IN THE DEATH OF OTHERS WE LEARN HOW TO LIVE

Students in a "Creative Writing" class were accustomed to receiving writing assignments which involved various aspects of their everyday living. Consequently, as the course drew to a close, their final assignment put them in a state of shock.

"Write your own obituary," the teacher said. Later, one of the students explained that, for him, "The weirdest part of carrying out the assignment was choosing a date of death." Another said: "Summarizing, in a few short paragraphs, who I was and what I did before I died was a growth experience." Still another said, "It brought home to me, as never before, the one thing we all share in common: at the moment of birth we begin our journey toward death -- we're all dying!"

And so we are! All of us are dying!

This was driven home to me very early in my writing career, having spent much of my first year introduced to news writing style by composing obituaries about people I never knew and relying solely on second-hand information provided by the respective funeral director. It often bothered me that in 500 words or less I had just summarized a person's lifetime. An injustice, in my mind but nonetheless an accepted practice.

Many years ago, a Eugene O'Neil play called "Lazarus Laughed" was produced on the Broadway stage. The play was based on the New Testament episode in which a friend of Jesus named Lazarus dies and his body is placed in the burial tomb. Three days later, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead.

In the death experience, Lazarus learned to appreciate the greatness of life, and he sees things in a whole new perspective. He is able to look upon the affairs of mankind with a cosmic insight. And it is all so funny that he laughs. He cannot contain himself from laughter over the way people worry and struggle and relate to one another. "Why are your eyes always watching one another with suspicion?" he asks.

The play reminds us that we all are destined to share in Lazarus' experience of death and seeing the affairs of mankind in a whole new perspective -- looking back on our own earthbound activities with a cosmic insight. And, like Lazarus, perhaps, we shall ask: "Why are you always watching one another with suspicion?... Why are you bearing grudges against one another?... Why are you trying so hard to outdo one another, manipulate one another, control one another, humiliate one another?... Why are you being so judgmental toward one another?" 

 Indeed, why?

Answer: Because we live in a (counter) culture today that negatively impacts human relations.

All the more reason why truths of the Christian gospel should compel us to a contrite, compassionate, and courageous personal response to social issues in the culture. Certainly there will be a cost and there will be a reward. All of which prompts a final question: Do contemporary Christians have the courage to counter the prevailing culture?

DIFFERENCES + RIGHTS = SOCIAL JUSTICE

In our ordinary language we tend to label things in a way that implies sameness. Yet, we live in a world in which no two things are alike in all respects.

Look anywhere you want for two things that are alike in all respects -- two grains of sand, two peas in a pod, two fingernails, two leaves on a tree, two sticks of chewing gum. You will find many things that are similar but you will never find two things that are absolutely identical. 

If we are to think maturely, we must be aware of similarities and differences, both. We will get into trouble if we act as though all men or all women are similar in all respects. We will also get into trouble if we act as though all men or all women are different in all respects...We cannot, for example, meet one or two or even a dozen people from one country and generalize about all citizens living in that same country.

The notion that all persons are equal is deeply ingrained in the modern soul. As a political notion, it is basic to a democratic society. In terms of legal and social rights, the idea of equality must be constantly asserted and defended. It can never be taken for granted. 

The word "equality" to many people means that they have a right to say they are as good as anyone else. Too often, however, they are not so ready to proclaim that anyone else is as good as they are. Our Christian commitment to social justice is an ongoing struggle to make equality more than a fantasy in a civics text book or a political speech.

And yet we know that all people are not equal. We must be equal in political, social, legal and economic rights, but we are not all equal in mental and physical ability, in our capacity to love, in the measure of our courage, in the fulfillment of our potential. People are not morally equal. There are enormous differences and these differences have eternal consequences. That is our Biblical witness and we cannot, nor should not overlook it.

Christians and churches definitely should advocate social justice in the sense that ever sinful society needs constant moral reform. The church’s chief tool in this advocacy is the gospel itself. Redeemed humanity is likelier to care about justice than unregenerate humanity. But even the redeemed need an ethical framework for social renewal. And even the non-redeemed can be enlisted in good causes with appeals to conscience, natural law and self-interest.

A valid Christian political witness for social justice starts with the premise that all persons are created in God’s image. It also understands that the state is not the church but has a very different vocation, having been divinely ordained primarily to uphold order and restrain the wicked. Social justice should not equate all societal improvement with legislation, regulation and other coercive state action.

Instead, Christian social justice understands that most of society is not the state and includes a wide assortment of important actors, including the family, the church, other religions, businesses, philanthropies and charities, trade associations, civic groups and other human groupings, each of which ideally contributes to human order and happiness.

Social justice seeks especially to protect the vulnerable, including the very young, the very old, the unborn, the terminally ill, the disabled, the poor and the unpopular. Social justice also seeks to energize the able and the powerful towards virtue, thrift and industry. It should not seek to deconstruct but to build. 

At the risk of being repetitive, social justice must safeguard essential liberties rooted in human dignity and God’s character in the form of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and protection of property. We all have a role to play, if we stop to think about it and act according to our proclaimed beliefs.

It also helps to open-mindedly take some time to walk in the shoes of people deemed to be just a little different than us by birth, circumstance or persuasion.

Everyone born on this earth needs compassion, understanding -- and love. What is there about that fact that is so difficult for some people to understand?

IT'S SPRING TIME AND AN OLD MAN'S FANCY TURNS "LIGHTLY" TO THOUGHTS OF BYGONE LOVE

WELL, I WOULDN'T GO THAT FAR...BUT I CAN FANTASIZE CAN'T I?

Okay everybody...It's SPRING! And you know what happens in spring, right?

In spring a young man's fancy turns to thoughts of love!

And don't discount old guys like me. Let's be honest...We may be too old to pop, but we have long memories when it comes to an inbred ability to fantasize about the fairer sex.

The phrase 'a young man's fancy' was coined by Alfred Lord Tennyson, in his poem Locksly Hall, 1842:

In the spring a fuller crimson comes upon the robin's breast
In the spring the wanton lapwing gets himself another crest
In the spring a livelier iris changes on the burnished dove
In the spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.

The poem concludes with what is one of the best known lines in English poetry. However, it wasn't the whimsical accolade to young love as might be imagined. The protagonist muses on unrequited love in a somewhat bitter mood. Tennyson described the poem as showing "young life, its good side, its deficiencies, and its yearnings".

By the word 'fancy' Tennyson meant 'imagination; a mental image'. To take a fancy to is to be attracted to and imagine (fancy) oneself together with the object of one's affection. This expression was well known from the 16th century onward. It is first found in the 1541 Acts of Parliament of Henry VIII:

"In case it fortune... the king... should take a fancie to anie woman."

With all of this as preamble, I was thinking earlier today about the handful (no pun intended) of girl friends I had over brief periods of time in my formative and adolescent late teens period, before marrying at 22 years of age. There was Claudette, Sylvia, Marjorie and Pat -- all a little different personality-wise, but all beautiful in their own special ways. In retrospect, I did not deserve them, maybe even going so far as to unintentionally taking them for granted.

Breakups were mutual for the most part, but there were inevitable unanswered questions and lingering, suppressed heartbreak on both sides too. That's kind of the way life goes, isn't it. Sometimes it is almost unfair. To this day I struggle with the impulse to tell those wonderful women (several now deceased) how much I respect them and the fond memories I have of the lazy, hazy days when we shared each other's company.

Sadly, in a way, you just do not do things like that, however. You let bygones be bygones. 

In truth, no matter how strongly I felt, I cannot remember ever telling any of those girls that I loved them and I cannot remember any of them expressing such emotions for me. Maybe we were guardedly cautious, inexperienced as we were in expressing hormonally-induced feelings. We were just very good friends with a going-steady understanding in several cases. Having sex never entered the equation, but there was ample cuddling, hand holding and whispered sweet nothings of an innocent nature. We went to movies, dances, ice skating in winter and the beach in summer. We haunted restaurants and spent a lot of time sitting on parental sofas pretending to watch television.

Thinking back on those relationships now, it would have been so easy (perhaps even natural) for me to speak of love for effect; but again you just did not go to that length in those days -- unless you were genuinely ready to make a commitment from the heart, and you were convinced you had sown sufficient proverbial wild oats.

In retrospect, I came to realize that there is nothing more hurtful than unrequited love and it is not to be taken lightly. Love should not hurt but it so often does in real life. Love is to be shared -- equally. We learn as we mature, and we are better for those precious boy-girl relationships we had when we were so emotionally vulnerable.

We learn to openly express love, even in retrospect and 65 years or so after the fact.

It is safe for me to say now, at my advanced age, that I hold nothing but love in my heart for all the girls who at one time came in and out of my door and, since I'm in a nostalgic springtime mood, I harken to one of my favorite songs made famous in particular by Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson. 

💞 To all the girls I've loved before

Who travelled in and out my door
I'm glad they came along
I dedicate this song
To all the girls I've loved before

To all the girls I once caressed
And may I say I've held the best
For helping me to grow
I owe a lot I know
To all the girls I've loved before

The winds of change are always blowing
And every time I try to stay
The winds of change continue blowing
And they just carry me away

To all the girls who shared my life
Who now are someone else's wives
I'm glad they came along
I dedicate this song
To all the girls I've loved before

To all the girls who cared for me
Who filled my nights with ecstasy
They live within my heart
I'll always be a part
Of all the girls I've loved before

I could not have said it better myself guys.
~~with special acknowledgement to Hal David for writing the words.

IS THERE REALLY ONLY ONE GOD?

I fully expect that I am going to be taken to task for this post, but I publish it anyway because it is an answer to a question I have often privately wondered about, thanks to an explanation presented to me by Dr. Eli Lizorkin-Eyzenberg, Professor of Ancient Cultures and an expert Israeli scholar in Biblical Studies and early Christianity, with copious Jewish and Christian religious and secular education.

Before I say anything else, I admit that this question, “Is there really only one god?” sounds both ridiculous and blasphemous. But you know me, I normally ask questions most people don’t ask. So, here we go: Does the Bible really present its audience with a monotheistic worldview (i.e. only one god exists)? The answer to this question is surprisingly – no.

In fact, the Bible reflects the ancient worldview of a god-congested universe. Here are just a few representative texts:

“God stands in the Divine Council; He renders judgment among the gods… I said, “You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High.” (Ps. 82:1, 6)

“When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.” (ESV, Deut.32:8 following Qumran/LXX version of the Hebrew.)

“Ascribe to the Lord, sons of the mighty (literally from Hebrew sons of gods), ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.” (Ps. 29:1)

“Who is like You among the gods, O LORD?” (NASB, Ex. 15:11)

“For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God…” (ESV, Deut.10:17)

“You shall have no other gods before Me. (NASB, Ex.20:3)

The view of the divine world presented in the Bible is not monotheistic, but rather henotheistic (there exists a multiplicity of gods, but One Supreme God exists above them all). Apostle Paul, whose thinking was very much in line with this very idea (because of his pharisaic idea of the Shema), wrote the following:

“For although there are many that that are called gods in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many gods and many lords) – yet for us there is One God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist”. (1 Cor. 8:5-6)

There are other powerful heavenly beings (this is how in Biblical times gods were understood – any god is bigger than any human). Now we commonly refer to them as angels and demons (as well as principalities and powers), but in the Biblical times most people called them gods and/or sons of god/s.

Clearly, Moses, Jesus and Paul presume this. They also are in agreement on an even more essential point. While there may be other “gods,” only God Most High, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is worthy to be worshiped, adored and obeyed!

Christians pay homage to, and faithfully acknowledge, the same God of the Universe.

OVERCOME AWKWARDNESS TO FULFILL YOURSELF

I often talk about a young fellow who doubles as a piano player/teacher and communicator/marketer. He impressed me the other day with something he said about feeling slightly awkward at times when exercising a passion for music, because that is exactly the way I feel about my virtually life-long compulsion to write for public consumption.

Here's what he said that struck a chord for me: 

"When most people sit down and try to play the piano for the first time... it might feel incredibly strange.

"You might think, 'There are so many people who play the piano amazingly already? Why am I even trying this anyway?'

"I remember going into a conservatory and feeling so small when I heard so many amazing players. I would sit down at the piano to perform for my classmates every week... and often it felt SO awkward!

"But at the same time...

"When I got swallowed up in the joy of creating music it was so fulfilling! Even if I wasn't the best at it. Even if it felt a little awkward.

"Part of me was finally out there in the world and it felt so good."

So much of that reminded me of my struggles with confidence when I started out 60 years ago as a very raw and awkward cub reporter trying to fit into a newsroom environment that was completely foreign to me. The impulse was to ask: "What am I doing here? The guys sitting at those other desks are seasoned veterans and probably much better writers than I'll ever be." (A doubt substantiated more than once when the editor turned my story copy over to other reporters for re-write.)

Like so many other things in life, the more you do the better you get...and I persisted because I was fulfilling a need within me to master the written word and every time I saw my work in print I felt increasing pride in authorship. The fact that I was contributing to news of the day and people paid for it, was indeed fulfilling.

In time I began to write better than I spoke...Still do! 

Writing today continues to be an outlet for my need to communicate on a broad range of human-interest, sometimes inspirational, subjects. It fulfills me and it feels good! 

I felt awkward again a few years ago in pitching manuscripts of two books that I had written, so I self-published them...and subsequently failed to break even on the cost. Bottom line though, I put the books out there with great sense of accomplishment in the end.

I put myself out there virtually every day and it doesn't bother me in the least that there are highly-paid media commentators on the air waves, in print and on line who are much younger, smarter, articulate and better looking than me.

It has been years since I was compensated financially for anything I write and I'd rather have it that way. I do not have editors second-guessing me. I am my own publisher. And I have few critics bold enough to give me a piece of their mind, which is a bonus.

Talk about a writer finally having the best of all worlds!

MY WRIGHT FAMILY IS GROWING, THANKS TO DNA CONNECTIONS AND HERITAGE COMMUNICATIONS

Jean Rae Baxter, a new cousin

When I was growing up, and even to this day, I have never personally met another member of the Wright family. My dad was raised as an only child, as was I. My Wright grandparents died before I was born.

My mother, on the other hand, was raised as the youngest in a family of five sisters and four brothers. So I had lots of aunts and uncles (several dozen first cousins, all deceased now) and a whole lotta spoiling by my grandparents on the Perry side.

Truth be known though, I always felt deprived of relatives on the Wright side and kind of sad that my particular branch of the family tree would eventually die along with me. Regretfully, my father Ken just never got around to telling me much about family background before he died when I was only 14 years of age.

Perhaps all of this is the reason for a preoccupation with genealogy in my senior years and the development of several family related web sites, culminating with certification as a member of the United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada and the amassing of literally hundreds of cousins I never knew existed, thanks to participation in a world-wide Wright Family DNA Project. I also belong to a number of ancestry and heritage groups, through which I have come in contact with even more individuals claiming roots in what is now a very large family tree.

In fact, I have reached a point where I am having difficulty keeping up with almost daily notifications that a new DNA relative has been found for me. The key, of course, in doing justice to this type of program is follow up contact wherever possible -- exchange of information and, if lucky, the sharing of rare photographs and valuable never-before-seen documentation. Resultant online relationships are truly the icing on the cake.

A case in point is one of my latest new-found cousins and I instantly felt that we were cut from the same cloth. We actually found each other through an article I wrote recently for a heritage newsletter.

Jean Rae Baxter of Kingston is an author with two collections of short stories to her credit. Her short stories have been included in such anthologies as Revenge and Hardboiled Love, and In the Wings and Scattered Light. Her literary murder mystery Looking for Cardenio was published in 2008 and she is the author of a series of Young Adult historical novels that have been used in the International Baccalaureate Program. It and others in the series have won awards in Canada and the United States. A sixth and final book in the Forging a Nation series is scheduled for publication in the spring of 2021. 

Pretty impressive stuff, to say the least.

Without going into detail, Jean traces her maternal lineage back to my 3Xgreat grandparents Henry and Mary (Klingensmith) Wright and their family of 10 siblings, the original United Empire Loyalists who settled in Oxford County in the late 1790s. She was born in Toronto and grew up in Hamilton, but "down home" was the same region of Essex and Kent Counties on the north shore of Lake Erie where her ancestors also settled, some following the American Revolution and some a century earlier, in the days of New France. There were many family stories to awaken her interest in Canada's past, and frequently, in these stories, the lives of settlers were interwoven with those of First Nations people.

After earning her B.A. and M.A. from the University of Toronto and a B.Ed degree from Queen's, she lived for many years in the Kingston area, where her interest in Loyalist history led her to find out more about such figures as the Rev'd John Stuart, Sir William Johnson, and Molly Brant.

Her career as a teacher began in Lennox and Addington County, Loyalist country 20 miles west of Kingston. While teaching at Napanee District Secondary School, she helped to develop Language Arts Curriculum in liaison with the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (O.I.S.E.).

During her career in education, Jean had little free time for her own writing, although she managed to produce a few poems, professional articles, and several one-act plays that have been produced in schools and churches.

Following her career in education, she returned to Hamilton and became a fulltime author. As well as writing novels and short stories, she was a member of the committee that organizes Hamilton's Lit Live Reading Series and also served as Co-chair of the Literary Advisory Committee, Hamilton Arts Council. In 2016 she returned to Kingston, where she now lives and writes.

Jean is currently mentoring an Anishinaabe woman who is writing a historical novel based on her own family's history. We have had several interesting email chats, played telephone tag and shared some precious documentation and photographs. We plan to stay in touch.

I no longer feel like a Wright orphan with so many relatives like Jean Rae Baxter out there just waiting to be discovered.

PICKED UP IN PASSING

 ...The elusiveness of Someday

A man set out to purchase a state-of-the-art sound system to complete his backyard renovation project. But what kind of equipment should he buy? He begins to inquire, and he discovers that, of course, the technology is always improving. So, he decides to wait a month or two. Perhaps the features will be better then, and maybe prices will go down. 

Two months later, the man hears a rumor that a revolutionary new wireless technology could extend the range of his speakers far beyond what he imagined. So again, he decides to "wait and see." And the sad fact is that the man waits so long for the latest and greatest product to hit that market that he never gets to listen to any music in his backyard oasis.

Some years ago, in a "New York Times" editorial, the following proposal was made: "Amid all the 'Weeks' observed during the year on behalf of this, that, and the other thing, there should be room for a 'Someday Week.'"

"Scarcely a week passes that one does not say, 'Someday.’ Someday is the day to take the whole family to a museum or a zoo. Someday is the day to pull a reclining chair into the yard and sit there doing nothing. Someday is the day to sit down with books about the stars and learn something about them -- or insects or rocks. 

To make Someday Week truly effective, however, the government will have to declare a national holiday, so everyone will have time to devote exclusively to Someday projects. And Someday Week will surely have an impact on the economy with all the Someday books to read, the Someday things to build, and the Someday places to see. In fact, Someday Week would be a real success. But it is unlikely that such a plan for making Someday dreams come true will be universally adopted. The people who plan special weeks will say, no doubt, that they're much too busy to give this plan thought right now. But maybe, just maybe they'll consider it -- someday."

AND IN THE BEGINNING...

I have devoted recent days to the sole question "If we didn't believe in God as the creator of the universe, how would we account for the creation of the world we find ourselves living in?" For a simple and uneducated mind like mine, this was a major challenge in rational, considered and open-minded thinking, not to be forced or hurried.

In the end, I am not sure if I truly answered the question that prompted my sometimes mid-boggling study and research. You be the judge as you consider the following capsulation that evolved from respected sources, bearing in mind the complexity of the matter that deservedly would take volumes beyond the limitations of Wrights Lane to do deserved justice.

~~I do not apologize for the length of this post, rather I am concerned about its brevity in arriving at a satisfactory and understandable conclusion. If you think you have it all figured out, you are an exception and you need not read any further.~~

The creation/evolution debate has been raging for years. To many, it seems like two opponents yelling at each other with no one really listening. The vitriol has increased to the point where each side reflexively dismisses the other—evolutionists dismiss creationists as completely ignoring science, and creationists accuse evolutionists of engaging in all sorts of Machiavellian conspiracies to silence their side. 

This is not to dismiss the arguments of either side as being hyperbolic but simply to point out that there is precious little honest dialogue going on in this verbal war.

Because of the difficulty of sorting out the truth, many Christians relegate the creation/evolution debate to the status of a secondary issue that does not relate to how one becomes right with God through the gospel of Jesus Christ. For the most part, this line of thinking is correct. We can get so caught up in this debate that we lose our focus from the main issue: the spread of the gospel. However, as with many other “secondary” issues, what one believes regarding creation plays a role in how one views theology in general and the gospel in particular. More to the point, how one views creation has a major impact on the rest of their theological views.

Regarding the doctrine of creation, there are several views within Christianity:

1. Literal 24x6 creation – God created all there is in six 24-hour days.

2. Day-Age view – The creation events occurred as depicted in Genesis 1, but instead of six 24-hour days, the “days” of creation represent indeterminate, finite periods of time.

3. The Framework view – The days of Genesis 1 represent a theological framework within which to narrate the creation of all things.

Throughout most of church history, up until the last 150 years, the 24x6 view of creation was the most commonly held view within the church. Not all Christians held to this view, and not all who did were committed to it. However, there is no question that this has been the dominant interpretation of Genesis for most of Christian history. We don’t want to believe something simply because it’s traditional and historical, including the 24x6 view of creation; rather, we want to believe a doctrine because it’s supported by the text of Scripture.

In this particular case, many conservative theologians believe that the 24x6 view also has the strongest exegetical support from the text. First and foremost, it’s the natural view one gets from simply reading the text. Additionally, there are other points, such as the way the seven-day pattern set forth during creation week is the pattern for our calendar week (Exodus 20:8–11).

Since the advent of modern science, the 24x6 view of creation has been increasingly abandoned by Christians. The primary reason for this rejection is the fact that the 24x6 view of creation necessitates a “young earth” age of the universe (anywhere from 6,000 to 30,000 years), and the prevailing scientific view is that the universe is billions of years old. The Day-Age view (sometimes called progressive creationism) is an attempt to reconcile the Genesis creation account with an “old earth” view of the age of the universe.

Please note that the Day-Age view still posits that God created all things and it still rejects atheistic (naturalistic) evolution. Nor should the Day-Age view be confused with “theistic evolution,” the view that macroevolution is true but, instead of being guided by blind chance, was guided by the hand of God. Day-Age proponents see themselves as reconciling the biblical account with science. Its opponents see this view as a slippery slope to rejecting the veracity of God’s Word.

Because many Christians view the creation/evolution debate as of secondary importance, there is usually little or no concern over the theological implications of how one interprets the Bible’s view of creation. In truth, however, what one believes regarding creation is crucial because it goes to the issue of the inerrancy, trustworthiness, and authority of Scripture. Of primary importance is why a person chooses a particular view, in light of the Word of God. Believing that the Bible is inspired and inerrant but not literal in the first two chapters of Genesis is one thing. Believing that the Bible is simply wrong or cannot be trusted is another.  In other words, the key issue when it comes to one’s view of creation is how that view relates to the authority and reliability of the Bible.

If the Bible can’t be trusted in the first two chapters, what makes it trustworthy throughout the rest of the book? Typically, critics of the Bible focus their attacks on the first 11 chapters of Genesis, in particular the creation account. The question is, why do they target this part of Scripture? The first 11 chapters of Genesis set the stage for the rest of the biblical story. You can’t understand the unfolding narrative of Scripture without Genesis 1–11. There is so much foundational material in these chapters for the rest of the Bible—e.g., creation, the fall, sin, the certainty of judgment, the necessity of a Savior, and the introduction of the gospel. To ignore these foundational doctrines would render the rest of the Bible as unintelligible and irrelevant.

Yet critics of the Bible want to treat these opening chapters of Genesis as ancient Hebrew myth rather than primeval history. The truth of the matter is that, compared to the creation stories of other cultures, the Genesis account—even in its most literal interpretation—reads more like history than myth. In most ancient literature, creation is seen as a struggle between the gods. Most creation myths portray the culture in question as the center of the religious universe. The Genesis account, while sharing many similarities with other creation stories, differs in that it portrays God as the sole Sovereign over creation (not one among many gods) and mankind as the pinnacle of His creation, serving as His stewards over creation.

To be sure, there are unanswered questions with the Genesis account, such as the exact date of creation. Nor are there many details about the specific means or methods God might have used. This, of course, is why there are debates about the different biblically compatible creation accounts. The purpose of the Genesis account isn’t to give a complete historical account that would pass muster with modern-day historians. The Genesis account was a pre-history of the Jewish people as they were preparing to enter the Promised Land; they needed to know who they were and from whence they came.

Another thing to note is that much of Christian theology is based on the historical accuracy of the Genesis account. The concept of marriage comes right out of the creation account (Genesis 2:24) and is referenced by Jesus in all three Synoptic Gospels. Our Lord Himself acknowledges that man was created male and female “from the beginning of creation” (Matthew 19:4). These statements, to be comprehendible, rely on the historical accuracy of the Genesis creation account. Most importantly, the doctrine of salvation depends on the existence of a literal person named Adam. Twice in the Pauline Epistles (Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15), Paul links our salvation in Christ with our identification in Adam. In 1 Corinthians 15:21–22, we read, “For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” The entire human race is in a fallen state by virtue of being “in Adam” through natural birth. In similar manner, those whom God has chosen for salvation are saved by virtue of being “in Christ” through spiritual birth. The in Adam/in Christ distinction is crucial to a proper understanding of Christian soteriology, and this distinction makes no sense if there were no literal Adam from whom all humanity descended.

Paul argues in a similar vein in Romans 5:12–21. But what makes this passage unique is that it explicitly says, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). This verse is the linchpin in the argument for total depravity (the “first plank” in the Calvinist platform), and, like the 1 Corinthians passage, it depends on a literal Adam for it to make any kind of sense. Without a literal Adam, there is no literal sin and no need for a literal Savior.

Despite what position one takes on the doctrine of creation, at least one point is clear and not open to debate within Christianity: God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). While we might agree that the 24x6 view possesses the strongest biblical argument, there are other views offering valid interpretations within the sphere of Christian orthodoxy.

It is important to stress that the Bible does not (either explicitly or implicitly) teach an atheistic or “Darwinian” view of our origins. Therefore, to state that the creation/evolution debate is not important is to have a low view of Scripture. It does matter, particularly because how we approach the Bible with respect to origins, speaks to how we will approach it everywhere else.

If we cannot trust the Bible when it speaks on the matter of creation, why should we trust it to speak on salvation? Logically, what we believe regarding creation is important to the rest of our theology.

There is no middle ground! One must decide -- either God or chance!

The person who is a consistent evolutionist will attribute the many wonders of our planet (the earth's surface temperature, tilt and rotation, atmosphere, ocean, and crust) to the unguided chance. This conclusion, though not impossible, takes a great deal of faith in extremely improbable events. It is akin to supposing that the Mona Lisa came into existence from globs of paint hurled at a canvas.

The creationist, on the other hand, will recognize that the only rational deduction from all available data is that the marvels of the earth owe their origin to the intelligence and handiwork of the Creator, God. 

MOURNING BILL HORNE, MY PRODIGY

I always unabashedly credited myself with influencing young Bill Horne's interest in the "game of ball" (baseball and fastball). My joy and pride in the rotund athlete peaked as he became a fastball icon in the City of St. Thomas, and Canada too for that matter, over a period of four decades. He was a champion at all levels of the game -- player, coach, manager, organizer -- and was a devoted family man. His heart was bigger than his over-size body.

I was shocked and saddened when one of Bill's former players informed me of his passing at 69 years of age on Wednesday, March 3.

As a tribute to Bill I refer readers to a Wrights Lane feature I produced exactly 12 years ago this month which dealt with his remarkable achievements.  Bill's obituary follows this Wrights Lane flashback.

BILL HORNE

Mr. Fastball personified

Bill Horne was a robust 12-year-old, just a little on the heavy side and big for his age. He lived with his parents across the street from us on nondescript old-town Weldon Avenue in St. Thomas. He loved baseball. So did I. It was only natural that we became chums in spite of our 15-year age differential.

Bill was always there, appearing out of nowhere the minute I came out of the front door or drove in the driveway. His baseball glove would generally be close at hand. I never had to ask, "Do you want to toss a few?" It was a foregone conclusion.

I was a year removed from playing in the Senior Intercounty Baseball League and was coaching the St. Thomas Tom Cats in the Junior I-C at the time. I was also sports editor at the St. Thomas Times-Journal, so I was an easy and convenient mark for a kid like Bill. An attentive listener, he was a sponge for my sports trivia.

He had a quick analytical mind for his age and at times you could almost hear the wheels turning. He was starting to show promise as a peewee pitcher in the St. Thomas Minor Baseball Association, but in playing catch with me he would often mix a softball underhand delivery with his baseball overhand pitches -- a precursor of things to come.

It did not take long for me to invite Bill to become bat boy for the Junior Tom Cats and he readily accepted, even joining me on road trips. I looked for ways to highlight his name in minor baseball writeups and even took a photo of him for insertion in the newspaper when the occasion called for it. For some reason, I just felt that he needed the encouragement.

As unbelievable as it seems, the foregoing took place in the mid 1960s. Now, turn the clock ahead some 40 years.

Bill Horne is one of the most successful and celebrated fastball pitchers and team managers in Canada.

As a teenager "the kid across the street" turned exclusively to fastball and quickly became a top pitcher in Ontario senior men's competition. He also swung a potent bat, winning the Memorial League batting championship one season. In all, his playing career encompassed an amazing four decades. But it is as a coach and manager that Bill is truly leaving his mark on fastball in Canada.

He officially moved to coaching in the St. Thomas and District City League in 1985 and his teams promptly carried off five league championships. Since then he has coached at the junior, intermediate and senior levels of fastball in Ontario. Between 1997 and '99, Bill's Fingal Juniors twice won the Ontario Amateur Softball Association Eliminations and advanced to the Canadian Junior Championships three times, winning gold in 1998. Advancing to senior competition in 1999, Bill took his Fingal team all the way to the Canadian Senior Championships and a bronze medal finish.

One of Bill's teams celebrate winning Canadian
championship.

He coached the Waterloo Twins for the next three years, placing second in the Canadian Senior Men's Championship in 2000 and 2003, winning Senior Eliminations in 2002. In 2004 Bill took the Union Storm (St. Thomas district) to the Ontario Senior Elimination Championship and another berth in the Canadian Senior Men's Championship tournament.

The highlight of his coaching career came in 2005 when he put together the St. Thomas Evergreen Centennials from scratch and won the Canadian senior men's championship on home grounds. The team repeated as Canadian champs the following year in Prince George, B.C. Last year the Centennials came away from the championship tourney in Saskatoon with a third-place bronze medal finish.

He has also coached at five world championship tournaments and has had four Top Ten finishes. Add that to his two gold, two silver and two bronze medals at the Canadians and you have an impressive, unequalled record. He was inducted into the OASA Coaches Honor Roll after his Canadian championship season in 2005.

Constructively critical and controversial at times, Bill is well respected in the fastball community. "His players love to play for him as indicated by those from across the province who return to play for him each year," commented one supporter. "He just does a remarkable job of putting successful teams together."

Life has not been all a bed of Roses for Bill and his wife Donna. He dedicated the 2005 Canadian Championship to his 19-year-old daughter Katie who was suffering from aggressive brain cancer. Katie was well enough to work as a volunteer in the tournament and she was at her father's side when he accepted the gold medal symbolic of Canadian fastball supremacy. She passed away several months later after a year-long struggle with the insatiable disease.

With a piece of his heart missing, Bill has not relinquished interest in the game he loves. Ever the promoter and organizer and in the role of tournament chairman and general manager, Bill has again been instrumental in bringing the Canadian Men's Championship back to St. Thomas this summer, August 30 to September 6. He previously led a large group of St. Thomas volunteers in 1999 and 2005 in obtaining the rights to host the tournament.

Icing on the cake would be another gold medal for Bill and his Centennials on home ground this summer. Don't discount it!

A PARTING SHOT: Hey Bill, your old chum is dammed proud of you! You no longer need the encouragement, but I'm doing this one last writeup for you anyway!

Give me a call some time and we'll toss a few JUST FOR OLD TIMES SAKE.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OBITUARY APPEARING IN THE ST. THOMAS TIMES-JOURNAL

HORNE: William Robert “Bill” of St. Thomas passed away at the St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2021 at the age of 69. Beloved husband of Donna Jean (née Hutchison) Horne, dearly loved father of Jocelyn Leahy and her husband Patrick of Rocky Mountain House, Alberta and the late Katie Horne (2005). Proud grandfather to Sloane and Fallon Leahy. Loved brother of Karen and her husband Dr. Frank Murphy of Dundas, Jack Chappel of Tillsonburg, Gerry Chappel and his wife Pam of London and Nancy Chappel of St. Thomas. Bill will be loved and remembered by Marlene and Hollie Archer of Stratford, Carman and Margaret Hutchison of St. Thomas, Dewayne and Velda Hutchison of Iona Station, Richard and Gloria Hutchison of Willowdale, Mary Ann and Ron Jewell of St. Thomas and Nancy Piggins (late Bill) of St.Thomas. He will be sadly missed by a number of nieces, nephews and cousins.

Bill was born in St. Thomas on June 29th, 1951, the son of the late Bob and Kathleen Horne. Until retirement, Bill worked at Hartz Mountain before becoming a Sales and Leasing Consultant at various car dealerships and later, a taxi driver.

One of his biggest accomplishments was his family. He met his best friend and lifetime love, Donna, at Pinafore Park ball diamond and they were married for 45 years. Being a father was everything to Bill. He was very proud of his girls and loved watching them grow up. Jocelyn and Katie both adored him and he was always there for them, giving them opportunities, adventures and memories that will continue to be cherished. He was their hero and protector and perhaps that is why the loss of Katie was so hard on Bill. Those that knew him well, know that he struggled to get his spark back after she passed. One can imagine that as he is reunited with her now, his heart is complete again. More recently Bill stepped into the role of proud grandpa, where his big ol’ teddy bear nature shined brightly, as he thought the world of Sloane and Fallon.

Outside of his family, his other great accomplishment came in the fastball community. Billy Horne and the ballpark went hand in hand. His presence will be dearly missed there and he will be remembered as one of the most successful and celebrated fastball pitchers and team managers in Canada. He played the game for over four decades before going on to coach at the minor, junior and senior levels; capturing championships at both the provincial and national level. In recent days the overwhelming number of stories and anecdotes shared over messages and social media are testament to hearts he touched and the mark he has left in this community.

A MESSAGE WHERE APPLICABLE

What follows is a transcript of the above video prepared as an acknowledgement for my Facebook and Wrights Lane friends.

For the better part of this past week a thought has been rolling around in my mind and until now I haven't quite been able to put words to it.

It has to do with people who have been in the faith as long as I have, brought to light after my last, abbreviated stint as a lay preacher doing pulpit fill duty for three small community churches. Ninety percent of the congregants were over 60 years of age and they have heard it all, yet they still faithfully attend church worship services Sunday after Sunday. 

If I had one more opportunity to speak to those individuals, what could I possibly say that they hadn't heard delivered from the pulpit a thousand times before? What meaningful (and applicable) message could I possibly convey? That thought has always bothered me. 

Likewise, what might I say to my elderly Facebook and Wrights Lane followers who have aspired to a life built on Christian principles?

Well it might go something like this...

At the end of your life, if you look back on it and have time to evaluate it—I'm sure there will be certain things that you did that you will consider significant, that those things made life worthwhile. 

At such a time some people look at their family and they say that that was good, that that was important. 

Or perhaps they'll look back at the friendships that they had and look back on them as one of the significant things that made their life worthwhile. 

Or perhaps you'll look back on your job, that you've made a difference in some way. Sometimes people do great work that changes the world or changes people's lives. Maybe in your work you've helped people and when you look back on your life you'll get a certain satisfaction from that.

But all of those things, as important as they are, are nothing compared to the way you celebrate a Heavenly creator. For those of you who are Christians, it's the great reason you are here. Consider the New Testament words of Peter (1 Peter 2:9)

"But you are a chosen people,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people belonging to God,
that you may declare the praises
of him who called you
out of darkness
into his wonderful light"

If you can look back on your life and say that you've spent a great part of your life among God's people declaring his excellences—there's nothing greater than that. Your life has been worthwhile. You've done the greatest thing that anyone can do. That's what Peter tells us when he talks about identity in Christ and earning authority in the spiritual realm.

And we are only human...Right!?

Your life does not need to be a constant repetition of deeds and pronouncements advocating your faith -- leave that to the ordained among us, but if you have gone about your daily routine acknowledging your blessings and quietly giving of yourself and, as your faith dictates, contributing to the betterment of the world around you, then my friends, in my mind (and I think in God's too) you have attained the royalty priesthood of which Peter spoke.

Well done, my "saintly" sisters and brothers! A HEAVENLY AWARD AWAITS YOU!

....AND I SALUTE YOU.

SOME "PASSING THOUGHTS" FOR WHEN YOU HAVE A QUARREL WITH THE WORLD

A husband and wife, together with their teenage son, were invited to a neighbor’s wedding. For the boy, it was the first time attending such an affair. As the family entered the Church, an usher extended his elbow and asked, “Are you on the bride’s side or the groom’s?” Before his parents could respond, the boy whispered, “Are they taking sides already?”

Into every loving relationship comes the inevitable quarrel that moves those involved into their respective corners, holding fast to their version of the truth. And as the saying goes, there are three sides to every story: Yours, mine, and the truth.

From a more sensitive perspective, I read somewhere that a lover's quarrel "is like a storm at sea; all the fury is on the surface, but underneath there is a deep current of love." 

Engraved on the tombstone of poet Robert Frost are these words: "I had a lover's quarrel with the world." Frost himself chose that epitaph. What it means, really, is that he had a lover's quarrel with God. And, whether we realize or not, the same is true of us all. We have an ongoing lover's quarrel with the world and with God because of the evil we encounter in our lives. Why is there so much war and hatred? Why so much sickness and sorrow? Why so much anxiety and insecurity? Why so much loneliness and emptiness? Why death? Why did God make such an imperfect world?

We sometimes despair that the world is not perfect, forgetting that if it were, there might not be a place for us in it and there might not be a place for our loved ones in it, for we all fall short of perfection. It was into this world that we were called. It was into this world that our loved ones were called. Consequently, whenever we quarrel with God's world, let's be sure that it's a lover's quarrel. Let's never forget to love this world because it is a gift of Grace; it is a gift of God...from God.

I cannot think of any other explanation for why we are here. And I cannot think of a better attitude to nurture in living out our four score and seven, give or take. Can you?