Wendee writes, in part, "But I am flying to OR soon to visit my family. And
I hate flying, terrifies me. Lack of control, I know."
Far be it from me to comment on phobias; I have enough of my own to deal
with. However, it is worth pointing out that we have precious little
control over what happens to us because, in the end, it is God who is in
control. This does, of course, not mean that we should "tempt God" and take
unnecessary risks. However, society has decreed that it is OK to allow
people to travel through the air in aluminum tubes at speeds of 800 kph,
that it is OK for transportation companies to truck vast volumes of highly
flammable organic compounds, including gasoline and propane, or chemically
toxic materials, incuding chlorine and anhydrous ammonia, through urban
areas. Each and every one of is authorized to carry ~100 L of flammable
organic compounds in the form of gasoline in a flimsy steel containers at
speeds of 100 kph. Environmentalists generally accept these situations but
try to ship 10 grams of plutonium, mixed with uranium oxide, for a research
project to see if we can destroy plutonium, initially generated for use in
Russian and US warheads, by "burning" (irradiating) it in a nuclear reactor!
There will be and were demonstrations in the streets! Many fears are
irrational and are based on an incorrect understanding of the risks
associated with an event or process.
I have very little control over who transports what along the roads I travel
on. However, when the time comes for me to be "translated into glory," I'm
convinced God will find a way to do so, be that by allowing some arteries to
be blocked, sending a ball of flaming gasoline or propane in my direction,
or allowing physical forces to cause a critical part in an Air Canada plane
to fail.
Chuck Vandergraaf
Pinawa, MB
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