Watching Daylight Fade: Days, Seasons, and the End of Time

Published in Christian Renewal magazine, 11 July 2007

It's approaching 10 p.m. on the southern coast of England, and the sky is not yet dark. It begins to get light before 4:30 a.m. this time of year and doesn't get completely dark until about 10 p.m. These long days more than make up for the darkest days of winter, in which daylight doesn't begin to show its face until just before 8 a.m. and the sky is black by 4 p.m. Readers in Canada might find such times commonplace, but they are a bit strange to someone like myself, who grew up with the more regular days of the subtropics.

The winter days have their own appeal. They provide that cozy warmth that comes from being all bundled up, and they make you want to pause in the dark evenings and gaze at the stars for a while before going inside for a nice hot drink.

But the summer days are lovely in an entirely different way. Daylight replaces darkness. Walking outside in the late daylight and the soft, pleasant, slightly cool evening air replaces the need for bundling up and going inside. Lighter chilled drinks, such as elderflower cordial, summer fruits squash, and chilled white wine replace heavier refreshments like thick hot chocolate, red wine, dark ales, and tea.

Even the food is different: traditional British winter food is heavy, hearty, and thick with gravy. There are always lots of meats, sauces, and various kinds of potatoes. It's the kind of food, my wife says, that makes empire building possible. The typical winter desserts are perhaps the best examples: thick, hot puddings covered in custard. They’re almost a meal to themselves. One tends to enjoy such food in a dimly lit, intimate setting - perhaps a small, traditional pub, huddled around a table with friends, laughing heartily about hearty things. Winter food tends toward sleepiness and is very conducive to the proverbial long winter's nap.

But traditional British summer food is lighter, cooler, and very suitable for picnics. It would be a downright shame to eat the typical salads, slaws, relishes, and spreads huddled around anything at all - they should be eaten outside, in a garden, reclined in the grass, or relaxed around a table in the open air, laughing more lightly about lighter things. Summer food tends toward activity and adventure - maybe a little relaxation after eating, but always a walk or a game afterward. The desserts tend to include fresh fruit and one or another of the finest creams in the world.

The cycle of the seasons is stunning, and there is perhaps no better place to experience it than in Sussex, England. And to think that God created the earth's annual cycle to reflect his story for the world: The earth was created beautiful, a perfect summer garden on a perfect summer day, when the days seem to last forever and life itself seems to be carefree. Then comes the fall: autumn, when green turns to brown and the appearance of life changes into the appearance of death. The animals migrate away, and at autumn's end lies winter. Winter is the time of great darkness, when most living things either disappear or appear dead.

But nothing in all the world is more glorious and beautiful than seeing those first few buds of spring or those wildflowers that take those first few warm days as their cue to start growing. Such things literally delight one's soul - I will never look at daffodils or a budding tree the same way again after experiencing spring in England. Spring is a time of resurrection, and it leads to a full-blown, all-out renewal of summer in all its light and life.

This is why evergreens have always been so valued: they seem to cheat the winter by residing in perpetual summer, regardless of their external circumstances. In fact, that is why pines began to be used as Christmas trees.

This is why the tropics appeal to so many. Growing up in Florida, I am very familiar with how many 'snowbirds' fly south for the winter, and now that I live in England, I know how many northern Europeans vacation to the Mediterranean coast and other warmer climates, especially Spain. We recently joined the migration, heading to a beach near Barcelona for a week. There was a very strong Dutch and German presence in our area, and we noticed how all the cafés near our hotel wrote their menus in several northern European languages in addition to Castilian and the local Catalan.

The tropics appeal because they are perpetual summer: a garden of greenery and life all year long. Those who holiday there do so to cheat winter themselves, and many choose to retire to such a paradise of year-round life and light.

The most glorious thing of all is that the true paradise, of which summer is only a pale reflection, is offered in Jesus. One of these days the cycle will be broken: the pattern of life will stop reflecting the seasons' constant cycle from garden to graveyard and back and the history of this world will reach its conclusion. To those who reject the salvation offered to them in Jesus, the conclusion will be in the pattern of autumn, a fall that leads to perpetual winter. But for those who are in Christ, their pattern is the one of spring: a redemption from the darkness and coldness of death that ends in an eternal summer.

May the cycles of the days and seasons remind us that that day is coming, and may that reminder always lead us to both repentance and encouragement.

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

“The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come!’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let the one who is thirsty come . . . He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!”

A third letter

A third letter, published in the 2 May editon of Christian Renewal magazine, responding to my five-part series on stem cell research:

I have been noticing that there have been a few letters to the editor regarding the articles that Mr. Brian Douglas wrote on stem cells, IVF and the adoption of frozen embryos. It seems that the underlying tone of these letters suggest that Mr. Douglas and his wife have tinkered with creation and have somehow justified IVF by adopting frozen embryos.

First, I would like to know if those who have written have a firm, convinced and unswerving view of when life actually begins and when it ends. One writer mentioned that they believe that life begins at conception, yet they question sarcastically what to do with "the bins of frozen embryos". For argument sake, let's say these embryos were placed in a surrogate mother and brought to full term birth. After that they are placed in the adoption process. Do they only now have value? Has life begun after birth or after conception? Or do we still frown upon the couples who with eager and willing hearts adopt them and bring them to a loving home?

Secondly, I question whether these same writers believe that those who adopt children from single teenagers, alcoholic or abusive families are enabling society to live promiscuously without penalty. One writer asked if it would have been better if the embryos had not been created in the first place. Would it not have also been better if the drug addicted prostitute didn't get pregnant? It would be a wonderful world if we did not have to deal with sin on every side, but sadly we do. Clearly, there is an obvious need for Christians to step up and let our light shine before men.

I believe that life begins at conception and ends at natural death. I believe this because the Bible says it. Do I agree with IVF? No. Do I think that frozen embryos are any less human in a dish than in the womb? No. Science is tinkering with creation because our society says human life is disposable. How do we respond as Christians? Certainly not by looking down our noses with no compassion for the lost. I become very nervous when we use our righteousness as an excuse not to help those in need.

Lastly, as I read the articles, under no circumstances did the Douglas's physical and emotional battle with infertility weaken their faith. On the contrary, much prayer as well as research brought them to their decision. There is no reason to doubt their happiness and contentment, because that is coming very close to doubting the Douglas's faith which is not something we have been commissioned to do. I applaud the Douglas family whose faith spurred them into action on this issue. I'm glad that they wrote about their ordeal so that we could all have our eyes opened. I pray that the Lord continues to bless the Douglas family.

(signed)
Dunnville, Ontario

Injustice from L.A. to Kurdistan

Published in Christian Renewal magazine, 13 June, 2007

As I was reading through the news not long ago, two articles caught my eye.

The first, reported by the L.A. Times on 5 May, began: “Paris Hilton, her long blond hair tied back in a ponytail and oversized sunglasses shading her eyes, pulled up to L.A. traffic court near downtown Friday more than 15 minutes late for her probation violation hearing.”

The hotel heiress was sentenced that day to forty-five days in prison for probation violations after being twice caught driving while her license was suspended. The L.A. Times article described in some detail the antics surrounding the case. Just two of several possible examples:

“Asked whether she had understood the terms of the drunk-driving plea that she agreed to Jan. 22, Hilton, 26, said: ‘I just sign what people tell me to sign. I'm a very busy person.’”

Her attorney responded to the verdict: "It's clear she was selectively prosecuted because of who she is. Shame on the system and shame on the city attorney for bringing this case."

Whatever happened to shame on Paris Hilton?

The second article, reported on 3 May by the Daily Mail, began: “A 17-year-old girl has been stoned to death in Iraq because she loved a teenage boy of the wrong religion.”

Du’a Khalil Aswad, “a member of a minority Kurdish religious group called Yezidi” had professed her love for an unnamed Sunni Muslim boy. The religious leaders of her town, including members of her immediate family, condemned her to death – an “honor killing” – for this offense.

Her sentence was executed immediately. “A large crowd watched as eight or nine men stormed the house and dragged Miss Aswad into the street. There they hurled stones at her for half an hour until she was dead.” Her murderers included members of her own immediate family. Her body was buried with the remains of a dog outside the village.

Iraqi security forces witnessed the killing, but did not intervene. Someone actually stood by and filmed the stoning using a mobile phone. When the video made it onto the internet, the murder gained international attention.

Ms. Aswad’s boyfriend is even now in hiding. Her murder sparked reprisal attacks against the Yezidi, including one in Mosul in which 23 were killed.

I saw photos of the slain girl on the internet and even watched the film, and I still remember them: the girl dragged out of the house in which she had been hiding, being thrown to the ground and slowly and brutally murdered. As she lay there dead, people were still crowded around, still screaming at her and cursing her. Someone picked up her lifeless body only to throw it to the ground.

I had never heard of the Yezidi religion before reading about Du’a Khalil Aswad, and I had only rarely heard about “honor” killings. I did some research to learn more.

Yezidi is an ancient syncretistic religion containing elements from the Old Testament, ancient Persian beliefs, and Islam. Yezidi believe that God created the world and then placed it in the care of seven holy beings called the Seven Mysteries. The chief of the seven is Melek Taus, who is also called Shaytan. He is the leader of the archangels and is identified with Satan in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. According to the Yezidi, however, he is not a fallen being as these other faiths believe, but rather is the chief governor of the world origin of good. According to the Kitêba Cilwe (Book of Illumination), which claims to be the words of Melek Taus, he has authority over mankind, issuing responsibility, blessings, and curses as he pleases, and “it is not for the race of Adam to question him.”

The Yezidi faith is highly moralistic. The first of its two central doctrines is an emphasis of religious purity. Thus the Yezidi have a highly developed caste system, strict food laws, and a long list of forbidden things that will make the soul impure.

Their second central doctrine is the reincarnation of the soul after death, which is contingent upon its measure of purity. Should a soul eventually achieve enough purity, it can enter heaven instead of being reincarnated. Should it become impure enough, it will be sent to hell.

Whether Ms. Aswad’s killers thought they were restoring her to purity, punishing her for impurity, or forcing her reincarnation, I do not know. Judging by the film, it was more a situation of an angry mob bent on murder than of thoughtful concern over religious truth.

After reading these two articles, I was overwhelmed by the injustice inherent in both. The injustice involving Ms. Aswad is obvious. The wickedness and cruelty of her murder is frightening. How could a family brutally kill their own daughter? How could armed security force onlookers not intervene? And how could someone not only stand by and watch, but also film the scene and post it on the internet! I cannot forget the photos of her crumpled, lifeless body.

The injustice of Ms. Hilton’s situation is less obvious. Some might say that it is in fact an example of justice, one in which a guilty person is punished for her cavalier attitude toward the law.

The injustice concerning Ms. Hilton’s trial, however, is the amount of press coverage it received. Rarely are probation violations the stuff of international news, but in this case a play-by-play of the trial was reported literally continents away. Were it not Paris Hilton receiving the sentence, no one would have noticed. Because it was Paris Hilton, the attention of millions was diverted away from far more serious things and toward that Los Angeles courtroom.

Injustice is shocking, as it was with the death of Ms. Aswad. It is hard to imagine a person who would not be deeply affected by the photos and film. Horror, shock, anger – all are appropriate responses to injustice. Each reminds us of David’s cry, “How long, O Lord?”

However, although injustice does and should always shock us, it should never surprise us. As Christians, we know why the world seems overrun with injustice: the wickedness of man is great in the earth, and every intention of the thoughts of his heart is only evil continually. Nothing else but Christianity can explain why Du’a Khalil Aswad was stoned to death and why millions around the globe care more about whether Paris Hilton will go to jail.

In Islam, eastern religions, modern humanism, or any other religion, the proposed solution to injustice and evil is to try harder, to do better, to find it within one’s self to overcome. But if we take an honest look at ourselves, what we find is the very sinfulness that breeds injustice.

Only Christianity offers a solution because only Christianity has Jesus. Only in him do we find God himself entering into this unjust world and bearing injustice in all its fullness. Never has there been anything as cold, foolish, vicious, wicked, and unjust as the cross.

Yet Jesus displays his divine power by turning injustice into justice and horror into beauty. Only the Christian can understand: there has never been anything as loving, wise, beautiful, and holy as the cross. Hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth, Isaiah foresaw what the Messiah’s ministry would achieve:

Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law (Isaiah 42:1-4).

Few attitudes are more dangerous to the soul than Ms. Hilton’s lack of concern for what is just, and the only thing worse than Ms. Aswad’s death is the fact that (as far as we know) she knew nothing of the cross. May the gospel continue to change such hearts, even our own, until the day that injustice is no more.