Category Archives: Advent

Contrasting Advent tweets

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Here is the latest Advent tweet from Anglican Primate Linda Nicholls:

And here is one from Franklin Graham:

Can anyone spot the difference?

Let me help. Linda Nicholls’ tweet has nothing to do with Advent, Christmas, Jesus, salvation, God or hope for mankind. It is idolatrous twaddle.

Franklin Graham’s tweet has all the things Nicholls’ tweet lacks.

Yet Graham is despised by mainline clerics with a loathing one would expect to be reserved for Satan and his demon hordes. Why? Because Graham is not silent about his disagreement with same-sex “marriage”. And he doesn’t hate Donald Trump.

What Advent is really all about

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Global warming, of course. Fred Hiltz tells us so in the Anglican Church of Canada’s 2016 Advent meditations. To clinch the point, Hiltz invokes a few inspirational apophthegms attributed to Saint Suzuki:

As we consider God’s creation,there is an urgency of concern about the global environmental crisis.We can no longer deny the harsh realities of islands drowning as sealevels rise; of deserts expanding in the face of unchecked deforestation; of weather patterns changing and growing violent as global warming continues; of lifestyles and livelihoods disappearing as the Arctic icecap melts.
Really coming to terms with these realities was very much the focus of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference—COP21—held in Paris. “COP21” refers to the ”Conference of Parties” and to those countries which have adopted the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). In the midst of that great gathering of political and religious world leaders, and among thousands of ordinary citizens from every corner of the globe, a huge ecumenical service was held in Notre Dame Basilica. I had the great privilege of being there.

[…..]

“Aware of the impact of the lifestyle of most of the developed countries, we need to call into question the logic of our consumption and to allow our attitude and witness to experience conversion— practising restraint and simplicity, not as a form of heroic renunciation, but as a form of joyful sharing. Our hope as Christians rests in our belief that our world is not destined to despair, but to transformation, and that human beings capable of self-destruction are also capable of uniting and choosing what is good.”

This “conversion” is the very thing that renowned environmentalist David Suzuki calls “the necessity for a massive change of spirit” on the part of leaders in government and industry and on the part of consumers in society…which includes us all. Suzuki has said he looks to both business communities and faith communities to provide leadership in calling for this “change of spirit”.

A global warming Advent

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For those who think that Advent is a time of preparation for the coming of Jesus, the Canadian Council of Churches has news for you: the real Advent is all about global warming.

The CCC has even prepared a climate change sermon for Advent 1.

Read it all here:

A Sermon for Preachers Preparing for the First Sunday of Advent
“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” (Luke 21.25-26)

This prophecy could easily be a description of our times.

You see there was once a time when we had to argue about the reality of climate change.

There was once a time when the interesting debate to be had was whether our actions as human beings could have an impact on the climate.

However, I think, as a global culture, that time has passed.

Climate change is a reality.

In fact it’s so dominant a reality that even the world’s central banks, global investment funds, and military powers are making plans on how to adapt to it.

In other words, we have moved from the place of trying to understand what is happening in the world, to the stage of “fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world”.