Monthly Archives: August 2009

That’s rich coming from you

Posted on August 17, 2009 | 2 Comments

My personal thoughts on Mark 10 verse 21:

Mark 10
17. And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
18. And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
19. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
20. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
21. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
22. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
23. And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
24. And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!
25. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

I’m going to focus on 10:21:

Mark 10:21. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

The teaching here is addressed to a Jewish man who has asked what he lacks before God. The man professes to have followed the commandments, by which it means the law of Moses. This is part of the covenant between God and his chosen nation; however what Jesus mentions is not directly from the law of Moses. This disappoints the man, who it is likely had hoped to be told he was righteousness in the eyes of God.

There is a juxtaposition here between two covenants; the first is the Davidic covenant, which was given through Abraham and renewed in David – a covenant of inheritance within the world. The second is the new covenant, which is with all peoples – a covenant of inheritance in the world to come. The words ‘and come, take up the cross, and follow me’ are an invitation to join into the new covenant. The reference to the cross has two meanings; the first is that to follow Christ is to die to the sinful world, the second is a reference to future events. To take up the cross, before the crucifixion would have been understood in terms of loyalty even unto death; not unlike a solider who pledges to serve even if it means being killed.

This mix of the two covenants is the key to the passage; the old covenant prefigures the new. It is a model on earth of what is to come to pass later. Where the old covenant was concerned with outwards cleanliness or that which is kosher, the new is concerned in just the same way with inward cleanliness and purity of heart.

Mat 15:11. Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

Before Christ, the Proverbs already point out the fallacy of riches – that having riches on earth does not make one rich.

Prov 13:7. There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: There is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great wealth.

Later, Paul echoes this proverb in his letter to the church at Corinth. He is to be understood as saying that they are to bring the great gift of God to enrich others, though in terms of money they are poor:

2 Cor 6:10. as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

Perhaps this can be learnt from the passage in Mark: that God requires us to forsake building earthly wealth for oursleves and instead give it to the poor, that they might not be poor. The way that we treat others who are in need is the way that we treat God Himself. If we do not show love to those who are poor and needy, we do not show love to God.

The groundwork already existed from the Old Testment (e.g. Ezekiel 18 5-9) but it related very powerfully by Jesus in Matthew 25 34-40:

Mat 25
34. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35. for I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in;
36. naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or athirst, and gave thee drink?
38. And when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39. And when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40. And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me.

So; if a man has money, land or property beyond his needs, it is contrary to what God wishes, because his neighbour (by whom we mean any fellow man) who is poor and in need of support has not been given help. It is not even encouraged to save up riches for our own future needs, for God knows our requirements and if we trust him, he will give us what is right in his sight.

What man can meet this standard? Surely even the monks who claim to take these works literally have safeguarded for their future by joining the monastry. Indeed, if this is part of the standard, who can be saved?

At the last, we must realise that we cannot by our own means achieve righteousness, even though we might strive to do so. It is a mission doomed to failure. Therefore it is only through the atoning work of Christ that we are able to meet the standard; through faith in him whom God has sent we are made righteous before the Almighty.

Mat 6:31. Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32. (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

So what do you think? Do I have the wrong end of the stick? Have I grossly misunderstood something? Leave me a comment and let me know!

→ 2 Comments

Posted in Christianity

Tagged , , ,

Redefining the Neighbourhood

Posted on August 13, 2009 | Leave a comment

We’re used to watching television documentaries about dismal poverty in far-away places such as Africa or Burma; far less accustomed to the same stories happening in our own neighbourhood. Our accustomed numbness and practiced deafness is strengthened by the comforting knowledge that although the stories are sad, they are not really our affair. After all, the neighbourhoods we in which we live have their own problems that need our attention – perhaps not hunger, but probably anti-social behaviour, infrequent garbage collections, unkempt lawns and planning problems at the local council.

Despite what we read in certain tabloids, most of our communities usually do a good job of being a nice neighbourhood. Things do get dealt with, given time, and where there are people or places in real need help does arrive from one place or another. We have charities addressing all kinds of local social ills, hospitals with an increasingly patient focused ethos, schools, benefit payments and all kinds of other means by which things really do hold together.

In another part of your neighbourhood

In another part of your neighbourhood

I’m going to shatter the illusion. Both you and I are living in dreamland if we think the neighbourhood is OK. There are definitely families in your own neighbourhood who are so hungry they are likely to die in the next month. There are others who are seriously ill but unable to get the treatment that would save them. In another part of your neighbourhood there are children who would love to go to school, if only there was one they could reach. In places, things are so bad that the people have taken up arms and are engaged in terrorist action to get attention from the local council.

I can say this with absolute certainty. These people are in your neighbourhood, you just need to open your eyes and understand that the boundaries of your neighbourhood are not geographic but moral. Our duty to be a good neighbour is summed up in the simple words of Moses “you shall love your neighbour as yourself” Lev 19:18.

Jesus explained it, much later, in answer to question. Someone asked him “who is my neighour?”. In response, a story was told Luke 10:29-37, and like all good stories it has a moral behind it.

A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.
Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’

The question Jesus asked in order to illustrate the moral of the story was: “Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbour to the man who fell among the robbers?”. The man answered him “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

We can all learn a lot from this, today especially. Our modern societies are increasingly divided and subdivided; not only do we have very little awareness of those some distance away, but we often don’t know those who live just a few paces from our door. We may never look outside our class, club and profession – whole communities can live in the same town with almost no interaction.

Everyone here on Earth today is your neighbour, and my neighbour; and the entire globe is our common neighbourhood. Remember what St. Paul writes: “Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.” 1 Cor 10:24 — let’s try to improve parts of our global neighbourhood that don’t directly improve our own quality of life or property value.

Comments welcome

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Christianity, Current Affairs

Complete your to-do list by adding to it

Posted on August 12, 2009 | 1 Comment

Sometimes life is busy; then sometimes it is really really busy. You know the times I mean – when your to-do list never seems to get shorter? You cut back on activities, spend more time in the office, skip lunch, and yet there still seems to be far too much to get done.

Have you tried adding more to your to-do list? Yep, that’s a great time management tip. If you don’t seem to have time to do what you are already doing, put more on your plate. This works wonders because the human mind isn’t a machine; efficiency and productivity are not very closely related to time available.

The key is to add something different; something which isn’t your usual work, although it may be work related. You could start a blog, join a sports team, volunteer at a local charity or take classes in something that interests you. Whatever you add, be sure it is a change from your everyday work, and be sure that it has a time commitment behind it of some kind.

Through your new added focus on the fresh activity, your mind will reorganise your existing workload so that it becomes finished. Whereas previously your subconscious aim was to do as much work as possible during the time available, your whole psychological direction changes to completing the work on the list so that you can engage in the new task that you know is going to require a decent chunk of time.

Enjoy yourself and get more done; couldn’t be simpler!

→ 1 Comment

Posted in General

Tagged , ,

The EU is Institutionally Racist

Posted on August 12, 2009 | 16 Comments

Following on from questioning whether Passports are Racist, I look at the EU, a grouping of countries who share more than just geographic proximity. Once a country becomes a member, its citizens are free to move, live and work anywhere in the EU.

Let’s ask a searching question about EU membership by comparing two past applicants. One of them was accepted, the other was not.

Applicant A Applicant B
Distance to Maastricht treaty member 19km 210km
Inflation rate 2.32% 7.71%
Unemployment rate 2.1% 3.6%
Median age 24.7 37.3
Population density 71 93.1
Free market reform since 1976 1989
Democracy since 1956 1989
Religious freedom since 1912 1960
Colour of people ??? ???

Which would you have chosen, given those statistics? Naturally, B, the one with rampant inflation, an aging population, high unemployment, relative overcrowding and which is a long way from any core EU country?

Foreground: Spain (EU); Background: Morocco (denied membership)

Foreground: Spain (EU); Background: Morocco (denied membership)

That’s right, that is exactly what Europe decided on. Romania is now an EU member state; whilst Morocco’s 1987 application was rejected for being ‘insufficiently European‘.

What does that really mean? To me, that is pure racial discrimination. Remember that Turkey and large parts of southern Spain have far closer cultural ties with Morocco than they have with Germany.

Is there a real reason other than disguised racism for denying Morocco entry whilst allowing Serbia, Romania and Turkey?

Could it really be that the racist leaders of EU member states are unwilling to allow Moroccans to benefit from the EU purely because they are not white? Could the EU which is happy to admit people from so many states really not want to allow this country with mostly non-white people in it to gain the freedom to live, move and work in EU member states?

Do you agree and feel that the EU is institutionally racist? Have I got the wrong end of the stick?

Comments particularly welcome!

→ 16 Comments

Posted in Current Affairs, Government

Tagged , , , ,

Another sad day in Burma

Posted on August 11, 2009 | 10 Comments

Aung San Suu Kyi has been sentenced for 18 months house arrest on what are clearly trumped-up charges. How can 18 months be an appropriate sentence for someone who’s great crime was to have an uninvited guest?

At least now when the joke election comes the world will have this latest abuse fresh in its mind. Whether the Junta believe that they have silenced the opposition through this I do not know, but I am certain that nobody outside Burma will give them any credit whatsoever when the joke democracy comes to pass.

Aung San Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi

Gentlemen; if it is not possible for you to be ousted entirely, 100%, and with no residual influence then it is not democracy. At least when your focus was being on a repressive abusive dictatorship you were honest about it.

Now, let us hope that the situation does not erupt into violence but instead that the cry of the people will be heard by God who will certainly repay them for their loss and bring those responsible to justice in this world or the next.

Let us all pray that all those who flee the repressive conditions in Burma are given a chance to make a new life outside of the country by the nations to which they escape. It is bad enough to be abused and persecuted in your own country, but to then have the same treatment where you flee for refuge is truly terrible.

Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor
will himself call out and not be answered.
(Proverbs 21:13)

→ 10 Comments

Posted in Current Affairs

Tagged , ,

Guaranteed Time to Read the Bible

Posted on August 11, 2009 | 2 Comments

It’s not easy to find time to read the Bible; however I have finally found a way to get a good hour or so in each evening, guaranteed. It is fairly easy to set up, but takes nine-and-a-half months before things start to work.

1) Know your wife (or husband) and cause your own little tribe to multiply (Genesis 1:28).
2) Wait nine-and-a-half months.
3) Immediately, you will be presented with the inability to sleep at night and the need to spend the early hours reading, rocking, singing and bouncing

The key step comes at this point; in the selection of reading matter employed. A tiny baby does not understand Spot the Dog any more than Exodus. At this stage, the little one is focused upon the rhythm of your voice and the interesting sounds coming from your mouth. Even for the older child (note I am not a child psychologist) I cannot see why Egypt being cursed with plagues would be any less enthralling than a mouse leading a monster around the forest.

Selecting an easy to read translation is probably going to be beneficial here; something like the ESV is probably a good bet. To reduce the light required to read; read from a laptop. Now, you achieve three things: your little one drifts off to sleep before you feel bored waiting, you get to put in some time reading the Bible, and perhaps subconsciously and over a few years, your child will learn something of life-and-death significance.

For a change or when the baby seems a little slow to settle, why not try singing Psalms? In my experience they work just as well as a lullaby; in fact with a bit of a stretch you can even fit them to the tune of a lullaby.

→ 2 Comments

Posted in Children, Christianity

Passports are Racist

Posted on August 11, 2009 | 6 Comments

Although the title may be a little simplistic, I’m going to discuss the difference between the concepts of race and citizenship; specifically with reference to discrimination on those bases.

Let us first quote a couple of dictionary definitions:

Race

The descendants of a common ancestor; a family, tribe, people, or nation, believed or presumed to belong to the same stock; a lineage; a breed

Citizen

1. One who enjoys the freedom and privileges of a city; a freeman of a city, as distinguished from a foreigner, or one not entitled to its franchises.
2. An inhabitant of a city; a townsman. Shak.
3. A person, native or naturalized, of either sex, who owes allegiance to a government, and is entitled to reciprocal protection from it.
4. One who is domiciled in a country, and who is a citizen, though neither native nor naturalized, in such a sense that he takes his legal status from such country.

Both terms are applicable to a group of people; citizens or members of a given race. Race is based upon a presumption of some form of genetic similarity; whilst citizenship is a state which depends upon one’s current relationship to a given country or state. From this it might appear that the key difference is that one is a characteristic of a people whilst the other a temporal assignment of chiefly administrative benefit, however I believe that to do so is to misunderstand citizenship.

Passports: An instrument of racism?

Passports: An instrument of racism?

In practice, citizenship is not based upon where you live or to whom you owe allegiance. Many people live in countries of which they are not citizens, and many owe allegiance to other countries. Foreigners are found in all the cities of the world; and yet they are not citizens. Likewise, many countries employ civil servants or maintain parts of their army from citizens of foreign nations; whilst in no way can these people be said not to owe allegiance to the country they are still not considered citizens.

Two types of discrimination... why do we tolerate one and condemn the other?

When it comes down to it, citizenship is almost always obtained by means of inheritance. The citizenship of one or both parents is inherited by the child, passed down as if it were a part of the DNA – just as is the case with race. Many children born outside of the country of their parents go on to successfully claim citizenship based not upon the country they were born in and live in, but the citizenship of their parents. In just the same way; the children of white parents who are born in Nigeria are still considered white.

Citizenship, if not inherited, may sometimes be gained through a long process of naturalisation. This requires a long period of residence and usually other conditions to be met before an application will be processed. There is rarely an absolute right to citizenship after this period of time; rather it is granted at the pleasure of the awarding state. Thus, naturalisation cannot be considered a route to citizenship but rather a selective privilege.

Now, why do these distinctions matter? Usually, these are just terms which are used to label people; however, they are increasingly used as tools of discrimination. Xenophobia is on the rise in many countries, and even where an awareness of the wrongs of racism has taken root, discrimination on grounds of citizenship or nationality is being progressively strengthened.

Given that citizenship is usually a sign of descent from the country in question, being passed down from generation to generation, is it not almost interchangeable with race? If one limits a certain right to citizens of a given country, it means that the entitlement is just to those who are descendants of that nation (e.g. the same race) and those whom that nation has favoured (selective exemption). Is that not racism by another name, perhaps even worse than racism?

Racism is based upon crude genetic concepts; whereas citizenship can be tampered with by selectively granting it where it seems advantageous. It is difficult for a racist policy to make exemptions (only white people, and non-white people with a certificate of whiteness?), a trait which helps expose the inequality and unfairness of racism. Citizenship is far more cunning a tool because it allows a government to pick and choose, blurring the edges just enough to hide the divisions and discrimination it is perpetrating.

At the bottom of my concern over this issue is a realisation that entitlements which result from birth are fundamentally unfair. Whilst there is a case to be made for entitlements which are earned during one’s lifetime through merit, there is no fairness in picking and choosing between newborn babies.

Why is it that two babies, born at the same hour of the same day, should receive entirely different rights and privileges? One may be destined to a life of poverty in sub-Saharan Africa whilst the other is given the right to live and work in any country of his choice across Europe. I do not believe anyone has the right to tell the first child that because he doesn’t have ‘citizenship’ he cannot make his home and raise a family where it is best for him… it is nothing but disguised racism and xenophobia.

I would love to see an end to discrimination on the basis of citizenship; however before that can happen more people need to realise that it is in fact a wrong that needs to be corrected.

→ 6 Comments

Posted in Government

Tagged , , ,

Three Toddler Party Activities

Posted on August 10, 2009 | Leave a comment

Here’s three activities for toddler birthday parties which work reasonably well…

Toddler skittles
Save up empty pop bottles, the 1.5l ones are best. You need ten. Wash them well and add a cup of water to each. Close the lid tightly and use as skittles. A standard toddler play football or similar works well to knock them down.

This works well with the over-two group however younger children who are able to throw are able to enjoy a closer-range version!

Bubbles
Don’t forget that bubbles are great fun! Just get out a bubble kit and start blowing. If you don’t have a set, just take any wire (pipe cleaner, coat hanger, electrical core…) bend a ring in the end and dip it in a mix of baby-shampoo and water. Try not to sue washing up liquid with very small children as it may get in their eyes! Older children can be invited to join the bubble-blowing fun.

Pass the Parcel
A classic evergreen game! Put a sweet or small gift between all the layers, to keep the fun and excitement up. Smaller children will need some assistance with opening the parcel but they seem to understand the concept well and enjoy it. Find some lively music to make it all more exciting!

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Children

Response to Temptation

Posted on August 10, 2009 | Leave a comment

It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Matthew 4:10

Referencing Deuteronomy 8:3, Christ rebuffs the devil’s temptation. Barnes submits that by word is meant thing rather than specifically the scripture or spoken Word of God. The point is perhaps contentious given that whilst the word ρηματι (utterance) is found in the LXX, there is no equivalent word within the Masoretic texts.

→ Leave a comment

Righteousness in fulfilment

Posted on August 10, 2009 | Leave a comment

Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.

Matthew 3:15

It is fitting and proper; that all that is just should be fulfilled. In this Christ shows that he is to fulfil all the ordinances and requirements given by the Heavenly Father in fulfilling his commission.  Although John may be unworthy to give baptism to Jesus, the righteousness of it being given supercedes any such concerns.  This has a striking parallel with Matthew 26:10 in which Mary’s act in anointing Christ with oil is declared good without a judgement of righteousness being expressed upon the woman herself.

In our service to God therefore it is not we who are made righteous by our service but that our service is made acceptable to God through Christ, for how else can a sinful man be fit to serve a sinless and infinite God?

Calvin notes further than righteousness here has likely reference to the law; that having voluntarily taken observance of the law upon himself, it was an act of obedience to submit to baptism through God’s servant, John.  Therefore, perhaps there Christ states that it is right for him to be obedient; an observation certainly congruous with the former comment.

→ Leave a comment