Abominations!
We are reminded that certain behaviours are abominations in the eyes of the Lord and we are to draw our own frightening conclusions.
As the gay marriage debate heats up we find more and more people attempting to justify their position based upon a quote from scripture. We are reminded that certain behaviours are abominations in the eyes of the Lord and are to draw our own frightening conclusions.
The problem, however, is that there are so many things that are abominations to the Lord. My search of the King James translation, for example, yields some 69 “abominations” and leaves me in a serious moral quandary.
Deuteronomy tells me that it is an abomination for a woman to dress as a man. My wife on occasion wears jeans or even overalls. Must I put her to death?
My sons have on occasion disobeyed me. Must I put them to death? I have on occasion eaten pork. Must I put myself to death? I wanted to have multiple wives at one time and a few slaves, but those desires ran smack into Canadian law. What to do?
Actually, I think that I’ll follow the advice of a dead philosopher who argued that morality precedes religion.
Bob Lane, Nanaimo.
The VIU Mace
The Mace
During the Middle Ages, the metal-clad wooden mace was an effective weapon in battle. As newer and more powerful arms were developed, its military significance diminished, and it was transformed into a symbol of authority. Today, the ceremonial mace is used in many government assembly locations, such as the British and Canadian Houses of Parliament, and is carried before ecclesiastical dignitaries and in university ceremonies such as this.
The mace used for VIU’s convocation was designed and created by retired art instructor John A. Charnetski in 1994. The metre-long mace is made of stainless steel and gold-plated cast bronze. It features four guardian eagles and enameled medallions bearing VIU’s coat of arms and arbutus emblems. At the convocation ceremonies, the mace is carried by a retiring member the VIU community to honour his or her contribution to the University.
In January 2020 our son, Dr. Steve Lane, will be the mace bearer for the graduation ceremony.
Congratulations, Steve!!
Begs the question
Re: ‘Anonymous posts are not the real issue’ (Daily News, Aug. 27) Today’s editorial provides an interesting discussion of the problem of anonymous commentators who are prone to be rhetorically outrageous and then fail to sign their names.
All was going along smoothly until the penultimate paragraph where once again your committee of authors misuses the “begs the question” phrase.
Should be “raises the question,” dear editor — “begs the question” is the name of an informal fallacy in logic, as you must know.
It is my job as a dedicated reader of print media to point out this howler every time it occurs. I have been very busy of late.
Bob Lane Nanaimo Credit: Bob Lane; The Daily News
Letter to the editor – old!
https://episyllogism.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/welfare.pdf
ABSTRACT (ABSTRACT) Careful readers will have noticed that the entire right-wing rant starts with not just a hypothetical but with a conditioned hypothetical: “It was almost as though some were resigned to their plight” writes the unknown ranter.What? Did the writer see that fatalism in the television images? Is that like USA Senator Frist when he diagnosed ahealthy Terri Shiavo from a video image? I know that people see what they want to see, but this is a bit like Alicewhen she claims to have seen “No one” on the road.
FULL TEXT
Dear sir: Your borrowed editorial in the Saturday edition is such a fine example of nonsense that I cannot refrain from commenting. I tried for several minutes to find a cogent argument in the piece from the National Post, but, alas, I could not. All that is there is an attitude, an agenda, an assertion that the death and destruction in New Orleans is partly the result of “a reliance on social assistance.”
The National Post piece suggests that it is always the fault of a welfare system that the poor are poor; my goodness, it finger-wags, “if you had any self-reliance at all you would have picked up your children and your sick and ill parents and carried them out of the rising water on your back.” But, no, because of government aid in the past you waited for government aid again as the water rose and the stench filled the air. Careful readers will have noticed that the entire right-wing rant starts with not just a hypothetical but with a conditioned hypothetical: “It was almost as though some were resigned to their plight” writes the unknown ranter. What? Did the writer see that fatalism in the television images? Is that like USA Senator Frist when he diagnosed ahealthy Terri Shiavo from a video image? I know that people see what they want to see, but this is a bit like Alicewhen she claims to have seen “No one” on the road. (“What good eyes you must have,” said the Queen.)
To be brief I won’t mention the unsubstantiated factoids and empty psychological analysis from a distance. I do not think that we know enough about the event, the assistance, the aftermath to preach from afar. And certainly not from so far right!
And in spite of the editorial stance I urge that those that can should go to the Canadian Red Cross and make a donation.
Bob Lane
Nanaimo, B.C.
Contribute?
Dear List Subscribers,
It is our pleasure to present the highlights from last month’s activity at fantasy-animation.org.
“As we move towards the end of 2019, we would love to hear from any individuals who would like to write either a sequence analysis of a Christmas Fantasy/Animation for a seasonal blog post or to provide a review of Cats (2019) to be published during the first few weeks of its theatrical release. Interested parties should get in touch via the website or through our social media platforms (see our website guidance notes for submission proposals). “
The Reasoner
Island NO. 2
Years ago now Malaspina College created a literary magazine called simply “ISLAND”. The early ones were edited by two poets, John Marshall and Stephen Guppy. Over time several more Canadian writers offered poems and short stories for publication.
Because Bob was the Managing Editor I have chosen one of his poems from the second issue to share with you here. (with his permission)
No longer in print, copies are available at VIU’s library and at UBC’s library.
The team spent many hours working on the magazine – often at the Occidental.
