Skip to content ↓

Headlines (December 23)

Articles Collection cover image

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.

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.

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. 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.


  • A Batch of New Books for Kids

    A Batch of New Books for Kids (and Teens)

    Every month I put together a roundup of new and notable books for grownup readers. But I also receive a lot of books for kids and like to put together the occasional roundup of these books as well. So today I bring you a whole big batch of new books for kids of all ages…

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (March 28)

    A La Carte: The case against the abortion pill / What I’ve learned about grieving with hope / Heartbreaking deception: teen girls, social media, and body image / Could podcasts save the church from stupidity? / Count it all joy / and more.

  • What God Wants You To Forget

    What God Wants You To Forget

    We are never far from reminding God of our credentials, of providing him with a curriculum vitae that lays out all we are, all we have been through, and all we have accomplished for his sake. We are never far from making the subtle turn from grace to merit, from what is freely given to…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (March 27)

    A La Carte: New music / Millennials and GenZ / Scotland’s new hate crime law / Cate Blanchett, Easter is for you / Why the Reformed pray for revival / What truly happened to Jesus on the cross? / and more.

  • New and Notable Books

    New and Notable Christian Books for March 2024

    As you know, I like to do my best to sort through the new Christian books that are released each month to see what stands out as being not only new, but also particularly notable. I received quite a number of new titles in March and narrowed the list down to the ones below. I…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (March 26)

    A La Carte: God delivers from the suffering he ordains / The beautiful partnership of family and church / The end of religious liberty / On whales, menopause, and thanks to God / Ordinary women, extravagant gifts / and more.