In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prays for all his disciples, both those who were following him at the time and those who would follow him in the future.

He asks the Father to protect them, just as he has protected them. This should be a great comfort to those who have faith in him. We are not left to fend for ourselves against the world and Satan, but God the Father provides for our every need, protects us and is able to deliver us. By his power, we are able to persevere to the end and glorify him.

He asks the Father that we might be one, just as he and the Father are one. Not that we should have superficial unity with those who claim to be Christians, but that we should have a genuine unity with all those who follow Jesus Christ and hold to his word. Something that will only be true of those whose walk is close with God.

He then refers to Judas Iscariot, giving us a sober reminder that not all who say “Lord Lord!” and do many things in his name will be truly his. After all, Judas spent a good few years as part of the twelve disciples, going from town to town preaching the Gospel. At the Last Supper when Jesus said one of the twelve would betray him, the disciples didn’t say “It’s that Judas – you can tell from a mile off”, rather Judas was indistinguishable from the rest, that they answered “Surely not I, Lord?” Judas himself may well have thought he was a follower of Christ. After all, he did what the other disciples did, he looked like them and talked like them. Are we like that? We should be careful that our claim to salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ, by the grace of God.

Just got back from an evening organised by the Christian Institute intended to brief Christians on the proposals by the British Government to introduce an incitement to religious hatred bill.

This bill was first proposed in 2001, in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. At the time, the Home Secretary argued a law was needed to address the many reports of attacks on mosques and physical and verbal attacks on people because of their religion.

On the face of it, it sounds like a good idea. After all, Christians are told to “love your enemies” Mt 5:44. With a little thought, the bill turns out to be half-baked and unreasonable.

For a start, the very reason the bill was proposed was because of physical and verbal attacks committed against Muslims and mosques, yet there are already laws which cover attacks on people and property, for whatever reason – regardless of religion. Why do we need a new law to cover what is already covered?

Further examination of the proposed bill reveals it will severely limit freedom of speech. The proposed bill will amend Section 18 of the Public Order Act 1986 to read:

1. A person who uses threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, or displays any written material which is threatening, abusive or insulting, is guilty of an offence if�
   1. he intends thereby to stir up racial or religious hatred, or
   2. having regard to all the circumstances the words, behaviour or material are (or is) likely to be heard or seen by any person in whom they are (or it is) likely to stir up racial or religious hatred.

It will criminalise “inciting religious hatred” which is legal speak and could well cover saying something which could be considered insulting to a religious group, which would include saying a religious group is wrong. Before you know it, a Christian would not be able to quote words of Christ such as “no-one come to the Father except through me” Jn 14:6, which in its very essence rejects the claims of all other religions, and is likely to be insulting to someone who holds a deeply held alternative view. Not many people like being told they’re wrong. It would mean that other religions and even atheists would not be able to make disparaging comments about Christianity or other religions.

Additionally, the bill does not define a religion and effectively requires that judges and the Attorney General become theologians. This leaves the system open to abuse from cults and sects, especially those of a litigious nature.

This would appear to be just another instance of political-correctness gone mad, but if this bill goes through, the right to freedom of speech of both Christians and non-Christians will be severely curtailed. Indeed, a basic Christian desire to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ will become increasingly difficult – after all, the truth is insulting to many people.

Are we going to do something to stop it? Or will telling the truth be stopped?

More information about this bill can be found at the Christian Institute’s website.

“Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures for ever.” 2 Chronicles 20:21

You’re Brave New World!

by Aldous Huxley

With an uncanny ability for predicting the future, you are a true psychic. You can see how the world will change and illuminate the fears of future generations. In the world to come, you see the influence of the media, genetic science, drugs, and class warfare. And while all this might make you happy, you claim the right to be unhappy. While pregnancy might seem painful, test tube babies scare you most. You are obsessed with the word “pneumatic”.

Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Seems about right. Whilst I preferred Nineteen Eighty-Four as a book, I think Brave New World is more in line with the problem of the human condition and where it will lead us. Saying that, I read it years ago, so maybe I should dig it out and read it again?

…or “Gung hei fat choi” for those who think there’s four random pictures in the title. 🙂 Apparently, it’s now the year of the rooster/chicken, although what that means, I don’t know. I must admit to being a bit of a geek when it comes to calendars. Did you know that the Chinese calendar is lunisolar rather than solar? It also isn’t counted from a single point in time (or epoch), but gets reset at the beginning of each emperor’s reign, unlike the Gregorian calendar which counts from the birth of Jesus Christ.

Geek stuff aside, to most people it’s about wishing each other prosperity and giving each other little red envelopes of money. Whilst I’m not going to wish you economic prosperity (as that might not necessarily be a good thing for you, depending on who you are), I will wish you prosperity in that which rust and moth cannot destroy and which thieves cannot steal.

Happy (Chinese) New Year!

I must take note that playing 3-a-side football is completely shattering! After running around, yesterday evening, for what seemed like forever, I got home in rather a useless state. Fortunately, the DVD player was willing to assist and I spent the rest of the evening watching The Madness of King George (III).
Having a passing interest in history, I thought this film was superb. Set soon after the birth of the United States, the film follows King George III as he takes a rather peculiar turn for the worse! The film highlights the distress caused by his illness, to both him and his family, as well as his government and his country. It also shows the future George IV in his attempts to take advantage of the situation, battling politically with William Pitt, in order to become Prince Regent. All this happens amongst a backdrop of superb architecture, countryside and the very regal music of Handel. A great film which is well worth watching.
Today is Shrove Tuesday, so I’ve scoured the internet for a decent pancake recipe, finding this one at Sainsbury’s.

125g plain flour
pinch of salt
1 medium egg
300ml milk
oil

I’m just waiting for my batter mixture to rest a little now, then I’ll be seeing if I can flip my pancakes onto the ceiling. 😀

In his first letter, the apostle Peter writes on the behaviour of an elder – rather than how an elder should behave.
Above all, an elder should be able to testify to the work of Jesus Christ in their lives. Without this testimony, their witness will be false and worthless. How can they speak of Jesus Christ if they do not know him?
An elder should be willing to do God’s will, rather than out of duty. It should something that happens because of a regenerate heart wishing to serve God.
An elder should watch over the church, as a good shepherd watches over his sheep – even laying down his life for his sheep, guarding against error and feeding the church. This should be done not by driving the flock, but by leading, by example, yet without being afraid to point out error, as well as feeding the flock by bringing the word of God to them.
Finally, an elder should be waiting for appearance of the chief elder of the church, the head of the church, Christ Jesus.
Those Christians who are not elders should not consider themselves exempt from these conditions, but should seek to be more like the chief elder by the power of the Spirit working in them. Moreover, someone should not be appointed as an elder until he exhibits these qualities.

Went wandering around Albury Heath today, with a few of the usual ramblers. We were joined by a small contingent of ‘older’ young people from the church. (If that makes any sense!) The weather was clement and dry, despite being a little cloudy. A good opportunity to have fellowship, whilst enjoying God’s wider creation at the same time. Photos should be up soon.
A few of us sauntered down to the local snooker hall, where a 3-1 result in my favour was racked up. I guess one day I might be beaten, but not today. 🙂
Finally, one of the church’s ‘older’ young people recently had a birthday, so the usual suspects piled down to Chiquito in Feltham to celebrate. Everyone appeared to enjoy themselves – including most importantly the birthday boy, who even got to go home with a bunch of balloons.
Thanks be to God for a very good day!

Q: What is the chief end of man?
A: Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

(Question I from the Westminster Shorter Catechism)

Well, I appear to have had my first piece of blog/comment spam – which I have since deleted.

I don’t mind random unrelated comments from friends and family – I would even encourage it. I also don’t mind related comments from people I don’t know. However, I do object to random unrelated ‘comments’ from people I don’t know whose sole reason for their ‘comment’ (or spam) is to advertise their own web site.

If you are completely unknown to me and would like a link to your site from this one, please send me an email with the details, and we’ll take it from there. At the end of the day this is my blog, where I will rant and ramble about the topics and events I consider interesting, inviting comment on those particular topics and events, and I intend to keep it that way. This is not a search engine. If you’re looking for somewhere to submit your random unrelated link, have a chat with these guys.

I apologise to my regular readers (if such things exist) for the interruption. Normal service will resume shortly. 🙂

This morning was my sister’s baptism. For people who grew up in a church to know when they are actually part of ‘The Church’ can be difficult. For many, God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – has always been a reality, along with Christian faith, hope and love. Those who grew up outside of the sphere of a church can very often know a significant change in their life when the grace of God irresistibly draws them to The Church, as the way of the world outside is significantly different. Within a church though, it is like listening for the still small voice and sometimes it is hard to tell. I am so very glad that my sister has testified that God has elected to pare away her sin from her, to place them as far as the east is from the west, that she may declare through baptism that she has died to her sin and been made alive in Christ through faith – that she is indeed part of The Church.

Well, back where I grew up again. The main reason for returning is my sister’s baptism, but I also got a chance to catch up with some old friends who I’d known for years (all in excess of fifteen years!) Strangely enough, nothing much has happened to any of us since we last met, and we just picked up where we left off. The only significant thing is that we’re all turning thirty this year, so we’re planning on doing something different this year to commemorate/commiserate. As we spent the evening chatting and looking back, many fond memories arose, from holidays together, to significant moments, to recalling a wasted youth playing cards. It was good to be able to just meet, chat and catch-up.

Q: Wherein consisteth Christ’s exaltation?
A: Christ’s exaltation consisteth in his rising again from the dead on the third day, in ascending up into heaven, in sitting at the right hand of God the Father, and in coming to judge the world at the last day.

(Question XXVIII from the Westminster Shorter Catechism)

There are a lot of things in the Christian religion which don’t appear to make sense on first sight. The fundamentals can be found in the bible – e.g. salvation by the grace of God alone through faith, but a lot of other things only make sense with some understanding of church history. From the birth of the church in the Acts of the Apostles, as recorded in the New Testament, through the schisms which rent the church asunder for various reasons, through to the church in the present day, we can learn so much about the work of God.

Questions such as, “Where did the Bible come from?” and “Where does the word Trinity come from?” are answered early on in the history of the church, with the various councils which rubber-stamped the canon of Scripture and threw out Arius and his followers. Who were men like Arius, Marcion and Pelagius? What was wrong with their teachings?

We find out the origins of the Roman Catholic Church, with the rise of the Papacy, and its split with the Eastern Orthodox church, which can be seen developing through fall of the Roman Empire and the dark ages in Europe. We see the slow decline of the primacy of Scripture in the church going hand in hand with the rise of corruption and heresy. In this climate, non-Scriptural teachings relating to teachings such as purgatory and indulgences arise.

Yet, at the height of the Roman Catholic Church’s power on earth, God is working to bring the church back to his word. Men such as Wycliff and Tyndale appeared on the scene, each with an urge to translate the bible into the language of the common man. They would pave the way for Martin Luther and Jean Calvin. Who would’ve thought that an Augustinian monk in Wittenberg, a lawyer from France along with many others would bring about a reformation of the church? From their actions, the word of God was restored to its rightful place in his church. This return to Scripture instigated massive changes in these reformed churches, and in the countries where the reformation of the church took place. The translation of the Scriptures into English would influence the development of this language, in its grammar and usage, just as it was beginning to spread around the globe. The Reformation would cause a huge backlash in the Roman Catholic Church, culminating in the Council of Trent and its opposition to the doctrine of justification by faith alone being set in stone.

Despite God’s blessing on the church, the church was quick to forget and only a few hundred years after the Reformation, the reformed churches in England are in dire straits again. Again, God uses a few men, men such as George Whitfield and John Wesley to revive the church, and to bring men and women back to God and his word. Many historians believe if this revival had not happened, the kingdom would’ve fallen and England would’ve undergone violent revolution and become a republic, likes its neighbour France. This period of history would also be a time of prolific hymn-writing by people such as Isaac Watts, John Newton and Charles Wesley.

Most of the Reformed, or Protestant, churches, by their very nature, were fragmented. By now there were a myriad number of Protestant churches, Anglicans, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, to mention just a few. Whether this was a good thing or not is open to question. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, most were firmly evangelical, so rooted in the word of God and prospering. By the middle of the twentieth century, many had abandoned the word of God as their prime authority in an attempt to be more like the world around it, instead of changing the world around them. At the same time, these churches saw decline in membership and attendance, with many eventually closing. Today, is still no different. Statistics show that evangelical churches are generally holding their own, whereas more theologically liberal churches are in decline. Indeed, the church in Europe in general is in decline, whilst the church in the rest of the world is thriving.

This is just a brief whistle-stop tour through, mostly English, church history. From this, some things will still not make sense. Most of it is not the entire truth, indeed some of it might be misleading without further reading.

Will we spend the time to learn more about the history of the church, how it has shaped the church and the world around us, both temporally and spiritually, and learn from the mistakes made in the past? Or will we just learn nothing and repeat the mistakes?

Had a good run around yesterday evening. A few good shots at the goal, unfortunately a good goalkeeper, so only one goal. Not entirely convinced all this running around is beneficial though as I spent all of today walking with a slight twinge in my legs! Is it possible to run around too much?