Friday, October 31, 2003
Information Overload
I don't know about you, but I need peace and quiet.
I mean the kind of peace and quiet with no radio, phone, internet, music.
Or information.
A study from the University of California, Berkeley looked at how much information the world is generating and it's growing every year by 30%.
Paper is still popular.
Of the 320 million hours of radio shows only 70 million hours are actually original shows. On TV only 31 million hours of the total 123 million hours of broadcast programmes count as new information.
Digital photos are more popular. Film usage dropped about 9%.
It showed that the average American adult spends 16.17 hours on the phone a month, listens to 90 hours of radio and watches 131 hours of TV. The 53% of the US population that uses the net spends more than 25 hours online a month at home and more than 74 hours on the net at work.
The researchers point out that this means we are accessing information media 46% of the time.
Sometimes it is wise to just walk away and breathe.
Posted by Bene Diction @ 02:54 PM BST [Link] [Make a Comment]
Tuesday, October 28, 2003
Refloozle Hossenblobbets with Tinklewickets
That's what computer language sounds like to the average Windows user.
Tech people are starting to understand that people buying and using computers don't speak computer.
And that is as much a security problem as any trojan coming down the pipe.
Most of my students are office workers, or writers, or homemakers. Almost all of them run Windows at home and at work, usually ME or XP. They all know how to "use" their computers, which means that they can write papers, read email, use the Web, and even install software (as long as it's not packaged as a ZIP file: most of them have no idea what a ZIP file is or how to use it). In other words, your typical American computer user.
I'm here to tell the security pros reading this that we are in deeeeeep trouble when it comes to securing the computers of these people.
Security is just not a concept that "normal" folks focus on. It's not even on the radar screen. It's just not thought about at all.
What little security speak I know, came about because of what a tech friend called a level 4 uplink attack. A whazit? On dialup?
Where I live a Mac costs a lot of money. Linux? Isn't that a Peanuts character?
Hey, I use Windows. I could afford it. But I don't know all the gobblegook that goes with it.
We can't just ignore the problems with insecurity that our non-IT friends, family, co-workers and acquaintances have with their computers. If their machines are compromised, we feel the effects, whether we realize it or not.
We feel the effects when we end up spending several hours each week doing pro bono IT work at the homes of the people we know (I've tried sending my Mom a bill, but she never pays, the deadbeat).
I'm normal. I'm no different than millions of other users. I have learned, am learning. And I learn from tech people that speak english, that don't talk down to me, that understand the relationship of machine to owner to web to the rest of the world, and don't start screaming, muttering or lecturing like a crazy person.
Going back to my classes at Washington University in St. Louis and St. Louis Community College, I always spend time with my students educating them about various issues in security. I try to impress upon them the importance of anti-virus software, and Windows Update, and firewalls, both hardware- and software-based. If they have a broadband connection, I take some time to talk about the advantages it brings, but also about the dangers, and how they can protect themselves against those dangers. And you know what? My students are genuinely interested in what I can tell them, and most of them think about what I've said and actually act on it.
Yes, when Joe Average is told this clearly and respectfully I suspect we will.:^)
Posted by Bene Diction @ 11:06 PM BST [Link] [1 Comment]
There is an ongoing drama here in Florida (we seem to be specialists in "ongoing dramas") where a woman, Terri Shiavo, who has been in a vegetative state for 13 years and kept alive only with a feeding tube finally had the tube removed after years of wrangling and manuevering between her parents and her husband. The husband claims that before Terri suffered a massive heart attack (brought on by a potassium defficiency because of the illness of Bolemia), she had expressed that she did not want to ever be kept alive by artificial means. Her parents deny that she ever made this request. Because of oxygen deprevation as a result of her heart being stopped too long, this young woman's brain ceased normal function and threw her into what most experts agree is an irreversable coma and essential brain death. Because Terri had no living will, someone in the medical field chose to put her on a feeding tube 13 years ago.
Now, an ongoing fued between her parents , birth family and her husband has gone all the way to the highest court in Florida where the judges weighed all the information and sided with her husband, agreeing that she should not be kept alive artificially any longer. The tube was removed and then the fireworks began. Right to life groups, based on a video short clip where she appears to respond to her parents (her eyes are always open, as is her mouth), have thrust their noses into this family's business, taken their protests to our state government and, in one short day of debate with no time for the research done by the courts for years, had legislation passed to put the tube back in. Our governor, Jeb Bush (brother of another well intentioned, but sometimes misguided political figure, George W.) signed the bill and claimed victory for Terri as though she was being returned to some sort of quality existence. Now, for the second time in Terri's life, several people have played God on her behalf.
It seems to me that the first instance was 13 years ago when the feeding tube was first inserted. ( I also wonder why her husband didn't remember her desires to not be kept artificially at that time). Hasn't the last 13 years been just as cruel or more so to Terri, her family (parents, sister and husband) than the means by which she would have died, which would have been a form of starvation, but as a result of depriving her of food and water, but a tube going directly to her stomach that gave her bare nutrients and liquid, but not enough to keep her at a natural weight?
Had nature been allowed to take its course 13 years ago, Terri would not be in a nursing home or having this fued going on. If one believes that this life is a very short speck in eternity, she would have stepped on into the rest of eternity only a blink sooner than the rest of her contemporaries.
Now, lawmakers and our governor have played God once again and delayed Terri's departure as though she was brought back to some kind of quality of life. My suspicion is that Terri's wishes and desires were not the prime motivating factor, but the number of would-be voters protesting what they felt was a cruel way of ending someone's life without having all the facts and information. They were moved by out of context video clips, emotional appeals from parents who can't let go and judgement on a husband who is being painted as unfaithful and out only for the malpractice money. Now, the battle goes on the real loser is Terri and anyone else who may have expressed their feelings about being kept alive aritifically but never wrote those feelings down in a living will.
I think I'd better get out my paper and start writing before my representatives decide what to do with me.
Ivan The Crank
Posted by Ivanthecrank @ 09:42 PM BST [Link] [14 comments]
Monday, October 27, 2003
Half the battle in life is picking good friends, or at least being fortunate to find some.
You know the type, the friends that can rebuke (admonish, advise, aid) with gentleness and kindness when you are thrashing about and not doing yourself and those around you much good.
If someone is harsh, I get my back up. Harsh I can usually handle. I expect it and tune out.
It's gentleness that breaks me every time.
This is from someone I'm honoured to call friend. I really needed to hear it.
1 Peter 2:4-8 speaks of Christ the corner stone and the church as being made up of living stones.
A few weeks ago I was doing some teaching at home group. I took a few lovely river stones which had been through a tumbler and a few stones from my back lane's road base. The first were polished, slippery,rounded and smooth. They were "individuals" and I could not stack them at all. They slid off each other and my stack ended up one layer deep on the tabletop.
The road base was angular and hard. The stones could be stacked easily, fitting against each other in their angles.
That's what we are like. When we are fitted together we then pack down hard, like a dry stone wall which can last for centuries without mortar. Unfortunately, in the process of packing down, we bang up against each other and that hurts. Rough edges which poke out are broken off and that hurts too. And the bigger stones pack a bit of weight behind them and do more damage. (That's what you and ** were).
And we can't choose where we are built either. The builder does that.
Posted by Bene Diction @ 09:58 PM BST [Link] [1 Comment]
Sunday, October 26, 2003
And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain—
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
’Tis mystery all: th’Immortal dies:
Who can explore His strange design?
In vain the firstborn seraph tries
To sound the depths of love divine.
’Tis mercy all! Let earth adore,
Let angel minds inquire no more.
He left His Father’s throne above
So free, so infinite His grace—
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s helpless race:
’Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!
Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
Still the small inward voice I hear,
That whispers all my sins forgiven;
Still the atoning blood is near,
That quenched the wrath of hostile heaven.
I feel the life His wounds impart;
I feel the Saviour in my heart.
No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Charles Wesley
Posted by Richard @ 07:47 AM BST [Link] [3 comments]
Saturday, October 25, 2003
Mystic Matt is vexed by hecklers at his magic shows
One of the things that really bugs me as a magician is the one person in the crowd of fifty that has to prove he knows how I'm pulling off my mini miracles and feels that by attempting to rip what I'm doing he's making himself look better. It's one thing when an 11 year old screams "I know how you did that!" from the back. I mean, it's not acceptable and his parents should have taught him better, but I can shrug him off as an immature little brat who may eventually grow up. It's quite another thing when a 23 year old with his girlfriend tries to prove how tough he is by heckling the poor guy up front who's trying to entertain. But wait! It sinks deeper! The girl usually swoons over him for doing it.
We feel your pain Matt. Going to a magic show or, as Matt says later in the same piece the theatre, requires a willing suspension of disbelief. You can't watch a magic show in the same way that you watch a cookery demonstration - the two things are different kinds of "discourse". They have different rules. Shouting "I know how you did that" at a stage magician is evidence that you don't understand the rules.
(As an aside, one of Neil Postman's points about television is that it erases these differences and turns everything, whether politics, religion or education, into show business)
Knowing what the rules are is essential to understanding any kind of communication and recognising that different kinds of communication operate under different rules is no less important. Many of the conflicts that arise in the Church about the use of the Bible would end if this simple truth were better known.
"I know how you did that" is scarcely less irritating than "The Bible says".
Posted by Richard @ 12:42 PM BST [Link] [1 Comment]
Friday, October 24, 2003
I've just sat through The Matrix: Reloaded. Sorry Darren. I don't really care what it's supposed to mean.
I thought it was pants.
Posted by Richard @ 11:42 PM BST [Link] [6 comments]
On one of my recent jaunts around the internet, I came across a page which claimed to provide detailed scientific information about "what homosexuals do". It was very explicit and detailed, but how much of it was true? (I'm not at all anxious to provide a link to the page from this site, though if pressed I suppose I'd be willing to email it to anyone who's really desperate. Truthfully, it seemed to me to have alot in common with those dreadful 1950's 'sexploitation" movies - prurient pornography dressed up as public information. But I digress) Various activities were described, and the dreadful results arising from them were detailed with an odd kind of grim pleasure.
What disturbed me most was the claim that homosexual men are more likely to be child abusers than heterosexual men are. My understanding was that this was an entirely false claim, but had no statistics or anything to back me up. I've got no idea whether or not my claim was dismissed 'out of hand' or accepted as at least a possibility, but this seemed like a good opportunity to attempt to dispell a widespread myth. Well, maybe not dispell. But at least undermine.
In a Letter to the US Senate in May 2001, no less a body than the American Psychological Association wrote:
"One harmful justification used for discriminating against gay men working with children is the erroneous belief that they pose a particular danger to children. However, all available research data and clinical experience indicate that gay men are no more likely than heterosexual men to sexually abuse children. In addition, psychological research on child-rearing skills of gay and lesbian parents has consistently found that they are as good parents as their heterosexual counterparts and that their children do not differ appreciably from children raised by heterosexuals"
Information from the University of California Psychology Department declaresThe empirical research does not show that gay or bisexual men are any more likely than heterosexual men to molest children. This is not to argue that homosexual and bisexual men never molest children. But there is no scientific basis for asserting that they are more likely than heterosexual men to do so.
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry makes the following statement:Further, recognizing that individuals and institutions have historically used sexual orientation as a reason to restrict lesbians and gay men from activities relating to delivery of services, care, treatment to children and adolescents, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry finds that there is no evidence that lesbians and gay men, per se, represent any threat to the development of children or adolescents and condemns any restriction on employment or service based on sexual orientation in positions involving the delivery of services or treatment to children and adolescents.
And a study published in the journal Pediatrics considered 352 suspected child abuse cases. Out of all those studied, only 2 offenders were identified as being gay or lesbian. The data from the survey suggested "the risk children would identify recognizably homosexual adults as the potential abuser, are from 0% to 3.1%. These limits are within current estimates of the prevalence of homosexuality in the general community". Or in plain English, a child is no more likely to be interfered with by a gay man than by his straight friend.
You may not be convinced by all this. the image of the predatory poof is a powerful one. But, I suggest, it is as deeply unjust as those equally powerful myths of the black savage preying on "our" women once were. And contains exactly the same amount of truth.
Posted by Richard @ 08:55 PM BST [Link] [3 comments]
It's a sign! It's a sign!
Posted by Richard @ 09:24 AM BST [Link] [3 comments]
Simple Green offers a reflection on Matthew 12:15-21, the very passage on which I preached last Sunday. Powerful stuff, and very much "in tune" with what I said in my sermon.So he must be right ;o)
I'm sick and tired of watching people crushing bruised reeds and snuffing smoldering candles, and doing it in the name of Jesus. I'm sick of seeing the self-righteous leaders bring their machine-gun logic to bear on someone who is desperately clinging onto her one small scrap of faith. I'm tired of watching the proud and mighty congratulate themselves in the name of God for another successful sally against the very people they should be using their strength to protect.
Posted by Richard @ 08:00 AM BST [Link] [1 Comment]
I attended a lecture last evening by Afif Safieh, the Palestinian General Delegate to the UK and the Holy See. (He is effectively the Ambassador of the Palestinian Authority) It perhaps won't surprise regular readers here that though I deplore all violence my sympathies on Israel/Palestine lie with the Palestinian people. It seems to me that they have been systematically abused since the foundation of Israel in 1948. I don't have the time to write a proper summary of the lecture, so let me share what for me was the "quote of the night"
"I believe that Palestine will resurrect. We in Jerusalem have some previous experience of resurrection"
Posted by Richard @ 07:27 AM BST [Link] [1 Comment]
Thursday, October 23, 2003
Swan has made some stirling contributions to compass recently. Thanks!
You could too.
Posted by Richard @ 03:52 PM BST [Link] [Make a Comment]
“Forgiveness is almost a selfish act because of its immense benefits to the one who forgives.”-- Lawana Blackwell
Courtesy of Ian's Messy Desk
Posted by Richard @ 03:03 PM BST [Link] [1 Comment]
Wood's serial The Random Page has reached episode 15.
It is based on a nightmare. Take a word of advice from your Uncle Richard -- Don't read it at bedtime.
Posted by Richard @ 12:37 PM BST [Link] [1 Comment]
Darren Rowse muses on a bit of research he's done on how long visitors stay when they visit blogs. Interesting stuff.
Posted by Richard @ 12:18 AM BST [Link] [Make a Comment]
Wednesday, October 22, 2003
Helping to keep arguments about blogrolls in perspective is Martin Roth, who has written of his concerns about alcohol (ab)use by young people
It’s disgusting that liquor companies are making alcoholic drinks that taste like chocolate milk shakes and are clearly aimed at the young. But if you have a liquor industry you can’t really expect them to make only drinks that people don’t like.
It’s dreadful that it is, apparently, not overly difficult for young people to obtain alcohol, though I don’t think that’s new, and, anyway, it’s probably pretty inevitable in a free society.
I think to me the outrage is that we have given our kids so little to believe in, that, when they get to a party, about all they want to do is get blind drink as fast they can.
Well said that man! I'm not against drinking alcohol as such. I enjoy a glass of wine, a good beer, even a fine malt whiskey if I can. But theses are not drinks for youngsters. Good beer, for example, is produced with care and should be drunk with discipline. It's made to be savoured, not slung down your neck so as too get you hammered as quickly as possible. The craze for vodka-based fruit and milk drinks is definitely a market the drinks manufacturers have created to exploit young people who have more money than sense. They should be held to account.
Alcohol is a gift from God. Wine, says the Psalmist, "makes the heart glad". But like all good gifts it can be abused. Overindulgence is always a temptation, but there is no excuse for manufacturers producing things which are designed to produce overindulgence.
On a similar theme, the BBC reports that
The nutritional make up of fast food encourages people to gorge on it unintentionally, increasing their risk of obesity, research suggests.
Experts at the Medical Research Council found most fast food is very dense in calories - you only need a small amount to bump up your calorific intake.
They found that these "energy dense" foods can fool people into consuming more calories than the body needs.
The report goes on to highlight particular concers for the health of children"Children have not yet developed any of the learned dietary restraint that needs to be exerted by anyone wishing to remain slim in the modern environment.
"It's surely a stark paradox that the strategy used to achieve rapid weight gain in malnourished children in Africa - the frequent offering of energy-dense foods - has now become the norm for many overweight children in affluent societies."
No one is trying to argue that individuals are not responsible for their own diet. But manufacturers and retailers need to wake up to their responsibilities too.
Posted by Richard @ 10:59 PM BST [Link]
I'm as up for a bit of controversy as the next man. Nothing I like more than an argument. Sometimes, though, the attraction begins to wear thin. A free and frank exchange of views, a robust conversation in which points of view are not only put with conviction but listened to with respect is a fine thing. But if the conversation is a dialogue of the deaf, it so easily descends into sub-Python self-parody
A: I came here for a good argument.
B: No you didn't. You came here for an argument
A: Well, an argument's not the same as contradiction
B: It can be.
A: No it can't. An argument is a connected series of statements intended to establish a definite proposition.
B: No it isn't.
A: Yes it is. It isn't just contradiction.
B: Look, if I argue with you I must take up a contrary position.
A: But it isn't just saying 'No it isn't'.
B: Yes it is
And so on. (Any excuse to quote Monty Python)
So what does make a "good" argument? I'd list: a willingness to listen, responding to what's said rather than what's assumed, the ability to step back and laugh and above all remembering that there is another human being involved not just a remote computer. And maybe occasionally remembering that showing grace is always more important than winning. There might be a few (a very few) who've been argued into faith. But I know of a lot more who've been attracted to Jesus by the love and grace his followers have shown. (Note to self - Keep that in mind!)
Posted by Richard @ 10:30 PM BST [Link]
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
Speaking of Bene Diction, I've already mentioned the fascinating project on blog accountability, demographics, blog types, that kind of stuff.
I'm fascinated by the way that people choose what to put on their "blogroll", that list of other blogs in a column on the side of the screen. Some people seem to make it a "list of every blog I've looked at that I hought was half decent". Some claim it as a some kind of magnificent endorsement. Others link only the sites they read. i haven't done any research, but my instinct is that via the blogrolls, blogs are arranged in "clusters". the clusters have points of contact, even overlap, but broadly speaking a link on the blogroll seems to be an indication of "one of us". I might bewrong, of course. But if I'm right, i wonder how healthy that is - especially among the "God blogs".
More interesting still are how people react to discovering that they've been blogrolled. Links mean visitors (assuming the linking site has any!) but more importantly they are the means of the exchange of ideas and conversation. And that's what blogging is about, or at least that's how it seems to me. So the usual reaction to discovering a new link, especially a "permanent" one on a blogroll is pleasure. I mean, even if you don't "do it for the numbers", it's still better to have visitors than not.
Just occasionally though, you hear of someone who is asking to be taken off a blogroll, perhaps because they don't approve of the linking site or its owner. I find that very strange. as far as I know, there is no contamination that can be transmitted via a link. There are no "Blogually Transmitted Diseases" that I'm aware of. So I have to admit that I find such requests hard to understand.
I'm not sure how I'd react if someone were to ask to be taken off my little blogroll. It has never happened. But my first instinct would be, "It's my blogroll, and I decide who's on it." I certainly can't imagine ever asking to be taken off someone elses list, whatever the site. A link from a site doesn't mean I approve of them. It means they think there's something in this direction that's worth looking at, even if it's just to make fun of me. If we start having to approve of those who link to us, there probably wouldn't be much left of the "blogosphere" - just isolated sites shouting at one another from the perfection of their solitude.
And that doesn't sound like very much fun.
Posted by Richard @ 10:50 PM BST [Link]
I gave in and took the test. It said
Your Intellectual Type is Visual Mathematician.
This means you are gifted at spotting patterns — both in pictures and in numbers. These talents combined with your overall high intelligence make you good at understanding the big picture, which is why people trust your instincts and turn to you for direction
Do they really? I'll watch out for that in future. I'm not going to do a song and dance about the score it gave me -- I'm not convinced it really means anything. But obviously I'll feel free to make fun of anyone who admits to a lower score than me. ;o)
Thanks to Bene Diction for the link. No really. A test was just what I needed...
Posted by Richard @ 10:15 PM BST [Link]
Swansea-born Statistician Clive Granger and U.S. economist Robert Engle have been awarded the 2003 Nobel economics prize for devising new methods of analysing economic data, particularly economic time series. Clive Granger was born in Swansea, but completed his secondary education at West Bridgford Grammar School, between Loughborough and Nottingham. He studied for a joint degree in economics and mathematics at Nottingham University, staying on to become a lecturer in statistics in the Mathematics Department in 1956. He later became Professor of Economics and Statistics at Nottingham before moving in 1974 to a professorship in the Economics Department at the University of California at San Diego, where he remained until his retirement in July, aged 69.
It's a tenuous link, but in Swansea we take all the reflected glory we can get. :o)
Posted by Richard @ 10:59 AM BST [Link]
Got a blog? Born or living in the UK? Christian?
Then you might want to join Quantum Tea's list of list of UK God blogs.
Go on. You know you want to.
Posted by Richard @ 10:23 AM BST [Link]
Monday, October 20, 2003
A final extract from Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death
In America, Orwell's prophecies are of small relevance, but Huxley's are well under way toward being realised. For America is engaged in the world's most ambitious experiment to accommodate itself to the technological distractions made possible by the electric plug. ...
An Orwellian world is much easier to recognize, and to oppose, than a Huxleyan. Everything in our background has prepared us to know and resist a prison when the gates begin to close around us. .. But what if there are no cries of anguish to be heard? Who is prepared to take arms against a sea of amusements? ... What is the antidote to a culture's being drowned by laughter?
I fear that our philosophies have given us no guidance in this matter. Their warnings have customarily been directed against ... ideologies that appeal to the worst tendencies in human nature. But what is happening in America is not the design of an articulated ideology... It comes as the unintended consequence of a dramatic change in our modes of public conversation. But it is an ideology nonetheless, for it imposesa way of life, a set of ... ideas, about which there has been no consensus, no discussion and no opposition. Only compliance.
Posted by Richard @ 06:56 PM BST [Link]
Lethal Injection -- the safer, simpler nicer execution?
Posted by Richard @ 05:07 PM BST [Link]
Isoblogger. Love-linker. Extra-blogger. Roll-linker.
What kind of blogger are you?
Posted by Richard @ 03:40 PM BST [Link]
Today's WikiWord is Deism
The belief that there is a God, but that he has not made himself known directly and can not be known personally. Deriving from the seventeenth century, Deism was the cornerstone of the enlightenment.
Think you can improve it?
Posted by Richard @ 01:52 PM BST [Link]
Ever "put your foot in it"? Lost your temper then opened your mouth (or put fingers to keyboard) without thinking? I have, and I'm not proud of it. The particular circumstances don't matter, so I won't bore you with the details. Suffice to say that I was in the wrong and I make no excuses, except perhaps fatigue.
What interests me about the incident are the reasons behind it. (Bear with me on this - you know I don't go in much for introspection around here) I realise that I got very angry at what someone else had written, not exactly because of what he'd written but because of who'd written it. In others, my anger wasn't arising out of that particular discussion but had more to do with a growing exasperation with the individual. Whether my exasperation was justified or not is immaterial. What matters is that I allowed it to grow to a point where I typed hastily.
Sometimes it's better to "walk away". I should listen to my own advice more often.
The other issue for me here is to with how we relate to others. Some people we take to immediately. Some we 'warm to" over time. Still others we can "either take or leave", never developing strong feelings about them at all. A few (a very few I hope!) rankle deeply and immediately. Every encounter produces a strong urge to reach for the nearest blunt instrument. Sometimes that may be their fault, but more usually it comes from the invisible friction of two personalities generating heat but not light. The encounters can still be creative, but the less affinity we feel with someone the more care we need to take in engaging with them, especially when "meeting" them disembodied over the internet.
I knew that, but allowed myself to forget. I'll try not to let it happen again. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.
Posted by Richard @ 01:50 PM BST [Link]
Sunday, October 19, 2003
Some nonsense from the excellent folk at Internet Magazine
Need a new slogan? Type your brand name into this Slogan Generator and it will dream one up as if by magic. Don't like what you're offered? Keep pressing until you do. Silly, but oddly compelling.
And here's a brilliant new approach to computer security: Fill your PC full of concrete. How come nobody thought of that before?
Posted by Richard @ 11:45 PM BST [Link]
O Love divine! what has thou done!
The immortal God hath died for me!
The Father's coeternal Son
bore all my sins upon the tree.
The immortal God for me hath died!
My Lord, my Love, is crucified!
Behold him, all ye that pass by,
the bleeding Prince of life and peace!
Come,see, ye worms your Maker die,
and say, "Was ever grief like his?"
Come, feel with me his blood applied:
My Lord, my Love, is crucified!
Is crucified for me and you,
to bring us rebels back to God.
Believe, believe the record true,
ye all are bought with Jesus' blood.
Pardon for all flows from his side:
My Lord, my Love, is crucified!
Then let us sit beneath his cross.
And gladly catch the healing stream:
All things for him account but loss,
And give up all our hearts to him:
Of nothing think or speak beside,
"My Lord, my Love is crucified."
Charles Wesley
Posted by Richard @ 08:02 AM BST [Link]
Another excerpt from Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death. This is from the chapter on the link between showbusiness and politics. Somehow, the words seem prophetic.
This is the lesson of all great television commercials: They provide a slogan, a symbol or a focus that creates for viewers a comprehensive and compelling image of themselves. In the shift from party politics to television politics, the same goal is sought. We are not permitted to know who is best at being President or Governor or Senator, but whose image is best in touching and soothing the deep reaches of our discontent. We look at television and ask, in the same voracious way as the Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?" We are inclined to vote for those whose personality, family life, and style, as imaged on the screen, give back a better answer than the Queen received. As Xenophanes remarked twenty-five centuries ago, men always make their gods in their own image. But to this, television politics has added a new wrinkle: Those who would be gods refashion themselves into images the viewers would have them be.
Posted by Richard @ 08:00 AM BST [Link]
Simple Green questions the assumption that the USA was founded a Christian nation
Those Christians who insist that our country was founded by Evangelical-style Christians on Christian principles, arguing that America must return to its Biblical roots, are living in a fantasy world, longing for a mythical time that never existed.
InSide Out hasn't blogged for a while, but is back today. Which is nice.
Alice waxes lyrical after a day spent singing. That's nice too.
Bene Diction and LivingRoom both offer a "thumbs up" to Superblessed's Christian Blog Awards nominations. That isn't the gesture I'm making. No prizes for working out why. ;o)
Not that I'm bitter or anything.
A New Kind of Christian points us to Digi-Bless. It is a spoof site, isn't it Steve?
And I was only a day late posting to blogs4God.
Posted by Richard @ 12:49 AM BST [Link]
Saturday, October 18, 2003
A Fijian village is to apologise for eating a British missionary.
So that's all right, then.
Posted by Richard @ 07:09 PM BST [Link]
Is this the world's smallest website?
Just don't ask what the point of it is.
Posted by Richard @ 01:24 PM BST [Link]
Unable to raise much enthusiasm for my own wiki, let me try to engage you by pointing to what's possible. Meatball describes itself as a community of communities: an intercommunity or metacommunity. It deals with online culture, especially how people online come together naturally in groups. There's some great stuff in there (try the article on Barn Raising) and it gives some idea what can be achieved through the wiki model. Meatball was one of the sites that prompted me to begin compass.
Posted by Richard @ 11:41 AM BST [Link]
It is the birthday of Pieter Friedrich and his mum mom today. Happy Birthday to both. Pieter is 18, his mother's age is what you get when you multiply six by nine, just a tiny shade older than yours truly. If Pieter were here I'd be able to take him out for a pint tonight, which I think would be interesting. I'm pretty sure that this pleasure will have to wait until he's 21 where he is, which is no bad thing really. A pint of American beer, admirable country in many ways though it is, is something which can be put off indefinitely without loss.
What particularly struck me about his birthday post was these few words:"Actually, he thinks he should be allowed to purchase any firearm at any age as long as he has the cash to purchase it, but that's another discussion."
That isn't a sentiment I'd expect his mother to agree with nor (without wishing to be patronising) one which I expect him to hold before very long. It'll be interesting to see.
But, for now, Happy Birthday to you both.
Posted by Richard @ 11:39 AM BST [Link]
The most important of the Sikh scriptures is the "Jap-ji" which opens the Adi Granth. In translation it says
There is but one God.
True is His Name, creative His personality and immortal His form.
He is without fear or enmity,
unborn and self-illumined.
By the Guru's grace He is obtained.
Tell me that doesn't give you a statrting point for conversation with a Sikh.
Posted by Richard @ 10:58 AM BST [Link]
Martin Roth is a consistent source of thought-provoking material. If you don't read him, you should. Prompted by a Bible study discussion, yesterday he pondered the extent to which the practices and assumptions of other faith groups can influence Christians. I've got no answer to that, though I suspect that some teasing apart of what is "religious" and what is "culture" might be helpful. But I particularly enjoyed Martin's article because it reminded me of one of my own forays into inter-faith discussion which has been very influential on me.
While I was doing my ministerial training I spent some time "on attachment" to a Sikh Gurdwara (temple) in Birmingham. When I made my first visit I have to admit to feeling very uncomfortable. Everything was strange and, though I didn't want to cause offence I didn't want to compromise myself either. Strangely, what helped me through the discomfort was remembering that these were exactly the feelings I'd had the first time I attended a Mass. I received a very warm welcome and my greeter made sure I understood what would happen and what I should do. The service, conducted in Punjabi, had much less of a sense of beginning and end than any Christian worship I have been to, largely because people seemed to feel free to arrive and leave at any time. Although the sermon was delivered in Punjabi, seeing me there always prompted the worship leader to put some key points in English so that I'd be able to follow his drift. The music of the worship was always exciting, partly due no doubt to its unfamiliarity but mostly because of the energy of those playing it.
What impressed me most about the time I spent with the Sikhs was their commitment and hospitality. Because their scriptures cannot strictly be translated, "Sunday School" classes for children took place for two hours on Saturday and Sunday mornings so that they could learn and practice. If ever you're in a strange town and need a meal, the Gurdwara is one place you'll always be able to get one. All are welcome to share a meal in the langar, or community kitchen. (The Gurdwara I attended did not have a kitchen as such. Instead, there was a rota of people bringing prepared food. That rota was "booked up" 6 months in advance - for daily worship, twice a day.)
Despite some initial discomfort, I never felt that my attendence at the worship of the Gurdwara in any way compromised my Christian faith. Christians and Sikhs have some common ground, but also many differences and it is both unhelpful and disrespectful to pretend otherwise. Even so, there is a huge amount to be gained from a deeper understanding of other faiths and nothing to be lost except prejudice and ignorance. My experience is that if you really want to understand another's faith, you have to engage with them in friendship and respect. Reading about it in a book won't do. Listening to another Christian tell you about them won't do. This is not about "tolerance", but empathy and understanding. If Jesus could learn from a Syro-Phoenician woman, what have you to fear from your Moslem/Sikh/Hindu/Buddhist neighbour?
Posted by Richard @ 10:56 AM BST [Link]
Friday, October 17, 2003
That quote from Thoreau reminds me of a story i was once told which might even be true.
A missionary in Africa comes across a native fisherman snoozing under a tree when he ought to be working.
"What are you doing wasting time resting? You should be catching fish!"
"I have caught all the fish my family needs."
"You should go and catch more!"
"Why?"
"Because you'd be able to sell what you don't need. Then you could buy bigger nets or a better boat."
"Why?"
"Because then you could catch even more fish!"
"Why?"
"With the money you make, maybe you could hire some others to come and work for you!"
"Why?"
"Then you'd be able to sleep under a tree instead of working!"
Posted by Richard @ 11:36 PM BST [Link]
If a man walks in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer. But if he spends his days as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making the earth bald before her time, he is deemed an industrious and enterprising citizen.
-- Henry David Thoreau
Source: Wisdom Quotes
Posted by Richard @ 11:26 PM BST [Link]
Another excerpt from Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death
What steps do you plan to take to reduce the conflict in the Middle East? Or the rates of inflation, crime and unemployment? What are your plans for preserving the environment or reducing the risk of nuclear war? What do you plan to do about NATO, OPEC, the CIA, affirmative action, and the monstrous treatment of the Baha'is in Iran? I shall take the liberty of answering for you: You plan to do nothing about them. You may, of course, cast a ballot for someone who claims to have some plans, as well as the power to act. But this you can only do once every two or four years by giving one hour of your time, hardly a satisfying means of expressing the broad range of opinions you hold. Voting, we might even say, is the next to last refuge of the politically impotent. The last refuge is, of course, giving your opinion to a pollster, who will get a version of it through a desiccated question, and then will submerge it into a Niagra of similar opinions, and convert them into - what else? - another piece of news. Thus we have a great loop of impotence: The news elicits from you a variety of opinions about which you can do nothing except to offer them as more news, about which you can do nothing.
Posted by Richard @ 08:30 PM BST [Link]
Lt Gen William "Jerry" Boykin is the US deputy undersecretary of state of defence for intelligence. He's in charge of finding Osama bin Laden. And he apparently doesn't know that Islam has come from the same root as Christianity. That I find that even more scary than some of the other views he's said to have expressed.
Posted by Richard @ 08:07 AM BST [Link]
Thursday, October 16, 2003
This is late coming, but it's still sincerely meant. Congratulations to A New Kind of Christian on the birth of a daughter! Lovely pictures.
Posted by Richard @ 03:05 PM BST [Link]
The world's largest study into the effects of prayer on patients undergoing heart surgery has found it appears to make no difference.
The BBC reports that a study involving 750 heart patients at Duke University Medical Center apparently shows that those prayed for did no better than those not prayed for.
Before their operations, the patients were randomly split into two groups, and half were prayed for by Christians, Jews, Buddhists and Muslims. Prayer teams from various denominations and faiths were alerted by email to start intercessory prayer as soon as possible after the patient was enrolled on the trial. Neither hospital staff, the patients, or their relatives had any idea which patients' were receiving prayer, to prevent any chance of the results being skewed.
I've got two principle objections to this, scientific and theological. The scientific one is easier to deal with. How can those doing the study be sure that those in the "not prayed for group" were in fact not prayed for? Since the patients were not told which group they were in, might they not have offered prayers for themselves? Or had relatives and friend praying for them? I seriously doubt that anyone going into a South Carolina hospital doesn't know someone who'll offer a prayer on their behalf. And even if they don't, I and many others regularly pray "for all those who are sick or sad today". Wouldn't that count?
The theological objections are more important. Imagine yourself in church and the preacher says
O Lord we pray for Mrs Jones who is having surgery today. Bless those who care for her and touch her with your healing hand that she may soon be restored to health and strength. But Lord, we do not pray for Mr Smith, who is also having surgery. We want to find out how much notice you're taking. Amen.
That wouldn't be prayer. It would be blasphemy.
Then there's the question of what the study calls "adverse outcomes", which includes death. From the point of view of a medic, death amounts to failure. But that's a very peculiar perspective given that death is inevitable. If prayer is a failure because it cannot put off death indefinitely, then prayer is a failure. But from a Christian perspective death can be seen as a triumph, a fulfillment, an entry into glory. Put that way, it may not seem like an adverse outcome.
Christians have too often treated prayer a method of "getting what you want". The "problem of prayer" has been to find ways of maximizing the benefits. Hence prayer of jabez and all that sort of guff. But prayer isn't a "problem". It's a relationship. We don't usually talk to our friends because of what we hope will come to us as a result. We talk because it's good to talk. This is what will forever distinguish prayer from magic. Our prayer is not (or should not be) goal-oriented as much as it is "wasting time with God". That kind of prayer always makes a difference.
Posted by Richard @ 02:40 PM BST [Link]
25 years ago today Pope John Paul II was elected. You might not have agreed with all he has said and done, but there is no denying the love and respect in which he is held by millions. Remember him in your prayers today, and give thanks.
Posted by Richard @ 11:28 AM BST [Link]
LOS ANGELES—A two-year study of television programming has established a link between cable-TV violence and violent scenarios on network television, the Institute for Media Research announced Monday.
"Our data shows that cable violence, particularly the more brutal, consequence-free violence found on premium-cable channels like HBO, leads to violence on broadcast channels like ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox," IMR researcher Donald Peck said. "This phenomenon has created an ever-widening spiral of violence on our nation's airwaves."
[More...]
Posted by Richard @ 11:26 AM BST [Link]
Spurious link of the day
Our friend Wood is involved in a new blogging project, We Like Good Music. It would be churlish not to offer a small plug.
Posted by Richard @ 09:47 AM BST [Link]
We eed the birds in our garden all year round. We kid ourselves that we're acting out of kindness, but the truth is it's because we like to see them. And, over time, there is a great variety of different species. They're a delight. Two regular visitors are a pair of collared doves and I've grown particularly fond of them.
Yesterday I came home to discover one of the doves being eaten by a sparrowhawk right outside our kitchen window. It stayed for, I suppose, 40 minutes or so reducing my feathered friend to just feathers. I don't really know why I'm writing this. I've always enjoyed watching birds of prey. I'm just not convinced I want to see them in my back garden. Well, I do want to see them. They're welcome to pop by anytime. I just don't want them to "be themselves", if you take my meaning.
It could be a parable. Or I might be rambling.
Posted by Richard @ 09:28 AM BST [Link]
Wednesday, October 15, 2003
The Gutless Pacificist has some shocking facts about children and firearms in the USA. Here are a couple that I found particularly disturbing:
- More children die from gunfire than from cancer, pneumonia, influenza, and HIV/AIDS combined
- Eight children and teens die each day from gunfire in America, approximately one every three hours
And still some say that those who advocate gun control are the enemy. It beggars belief.
Posted by Richard @ 03:45 PM BST [Link]
You probably didn't know that this is Wales Maths Week, but it is. The university hosted a lecture by Prof. Marcus du Sautoy headed The Music of the Primes and I'm bound to say it was a good deal more entertaining than any maths lecture I remember from my undergraduate days. Certainly the only one I've ever been to featuring a trumpet solo. Fascinating stuff indeed.
Posted by Richard @ 03:15 PM BST [Link]
File this under "Things I meant to blog yesterday"
Bene Diction has a great post about blog discipline and accountability among the "God blogs"
God-blogs that don't foster community are more apt to fail.
Blogs that are updated regularly aid both the blogger and the reader and move away from intense self-focus and toward others.
God-blogs have tapped into the dis-enfranchised and helped foster the emerging church movement. God-blogs have also been effective in discussion with traditional church problems or issues particularly in the Catholic and Protestant sectors.
There's a promise of a follow up on the demographics of God blogs, and I count myself among those looking forward to seeing the results. In the meantime, I'm pleased to discover I am part of an elite minority, though only just! You'll need to read the article to discover why.
Posted by Richard @ 11:23 AM BST [Link]
WikiWord of the day
I clearly couldn't tempt you with Amen.
So I wonder if Biblical criticism will "light your candle"? Here's what it says right now
Doesn't mean "The Bible is rubbish"! Biblical criticism is the scholarly study of the Bible, especially its historical background and context, its language and its literary form(s).
Adding your own thoughts is a piece of cake.
Posted by Richard @ 09:01 AM BST [Link]
OK. I admit it. I reckon "fall" is a much better word for the season than "autumn". But walking back from school just now I was thinking how autumnal the weather is today. How would you say that in Americish? Fallal? Fallish? Fall-like? Fallic?
Don't tell me you don't talk about the weather, cos I know you do.
Posted by Richard @ 08:59 AM BST [Link]
Tuesday, October 14, 2003
Inclusive Church .net "is an Anglican network of individuals, church councils and organisations that have signed up to Inclusive Church's Statement of Belief. ... a grass roots network with a campaigning edge, open to anyone who shares our vision of an inclusive church. ... we believe that, in order to strengthen the Gospel's proclamation of justice to the world, and for the greater glory of God, the church's own common life must be justly ordered." Their statement of faith reads
We affirm that the Church's mission, in obedience to Holy Scripture, is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in every generation. We acknowledge that this is Good News for people regardless of their sex, race or sexual orientation. We believe that, in order to strengthen the Gospel's proclamation of justice to the world, and for the greater glory of God, the Church's own common life must be justly ordered. To that end, we call on our Church to live out the promise of the Gospel; to celebrate the diverse gifts of all members of the body of Christ; and in the ordering of our common life to open the ministries of deacon, priest and bishop to those so called to serve by God, regardless of their sex, race or sexual orientation.
If I were an Anglican, I'd sign up. Since I'm not, the least I can do is offer this bit of encouragement and support.
Link via the Wibsite
Posted by Richard @ 11:30 PM BST [Link]
The BBC covers the pitfalls of online translation services. Language is a complex business - when you consider the confusion that sometimes arises between the British and Americans, it is hardly surprising that computers find it difficult to get right. It isn't all bad though - online translators can be a great source of surreal humour.
A recent report in the French daily Le Monde dealt with Tony Blair's determination to remain as British prime minister, despite the post-Iraq and Hutton controversies. When the French text was run through an online instant translation service, it ended up more confusing than convincing.
"With listening to it", Le Monde reportedly reported, "in the event of victory Tony Blair intends to remain with the capacity until the term of the legislature...."
Posted by Richard @ 11:16 PM BST [Link]
The news of the death of author and academic Neil Postman has prompted me to read again his most famous work Amusing Ourselves to Death. Written in 1985, it is a powerfully polemic about the influence of television on culture. As I'm reading it anyway, I thought I might blog a few quotes over the next day or two, just to whet the appetite of anyone who hasn't yet read it. Here's a little salvo from the opening pages:
American businessmen discovered, long before the rest of us, that the quality and usefulness of their goods are subordinate to the artifice of their display; that, in fact, half the principles of captalism as praised by Adam Smith or condemned by Karl Marx are irrelevant. Even the Japanese, who are said to make better cars than the Americans, know that economics is less a science than a performing art, as Toyota's yearly advertising budget confirms.
Posted by Richard @ 08:20 PM BST [Link]
I haven't come across the 40 days of purpose programme before, but I'm fairly sure it wouldn't be my "cup of tea". It turned up today via blogs4God in this marvellous piece from Wade Hodges
40 Days of Purpose
I think we're the only church in Tulsa not doing the "40 Days of Purpose" thing. Instead, I'm thinking we may do something called "10 Days of Meaninglessness." It would be based on Ecclesiastes and would hopefully leave us all cold, naked, and shivering on the floor of our existential angst.
Nice one!
Posted by Richard @ 04:30 PM BST [Link]
Martin Roth highlights Chosun Journal, a website dedicated to promoting the cause of human rights in North Korea. Don't ignore this one.
Posted by Richard @ 11:10 AM BST [Link]
The phrase "A charge to keep" comes from Charles Wesley's hymn, which was inspired by Matthew Henry's commentry on Leviticus 8:35
A charge to keep I have,
a God to glorify,
a never-dying soul to save,
and fit it for the sky.
To serve the present age,
my calling to fulfill;
O may it all my powers engage
to do my Master's will!
Posted by Richard @ 07:21 AM BST [Link]
Monday, October 13, 2003
Eek! I can't bear it. I realise that I'm along way from being the first to notice that George Bush has a blog and I hadn't intended to even look at it, let alone comment. I mean, it's not as if it is anything to do with me. But reading it described as "fabulous" prompted me to take a quick gander.
It's every bit as awful as you might expect. It's an authentic blog in the same way that The Sun is an authentic newspaper. It serves no purpose other than to tell us how great GWB is. Let's face it. You either know that already, in which case you don't need this site. Or you know it's a bunch of fetid dingos kidney's, in which case this site will not persuade you.
It continues to link Saddam with 9-11, even though no serious commentator accepts that there was any connection at all between those terrible events and that odious dictator:
On September 11, 2001, terrorists declared war on the United States, and we have taken the fight to the terrorists. We have captured or killed many key leaders of the al Qaeda network. In Iraq, America and our coalition partners removed a brutal dictator and the threat he posed to America and the world.
And it steals borrows a phrase full of Methodist resonance -- "A Charge to Keep" -- which is ironic given the amount of notice Mr Bush has taken of the UMC's leadership in recent days.
Dreadful.
Posted by Richard @ 09:51 PM BST [Link]
emergent kiwi responds to the charge that "Emerging churches are not seeing people saved":
We live in this strange period of time when the bottom has just fallen out of the Western church. Thousands leave every day. Decline is the norm. In the meantime, some of us have smelt the air of cultural change. Like a dog aware of a storm, we are pacing the room, hair on end, growling. Most people would just thank the dog for the warning. Not so the emerging church. We are also meant to be growing while the rest of the Western church is in decline.
Thanks to Darren for bringing this to my attention.
Posted by Richard @ 06:04 PM BST [Link]
Real Live Preacher writes movingly about a visit to a Texas jail
I left there yesterday knowing only one thing for sure. She does not deserve what is happening to her every day behind those bars. She has not been seriously assaulted so far, but that threat hangs over her head every day. The real damage comes from being dehumanized daily in needless ways.
Read the whole thing
Posted by Richard @ 04:31 PM BST [Link]
One of the songs that came up at the Chaplaincy music night was that old favourite Scarborough Fair. I don't know how many times I've heard that song, but it's a very lot. I've always thought I knew what it is about -- it's a love song, right? -- but I've never actually listened to the lyrics.
I'm probably the only person in the English-speaking world not to realise this: but reading the lyrics of the song makes it clear that it's precisely the opposite of a love song
Tell her to make me a cambric shirt,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme,
Without no seams nor needle work,
Then she'll be a true love of mine.
Tell her to find me an acre of land,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme,
Between the salt water and the sea strands,
Then she'll be a true love of mine.
You can't make a shirt without seams or needlework. There is no land between the strand and the sea. She'll never again be his true love.
Preachers often comment that congregations sometimes hear a different sermon from the one they think they have preached. I've lost track of the number of times I've misunderstood someone because I've heard what I was expecting rather than what thy actually said. There is a gap between hearing and listening through which our understanding may fall.
Update: This page has a different take on what the words of Scarborough Fair mean, but I think my point still stands.
Posted by Richard @ 03:58 PM BST [Link]
The hospital lift (elevator) came to a grinding halt between floors.
The visiting clergyman immediately took charge of the situation, to the gratitude of his fellow occupants. He picks up the emergency telephone.
"Hello. Can I help you?"
"I hope so. We're stuck in the lift."
"OK. Where are you?"
"I'm standing in the corner using the telephone."
!
Posted by Richard @ 01:51 PM BST [Link]
All of the Canadian bloggers known to me are admirable people - splendid fellows all. So it's in a spirit of mutual admiration and transatlantic understanding that I offer them this short message from South Wales:
;o)
Posted by Richard @ 01:49 PM BST [Link]
Sunday, October 12, 2003
Any tech heads out there?
My ISP uses what it says is called "transparent cacheing" - that is, they cache web pages on their servers. Apparently this speeds up download times, but it also means that if I update my site I can't see the results of the changes until the cache is updated. Hope this is making sense to someone...
I seem to remember reading about a tag I could include in my header that would prevent the page being cached, but I don't remember where, or what it was called. Have I imagined this, or does it exist? Any pointers very gratefully received.
Posted by Richard @ 01:19 PM BST [Link]
A few quotes about Liberals and Conservatives...
"Conservative: a statesman who is enamoured of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others." -- Ambrose Bierce
"Liberals feel unworthy of their possessions. Conservatives feel they deserve everything they've stolen." -- Mort Sahl
"A Conservative Government is an organized hypocrisy." -- Benjamin Disraeli
"A liberal is a man too broadminded to take his own side in a quarrel." -- Robert Frost
"You know what they say: if God had been a Liberal, we wouldn't have had the ten commandments. We'd have had the ten suggestions." -- Christopher Bigsby & Malcolm Bradbury
"The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of Conservatives is to prevent mistakes from being corrected." -- G. K. Chesterton
"A liberal is a conservative who's been arrested. A conservative is a liberal who's been mugged." -- Wendy Kaminer
"The Democrats are the party of government activism, the party that says government can make you richer, smarter, taller, and get the chickweed out of your lawn. Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work, and then get elected and prove it." -- P. J. O'Rourke
"The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness." -- John Kenneth Galbraith
"Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives." -- John Stuart Mill
Source: Wisdom Quotes
Posted by Richard @ 01:17 PM BST [Link]
This is one of Wesley's Christmas hymns really, but I found myself singing it as I was making the morning coffee. That's all the excuse I need to post it here.
LET earth and heaven combine,
Angels and men agree,
To praise in songs divine
The incarnate Deity,
Our God contracted to a span,
Incomprehensibly made man.
He laid his glory by,
He wrapped him in our clay;
Unmarked by human eye,
The latent Godhead lay;
Infant of days he here became,
And bore the mild Immanuel's name.
Unsearchable the love
That hath the Saviour brought;
The grace is far above
Or man or angels thought;
Suffice for us that God, we know,
Our God, is manifest below.
He deigns in flesh to appear,
Widest extremes to join;
To bring our vileness near,
And make us all divine:
And we the life of God shall know,
For God is manifest below.
Made perfect first in love,
And sanctified by grace,
We shall from earth remove,
And see his glorious face:
Then shall his love be fully showed,
And man shall then be lost in God.
Posted by Richard @ 07:58 AM BST [Link]
Saturday, October 11, 2003
I've just heard that Neil Postman has died aged 72 years. Maybe everyone else had already heard, but it didn't make the news bulletins I listened to. Anyway, in his honour let's have a quote from Amusing Ourselves To Death:
What Huxley teaches is that in the age of advanced technology, spiritual devastation is more likely to come from an enemy with a smiling face than from one whose countenance exudes suspicion and hate. In the Huxleyan prophecy, Big Brother does not watch us, by his choice. We watch him, by ours. There is no need for wardens or gates or Ministries of Truth. When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of enertainments, when serious public conversation becomes a form of baby-talk, when, in short, a people become an audience and their public business a vaudeville act, then a nation finds itself at risk; culture-death is a clear possibility.
Posted by Richard @ 11:39 PM BST [Link]
I've gone more than a little while without mentioning compass, this site's wiki. In a feeble attempt to generate some interest, here's the current entry for "Amen".
The end of a prayer!
A Hebrew word meaning something like "certainly" or "may it be so". In the Hebrew Bible (aka the Old Testament) it appears as a respose to the statement of someone else, sometimes in a worship setting. The first (greek speaking) Christians kept this Hebrew word as a response to prayer. Jesus used Amen as an opening affirmation of truth: "Amen I say to you..." (Matt 5:18) In John's gospel the amen is emphasised by being doubled (John 1.51 etc)
Think you can improve it? You can edit it. that's what makes wiki pages so great.
Posted by Richard @ 10:29 PM BST [Link]
I heard this story the other day from Wood (in the traditional face-to-face way rather than online) and it seemed scarcely credible. A bucket of tap water has been sold on eBay for £255.
Proceeds will go to an Oxfam project in Sudan. Lunacy in a good cause -- a great British tradition.
Posted by Richard @ 09:20 PM BST [Link]
Bene Diction Blogs On again!
Posted by Richard @ 09:37 AM BST [Link]
Spurious Link of the Day
Parkland Primary School, where I have the privilege to be a governor.
Posted by Richard @ 08:24 AM BST [Link]
This "contract" appeared on the Chiff & Fipple Forum. It was written by "antstastegood":
WHEREAS, many long and contentious discussions on matters of religion and politics have surfaced on this board, and most participants in these discussions have strong opinions and beliefs on these issues, and often some members become somewhat heated in the expression of these ideas.
MAY IT BE AGREED THAT:
WE RESPECT the broad range of political opinions that we hold.
We commit ourselves to refrain from personally attacking any fellow member or political figure based on a mere political disagreement. We commit ourselves to respectful, informative discussion useful as learning and proper debate.
WE RESPECT the diversity of religious traditions that we hold.
We will not turn honest theological debate into a war of disrespectful language.
WE RESPECT one another as fellow musicians and human beings.
We remember that we have gathered here as a community of musicians, and we commit to keeping the community atmosphere alive that we all found when we first joined this board. We agree to disagree on many matters, and we agree not to fault anyone based on opinions they hold.
RESOLVED, this 10th day of October, 2003.
A modified version might well come in handy for many a blog's comment section.
Posted by Richard @ 08:22 AM BST [Link]
Pain is pain is pain
Scientists have discovered that that being snubbed socially has the exact same brain response as physical pain.
Using MRI's in conjunction with snubbing tests done on computer, it was discovered the anterior cingulate cortex lit up the same way it does with physical pain.
I'll take the physical pain anyday.
I'm just getting over the flu, and I'm quite discouraged about my place in the blogosphere.
In blogging, I had a clear sense of purpose from the first day Martin put up my first post.
I wanted so much to encourage and help others.
I wanted to lift others up and help them see the world in ways they hadn't thought of.
I wanted community and to foster community.
I wanted to reach out to non-believers and believers and just show God's love as I have been shown His love.
I wanted to challenge and be challenged.
I wanted to serve.
I wanted to rejoice when others grew.
In December, I was grieving a set of circumstances, miscommunication and taking of my place and purpose.
A person reading my grief post regarding that was threatened by my server administrator.
As many of you know my blog was taken away, and all terms of peace were dictated to me. I was shunned, mocked, misunderstood, misunderstanding and broken. There has been no redemption, healing or justice for anyone. I am responsible for my wrong doing.
I wrote Loshum Hora in January while I was in shock and was told I was acting like a victim and a martyr. No...it came from the deepest part of my being. I did break a commitment in that post. I did removes links, because of an IP ban the server administrator put in that was causing others discomfort. They did not deserve to be punished for anything I'd done.
No....I may have many shortcomings, but I am neither victim or martyr. I am a sinner desperately in need of daily grace. I have to daily yield all those wants and rights, and I fail.
I still grieve the events and still fight to accept God's forgiveness. My poor communication haunts me.
The inner peace is more fragile than I dare admit. The fact that the offer I extended of professional mediation has not been taken because of the hurt, fear and anger I caused the server owner still weighs too heavily.
It took incredible hard work from many many people to get Bene Diction Blogs On up and running again the few months after the blog and other work was destroyed, and I became an enemy I refuse to be.
So many bloggers come alongside, unsolicited; in kindness, understanding and compassion encouraging through that time, and I thank all of you so much. I thank you for the respect you showed me, and the respect shown to the administrator. You did a great deal to show what makes Christians different and who Jesus Christ is.
Scientists may have confirmed how bad emotional exclusion or snubbing and shunning can be, but I guess none of us need science to tell us that.
Now, once again, circumstances beyond my control has knocked me out of the game and off the web. Once again kind people are enquiring, Cre8d and HourEleven are doing what they can to restore.
I'm beginning to wonder if perhaps I should pack it in. I've never felt this way before. Blogging has never been a chore. I've taken the odd break, but never thought or felt like this.
Dreaming of purpose and wanting the things above doesn't make them happen.
Life isn't fair. All the kindness in the world can't fix what occurred in December or bring the administrator to the offered mediation experience for healing. All the kindness of wonderful techs can't fix a server. I can't live up to all the undeserved support.
I'm ashamed of all the taking I've done, and how little I've given back.
The blogging community is an living space, and it has been a deep joy to be part of, but I don't know if I belong anymore. Real life doesn't trump blogging, blogging is a part of our real lives.
I'm hating my life: for being so poor financially that I can't help those helping me.
I'm hating that I cannot have the opportunity to make peace with a brother in Christ.
I'm hating myself for wanting, for enjoying blogging, and for being so lost with this latest setback.
And while I succumb, God comes along side in love. I have to trust Him. I have to. I have to let Him be my Father and my God. It's so hard sometimes.
To you, O Lord, I cry. For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and flames have burned all the trees of the field. Even the wild animals cry to you because the watercourses are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness. Joel 1:19-20.
Posted by Bene Diction @ 05:40 AM BST [Link]
Friday, October 10, 2003
I've just posted my first piece in ages over at blogs4God. I really shouldn't leave it that long again.
Andrew Careaga is irritated by bloggers - especially Christians - not quoting the source of their links. I understand why. My "pet hate" is the habit some have of shreding another's posts but not telling the one they're having a go at. Ill-mannered is that.
Real Live Preacher anticipates a busy weekend, but still "delivers the goods" for his readers.
The Now Show had some nice moments tonight, reminding us that electing right wing Austrians to political office has some bad historical precedents. Sadly I don't think it is one of the programmes that Radio 4 broadcasts on the web. So let me suggest a little game inspired by TNS: What political office can you suggest for a Hollywood star? Jean Claude van Damme for Prime Minister of Belgioum perhaps?
And I, it is clear, have nothing to say. One of those days...
Posted by Richard @ 08:14 PM BST [Link]
Some hope
This is rare.
Drug trials are rigerous and I don't remember seeing this happening before.
This international cancer drug trial led by Canadians has been stopped early so the drug letrozole can be released. This new drug is showing a 50% success rate in preventing breast cancer survivors from having a recurrence.
The independent monitoring group overseeing the results recommended that the study stop, so the women on the placebo could start taking the drug.
"We didn't want to imperil the lives of women taking the placebo any further," said Dr. Paul Goss, a cancer expert at the University of Toronto who conceived the study.
The study involved 5,000 women in Canada, the United States and several European countries. It began in 1998.
The study volunteers completed a five year course of tamoxifen. The participants have estrogen dependent breast cancer. Tamoxifen, which interferes with estrogen production, stops working in that five year span and can contribute to re-occurance. Letrozole blocks estrogen production.
The numbers of people this will benefit (women and their families) is encouraging.
Posted by Bene Diction @ 12:16 AM BST [Link]
Wednesday, October 8, 2003
I've been at a fantastic lecture this evening, "The Problem of Evil", given by Professor D Z Phillips. He's a philosopher and a Christian (not a Christian Philosopher) but not, he claims, a theologian and it was refreshing to hear an alternate approach to a question that most (all?) Christians have fielded at some point. I couldn't adequtely summarise a lecture that was itself some of the thought distilled from a soon-to-be-published book, but I have to share some of it! If anyone reads this who was present at the lecture - do "chip in" if you think I've got the wrong end of the stick.
The problem is simply stated. God is omnipotent. God is perfectly good. Evil exists in the world. The "logical" problem of evil is that these three propositions can't all be true. There is no arguing with the third of them, so what remains is that either God is able to prevent evil but does not, in which case he is not perfectly good, or else he is not able in which case he is not omnipotent.
Prof Phillips' approach was to consider how those statements are used. When philosophers say "God is omnipotent" they do not begin with God, but with an abstract definition of omnipotence: the ability to do anything that can be described without contradiction. This is a false starting point because it does not begin with God as he is known (or claimed to be known if you insist). He reminded us that there are many things which God cannot do: ride a bicycle, learn a language, lick an ice cream, bang his head, forget something. The list, once begun, is huge. There are many kinds of power, and not all of them can be ascribed to God: to say that God is omnipotent does not mean that there is one kind of power and God has all of it. So we should begin, not with omnipotence, but with "What do we mean when we speak of the power of God?" The question has a religious context which cannot be ignored.
Similarly, the second statement that "God is perfectly good". Most philosophy begins by accepting that God's will is unbounded - he could ask me, for example, to murder my wife or betray my friends. Philosophy defines freedom in terms of the ability to choose between doing or not doing, and a decision is only "rational" if it is chosen from alternatives. But, says Phillips, in the real world not every act is an act of choosing. Some things are simply done. One example he gave was of "going home": Imagine, he said, that at the end of the day's lectures I'm invited to the bar and I drink too much whisky and get drunk. Then I'll try to get home. Or there is an argument and I announce I'm not going home that night, but when I've calmed down I realise I'm being childish and then I decide to go home. But most nights I don't and i don't decide -- I just go home.
The usual way of "solving" the problem of evil, that God has "morally sufficient" reasons for allowing evil was rejected as "religious utilitarianism". Taking the Holocaust as a "test case" he suggests that it is utterly inadequate to say that there is good which could not have arisen without the evil. Even if that were true, God would still not emerge with nothing to answer for. Suffering, he says "is not instrumental".
Most of the lecture was concerned with pointing out what he saw as the inadequacy of conventional treatments of the problem of evil. He offered a few signposts for developing a more adequate response. He begins with asking "What do we mean when we talk about God?" and notes that from the Greeks onward the notion of God arises from human wonder at our existence. For the religious, existence is a grace, not a "right" and not for possession. When the scriptures say that God is spirit, they mean a spirit of grace and of love. Faith offers a "witness in extremis" - evil does not render grace and love pointless. The "answer" to the problem of evil for Jews and Christians must begin with the "suffering Servant" and the crucified Jesus. This is not merely a story with a happy ending because the resurrection does not erase the wounds. The cross, the cry of despair, the Body "broken for you" is real and has to be taken seriously. The wounds of Christ have eternal significance.
Posted by Richard @ 10:41 PM BST [Link]
So Arnold Schwarzenegger has won the race for governor of California. He's now in charge of one of the largest economies in the world. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at the result, especially since politics is increasingly becoming a branch oif the entertainment industry, but I am. After all, Arnie has no previous political experience. Although he stood on a Republican ticket, it is quite clear that nmany are sceptical of his Republican credentials. The speeches of his that I've heard or read have been... let's say "uninspiring". So what exactly are his qualifications?
He's very rich. He's very famous. I can't think of any others. Maybe I'm missing something, and if so I hope someone will enlighten me, but can there be anyone who's proud of the process that led to this?
Posted by Richard @ 02:26 PM BST [Link]
Government corruption and poverty
Do you know the world's most corrupt country?
A German firm called Transparency International complies this information from time to time using polls gathered from citizens. The 2003 report is out.
......"The new index points to high levels of corruption in rich countries as well as poorer ones, making it imperative that developed countries enforce international conventions to curb bribery by international companies."
The index scored the 133 countries involved out of 10 and uses polls within each country on the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians.
Bangladesh and other developing countries such as Nigeria, Haiti, Paraguay, Myanmar, Tajikistan, Georgia, Cameroon, Azerbaijan, Angola, Kenya and Indonesia received scores of less than 2 on a 1 to 10 scale with 10 being the least corrupt.
The highest scoring countries are a bit of a surprise. Finland, Iceland, Denmark, New Zealand, Singapore and Sweden scored more than 9.
Australia edged out the UK and Canada which both came in at 11th overall.
The US fell between France and Germany.
Posted by Bene Diction @ 10:36 AM BST [Link]
Tuesday, October 7, 2003
Our Bible study tonight took us in to "2nd Isaiah", chapters 40-66. After the last couple of sessions in 2 Kings, Jeremiah and "1st Isaiah" reading about the fall of Samaria and Jerusalem, punishment and exile, it was a relief to return some words of comfort and hope.
As the Covenant is re-established with the people we are presented with Israel in a fresh way, called to be a witness and a blessing to the nations. The end of the Babylonian exile was not just the end of a punishment, Israel having "done her time". It was a new beginning, and the start of a new understanding of what it means to be the people of God. It is a mission of persistent gentleness and its objective is nothing less than "justice in the earth". It was the calling of Israel and, I believe, it's still the calling of his people.
Posted by Richard @ 11:31 PM BST [Link]
....an' you don't know what you've got til it's gone
No, they didn't pave paradise yet, did they?
I'm lost. I miss my blog.
Apparently during a server transfer this weekend MovableType got real cranky.
I've been watching HourEleven and Cre8d talk back and forth while they fix it.
They are really good, and speak a whole different language, but I miss home base.
That language they speak will get me home again.
Every day when I sit down at the computer I still have a sense of awe and gratitude.
Even when my blog is broke.
It's blogging people. They never cease to amaze and humble me.
One of the things I like about blogging is that other bloggers understand.
We are a bit like a world-wide club that shares the same passion.
In 14 months, Bene Diction Blogs On! and I have been on seven servers in four countries.
That's so not normal but it is how this community works.
Held up and helped from all over the world.
I get to be a guest at What in Tarnation?!?!
I get to be a guest here.
Lost, but not lonesome. Thanks everyone.
Posted by Bene Diction @ 03:44 PM BST [Link]
Monday, October 6, 2003
Another day, another Harvest Festival. Today I was invited into my daughter's school (where I'm a governor) to take part in their Harvest celebration. Scary stuff, talking to hundreds of children aged 4 to 11. They'd collected rice and pasta to send out to Romania via Wales Romania Aid, a small charity established by a local woman. Hymns and prayers were in both Welsh and English, the school orchestra played and there were contributions from most of the classes in the school. Great fun. Chaotic, but fun.
My talk went something like this: You've done very well to collect all this pasta and rice. Who likes rice? Who likes pasta? Is pasta your favourite food? What are your favourites? Pizza, baked beans, fruit, and curry all featured in the responses. I like most of those. But my favourite food is ... CHOCOLATE! Does anyone else like chocolate? Hundreds of hands go up You know I'm feeling a little bit hungry, and I just happen to have brought a little chocolate with me. You won't mid if I have a little? (At this point I produce a small bowl with chocolate sweets in it.)
I know I musn't be greedy. Would anyone like to share my chocolate? No shortage of volunteers for this! A year 5 girl is chosen, she comes forward and we introduce ourselves. I offer her the bowl of sweets and she moves to take one. But I can't let her eat sweets with her fingers! What about the hygiene regulations?! Hasn't she brought a spoon? No surprise that she hasn't
Well, I can't let her eat with her fingers, but if she'll promise to use it properly I can lend her a spoon. She promises. So I get the spoon. It's an ordinary teaspoon, but it's been taped onto a garden cane about 4 feet long. She does her best, but it's almost impossible to control and absolutely impossible to get anywhere near her mouth.
After a few unsuccessful attempts I ask one of her friends to come up. I happen to have another identical spoon. She tries too and, inevitably, fails. How are they going to enjoy the chocolate? After a little banter with the children one of them suggests that they feed each other. Spot on - each girl gets some chocolate!
Harvest Festival is reminder that we need to share with one another so that everyone can enjoy the good things that we have.
Posted by Richard @ 05:11 PM BST [Link]
Sunday, October 5, 2003
Over at Josh Claybourn's place, "Davie D" considers The Business of Church, specifically the phenomenon of the "mega-church". Noting that the evidence that mega-churches grow by attracting Christians away from other churches he writes,
It makes you wonder whether numerical growth should be a measuring stick for churches at all. Did God forget to tell St. Paul that Christians were called to be healthy and wealthy (and wise), and He's now rectifying the situation by blessing Prosperity Gospel advocates? Or have these churches been growing because people are attracted to top-quality music, multimedia sophistication, and all the other good stuff Forbes lists, while the older, poorer, less sophisticated church down the street closes its doors? On the other hand, Christians are called to spread the word about Jesus and "be all things to all people". So what constitutes a healthy outlook on "church growth"?
It's an excellent question. Even those pastors (like me) who say that numbers are not a measure of success would mostly prefer to have more people in their congregations than less. But if growth in one place of worship causes another place to suffer, that isn't "growth". If we are members of the Body of Christ we should be aware that pain for one is pain for all. Talk of "the marketplace" is entirely inappropriate for Church and we should actively discourage people from "shopping around". There are sometimes good reasons why someone leaves one congregation to join another, but they are not so common as might be supposed. Bigger crowds and slicker presentation are not among them.
Posted by Richard @ 10:52 PM BST [Link]
I thought I'd share the story I told in church this morning as part of our Harvest Festival service.
This is a story about a friend of mine - his name isn't important and I wouldn't want to embarass him. One day he was down in the town, browsing in a book shop. He happened to find himself in the gardening section and it occurred to him that his garden wan't looking its best. After the giving it some thought he settled on "The Gardening Expert" by Dr D G Hessayon, 100 pages or so of straightforward, sensible advice. He took it home and read it avidly. He gave it serious study and soon felt he knew all that the book had to teach him.
Strangely, though, a little while later he was looking at his garden and it seemed to have got worse, not better. The lawn in particular was looking very untidy. So my friend went back to the bookshop where he bought "The Lawn Expert" by Dr D G Hessayon. Again he read it avidly, learning about sowing and mowing, weeding and feeding. Before long he knew the book off by heart. But still his garden did not improve. One day he looked through his window and realised he could no longer see to the end of his garden, the weeds were so thick.
Realising that something drastic was needed, my friend returned to the bookshop. This time he bought "The Garden Encyclopedia" published by the Royal Horticultural Society. 600 pages of facts and illustrations - surely as much as anyone needs to know. Again he studied intently, devoting the contents to his memory. And his garden still looked untidy.
My friend is sensible enough to know that not everything can be learned from books. He joined the local gardening club and attended regularly. He joined in the discussions about the finer points of propagation and over-wintering, blackspot and root fly. He had a lot to contribute because it turned out he knew an awful lot.
He came back from an evening at the Gardeners' Club to discover that he could barely open his garden gate because of the undergrowth. "Enough is enough!" he said. "I must buy some new tools." The next day he was at the Garden Centre spending hundreds of pounds on a powerful new mower, a stainless steel spade and digging fork, a dutch hoe, and all kinds of other stuff. By the time he got home he had the best equipped garden shed in the district. Getting from the shed to his house was a bit of an ordeal, but he did so safe in the knowledge that he knew all he needed to, had some great friends with the same interests and a complete set of all the necessary equipment.
And he was never seen again.
Posted by Richard @ 03:35 PM BST [Link]
From QuotesBlog
"Looking foolish does the spirit good. The need not to look foolish is one of youth's many burdens; as we get older we are exempted from more and more" -- John Updike
Posted by Richard @ 08:48 AM BST [Link]
Psalm 46
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.
There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.
The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.
The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.
He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Posted by Richard @ 08:46 AM BST [Link]
The prime minister knew Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction ready for use within 45 minutes, former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook has claimed.
He said that before the war started Mr Blair privately admitted that Saddam Hussein had no weapons posing a "real and present danger".
Mr Cook - who resigned as Leader of the Commons in protest at the conflict - makes his claims in a book based on his diaries, being serialised in the Sunday Times
Downing Street has dismissed the allegations as "absurd".
[Read the rest...]
Posted by Richard @ 08:07 AM BST [Link]
My thanks to Rob for leaving this quote in the comments:
"The extreme greatness of Christianity lies in the fact that it does not seek a supernatural remedy for suffering but a supernatural use for it."
--Simone Weil, Gravity and Grace
Posted by Richard @ 07:23 AM BST [Link]
For those of you who know I hang out here at connexions from time to time, just a quick note to let you know why Bene Diction Blogs On is looking a bit befuddled and befogged.
There is a server transition going on.
Whew.
I fixed a computer problem last night and thought I'd gone too far.
The tech types need to tinker and toil, and the blog will bounce back when they finish their task.
Thanks for your emails. I'll be baacckk :^)
Posted by Bene Diction @ 01:30 AM BST [Link]
Saturday, October 4, 2003
I haven't mentioned the Iraq Survey Group's report yet. Everyone knows that they didn't find any WMD. Despite months of unhindered searching. And satellite images from before the war which were claimed to be weapons sites. And captured high-ranking officials from Saddam's government. The rush to war was urged on the basis that Saddam posed an imminent threat to the security of the US (and Britain, of course). It's pretty clear now that the threat was potential rather than imminent. If that's accepted as justification for a military commitment, the world has become a very dangerous place indeed.
I'm truly glad that Saddam's no longer in power. But his removal through a war of dubious legality which could only be prosecuted by deceiving the people and their representatives on both sides of the Atlantic was an act of folly. In time, I'm sure the real reasons for the war will become clear. But I for one am convinced that we're no where near the truth yet.
Posted by Richard @ 10:56 PM BST [Link]
Randy McRoberts says he's a heretic. And a grumpy one at that. Whilst you're looking at Randy's blog, you should read his article about Bible translations. It's a bit longer than my article on the same subject, but the timing was curiously similar. Size isn't evrything of course, but Randy's article as more detail than mine and, for the record, he posted his first.
Speaking of heresy, Pen, the Gutless Pacifist, points us toward this article on "Biblical" economics. OK, heresy is overstating the case, but the leap from "being made in the image of God" to being "governed by rationality and can make meaningful choices within a market system" is a bit far from me. I haven't the time for a detailed critique, but any article claiming to be "Biblical economics" which does not give serious attention to the poor must be deeply flawed.
Allen Brill promises some thoughts on the same article.
Darren Rowse invites you all on a tour of Melbourne, which sounds like fun.
And the Pope and the Archbish of Canterbury have met for a bit of a chat. I'm glad they did, but I would have thought that with all that's going on in the world, "gay priests" would be less than top priority. But what do I know?
Posted by Richard @ 10:14 PM BST [Link]
A group of Premiership football players have been accused of gang-raping a 17 year old girl. I don't say it's true, but in a sense that's irrelevant. This is just another in a long line of stories of the depravity of the rich and famous. We shouldn't be surprised. We set up our celebrities as gods - no wonder they don't feel constrained by the same rules as mere mortals. The Bible issues a number of warnings about the snare of wealth and the "entertainment industry" has provided ample empirical evidence that those warnings are not empty.
It isn't just the celebrities that are at risk. Their antics, fuelled by money and the power it buys, are watched by all. What was shocking yesterday is normal today and copied tomorrow. As we elevate the celebrity to near-deity we infect the body of our society with a virulent disease. It may not kill us, but it will rob us of our joy.
Posted by Richard @ 11:06 AM BST [Link]
Friday, October 3, 2003
I haven't blogged anything from the hymnody of Charles wesley for a good while, so without further ado...
SPIRIT of truth, essential God,
Who didst thy ancient saints inspire,
Shed in their hearts thy love abroad,
And touch their hallowed lips with fire;
Our God from all eternity,
World without end we worship thee!
Still we believe, almighty Lord,
Whose presence fills both earth and heaven,
The meaning of the written word
Is by thy inspiration given;
Thou only dost thyself explain
The secret mind of God to man.
Come, then, divine Interpreter,
The scriptures to our hearts apply;
And, taught by thee, we God revere,
Him in Three Persons magnify;
In each the Triune God adore,
Who was, and is for evermore.
Posted by Richard @ 08:49 PM BST [Link]
Thursday, October 2, 2003
Thanks to my friend Malcolm for digging this one up: Flat pack church for Russian workers
The Russian Orthodox church is so concerned about the spiritual well-being of workers in Antarctica that it is sending them a flat pack church and a priest.
A group of Siberian architects won a national competition to design the church.
They built it out of Altay cedar wood, which is considered a precious material, and incorporated 30 types of timber into it - a feature of old Russian churches.
The church was then dismantled and its different parts numbered and transported to the Kaliningrad port.
It took five cars nine days to reach the port, and the parts are now being loaded onto a ship bound for the Antarctic.
I wonder if the priest came in a flat pack too?
Posted by Richard @ 02:21 PM BST [Link]
Here's a fairly fruity article headed "Limbaugh Shows How Intolerant 'Liberals' Wage War on Christianity". It's a litany of what has become the usual charges.
All across America, Christianity is under attack. The battlegrounds in this war are the nation’s courtrooms, schools, the media and within federal and state governments.
It would be laughable if there weren't millions of Christians taking this kind of ranting seriously.
I don't have the energy to argue, and in any case I suspect that there isn't a conversation to be had about this. There could be a lot of shouting. But not conversation.
So let me just offer one little reminder. "The Right" do not have a monopoly on Christianity. They are not the only ones taking their Bibles seriously. They are not the only ones on their knees in prayer. They are not the only ones with a passion for the gospel. Guess what? Some of us are committed disciples of Jesus and we've reached different conclusions about what that means. Get used to it.
Posted by Richard @ 12:27 PM BST [Link]
Is it possible for Christians who come from radically different traditions to work together in evangelism? I'm a self-confessed "ecumaniac" -- though I admit to being jaded with the ecumenical scene in Britain just now -- by my ecumenism has always been well-defined by what you might call the mainstream. (Whether the mainstream has any right to claim the title any longer is another issue) Anglicans, Baptists, Roman Catholics are definitely within the boundary. Broadly speaking, "Pentecostals" have not been. That's partly because they have chosen not to be, but it also has a lot to do with my own hang-ups and prejudices.
Last night I was in a meeting to talk about setting up some new work in Swansea. It was an ecumenical meeting in the sense that there were several different churches represented, but it was very far from my usual experience of ecumenism because all of the church leaders there were from the Pentecostal wing of the church. (That's a very unfair generalisation, but it's my blog and I don't have to justify myself!)
Anyway, there we were with our very different approaches and understandings talking about doing something new in Swansea. Part of me is shouting Alleluia Amen! Another part of me is struggling and uncomfortable because I'm crossing into territory where I've been before and beat a hasty retreat from. The boundaries may serve to exclude people from me, but they have also served as a line of defence behind which I could hide. For us all to be able to work together, I'm going to have to allow that boundary to be taken down. Or at least, establish a sevure border crossing.
Posted by Richard @ 12:25 PM BST [Link]
Wood has posted part 3 of The Random Page. He told us at the beginning it was based on some scary dreams.
Clearly.
Posted by Richard @ 09:45 AM BST [Link]
Wednesday, October 1, 2003
Mike Todd lists his "Top 10 doctrines". Great stuff. I would probably have reversed the order of 4, 5 and 6, but otherwise i agree with him completely.
;o)
Posted by Richard @ 07:29 AM BST [Link]
Wood began another story, The Random Page yesterday. He says "it's based on a short series of vivid and highly memorable 'join us again tomorrow for the continuation of your dream, same time, same place' kind of nightmares I had last week."
I think I'm going to enjoy this one -- and I think you will too.
Posted by Richard @ 07:27 AM BST [Link]
