Post 145—Some food for thought to bring you into the new year

To begin with, a happy new year to you! The following is a post from an outfit called “Reasons to Believe” (RTB).  They talk a lot about believing, reason and faith. Sometimes they get pretty philosophical.  I am forwarding their post to you just to give you some stuff to ponder as you make your way into 2017.  They tell you about a new book that you could find interesting, even if it is politically incorrect.   But don’t let that put you off. It’s the politically incorrect who are free, at least compared to their counterparts, the politically correct. The latter are hung up on all sort of opinions and don’t dare to discuss things openly.  They don’t dare to ask whether all religions are the same or whether their founders all meant the same; they are too scared to do so. That’s why they attack those who do, for then the correct folk feel threatened. Who knows: someone could just force them to discuss the forbidden!  In addition, the post leaves you with some unanswered questions. Tackle them. Ponder them. Work them out. Send me the conclusions you reach. I am curious. Your conclusions could become the fodder for a post, with our without your name, something you will have to decide.  I won’t use your name unless you specifically tell me I may. So, here goes: Has anyone ever tried to tell you that it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you believe something? These days, anyone who doesn’t believe that all ideas—especially about religion—are equally valid is likely to be labeled “intolerant.” In an age of growing religious pluralism, how do we articulate why it matters what we believe and what tolerance truly is? Kenneth Samples, RTB theologian and philosopher, is here to help you with his brand-new book, God among Sages: Why Jesus Is Not Just Another Religious Leader. Ken begins with a detailed look at the historic Christian portrait of Jesus Christ, then shows you how Jesus is unique compared to the founders of four major world religions: Krishna, Gautama (Buddha), Confucius, and Muhammad. Using eight objective criteria, Ken demonstrates that it is logically impossible for their claims to be equally valid. While there may be some notable overlaps in ethics and worldview, their teachings about mankind, God, and eternity are mutually exclusive. The book concludes with a thorough and thoughtful examination of what tolerance means for Christians in a pluralistic world. God among Sages is  is hot off the presses, and you’ll be one of the first to have it! Blog Summary and Highlights Have you ever felt threatened by a question? Perhaps someone was questioning your beliefs, and you didn’t know how to respond. Or perhaps you were the one asking a difficult question. In a recent blog post, Jeff shares his love of questions and why our faith welcomes inquiry. In other blog posts, scholars Kenneth and Fazale respond to questions of their own, dealing with theology and biological design. “How Do We Pursue Sanctification Amid a Sinful World?” by Kenneth Samples “Never Fear an Honest Question” by Jeff Zweerink “Q&A: Why Would an Infinite Creator Employ the Same Designs?” by Fazale Rana

Peter LaBarbera

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Post….—Remembrance Day 2017  *                          POSTED    NOV….   2017

Post 106—Refugees Beating up Canadian Students?

Support Trump?

I’m not sure what’s up with me these days. I wrote about Donald Trump in the previous blog in a somewhat but hesitant positive spirit. I understand Trump has his supporters, but I have never yet met one who admitted to the status of Trump supporters. Here in BC that’s so politically incorrect it takes some courage to go as far as I did, not to say recklessness. Just to prevent any misunderstanding on this score, I am not advocating a vote for him at this point. It partially depends on whom he might run against. But a candidate who would be free from lobbyist pressures would certainly constitute a serious choice for me, all other things being equal, which they are not!

Coyne vs Levant

And here, in this next blog, I am writing about Ezra Levant, a Canadian rebel journalist who operates the online alternative newspaper < TheRebel.media >.  As it takes courage to suggest there could be a lighter side to Trump, so the same for Levant. No one less than Andrew Coyne, a journalist for whom I have the highest respect, berated Levant in no uncertain terms on my birthday, of all things (Vancouver Sun, February 18, 2016, p. B2). He wonders whether Levant should be considered a journalist, but if he is, “he is a stain on the trade.” He peddles “bile.” His writings are characterized by “strange personal vendettas, the recklessness with the facts, the blatant propagandizing, the frequent lawsuits…. It’s inconceivable.” He is “widely despised.”

A Third Rebel

Well, I’m going to take a chance on Levant, partially because, like both Trump and Levant, I am a rebel at heart. Just ask my almost life-time employer, Christian Reformed World Missions in Grand Rapids, Michigan. (No, I’m not an American!)  But also because the subject is an important one. The strong emphasis on multiculturalism displayed by the two Trudeau Canadian Prime Ministers, I have always felt, ignores the fact that new comers to the country, whether immigrants (of which I am one) or refugees, often bring with them an insistence on their own culture to the disadvantage of Canadian culture. Trudeau Jr.’s accepting 25,000 refugees without due diligence is, I surmise, partially due to discounting the negative cultural impact of some, if not many, new comers. I have a strong feeling that more Muslim new comers insist on giving or even demanding space for their culture/religion than any other. 

All that said, here comes a report from Ezra Levant:

Refugees Beat up Canadian Students in Halifax

Over the weekend, the Halifax Chronicle-Herald published a shocking report that newly arrived Syrian “refugees” at Chebucto Heights Elementary School were beating up Canadian students.

Canadian kids were being bullied, even choked by Muslim students, who made throat-slitting gestures. And the school was hiding all of this from the public, even from parents.

Not surprisingly, the news story went viral. 

But soon the Chronicle-Herald started making changes to their story, taking out key facts. Then they just deleted the story entirely from their website — replacing it with a short note explaining that the subject was too sensitive.

And then this morning, they published yet another alibi, explaining that one of the reasons they took the story down was that “anti-Muslim groups” had been “sharing the article”. So they decided to do what the school had been doing: cover it up.

Even as they admitted that a fourth witness had come forward.

What’s really going on in Halifax? Why are journalists hiding the news instead of reporting it?

Aren’t you curious? 

I sure am. The Chronicle-Herald’s bizarre attempt to un-tell the story says there’s a lot of pressure on them to shut up.

When it comes to Syrian “refugees”, I simply refuse to trust the mainstream media anymore.

So we sent one of our top reporters, Faith Goldy, to Halifax to get the facts directly. Not through the filter of the mainstream media.

Faith and our cameraman arrived late last night, and they got straight to work. Their mission: to find out whatever the truth is, and report it. No censorship. No political correctness.

Click here to watch Faith’s first report from the scene. And answer me this: who do you trust to tell you the truth — Faith, or the politically correct editors of the Halifax Chronicle-Herald?

That’s as far as I will go with Ezra’s story until we hear more, hopefully also from mainstream media. I advise you to keep your eye on this story yourself from both media streams. Perhaps the development of this story will decide for me between Coyne and Levant, though I am unlikely to drop Coyne and hopefully will not have to drop Levant either. I find it enlightening to read both “sides of the coin,” with apologies to Coyne for the pun.  

However, as an immigrant kid myself, I can also think of another take on this story. As kids we would get involved in some shenanigans in the neighbourhood that our parents, still steeped in “old country” culture, would never hear or think about. We sometimes lived in totally different worlds from theirs and could get into trouble. The case of these Muslim kids could be as innocent as that, though to the host community it would look like “typical” Muslim stuff and they blew their stack, yelling “There, you see, that’s what happens when you allow Muslims into the country!" At the same time, of course, it did indicate what these kids might have learned in their home culture—and that was not pretty!—that they brought with them into Canada.  

Follow Up 

It’s a few days later since I wrote the above and I have not yet published this post. So, here comes the post along with this follow-up from Levant:

An incredible scoop. But instead of condemning the bullying, the Halifax Regional School Board condemned the newspaper. And instead of following up on the story, other journalists across the country called the Chronicle-Herald “racist” for even talking about it.

So the Chronicle-Herald deleted the story. They didn’t retract it; they didn’t say they got their facts wrong. They just wanted to un-report what they had reported.

Well, that’s not real journalism. That’s propaganda.

So on Sunday night, I flew to Halifax with a cameraman from The Rebel. And we reported the story the old-fashioned way — knocking on doors, making phone calls, showing up at the school, talking to parents, talking to school officials. With no preconceptions: we would follow the facts wherever they led us.

It took us two days, but we got the whole story — and now you can get it,only on The Rebel.

Syrian kids do bully Canadian kids in Halifax — it’s practically a daily occurrence. The school board knows all about it — but they just keep telling the students and teachers to keep quiet. 

It’s the story the Chronicle-Herald tried to tell, before they were silenced — and the story the rest of the mainstream media refuse to tell.

Well, the story needs to be told. And you can watch it right now with your own eyes, in the words of the families who were victimized twice: first by schoolyard bullies, and then again by the school’s cover-up.

Click here to watch a short summary of my investigation. And if you want to see the whole, hour-long documentary, sign up as a premium member, to never miss a minute. 

Well, in terms of length, you got your money's worth today!