Thankyou so much for being here :)
Trump is partially right; there's stunning nature; but life for some of the human beings who happen to be born into certain countries is *curseword* - because of the centuries of injustice
(it’s ongoing) that have made us - the West - rich and left other nations impoverished, and vulnerable to corrupt governments taking power. That's why we should want to help them, not show utter inhumanity to those desperate to migrate. It’s not possible for everyone who’d like to migrate to the West to do so – but we must at least have compassion, and seek ways to help their countries develop. What would we, or Trump, have done with our lives if we’d been born into one of the countries he mentioned? Many have no options or opportunities; of course they want to come here. We need to support infrastructure and education so that their nations can become places where people can help themselves. http://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/aid-in-reverse-how-poor-countries-develop-rich-countries/
(it’s ongoing) that have made us - the West - rich and left other nations impoverished, and vulnerable to corrupt governments taking power. That's why we should want to help them, not show utter inhumanity to those desperate to migrate. It’s not possible for everyone who’d like to migrate to the West to do so – but we must at least have compassion, and seek ways to help their countries develop. What would we, or Trump, have done with our lives if we’d been born into one of the countries he mentioned? Many have no options or opportunities; of course they want to come here. We need to support infrastructure and education so that their nations can become places where people can help themselves. http://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/aid-in-reverse-how-poor-countries-develop-rich-countries/
Gratitude Post - though I'll probably stop writing these -
Birthday of Betsy DeVos, Alfred Russel Wallace, Tom Watson Dame Shirley Bassey, Prince Albert, William Hartnell, ELVIS PRESLEY, Kim Yong Un., R. Kelly, Stephen Hawking, and David Bowie - I know some of us our grateful for some of the (certainly not all - though at least Kim Yong Un has enabled some comedy)
It's just been the Ephiphany - the end of the 12 days of Christmas, commemorating the visit of Jesus by the Magi (commonly referred to the Wise Men). Jesus' becoming accessible something to be grateful for daily, but the Epiphany is a good reminder. It was also time to take down the Christmas decorations, and I'm grateful to have had them whilst we did - particularly our first ever real tree; thankyou Frances and Andrew
:)It's not recorded how many there were; Christmas cards have long suggested that there were three because three gifts are named, but we aren't told that each individual brought a separate gift. Regardless, they were a group of astronomers, thoroughly studying movements of the stars and previously written records about them. They trusted that there must a divine order or mind/s, rather than that the universe somehow generated itself from absolute nothingness, and endeavoured to understand as much as they could through meticulous observation. Logic and science led them to Jesus. It's a tragedy that our culture now presumes that it's more intellectual if we deny Him.
A shockingly prevalent misconception is that there’s no evidence of Jesus outside of the Bible (were this the case, it wouldn’t invalidate Christianity – the Bible itself is the most credible document from ancient history). In reality historians living at Jesus’ time do discuss Him – He was a pacifistic peasant, but nonetheless created a stir as He taught and healed people. But an ancient manuscript translated only several years ago, the “Revelation of the Magi” provides corroboration of this very different point in Jesus’ life. It uses symbolism, yet clearly supports the factual account of the Magi’s visit of Jesus that’s recorded in the New Testament.
It’s likely that the Magi were from China; crucially, they sought Jesus though he was of a very different nationality from them. People living at the time tended to worship the gods of the tribe into which they were born; but Jesus is the actual Messiah for all of humanity. #WiseMenStillSeekHim
I really should stop writing these, they’re incredibly lame/tragic/sad/naff/embarrassing- and a waste of time. But I started writing the other day, when it was apparently Card Playing Day. I’m often mildly irked by how regularly I encounter rants about young people all being addicted to screens, and that we ought to return to pre-technology options for communication and entertainment (certainly, I do spend too long online; the internet has much on it that is evil; and much technology is unjustifiably frivolous – but they have much that is fantastic also). But I’ll be old school and posit that playing cards is still an activity that we can be grateful for. Some of my happiest memories are card games with family.And I remember playing cards with an elderly man in a care home – whose speech had been impacted (presumably by a stroke) so that I could barely understand him at all – he made it clear that he wanted to play cards and I struggled hugely to figure out how his game worked; but now I look back and feel cheery thinking about it. And whilst we have an endless array of games to amuse us via computers, many people elsewhere don’t – so I’m massively grateful for card games that provide joy for people in less privileged nations than ours.
Today, I am hugely grateful to Katie and Joanna for helping me tidy my cupboard- I’m useless at tidying, so asked Katie if she’d help as my Christmas present (when she told me she wanted me to tell her what to give me). She has done an utterly amazing job (and Joanna decided to join in). She did also give me several beautiful gifts to unwrap. I am so, so, so blessed.
A brief meander through articles about British spending habits at #Christmas suggests that we spend roughly £500 each on average – but I’ve not seen any mention of the standard deviation. Certainly there’s substantial regional variation – and articles that make clear that they’re referring to expenditure on gifts give figures lower than £500 whilst figures that mention food give figures above £500.
And Jesus was placed in an animal trough. It does seem a bizarre irony that our culture suggests that we’re obliged to spend on extravagance, whilst recognising that Jesus let go of heavenly luxury and willingly entered squalor. And whilst for most of its history, the Church has had some denominations with far too much wealth, the Bible makes it clear that Earthly riches are almost trivial. They won’t last. When this brief lifetime is over, we’ll have an eternity in which we no longer own any of the things that we do now. And what will happen to us? Some presume that there’s an afterlife; some presume there’s none – either way without evidence. But enough people witnessed Jesus alive after being executed that although they were being executed for it, they spread the news of His victory over death and the largest movement in human history was born. All history from 2000years ago is reliant on evidence and records very different from records written today – accounts weren’t written immediately and maintained as pristine documents for millennia, that doesn’t mean that nothing happened millennia ago, but that we need to consider thoroughly different hypotheses to discern the truth. I’ve looked at the arguments for and against in detail – and will study further; but I need to state that I’m genuinely certain that the cartoon nativities on our Christmas cards are not simply fiction; the God who instituted the laws of nature suspended those laws and a virgin teenager gave birth to a divine baby.
I know, I rant incoherently about Him a lot, please forgive me – it’s only because nothing else is remotely so important as Christ. Without Him Christmas – all of life in fact – is like an achingly disappointing gift; we can have huge anticipation, ultimately it stings when we realise that it’s a let down. Jesus gives hope even when life sucks.
And He has both experienced poverty, and commanded us to help the poor.
Whatever you believe, I really hope that you’re having a wonderful Christmas. I hope that you’ve had a brilliant time with family – or friends – and enjoyed the food and festivities.
There aren’t words for my gratitude for the gift of Jesus. I’m hugely grateful for the time spent this Christmas with Frances, Katie, Andrew, Benjy and Joanna for the things they’ve given me; for the decorations and music; and for David's brilliant (and very entertaining) sermon at Haven Green Baptist Church.
I'm particularly grateful that Katie and Benjy are home
:)Yesterday was HumanLight, “a celebration of a Humanist's vision of a good future… a positive approach to the coming new year, generally through the lens of secular humanist philosophy—secular as opposed to religious.” I might argue that I define “religious” as doing things trying to earn favour with God/gods – so humanists are mistaken to think that philosophies are either secular or “religious”. Aside from this; undeniably there is goodness to be had within many aspects of life and culture that appear to be unrelated to God – and plenty of atheists are doing awesome things – so I am truly grateful for that. However, as the concepts of survival of the fittest and selfish genes; as well as tends in crime that correlate with our nation’s trend to secularism suggest, humanity ultimately needs God to create a truly good future. The Jesus who’s birthday we remember at Christmas has been frequently ignored by people claiming to be Christians – but the things about which we have most reason to “positive” have been achieved when people have genuinely followed Christ. And I need desperately to do better at following Him, I’m failing terribly. But I’m so grateful to you fantastic humans, both theists and secularists, for putting up with me in the mean time.
(Random seasonal photos.....)
Gratitude Post - Birthday of Duff Goldman, Manny Pacquiao, DYNAMO, Greg James, Milla Jovovich, Chelsea Manning, Giovanni Ribisi Paula Radcliffe, Jaqueline Wilson, and Pope Francis. It’s the anniversary of Otto Hahn discovering the nuclear fission of uranium, the basis of nuclear energy; and the anniversary of the first episode of the The Simpsons – which I know plenty of people can be thankful for (I used to avoid it - but these days Andrew sometimes puts it on, and I'm grateful for things that amuse my over worked dad).
I Wish it Could be Christmas Every Day, Last Christmas I gave You my Heart, All I Want for Christmas is You, Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time, Merry Christmas Everyone…Opinions, please?
There’s something slightly nice about them in that my mind links them with the excited feeling Christmas gave me as a child – but each year, I find that I feel more sick of them. And I’ve had far fewer years of enduring them than most people – so presumably a lot of Britons, especially those who listen to regular radio, are sick to the back teeth of them now.
But Christmas carols offer variety – they’ve been recreated again and again in an array of musical styles (The African Children's Choir's Christmas album has been a source of many smiles for Katie and I since our childhood; I love Chris Tomlin’s Christmas albums – and there are so many more…). Ultimately, carols give us a slight taste of the actual wonder of Christmas. Contrary to what Currys PC World adverts are currently telling us, it’s not about the latest TVs. It’s not about impressing with the most elaborate food, outfits or gifts. It’s not even about time with family or giving to charity – though both of those are utterly fantastic and should be undertaken. Christmas is about incarnation. Note, inCARNation – like CARNivore, CARN referring to flesh. At Christmas – though it wasn’t necessarily December the 25th, the day wasn’t recorded – God became flesh. Jesus Christ was divine, yet willingly became human – a human born into squalor and shame. Which of course, I don’t expect anyone to believe – it only becomes credible when you spend time analysing the evidence. Still, it is impossible for us to wrap our minds around. But carols enable us to soak in just a tiny, tiny fraction of this overwhelming gift; God became human so that He could experience what we do; could teach us; and could die in our place. All Christmas food, drink, presents and parties are utterly pitiful by comparison. I’m grateful for carols in particular today in light of the fact that it’s just been the Haven Green Baptist Church carol service – even for those who reject Christ, carol services can be simply blissful. I really, really hope that you’ve enjoyed one recently.
Apparently today (18/12) is Bake Cookies Day - the fact that we can is something to be grateful for; only in the developed world, in relatively recent history, has this been an option -and it can be a significant source of enjoyment (I've recently been enjoying the smell of the cookies Joanna keeps on making)
It was also the anniversary of the first test flight of an unmanned hot air balloon, and of the Wright brothers making their first attempt to fly. Isn’t it awesome that we can fly? I haven’t had many plane journeys in my life, and won’t have any more unless there’s something very useful that I’d be able to there. So although I think that flying is too expensive, I’m hugely grateful for the handful of flights I’ve had (thankyou so much, Andrew and Frances) – and I’m more grateful still that flights are possible, since it’s enabled a phenomenal amount of good to be done.
Today is Christmas Jumper Day – which means that, hopefully, lots of money will be raised for Save the Children – which I’ll be seriously grateful for. Comment – do you have a Christmas jumper?
I made a pinboard (gross procrastination) - https://www.pinterest.co.uk/gracedalton37/christmas-jumpers/
This is ironic. My ex-uni is proud of being "progressive", so much that "Christmas" must have been politically incorrect, or at least worth ditching. So they've tweeted something, that ends up offending progressives. And it seems funny that people would presume it had racial connotations so as to justify outrage, it also seems thoroughly unintelligent that whoever tweeted it didn't realise the potential for this - it's meant to be one of the top academic institutions, one might have thought that those employed to run their Twitter account might avoid gaffes like this....
Gratitude Post (12/12) - Birthday of Reeta Chakrabarti, Ian Paisley Jr., Jasper Conran, Mayim Bialik, Bill Nighy and Frank Sinatra. Yesterday was the birthday of UNICEF(United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund): and was International Mountain Day. It’s remarkable that mountains illicit such awe – I wonder which neurochemical pathways generate it…
Having parents who both enjoy walking, I’ve been instilled with appreciation than many of my generation for hiking – but more significantly, my dad loves mountains, which has meant numerous expeditions whilst I was growing up (father daughter trips - Frances likes hills, but isn't keen on camping). We’re fortunate to be able to see mountains at any time, via the endless array of awesome photographs online – to be in the mountains, however, is a uniquely brilliant experience. All the more so, of course, when in discussion with Andrew.One of my favourite writers/speakers (Hugh Ross) highlights that atheism has flourished most of all in urban settings – when our experience of nature is impoverished, we are more prone to miss the Truth that being atop a mountain may sometimes bring back into focus. Of course, even if you believe that there is no creator, and that our universe, ability to see, and numinous emotions are entirely a product of Brownian motion, you can still enjoy them – so don’t forget to be glad
International Volunteer Day; consider – were it the case that we were purely the result of chance evolution, we’d be programmed only to expend our resources and time on what benefits our own probability of transmitting our genes. In reality many of us feel an instinct to use some of our time in activities that are of no benefit to us, only to others. I’m grateful for the opportunities we have to volunteer – and for the unique experience of joy that it offers. Regularly people bemoan the government, or God, that needs exist – neglecting the fact that we are privileged to battle these needs, and feel tremendous satisfaction as a result. When, for example, I’ve volunteered at Ealing Soup Kitchen, I’m blessed to enjoy time with Julian, Kezia, Britta, Kevin, Isabel, David, Herman and others – and leave feeling far happier than I did before. But I’m hugely grateful also to volunteers whose huge efforts have made possible projects in which I’ve been able to have just a little involvement; such Jurek for substantial work with Angel Tree, and Gerald with St John Ambulance.
Gratitude Post (3/12) - Birthday of Eamonn Holmes, Julianne Moore, and Ozzy Osbourne. Also of modern neon lighting, in that it was first demonstrated today in 1910; and PlayStation, released today in 1994 Japan – I never owned one, but am grateful for the enthralling time I had playing with them with Catrin, Sam and Rebecca.
The 2nd of December was International Day for the abolition of slavery. How often do we ruminate on the fact that we aren’t never have been, and essentially certainly never will be, slaves? We should ponder on it – throughout human history there have been substantial chunks of societies that are enslaved, though precisely what that means has varied hugely. Watching the new version of Roots earlier this year was valuable – obviously I was very conscious of many aspects of the African slave trade beforehand, but the unimaginable brutality evades our hearts too easily – such extreme evil was done, we can obscure and sidestep acknowledging it in our minds, and should be confronted with it so that we can be justly furious that the slave trade took place; and inspired to fight for an end to the slavery that exists now. Be grateful – so, so grateful – that we have freedom, and that the African slave trade was ended. Yet slavery still exists – I urge you to sign and share petitions that call on governments and corporations to stamp it out; for example https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/205476Yet in another sense, we are slaves – we’re enslaved by urges beyond what we know should have. If we’re truly honest with ourselves, we can’t deny that we do things that we know we shouldn’t; we crave certain things, and will sometimes indulge these lusts to extents that our consciences know that we shouldn’t - but we can be set free - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+6:15-23
And it’s International day or Recognition of people with disabilities. I never know whether or not I should answer in the affirmative, when asked in surveys if I have a disability, given my diagnosed Asperger’s; as my family would testify, am indeed disabled from behaving normally in various aspects of life; but I am fortunate not to face the disabilities that some people do. Individuals with clear disabilities are a blessing to the rest of us; in addition to their unique qualities as individuals, they can soften hard hearts; nurture in us a richer enjoyment of life; and remind us of the priceless value of humanity.
Gratitude Post (30/1) – Birthday of Billy Idol, Dougie Poynter (McFly), Lorraine Kelly, Gary Lineker, Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, Winston Churchill, and Ridley Scott; so let’s consider how thankful we can be for RS’s films; The Big Bang Theory; and that Britain won in the world war (who remembers the Churchill quote poster in the dining room at Vincent Square? “If you’re going through hell, keep going”). Plenty of people could be grateful for Thriller(Michael Jackson's album, apparently the best-selling record album in history), which turns 35 today.
It’s Cities For LifeDay – recognising the abolition of the death penalty; controversial, but probably not to anyone reading this – I presume that most of you are glad that there are no longer any executions in the UK. Yet all of us are sentenced to death, likely in many decades from now – but we can never be certain that it is not imminent. Thus it baffles me that it’s the cultural norm to guess what happens next and not seek clues. When Markle and Spencer* were interviewed on Monday, Meghan Markle said that Diana is definitely with them – it’s very normal for people to say that deceased individuals are watching over us, yet also for people to insist that there is no “heaven”/afterlife whatsoever. Science can’t provide a conclusive answer – why do we risk ignoring the matter? I remember thinking, as an agnostic pre-teen, that it would be sensible to follow God as, though heaven seemed like nonsense, it would be better to be safe than sorry. I later discovered that this Pascal’s wager. I also discovered, though it took plenty of reading, that fictional as it might appear, Jesus’ resurrection is remarkably well evidenced. The thing for which we can be more grateful than anything else, is that though we are all facing a death penalty, Jesus offers freedom from the death penalty we’ve earned.
*in case you missed the pun– Spencer was Princess Diana’s surname, so arguably could be Prince Harry’s (particularly to those who query his paternity)
Gratitude Post – Birthday of Professor Green, Steve Bannon, Bill Nye, and Jimi Hendrix; as well as CARE - founded to send food relief to Europe after World War II; In, the New York Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade; and the Nobel Prize. It’s also Lancashire Day – which is where my grandmother is from – as is one of the last and friendliest teachers I had at school.
Apparently yesterday was National Cake Day across the pond. As usual, I don’t know who decides these things… there are numerous sources reporting on it, so consider for a moment how awesome it is that we have cake. It’s so ubiquitous, we easily forget to simply be happy about it. Yet it’s only recently become common place – most of human history was devoid of the availability of anything like what we consider cake now; the word is of Viking origin, but prior to the introduction of sugar during the 17th century, “cakes” would have been nothing like the vast majority of cakes we enjoy now. We now have access to an endless array of different cakes – and ingredients to make our own. But furthermore, we can also enjoy a never ending bounty of cake food porn. Just in case anyone wasn’t yet aware, food porn is in no way related to bodies, sex, nor erotica – we simply have vicarious enjoyment of food without eating it. I’m hugely grateful for the wealth of programmes and photos of cakes that I can visually feast on. Indisputably, a significant sector of us enjoy oogling at cakes, otherwise The Great British Bake Off would not achieve such staggering viewing figures – whilst numerous other programmes such as Extreme Cake Makers, Cake Wars, Cake Boss and more are shown on repeat also. Memories of Frances creating jovial birthday cakes for Katie and I when we were small continue to put a smile on my face. One of the happiest days of my years at Twyford Church of England High School was that on which my class presented the models of Motte-and-bailey castle castles we’d been tasked with crafting; mine was a cake, of course, earning me some of only positive recognition I ever received from my classmates. And whilst I’m continually angry with myself for being such a shameful failure, it’s reassuring to know that I was previously able to raise money selling cakes (I only wish I had opportunities to sell it now!).Comment – which varieties of cake are best?
Also – and incomparably more importantly – I’m utterly thrilled that apparently the first Aid has begun arriving in #Yemen – but I’m desperate for it to be increased, quickly.
Gratitude Post – Yesterday – which was the birthday of Miley Cyrus, Jack Maynard, Vincent Cassel, Kirsty Young, Kelly Brook, and Zoë Ball - was #Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is apparently controversial, now that people are (not wrongly) more concerned about injustice against Native Americans. But consider; the American forefathers who instigated Thanksgiving were grateful for surviving in a new land – we’ve had the privilege of being born into a land where we have a far higher standard of living, and far more opportunities, than they celebrated in finding. The forefathers and Native Americans suffered conflict and disease – far more than most of us ever will. So let’s be thankful. Be glad also for the film/ music/ TV programmes; inventions; and particularly awesome people we know from across the pond.Yesterday was also the anniversary of the first ever episode of Doctor Who (1963), which has provided entertainment that millions can be grateful for. I enjoyed it massively when it re-started in 2005; I grew bored of it within several years, but still appreciate memories of watching and discussing it with Katie, Nadine, Sam, Rebecca and others. Look back at the first episodes of Doctor Who; be reminded of how astonishingly it has progressed – from black and white footage of people in hilarious costumes, to CGI rich pieces of art. Even if you’ve no interest in Doctor Who, it serves to highlight how the entertainment we have now is so advanced – for which we can be grateful.
And today is #BlackFriday; be grateful that we don’t actually need anything. Corporations are presuming that they’ll be able to con us into spending vast amounts on things that neither we, nor those we give gifts to, require. Don’t let them take advantage of you. Black Friday prices are available most of the time with a bit of internet exploration – but better still, you can transform lives whilst doing your shopping by buying from eBay for Charity UK, Oxam (inc. Oxfam online); the The Leprosy Mission International, Traidcraft and others. I'm thrilled that we have the privilege of significantly helping those for whom shopping is an alien concept through the purchases we make.
Gratitude Post – Yesteday (20/11) was the birthday of Kimberley Walsh, Edwin Hubble (after whom the Hubble Space Telescope is named), Joe Biden. Also Windows – version 1.0 was released 20/11/85. Also on 20/11/59, The Declaration of the Rights of the Child was adopted by the United Nations – and as a result the day is designated an Internal Day of
This prompts many realisations of gratitude.
I’m grateful too for children – that they can be so adorable and entertaining.It feels peculiar to have reached the point where people who I know from childhood now have children of their own - but it's awesome to see adorable photos posted by Laura, Zoe, Justin, Rachel and others.
My own childhood regularly provides me with cause to feel thankful as I look back on it; I had the privileges of being able to attend brilliant non-private schools; of having the optimal amount of extra curricular activities, toys and holidays; and living in a wonderful home in the best location I could have asked for (in one of the planet’s best cities, yet in a village-esque neighbourhood and with a park on my doorstep). So, so much more valuable, was to grow up with exceptionally caring, hard working and supportive parents. Andrew and Frances are sufficiently different in their traits and interests to be a perfect pair of individuals to spend my childhood with – but have in common being remarkably principled and nurturing.
International Day of the child coincided with my Operation Christmas Child boxes being collected. I hope everyone’s familiar with OCC by now – it’s a project of the charity Samaritan's Purse that distributes boxes (originally shoeboxes) full of small gifts to children in the poorest parts of the world, where they’re very unlikely otherwise to receive any Christmas presents. They’re many times more excited by their boxes than are children here, who each receive hundreds of £ of presents at Christmas. I have precious memories of packing boxes for OCC when I was a child myself (at Followers, the Haven Green Baptist Church kids/youth group) – now I’m grateful that I have the opportunity to pack many by scouring the internet for discounts on bulk buys.
And I’m grateful that they give us a tiny illustration of a fundamental reality – God loves us as a parent loves a child, only immeasurably more, and without the flaws that human parents can have. Like a parent and their child, He knows incomparably more than we do – when we feel angry that God hasn’t done what we want in our lives, we should reflect on a toddler who doesn’t understand why their parent takes them for vaccinations, or won’t let them eat whole tubs of ice cream – He has reasons that we don’t know, and He wants what He knows is best for us.
Mark 10: 13–14, 16 ; “People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.’ . . . And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them”
Gratitude Post – Yesterday (17/11) was the Birthday of Joseph Babinski, Sarah Harding, Tom Ellis, Ore Oduba, Jeff Buckley, Greg Rutherford Lorraine Pascale, Danny DeVito, Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Ross, and Rachel McAdams, It was also International Students' Day, and World Prematurity Day.
I’m grateful that progression of medical technology is saving the lives of premature babies – though I’m perplexed that simultaneously, it seems that the most acceptable opinion in our culture now is to support women being able to kill children of a similar age. And I’m grateful that Jonathon Van Maren is releasing a book about this – his writing is brilliant.Apparently, across the pond, it was Take a Hike Day – obviously, the phrase can mean Go Away there, but the posts I’ve seen suggest that it really was about walking. My parents have very different tastes in most things – but share a love of walking. I was blessed with a number of hiking trips alone with Andrew whilst I was growing up, which have left me with priceless memories. Isn’t it remarkable that hiking has the potential to synthesise –literally – blissful reverence? Many would not presume that hiking would be a preferable past time; yet stood on the top of a mountain with a clear view, no one could be indifferent. I wonder if anyone truly believes that this sensation of awe is entirely the product of Brownian motion (random movements of atoms). Hugh Ross – a highly qualified physicist who I can’t recommend enough – postulates that a contributing factor in the rise of atheism in developed countries is that we’re more out of touch with nature than ever. I’m so grateful we can enjoy hiking – potentially one of the most thrilling activities – for free.
Gratitude Post – Birthday of Georgia O'Keeffe, Chad Kroeger (Nickleback), Shailene Woodley and JIMMY CHOO. Jimmy Choo’s birthday reminds me that I’m grateful for shoes. rant coming, serious apologies if this seems judgemental - I cannot wrap my mind around the fact that anyone spends as much as Jimmy Choos cost on shoes – it’s like The Emperor’s New Clothes, entirely unnecessary loss of money that does nothing but assuage the buyer’s misguided mentality that designer shoes are somehow important. Meanwhile plenty of people in other parts of the world have only shoes that are on the verge of collapsing, or none at all. I urge you therefore to be glad that we have easy access to all the shoes we could ever need.It’s the 48th anniversary of the beginning of colour TV. It seems odd to think that less than half a century ago, television in colour didn’t exist; now we’re so familiar with it, we take it entirely for granted. Which means that we’re not enjoying it as much as we could. Pause and consider how much entertainment we have because of it - people born a century ago would have been awed and ecstatic, so we should feel seriously happy about it too. There’s plenty on TV without which the world would be a better place, because of the human flaws of those who’ve made certain programmes – but because there’s also so, so, so much that makes people amused or informed, we can be hugely glad that we happen to live in the tiny part of Global human history that has ubiquitous access to colour TV; and so much choice on it. We needn’t spend money on the cinema/ theatre/ clubbing etc – we can have truly enjoyable entertainment at home, any time if for the cost of a TV licence. Note also – people who are housebound and or lonely – such as the increasing numbers of elderly people – appreciate TV more than we could imagine – I’m grateful to know that my otherwise often depressed grandmother, and others like her, have the comfort that TV provides. (Ultimately though, for her, and for us, it can never come close to matching the ultimate comfort of Yaweh). Opinions please – which programmes are the very, very best? If you could take a programme off TV forever, what would it be?
Gratitude Post (11/11) – Birthday of June Whitfield, Demi Moore, Stanley Tucci, Ellie Simmonds, and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Controversy regarding #poppies has been ubiquitous this year. We’ve reached a point where just as much media proffering the view that #RemembranceDay should be scrapped as there has been media encouraging remembrance. And I’m torn – like my fellow millennials, the most anti-Poppy generation, I see the issues of concern. I desperately wish that our government would spend less on the military, and I despise the brutality of some of our past and present politicians. Those campaigning against poppies claim that poppies glorify war – I disagree; but each symbol can mean something different to whoever is using it, and to whoever is looking at it, so perhaps some wear it in their pride of the military. I’m almost pacifist – which is a weak cop out I know – I’d almost always advocate pacifism, but feel that it would be wrong to say that there are absolutely no situations in which defensive action is needed to protect a others. Ultimately, those who fought in the World Wars were unimaginably brave, seeking to counter nefarious forces. And those who are in the armed forces today are undertaking a role I don’t think I’d ever be brave enough for, but without which we might all be seriously at risk. I think it’s important that our thoughts and efforts are expended on matters that enable us to make positive change, so am sometimes frustrated by the extent of coverage given to issues that are past – but I think that Remembrance day is healthy for us – it’s good for us to have a moment of solemnity; of gratitude to soldiers, and grief for those killed or injured – both troops and civilians. I’m grateful that I’ve not (yet) experienced war. And I’m grateful that I know Christ offers hope even amidst it.
Double Gratitude Post – Birthday (9/11) of Sir Bryn Terfel, Delta Goodrem, French Montana (I’m deeply concerned about his high selling successful “Unforgettable” – but was grateful to discover, when I investigated, that he has at least donated $100K to Uganda following it); and Rolling Stone (first issue 50 years ago exactly).
Today, I’ve been feeling acutely aware of my failure – and thus all the more grateful to my truly fantastic parents – I can’t thank Andrew and Frances enough.I started writing yesterday (8/11) – Birthday of Sam Sparro, Vincent Nichols, and Richard Curtis (many of us can be grateful for About Time, Bridget Jones's Diary, Love Actually or Four Weddings and a Funeral). Anniversary of The Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 196, and of the discovery of X-rays (1895). Xrays have been invaluable in countless medical cases, as well as a broad array of other scientific research, and in security. It’s awesome that we can be helped through the use of Xrays when we have injuries, or any of a number of other ailments. Too often we forget to enjoy the remarkable fact that, whilst experiencing the wounds and disease that have always been part of being human; because we live in the time and place that we do, we benefit from amazing medical technology – which previous generations couldn’t have dreamt of. Comments – what experiences of Xrays have you had?
But XRays don't make for cute photos, hence my choice of pictures based instead on it apparently having been National Cappuccino Day across the pond - are some of you grateful for those?
Apparently, on 8/11 in 1901, there were the “Gospel riots” in Athens. “Bloody clashes following the translation of the Gospels into demotic Greek”. Tragic – yet unsurprising, in that when the Bible was first translated there was huge opposition. That should be surprising; Jesus instructed His followers to share The Gospel with the world. And its facts transcend language. So the hostility of some churches for the Bible to be translated was horrifically misguided. Today, I’m more grateful than I can say that the Bible has been translated, so that billions of people can read it. Though I really ought to learn the original language too = since, like any translation, differences between languages mean that nuances of the original can be missed in the translation. Yet, contrary to a common misconception in our society, the Bible is extremely reliable. All historical documents have been copied from originals – but there’s a common misconception that this spawned accumulating errors, like Chinese Whispers. This myth demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of the scribal process. Many times more copies of the Bible were handwritten than any other historical document – with differences being only in occasional insignificant dashes and spellings. This means that the Gospels are significantly more reliable than other history of similar age (there are tonnes of articles about this, the one I read most recently was http://www.patheos.com/.../bible-come-answering-4-common.../ ) Now, this priceless information is immediately available to us –not only in printed Bibles but also online, in apps, and audio. I’m so grateful – all the more so since I know that the Bible isn’t yet accessible to everyone. In nations with dictatorial governments, Bibles are banned – and people have been jailed, some even executed, for having them. Meanwhile in some other places, people are unable to buy and or read the Bible – and when organisations such as Wycliffe and the Bible Society provide it, recipients are overjoyed.
Gratitude Post - Birthday of Tilda Swinton, Bryan Adams, and Alexa Chung.
Across the pond it’s National Doughnut Day – and most of us can be grateful for doughnuts. Opinions please –which are best? And do doughnuts necessarily need to have a hole? (this was a debate that Sunny and Shay were having recently on BBC Radio London). I’m grateful to Madeleine for treating Katie and I to doughnuts after school (and Frances for buying them for us on many other occasions…). If you like Krispy Kremes and weren’t aware, you can get occasional buy-one-get-one-free vouchers if you sign up to their “Friends of Krispy Kreme UK” (mailing list), as well as a voucher for a free doughnut on your birthday. You can also buy Original Glazed Krispy Kremes in bulk at £5.50/dozen for charity events. I still gratefully remember Liz bringing them to a youth group meeting many years ago...It’s the 10th anniversary of the Android mobile operating system being unveiled by Google – which assists many of us in all manner of ways. Consider how many seriously useful apps make life easier or more enjoyable … if you can’t think of any, you may well be missing out.
And it’s #GuyFawkes night, obviously. Has anyone been watching the Gunpowder Series on BBC One? (if so, reflect on how lucky we are to be free of the brutality that it apparently accurately portrays). Our government is deeply flawed – but truly we are fortunate that the corruption isn’t *quite* so evil and undemocratic as it was when Guy Fawkes and others endeavoured to destroy the entirety of parliament. Let’s be grateful too for fireworks – they are literally awesome. We’re privileged to be able to watch displays that – for no obvious evolutionary advantageous reason – provoke positive excitement. Who went to a #firework display this weekend?
Gratitude Post - Birthdays; Lulu, Ben Fogle, Adam Ant, Anna Wintour (Vogue) and Colin Kaepernick. Since I am mostly ignorant of sport, I’d not heard of Colin Kaepernick prior to the take-a-knee fiasco. I’m confounded by the opposition he’s stoked; it’s a vivid reminder of the cult of nationalism that grips America. It’s baffling, concerning, and as Trump might say if he weren’t at the centre of it – sad. Very sad. Sad – utterly gut wrenching – that some would fail to acknowledge the issue about which Kaepernick was protesting. Even more tragic still that so many people deify their national identity because they’ve ignored the deserving recipient of honour. I’m well aware that many of these people would call themselves Christians – but if we truly love God, we’re too conscious that He created all of humanity, and awed by that reality, to care much about national pride.
I’m grateful that Kaepernick has been bold in taking the stand that he has. I’m grateful that race injustice is less of an issue here – though it still needs much work. I’m grateful that we have an origin incomparably more profound than our country of birth; that we are loved by God so much, that we’d want always to sing anthems to Him and lift our eyes to Him if we were capable of comprehending what He’s done for us.
I’m also tremendously grateful to Frances for helping me hugely today – I have such a fantastic mum
I’m grateful for Louis Theroux’s documentary on anorexia on Sunday evening. Shame haunts me – I feel aching guilt for not having achieved what others have by 25, because I’ve not managed to force myself to eat more and exercise less. But it’s not only a sense of duty; I’m truly desperate to live a life that helps humanity – and I’m failing miserably. I’m highly conscious that, other than to fellow anorexics and obsessive compulsives, I must seem a selfish fool. I don’t deny that I am; but it grates me that the intense, inescapable mindset that entraps me is entirely alien to other peoples’ reality; I long for other people to experience it, only momentarily, so that they’d know that I’m not choosing to be like this. It makes no sense – to not be able to control your own actions; which is why I kept pushing myself down this hole when I was warned that I was developing anorexia. I wanted to be thinner, and unquestioningly presumed that I would resume eating and plateau at a lower weight. I didn’t realise that I was rewiring my neural circuitry, and that by the time I wanted to stop dieting, I couldn’t. It was heart wrenching to see the suffering of the girls in the programme - but it’s comforting to see the absurd mess inside my mind displayed on screen, so that the world can learn, and perhaps forgive me slightly.
Vincent Square –one of the units in Louis Theroux’s programme – was my detention centre for most of 2013, despite escaping over the impossible garden fence, and having several tribunals to overturn my section (legal ruling that I had I couldn’t leave). I’ve spent many hours in meetings with the doctor - Dr Connan – Louis talked to; eaten in the kitchen he ate pie in; and been assessed in the treatment room. I know the thoughts that were voiced in the programme so, so well. Anorexia is the worst thing that’s happened to me; yet without it, the best thing might not have happened. Additionally, it led to me meeting so many brilliant people (Anna, Emma, Annie, Rae, Bex, Chloe, Celeste, Chandni, Maria and others) for which I’m massively grateful.
And today is Halloween – truly a tragedy. Our culture celebrates evil; and pull children straight into it. Trick or treating is derived from when pagan priests went from house to house, demanding payment and putting curses on those who didn’t offer enough – but as the #reformation zealously made known, spiritual forces aren’t determined by our money. Wearing costumes was an attempt to disguise oneself among visiting ghosts and demons – but no pretense is necessary for spiritual salvation. JackOlanterns were intended to ward off evil spirits – but we are invited into The Light where we are truly safe from Satan. I desperately hope that you know and are joyful about these truths – but whatever you believe, be grateful that in 21st century Britain, we can enjoy sweets, dancing and decorative lights without Halloween.
Gratitude Post – Written yesterday; Birthday of Theodore Roosevelt, Sylvia Plath, Kelly Osbourne, as well as Black Cat Appreciation Day and Navy Day (United States).
Roosevelt’s birthday helps us to remember to be happy about teddy bears. In case you weren’t aware, Roosevelt was often nicknamed Teddy – much to his chagrin. On a hunting trip in 1902, he refused to kill a bear that his staff had tied to a tree for him to shoot, and the incident was satirised in a Washington Post cartoon. A toy maker who saw the cartoon made a bear cub stuffed toy and labelled it “Teddy’s bear”. It feels odd that they’ve only existed for a little over a century. Few single items have brought comfort and giggles to so much of the population worldwide. Consider all of children (and perhaps adults…) whose sadness has been alleviated by teddies, and who’ve enjoyed hours of creative play with them. They put smiles on faces the world over. Most of all perhaps, they can be of priceless value when given to children with nothing else, and I’m so grateful that we can provide them.Of course, Bex, Joanna Dalton and others appreciate their blacks cats. Apparently, they’re significantly less likely to be adopted than cats of other colours – I very much hope that this doesn’t indicate that people honestly think that they’re “bad luck”. Witchcraft is real and dangerous – but cat colour has nothing to do with it.
Today (28/10) is the birthday of Bernie Ecclestone, Peter Hitchens, Joaquin Phoenix, David Dimbleby, Frank Ocean, Matt Smith, Julia Roberts, and Bill Gates. Are you a Microsoft user, or Apple (or other)? Even those of us who aren’t Microsoft people have benefitted massively from it’s software, given that it’s used by so many schools, public services, and creatives whose work we’ve enjoyed. But I’m particularly thrilled that Bill Gates has chosen to use his wealth to make as much positive impact as possible. Most celebrities have a few pet charities, which is great; but Bill Gates is thoroughly logically minded, and thus chooses not only to give an unusually large proportion of his wealth, but also strategically invests in work that can make the greatest impact to alleviate suffering. Whilst this has no impact on me, I’m truly hugely grateful.
Gratitude Post – Birthday of Adam Goldberg, Katy Perry, Nancy Cartwright, Pablo Picasso, and Ciara. Yesterday, the shower stopped whilst I was in it. I presumed that it was only momentary; it wasn’t. My body composition means that in such events, I quickly feel freezing cold. I thought that Andrew had switched off the water because I was taking too long; but then discovered that workmen were labouring over the pipes outside. And I’m so, so grateful. Only for several centuries has Britain had a remotely decent water system. Many people, born into less privileged countries, can still only dream of the luxury of drains. Today everything worked as usual – and showers are such a gift. Being encased in hot flowing water, getting thoroughly clean, truly is a blessing. New Wine, and other camping experiences, serve as terrific reminders of how lucky we are to have showers at home. And I'm thrilled about the Ealing Soup Kitchen acquiring a shower. But I desperately hope that more people developing nations will have good access to them too, ASAP. WaterAid UK - but many other charities to - are making progress towards this.I'm also particularly blessed today to have Katie around, and am grateful to Frances for taking time to help me with appointments.
Gratitude Post (22/10) - Birthday of Deepak Chopra, Plan B, TobyMac, Jeff Goldblum, and Shaggy. It's also the anniversary of the (British) Royal Observatory becoming the prime meridian of longitude (by the International Meridian Conference) - which is a privilege, we're in the centre of the world, time zones are determined by our location. It's also been Wombat Day (I was recently in conversation with someone who thought that Wombat was only a Pokémon character, not an actual animal). Wombats - since we can enjoy their pictures online, are something to be grateful for :) (David, Andrew, La Ligne H, Warren, Bernadette - how common are they in Aus? Do they live in urban areas, like foxes do here, or only in rural places?)On the NextDoor website (which I highly recommend) there was a notice asking if anyone could recommend a shelter to which she could offload soft toys left by her recently graduated daughters. I asked if any were in good condition and small, feeling impolite doing so. She happily let me visit, sort through them, and retrieve any that I wanted - which meant that I left dozens of totally free toys for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. We talked as I rummaged, and I explained where they'd be going, and she brought over some posh bars of soap and jewellery. I still have hundreds more items to buy for OCC - I'm thrilled for these free items. We can't imagine what these kids experience - they're born into extreme squalour, living in horrendously dilapidated buildings, mud huts or slums, with extremely few, extremely scruffy possessions. Several years ago, Katie and I sorted through our own childhood soft toys for shoeboxes - we'd collected loads whilst growing up, and I adored them; but we had so many that there were plenty with no signs of use. Ponder on how much we have to enjoy, that we don't need - the children to whom the shoeboxes are sent often have no toys.
So I'm grateful - truly overjoyed - to know that we can facilitate some of the world's very poorest children with items that will make them ecstatic (as evidenced by the multitudes of video clips showing the boxes being distributed, eg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIXe8zBM2-U&feature=youtu.be ;
https://youtu.be/JPvxW66prOI ). The Samaritan's Purse website has numerous testimonies from young adults who received OCC shoeboxes when they were little, about how much they treasured incredibly modest gifts https://www.samaritans-purse.org.uk/shoebox-stories/
Gratitude Post – Birthday of Jess Glynne, Dannii Minogue, Christopher Wren (designed St. Paul's Cathedral), Ken Ham, Danny Boyle, Viggo Mortensen, and Snoop Dogg. It’s also World Osteoporosis Day– and though I’m not grateful that I have Osteoporosis, I’m grateful that I have calcium pills (and that it’s relatively probable that there’ll be medicines to tackle Osteoporosis before I’m elderly); and that I haven’t had any serious injuries (whilst, if I do, I’ll likely be helped, on account of living in a country with one of the world’s best health systems). Additionally, it’s World Statistics Day – and I’m hugely grateful to Bernadette for arranging for our maths group to attain an extra GCSE; Statistics as well as Maths (as well as for so much else, she was an unusually brilliant teacher).
Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of the death of my grandfather. I’m so, so grateful for his life. Most of all, of course, for his fathering of an exceptional dad. When Katie and I were small, Gran and Grandad looked after us on many of the occasions that Frances was at work, leaving me with precious memories of walks in Pitshanger Park; daft games of his that kept me highly amused; and trips to Ruislip Lido Railway and "beach". I also have a random memory of him droning about education to Alice and feeling embarrassed. He was a Geography teacher and passed on his explanatory tendency to Andrew, who manages to fascinate me in everything he discusses with me – and I can only remember Grandad being in a positive mood. Several years before he died, he was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer, and I remember him having a solemn, but incredibly caring conversation with me about the future. The cancer disappeared, and his doctor was baffled. He set up trust funds for Katie, Joanna and I – when I was told, I was a child and told that it was for the future; and I still feel that it’s not mine, but feels like a strong demonstration of grandad’s love.
Yesterday was World Food Day – in recognition of the fact that 1 in 9 people are without it. To be genuinely starving – both extremely hungry and underweight – is a unique experience. Various hormones are thrown out of balance, creating a sensation that most people in the West haven’t had. We anorexics have – and I’m not at all suggesting that I deserve sympathy for this, but I’m desperate for others to know that when you see starving people in developing countries in the news and in adverts for charities, those people are going through something that’s worth addressing. Today is Eradication of Poverty Day, and I’m so, so grateful that we have the potential to be part of that. I say it often but I’ll say it again – isn’t it exciting that we can fee a child for a month with £4 – barely enough to buy a coffee and muffin on the highstreet?
Much of what we have, we have because previous generations have pillaged the natural resources of other nations. Today, Western based multinational corporations continue to bleed the developing world dry – around 20x as much as is given in International Aid is lost from developing countries through illegitimate business practice (http://www.filmsforaction.org/…/aid-in-reverse-how-poor-co…/ ). Meanwhile the turmoil the West has created in impoverished communities has facilitated power grabs by the cruellest native individuals; hence Mugabe and others like him oppress their people who are born trapped into lives of poverty that they’ve no opportunity to escape
I frequently encounter atheists arguing that the poverty in our world is proof that God doesn’t exist; but it is we who are responsible. God created enough for everyones’ need, but not for everyones’ greed (loose Gandhi quote, though I'm not a huge fan of his). In fact, our material wealth is a privilege far beyond the joy that we can have from spending it on ourselves – there is far greater blessing in the satisfaction we experience from giving. So, when we give, each £ not only provides several times as much happiness for the recipients as it does it does if we spend it in ourselves – there’s also additional delight to be had in knowing we’ve made a difference.Contrary to the foolish excuses proposed by the many Brits who I observe claiming that “charity begins at home” and “we’ve been giving to Africa for years and it makes no difference”, aid has made an utterly amazing difference in the space of the last few decades. One useful summary from 2015 https://www.theguardian.com/…/what-millennium-development-g… At the start of the 90s, nearly 1 billion people in the developing world were undernourished, but (whilst the Global population grew) this fell to 780 million in 2015 according to the United Nations.
However drought and war have caused rates of hunger to begin increasing again in the last 2 years. It is incumbent on us to support those charities that are working effectively to fight – and prevent – hunger. But it is also an awesome blessing that we can.https://feedthehungry.org.uk/
PS -I'm also tremendously grateful to Kevin, Alex, Keith, Isabel, Luke, Iona, Brad, Kezia and others for attending some of my past fundraising dinner parties. And to Adam, for once allowing me to fundraise by selling cakes at one of his performances. Thankyou guys so, so much for putting up with me 
Gratitude Post for yesterday - Apparently it's Dessert Day. Desserts are an immense source of enjoyment, and we too often forget how remarkable it is that we can so easily buy or make such an endless array of desserts - the recent BBC series, The Sweet Makers, was a reminder that only several centuries ago, there weren't desserts. They gradually became available, initially requiring laborious work by servants - which was nothing compared to the gross exploitation of the sugar plantation slaves. Today, we have a cornucopia of thrilling cakes, puddings, ice cream, mousses, pastries and so much more to indulge in whenever we want to. We can miss out on the experience if we gobble it down unthinkingly - if we eat slowly and focus on the flavours and textures, a dessert is multiple times more delightful. Having long ago detached from an expectation of eating desserts, I find the small quantities of sweet things that I do nibble on hugely gratifying - and looking at pictures of desserts is so, so much fun.Be glad about desserts - but lets also take opportunities to campaign for fairer trade; that the enslavement of workers on sugar plantations being ended is, of course, one of the best things to have happened in humanity's history; but many of those who provide our sugar, cocoa and fruit are still exploited. Please consider signing the petitions circulated that urge corporations to pay and treat their labourers better, and choose Fairtrade products if possible.
BTW - ex fellow eating disorder unit inmates (Bex, Annie Parker, Chloe, Chandni, Emma, Rebecca, Celeste, Maya, Rae, Anna, Maria and others) please forgive me for continually hiding chunks of my desserts. I still have a scar from one occasion when it was scolding hot.
Gratitude Post - Last night I saw a documentary on CS Lewis. I've mentioned previously that I'm grateful for his work, yesterday's programme told me that he was also hugely appreciated during the war, when his regular radio broadcasts were extremely popular. At a time when there was no internet and almost no one had a TV, whilst war raged, radio was invaluable. Much of the population would have heard CS Lewis's messages about crucial Theological truths, and nothing could have been any more comforting and valuable. So I'm grateful that words, which were later published as Mere Christianity, inspiring innumerable people worldwide since.
Of course, he later wrote The Chronicles of Narnia, which I have priceless of having read to me (and Katie) by Frances. I realised the symbolic meaning, but it was years later, seeing it on screen, that it touched me. Aslan willingly endures being humiliated and brutally executed – to save a bratty child. We are that child – Edmund – we’ve been unpleasant to family members and others; we’ve done things we’ve known that we shouldn’t to get things we’d like. And Jesus suffered unimaginable shame and brutality – not only the shame and brutality of crucifixion, but a supernatural agony as humanity’s wrongs were heaped onto Him.
This sacrifice more than deserves gratitude every day. But today I’m also pondering how grateful I am for CS Lewis’s works (of which there are more than these mentioned, of course).
Comment if you're reading this - did you enjoy the Narnia books or films as a child?
(I remember watching The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in the cinema on a youth group trip – Emma, Grace, KT, Iona, Joana, were you there?)
Gratitude Post written yesterday (7/10) - Birthday of Tim Minchin, Desmond Tutu, Simon Cowell, Michael W. Smith, Alesha Dixon, and Niels Bohr. And the 7th of October is also the anniversary of the start of Fox News Channel – which reminds me that, although it’s far, far from perfect, I’m grateful for BBC news. Regularly scrolling through a separate Facebook feed of news outlets’ pages, I can see clearly that the BBC is far more neutral than the US news outlets – and we can watch it without adverts. Just a few generations ago, we’d have had only news papers as a means of knowing about current affairs; we now have fascinating coverage of events all over the world, within moments of it happening. We can see live footage of locations across the globe, as well as on screen graphs that inform us regarding all manner of issues. I’m particularly grateful after having had coffee in the BBC Club (a restaurant/bar next to the BBC HQ in London for BBC staff) on the invite of one the BBC London radio presenters, who was awesomely friendly. Be grateful that we have one of the world’s better news corporations to inform us, but also lots of choice. Which are your favourite?
Patients could be banned from A&E unless GP refers them - Obviously this ^^ is insane. But why are we not adding to the school curriculum some lessons on when and when not to go to A&E? There are some who go because they don't know what else to do - we should all be educated from an early age about when to go to A&E, when to make a GP appointment, when we don't need either; how to do first aid; which over-the-counter medicines to buy; and more about basic health, nutrition and avoiding illness.
Hillary Clinton still blames (Nigel Farage) for Donald Trump. I'm proud to have her as my enemy - Trump has many serious flaws - but she ought to realise her own errors rather than blaming lies and nationalism for her loss. Those were obviously factors, but some of her own views were significant factors too. For example, many Christians voted against her because of her support for abortion.
Jacob Rees-Mogg says calling a man a feminist is 'ridiculous' - I think it's ridiculous that feminism gets so much coverage by comparisom to matters of far greater suffering. I am NOT saying that sexism is OK. But why don't papers like The Independent spend just slightly less time fighting for feminism so as to spend slightly more time fighting against extreme poverty and slavery in developing countries? We should fight for gender equality - but there's a finite amount of time/energy - and far more suffering could be alleviated if our society slightly re-distributed it's concern. What if a few of the articles about the Weinstein fiasco had instead been used to highlight child marriage and FGM in the developing world? I get the impression that some publications are more interested in glamour than doing good.
Some marriages are genuinely impossible to continue - but it's become too normal for people to split when it's not essential to do so, and it's so, so sad 
Double standards: 'Why aren't we all with Somalia?' - Because the Weinstein scandal is far more important, obviously. (I hope it's obvious that I'm being sarcastic - I'm constantly infuriated by how our media seems to consider people in impoverished countries to be less important than Westerners)
Nobody’s talking about this ‘savage attack’ buried in Universal Credit. But some people could lose thousands - The government MUST establish a system that assesses individual' issues and directs them to work they CAN do. A huge amount of jobs could be done by those who are housebound - WHY isn't the government working with employers to facilitate this?
Supremacists went back to Charlottesville this weekend - It's often said - by themselves and commentators - that patriotic Americans are Christians. This^^ demonstrates that their real religion is America. And Jesus told us clearly that we can only have one God. Please, please don't let anyone convince you that people like this are Christian - Christianity is to follow Christ. He taught us to ignore racial distinctions and love our neighbour as ourselves, not defend statues that are associated with injustice against our neighbors.
Pink just said what no other pop star will about monogamy - Monogamy might seem hard but it is possible and it is more than worth it. We're biologically designed for monogamy. And numerous studies show that people who get and stay married are happiest and healthiest - as well as that it makes a massive difference to their childrens' lives.
Why Katie Hopkins acts like Katie Hopkins, as explained by psychologists - Most importantly, we can all have selfish or unkind thoughts - and Katie Hopkins should remind to continually check ourselves. Rather than simply criticising her because we think we're more caring, we should be prompted by her to become more compassionate still.
It’s apparently been virus appreciation day – which I imagine sounds absurd to most people. Pause, and contemplate how fortunate we are to be safe from many viruses. Simply because we’ve been born into a wealthy country, we’ve all been vaccinated against the viruses that pose the greatest threats. A friend of mine has a crippled hand, since when she was a child, polio vaccines had not yet been rolled out. There are many innocent children in impoverished countries who still miss out on standard childhood vaccinations. I’m grateful that we can provide them; for incredibly little cost; the World Health Organization's basic vaccination campaign: protects against Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Polio, Measles, and tuberculosis in infants and young children – for just $14.21 (in Sub-Saharan Africa). I’m grateful that Immunization averts an estimated 2 to 3 million deaths every year from these diseases, and this has contributed to the 53%drop in the global under-5 mortality rate between 1990 and 2015.
I’m grateful that we benefit from ongoing research to develop new vaccines, and that others are benefitting from vaccines for Tropical diseases that we are privileged never to encounter in the UK.
Yet viruses are vital – complex biological relationships that enable Earth’s ecosystems biologists are using them to develop new medical treatments (for example, http://www.reasons.org/…/viruses-and-god-s-providence-revis… ); and super crops that have unfathomable potential. Viruses can be horrendous, yet since we are mostly well protected, and since we are on the cusp of seeing many new technologies that use viruses to manipulate genetics for good, be grateful
Gratitude Post (1/10) – Anniversary of various things, a few of which are things to be tremendously grateful for; Walt Disney World (Florida) opened (has any one been?); the first CT /CAT scan brain-scan using took place (in Wimbledon), Sony launched the first consumer compact disc player, Cartoon Network launched, Concorde broke first the sound barrier, NASA was created (replacing the NACA), Thomas Edison opened first electric lamp factory, and News of the World tabloid began publication in London.
Nicky Morgan, Zach Galifianakis, Harry Hill, William Boeing(founded the Boeing Company), Jimmy Carter, Theresa May, Brie Larson, and Julie Andrews,
It’s also World Vegetarian Day, and International Coffee Day. Coffee is an incredible blessing that is enjoyed by countless people. Few consumables bring so much comfort; a warm wake up without the risks of other stimulants. Countless individuals regularly reanimated by the reliable resource that nature (or, rather, God) provides; and which modern infrastructure makes fully accessible (even in our nation that it can’t grow in). Even if you don’t drink coffee, it’s likely that you benefitted from the effect it’s had on others; for example, some of our parents and or teachers were more able to support us because of coffee when we were too young to enjoy it ourselves. Many of us will have benefitted from services or inventions that were the work of people energised by coffee. I've still got terrific memories of coffee with Annie, Emma, Rebecca, Chloe, Anna, Maya and other brilliant people :)Caffeine blocks Adenosine – an inhibitory neurotransmitter – in the brain, increasing excitatory neurotransmitters such as dopamine and norepinephrine . Thus caffeine boosts energy levels, physical performance and mood. Some studies suggest that coffee also reduces risk of Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Liver/GI cancers, and Diabetes. Obviously, research should be furthered to verify and quantify these medicinal effects; but coffee is known to contain substantial levels of anti-oxidants; and we know from personal experience that it’s energising.
Supposedly, we evolved by random mutations over from nothing (we don’t hear it questioned whether the number of mutations in DNA required could have taken place by chance within the time spans science agrees on for the age of life on Earth….) – but isn’t it remarkable that we’ve also ended up with neurotransmission networks that respond to molecules produced by entirely independent, also supposedly evolved organisms?
One of the phenomena that most baffles me most is that it considered normal,by most people in our society, to buy coffee in cafes. Because it is fantastic – but it costs enough to buy a whole packet of coffee to have at home. And £4 can feed a starving child for a month, £25 monthly can provide a child with education, health checks and more. So a person who regularly buys a beverage from Starbucks, Costa, Caffe Nero, Pret, or any other coffee shop, has the potential to feed many children, or entirely transform at least one child’s future by switching to making your coffees yourself.Gratitude Post for 28/9 – Birthday of Brigitte Bardot, Dita Von Teese, Hilary Duff, Naomi Watts, Thomas Crapper (I hope you’re grasteful for his work, seriously), and Confucius. Yesterday was the anniversary of William the Conqueror invading England; and of Alexander Fleming noticing a bacteria-killing mould growing in his laboratory, which of course is a monumental cause for gratitude – innumerable people have been saved from the agony of bacterial diseases as a result of this discovery which was in fact the first antibiotic. The 28th was also World Rabies Day, which should give us PAWS for thought. It’s alien to our lives here and now, yet for much of history, and to this day in some places, the spectre persists. I hate to put this in what’s intended to be an uplifting post; but rabies caused about 17,400 deaths worldwide in 2015. We live free from it’s threat, and so spending time with dogs enTAILS little risk, only certain trips abroad ever LEAD us to protect ourselves against the disease. And that’s truly something to be grateful for - Rae, Charli, Louise, Laura, Martina, Rachel, Liam, Simon and other dog owners get to experience the company of dogs, and make it possible for the rest of us to enjoy them also via fantastic photos. Please add your comments of FURvent appreciation for canines – and better puns….
Gratitude Post – Yesterday was the anniversary of the closure of the last of Ireland’s Magdalene ‘asylums’. These were run by nuns, and entrapped "fallen women" such as young women who’d fallen pregnant – outside of marriage. I’m grateful that they closed – they were fundamentally UNChristian. When Jesus met a promiscuous woman at a well, He’d have been expected to avoid her, given the social customs of the setting. Yet, rather than scolding her, He told her about salvation. (John 4 7-29)When religious leaders brought to Him a woman caught in adultery, they quoted the Old Testament law that she should be stoned. Yet He saved her, and told her to “go and sin no more”. (John 8:1-11)
When a prostitute came to Him and began washing His feet, His disciples presumed that He would rebuke her. Yet He extoled her, and announced that she was forgiven of her sins. (Luke 7:36-50)
Thus the Magdalena asylums, by treating women as criminals for sexual immorality, contradicted Christ’s example, and caused collassal heartache. I’m grateful that they closed; and more than there are words for, I’m grateful for Jesus’ grace –that is, that He offers undeserved forgiveness when we choose to turn to Him. He died for the fallen-ness of each of us.
It was also Comic book day, and comics have provided many people with entertainment to be grateful for. I’ve not explored them; but used to enjoy Smallville (did anyone else watch?) and Larryboy. Comments please; which are your favourite comic books/ characters?
Today, the 26th, has been European Day of Languages; I’m grateful for the poly-linguists I have the privilege of knowing – such as Anna, Emily, Madeleine, Isabel, and am awed by their intelligence (having never progressed beyond GCSE Spanish). I’ve said it before but it bears repeating, we’re very lucky that, even if we don’t learn other languages, we can enjoy much of the world’s film, TV and internet content, as well as conversation with so many people from elsewhere, because so much of the world has English as its second language. I know that many Britons feel annoyed hearing European accents speaking English; in fact, we should be grateful that they’ve put effort into learning our national language, most of us wouldn’t have the patience to learn theirs.
Also, so massively grateful for amazing support from Frances when I was in floods of tears (yesterday). I really, really don't deserve her, or Andrew.
Today, the 26th, has been European Day of Languages; I’m grateful for the poly-linguists I have the privilege of knowing – such as Anna, Emily, Madeleine, Isabel, and am awed by their intelligence (having never progressed beyond GCSE Spanish). I’ve said it before but it bears repeating, we’re very lucky that, even if we don’t learn other languages, we can enjoy much of the world’s film, TV and internet content, as well as conversation with so many people from elsewhere, because so much of the world has English as its second language. I know that many Britons feel annoyed hearing European accents speaking English; in fact, we should be grateful that they’ve put effort into learning our national language, most of us wouldn’t have the patience to learn theirs.
Also, so massively grateful for amazing support from Frances when I was in floods of tears (yesterday). I really, really don't deserve her, or Andrew.
"We can topple Ireland’s ludicrous abortion law, but it’s not a done deal" - What's ludicrous is that our society has come to think that it's morally right to support abortion up to 24 weeks, and sometimes even beyond. At what point do we become human? Why does a woman have the right to kill the innocent human inside of her? I wouldn't necessarily dispute abortion when no nervous system has developed; if there is definite, extreme feotal deformity; or if doctors are certain that the mother can't survive the pregnancy - but our laws (in the UK - abortion to 24 weeks) - fly in the face of logic and science. http://www.ehd.org/science_main.php?level=i
Abortion up to 24 weeks is for medical necessity only eg a pregnancy which will be fatal for mother or baby etc. Don't spout religious rubbish about something you haven't experienced.
Laura Barker religious rubbish? Such as? I said nothing about religion. Have you looked at the hyperlink? It's about feotal development, not religion. Are not not simply making unjustified assumptions?
Flytippers turn east London car park into enormous rubbish dump - Let's all remember to resist our culture's addiction to buying more, and replacing items, more often than we need. Corporations are luring us all into purchasing more clutter than we need, sites like this should be a helpful reminder to us all to resist.
Waitrose recalls chocolate bars over fears they may contain plastic - It's not worth wasting all that chocolate. May I have it?
Various parts of the Bible use symbolism, and aren’t intended to be interpreted literally. If someone says that they’re on social media 24/7, they probably don’t mean that they’re literally using social media 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In particular, certain numbers had particular emblematic meaning in the Hebrew culture. So attempts to work out the date of the end of the world are illogical – and also un-Christian, since Jesus said that no one knows when He will return. However, we will each die at some point – and at the rate we’re going, terrorism, nuclear war, Global warming or malicious technology will prevent a chunk of humanity reaching old age. So why don’t we spend just a little more time getting prepared? No one can be certain that our consciousness ends after we die – what if there is, as most of humanity has believed, some sort of afterlife/heaven? Jesus is the only human for whom there’s reasonable evidence of defeating death, and He told us that He is The Way to “paradise”; so why don’t we each spend as bit more time investigating this evidence ourselves? If we choose to follow Jesus and we’re wrong, we’ll have lost nothing (although people with a faith are statistically more likely to be happier and to live longer). If we don’t, and we’re wrong, we’ll miss out on “heaven”.
Gratitude Post - Apparently it’s just been international Rabbit Day. It’s many years since I owned one, but I’m extremely grateful for rabbits, and I trust that they’re a source of joy for you too. Isn’t it intriguing that we experience enjoyment seeing cute animals? What causes that sensation? Darwinian evolution assumes that we find babies and small children cute so that we’ll look after them, and our species will survive. But why do so many people find animals cute? In terms of evolution, it’s nothing but a disadvantage – if our ancestors began to think of rabbits as cute, it would mean they’d feel less inclined to eat them, so they’d have less nutrition Anyhoo, I’m thankful for rabbits; especially since we can now enjoy looking at them online, where we can indulge in in endless array of aw-dorable photos and clips.
I’m grateful too for my memories of looking after Rachel and Emma’s rabbit as a child, and hanging out with Hannah and Alice’s rabbits. I was lucky enough (thankyou so much Frances and Andrew) to have a lop eared cashmere rabbit, who was gorgeous. Later, in Cornwall (where Pam had kindly let us house sit, with Sam and Rebecca) I walked past a house that had a notice on the door advertising baby rabbits, and somehow was able to get my parents’ permission to buy one. I was intent on domesticating her (keeping her in doors, which I’d read was something plenty of people chose to do – so that I could spend more time with her, and wouldn’t have to clean out a hutch) but eventually gave up, since I simply couldn’t get her to use her litter tray (nor to stop chewing everything in my room – including the skirting board and my Bible). Big congrats to Laura for having succeeded at house training your rabbits
“Scientists have disproved a historical event described in the Bible” - But scientists and historians have different conclusions - from their colleagues - about many things. And some parts of the Bible are non-literal; poetic language and imagery is sometimes used, particularly on account of the culture in which it was written. We do it too - sometimes a sports-team might be said to have "completely annihilated their opponents" - we all know that they didn't literally annihilate them all. Why is The Independent constantly making juvenile attempts to turn people against Christianity? Also, it ought to be disproveN not disproveD,
“Sir Richard Branson was on Music Row today to break ground on the new Virgin Hotel.” - What tragic irony that Virgin hotel accommodation is being built whilst, in the Virgin islands, people's actual homes are being torn up. If only we could live in a world where wealth was shared more fairly, so that all of the building that happens was for people who need it. I'd enjoy giving the cost of staying in a hotel to charities like Habitat for Humanity, far more than having a holiday.
"Germany has unveiled a zero-emissions train that only emits water " - If it emits water then it's not "zero-emissions". And whilst it sounds great, my memory of high school environmental sciences that creating the fuel needed for engines that only emit water is itself a process that involves notable emissions. But whilst environmental efforts are great, we really, really don't need The Independent to constantly recycle its posts.
Feedback: The sticky truth about those so-called ‘Marmite genes’ - It's not just that - they're "offering" to scan DNA. I was shocked when we received a free sample with a card suggesting getting genetic tests for the "Marmite gene" - it's a shamelessly blatant ploy to harvest data.
"Is it better to repair or replace broken washing machines? " - Clearly, manufacturers are just Rinsing us of cash. Money down the Drain. We need to Cotton on. They should come Clean about the reliability of washing machines, and stop pulling the Wool over customers' eyes.
Gratitude Post - Apparently it's the anniversary of the first Glastonbury (festival) - and I've never been, but anyone who has attended any music festivals (Alex, which do you reckon are best?) can enjoy reminiscing over the memories. And I'm grateful for having the privilege of knowing someone talented enough to have performed there (Harry Baker, but please let me know of anyone else who I was unaware of).
I’d been listening to lots of past episodes of Unbelievable in recent days, and feeling grateful for it. Then, on Saturday, I learned that someone I discovered through it, whose been one of the human beings for whom I’ve been most grateful, has died.
Other people, such as David Bennett, have written exceptional words about him; I wouldn't be able to write anything that would even begin to do Nabeel justice.
If you aren’t familiar with Dr Nabeel Oureshi, you’ve been seriously missing out. His lectures (and written work) exceptionally inform on some of the most important topics – in particular, Islam. Of course, there are millions of different opinions regarding various aspects of Islam, and we must, must, must not over simplify it or allow ourselves to make assumptions, to be swayed by the media or to presume that individual Muslims don’t have their own, individual views. But Nabeel gave thorough and honest explanations of history and theology, that were engaging and respectful. To grow up in a belief system and argue fervently for it; then to change your position based on evidence, and then dedicate your life to tackling the misconceptions, mercifully enduring a barrage of extreme hostility, is utterly inspirational
There is more than sufficient reason/evidence to conclude that Nabeel is now in perfect joy and peace with God, but I won’t explain the huge matter of life after death here. I just want to say that I’m tremendously grateful for Nabeel’s life. His work will never stop having an impact.
Comment on Unbelievable's post about Nabeel - "Do you keep a log book of successful prayers you've beseeched from your audience vs. evidence like this?" - With all due respect, it's extremely arrogant/unintelligent to presume that counting answered prayers vs non-answered prayers would be an accurate analysis of the existence and/or love of God. If a parent doesn't give their child what they ask for, it doesn't necessarily mean that the parent can't or doesn't care about their child, they may just know better than the child what will best for them. But the gap between our knowledge and God's is incomparably greater than a child and their parent, and God doesn't have the flaws that any human parent has. He has knowledge of all events and their impacts on all hearts/minds, throughout the entirety of time. So if He doesn't give the answer that we, with our miniscule knowledge might want, it doesn't nullify the possibility that He knows that it will, somehow ultimately lead more people to know Him, and thus spend eternity in perfect joy and peace, where Nabeel Qureshi is now.
"Religious Education is disappearing from schools. " - RE lessons aren't supposed to teach any "religion" as fact - but they should teach the facts about them, and the facts that lead some to the conclusion of Christianity, as well as other faiths. Young people are growing up in a society where it is assumed that Christianity is a delusion, ignoring the scientific, historical and philosophical support for it. Many genuinely believe a lot of things about faiths that are factually wrong (such as when the Bible was written) because the media, atheist writers etc have propagated misinformation. I've been so, so grateful for these, and urge everyone to explore these sites - make up your own mind :)
http://www.reasonablefaith.org/finetuning
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/how-do-you-know-jesus-really-rose-dead
https://www.bethinking.org/is-the-bible-reliable/the-historicity-of-the-new-testament
http://www.reasons.org/articles/nobel-winning-dna-research-challenges-evolutionary-theory
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/how-do-you-know-jesus-really-rose-dead
https://www.bethinking.org/is-the-bible-reliable/the-historicity-of-the-new-testament
http://www.reasons.org/articles/nobel-winning-dna-research-challenges-evolutionary-theory
""Stop censoring," Nick tells Afua about Jacob Rees-Mogg and his views on abortion. But should we celebrate the MP's straight talking, or was it irresponsible? " -- Why do so many people think that advocating killing tiny humans is the morally superior view?
Do you know the difference between an acorn and an oak tree?
do you know the difference between a human and an oak? Yes a developing and fully grown human are different, but that doesn't mean that one can be legitimately killed. Whether an oak is a tree or an acorn, destroying it is not remotely so morally wrong as destroying a human. Would you think it Ok to kill a new born baby? Why would it be OK to kill it a few weeks earlier?
"Toys 'R' Us could go bankrupt within weeks as it struggles to pay debts" - Obviously, I'm concerned for the staff. However, children so often grow bored of toys, long before they've been worn out, and corporations are exploiting this to make profit out of parental instincts. Toys R Us is thus bad for the planet (ie, so much waste) and for parent's (who feel obliged to buy new toys). Meanwhile, kids elsewhere in the world have nothing. I desperately wish that it would become more common for kids to choose toys from Oxfam GB, and not to be spoiled so much as corporations want them to be. What if all children were taught about how thy can help poorer children? Please watch this - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIXe8zBM2-U
"Printed on organic, ethically built cotton, 250gsm. 20% of sales go to Momentum." - "Ethically built"? That's GREAT but can you give more info? I really, really, really feel that we should be doing more to defend those being exploited in supply chains overseas - the injustice in the UK is outrageous, yet there's far worse in places from which our products come. Can we - on the left - do more to fight for genuine Fair Trade?
"Model Who Removed Six Ribs To Get 16 Inch Waist Shocks This Morning Viewers" - Seriously; dumb as it sounds, I blame cartoons - Disney princesses - in part (there were other factors) for my anorexia (for which I've been hospitalised etc). When the brain can be most influenced - when we're kids - we're surrounded by distorted images of what the human body should be. I cut my food intake more and more because my mind was comparing my waist to those of Barbie, Sleeping Beauty etc - and I ended up rewiring my neurology so much that I've not been able to eat anywhere normally for 10 years, and have a BMI of under 15.
"The Conservatives are working to ensure that more people have the security of owning their own home." - Why not make sure that all existing buildings are being well used? Why not renovate the multitude of empty buildings and second/holiday homes in the UK and make them available to those on the lowest salaries?
Handmaids Tale wins Emmys - The Handmaid's Tale gives a grossly distorted portrayal of Christianity's approach toward women. We could do without fiction that's designed to stir conflict and mislead opinion about issues of ultimate importance.
Gratitude Post - I’m grateful for having watched the Mercury Award ceremony on Thursday evening; we are tremendously privileged to be able to witness an extremely broad array of musical ingenuity, from the comfort of our homes on free television. That such artistry of lyrics and instruments can be achieved by the minds of some individuals, and can give our minds the experience that it does, is remarkable. But for me, the ceremony was made incomparably more thrilling because of the lyrics being performed by Stormzy and Loyle Carner (and their backing singers); “Blinded by [God’s] grace”…. “The Lord will make a way” – salvation and hope, the 2 greatest things in all of existence, being declared at one of the biggest awards ceremonies. Few things could make me more ecstatic.I really want your opinions – did you watch? Which acts do you think was best?
Other awards have been announced (Friday) – the very, very important Ig Nobel Prizes. In case you weren’t aware, they’re given for real scientific studies done within the last year, designed to draw attention to intriguing and undervalued work. I’m grateful to be entertained by these – but also for the array of scientific research that benefits us in so many ways. Katie and Bradley, do your students hear about the Ig Nobels? I wish that my science teachers had mentioned them , it would have been a great way to get a few of the unenthusiastic students to be a smidge more respectful.
http://www.improbable.com/ig/winners/#ig2017PHYSICS PRIZE—for using fluid dynamics to probe the question "Can a Cat Be Both a Solid and a Liquid?" REFERENCE: "On the Rheology of Cats,"
PEACE PRIZE - for demonstrating that regular playing of a didgeridoo is an effective treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea and snoring. REFERENCE: "Didgeridoo Playing as Alternative Treatment for Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Syndrome: Randomised Controlled Trial,"
ANATOMY PRIZE - "Why Do Old Men Have Big Ears?" REFERENCE: "Why Do Old Men Have Big Ears?"
MEDICINE PRIZE - for using advanced brain-scanning technology to measure the extent to which some people are disgusted by cheese. REFERENCE: "The Neural Bases of Disgust for Cheese: An fMRI Study,"
COGNITION PRIZE - for demonstrating that many identical twins cannot tell themselves apart visually. REFERENCE: "Is That Me or My Twin? Lack of Self-Face Recognition Advantage in Identical Twins,"OBSTETRICS PRIZE - for showing that a developing human fetus responds more strongly to music that is played electromechanically inside the mother's vagina than to music that is played electromechanically on the mother's belly. REFERENCE: "Fetal Facial Expression in Response to Intravaginal Music Emission," (Conclusion; Our findings suggest that neural pathways participating in the auditory–motor system are developed as early as gestational week 16)
NOTE: They also offer a product based on this research The product is named "Babypod".
I’m also grateful that there were no fatalities or critical injuries in the terror attack at Parsons Green ( obviously I don't mean that I'm not sympathetic to those with minor injuries, I'm just genuinely thrilled that it wasn't worse). And that it brings out good in people – such as a nearby pizza restaurant giving out free pizzas, and Bex sending me (and perhaps others in London) a message to ask if I was OK
Gratitude Post from yesterday - Birthday of Jennifer Hudson, Paul Walker, Louis C.K -and International Mindfulness Day. Mindfulness is very fashionable, and I’m slightly bemused as to why. It seems to me to be obvious that it’s good to make yourself breathe deeply and focus on the current moment, and positive things – I’m not sure why it’s viewed as so revolutionary as it is. But apologies for being cynical. In my 2nd eating disorders unit, there were mindfulness classes (Rae, Bex, Emma, Anna, Celeste, Chloe, Chandni, Maria, Rebecca and other VS colleagues, do you remember Mindfulness with Cathy? Did you find them helpful?) and we were told to still upright with our hands on our knees, and think about where the “breath” was “Was it in your feet? Or your shoulders? Or your stomach?”. It seemed more funny than therapeutic.But it is remarkable that we have the ability to think deeply – molecular movements within the brain are increasingly well understood, but don’t offer any explanation as to where consciousness comes from. We should ponder on how remarkable our minds are – and that by consciously trying to control what we think about – though this will only ever be successful to a limited extent – we can make a significant difference to our experience of any given set of circumstances.
Most importantly, prayer can be very effective in helping us to feel calm, and can lift our mood. I’m very, very bad at praying, in that my mind is all over the place, constantly. But having developed the habit of praying often, I feel more content - joyful - than I ever used to, continually (all of the time, not only in the moments at which I’m trying to pray).
It was also Chocolate Milkshake day – and it’s awesome that we can make them for ourselves so easily, virtually whenever we like. Freezers have only become widely available in the last 60 years, prior to which we’d never get to enjoy milkshakes (or ice cream) – and chocolate drinking powder had emerged not long before. It seems odd to me that people regularly spend £2-£6 on milkshakes and frappes/frappucinos in cafes, when we can make our own, just to our taste, so easily at home. Consider; sipping sweet, chilled, dairy can be truly blissful. Make yourself a chocolate milkshake and enjoy it – the calcium, B vitamins and flavanols are good for you
Why help people in other countries when there is poverty in the UK? - Compassion UK Blog - Because suffering elsewhere is far worse; people in developing countries have virtually no opportunity to help themselves; developing countries don't have an NHS/welfare system/soup kitchens etc; most of the wealth we enjoy has ended up here through centuries of taking from other nations; and because £ for£, our money can make way, way more of a difference in poorer countries.
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Someone analysed the Bible and Quran to see which is more violent - Not this tripe (the article, not the books) yet again. Grow up, The Independent, an algorithm counting words is not a remotely intelligent way to analyse texts that are so complex that countless scholarly articles and books have been devoted them. Start off by comparing Jesus and Muhammed - since following them is ultimately what Christianity and Islam are. Try studying the parts that are historical accounts (not necessarily God's character) only when you know more and have a more mature attitude.
Smart Water Bottle Calculates Exactly How Much You Need to Drink. - I'm really concerned about getting into a career that will enable me to earn money to fund clean water sources where people don't have them. It really, really bothers me; and I'm very angry with myself for failing. I don't give a toss whether my personal hydration level is optimal. I'm fricking lucky to have clean water (and ice etc, to make it more enjoyable) whenever I feel like it.
The DUP are about to vote with Labour as split with Tories emerges - I-rish this meant that the power share that's kept the Tories in power was annulled. Theresa May's been DUPing the nation for long enough.
Boris Johnson -"At Anguilla Hospital seeing the Irma damage and meeting the locals and UK troops who are repairing it."
This is great - but there are far more people affected by the flooding in Asia, and they'll likely have no insurance or bank savings, nor government help. Why are they being ignored?
These are overseas territories so take precedence.
These islands in the Caribbean are British Overseas Territories
but this is the department for international development's money, so I don't see why they should get so much more - not only UKAid, but also media coverage. I am ABSOLUTELY NOT saying that the hurricane victims should get less help - but the helpless flooding victims should receive much more than they currently are. They're all human beings, people born in the Carribean are not more deserving than Asians, and will have less opportunity to help themselves.
Because we're taking care of our own first what a silly point to make, these people need help too you know.
Grace Dalton why should flood victims in Asia get anything from us? You certainly wouldn't see them putting their hands in their pockets if it were the other way around
We're not the saviours of the world and are doing 100% the right thing in protecting the livelihoods of OUR citizsens.
...how do you know they wouldn't help? And we should help because they're innocent human beings who are suffering. Crucially also, their nation is poor in large part because of the greed that made our nation rich. We have wealth that our ancestors stole from theirs. And, our lifestyles have contributed significantly to the climate change that's affected them. Now, they've lost everything.
The UK is a small country. Theres many richer and more liberal European countries that can help and also America. At least we are helping who we can. If we had more money we would help but we have a homelessness crisis to take care of.
you know what's it's like the do gooders wish us to spend money on every project around the world. So agree with charity starts at home and those 27 countries and territories around world which come under sovereignty of HRH Queen
Educate yourself on how the world works. Read a book, for crying out loud.
We absolutely should be helping those in the Caribbean (as well as Asia) - but "Charity begins at home" is constantly quoted but is an illogical excuse to be selfish. We have far, far, far more than many other human beings - largely because of the greed of some of our ancestors and corporations - and they have far, far, far less opportunity to help themselves than we do; at the same time, each £ given to those in the greatest need makes far, far, far more of a difference than it does here.
Try travelling to India, Visa for UK Citizen over £100, Russian Citizen £2.
Despite that we give them Aid which they spend on a Space Programme instead of supporting their own people.
Despite that we give them Aid which they spend on a Space Programme instead of supporting their own people.
Maybe you should ask the government of the many countries in Asia why they are doing nothing?
.....on what basis have you decided that they spend Aid on their space programme? With all due respect, that's nonsense. Indeed, Aid MUST be more carefully managed - but most is used by non governmental organisations on the ground to help those on greatest need - including education (and contraception, which I mention because I always encounter people moaning about how many children the poor have - where charity is addressing this huge progress has been made in recent years)
Grace Dalton You really don't know what you are talking about. Don't you know that India has a space programme, which is probably where most of the donated money has gone.
Grace Dalton if they are in need let their brother's and sisters from the far East and other countries help why do you expect we the BRITISH Taxpayers should help the World!!!
Don't be a libtard Grace stfu
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I seem to recall back in the 1940s Asia wanted rid of Britain and to self govern. Well they got that so about time they learnt to deal with it. Had they remained British like these islands then there would be a RN warship on its way to help them right now.
-The UK isn't a goldmine for the rest of the world, contrary to what some folk think....
we need to look after our own first others come down the priority list.
-and we have sent aid to them as we have done many times before, see the links above or just Google it.
-Grace Dalton you are still not looking at the aid we have given to those floods. I am proud of this countries response to disasters worldwide.
-Grace I care about all humans and for the record just look at the comments your getting here. Grow up live in the real world and charity begins at home..libtard
....why do they come "down the priority list" when their need/suffering are so, so, so much worse, when they have far less opportunity to help themselves than we do, when much of their suffering is because of greed that's benefited us, and when each £ makes WAY more of a difference there than here?
It's so extreme in India that they have their own space programme, nuclear weapons and spends $8bn more than the UK on defence. Perhaps if the countries prioritised spending better they wouldn't have people. Living in poverty. They had the chance of being part of Britain and turned it down wanting total Independence and in the process murdered hundreds of British citizens. I don't buy the "Britain pillage them" argument for several reasons. For starters Britain provided governance, introduced education, medicine, transport and multiple other things to these countries in exchange for the natural resources (which wasn't that much in many cases) So to come crying now is tough luck. They made their bed so can lie in it.·
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-I'm not liberal. I care about people, but being liberal is not the same thing. And as I said, "Charity begins at home" is constantly quoted but is an illogical excuse to be selfish. We have far, far, far more than many other human beings - largely because of the greed of some of our ancestors and corporations - and they have far, far, far less opportunity to help themselves than we do; at the same time, each £ given to those in the greatest need makes far, far, far more of a difference than it does here.
Grace they s in the citizens of the countries chose to reject being part of Britain and the benefits it brings, they joined the freedom movements that murdered Britons and those who didn't want to reject Britain, they continue to allow their corrupt government. In comparison Britons fought for their rights and freedoms over the last few centuries. We cannot help those who won't help themselves.
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Gratitude Post – Yesterday was Literacy Day, and daft as it sounds, I’m hugely grateful that we’re able to read and write. It’s something we’re familiar with that, especially amidst our digital and hedonistic culture, it doesn’t cross our minds. Yet, had we been born a century and a half ago, or in a developing country, we might never get the opportunity.
Check this out - https://ourworldindata.org/literacy/
In Mali, only 1 in 3 adults are literate, since so few people ever have a chance to learn. Imagine that – going through life not ever being able to read or write. No books, no sign posts, no articles, most of the internet would be inaccessible to us – and we’d have no hope of a reasonable salary, so we’d be trapped in poverty. Being literate gives us an infinite array of information and entertainment, as well as opportunities, but we’re so accustomed to this luxury, we forget to be glad about it.We’re particularly fortunate in that our native language is used more widely than any other on the planet – so we can read a broader variety of things easily than those who have other languages as their first.
Additionally, I’m immensely grateful also that literacy rates around the world have improved massively, and that we have the privilege of improving it further – it’s remarkable how little it costs us to fund lessons for children in developing countries (and doing so will lead to huge progress for their communities, tackling poverty and suffering permanently).
Opinions please – which publications are you most grateful to be able to read? Do you remember learning to read? I remember our reading scheme in reception (the year before year 1); the first book was Roger Redhat; I was thrilled when I graduated to Billy Bluehat, then there were many more books about their rural village of round faced, quaintly dressed children. Do any other North Ealing Primary Schoolmates (Laura, Rachel, Catrin, Hannah, Emma, Elaine, Martina) or others remember that (“One Two Three and Away”, apparently) reading series?
Gratitude Post – August 31st was the 220th anniversary of Thomas Edison patenting the first movie projector –the Kinetoscope – a monumental landmark in the history of entertainment; we now have enjoyment (from TV and film) as a result.
What do you remember about Princess Di’s tragedy? I was 5 – I remember asking mum a morbid question; it was likely the first time I was conscious of the death of a specific person.
It confuses me somewhat that our media, and some people, are quite so obsessed with Diana. Surely if she was the saint she’s presented as, Diana would have wanted just a little less media attention afforded to her, and instead a little more to the victims of flooding and Asia; and mudslides and famine in Africa(?) The money spent on each bouquet of flowers bought for her today could instead have paid for a month’s worth of meals; or emergency items, for a family in catastrophe. We can’t bring her back from the dead – we can stop others from dying; but our society is largely ignoring them.
Yet I’m grateful, because she did indeed help to raise awareness of serious causes. While it’s certainly nice for celebrities and royals to visit charities in the UK, it really excites me to see attention being drawn to people in the very worst circumstances – most of whom are elsewhere in the world, and largely ignored by our biased media. Whilst there’s a fair amount of coverage of the middle East, much of Asia and Africa receives relatively little sympathy – though our donations can make a thrilling difference there. So I’m grateful for Diana’s advocacy, and that we have an opportunity to help. The royals are stupendously wealthy compared to us; but we are stupendously wealthy compared to most of humanity – so whatever you believe about whether we should have a royal family, let’s consciously try appreciate what we have.
Excitingly, one of the charities of which Diana was a patron, the Leprosy Mission, is currently having donations QUADRUPLED for free
:)https://leprosymission.netdonor.net/page/9754/donate/1…
Also – I can’t begin to imagine what losing Diana must have been like for William and Harry, and have been reminded today how exceptionally blessed I am to have such a fantastic mother. Frances was, yet again, truly wonderful to me this afternoon when I was upset.
Gratitude Post (2/9) – Birthday of Mark Harmon (CSI, Freaky Friday etc), Salma Hayek, Keanu Reeves; and the anniversary (1752) of Great Britain adopting the Gregorian calendar.Even Wikipedia recognises it’s been National (US) blueberry popsicle day (I have no idea who authorised that) – so let’s be grateful for ice lollies, which are a terrific modern luxury – it’s all too easy to forget to feel happy about foodstuffs that we’ve become entirely accustomed to, but which are a potential source of serious enjoyment. Plenty of people are never able to experience popsicles – and in fact are joyful simply to receive bland food, since they’re trapped in such poverty that they literally starving. And so I’m also grateful ATM for FreeRice, which I’ve recently rediscovered. http://freerice.com/
I’d played it years ago, but grew bored and forgot about it. Revisiting it this week, I’ve found that it’s now got numerous topics and difficulty levels – such that it is in fact a useful tool for exercising my crippled brain. As you play, you earn rice for famine victims, since the advertisers whose adverts are at the bottom of the page are paying for the space, money that goes to the World Food Programme.
It’s the first computer game of any sort that I’ve played in years… (and yes, I know it would be considered painfully boring compared to most games). It was nice to reminisce yesterday with Bex about the CD-Roms that were a huge part of my childhood (we didn’t have a console – so it was particularly exciting when I was able to play with Catrin's/ Sam and Rebecca's - huge thanks to you guys). Feel grateful for computer games – and comment, which are your favourites?
Gratitude Post - I HAD to share these photos from Compassion - with quotes from letters that children sponsored through Compassion have written to their sponsors. I get letters from my sponsor children frequently - often with drawings. Recently, I've also received letters from those running their projects, who explain how the Compassion centres work within their villages to help families. I'm so, so grateful to have the privilege of sponsoring. Having met several adults who were sponsored with Compassion when they were children, I know that sponsorship totally transforms their lives and futures, and has a huge impact on their families too. Why is it so typical for us Britons to spend on restaurants/ ticketed shows/ beauty treatments/ holidays/ gym memberships etc, when we could have the knowledge that £25/month of our money has made an immeasurable difference to a child born trapped in poverty? (my apologies if this all sounded self-righteous - please know that this wasn't my intention, I'm ashamed that I'm not sponsoring more children, but genuinely grateful for the opportunity to sponsor those that I do).
I'm so grateful also to have Frances Dalton, Andrew Dalton and Joanna home today
:) I'm truly blessed to have such a wonderful family. Meanwhile I'm so proud of Katie who's starting her first year as a fully qualified teacher - but miss her enormously.[Comment on post by Trump] You need to reverse the decision to end DACA. People who don't have the privilege of being fully American, by your definition, don't deserve to be forced out of the country they've lived in since childhood. And if you want to keep your position as president, you need to show some common sense and compassion.
"Munroe Bergdorf on the L’Oréal racism row: ‘It puzzles me that my views are considered extreme’ " - It's darn obvious that there is indeed a "system" that benefits white people - by making the statements Munroe did, Munroe was only fuelling hostility. No white person was going to listen and feel more inclined to fight injustice, telling people that they're racist/ responsible for racial violence will just make people angry and less willing to co-operate. Munroe's words also detract attention from the most serious cases of racism, devaluing the suffering of the non-whites who've been seriously hurt.
"How you can end starvation in Senegal by eating out in Manchester" - But you'd make many times more of a difference if you instead ate at home and donated all of the difference to the charity. For this reason, I genuinely can't understand why eating out is so common, I can't bear seeing the prices and knowing how many starving people could be helped. £4 can feed a starving child for a month.
"THE MAN WHO INVENTED CHRISTMAS | Official Trailer" - Christmas is called Christmas because of CHRIST - who is incomparably better and more exciting than any gifts, celebrations, and even family-together-ness, combined. Our culture has made Christmas into a commercial event - but it's daft to ignore the true origin of and best thing about Christmas by making a film called "The Man who Invented Christmas".
Take into consideration the extreme, undeserved poverty of people like those behind VW in this photo, and stop wasting money on high or highstreet fashion that you don't actually need. Buy clothes from Oxfam GB instead (on their website and ebay as well as in store) and style/customise to perfection, then the money spent will genuinely change lives.
"Kate and Will's third baby is further proof that the royal family needs to be nationalised"- I'm not pro-royal - but what right do you have to decide that a couple can't have a third child? There are plenty of families who have 3 kids, or more, including plenty who receive benefits (which I'm NOT objecting to). Will and Kate aren't sitting around twiddling their thumbs between pro-creating, they have busy public schedules. Plenty of people have no kids at all - I'll be one of them (though I love kids) - so 3 is perfectly reasonable for 1 couple. Why not focus instead on how we can actually help those in poverty?
[Comment on 10Ways post about saving money at Starbucks] Or you could buy coffee from a supermarket instead of Starbucks, and save money, for yourself, or to donate to providing clean water to people who have nothing to drink, let alone posh coffee. 1 packet of fairtrade coffee costs around £3 and has around 30 servings - so swapping Starbucks for shop bought fairtrade would be more than enough to sponsor a child and completely change their life, and future. That's a bargain.
[Comment on Theresa May's condemnation of North Korea's weapons] But you're happy to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia, of course.... I agree, obviously, that NK's weapon programme should stop - but you're a hypocrite for condemning NK whilst, apparently, weapons that bring you profit and aren't aimed at Britain are fine. And of course, you're all for spending plenty of taxpayers' money on our weapons, whilst cutting funds to disabled people so much that the UN is condemnatory. I hope that a solution can be found to the NK situation - but all who care about peace in our world should consider our own actions, not only make statements about the actions of others.
"UN condemns Tory disability cuts " - I've had my first experience of being brought to tears because of their cuts earlier today. And I'm not moaning, I'm incredibly lucky in so many other ways; it's good for me to understand better what others have been going through. But the Tory's ridiculous way of running DWP is truly maddening.
Gratitude Post - I’ve resolved to boycott the new Great British Bake Off. So far, I have succeeded against temptation. But I’m not certain that this success will continue. It really is the best cookery programme ever. However, I am hugely grateful for other food programmes; and we should all consider how fortunate we are to have the endless array of fantastic food available to us that we do. For most of human history, all but aristocracy would have been limited to food of which much was so unappealing, that it would be considered inedible today.Primitive cakes were made in ancient Greece, called plakous, and were sweetened with honey – but in many places, people would have had little access to honey, and there was no sugar. Apparently, the Romans referred to cake as “placenta.” (derived from plakous). Yum.
Did anyone watch the recent BBC series The Sweet Makers? I highly recommend it. 4 people who work in confectionery were put in a historical kitchen (Tudor, Georgian, Victorian), in costume, and tasked with recreating sweets made in that time - sugar was becoming available, thus various sweet items were devised for the first time. Imagine having no jelly, no ice cream, no sugar for baking; no chocolate, no candy… The programmes also explored the history of the sugar trade; which is unbearably horrific. I’m extremely grateful that it’s far better now – but the trade still needs to be significantly improved (that is, those working on sugar farms/plantations should be far, far better paid) – and we should email corporations and politicians about this.
Now we can enjoy a never ending variety of confectionery and cakes – and looking at them online and in cookery programmes. Obviously, part of the brain enjoys the experience of the sight of appealing food – it is not only the taste that we savour. I think that my sensitivity for the sight food was strengthened by denying myself the enjoyment of eating; but I know that many people enjoy food porn (that is, in case somehow there’s anyone reading who didn’t know, images of food, nothing to do with sex). So please ponder on how lucky we are to be able to indulge in such a cornucopia of consumables…..
"Tower Hamlets council under fire for fostering Christian girl with Muslims" All children should be enabled to decide what they believe - no one is born Christian, Muslim or of any other faith. But to take away her necklace; to tell her that Christmas and Easter, as well as European women, are stupid; and to speak Arabic regularly around her; are outrageous and cruel. The girl cried and begged not to be returned (to the Muslim family). Of course, many parents tell their children that Christianity is stupid (or similar terms) - and we all need to actually look seriously at the scientific, philosophical and historical case for it so that we can make an informed decision, rather than ignorantly dismiss it as a fairy tale. http://www.reasonablefaith.org/finetuning
AskPastorJohn@desiringgod.org My grandmother – aged 85 has attended her local Anglican Church for decades, having originally explored Christianity as a teenager, despite growing up in with Christian Scientist parents(ie. The Sect called Christians Science, as opposed to scientists who are genuine Christians). Various things that she says make it clear that she’s not really opened her heart to Jesus; and though she chose to attend an Anglican Church from hers teens and calls herself a Christian, she often asks questions that one would expect from an agnostic child, not from someone who claims to have been in a relationship with God for 70 years. Last year she told me that she’d boasted to the pastor sitting next to her (at my sister’s wedding reception) that she’d read Leviticus; I told her that I’d be amazed if she hadn’t read Leviticus, and she asked if I had, saying that it was absurd.
She constantly praises human “goodness”, in a way that ignores the Gospel message (that though humans are good, we are also all fallen, and in need of God’s grace, and transformation). Often, she bemoans weekly Communion at her Church; she says that people only go each week so that they can earn their place in heaven; and that they could easily do awful things during the week (she gives the example of kicking someone in the shin). I have, of course, regularly explained that communion is purely symbolic; that it’s only truly deciding to accept Christ’s sacrifice for us that determines whether we’ll reach heaven, and that if a person genuinely chooses to follow Jesus, they will desire not to continue in sins (so will not kick anyone in the shin). I mention God in conversation sometimes – seeking points in our conversations where He is relevant, I’m desperate to remind her of the Gospel and of the hope that we can have in Christ – she often tells me to stop preaching at her, sometimes becoming angry. She also often tells me that I mustn’t talk to others about God to others, aware of my urge to evangelise. I’ve tried to explain that I sometimes bring God into conversation with non-Christians because He is incomparably more important than anything else. I’ve tried to ask her why she’s so bothered by the mention of God, but she only argues, and we go round in circles. I know that it’s vital that I don’t simply annoy people by not talking about other things too, and that I mustn’t evangelise in a manner that’s judgemental or aggressive; I constantly seek to (and pray that God will help me to) speak as Jesus would. I don’t think that my grandmother’s hostility is because of me - I can’t see how if she loves God, she would tell me off for talking about God and wanting to evangelise – so I worry that she’s not genuinely accepted Christ herself. Of course, I can’t do much aside from pray for her – perhaps God is using her to teach me that final salvation at the end of a persons’ life is something that I must entrust to Him more than I am currently doing; but is there anything you can suggest me saying to her? I really don’t know how many years she has left. Hugest thanks again for all your work,To Which? Magazine Would you consider investigating the ethics of products? As a consumer, more important than the taste or nutritional quality (or organic status) of food, is how fairly the very poorest people involved in its production have been paid. I’m concerned also for the grossly underpaid labourers who work in factories and sweatshops. Whilst we enjoy an endless of array of products, there are innocent, very hard working people in developing countries who aren’t paid enough to properly feed and house their children – whilst many such workers, including children, are forced to work in horrendous conditions (including tortuous hours, and in danger of serious injury). We, as consumers, have the thrilling potential of helping to bring about change to this outrageous injustice – and so much more as collective (Which? Readers). Corporations that supply our products pay far too little attention to their supply chains – or even knowingly allow outrageous exploitation. Would you please seek out information regarding the farming and manufacture of things that we buy? You can powerfully impact the futures’ of scores of impoverished workers.
"Megachurch criticized for slow response as mosques opened doors to Harvey victims" The Bible tells us continually to help those in need (eg http://www.compassion.com/poverty/what-the-bible-says-about-poverty.htm - faq-tcm:5-405410 )
But for those who weren’t familiar with him prior to this news story, Joel Osteen isn't a Christian, he's a conman. Christian leaders and theologians have been warning against Osteen’s dangerous, deceptive messages for years. Osteen's messages and lifestyle contradict some vital parts of the teachings and example of Christ and the New Testament. For example, http://www.piratechristian.com/messedupchurch/2016/2/its-time-to-talk-10-reasons-you-should-break-up-with-joel-osteen
[Criticism of Bible] the Old Testament is very complex, and I'm afraid I just don't have time now to explain it all - why not look up some commentary from theologians yourself? Surely you wouldn't just pull a page out of one of the first chapters of a complex manual and object to what it said without properly studying the rest? We're human - God knows far better than we do why certain commands might be required at certain times for certain people; we're arrogant if we think that we should be able to understand them by simply reading them without thorough study of the context. The Old Testament has many parts that represent the views of humans, not God, as well as many parts that were only relevant at that particular time and place. The New Testament is what Christianity follows. By taking that verse from Matthew alone, you've ignored the context and entirely distorted it - Jesus is saying that the Old Testament teaching referenced isn't to be applied now.
"Theresa May vows to fight next general election: ‘I'm not a quitter’ " Whatevs. By then, the robots will have taken over; and or global warming or nuclear weapons will have wiped us all out. Carpe Diem :)
Besides, we can’t trust a word she says – she told us again and again that she wouldn’t call an early election. She tells us that she wants to help those who are “just about managing”; but whilst she’s just written about the problem of overly wealthy bankers, has consistently voted against taxing bankers' bonuses. She’s also repeatedly voted against increasing tax on those with salaries over £150,000; voted against the mansion tax; voted to corporation tax https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/10426/theresa_may/maidenhead/votesI’d really like a PM who demonstrates that they care about the greater good, rather than one who thinks that saying “I’ve been perfectly clear” should allow her to increase socio-economic disparity behind the backs of the public.
"JK Rowling just humiliated Donald Trump once again" I'm not a Trump fan, obviously, but I so, so, so don't care about this. It's really tragic that The Independent thinks that JK Rowling's twitter life is so important. if people are interested, they could actually follow her on Twitter. I hate to be rude, but please get a life/grow up. There are millions of people starving and/or made refugees because of famine, flooding and civil war - if you spent more time telling us about them, we'd appreciate what we have more, and more of us might donate and actually save lives.
There are some behaviours that the Bible tells us are wrong (and God knows better than we do- as a parent knows better than a child what's best for them, only to an immeasurably greater extent) - that doesn't mean that the people themselves are not loved. Jesus died for them. See John 8:1-11"Funny your bible doesn't condemn slavery or rape but you expect us to use it as a moral guide?" that's a fatal oversimplification, of guidelines given to a particular people at a particular time. Surely you wouldn't pull a page out of an early chapter of a complex instruction manual and complain about what it said without reading the rest of the manual to understand the context of the different parts? For example, it would be sensible to advise against shellfish at a time and place where they'd likely cause poisoning. What's sometimes translated into tattoos, more specifically refers to "marking yourself for the dead", and likely refers to an ancient pagan custom of ancestor worship. I don't "pick and choose", I study the whole thing, and will keep studying further. Have you?
Gratitude Post - I’ve not posted in the last week because I’d been trying to revise, and because it’s probably a waste of time anyway. But just in case anyone’s reading, since yesterday was International Dog Day, I thought that I should remind you to be grateful for dogs. Of course, by no means is enjoyment of dogs restricted to dog owners; now, we can all revel in the delight of dogs via a never ending array of adorable and humourous pictures and video clips. Isn’t that awesome? As with other animals, we can have tremendous fun for no cost (apart from of WiFi and a device we’d have anyway) at almost any time – but dogs are particularly suited to entertainment on account of their strong personalities and propensity to engage in all manner of remarkable and comical behaviour.Yet there are multitudinous further ways in which dogs benefit humanity for which we can be grateful. Consider sheep dogs – without which we might not have wool; police dogs – without which there’d be more drug crime and less resolution of crime cases; guide dogs, therapy dogs, rescue dogs…
Has anyone else been watching 10 Puppies and Us? Which breeds are best? Rae, Rachel, Charli Cohen, Laura, Martina, Simon - and other dog owners - what are the funniest things your dogs do?
[More Money spent on Madeliene McCann Investigation] I mean no disrespect to Maddie or her family – but how can it be morally right to spend so many millions on searching for 1 child – who is extremely unlikely to still be alive – when there are innocent children suffering and dying simply because their parents don’t have enough money to buy them food? £30 monthly can pay for food, education, health checks and more for a child, completely changing their life, their future and their family. Why are we ignoring the opportunity and spending yet more on just 1 missing child?
“Schools accused of failing to teach GCSE pupils Religious Studies” Teenagers are mostly repulsed by "religion" (and don't know what Christianity truly is) so they won't choose to continue when selecting their GCSEs. It should be referred to as Theology and Philosophy (as it is at Alevel), I'm certain that would help. Kids are growing up in a society where it is assumed that Christianity is outdated, primitive fiction. Teaching kids about the Bible is obviously, utterly wonderful – yet it may well be futile without good teaching about WHY WE CAN BE CERTAIN THAT CHRISTIANITY IS TRUE. We need to learn, from an early age, the evidence and reasoning for Christianity - our generation (millennials and younger) genuinely believe a lot of things about Christianity that are factually wrong (such as when the Bible was written) because the media, atheist writers etc have propagated misinformation (that's ultimately led most people to genuinely believe that Christianity is a "fairytale"). I was raised by genuinely Christian parents, and attended Church (with good Sunday schooling etc) - but I didn't really believe in God until I discovered the scientific, historical and philosophical evidence. Once I did, my heart was open to actually develop a relationship with Him, and now my greatest joy and goal in life is to help and to witness other people discovering Him also. This is good https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCoBaM_v9aM
Most importantly, can we pressure the government to use Brexit to create fairer trade deals with developing countries? The EU's been charging tariffs when we trade with countries outside of it; leaving the EU should mean that some of the world's poorest people - those providing our tea, coffee, sugar, cocoa, cotton and fruit in developing countries - get more pay for their produce. We need to campaign to force Liam Fox and others to have compassion for the poorest people when negotiating new trade deals. If enough voters email him, he might realise that he needs to consider the poor when negotiating the new trade deals. And I wish that the anti-foreigner anger our nation's embroiled in would end
“Pleasing others is sometimes right and sometimes wrong. So what’s the difference?” Lot's of people didn't like Jesus. We need to always aim to be like Him, not to be liked. We must continually pray for His guidance - and study His word continually - to communicate Him to our world as accurately as possible. Sometimes, this may involve words that people will dislike, but which they'll realise the Truth of later on. But if we're wrongly critical, we can prat for God's help in improving our approach.
[Video of Yemen crisis from Muslim contact] But hospital waiting times are too long! And not all kids get their first choice of school! And ticket prices are making it impossible for many people to attend football matches! (by which I mean - our media / society moan about comparatively unimportant things and forgets how incredibly lucky we are, whilst there are serious problems in the world that we should be tackling instead. Thankyou for sharing this video)
[Re-emergence of Traingate] I wish that workplaces would actively try to make t possible for more office workers to work from home - a lot of jobs would be perfectly manageable online (with Skype etc) in 2017. Then there'd be fewer people having to endure the commute (and more seats for those who do); and far more job opportunities for disabled people, people with kids, or people who can only afford to live in certain regions.
Our society worships sex and ignores God, so any concern about homosexual practice seems illogical and is thus presumed to be bigotry (obviously, there is also some genuine bigotry within the Church). We URGENTLY need to communicate to our world that Christ is incomparably better than sex, and that God's wisdom for our lives/relationships warrants our trust. We need to force a change of focus - to insist to our secular society that sex and marraige are unimportant compared to the Gospel, so we want to discuss Jesus with them. Why does it matter whether or not we can be legally united with a human during this lifetime, if we've not personally decided whether we'll be with the creator of humanity for eternity?
“Obama's speeches had millions more viewers than Trump's, viewing figures reveal”
Obviously Obama was in many ways a better president - but it's daft to compare viewing figures since there's been such a change in viewing habits in recent years. The article mentions Obama speaking in 2009 - far, far more people watch things online now.
“Luxury Adelaide hotel promises to pamper cats and dogs” Meanwhile, there are innocent human beings in slums and refugee camps, without furniture, food, basic health care and education..... (because of the centuries of global greed that's enabled us to be born into a wealthy nation that's made other nations poor - where people have no opportunities to help themselves).
No opportunity? That's not accurate.
We have what we have because those who came before us were prepared to die to make it happen, civil wars, revolutionaries, and all manner of protests and strikes and every other kind of action you can think of.
Africa, the Middle East... They've had the same few thousand years the rest of us have had. They choose to live the way they do, their dictators and guerillas target their own people, they refuse to use contraceptives - which the Red Cross hands out for free - and continue to spread HIV and Aids and have infected children that they can't provide for. They also choose to run away and demand other countries provide for them as economic refugees - not political refugees - or they stay where they are and do nothing while scraping by on the billions and billions of dollars worth of aid they receive.
Do you honestly expect anybody to care about their fate? They don't care about themselves to do anything for themselves or their children - so it's not apathy, it's just common sense. You help those who first help themselves because those are the people who will respect and understand the help that you are giving them.
Just think to yourself - what would you do if you were born into extreme poverty in a developing country? Seriously, what on Earth would - could - you do? And why do the sacrifices of our ancestors mean we deserve anymore than anyone else? Are you unaware of the slave trade? Are you unaware of how multinational corporations are continuing to exploit developing countries? Why do the people of a country deserve to suffer on the basis that they're under a dictator? What would you do if guerilla soldiers invaded your village, raped the women and slaughtered the men? How would you get a job if you had never been able to go to school, and there were no jobs anywhere near your home? Do you know how it feels to be chronically starved? Have you tried walking for hours to collect water? Have you tried working a 10+ hour day picking crops, or in a sweatshop? Would you really rather spend your money on pampering a dog than providing food for innocent starving people?
“President's spiritual adviser: When you oppose Trump, you are 'fighting against the hand of God' “ I think I'll try to understand God's view* on politics rather than lap up what someone else claims that God thinks, thankyou very much. Also, even if God permits a person to become a ruler, it doesn't mean that God is OK with all of that person's attitudes and actions. God's authority is always superior to any ruler - and God tells us repeatedly to strive for justice and to help the poor and marginalised. Meanwhile, we should put less time into mocking Trump than many have been, and use that energy to instead improve ourselves. We all need to try to become more compassionate, even if we think that we're better than Trump. (*via thorough Bible study, prayer, and discussion with other Christians).
Gratitude Post (19/8) – Birthday of Jennie Bond (presenter), Orville Wright (one of theWright brothers, who flew the first "flying machine"), Simon Bird (the Inbetweeners), John Stamos (actor, ER etc), Matthew Perry, and Bill Clinton,
Today is World Humanitarian day, as decided by the UN. And I liked this video.
I rant on about it constantly, but that's because it matters, and because it is so ignored by our culture and media; there is serious injustice in the distribution of resources and wealth in the world. Right now, the life that any human experiences is massively impacted by the selfishness of humans who are long gone. Plenty of individuals within each society have taken advantage of others - and resources have been stolen from some nations by greedy people from other nations. Now, we are born into a life with provisions and opportunities that others will never have access to. I AM NOT grateful for that. But on world humanitarian day, I’m grateful that we have the privilege of making a difference to some of those in poverty.
Consider; simply on account of living in a country that’s grown rich over the course of centuries, we have free education, the NHS, and some opportunities for as better future. Nearly everyone grows up with a comfortable home, electricity, plenty of food, and an endless array of non-essential things to enjoy. Many people elsewhere in developing countries can only imagine these things. So let’s be grateful for what we have – but also that when we donate to the right charities, we can do a remarkable amount, particularly given that money buys more per £ in poorer countries than if we spend it on ourselves. Thus, progress has been made. For example the share of people in the developing world who are undernourished decreased from 23.3% in 1990–92 to 12.9% in 2015 http://www.fao.org/hunger/key-messages/en/ and see https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/24/13713974/thanksgiving-poverty-war-hunger
Most importantly, I see daily many examples of those who receive help, whilst still very poor, are far more happy than most of us Britons are – which is something that people should keep in mind when accusing God of not existing on the basis of suffering….
Part of my continuing conversation with a Muslim....
You mentioned the deep end? I think of this sort of thing as the deep end – http://www.reasonablefaith.org/scholarly-articles
Could you explain some of the specifics of how “Everything I've said can be backed philosophically and narratively” And you’re right, it’s important for us to engage intellectually with matters of faith. I have faith since I can’t detect God with my senses, but my belief in Him is based on what I consider most likely to be factually true – in contrast to various other philosophies/spiritual worldviews (like Buddhism). The fundamental issue between us is that I believe that the Gospel is true because the documents are sufficiently reliable as records of actual events; you feel that the influence of “Christian” civilisation has brought about such significant change in accounts that what’s written in the Gospels is in fact not true. Yet the power hungry rulers who advocated Christianity haven’t changed the Gospels to suit their ends – the Gospels, and later New Testament books, advocate humility and pacifism. If the Gospel has been altered, how and for what reason? Muhammed’s later commands demonstrate an aim of taking power by force, which is what one would expect if God’s word had been manipulated by human ego.
When you say “I am still searching for the Christian proof that is too strong to reasonably deny...” I’m curious as to what evidence for Islam you feel is too strong to reasonably deny(?). But the arguments from prophecies and supernatural events since Christ (though I don’t know why you’ve mentioned Mary, I never claimed any miracles in association with her – and am against the notion of praying to her) are secondary – of primary importance is the documentation of Jesus rising from the dead.
Regarding circularity – I must stress again, the Bible is NOT a single book; so words written centuries prior to Jesus accurately reflecting things about Him that couldn’t have been delibrerately staged, can legitimately be deemed relevant. But specifically, the Old Testament predicts a Messiah. And Jesus tells us that He was The only Way to God. If the Verses that quote Him saying this were untrue – and He didn’t declare Himself to be The Way to God – it would not have been the case that scores of Jews, who knew that idolatry was a grave sin, became His followers. And the early Christians would not have persisted in proclaiming the deity of Christ when it meant that they were brutally tortured and killed, if they didn’t know that Jesus had won victory over death by rising from the dead. St Paul converted many people by explaining how Jesus fulfilled the prophecies that the Jewish people had been awaiting, and by performing miracles with Christ’s power. Historians who wrote at the time of the first Christians testify to their beliefs and caring lifestyles; whilst historians who wrote of Muhammed and his first followers record that he was brutal, not as we would expect from someone who was in fellowship with God.
You’re right; Western society is an embarrassment to it’s Christian heritage. There are extremely few people who are truly in love with God and seeking to follow Him. It’s been a gradual fall, over the course of many generations, because each individual must choose for themselves to follow God, and, like the Hebrews in the Old Testament, we’ve turned to other God’s instead – money, obviously; sport; pride; hedonism; and sex. It brings me to tears if I think deeply about it. A fundamental misconception has engulfed our society – that God is primitive fiction, like the mythical God’s that ancient people used to try to make sense of the world prior to science. People presume that we are deluded – from childhood, most people in the West are given the impression that belief in God is foolish, so they don’t investigate the evidence, and they keep themselves occupied with the myriad of modern luxuries we are surrounded by. But it cannot be said that Christianity is incapable of giving and providing salvation – because very few people are following it (if you investigate those who are, you’ll see that there is in fact remarkable purity and happiness); but also because salvation is not a matter of perfection, purity and happiness, salvation is to be saved from destruction, and to spend eternity in God’s presence (heaven). So you can’t know that Christianity doesn’t lead to salvation because you can’t yet know what’s happened to the souls of those who’ve died. Ultimately, I believe in Jesus because I think the evidence for His resurrection is too strong to deny. There isn’t substantial evidence for any other victory over death. The multitude of people who’ve experienced emotional or physical healing when asking Jesus’ help, and seen prayers answered etc, strengthens my belief that Jesus has divine power, but the strength of the evidence for his resurrection is my primary reason for choosing to follow Him.
Your concern that Christian rulers might have altered the original text is sensible – but notice that the New Testament doesn’t contain teachings that would suggest that that had happened; Jesus tells us to love others – including those of other nations – and that “those who live by the sword will die by the sword”. Were it the case that power hungry rulers had altered it, it wouldn’t have the self-sacrificial message that it does. In fact, the Bible is far more credible as a historical document than comparable historical texts.
Check out – https://carm.org/manuscript-evidence http://www.bible.ca/ef/topical-the-earliest-new-testament-manuscripts.htm and http://www.provethebible.net/T2-Integ/B-0801.htm
There’s also testimony within non-Biblical historical writings that supports Christianity, explained in articles such as https://www.bethinking.org/is-the-bible-reliable/the-historicity-of-the-new-testament https://probe.org/ancient-evidence-for-jesus-from-non-christian-sources-2/
Your statement that “Nothing exists but Allah... we are all His manifestations” sounds almost pantheistic – but I’m sure that that wasn’t what you intended! Perhaps you could clarify? And how is it logical given the ungodly things in our world? I firmly believe that we are made in His image – that is, like a piece of art, we manifest aspects of His nature, but as an artist is not made of paint, clay etc, God is not comprised of the same physical matter that our universe is. If Muhammed is the most complete manifestation of God, why is there ample evidence within Islamic texts and from other historians recording him being a brutal warload who instructed torture and slept with a 9 year old?
Anyhoo, apologies that this is all so badly written, and that it seems argumentative; I’m hugely grateful for the amiability of your messages :)
Gratitude Post - It's the anniversary of the first Woodstock festival - essentially the birth of music festivals. I hope that you can enjoy the memories that you've accumulated of festivals (Emma - am I right in thinking that you were at Glastonbury this year? Alex, which festivals have you been at?) - it's awesome that we can experience such a thrill from huge music events combined with camping. I'm immensely grateful for New Wine - from which I have so many brilliant memories. The music was amazing - but at New Wine there are also some of the most inspiring and poignant discussions one can hear. There's a fantastic community vibe - I'm grateful for memories of camping near exceptionally amiable people such as John, Elaine, Fiona, Chris, Madeleine, Jurek and others. And - contrary to popular belief - camping can be remarkably gratifying. We're fortunate to have a huge tent (far more comfortable - luxurious - than the accommodation that refugees and those in slums have to put up with); there's something seriously fun about cooking outdoors on a camping stove; and when it's over, every day things at home - like electrical appliances and TV - are significantly more enjoyable than they were before. Big thanks to Andrew and Frances for organising our trips to New Wine. I hope that anyone reading this is glad for the existence of festivals too.
"Trump defends 'history and culture' of Confederate monuments" National history shouldn’t be something that people get so emotional about – our identities are not defined by what our ancestors did. It's bizarre that people feel so much pride in having powerful ancestors. I wish that there was more media coverage of existing slavery - it's right that we're furious about the TransAtlantic slave trade, but if we, our media and politicians put the time/energy that we're putting into worrying about history -which can't be undone - into tackling current slavery, it's very possible that current and future suffering could be averted. For example, https://www.freedomunited.org/advocate/libya/
"'Houston 5' Pastors Group Calls on Texas to Revive Transgender Bathroom Bill" I'm heartbroken by the rise of the transgender movement - but I think that putting finite time/energy into debating bathrooms may do more harm than good; it may protect just a few people, but it's definitely causing scores of people to feel angry with Christianity. Could time/energy not be put into more useful things instead?
Gratitude Post (14/8) – Birthday of James Buckley (Jay in The Inbetweeners etc), Steve Martin, Halle Berry, Mila Kunis, and Nick Grimshaw.
Anniversaries: 1885 – Japan's first patent is issued to the inventor of a rust-proof paint; which is a very obscure thing to be grateful for, but consider how much rust proof paint makes life in the modern world more aesthetically pleasant….it would suck if cars and sign posts were all impossible to keep colourful because paint was destroyed by rust.
1941 – World War II: Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt sign the Atlantic Charter of war stating postwar aims – we really should remind ourselves to be pleased about the end of WW2. We can see that hostility in our communities is increasing, but we are in fact very, very blessed to live in relative peace that so many others longed for. And Churchill –supposedly- provided us with one of the best famous quotes “If You’re Going Through Hell, Keep Going”
1480 – Battle of Otranto: Ottoman troops behead 80G0 Christians for refusing to convert to Islam; this is obviously the opposite of something to be happy about in itself, but should make us reflect. Though they might have avoided being beheaded if they’d renounced Jesus, these Christians refused – because they knew that He has defeated death, so by choosing to maintain their loyalty to Him, they could have eternal life. It’s utterly horrific, and at the same time, it meant that they entered perfect joy and peace immediately.
I’m grateful – enormously – that I’m free of real persecution (obviously I’m persecuted daily – but only with words). There are many who are living in constant terror, starvation, imprisonment, heartache for murdered loved ones, and suffering extreme violence (to the point of death) on account of being Christians. I’m grateful that charities Like Open Doors, Release, and Christian Solidarity Worldwide are helping some of these people; and that God gives them so much supernatural, deep joy, such that they persevere. Please consider how wonderful it is that you have relative freedom to choose your world view.
White Supremicist Rally in Charlottesville, Virgina, caused violent clashes, culminating in a car being driven into the crowds, killing 1. Trump made a statement condemning "violence on both sides" and was criticised for not criticising white supremacy itself
Doing right should come before keeping his fans onside. He’s a businessman, not a politician, he’s trained himself to cling on to fans. He was cowardly not to make today’s statement sooner, but it’s very good that he has now, and hating him, as many are doing, won’t make anything better.
Parts of the human brain predispose us to prefer people who look like us, and our upbringing impacts us significantly. So, depending on the environment we grow up in, many people will need to learn and/or consciously choose to kill their subconscious bias. It’s a responsibility that we mustn’t ignore by comparing ourselves to people who are far worse than us.
I think that Trump’s only part of the problem. At the time of slavery, Christianity was part of the culture so people called themselves Christians, even if they let their selfishness overrule God’s word. Eventually, some Christians who were actually seeking to follow God’s command to love others, including those of other races, led the movement that brought slavery to an end. But Christianity has been largely abandoned by Western society now. Kids are raised to believe in Darwinism first and foremost – “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life” (that’s Darwin’s book’s full title, it’s often simply abbreviated) – true Darwinism teaches that some races are more evolved than others. So whereas we once grew up being taught that we should aspire to follow Jesus’ command to love others as ourselves (though obviously, plenty of people didn’t, even if they still liked to call themselves Christians), we now grow up believing that other human beings are ultimately evolved masses of molecules and we should stick up for ourselves and develop our self esteem. So the rise of racism is more about people abandoning Christ, than following Trump.
Galatians 3:28 “ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave[a] nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Leviticus 19:18 “…you shall love your neighbor as yourself:”
Mark 12:30-“you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
(BTW, I’ve wasted countless hours in discussion with people who want to criticise me; you have every right to think I’m an idiot, please don’t waste your time trying to start an argument, we both have better things to do :) )
BTW http://www.reasonablefaith.org/finetuning
Gratitude Post from yesterday (11/8) – Birthday of Joseph Schuster (composer) Chris Hemsworth,Viola Davis (both actors) Hulk Hogan (wrestler), Steve Wozniak(co-founded Apple Inc.) and Enid Blyton, So although I don’t think that read any of Blyton’s (though I remember seeing Noddy in the theatre and on TV), I’m grateful for kids books. I'm curious – which were your favourites? Liz, Tiffany, John, Angela, Rachel, Isabelle, Zoe, Justin, Catriona, Bex and others with kids, can you catch me up as to which childrens' books you enjoy using/ are popular these days? I didn’t read as much as I should have (I remember being aware that Catrin was an avid reader, and felt that I should be too since she was consistently at the top of our class), but I know that the reading that I did do helped me learn. I remember reading a lot animal books, particularly Dick King Smith. But most precious are the memories of Frances reading to me and Katie when I was small. I remember being amazed to discover that not everyone grows up with Beatrix Potter, AA Milne and CS Lewis. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is undeniably one of the most important books (not only one of the most important childrens' books) ever written - though I presume that, tragically, many people don’t realise its meaning. We’re immensely privileged to have grown up with books – many children don’t, and childrens’ books enable so much learning and building of precious memories – I hope you can enjoy reminiscing on yours…..
Randomly, I’m also grateful that Despacito has been knocked off the top of the UK singles chart (after 11 weeks). I can only assume that it was popular because millennials sad about Brexit felt comforted by hearing chart music in Spanish. Feels (the new No.1 single) is incomparably better.
"BOMBSHELL POLL: Seven in 10 Britons now support HARD Brexit, according to major survey" How many out of 10 wish that politicians would just get on with it and it would stop constantly filling the news?
"Maybe we should stop blaming Syrian migrants for what we did to ourselves"
Thankyou for this. I'm sick of being caught between 2sides - our society's problem is it's rejection of God, not watering down of white culture. We shoud be seeking God's guidance in helping Syrians, He commands us repeatedly to care for the poor and displaced. That doesn't necessarily mean I'm in favour of them all coming to the West, it may be better for us to fund help for them in the middle East. But helping them is vital, and our culture, other than Christianity, is not.
"Freed hostage abandoned Christianity for Islam" I struggle to believe that someone who's genuinely chosen to give their life to following Christ could abandon Him. If we truly seek Him, He won't let go of us. His grace and majesty are too wonderful for us to let go of. I suspect that McGown was only a Christian by name.
"Teenage pregnancy in the US is at an all-time low. Trump could soon change that" Sex education needs to include abstinence. Planned Parenthood profits from teenagers needing contraceptives, STI tests and abortions, so they encourage sex whilst teaching about protection. Teenagers need to be told about "safe sex" - but also that abstinence is far safer, not a freakish or impossible choice.
"First Openly Gay Referee Says He Hopes His Story Will “Inspire Others” " I wish our society wasn't so obsessed with sex. The sex life of a referee is none of anyone else's business.
"Sorry vegans, animal-fat fivers are here to stay" Apparently, 1 year's production of £5 uses half of a cow's worth of tallow (animal fat). Or so I Herd; it seemed A-Moosing that some had Milk-ed this issue when it's such an Udder-whelming quantity.
Gratitude Post from yesterday (8/8) – Birthday of Bob Smith*, Roger Penrose**, Chris Eubank, Shawn Mendes, Dustin Hoffman, Roger Federer, and The Edge.It’s International cat day. A very significant reminder to smile and be grateful.
“Time spent with a cat is never wasted.”
“You can not look at a sleeping cat and feel tense.”
“It is impossible to keep a straight face in the presence of one or more kittens” “There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats.”
The last of those is wrong - those who’ve experienced God’s presence can attest that He is an incomparably better refuge than cats. However, it is undeniable that cats are one of the greatest sources of happiness on the planet. I postulate that other than those living in remote places in developing countries, every human being has experienced joy because of cats. There may be plenty of people who aren’t particularly interested in furry animals, or are strictly dog people, but even they will have been significantly entertained by cat photos or videos. Though it might be argued that we shouldn’t procrastinate too much online, it truly is a blessing that we can now derive substantial enjoyment from cats. And in case you’ve not seen this before, there’s scientifically documented evidence that looking at cute things temporarily enhances our cognitive skills http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article…
Of vital importance also, of course, is the comfort that cats can provide to lonely and or elderly people. For some of those who would otherwise be suffering significantly from depression, cats can be genuinely life changing; which sounds daft – but it matters.
“Cats can work out mathematically the exact place to sit that will cause most inconvenience.”
“The phrase ‘domestic cat’ is an oxymoron.”
“Dogs have owners, cats have staff.”
Can I have a cat update? Anna, Bex, Becky, Anna, Dominic, Martina, Kerry, Maria (people who I know are cat fans) and anyone else - do you have cats ATM/ what are their names? I have memories of house sitting for Pam's family (with Sam and Rebecca) when you had a cat named Trousers; that the first time I heard of cous cous was when it was the name of the Ryland-Jone's cat; of loving meeting Catrin's new kittens when we were kids; and of adopting Herman from Anna and Emily which still make me smile.
*(co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous, I’ve never suffered because of a loved one having alcoholism, and don’t drink myself, but because AA has help to save and restore many lives – not only of alcoholics, but also of their families – I’m grateful)
** (physicist, mathematician, and philosopher, whose work helps demonstrate the existence of God https://www.bethinking.org/does-sc…/the-delusion-of-atheists)
*** (guitarist in U2, which I've enjoyed since childhood thanks to Andrew)
** (physicist, mathematician, and philosopher, whose work helps demonstrate the existence of God https://www.bethinking.org/does-sc…/the-delusion-of-atheists)
*** (guitarist in U2, which I've enjoyed since childhood thanks to Andrew)
Atheists more likely to be seen as immoral, finds report
Because referring to oneself as a Christian can enable one to obtain more trust, and because it’s often been a cultural label, plenty of people (such as certain politicians….) say that they’re Christians even if they barely think about God. Genuine Christianity is to choose to accept Jesus offer of salvation – that He died to take the penalty incurred by our doing things that are wrong. Thus a Christian is aware that they sin, and is compelled to become more and more as Jesus demonstrated and directed; [Jesus said, for example]"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34) ; “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44) ; “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37). Plenty of evil things have been done by people calling themselves Christians – but our own decision about Christ must be based on Him. Atheists can absolutely do wonderful things for others (because all human beings are made in the image of God, even if they reject Him); but if we believe that human beings are ultimately complex collections of molecules resulting from survival of the fittest, there’s little logic in caring about others. Each of us must avoid basing the biggest decision we ever make – whether to accept Jesus’ offer of eternal life (heaven) - on whether people calling themselves Christians or atheists have done better things; we need to each thoroughly investigate the scientific, philosophical and historical evidence, and make a choice about Christ for ourselves. Most people simply presume that Christianity is a fairytale without actually studying the evidence themselves.(BTW, I’ve wasted countless hours in discussion with people who want to criticise me; you have every right to think I’m an idiot, please don’t waste your time trying to start an argument, we both have better things to do
:) )BTW http://www.reasonablefaith.org/finetuning
Gratitude Post from yesterday (6/8) – Birthday of Alfred, Lord Tennyson (v. famous poet – with a hill on the Isle of Wight named after him, which I have precious memories of walking on with Andrew, Frances and Katie), Geri Haliwell, Vera Farmiga (The Boy in Striped Pyjamas, The Orphan, The Manchurian Candidate etc), Spencer Matthews, Barbara Windsor, Alexander Fleming, and Andy Warhol. It’s the anniversary of Jamaica’s independence – but, horrifically, the bombing of Hiroshima. I post to encourage anyone who happens to be reading to feel grateful; and whilst the bombing of Hiroshima is obviously the opposite of something to be happy about, it should remind us to be grateful for other things (as well as to feel compassion and an urge to provide help for those who are suffering because of war). We live in relative peace, and should be tremendously grateful that in the UK, there’s been little conflict since the war that the Hiroshima bombing (and that of Nagasaki) marked the end of. We truly are extremely lucky to be free of the war that so much of humanity has had to endure throughout it’s history. Yet the uncertainty of life should also prompt us to actively seek to have a positive attitude about life; appreciate each day of life that we have; and consider, are we ready for what comes next?
I’m personally grateful for the brilliant family that I spent Saturday with; my mum’s siblings, their sons (my cousins) and their kids (7 in total – for now at least – aged between 2 and 7). It was so lovely to spend time with such straightforwardly nice people, and cute children saying hilarious things.
(in conversation with a Muslim) -
We agree that the universe, and biological world, were created by a God – and as science advances, it demonstrates more clearly that they are designed (rather than the product of unconscious chance, as most of Western society now assumes). I love (you might too) resources like this video http://www.reasonablefaith.org/finetuning
And this website http://www.reasons.org/
Which defeat the uninformed presumption that so many in the Western world today make, that science has overruled God. I am well aware that Arabic scholars have done wonderful things for science and maths – I might argue that in the centuries since Muhammed, far more scientific progress has been made by Christians than in the Islamic world, but I won’t, since who’s discovered more is somewhat sidetracking.
We agree therefore that though the bodies we are in will stop working and decay, this will not mean that we ourselves are necessarily automatically terminated – we agree that there is something beyond this lifetime, which of course cannot be scientifically investigated, but about which we urgently must consider.
We agree that God communicates with human beings, sometimes via specific messages to particular individual – prophets. Thus Islam is based, specifically, on the messages you believe that Allah gave to Muhammed (though you believe in other prophets, as I understand); we also believe that God gave messages to various prophets, and the fact that various circumstances of Jesus life precisely fufill prophecies given to earlier prophets thus adds support to the notion that Jesus is the Messiah that god had promised. That; both the text referring to the prophets, and the texts about Jesus, are in the same bible, is not circular as you suggest. Of vital importance is that the Bible is not a single text. The Bible is, as you said, a compilation of very different texts (which is why there are such varied views amongst Christians, such as about inerrancy). Thus their corroboration – that is, Jesus fulfilling prophecies written centuries earlier – serves to strengthen credibility. God promised a Messiah, born to a virgin, in Bethlehem, to be killed by having nails through His hands and feet etc; Jesus happened to meet these criteria, though He could not have chosen to do so.
Further evidence supporting the divinity of Jesus exists beyond the Bible, in the innumerable supernatural events that can be attributed to Him since His ascension; miracles that have happened when people have prayed in His name; and dreams and visions in which non-Christians have seen and heard Him. Of course, there some of these are hoaxes or the result of confusion, but there are too many that are credible for their value as evidence to be ignored.
The fundamental point that anyone needs to come to a conclusion on is what is in fact true regarding salvation. I believe in Christianity primarily because I think that the case for Jesus claiming to be the Messiah, dying and rising is too strong to reasonably deny. Thus Jesus offers victory over death. What are your thoughts on the New Testament? What do you believe about the afterlife/heaven etc, and what do you base your view on?
"Glamour model reveals horror after gang kidnapped and drugged her to sell her as sex slave"
London (and the internet in general) is rife with people trying to take advantage of girls interested in modelling. I have an ugly face, but since I'm tall and skinny, I looked into earning some money through modelling during my gap year - it was horrendous, I urge anyone with daughters to warn them and be vigilant. I lost £1.200 - because they (the many fake modelling agencies - a trend highlighted by Watchdog last year) tell you that you need a "professional portfolio" to get work, and say that they're offering you a special photoshoot deal. But it could have been worse; I was on the verge of meeting someone who I realised was very dangerous; and girls/young women, desperate to earn money, are very vulnerable.
"Show this to anyone who believes the Quaran teaches violence"
But it does teach violence. It's great that most Muslims are too nice to carry it out, but the fact is that the Quaran itself says that its later verses over rule the earlier verses; which means that the tolerant verses that most Muslims quote and live by are invalidated by verses commanding war. And Muhammad lived this out. Contrastingly, Jesus taught that we must love our enemies and avoid violence.
In practice, those who refer to themselves as the followers of a faith don't necessarily live in accordance with the teachings of that faith. We need to better understand the faiths, but also recognize that each individual person has their own beliefs.
Gratitude Post - I meant to post yesterday (3/8); birthday of Evangeline Lilly, Martha Stewart, Jourdan Dunn, Martin Sheen, Jack Straw, and Terry Wogan, Anniversary of Jesse Owens winning his first gold medal. To what extent he is familiar I’m not clear, so, in case you weren’t aware, he was the first black American to win a gold Olympic medal, as well as the first American to win 4 golds. And he did it at the 1936 Berlin Olympics; that is, in a fantastic blow to the Aryan ideology that Hitler was endeavouring to enforce. At that points, there were far fewer nations participating in the Olympics, and Africa and the Carribean were almost entirely excluded. Since then, it’s become indisputable that, in general, black people are better than us Caucasians at athletics (obviously, not only at athletics). I hate that there’s still as much racial division and disparity as there is; but I’m grateful to live in one of the most integrated cities in the world.
I’m also grateful that Andrew gets enjoyment from watching athletics. It’s thus been on in our living room; and – particularly since he’s so overworked - I love seeing him smile. I hope that some of you are enjoying the athletics World Championships that have just started; we're so lucky to live at a time when we can watch so many live events from home.
Black Lives Matter is a straightforward joining of 3 words - so claiming that BothLivesMatter is ripping the former off is absurd. I'd heard about BothLivesMatter and it hadn't occurred to me that it was in any way "hyjacking" Black Lives Matter. It's wrong to try to make out that an anti-abortion group is unconcerned about race issues for the sake of trying to appear morally superior. Surely you're aware that the abortion movement in America was born mainly of Planned Parenthood's aim to decimate the black population?
Give up? I was never holding onto any hope of it in the first place. Besides, nuclear war, Global warming or a robot uprising will wipe my generation out before we've saved enough for our own homes.
Think yes, but God's word must always take precedence over human ideologies. He knows better than we do about the rights and wrongs of sexuality. We must eliminate bigotry and cruelty; but also pray and advocate for greater purity.
Gratitude Post – Lots of little things that have made me smile. There’s now a weather app using photos of Boo the dog (Maya, Charli, Rae, Laura, Martina have you seen this app?) and I’m reminded that we’re blessed to have an endless array of cute photos to enjoy on our phones and computer screens; that we can easily access information about the weather forecast – a convenience that previous generations would have never imagined and dearly loved to have; and that our weather is, usually, fairly mild – here in the UK, we rarely have weather that’s so hot or cold that it’s uncomfortable, and we don’t often have severe storms, nor much weather that significantly impacts our lifestyle.I’m also grateful to have been able to spend far more time talking with my little sister recently, and that my aunt (Frances's eldest sister) is visiting briefly. I am terrifically fortunate to have a family of such wonderful people; and all of us can be grateful for the enjoyment that we can have in conversing with relatives.
Another particularly good example of animal photography being something to be grateful for, that I came across lately - (Bex, Simon, Dominic you might like some of these) https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2017/jul/31/the-comedy-pet-photography-awards-in-pictures?CMP=fb_gu
I'm also extremely grateful for this, which has been in the news recently -
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/01/george-and-amal-clooney-to-help-fund-syrian-refugee-schools-in-lebanon
Most of us can afford to enable at least 1 of the world's neediest children to go to school BTW, for example, to sponsor a child, which includes health checks, supplementary food and bedding etc, costs £25 ($38) monthly and entirely changes life for them and their family. Far more exciting than most things that we spend £25 on. It's a privilege just to know that a difference has been made; but I also have so, so many adorable letters from my sponsor children (with Compassion UK) I can't recommend it enough.
“Tolerance” is just the cheap counterfeit of Christian love"
We must insist on the distinction between people and actions. So we hate homosexual sexual practice, but we love the people themselves. We hate transexualism, but love the people. We hate Islam, but love Muslims. God wants everyone to turn to Him, and it's imperative that we remember our own sin -and our need of Jesus salvation- and act as much like Jesus as we can in our interactions with others, aiming to point them towards Him.
"Budget flights to Europe could be screwed due to Brexit"
We should travel less - a £300 holiday costs enough to provide one of the world's poorest children with a year's sponsorship (education, healthcare and more) - ditching overseas holidays would enable us to change the future of an innocent suffering child, and their family, completely.. It would also be very, very good for the environment (to stop flying) and UK staycations could help the seaside towns where there's some of the most financial hardship. (and it saves us planning time, travel vaccinations, language issues etc)
"Norway is asking people to have sex on TV, for an important reason"
If people wait until they're married before having sex, they can avoid numerous diseases and unwanted pregnancies (which in turn means less abortion and fewer children growing up without the numerous lifelong benefits of growing up with both parents). Sex causes oxytocin release, so sex with people you don't spend your life with lessens emotional and relational wellbeing. Numerous corporations have led our society to see sex regularly, regardless of marraige, as necessary to be happy - it's doing countless people(and the NHS) a lot of harm. https://www.myhealth.london.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/Unprotected Nation.pdf
"Budget flights to Europe could be screwed due to Brexit"
We should travel less - a £300 holiday costs enough to provide one of the world's poorest children with a year's sponsorship (education, healthcare and more) - ditching overseas holidays would enable us to change the future of an innocent suffering child, and their family, completely.. It would also be very, very good for the environment (to stop flying) and UK staycations could help the seaside towns where there's some of the most financial hardship. (and it saves us planning time, travel vaccinations, language issues etc)
"Norway is asking people to have sex on TV, for an important reason"
If people wait until they're married before having sex, they can avoid numerous diseases and unwanted pregnancies (which in turn means less abortion and fewer children growing up without the numerous lifelong benefits of growing up with both parents). Sex causes oxytocin release, so sex with people you don't spend your life with lessens emotional and relational wellbeing. Numerous corporations have led our society to see sex regularly, regardless of marraige, as necessary to be happy - it's doing countless people(and the NHS) a lot of harm. https://www.myhealth.london.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/Unprotected Nation.pdf
Gratitude Post – Birthdays (30/7) Jaime Pressly (Joy in My Name is Earl etc), Hannah Cockroft, Harriet Harman, Henry Moore, Hilary Swank, Kate Bush, Christopher Nolan, Lisa Kudrow, Emily Brontë, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Henry Ford. Though it’s blatantly obvious, contemplate for a moment that for millennia, cars didn’t exist. Still many people have no access to them. But the work of Henry Ford enabled us to benefit, monumentally, from cars, without which countless aspects of modern life would be impossible. Of course many, many others have been involved in making it possible for us to use cars, and without Henry Ford, someone else would have developed the first motor car – but given that it was he who succeeded in creating a car before anyone else, today is an appropriate day to remember to be pleased that we have them now. Of course, I am personally extremely grateful to my parents for driving me around on innumerable occasions; but also to Jurek, Kevin, Gerald, Madeline and others for giving me lifts. Consider how much we are able to do on account of having cars… perhaps most significant to me are the long family car journeys that have been a source of precious time with . My grandmother has often remarked on how awful it is for those on long journeys on the motorway, but as I remind her, they’re relatively comfortable and give an opportunity to enjoy time in conversation with our favourite people (or, if not, to read, or catch up on sleep, or listen to radio/audiobooks/loud music etc….). Please feel happy reflecting on things that you’ve been able to do because of cars, stupid as it seems to say it.
It was also the 50th anniversary of the diving accident that left Joni Eareckson Tada with quadriplegia. I've read far too few actual books (I've focussed on articles, textbooks, and listening to lectures) but I well remember reading Joni's biography as a teenager. It's of tremendous significance; it documents extreme turmoil and anguish in an individual's life, and how God uses it for good when she turns to Him. This is vital, and we should remind ourselves of it continually; IF we choose to turn to God, He will ultimately (we may only discover it later) use suffering and tragedy for good. There innumerable examples of this, but Joni 's story is a particularly good one, and I'm grateful - as are countless other people around the world who've been touched by reading about her, and or by the work that her accident led her to do http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/in-awe-of-her-god
Gratitude Post – Birthdays (29/7) Sally Gunnell,Wil Wheaton, Fernando Alonso, Josh Radnor (Ted in How I Met Your Mother) and Joey Essex.
I was surprised and thrilled to see this in my NF. Matt Redman is one of the very most significant musicians to have lived, since his songs have been sung by countless people around the world, serving to help so many to feel God’s presence. Which sounds daft to those who don’t believe in God – but you should be aware that many millions of people have experienced something that you’ve not yet experienced, something immensely moving, There’s a common misconception that Christian music is synonymous with elderly people singing hymns, yet it exists in all genres. The music itself is of secondary importance; it serves as a medium to enable us to engage with realities that are hard for the human mind to conceive of, and which are incomparably more poigniant than the subject matter of other music. There’s plenty of secular music that I hugely enjoy – yet it always feels empty and hollow. Of the scores of Christian music acts around currently, Matt Redman’s impact has been particularly valuable, having been heard and sung by so very many people, of all ages and nationalities. I’ve been particularly lucky, since I’ve grown up with Andrew playing Matt Redman’s music, along with that of other CCM artists, for as long as I can remember. I’m hugely grateful to learn that he has new material coming out soon.
(from Premier) Tory leader opens up about her faith and sexuality
Gratitude Post - I meant to post yesterday; I’m immensely grateful for Katie, and grateful to her (gratitude for her and to her being distinct) for the amazing tidying she’s been doing. She has a remarkable talent for it, far better than anyone else at dispensing of clutter and re-organising what remains more intelligently than I possibly could. Now several cupboards look tidier that they have done in my memory. I’m hopeless – clutter stresses me, and yet I’m useless at de-cluttering. And much of what’s in our house isn’t mine to clear out anyway - I'm desperate to be more helpful to Frances and Andrew and just fail in my attempts to tidy. Everyone who knows Katie knows that she has numerous other traits for which to be grateful – having her here for several days has been awesome.
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The video below is utterly unrelated, but another thing for which I'm grateful. Although the potential significance of it won't be obvious to everyone reading this, it is extremely exciting. I've been hugely appreciative of Alister McGrath's work for years, I urge anyone reading this to listen to some of his lectures on YouTube. And his book The Dawkins Delusion is very short (that is, good for those of us who don't read whole books often) yet invaluable in the 21st Western world.
https://art19.com/shows/under-the-skin/episodes/af75e95c-00cd-4e5a-9f2d-12cd96cb2b0d
RE Charlie Gard's death
It goes without saying, this is tragic beyond words. His suffering is over; I desperately hope that his parents can find peace.
I absolutely don’t wish to be disrespectful, please excuse me if I seem to be, but I’m compelled to ask; Can we harness this sadness to save other children who are dying? The amount of public attention and money given to Charlie should remind us of the value of the lives of children other than our own. Too little is it highlighted that there are children dying who we CAN save. Greed, over the course of centuries, has led to many children being born into such extreme poverty that they will die of easily preventable diseases and starvation – yet we can save them for remarkably little cost. £4 will feed a starving child for months, £25 monthly will give a child education, health care and more, transforming their future. Since millions of people have been worried about Charlie, and donations of over £1.3million given, why don’t more of us take the opportunity to help children who we can help? They are no less precious.
(Given past discussions I suspect my comment will be criticised, please read this before trying to start an argument https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/get-involved/myths-about-aid/ )
Responses to my comment included - Six months ago he could have received a treatment with a significant chance at notable improvement. The people who were supposed to take care of him were more worried that another hospital would get the glory if he did, so they actively fought to murder him by court delay. It’s sickening, disturbing, and frankly diabolical.
No, the doctor who'd offered to help Charlie was invited by GOSH (the hospital Charlie's been in) last year to review Charlie and never came, nor looked at Charlie's medical notes or the court documents about the case. So GOSH weren't trying to avoid someone else getting "the glory" - there was no glory to be had. The US doctor who had offered to treat Charlie was arguably largely after the potential fame or money; he should have actually read the case details months ago.
Maybe his parents would have found more peace if your darn government had allowed them to take him ANYWHERE they wanted to seek help. Your government wouldn't even let them take him home to DIE. You keep your idiotic Socialism in GB. Next time some country starts to invade you again, you can call out for help!
(on Premier's site) I am sure the 1.3 million or what is left of it after the parents lawyer fees will go to researching mitochondrial disorders to help prevent the death of a very few whilst they could help to prevent the death of thousands. But then having helped to prevent the death of thousands in Africa has caused the death of many thousands in warfare.We have to learn to accept natural death in order to prevent violent death and that is the biggest challenge we face, as manmade death isn't gracefully received by anyone. The age of antibiotic resistance will bring us back to a level playing field in health care forcing us to rethink how we support those in need and who is actually the one in need. When Christ took the sting out of death it was not by avoiding physical death in fear of it but by going for it. Thus death lost authority over him. If we demand to be spared we only show him to have control over us
Gratitude Post (24,7) – Birthday of Amelia Earhart, Kristin Chenoweth, Jennifer Lopez, Rose Byrne (Bridesmaids, Bad Neighbors), Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid's Tale) and Hugh Ross.
I’m extremely grateful for Hugh Ross’s work. As a child – with Asperger’s – he was tantilised by cosmology, and demolished all books about it like Matilda. Growing up in an atheist household, he realised that the mathematics of astrophysics demonstrate that God exists. He earned a B.Sc. in physics, an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in astronomy; and was a postdoctoral research fellow for five years at Caltech, studying quasars and galaxies. Crucially, he’s been lecturing and blogging on science, and its progress, and how unending aspects of our world testify to the Truth of God’s existence. I grew up thinking that God seemed unlikely – I couldn’t see or feel Him, so my gut seemed to say that He doesn’t exist. Learning about the molecular processes of photosynthesis in A level biology, I found myself feeling struck that it appeared designed. Further investigation of various aspects of science confirmed that, although my physical human senses cannot directly detect Him, God must exist. But since I’m intrigued by, and am studying science, I hugely appreciate articles by Hugh Ross and his colleagues. Please check out http://www.reasons.org/
USA TODAY - The mission of Drag Queen Storytime is to promote literacy, diversity and artistic expression.
It's wrong to put children at risk for the sake of "artistic expression"- Many assume that I'm referring to paedophilia, and begin criticising the Church for its history of child sex abuse, and say that this is far more common than abuse by drag queens,
....child abuse by drag queens will be rare because there haven't been many drag queens. That's not proof that they're safer than Church staff. But my point was never that drag queens would abuse children, my point was that encouraging children towards transgenderism is dangerous. And excuse but what on Earth is your basis for linking Christianity to pederasty??? It existed in Roman culture, it has no justification in the Bible....some peadophiles, who aren't truly Christian, will take up roles in Churches as it gives them access to children. Of course it matters what the Bible teaches. But you've completely sidetracked from my original point, which as I've already said, was not about peadophilia, I was referring to pointing children towards gender confusion. I agree with you, horrific things have happened in some Churches, but that was never the point of this conversation, and the Church is always less important than Christ.
""Gender confusion" isn't a thing. The closest thing is "gender dysphoria" and the treatment for that is to transition to the opposite sex. It's recommended that children with gender dysphoria take puberty blockers and transition as early as possible. So maybe introducing kids to gender variance might help a lot of kids who otherwise wouldn't know why their bodies hurt in ways they didn't understand."
Where are your citations to demonstrate that It’s absurd to say that “the treatment for that is to transition to the opposite sex”? That’s a horrifying statement. “God has played a trick on them”? You’re ignoring God’s design, and basic science. Have you looked at the articles that I hyperlinked to? They explain that numerous studies have shown that THE VAST MAJORITY OF CHILDREN WHO QUESTION THEIR GENDER BECOME HAPPY WITH THEIR BIRTH GENDER when they’re older if they’re not encouraged to pursue changing their natural identity. Those who begin hormone blocking tend to continue down the sex change pathway – and the medical interventions have colossal cost to their health (for example, studies have shown that the hormone treatments increase risk of heart disease and osteoporosis) – as well as horrendous time and financial cost. Following transition, they have a vastly greater risk of depression and suicide, even when discrimination is accounted for.
http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2015/06/15145/
https://www.spectator.co.uk/2016/01/its-dangerous-and-wrong-to-tell-all-children-theyre-gender-fluid/
“Persons with transsexualism, after sex reassignment, have considerably higher risks for mortality, suicidal behaviour, and psychiatric morbidity than the general population. Our findings suggest that sex reassignment, although alleviating gender dysphoria, may not suffice as treatment for transsexualism, and should inspire improved psychiatric and somatic care after sex reassignment for this patient “group.http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0016885
Of course, in saying that abuse within the Church is irrelevant, I absolutely did not mean that it is insignificant; rather, that it is not relevant to this conversation, not something I have any wish to defend, and not something that we as individuals can have substantial immediate impact on. Whereas our own personal decisions as to whether to pursue a relationship with Christ are of paramount importance, for every human being, every day – such that I am always frustrated by observing comments demonstrating rejection of Him, or designed to lead others to reject Him. Whilst I understand your point that some who are Christians will act contrarily to Christ’s example and teaching – in fact, we (Christians) all do, indisputably; a person who genuinely chooses to follow Christ will, by that, be gradually changed. Jesus said “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.” (Matthew 7:18) and 1 John 3:9,10 says “Whoever is born of God does not commit sin; for his seed remains …” – when we genuinely choose to follow God, we naturally want to avoid things He’s forbidden, and we are supernaturally helped in this.
You rightly highlight that many do not fit into simple masculine or feminine boxes – but that’s precisely the point. Children may well want to wear clothes and engage in hobbies associated with the other gender – but this does not mean that they are “in the wrong body”. Intersex is extremely rare, all other children have either XX or XY chromosomes in every body cell that correspond with their birth gender. So they can absolutely take part in the things they enjoy – boys can play with dolls, girls can play with cars etc – and they mustn’t be given the message that they need to change their identity. This leads to awful suffering, as the articles I hyperlinked earlier explain. Regardless of their sex, each child is a pricelessly valuable, unique individual – so they don’t need to be changed through injections and surgery into a different gender.
http://www.childhealing.com/articles/transsexualIssues.php
Gratitude Post for yesterday (21/7) – Birthday of Jaime Murray (Stacey from Hustle, which Katie and I used to enjoy years ago), Damian Marley (one of Bob Marley’s sons, also a reggae artist), Ross Kemp, Paloma Faith, Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam), Robin Williams, Ernest Hemingway.
Also, the anniversary of Neil Armstrong becoming the first person to walk on the Moon.
“The ratio of the Moon’s mass compared to Earth’s is almost 50 times larger than the next closest ratio of moon mass to planet mass (that would be Saturn’s moon Titan)”.
Dave Waltham - a British geologist - has found that the rotation axis tilt created which generates stable climate for Earth, is dependent on the relationship between the Earth and Moon; that if the were the mass of the Moon’s even slightly larger, Earth’s obliquity would be unstable. Yet he also calculated that human existence would never be possible on Earth if the Moon were any smaller, due to the necessity of the moon’s mass to sufficiently slow Earth’s rotation. Hence the mass of the moon enables a stable climate Earth’s, as well as a 24-hour rotation period .
http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/ast.2004.4.460
Astronomers have established that the angle of the Earth’s axis is vital. One study showed that the angle varies between 22.0 and 24.6 degrees (over many millions of years), but would vary between 0 and 85 without the moon. A later study confirmed this, http://www.reasons.org/articles/confirming-the-moon-s-vital-role
The way in which the moon was created means that , according to one study “no more than 5-10 percent of all star systems could possibly contain a moon like Earth’s.”
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071121184530.htm
Moons will only remain with their planet if their orbit falls between the Roche limit (the minimum distance to which a large satellite can approach its primary body without being torn apart by tidal forces exerted by the primary body - 12,000 miles for Earth) and the Hill radius (an astronomical body’s spherical region in which it dominates the attraction of satellites to a sufficient degree that such satellites do not escape –just under 1 million miles for Earth). “Most of the discovered extrasolar planets orbit their stars closer than Earth orbits the Sun” but the physics of the Hill and Roche limits imply that these planets will be “without moons”
http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/aa6bf2
There’s a lot more to be said about how unlikely the moon is, but I’ll leave it there for now. The point is that, though we’ve never been without it, we should feel awe and gratitude for the moon.
"Hollywood’s pay gap: is the film industry becoming more equal?"
Personally, as a female it is - they all have far, far, far more money than they could possibly need. I'm more worried about people for whom unequal pay is actually causing suffering - such as the farmers in developing countries who provide us with so much, yet are paid too little to buy uniforms, meaning that their kids can't go to school. I'd rather see the media discussing the girls in developing countries who are forced into marriage when they've barely hit puberty, than the injustice Jennifer Lawrence is enduring. £25 per month can sponsor a girl, so that she gets an education, heath checks and more; which completely transform her future. Let’s discuss that more – I think Hollywood actresses are coping just fine.
Following the recent salary publicity, I feel compelled to post that although I obviously believe that it’s entirely wrong that some are paid so much as they are, I’m grateful for friendly faces on the BBC. I love seeing laugh at the Graham Norton show, hearing my grandmother say how much Jeremy Vine has cheered her up, and how Matt Baker reminds me of my childhood (Blue Peter). I found this interesting –“despite the staggering wages its star performers command, it still doesn't add up to what Ant and Dec earn in a single year”
http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/bbc-top-paid-stars-salaries-10830236
Gratitude Post – Yesterday, I had to clear up a seriously unpleasant kitchen mess earlier - relating to the weather, and very nearly enough to make me throw up. And I'm grateful; if I were in another century or developing country, I'd have to put up with similar things often and would be without the means to clean up. We may assume cleaning to be tedious, but please be glad that we have access to ample cleaning materials and utensils; it’s truly a privilege that we can efficiently remove the dirt and parasites that humanity has always had to put up with.
I’m also grateful for the awesome people of HGBC - Kevin, Julian, Liz, Emma, Ottar, and others who I spent the evening with. I hate myself for constantly over sleeping or feeling too un well to get there on Sunday mornings – fortunately there are innumerable brilliant sermons (and theological lectures etc) to listen to online – but it’s such a blessing meeting up with exceptionally warm hearted HGBC membership.
Also today, "Christian charity disappointed by Corbyn's transgender comments" - More importantly, both Jeremy Corbyn and trans individuals need to met Jesus. We shouldn't be surprised that they reject God's design in the meantime (although I do wonder how the struggling NHS is expected to cope with scores of people wanting sex change treatment). This, shouldn't affect our voting - Theresa May's been doing a lot recently to promote the LGBT movement (yesterday, for example, 10 Downing Street posted about her meeting LGBT people at a special event https://www.gov.uk/governme... ) - but we could contact our MPs. We must reject our society's insistence that sexuality is a vital part of each person's identity; we can must simultaneously hate transexualism and love those who participate in it. Jesus is our purpose and example. We must lovingly engage with LGBT people - obviously - as we must everyone else; it's how Christ taught us to live, and enables us to point people toward Him. Opposing the LGBT movement in itself is otherwise pointless. We must continually ask ourselves What Jesus would do.What we really need to do is discourage teenagers from having sex; even if the HPV vaccine saves a few lives, there are still scores of other sex related problems causing suffering (and burdening the NHS). It's evil that teenagers are being encouraged to do something that leads to so many heartbroken or hurt. it's not actually necessary to have sex. You can have a fantastic lifestyle without it - and completely avoid pregnancy risk, and STIs, for free.
(following criticism)
I'm perfectly aware that people feel a natural desire for sex - but that doesn't mean that more sexual partners/ sex from an earlier age actually leads to the best outcomes. Lots of us enjoy junk food; just eating as much as we'd like is leading to catastrophe. So why assume that just because people feel that they want sex, they should immediately have it? If more people waited until they were married - and yes, I know that sounds mad - far, far fewer people would be heartbroken (the brain releases oxytocin during sex, so people are more likely to suffer emotionally when the relationship ends), fewer would have accidental pregnancies (meaning fewer abortions and fewer kids missing out on having their dad around - which, according to stats, would reduce the incidence of numerous social issues) and fewer would have STIs, including HIV (which obviously would reduce their suffering, and NHS costs) . Look at this - http://www.cmfblog.org.uk/2012/01/29/sexual-freedom-and-relationship-breakdown-cost-britain-100-billion-annually/
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