Man's Creativity Celebrated

You don't have to look far to catch examples of man's creativity and ingenuity. It is all around us every day both inside and outside. Architecture, bridges, lights, phones, cars, lawn tractors, medicine, art, fashion, photography...
...and mechanical dragons...
... and topiaries...

It was  a beautiful weekend so our family decided to head downtown and catch "La Machine" and "Mosaic Canada." These are two events planned to celebrate Canada's 150th birthday.
"La Machine," a huge robotic dragon-horse and spider were wandering the downtown streets of Ottawa in it's North American debut. About 4 stories tall, taking multiple humans to control their movement, sound, and "smoke," La Machine drew 750,000 people in it's four-day showing. 

Our family contributed four of those people! Seeing the 12 metre tall dragon spew "smoke" from it's nostrils, and wander to the sound of drums and groans through the Byward Market was quite impressive.There was a story/theatre performance associated with it, which we chose not to attend.

Then we headed over to Jacques-Cartier Park across the Alexandria Bridge to Quebec to see Mosaic Canada - over 40 topiaries representing Canada from coast to coast over the last 150 years..
Some of these were as tall as La Machine!

Again, we were very impressed by the design, beauty and artistry of this horticultural show.

panning for gold

A Tribute to Glenn Gould

Anne with an "e" of Green Gables

inuksuk with wolf

Man's inventions. Man's creativity. Hours, days, months, Millions of dollars.and multiple people involved.
Hundreds of thousands of people coming to witness these amazing feats of creativity. Applause. Recognition.

And then there is God. 
Six days. One God. The whole universe. 
Absolute perfection. Absolute beauty. Microscopic to massive, complex, mystery. He spoke, it was.

As fun as it is to witness man's brilliance in creativity, I will praise God, We are created in His image - for creativity, for ingenuity, for artistry, for His glory. No comparison.

The Ignorant Evolutionist (me)

When I was an evolutionist a few decades ago, I thought the philosophy was limited to origins and death. I was duped into thinking there were no other consequences of this worldview.
How wrong I was.

If evolution, then..

• No right or wrong - Who sets the standards? Who are you accountable to? Who says...? Where does morality come from? Inconsistent evolutionists unknowingly borrow from Scripture all the time to figure out what is right and what is wrong. There is no golden rule for the true evolutionist.
• Caring about the weak and infirm would be dumb. Hey, it's survival of the fittest; get rid of the weak. The genetic code will eventually do its work and abolish all weakness. Why on earth would their be evolutionists in any kind of nurturing medical field like I was?
• Crime has purpose - if we have evolved this long and there is still crime - even increasing - there must be a benefit to it or it would be evolved out! If it didn't help the species to grow bigger and better, it would have died out.
• No purpose for life. A true evolutionist would realize we are all just matter and energy and random chance. Without a Designer, there is no purpose to life.
• No freedom of choice. You're just chemicals and genetic code mechanically moving along the path of evolution. You have no say in anything.

Wow! I had no idea the implications I was declaring when I chose to believe in evolution. If someone had presented these ideas to me back then, I would have said they were wrong. I did believe in right and wrong for example. But, according to Nancy Pearcey in her book "Total Truth," that would have been a leap of faith. A leap into a totally different worldview inconsistent with evolution.

My eyes now see it clearly.

Q and A with a Past Atheist

One of the most frequent questions I get as a Christian is 
"How can anyone believe all 'this' happened by random chance?"
"This" of course is referring to the galaxies, the human body and mind, butterflies, water, beehives and platypus.
Good question, but as a past atheist, I can assure you that indeed atheists do believe in  random chance and macro evolution. They have no other choice.

The optimum word here is "believe."
It is a belief. Just like Christians believe in a God they have never seen, atheists do indeed believe in naturalism - all things come from nature; there is no supernatural. 
Part of this is pride. We don't want anything above us.
Part of it is pure faith.

When I was a little girl, my Mom made sure no one joked around with me to the extent I would believe something that was wrong. For instance, "if you eat a raw potato, you'll have potatoes growing in your belly," or "if you eat a grape seed, you'll have grape vines growing out your mouth" .
My Mom understood that kids will "believe" pretty much anything people in authority tell them. Like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny...

God has given everyone faith enough to believe. The thing is we can choose to have faith in the wrong thing.
The faith of a child is powerful and what we are taught as children, especially by those in authority, runs deep. When we read books that talk about "millions of years ago" by the time we are three, when we are immersed in museums that explain everything by evolution, when we watch cartoons or TV shows and read comics that have an evolutionary agenda, when we are taught science, read literature and study history and geography using curriculum inundated with evolutionary explanations, and we are NOT taught there is anything wrong with this way of thinking, we become indoctrinated early to the naturalist explanation of our world.

The Nazi's understood this. Propaganda works because we hear the same message enough times by numerous sources. It must be true.

It becomes  very "believable." 

Even now, 33 years after rejecting that worldview and accepting the supernatural and a God who created all things, I can still taste the belief that once existed. I can still understand why, if all you've heard was evolution as an explanation, it would make sense.
I can also understand, that for someone who just cannot stand the thought of there being a God, they too would passionately demand another explanation.

So how does anyone believe all "this" could be random chance. 

They are told it is, faith sprouts, and pride prevails.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

 Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

If you have a question you'd like to ask a 'past atheist now Christian', please use the comment box. I will do my best to answer from my personal history as an atheist.

Disciplship Post Atheism

Looking back I can distinctly recall a few areas of discipleship topics that were emphasized in this new journey of Christianity that truly helped me stand the test of time.

• Things won't always be hunky-dory. The first few days after salvation, I was very excited about my relationship with God and I  figured my relationship with God would always be powerful, tangible and alive. It was wise discipleship to warn me that a relationship is not based on feelings. It is real, but not always felt.
• Prayers don't always get answered the way you want. God is not a genie. Expectations are a killer. If we expect God to answer our prayers exactly as we have stated them every time in our own timing, we will be disappointed and Satan will enjoy the process of stealing, killing and destroying our faith. It was wise to warn me that God is God, all wise, and all knowing; not a genie for our use. It was wise to be warned that there would remain trials, tribulations, suffering and sorrows while we yet live in this world.
• Don't believe every teaching! Test what is being taught with Scripture! I was told to read the Word and check every teaching with the Word. I was so cautious as to whom I would listen to in those early days until I became more solid on my Scriptural knowledge and could discern more accurately. For example, I was exposed to a teaching called theistic evolution - God started it, evolution carried it on. Thankfully, I was counseled  that God is so powerful and so wise, He could have created everything in one nanosecond of thought, so I needn't be troubled believing He created in 6 days like the Word says. Beware of wolves in sheep's clothing that teach things that are against Scripture. Who would have known that the theistic evolution being bantered around by a few odd Christians back 33 years ago in university would avalanche to a huge movement of anti-biblical teaching infesting the church today.

Riding high on my new found faith and spiritual gifts, and even experiencing an answer to prayer a time or two in those early days, I thought at first it was a bit of a downer hearing life wouldn't always be fun and filled with powerful moments and that I couldn't trust every Christian teacher! I am glad however that before the road got rough, I had been counseled in truth. Decades later, I see the firm foundation that was begun by this early and impactful discipleship.

The Two Kingdoms

So there I was alone in my apartment faced with the now recognized fact that God was real. It had been over a year of battling that realization with questions and conversations and experiences. Really, there was only one question now pressing - "What are you going to do with that new knowledge, Linda?"

I made my phone call to my friend who had weathered the spiritual storms with me for all these months. "So, how do I become a Christian?" I asked. 
After she discussed with me what it all meant and my role in this transition from one kingdom to the the other, I hung up the phone and quietly spoke with God. 

Four main things happened over the next 48 hours.

• An incredible thirst for the Word of God. I can only describe it as feeling like a dry sponge soaking  up huge amounts of moisture - like an ocean -  but never being full. I drank in the Word of God for hours at a time - and yet somehow never fell behind in my university studies or felt weary. I read that first night until past 2:00 a.m.  I read and read and read. The book of Hebrews was my favorite. When I read about the Bereans in Acts 17:11 it jumped out at me and I wanted to be like them - noble character, listening eagerly to the message, and searching Scriptures day after day. From the first moment of transition into this new Kingdom of Light, I loved God's Word.
• Awakening to the spiritual battle. Throughout the preceding months of confusion, the spiritual battle had raged, but I did not recognize it. I would go from truly being curious about a question and having a soft heart, to being condemning and sarcastic and trying to convert this friend to atheism. It was a constant tug of war. The night I became a Christian, my eyes were opened to the spirit realm and a battle that I had not seen or dreamed existed. That night as I lay in bed after reading God's Word,  I saw the demonic flying around my room. Not being trained in spiritual warfare yet, I just hunkered down hugging my Bible all night.The kingdom of darkness was not happy I had quietly crossed the line into the Kingdom of Light.
• The spiritual gifts. Coming from atheism where there is nothing spiritual, the spiritual gifts described in Corinthians 12 and 14 were quite astonishing. Wow. Because the spiritual gift of tongues was the gift that was undeniably the evidence I needed to admit God existed, I wanted that gift.  I asked my friend about it, and then hung up the phone! Quietly, alone in my apartment, I spoke with God. I simply said, "Lord, you know how special tongues was to me in accepting You. Would You mind giving me that gift?" He did . Tongues flowed for hours. Languages changed as the hours ticked by, and it was a beautiful time of worship, gratitude and probably other than salvation itself, the first thing I asked God to do for me.
• Surprise at others interest. LOL. This one is just funny looking back on it. I honestly didn't think that friend of mine who had invested over a year of prayers, and answering questions, and stood in the midst of the spiritual battlefield, would be interested to know that I had in fact made the decision to become a Christian! About 24 hours after that phone call asking her what I needed to do to become a Christian, she tentatively asked me what I had done with the information. "Oh, I turned Christian," I casually responded! I indeed was surprised at her excitement, and the fact she wanted to tell others from her College and Career group who had been praying for me too. I said, "Oh, I doubt they'd be interested."  "Trust me," she responded, "they'll be interested!"

That was 33 years ago. It has been an incredible journey and I have recognized the  sound discipleship I had in those first couple of years post atheism that have come back time and time again to keep me on the right track. Next blog I will recount some of the memorable areas of discipleship I received to help me stay in God's Kingdom even though the dark kingdom was all around.

My Route from Atheism to Christianity

So how does a prideful, ignorant, idolatrous atheist open her heart to Christianity?
Looking back, I see three stages.These were not neatly in chronological order, but ebbed and flowed throughout a 13 month time period.

• The supernatural might actually exist - If one is truly an atheist, then they actually believe there is only the material world. There is nothing supernatural that exists. Creating doubt in me that there was more than this and there could be a God was probably step one.  There were a variety of ways this was accomplished
• Meeting someone that believed this, lived this 7 days a week, wasn't afraid to talk about God and show her love for Him. This introduced me to a fact I had never seen before and that is that someone guided their whole life, all their decisions and actions around this "entity" they called God. They went to church, met with other Christians during the week, read their Bible daily, and talked to Him. They were in relationship with this God. They were consistent and faithful to what they believed.
• Science - The concept of an Intelligent Designer never entered my mind as a possibility before I was introduced to the concept and saw with my own eyes the complexity and order of science - even a single cell is enormously complex.
•  Biographies. I was encouraged to read "The Cross and the Switchblade" by David Wilkerson. This book was a true account of his life and that of some gang members who were introduced to God. Amazing things happened that could only be attributed to God. This began to stir a desire in my heart to meet God if He were indeed real. One other book that impacted me was the autobiography of Maria Von Trapp (Maria, My Own Story),  Again, it brought great glory to God.
•  God Himself. God is active. God works behind the scenes and He did in my life too. Coincidences started to happen in my life. I would be assigned patients that were Christian, I would befriend people in the workplace during my summer job who just happened to be the only Christians in the lunchroom, I was assigned a family in the community that was a pastor's family... And, one remarkable experience was at a progressive dinner pot luck College and Career group function I was invited to participate in. During grace I felt a tangible presence so real I opened my eyes expecting to see a real body in front of me. There was none visible to my physical eye, but I know what I felt.

All these added together over a year, stirred me into the possibility that there was something more than just atoms and chemicals out there. Then there was the final experience that pushed me into saying "OK already, there must be something out there more than dirt!"

• Hearing people speak in tongues. I am sure this is a sign for the unbeliever. It was a beautiful language, not just gibberish. It was lovely to listen to and undeniable in it's supernatural  source. (1 Cor. 12:8-11)

OK, so I was now past hurdle number one - there is more to this universe then meets the eye. God exists.

The problem is though, there are lots of religions and spiritual wackiness out there. How does the new now non-atheist determine Christianity is the right God to serve?

•  Hearing Scripture - Throughout these months, not only was I being faced with a recognition of the existence of God, I was being exposed to His Word. Here's how.
• a desire to learn the guitar. This same friend who sowed the seeds, water the seeds, cultivated the soil and ended up harvesting, approached me with the idea to learn the guitar together. She provided the music and the guitar! Over the months I was exposed to sound doctrine through hymns and chorus'  she would bring to our self-taught "lessons." She would not make a big deal about it, but would be ready to explain  concepts that came up in the lyrics.
• Questions - I had so many questions over these months. I would ask, she would answer or seek out the answer. And she always came back with an answer based on Scripture, not philosophy or opinions.
• Preparation - when I did finally agree to attend a church service, she prepared me well for what I might encounter using Scripture as the basis. (raised hands, speaking in tongues...)
• The plain Word - The Bible was read in a very understandable translation. 
• She gave me a Bible
• Doing life in our culture - over and over she showed me how Scripture helped guided her choices. Why don't you believe in abortion, Why does it bother you to hear people use God's name in vain? Why don't you believe in evolution, Why did that guest pastor in our nursing class bother you so much?

• What didn't happen... I seriously think this is as important as what did happen. 
• I was not called upon to debate or in anyway back up my stand on being an atheist. I was not asked to explain my position. I was not asked to defend what I believed. I was not encouraged to talk about it or articulate this worldview. Remember how I said pride was a big part of atheism and the human nature in my last blog? I believe that the more an atheist is asked to defend their position, explain their views, and debate their beliefs, the more entrenched they become in that philosophy and the pride will deepen. It will be that much harder to humble themselves if they have spoken up and shared their "faith" with others. It takes humility to say "Hey, I was wrong about my whole worldview!" but how much more humility it would take to tell the world you were wrong rather than just yourself.
• I was not nagged. The conversations I had with this person were varied. We were friends. We shared university subjects, we laughed, chatted about nature, family, and a host of other things that had nothing to do with religion. If we talked about God it was because I raised the subject by asking a question. She lived her life for God and that was clear, but she never pushed an agenda on me.
• I was not condemned or mocked or judged for my atheistic viewpoint.

These are just some of the examples and reflections I have remembered from 33 years of being out of the darkness of atheism. Next post: the moment of decision and the first week of life after atheism.

Reflections on Atheism

Atheism - literally "without God." 

Far far away and long long ago, this was my belief.
Some people call it a religion as it is a  belief which.....

1. Describes origins of all things - the universe, plants, animals and humans
2. Describes what happens when you die
3. Is a belief which needs faith - i.e. no proof as no one was there in the beginning , no one there after death, no science proves the history.
4. many atheists try desperately to convert others to this belief system 

Regardless of whether you call it a religion, a worldview, a philosophy, a belief, or an idea, it is a complete "ism" that dictates how life and our world are viewed.

I seem to have been inundated with worldviews lately so I have been thinking back to my history as an atheist and have some reflections.

• Pride: Dr. Danny Faulkner (PhD in astronomy and a Biblical Christian) says "Pride gets us to atheism and pride keeps us there." This is huge. We are told by our culture that science and math are more intellectual than art and poetry and thus more worthy. Atheism plays to our natural sinful bent of pride. We are intellectual if we believe in "science." We are told religion is fantasy. It is only for weak people who need a crutch to get through life. You are weak and stupid if you believe in God. 

Story: 
My husband is brilliant (OK I may be a little biased but not too much). He loves learning, and can learn about any subject and has. He works in an atmosphere filled with very bright atheists. They say some derogatory things about religion and Christianity but they all know Dave is a born again believing Christian.  They start to say something about how dumb Christians are, until they look at Dave and then they stop and say something along the lines of "But then there's you..." They are confounded by how a seemingly brilliant man can believe in God.  They are stymied and have to think twice about their position.

• Ignorance: LOL. This seems so silly. I've just said atheism plays to the pride of intellectuals and here I am saying ignorance. What I mean here is ignorance as in a lack of knowledge. I was what I will call an ignorant atheist. 

➥  Had I researched the "science" we were taught as evidence of evolution which we have been conditioned to believe from Elementary School onward? NO! In fact, the more I grew in understanding real observable science and not the "Just So" stories of extrapolation to prove an already believed philosophy of evolution, the more I recognized the "proof" for the Wisdom, Majesty, and Power of a Creator God Supreme.

➢  Richard Dawkins (world renowned passionate atheist from the  UK) says "evolution put me on the road to atheism. I could now be an intellectually satisfied atheist."

➢  I bring evolution into this discussion because it is the first step toward atheism. It is the route used to explain a world without God. It is a must in order to hold the philosophy that all the universe happened without a Designer.

➥  Had I read and studied the claims of the Bible before I made my decision to become an atheist? NO! I did not know who Jesus claimed to be. I did not know the account of creation, the fall, or redemption. I did not know how the Biblical worldview could explain the world around me. I had not researched the incredible evidence for the truth of the history and account of the biblical text. In ignorance and pride I had accepted what the Godless school curriculum taught.

• Idolatry: Atheists believe that there is no God. Well, they think they believe this. Once I became a Christian I realized this was untrue. I had believed in god alright, but god was ME!  I was accountable to no one but me. I called the shots. I did what I wanted. Thankfully I was raised by parents who taught good values; honesty, integrity, and caring about others. But still, values are not what makes a  Biblical Christian life and they are not how to become reconciled with the one true God. So although I was a "good" person according to the world's standards (Miss Goodie Two-Shoes actually), I was still an idolater.

So much of our world today is made up of people who think they are their own gods. "It's my body so I will abort that life inside me." "I can decide if I identify as male or female or neither - no one is going to tell me what I am."  "Marriage or lack thereof, is whatever I want it to be. I will marry same sex, or get divorced and remarry if I want to. I am not accountable to anyone!" 

You can see idolatry and pride and ignorance all wrapped up in where our world has gone with evolution and atheism.  

• Hurt:  This one is a bit different. I did not experience this, but a few atheists I know have. They become passionate atheists because as a youngster they experienced the death of a parent or sibling. They rant against God because they were hurt and blame Him. Not really an atheist after all in fact; they hate Him.

 Next blog post I'll look back at how I got delivered from the kingdom of darkness of atheism to the kingdom of Light of Christianity.

Canada Day #2 An Inside Peek

As mentioned in my last Canada Day post, Monica was performing at the National Arts Centre (NAC) Grand Re-Opening for Prince Charles and 149 other dignitaries. The NAC was in lockdown, so if you were not one of those 150 invited guests or one of the artists, you were outside looking in or somewhere else (like me).
Here are a few inside photos...

Prince Charles,  Governor General David Johnson and his wife her excellency Sharon Johnson, and Heritage minister Mélanie Joly. I do not know the lady in black...

Monica with National Ballet of Canada trio

Transitions from one group to the next were beautifully done. Propeller Dance, National Ballet of Canada, a hip hop solo (more like contemporary ballet) and an Aboriginal group)

Grand Finale with all four groups dancing together

 Photo credit to Siôned Watkins - NAC Dance Education Associate and Teacher and the inspiration behind this event as well as a guest dancer with Propeller Dance.

Canada 150!

Canada Day downtown Ottawa...

A diverse nation indeed...

Our 17 hour day.

Rain - soaked to the skin, top to bottom. Wet socks. Mucky sloshy Parliament Hill. Shloop, shloop, shloop. 

We were finally so soaked and squishy that we played the tourist and purchased nice warm dry tops from a souvenir store once the rain stopped. We thought umbrellas were one of the many things not allowed through security, but it was SUN umbrellas that were not allowed. 
 

Early morning. Most people had not yet arrived. Wave that paper flag!

 

Parliament Hill. Listening to the Peace Tower bells chiming O Canada, God save the Queen, and a variety of other songs

 

Wet jeans, dry tops, waiting for Snowbirds from Major's Hill Park.  Crowds are starting.

National Arts Centre (NAC) - Grand Opening, ribbon cutting, Monica's dance for the prince, more security, back stage, choirs and orchestras, Aboriginal drums and bells, full regalia....

This was the main reason we actually braved the day that was expecting 500,000 people. Monica was one of 15 people dancing for the Grand Opening of the newly renovated NAC in the presence of Prince Charles and 149 other dignitaries. We arrived at 8:13 a.m. and left her there for the next 9 1/2  hours. She indeed did dance apparently within 4 feet of said Prince. 

Once the Prince left, the NAC was taken off lock-down and opened to the public. Dave, Anna-Lee and her friend Sophie watched the NAC orchestra perform with conductor Alexander Shelley, Aboriginal drummers, a 100 person choir and their conductor, and a host of other amazing talent - all free. 

NAC orchestra and 100 member choir

Meanwhile.... Monica and I waited backstage for Para Transpo to come to the stage door. What an intriguing experience that was! See "security" below!

Security - Walking the streets, on the rooves, assault rifles,  open your bags, alarms, barricades, walkie talkies, police, RCMP...

Security on Parliament Hill
Of course we were expecting high levels of security. We were warned ahead of time it would be like an airport. Because we got there so early, our experience with the security to Parliament Hill was long but efficient and only took about 40 minutes. Big signs of what could and could not be taken in were at the beginning of the queue along with police checking bags.  Enter the "chute." Zig zagging queue, police, RCMP, snipers on the rooves, assault rifles in plain view, and ... rain. Finally the tent. Loud speaker, "take coats off, open your bags. Take coats off, open your bags. Take coats off, open your bags." Get to the security. Bags down, go get the wand - turn around, the wand again. Claim bag, get out. Outside tent, RCMP, police, a long line of yellow ponchoed security with guns. 

Security at the NAC 
If you want in, your bags got checked  but not the intensity of Parliament Hill.
Backstage was another matter. Monica and I got the fascinating experience of watching security in action as we waited for Para Transpo.  We discovered levels of alarms. ding ding ding was a drunk at the back door trying to find her friend. An all out screech was a full evacuation of the building. We experienced two ding dings, and one full out screech. Yes, the building got evacuated. It was a false alarm.The interesting part was being able to watch first hand the problem solving by security. First the rushing of men, the chatter of walkie talkies and chatter of them watching the video of the building to determine who did it, then the full out search for the little girl who got mad at a  locked door and pulled an alarm that set it all in motion. 

Out and About - Buskers, acapella hymns, Royal motorcade, 21 gun salute, Governor General Foot guards, red and white, fireworks, crowds, fighter jets, music and screens, free admission...

Lots of walking today, dodging puddles, and trying to decide what to do next. Although we had a general schedule, not much adhered to the timings. Snowbirds were to be flying between noon and 1:00, but after waiting over an hour, we gave up as even the info ladies did not know what was happening with them. Rain, thunder, clearing..... They finally did a small fly over around 4:30.

Beautiful acapella hymns being sung by Church choir

Early morning. Miles of streets blocked off for pedestrians only.

Governor General Foot guards, piping band, Royal motorcade and CROWDS. Security thick with guards and helicopter flying over airspace continually. This takes place at the Peacekeeping Monument you can see on left.

Walking a dinosaur around Major's Hill Park

No mere juggler - three knives, while balancing on a board, on a pipe, on a table...

And the spectacular 20 minute and 17 second brilliant fireworks