Headlines (December 23)

The Tiniest Baby - No baby as tiny as 8.6 ounces had ever survived before Rumaisa Rahman was born Sept. 19. Rumaisa was delivered by Caesarean section, along with her twin sister, at just 26 weeks. Remarkably, she was free of collapsed lungs, pneumonia and other complications usually associated with such an extremely premature birth. If she survives, and at this point it is likely that she will, she will be the smallest baby in history who has done so. Rumaisa is expected to go home to Hanover Park during the first week of January. Her fraternal sister, Hiba, is scheduled to go home next week. You can read the story here [2].

Snow Day - We are in the midst of a major snowstorm here. I took a peek outside and it seems we have already had a good 10 or 15 centimeters of snow and are expecting at least that amount again by this afternoon. It will apparently be followed by a few millimeters of freezing rain just to top it all off. So my challenge is to find the sweetspot for shovelling the driveway - the time where the snow has finished by the freezing rain has not yet started. I am glad I do not need to drive to any jobs or meetings today as the roads are an absolute mess. We are supposed to drive into Hamilton to visit my wife’s relatives this evening, but that is looking doubtful.

Firing Open Theists - The Board of Trustees at Huntington College in Indiana has decided they will not allow John Sanders, a prominent Open Theist, to remain on staff at their college. While they believe it is acceptable for a staff member to be Open Theist, they do not believe he should teach his beliefs to students. “The issue, according to both Sanders and G. Blair Dowden, the college’s president, is not Sanders’ belief in open theology, but his notoriety in advocating the doctrine.” It seems Sanders will not be fired, but will simply not have his contract renewed. Christianity Today has more [3].

Tolerance Act - “Australia Pastors Convicted Under New Tolerance Act.” That is a headline I have seen in all sorts of news outlets. Isn’t it strange that a law designed to protect tolerance will convict people whose conscience binds them that something is sinful? Pentecostal Pastor Daniel Nalliah (president of Catch the Fire Ministries) and speaker Pastor Daniel Scot both face financial penalties for speaking out against Islam, having spoken out about it being a sinful, godless religion. You can read more about the case here [4]. It is a sad day for Australia and I am sure Canada will not be far behind in charging anyone who speaks out against, well, anything…other than God. He seems to be fair game. But that is fine, as God is perfectly capable of defending Himself both now and in eternity.