oom 4 Terrace Review ~— Wednesday, December 17, 1986 ~ Commentary Those heathen times TERRACE — Some religious cults do not allow their references made in Acts 15:20. Since the Book of Acts is written by the apostle and physician St. Luke, for the Christian Church, it is best that a Christian apply some common sense to this abuse and answer these ridiculous references. The actual verse reads: ‘‘But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from for- nication, and from things strangled, and from blood.’ _ Theterm “blood” has several references in its Greek otigin, including the ‘‘blood of Christ shed on the cross,” according to Strong’s. It also refers to the unfermented and the fermented juice of the grape. And it refers to the blood sacrifices offered up to the gods of devil worship in those heathen times. All good Christians know that Luke was not referring to either the “‘blood of Christ’’ or the juice of the grape. In the context of the verse, as the reader will easily note, he was referring to the blood (both human and animal) sacrifices date back to the promise of the woman’s seed in Genesis that was fulfilled on that first Christmas by the Virgin Mary. These sacrifices actually showed con- tempt for God’s plan that God the Son would be born of a Virgin and through her would come the Redemp- tion of those who would accept her son. | Naturally, Luke did not want Christians getting in- volved in such hocus-pocus. The Book of Galaditians deals with those blood sacrifices made in the Jewish temple. The world can thank Christianity for abolishing such heathen practices. Suffice to say that a blood transfu- sion is not a blood sacrifice. Considering the wide spread epidemic of AIDS, however I might paraphrase Luke and ‘‘write unto you, that you abstain from pollu- tions of the blood, and from fornications, and from the things that spoil the wineskins there of?’ In other words, don’t mess around with the fruits of this promiscuous society. Brian Gregg Terrace, B.C. Letter Merry Christmas To the editor, : The Canadian Red Cross ‘‘Terrace Creation Branch’’ of the Red Cross would like to thank sin- cerely all persons who sup- ported our Christmas sale in the Skeena Mall on Dec. 6. Our congratulations to Mrs. B. Hammerstrom *Latiars to the editor will be considered for pubiication only when signed. Please include your phone number, The editor reserves the right to condense and edit latters. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Terrace Review. Terrace Review Established May 1, 1985 members to have blood transfusions because of . (eA RUSE INE HEE SP The Terrace Review is published each Wednesday by Close-Up Business Services Ltd. ° Publisher: Mark Twyford Editor: Maureen Barbour Staff Reporter: Michael Kelly Advertising Sales: Jean-Luc Roy 635-7640 Production: Kim Kimble Office: Cartie Olson Accounting: Marj Twyford Second-class mall registration No, 6896. Reproduction of this paper or any por- tlon thereof is prohibited withoul per- migaton of the publisher. 4535 Greig Avenue, Terrace, B.C. V8G 1M7 Phone: 635-7840 Po who was the winner of a hand made quilt in the raf- fle. Merry Christmas! Sheri Onstein Terrace, B.C. AreComputersa Threat? In recent years, there has been much speculation that computer technology, which has revolu- tionized the way government coi- lects and processes information, could lead to changes in the poli- cies established by America’s founding fathers. - One such concern is the tech- nology’s effect on the balance of power among the executive, legis- lative, and judicial branches of government. Bul, according to two Univer- sity of California, Irvine research- ers, the technology actually poses little threat to dernocracy as out- lined by the Constitution. Hubert Beyer Terrace Review Victoria Correspondent y The bitter woodworkers strike is over and British Col- umbians can breathe a collective sigh of relief — for now. Unfortunately, the main issue, contracting out, was not resolved. The strike didn’t end because the two par- ties agreed on the major bone of contention. It ended because both sides had run out of steam — for now. Chances are more than good that the hostilities will be resumed 18 months from now. And when that happens, the government will, once again, be faced with the unen- viable task of stepping in, This time around, the two parties narrowly avoided government intervention. Premier Vander Zalm was poised to recall the legislature the week after the industry and the Interna- tional Woodworkers Union (IWA) reached their uneasy truce. A day before the two parties decided to end the strike, the premier said this was their last chance. Under extreme economic pressure, tired and broke, the two parties agreed on a compromise that is bound to fail. A Royal Commission is to look into the issue of contracting out and make a non-binding recommenda- tion with 18 months. The track record of Royal Commissions is not very good. Few of them have ever achieved anything, and there’s no reason to believe that this one will be dif- ferent. In the end, the government will have to do what it should have this time. It will have to intervene in the dispute and dictate a settlement to the two parties. Letting the striking’ woodworkers and intractable companies stew in their own juice for five months was one thing. Endangering whatever economic recovery may be in store for British Columbia was quite another. The cost of this strike to the economy was high — an estimated $2 billion, half a billion of which is at- tributable to lost wages. . “They want collective bargaining, they got it,’’ the premier said at one point. A commendable position, as long as the two parties were the only ones hurting. This strike hurt us all badly. British Columbia's forest industry is in dire straits as it is, Whether the U.S. continues to impose its tariff on our lumber or whether we do it ourselves by raising stumpage fees, painful adjustments will be necessary. The last thing we needed was a prolonged strike in the forest sector. I strongly believe that as long as there’s a chance of a settlement in a labor dispute, government should stay out of it. But it should have become clear to the govern- ment months ago that there was no common meeting ground for the two sides in this battle. For the unions, the issue of contracting out is a matter of survival. That’s why the other unions have rallied around the IWA. The companies view the issue just as seriously, claiming that their future health depends on whether or not they are allowed to.contract work out to non-union companies. —- If the strike had been simply over wages, it would have been settled long ago. This strike was different. Both sides had been determined all along to go to the wall. If ever there was an example of a Mexican stand- off, this was it. The Hodgson Report didn’t achieve anything. The IWA rejected the recommendations out of hand, and it’s not difficult to understand why. Stu Hodgson, Peter Pearse and Mary Saunders, who made up the three-member inquiry commission, side- stepped the issue of contracting out, but left no doubt that their sympathies were with the companies’ need to become more profitable by reducing labor costs. What must have rankled the striking woodworkers even more was the fact that Hodgson, chairman of the B.C. Ferry Corporation, was at one time a member of the IWA executive. . To the IWA, the Hodgson report smelled like a sellout. That’s why the union’s 20,000 rank-and-file members rejected the report by a 90 percent vote and better in most locals. Nothing has struck closer to the heart of trade unions in the past decade than their shrinking memberships at the hands of technologcal change. The IWA alone has lost an estimated 5,000 jobs to improved technology. It doesn’t take a degree in psychology to understand why that union is digging in its heels over further job losses. A few weeks ago, the premier said there has got to be a better way to settle labor disputes than by striking. It seems that, so far, the solution has eluded him, A Royal Commission certainly isn’t it. Trial date set TERRACE — Five local residents arrested in an RCMP undercover drug operation will go to trial in Terrace Provincial Court June 9, 1987. Daniel Belanger, Kenneth Be- langer, Reno Belanger, Bruno Belanger and Dar- ren Munson are all charg- ed with one count of violating section 4(1) of the Narcotics Control Act, trafficking in narcotics; as result of the violation each is also charged with an of- fense under section 423(1)d. of the Criminal Code, conspiracy to com- mit an indictable offense. Darren Munson will be tried on a second count of the same offenses, and Kenneth Belanger is also charged with possession of a narcotic for the purpose of trafficking. A spokesperson for the court registry indicated that three weeks have been set aside for the trial, and a ban has been imposed on the publication of evidence.