Takoda

While magnetic north may be shifting, true north remains stable within its 23,000 year precession pattern, Sunrise, sunset and the position of the sun in the sky are unaffected. I am much more concerned about the dramatic climate changes that I am seeing.

I have never heard of this. Do you have any sources?

Actually most victims of HIV/AIDS are heterosexual not homosexual. There seems to be a lot of misinformation about homosexuality being deliberately spread around.

In the late 1980s, realizing that I knew almost nothing about sexual orientation except the unchallenged prejudices with which I had grown up, I looked for a place I could go to gain the necessary intellectual and medical background on this human phenomenon. I knew only that my ignorance and prejudice would make it all but impossible to be an effective bishop in the metropolitan New York area. My search led me to a member of the faculty of The Cornell School of Medicine in New York City. This man, whose name was Robert Lahita, had both a PhD and an MD degree. At that time he was working on the differences in the immune systems of men and women, an interest that had led him deeply into the science of the brain. What impressed me most then, and it is now verified, is that the idea that homosexuality could be adopted as a lifestyle of choice or that it was caused by some factor or experience in early childhood was totally and universally dismissed. No one on the medical faculty at Cornell saluted this idea. That fact alone changed for me the whole dynamic in the debate going on in the Church. For if sexual orientation is part of what we are rather than something some choose to do, then it must be related to in the same way that we have learned to relate to skin color, gender, left handedness and ethnicity. These things are neither good or bad, they simply are. To discriminate against a person because of who that person is, is the essence of racism, sexism and xenophobia. I was now coming to the awareness that it is also the essence of homophobia. It was the 'given-ness' of sexual orientation that produced in me the sea change in my own attitude. That is also what is happening in both church and society at this moment. A new understanding of homosexuality is colliding with a definition that is uninformed, prejudiced and dying. Dying prejudices are never revived and they are never re-installed. Indeed the fact that a prejudice is being debated is a sure sign that it is dying. The only question is how long will it take and how many people will be hurt before this prejudice takes its place in the graveyards of human history alongside other discarded discriminatory practices that have marked the human journey through history. The fact is that heterosexual people cannot recall the moment when they chose their sexual orientation. I, for one, can only remember that in my very early adolescence, I decided that girls were not obnoxious and that I desired their attention. This awakening was accompanied by behavioral changes that were thought of by my parents as both remarkable and noteworthy. I took baths more frequently, combed my hair, dressed better and even used deodorant! My mother observing this behavior said: "the sap has risen!" I had no idea what that meant either. Now I wonder why those of us who did not choose to be heterosexual have always assumed that homosexuals in fact did choose to be gay! I learned many things from my Cornell contacts. I learned that scientists believe that the percentage of homosexual persons in the general population is stable among all people, in all cultures and throughout all history. I learned that homosexual behavior is well documented in the animal kingdom today. Somehow both the levels of testosterone and brain formation are factors. I learned that the division between male and female in nature is not nearly as well differentiated as we have always thought. All human life appears to start as female and it only develops masculine identity if and when the "y" chromosome kicks in, reshaping the developing fetus. Following my work with Dr. Lahita and the others at Cornell my mind has been clear on this issue. Discrimination against homosexual persons is as wrong as discrimination against people on the basis of race, gender or ethnicity. It has no place in the life of the Christian Church. I no longer even want to debate this issue in the various councils of the Church. It is for me a settled issue. It is time for people to adjust their ancient prejudices to new realities. This debate, for me is in the same category as the debate between evolution and creationism, whether the earth is flat or round and whether the sun revolves around the earth or vice versa. Some issues are simply settled. If the Church and its leaders from across the world don't understand this, they reveal Christianity's irrelevance. Church unity is a bogus smokescreen. A Church united in prejudice is not worthy of continued life. Politicians who do not understand this are either ignorant or irresponsible. There is no other choice. It is time to move both Church and State into the 21st century. ~~~ John Shelby Spong

I find that the Chic tracts are highly offensive for any number of reasons.

Thank you for that. I recall reading some years ago of a Jesuit priest who was an inquisitor and resigned in disgust. He commented that, even if the accused confessed, they still were not sure of their guilt because the tortures were so severe that "even the Pope would confess to stop the pain and execution would be a relief". The inquisitors being priests themselves were not permitted to draw blood so they used fire. They could also turn a victim over to secular authorities for torture that did draw blood. I wonder if this could be the same person. You might be interested in a documentary film by the National Film Board of Canada entitled "The Burning Times". It is available free online at --- https://www.nfb.ca/film/burning_times/

Evolution is not a theory in crisis. It is not teetering on the verge of collapse. It has not failed as a scientific explanation. There is evidence for evolution, gobs and gobs of it. It is not just speculation or a faith choice or an assumption or a religion. It is a productive framework for lots of biological research, and it has amazing explanatory power. There is no conspiracy to hide the truth about the failure of evolution. There has really been no failure of evolution as a scientific theory. It works, and it works well. ~~~ Todd Woods Whenever I see a poster talk about theories being proven or unproven, I know immediately that the poster knows next to nothing about science and how science works. Theories are models about how something works based on a great deal of observation and much testing. However, theories are always tentative and provisional in that it is never possible to have all the evidence. It is always possible that new evidence will require that the theory be modified, or in some cases, discarded completely. The history of science is filled with examples of this. The word 'proof' simply does not apply in science the way it does in logic or in mathematics. What then can we say about evolution? We know from observation that evolution is a fact --- life on this planet has changed dramatically over time and that change continues even today. That fact cannot be argued. But what drives that change? How exactly does it work? That is where the theory of evolution comes in. However, this being said, it is possible to disprove the theory of evolution. All that would be needed are solid facts. That has not happened in the century and a half since Charles Darwin first proposed his theory.

I am living right now. I see no evidence whatsoever that we are in any sort of "end times".

But we most certainly are of this world. Adam was formed of the dust of the earth. The earth is our home and, even in Genesis, Adam was commanded to till the garden not to neglect it. We really haven't done a good job of that but I want to pass on a better world to our descendants --- I don't want my great, great, great grandchildren cursing us for the mess we left for them. Since I was old enough to be aware it seems there have been predictions by Christians of the end of the world. Every single one has two characteristics in common --- 100% wrong, all of the time. Sadly, for many these beliefs have led to family break ups, financial loss and sometimes even death by suicide. No thanks.

It is my understanding that the Apostles Creed did not reach its final form until the sixth century. The Athanasian Creed was earlier and was written by someone thoroughly immersed in Greek philosophy for people who were also familiar with Greek thought. I am a very well educated Christian and I find it almost incomprehensible. Generally I find creeds to have been written primarily to exclude those horrible heretics rather than inform the faithful.

I believe it to be intellectually, emotionally and spiritually unhealthy to live your life in constant expectation of the "end times". It is far better to live your life in such a way as to make this a better world, not just today but into the far distant future.

I am grieved by the insane killings in the two mosques in Christchurch New Zealand yesterday. In all the flurry of analysis and commentary I found the remarks of the Australian journalist Waleed Aly to be most appropriate: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12213266

Speaking both as a Christian and as a scientist, I am convinced that the old testament Biblical cosmology was of a flat earth but due mainly to the powerful Greek influence on the early church that understanding did not persist for long in educated circles.

Go with God my friend.

I have been a Christian for over 75 years and in all that time I have personally met only a few people who I could say were Christlike but one does stand out in my mind. He was a Hindu. "When names are called for crowns in heaven, they will be the nameless hidden saints among us. They may not be called Christians. They just love God." ~~~ Billy Graham (Ottawa 1999)

An interesting case in the current news is Madagascar which is currently suffering a devastating measles outbreak. Since last October 66,000 have been infected and almost 1000 children and young adults have died. Prior to the outbreak only 58% had been vaccinated but the herd immunity level is 95% for measles. They are now desperately scrambling to contain the outbreak. In a case like this compulsion is needed as it was in the days of smallpox.

I am old enough to remember the crippling fear that ran through society whenever there was a nearby outbreak of polio. I remember too the crippled children and the patients in iron lungs. I remember the rush of medical labs to mass produce Jonas Saulk's new vaccine and the lineups around the block at clinics to get vaccinated. I remember polio virtually disappearing. I also remember measles disappearing and smallpox disappearing. And now I see conspiracy theorists seeking to undo all that. Just this morning I read of the publication of a new medical study involving 700,000 children focused on the MMR vaccine. It found nothing to link that vaccine to autism and in fact found that autism was slightly more prevalent in children who had not received the MMR vaccine.