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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1993-10-20, Page 4Letters Reader responds THE EDITOR, I would like to respond to Doug Trollope's letter of Oct. 13. He suggests that since God is loving he will not punish him and everybody will go to heaven. Although God is love, He is also Holy. This means that neither attribute is exclusive to the other. His holiness or perfection demands justice or punishment for sin, so all sin is punished with death in hell. But God's love is such that he came to earth as a man (Jesus Christ) and paid his own penalty for sin for us if we accept his loving gift. Now we are all faced with a choice; accept Jesus' payment for sin by believing his diety, death, and resurrection or pay for sin with death in hell. Mr. Trollope also says that the Bible is based on hearsay. Webster's dictionary defines hearsay as information based on gossip or rumour; yet the Bible was divinely ascribed by men who were often eyewitnesses to the recorded events. Further, as stated in my previous letter the Bible has been historically and archeologically verified on many topics and fulfilled prophesy shows that it was inspired by God. From his letter it sounds as if Mr. Trollope has not even read the Bible. I was a Bible critic until I read it. Doug says that it would take a revelation to figure out the Bible. I would agree; it takes the help of the Holy Spirit to fully understand it. I suggest that he try reading a Living Bible which is a more readable paraphrase. As far as Bertrand Russel's book, I am sure it will be forgotten in a short time, while the Bible yearly outsells every bestseller (in 1987 the Bible sold over 500 million copies). I agree with Mr. Trollope that religion has caused a great deal of bloodshed which is wrong, but true Christianity, based on a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is different. If a born again Christian allows Jesus Christ to be Lord of his life - or allows Jesus to live His life in them, that person will love their enemy, love their neighbour as themself and will have difficulty harming others. Jesus did these things perfectly showing true humility and love. This type of Christian has done a lot of good in the world by building many of the world's hospitals, schools and orphanages. Richard Packer. THE EDITOR, In a statement to the Legislature Wednesday, Premier Bob Rae announced that the Ontario government has decided to act on a number of fronts to protect Ontario's interests against the harmful effects of the proposed NAFTA. The recent federal government trade and economic policies, combined with a global recession, have caused great hardship for all Ontarians, including the people of Huron County. The original free trade agreement brought us lost jobs, permanent plant closures and a recession, the effects of which are still with us today. Now, the federal government has rammed through another harmful trade deal. Our government opposes NAFTA because we believe it will only add to the harm already done to Ontario by the original Free Trade Agreement. This government is not prepared to let Ontarians be dealt a double blow. In addition to launching a court challenge of the North American Free Trade Agreement in the Photo by Bonnie Gropp Ontario Court of Appeal, the Ontario government is also introducing other measures, including: • Legislation, to be introduced soon, to control the transfer of water out of, into, or among Ontario's seven drainage basins; • Amendments to the Power Corporation Act to protect Ontarians from NAFTA's potential impact on the province's electricity supply; • An Ontario government request for an immediate National Energy Board hearing on the security of Ontario's energy supply; • New performance requirements for Ontario's green technology development programs to encourage the development of leading-edge industries in the province; • Financial support for an Ontario-based producers' association, including industry and labour or a co-operative, to pursue a "social dumping" case before Revenue Canada and the Canadian International Trade Tribunal. Social dumping is said to occur when governments create an unfair advantage for their exporting firms by repressing wages and basic human rights, and by failing to enact or enforce labour and environmental standards that meet international norms. Paul Klopp, MPP Huron. THE EDITOR, To all former residents of Hibbert Twp., Perth County. As you may or may not know, a history of Hibbert Township is being compiled. Do you have information and, or pictures that you would like to include in this book? If so, call the Township office - Monday to Friday, 9-5 at 345-2931 or write to Hibbert Twp. History, Box 129, Dublin, Ont. NOK 1E0 - giving your name and address and the lot(s) in the township with which you were affiliated. Hannah Miller - on behalf of the Hibbert Twp. History Committee PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1993. C N' The North Huron itizen tu3 A P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box 152, Publisher, Keith Roulston BLYTH, Ott BRUSSELS, Ott Editor, Bonnie Gropp NOM 1H0 NOG 1H0 Phone 523-4792 Phone 887-9114 Sales Representatives, FAX 523-9140 FAX 887-9021 Jeannette McNeil and Julie Mitchell P.I0 The Citizen is published weekly In Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $20.50/year ($19.16 plus $1.34 G.S.T.) for local; $31.03/year ($29.00 plus $2.03 G.S.T.) for local letter carrier in Goderich, Hanover, Listowel, etc. and out-of-area (40 miles from Brussels); $60.00/year for U.S.A. and Foreign. Advertising Is accepted on the condition that In the event of a typographical error, only that portion of the advertisement will be credited. Advertising Deadlines: Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 4 p.m. - Blyth. We are not responsible for unsolicited newscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright. Publications Mail Registration No. 6968 A smorgasbord of ideas With the federal election coming up next Monday, wouldn't it be nice to be able to choose the best ideas from each of the parties or candidates, rather than have to vote for one candidate, then hear that candidate say he/she has a mandate to pursue all his/her ideas. At a recent all-candidates meeting in Londesboro, for instance, interesting ideas were put forward by the various candidates, but voting for one means probably saying goodbye to the good ideas of the others. If only this were like a smorgasbord where you could pick what you wanted and leave the rest. On the topic of medicare, for instance, all the candidates expressed varying degrees of support for free medical treatment. Incumbent Murray Cardiff, however, suggested that each person who goes to a doctor or spends time in a hospital, should get a bill to let him know how much the service cost the government medical system. There's much talk these days of paying too much for taxes and a suggestion that everything can be done better by the private sector than by government. What we should be talking about is not how much we pay, but whether we get good service for our money. Our medicare system is one of the most expensive in the world, but it is a lot cheaper than the U.S. private system. Paul Steckle, Liberal candidate, pointed out the per capita cost of medical care in Canada is $1,900 a year compared to $2,900 in the U.S., and some 40 million Americans have no coverage at all. If Canadians got a bill, as Mr. Cardiff suggests, we'd be amazed at how much medical care costs. We'd be less likely to make frivolous use of the system, and we'd be more likely to think twice before complaining about how high our taxes are. We'd realize we got good value for our tax dollar and wouldn't want to have faced the world without the protection of medicare. Speaking of education, Len Lobb, Reform Party candidate, suggested that rather than grants to universities, the federal government should give the students the grants, in the form of a voucher that could be cashed at the university of their choice. This, he said, would make colleges and universities compete to get students. Perhaps if this was followed it would make the universities more responsive to the students' needs. There's no doubt some universities would be badly hurt as enrollment shrunk and with it, government funding. Tony McQuail, N.D.P. candidate pointed out the weakness of our education system in concentrating too much on college and university and ignoring the training of people for the trades. If you don't believe there's a problem, look at how many companies have to scout outside the country to get skilled tradespeople in such fields as tool and die making. Mr. McQuail talked about the need for day care in rural areas. His party, he said, was looking at ways to improve day care at the local and neighbourhood level. With more people from the farm being forced to take off-farm work, children are too often left in dangerous positions, "helping dad or mom" around large machines. Regular day care, even where it is available (usually in larger towns that aren't necessarily convenient to the farm) often isn't available when the farmer has to get work done. If a low-cost, neighbourhood-based, alternative could be found, young lives could be saved. One of the most attractive Reform Party platform planks is the right of recall of members of parliament. The Reform proposal is pretty rigid and has its problems but the idea is good. Under the Reform idea, referenda would be held on important issues and MPs would then have to vote the way the constituents vote. If they didn't, they could be recalled. It's a great idea that MPs should be more attentive to their constituents, but we also elect MPs for leadership. One hopes that an MP has a conscience and if the wishes of the constituents are wrong, in the view of the MP, it leaves him/her in a terrible position. There was considerable agreement that something has to be done about the Senate with many feeling an elected Senate is the answer. The problem, as Mr. Cardiff pointed out, is that changes in the Senate require constitutional change and who wants to get into all that again. This is probably under the heading of a good idea whose time has not come. Similarly, Mr. Steckle, in talking about the problem of violence against women lamented that "we have lost our sense of responsibility. We're recognizing rights, not responsibilities,". He's too right, of course, but it's a wish that's difficult to achieve. If we could persuade people to talk less about rights and more about responsibilities, we wouldn't have to worry nearly as much about the government and whether it should be doing more or doing less. Think carefully about all the issues then be sure to vote. —KR E ditorial