Political Headaches

It has been an interesting week in politics so far, unsurprising given that the G8 leaders are meeting this week.

I think what has disappointed me the most so far, is the double act of Vladimir Putin and George W Bush doing a Time Warp. I'm not a fan of either of them as I'm sure you are aware... and why should I be - they both authoritarianism in one form or another. However I was a teenager in the days when the Iron Curtain fell, it was a time of great optimism... the world was waking up from a bad dream.

Now it breaks my heart to see two ancient and decrepit dinosaurs who should know by now that extinction is their destiny... and whose time has long gone, attempt to resurrect the rhetoric and dogma of an era which their pathetic species thrived upon. Whichever side you take, I think this missile defence thing can only end in tears.

Neither man can see beyond his own testosterone fuelled inadequacies. It has occurred to me that we live in an age where the landscape of political leadership is literally saturated with examples of bad leadership - be it through weakness, evil, insanity, paranoia, ineptitude... there are many leaders who we would do well to be wary of. I certainly do not trust a significant portion of the G8 group. Bush, Putin, Blair, Sarkozy are all people who I scrutinize intensely... I wouldn't trust any of them as far as they could be thrown. Many other leaders including Ahmadinejad, Mugabe and Kim Jong-il also feature on my "naughty list".

I wonder what you make of Bush's rejection of Angela Merkel's efforts to commit the G8 to cutting carbon emissions? It seems a little childish to me. "We'll only do it if it's our plan". Which is more important? Doing the right thing... or getting the credit?

Having said that, I can certainly understand why Bush might feel the need to get some credit... because his decisions have pretty much left any hopes of a lasting political legacy, pretty bankrupt.

Finally I am bemused, appalled and dismayed at a recent Friend Request on my Myspace account.

For some reason the BNP (link not provided because I don't wish to benefit their cause), feel that I have potential as a future dark apprentice and have tried to recruit me. That's right, I had a friend request from "Keep British Jobs for British people" and it was plastered all over with pictures of Nick Griffin.

Yeah right! The only similarity between myself and him is in our forename! There we part ways... the BNP is about as a authoritarian as they come... and they are racist trash. They would have ethnic minorities driven into the seas of Britain. I would have Griffin and his kind crushed underfoot and cast into the sea themselves.

They are quasi-British. That is to say they think they are British and they represent a certain kind of "bulldog spirit"... but really they preach intolerance and fear. They represent the dark side of Britain - that which we should strive to suppress and eradicate.

There I shall leave things as I realise I am ranting somewhat... and I need to get to home group. I've already gone on too long for me to be able to eat any dinner!

Get Carter?

Does anybody else see the irony in the Bush administration taking a swipe back at former President Jimmy Carter for his staunch opposition to the Iraq War?

Carter has argued that the decisions leading up the Iraq War and the subsequent occupation, have effectively ranked George W Bush's presidency as the worst in US history.

A White House spokesman responded by accusing Carter of "reckless personal criticism".

However, one has to ask which is more costly... reckless personal criticism of a single man... or a reckless personal war with an entire nation? The worst that can happen in the former, is that President Bush's ego might be a little bruised. What we actually have in the latter, is that tens or hundreds of thousands of lives (depending on which figures you accept), are snuffed out in the name of neo-conservatism.

It is quite clearly a case of the pot calling the kettle black. My advice to the White House press office would be to read this:

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

Matthew 7:3-5

Carter clearly believes that the Bush administration has inverted America's values and tarnished the good elements of its international reputation. Yet the Bush government is so delusional, it is completely incapable of questioning the righteousness of its actions.

Tony Fratto speaking for the White House on Sunday argued:

"I think he (Carter) is proving to be increasingly irrelevant with these kinds of comments."

That is incredibly rich coming from a political leadership that has managed to isolate a significantly large amount of its own countries electorate by making poor policy decisions. If anyone is irrelevant... surely it is George W Bush!

You would think that I would side against Carter... because of his criticism of the UK's blind subservience to the current US administration. However on these issues at least, I am in agreement with him.

Carter appears to have been a humanitarian first and foremost - certainly his achievements in that field have been publicly recognised. For that reason alone he commands a certain amount of respect with me.

George W Bush and Jimmy Carter. Two very different men who have both claimed an active belief in Jesus Christ and have been open about it in political life. However, which one would you argue has demonstrated good spiritual fruit in their policies and actions? What I wonder is your opinion?

Nuclear Pop

Did my eyes deceive me, or are the Sugababes re releasing a track for inclusion in the Eurovision Song Contest?

Of course they aren't (although they are one of the few pop acts I actually respect - Keisha is my favourite). Though there is a song called "Push the Button" being entered into the annual contest (which I religiously avoid due to having an affliction otherwise known as... taste), alas it is not the one sung by the Sugababes.

No, this "Push the Button" is an anti-nuclear anthem (apologies for picture or any other quality you may find distasteful), believed to be written in response to the potential threat posed by everyone's favourite poison dwarf - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It was overwhelmingly chosen by the Israeli public. You can read more about it in this BBC article.

Many would accuse Israel of hypocrisy (they maintain a policy of nuclear ambiguity, but most people don't doubt they have the technology). However, to my knowledge Israel have never once publicly voiced an opinion that implied any desire to entirely obliterate a nation with such technology. The Iranian President, compensating for his insecurities, has made such statements without as yet having that technology. .. and that is the major difference. Iran does have serious energy needs... but you can understand why people are jittery about allowing such a nation to have nuclear power, when their most prominent spokesman has himself propagated the notion that Iran harbours nuclear ambition for an entirely separate agenda.

I call upon the Iranian people to throw down this vile idiot, he puts his own personal insecurities before the security and wellbeing of his nation. I say to you, deal with the monster on your thrown and we will deal with the monsters on ours (Bush and Blair will both be out of office by the end of 2008).

Going back to Eurovision and it will be interesting to find out how well this group performs, because it may well reveal just how strongly Europeans feel about nuclear technology, for or against.... the song isn't just restricted to Israel'[s specific situation.

On a side note, reading the BBC article revealed an interesting fact. It is against Eurovision rules to quote the Bible (and presumably any other religious text) in any song entry. What is with that? We know what happened last time a European nation started getting overly worried about books...

Idols & Idolatry

I've had a blog brewing for some time, but I wasn't quite sure what angle to write from.

Various things have motivated me, ranging from a recent visit to a christian message board that was entirely focused on the policies and performance of the Bush administration, to the fact that a friend of mine has recently revealed his faith has fallen by the wayside, and finally even my own recent struggles with sin.

Quite varied subjects that are seemingly unconnected, I think you'll agree... but they all have one thing in common...

... idolatry.

"Eh? How can that be?" I hear you cry.

Lets take a look at what idolatry really is when you get down to the core of it. Idolatry is not just praising sculptures of strange creature like gods, that is merely one aspect but the true nature of idolatry is a lot bigger.

Idolatry is letting anything... ANYTHING become bigger than God, in our hearts.

The christian message board was committing idolatry because they were looking at a man and letting him become bigger than God.

Whatever you think of George W Bush... he is still just a man. Or as I put it on the message board:

"George W. Bush is nothing... but Jesus Christ is EVERYTHING!"

People on that board had stopped encouraging and building one another up... and had begun tearing strips off one another over their politics. This was not constructive, it sent out the wrong message to non-believers and it was potentially damaging to people young in their faith because it drew their gaze away from Christ and into the worries and concerns of this world.

My friend has grown cynical because he works for a nominally Christian company. He feels that his boss takes advantage of him, but more than this... it is the company's Christian customers who are the worst for haggling - they use their mutual faith as a bargaining chip... and so dishonour the God they follow. In both cases, idolatry is at work. My friend has let his view of men and their flaws become bigger in his heart become larger than his view of God... to the point that he can't see past the darkness to experience the light. The Christians who haggle have let money become more important and should careful lest God call it to account.

As to my recent struggles with sin... yes indeed I consider sin itself a form of idolatry. When you commit sin, you take your eyes off God... but it's not just that alone. When you have been convicted of a sin, and you repent... you still struggle with that sin, at least for a time. In fact it is possible to become that hooked up on fighting sin, that you don't regain your focus on Christ. The sin has become an idol because you have allowed your perception of it to cloud your relationship with Christ. In my case, I knew I was in the wrong... but for some silly reason I was afraid to pick up the Bible because I was convinced God was going to blat me over the head with it! However, I knew in my heart what the right course of action was. so I turned to my Bible... and do you know what the passage set down in my notes for that day was? It was this:

"To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

I expected a smack on the head and instead found myself being warmly embraced by the arms of God. I should have known better. That is why grace is there... it bridges the gap that separates us from God in the first place... and enables us to remain on an even keel with him, after we have stumbled. As my friend later put it, God rarely has a problem with you when you know what you are and where you have been. It's when you get ideas above your station and think you are something (compared to God)... when you are nothing at all, that he tends to get angry. you can see that in the parable of the pharisee and tax collector.

So I encourage you to think about your own life at the moment... is there something you are struggling with... something that has become bigger in your perception than God? Be it a person, an object of desire, the behaviour of others.... or a sin you struggle with. I urge you to let God's grace sweep in and draw your gaze back to him.

Blessings

Nick

God, Babel and the Bomb

I've been thinking rather a lot today about the vast advances in technology mankind has made during the relatively brief amount of time civilisation has existed on Earth.

One reason for this is my continuing concern and apprehension, concerning Iran's nuclear program, and the increasingly disturbing statements that come from the country's leader - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In the West, we find it highly disturbing (and rightly so) that anybody with an extremist agenda should ever obtain the ability to carry out a nuclear tactical strike against a populated city (although, even the idea that a "civilised" society should have such a capability is frightening and abhorrent enough).

In the Biblical book of Genesis there is a curious passage, that deals with the subject of technological progression - and it has always fascinated me:

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."

But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."

So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel —because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth. (Genesis 11:1-9)

You might have read that and thought "Well gosh, thanks a lot God, no wonder the World is in such a state!" It is true, that God appears on the surface of things to be confounding man's unity just to stop him developing incredible technologies. Superficially it appears like an incredibly selfish thing to do. You might well ask, how many wars may have happened over simple misunderstandings just because people weren't able to communicate?

However, we live in an age where through the spread of a few large empires and the rise of technology the human race has arrived at a point where mankind is largely able to develop a dialogue with his global neighbours. Having reached such a unique and advanced point in our development, do we find that this has stopped us finding reasons to harm, deprive or kill one another?

No, it has not. We have seen first hand how things such as enlightened self interest, personal agendas, economic stability and ideological purity drive our political and social conflicts. The hampering of communication was never a driving force behind our historic conflicts, but in most cases merely a contributing factor to their inevitability.

As much as poor communication and "chinese whispers" may cause conflict, how much more so is the saying "familiarity breeds contempt" true? It is in our nature to seek out the familiar in one another. We build cliques and join clubs - fly flags and draw up borders and call ourselves friends or nations or allies. Then, when somebody different comes along who we don't like, or who challenges our supremacy,authority or even just our security - we gang up on them (although sometimes like in World War II and the cause is noble and just, this can be justified). This is the way of the World and God in his wisdom knows it. The fact is that we (the human race as individuals), are very adept at both seeking out allies and more frighteningly - seeking out what is different in others and oppressing it. You can see this in all the most unsavoury areas of our characeter... and the darkest chapters of our history. Fortunately in the modern world, most of us have adopted a live and let live policy towards our fellow man... and usually the most divisive of arguments tend to be restricted to personal altercations and heated group debates. Kingdoms aren't ruled by the will of one, but the will of many... so theoretically it should be less likely that personal agendas shape international policy (although recent administrations on both side of the Atlantic have severely bucked that trend lately). We have things like Magna Carta to thank for that.

It wasn't always like this.

Going back to the story in Genesis, I would argue that contrary to the first impression, if you bother to dig a little deeper... you can see that God actually did the human race a favour.

Lets speak hypothetically about a possible scenario that could have happened, if God had not confused the tongues of men. Can you imagine what the Earth would be like today if the feudal rulers of Bronze/Iron or even Middle Age civilisations had acquired nuclear technology? A dust ball no doubt.

I believe God slowed our ability to make technological progress to a point that was more equated with our capacity to learn tolerance (generally speaking), and bear with one another. He knew our ability to intellectually progress was much more efficient than our ability to emotionally develop... and very wisely did something about it. I would argue that he saved our hides with that judgement call (not for the first and certanly not for the last time).

In days gone by, there were many men who were as foolish and insecure as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and George W. Bush are today. We should give thanks that God did something about it in our past, because I pretty much reckon we wouldn't be around today to talk about it if he hadn't.

What seemed like utter foolishness, turned out to be true wisdom and I just want to conclude with one last exhortation from the Bible about the wisdom of God:

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:

"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;

the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."

Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.

Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:18-31)

Some of you who have read all this may think the idea of a God willingly going to his death to save humanity from sin is foolishness. However, I hope I have adequately demonstrated just one way in which something that seemed very foolish turned out to be very wise. If that's you, I urge you to take a good look at the cross again... and uncover it's deeper wisdom.

Blessings

N

London Bombings

I just want to send out my heartfelt sympathy for those affected by the atrocities that took place in London this morning.

It's awful.

The security in London would have been reduced, because some police were being temporarily drafted up north to help handle the G8 conference. A perfect time to attack, especially as the international eye is on London at the moment due to the G8 and the Olympic news.

Early indications from Arab sources and MI5 are implying an Al Qaeda attack. The BBC news correspondent I was listening to was saying that the suggestion that one of the attacks was perpetrated by a suicide bomber would seem to point to Al Qaeda as well.

The Prime Minister for all his faults, and for as much as I dislike him and his policies - genuinely sounded shocked and broken by what had happened.

This is a good time for the G8 leaders to stand united on the subject. A joint, live statement on TV would be good.

It's also absolutely vital that the issues being discussed at the G8 (especially Africa and climate change) are not dismissed because of this, and it's absolutely right for Tony Blair to return to the capital for at least a short while, to observe firsthand what has happened.

If you have any views on the subject, or even prayer requests for anybody caught up in events, I'd like to hear from you.

I hope that you and yours, are safe and well.

N

Addendum:

I just heard George Bush's words to the media as he emerged from the G8 meeting to issue a statement... "The war on terror goes on..." This is not a time for political posturing, or striking back half-cocked; nor is it a time for sabre rattling. For pities sake, the bodies of the dead have not gone cold and the tears of thise who mourn have not yet dried! It is a time for reflection, taking stock, grieving alongside those who suffer and comforting them. It is a time to help the broken rebuild. Just because his feet are swift to rush into blood, doesn't mean ours have to be.