebrity, not, say, Robin Williams, whose suicide just shook us so deeply. He’s simply your neighbour. This is his story.

We’re told to love our neighbours Read More »

Universities should help pregnant students

Leave a Comment / New Vision, Newspaper columns / August 16, 2014 / 2014, abortion, African culture, African university life, Christianity, pregnancy, relationships, religiosity, suffering, Women's rights / 5 minutes of reading

KAMPALA, UGANDA ✦ You’ve worked hard for this your whole life, this, your university career, your education and future, your dreams of a better life. Then it happened. You made a mistake. Now you’re pregnant. You’re pregnant while at a religious university.

You know what happens next. You get thrown out. Everything will be gone. Your hard-earned tuition and your honour and your hope for tomorrow too, all lost. So you got that abortion.

Universities should help pregnant students Read More »

Lingering on the edge of forgetfulness

2 Comments / Christian Week, Newspaper columns / August 15, 2014 / 2014, Bible reading, Canadian Bible Engagement Study, Canadian culture, Christian culture in Canada, Christianity, spirituality, The Bible / 3 minutes of reading

(Christian Week – Friday, August 15, 2014)

HAMILTON, CANADA ✦ The sad truth of the matter is that when we stop reading the Bible with any faith or confidence, when we stop discussing it at dinner with our children, when we stop wrestling with it in our meeting places and home gatherings and while lying in bed, we’re no longer connected to the grand sweep of it, to history, that is His Story, which is also our story.

Lingering on the edge of forgetfulness Read More »

Being open to life’s surprises

Leave a Comment / Hamilton Spectator, Newspaper columns / July 19, 2014 / 2014, Bilbo Baggins, brevity of life, Dr. Jean Chamberlain Froese, Froese biography, life's adventure, Lord of the Rings, Madame Curie, Order of Canada, Pierre Curie, satire, The Hobbit, travel / 4 minutes of reading

(The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday, July 19, 2014)

HAMILTON, CANADA ✦ It was in the whirlpool at the Les Chater Y when I was congratulated for My Bride’s recent naming into the Order of Canada. The woman, another early-morning swimmer, had read the news in this publication.

“Let’s face it,” she said. “You’ve had a role to play in this all. Any woman who wins something like this has to be married to a certain sort of man. If Madame Curie hadn’t been married to Pierre, she’d have been forced to be home barefoot, baking bread.”

Being open to life’s surprises Read More »