Peter’s interpretation of the dream he had on the rooftop of the tanner’s home in Joppa marked a pivotal point in spiritual understanding.
The dream was of a sheet being lowered from the heavens with all kinds of living creatures in it. What did it mean for one who had followed Jewish dietary law to be ordered to kill and eat non-kosher food?
From this side of the resurrection, was this God’s way of showing the faith-filled that the good news was for all people? Was this a defining moment when Christian leaders were told that the gospel was inclusive and evolving?
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Agriculture needs to prepare for government spending cuts
As government makes necessary cuts to spending, what can be reduced or restructured in the budgets for agriculture?
I believe we, who had opportunity to see the Dalai Lama’s round table on educating the mind and educating the heart, witnessed another defining moment as we global villagers were invited to think about a more comprehensive spirituality.
Respected Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Christian and aboriginal men and women spoke together and with contemporary youth about spiritual questions.
“Absolutely wonderful,” a neighbour commented. “They all had so much in common …”
Their consensus was “that human knowledge without the proper balance of a good heart brings much unhappiness.”
Their conclusion was that all of us have to make the cultivation of sound spiritual values a part of our personal agenda.
Only as we nurture the virtues of gentleness, compassion, hospitality and caring for the welfare of others can we live beyond the threat of terrorism and war.
The overwhelming positive response of every day Canadians wanting to interact with the likes of Ebadi, Tutu and the Dalai Lama suggests the time has come to step over the threshold from our own limited perspectives as members of a particular faith to dialogue with people of the world.
By risking ourselvesÊto engage in such dialogue, we trust ourselves and our world to a greater power. What more could we desire?
Sask. spending
Why is it that the cuts to agriculture in Saskatchewan make the news.
It isn’t news, it is the norm.
The powers of Saskatchewan, and it isn’t just the present government, have never realized that without the primary industries in Saskatchewan, we are just a Third World nation.
The BSE crisis is bringing this fact out in a very dramatic way. The spin-off losses are just now beginning to hit the service industry. Auto sales and other real good sales are dropping like the proverbial rock as the cash flow through the economy grinds to a halt.
As of now, the grain sector, fossil fuels and other primary industries are holding firm, but a drought or energy crisis could push our province into an economic tailspin that would make the 1930s look like prosperity. …
The government has to spend our tax dollars for effect. Their job is to provide the best services to the people of Saskatchewan at the lowest cost. …
Spend the money on infrastructure and industry support. Use the money to make Saskatchewan more accessible and lucrative to business. It is great to have lots of people working, but if they all work for the government, that isn’t an economic boon. It is a drain on resources.
The government claims there is a limited budget for health care and education. This is cutting into our past and our future and robbing our present. It is time to spend the limited dollars available to get the best effect rather than the best press release.
– Clay Wagner,
Maple Creek, Sask.
Farm appeal
I thought someone older and wiser than I might have commented on a letter in the Feb. 19 issue of the Western Producer.
The letter claimed that in 1947-49 the average gross per farm income was around $30,000 and the average net income for the same period was nearly $20,000.
To put that into a monthly context, that would be $1,673 a month.
I have to wonder at that. For instance, by 1950 the teacher in our one-room school house was receiving nearly $2,000 a year and that was considered a good wage.
By the end of the 1950s a friend of mine landed a government job with a starting wage of something over $300 a month, or nearly $4,000 a year and I thought he was in clover; so did he.
I’ll end by saying how I chuckled at a headline in the March 4 issue. It was “Farmers lose appeal.”
Oh, shucks, let’s face it: some weren’t that appealing in the first place.
– C. Pike,
Waseca, Sask.
