On Gospel Power: Liberation, Reformation & Community Transformation
GEM 04:08:26


Thirty-six years ago, in 1968, “Black Power” was the talk of the day; and -- despite the preaching of the Rev’d. Dr Martin Luther King (the martyred prophet of liberation through gospel-based, non-violent strategies) – anger expressed through “any means necessary” was the main mood of the hour. For, all over the world, the shackles of generations-long prejudice, racism, exploitation and colonial oppression, and unjust laws backed up by abusive police forces and murderous armies were being directly confronted. Thankfully, by 1994, the last bastion of racist oppression of the black man had fallen, and Nelson Mandela, a heroic figure, became the first President of a truly free South Africa.

But, sadly, paradise did not arrive with majority rule in Africa, nor with Independence in the Caribbean. Instead, we have in the main had a generation of missed opportunities and frustrations; so that there has been a backwash of disappointment and in some cases even of self-induced economic, political and social disasters. For instance, Jamaica has somehow managed to move from being a fairly orderly and quiet (but quite unjust) society to one that (though it is far more egalitarian) has ruined its economy and has a murder rate of about 1,000 per year – many tied to corrupt politics, or to gangs ruthlessly fighting over the illicit drugs trade or control of communities and associated protection rackets. Similarly, mineral-wealthy, agriculturally rich Zimbabwe is on the verge of starvation; and, for all its mineral and industrial wealth, South Africa is so crime-riddled that even Winnie Mandela, ex-wife of the South African hero, was recently tried for complicity in corruption, kidnapping and murder. In short, economic stagnation and social instability in the face of a high-tech, global age are now major interacting challenges in the motherland as well as in our region.

What went wrong? How can we correct the problem?

The full answer would take a massive book, but its heart lies in the main point we discussed last week: we cannot sustainably achieve good ends by doing evil, as evil is deceptively attractive, but in fact is ruinously addictive, fast spreading, corrupting and destructive. So, the true way forward for individuals, families and communities lies through several often overlooked – but powerful -- gospel principles that lead us to a better path: repentance, mutual reconciliation and God-blessed reformation and community transformation:

1. “Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labour in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.” [Ps. 127:1.]
2. “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure . . . I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct.” [Jer. 17:9 – 10.]
3. “[S]eek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness, and [your material needs: i.e. food, drink and clothing, etc.] will be given to you as well . . .” [Matt 6:33.]
4. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? . . . You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” [Matt. 7:3 – 5.]
5. “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from that Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people . . .” [Gal. 6:8 – 10a.]
6. “[E]ach of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully . . . He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful . . . Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every kind of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Be imitators of God . . . and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us . . . ” [Eph. 4:25 – 5:2.]

In short, in our justifiable rage at oppression and injustice, we all too easily forgot that we too are just as fallen and prone to evil as those who had long lorded it over us. Thus, true liberation must build on a solid spiritual foundation: repentance, reconciliation and mutual building up -- rather than bitterness, hate and violence. But, in too many cases, we failed to build with God, and we therefore built in vain – for, corrupt colonial elites were simply replaced by sweet-talking would-be political messiahs who then became the new lords of the same old plantation great houses. Even with sincere liberation leaders who did not give in to the temptations of power, there was often a want of sound knowledge and skill to build a prosperous, orderly, just community under God. Consequently, we usually followed after ruinous political and economic myths that ignored or derided the need to be productive, earning and paying our way in the world. But, thankfully, there are some partial success stories that can point a way forward, such as Barbados and Singapore. From such successes, partial though they are, and the above gospel principles, we have much to learn. So, now, let’s talk . . . AMEN

LT12: On Godliness, Morality, Law and Public Policy

GEM 04:08:22

“Why not say . . . ‘Let us do evil that good may result’?” [Rom 3:8]

With this question St Paul summed up one of the central and enduring puzzles of morality: it often seems that the most effective way to achieve a good personal or policy goal is by doing something that is in itself morally wrong. As Machiavelli put it in his infamous book, The Prince: “The end justifies the means.”

But, does it? No, for that infamous Renaissance Diplomat was blind to the central problem of humanity -- sin: “I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out . . . the evil that I do not want to do – this I keep on doing.” [Rom 7:18b – 19.] For, evil is usually enticing (or even exciting), but it is in fact deceptive, addictive, contagious, corrupting and destructive. In the words of Solomon: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” [Prov 14:12.]

That’s fairly easy to see in our personal lives, but it also holds for public policy. For instance, when Hitler arose as a man of the people, and promised a way out of the economic ruin that had overtaken Germany after the 1st World War, few were asking questions about his rhetoric against the despised Jews. Likewise, Marx, Lenin, Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot were simply rescuing the oppressed masses from the wicked capitalists and imperialists. Similarly, in the 1970’s in the USA, people were busy trying to rescue poor girls who made a mistake and were desperately resorting to coat hangers – and weren’t asking too many questions about the little bit of tissue that needed to be got rid of. Fidel Castro was liberating Cuba from a wicked, US-backed dictator. Over in Zimbabwe, Mr Mugabe is even now simply helping the landless poor to get back their land from those who stole it from their forefathers. The Gays and Lesbians are only demanding equal treatment: if Adam and Steve wish to be married, that’s really just the same as Adam and Eve. And, many, many more.

But, over a hundred million people paid with their lives for the sins of the Nazis and the Communists. The toll of innocent lives sacrificed in the name of “choice” in the USA has now reached 44 millions and counting. Castro’s Cuba is in fact a brutal dictatorship in which you can go to jail for simply opening up your personal collection of books for others to read. Lawlessness, murder and famine now stalk Zimbabwe. And in those countries that have been unwise enough to try to legitimise sodomy, we already see where people who object on principled, biblical and moral grounds are now being jailed as hate-driven criminals.

Why is that so? Because – as Scripture, history and experience jointly warn us -- good ends cannot justify evil means; for evil is always deceptive, corrupting, addictive and destructive. So, if we in Montserrat or in the wider Caribbean resort to evil, we will set loose demonic forces that will run destructive riot across our lives and communities. For, our bad example will encourage others in evil (and one evil invites many others): that is, evil is also contagious.

Worse, as we become increasingly addicted to evil, we will soon be forced to use lies and twisted arguments: to make ourselves sound good and to get others to go along with us. Next, we may then all too easily find ourselves usurping the force of law to silence, crush or drive out those who dare to oppose our evils. Finally, such people become handy scapegoats for the disasters that always flow from evil as it spreads like a raging wildfire across our community. In short, godliness, morality and especially justice – which is a moral virtue! -- cannot safely be separated from law and policy.

[SIDEBAR: Now, we are not here speaking to any one specific policy proposal, for our theme is general: Godliness, Morality, Law and Policy. But, we would be negligent or cowardly if we did not make a few fair – though quite sad -- comments on the fact that gambling is an acknowledged, addictive evil; but it has been proposed that by introducing it here in Montserrat, we would be able to “cream off” up to $50 millions per annum from “the rest of the world,” to support poor relief and other social services. So, we must ask: (1) Why has the church been ridiculed and brushed aside for pointing out (in part through a petition signed by some 600 of our residents), that it is not wise nor right to do evil in the hope that good may come of it? (2) Our official, democratically adopted SDP policy vision statement seeks to redevelop Montserrat on a wholesome, sustainable, God-fearing basis; why, then, have so many Civil Servants and ordinary citizens alike felt that they were expected to suppress their moral and social concerns about the gambling proposal? (3) Why is it that some callers to Let’s Talk -- ignoring the wide range of issues we have discussed since June and the fact that gambling undercuts the national SDP vision -- have told us that we are obsessed with gambling and that if we are to have any credibility, we must speak on other issues instead?]

In short, evils – whether in our personal lives or at the policy level – are often enticing, but they are deceptive, addictive, corrupting, contagious and destructive. Therefore, wise communities and governments will base policy and law on sound principles of godliness, morality, and justice; and so will use the force of law to restrain rather than promote evil. That’s quite a challenge, but one we have to take up. So, now, let’s talk . . .

AMEN

On God, Caesar and Government
GEM 04:08:12

“Render . . . unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.” [Matt 22:21.]

With these startling words, Jesus rebutted the Pharisees and Herodians, who had hoped to trap him with a trick question: “Is it lawful to give tribute [tax] unto Caesar, or not?” Had he answered, “no,” Jesus would have been an open rebel against Rome. If he had answered “yes,” most Jews would have branded him a traitor. But instead, he called for a tribute coin and asked whose image and inscription were on it: “Caesar’s.” So, very wisely, our Lord told them to give to Caesar what belongs to him, and to God, what belongs to Him.

There is, however, a subtle issue in the answer: Who decides what properly belongs to Caesar – or any other governmental official -- and why?

Of course, Caesar is not competent to answer that question: for, he has a major conflict of interest. Equally clearly, raw power or trickery or unjustly imposed decrees cannot properly be trotted out in the name of “law” or “custom” and passed off as the answer to a question of rights and justice. Nor, can a nation be simply a matter of property to be handed over from one ruler to another, for that would be mere slavery. (In fact, the Romans had been invited into Judaea by one side in a power struggle, and simply had never left: so, their C1 rule of Judaea was rooted in trickery, lies and naked force.)

The Psalmist has a better answer: “The earth is the Lord’s . . . and all who live in it” [Ps 24:1] – for he is our loving Creator. So, clearly, all government must be established under (and should acknowledge) God, as we see in Rom. 13:1 - 6:

“Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established . . . Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted . . . For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing.”

“The [civil authority] is God’s servant to do you good.” That is, s/he is God’s servant, i.e. accountable to God. Next, such a ruler is tasked to do you good – and in vv. 8 – 10, Paul then points out that “[l]ove does no harm to its neighbour” and therefore fulfills God’s Law. Thus, the first duty and qualification of the ruler is justice, in light of God’s law of neighbour-love: s/he is to be concerned to promote the right and good, and to restrain those who would do wrong. That is why rulers bear the sword to defend justice and have a right to collect reasonable taxes to support the work of government. In short, it is God who assigns to his servant, Caesar what properly belongs to Caesar; that he may promote justice. So, as Daniel Chs 1 - 6 show us, it is God who, in his wisdom that is far above our human understanding, raises up Governments; and as Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar and Darius’ satraps learned the hard way, God is not afraid to judge, punish or even overthrow rulers who become arrogant, blasphemous or unjust -- especially those who dare to persecute the people of God.

But, what about democracy – the rule of the people? Now, first, the people do not directly rule as a body, for that lends itself to the fickle tyranny and brutality of enraged crowds and the demagogues who manipulate them – the downfall of ancient Athens’ democracy and the root of the Reign of Terror in revolutionary C18 France. Instead, as the Bible and history jointly bear witness, free people should choose their leaders and set up laws as the framework in which government acts justly, under the supreme rule of God. Then, since sometimes governments are not merely incompetent, but are tempted to steal from the public purse, or may willfully undermine the public good, or may even use the force of the sword to attack the rights of the people or set out on imperialist conquest, we have a collective right to use the vote to reform government, by removing such mis-rulers and if necessary changing our laws, to correct the underlying fault.

We can therefore sum up the lesson of the past five hundred years: just and wise government, under the rule of law, in the fear of God [cf. 2 Sam 23:3], and with accountability to the people through regular elections – that is, “a truly democratic and God fearing society” -- is vital: for, the alternative is chaos, tyranny, and oppression; leading to recurrent and futile coups, civil wars and bloody revolutions.

As this has been increasingly recognised over the past several generations, we the people of the Caribbean, under God’s providence and blessing, have been set free from slavery and the worst excesses of colonial rule, and we have embarked on our own experiment of liberty and democratic self-government. Clearly, if we are to make a success of it, then, we must seek God’s wisdom and grace. So, now, let’s talk . . .

AMEN

PS: A more detailed discussion, which will guide the next several sessions of Let's Talk as we discuss how Montserrat may become a truly democratic and God fearing society, may be found here . (It also is a wide ranging discussion of government and governance under God as the world rushes to the culmination of History.)

On Emancipation, Liberation and the Gospel
GEM 04:08:04

This weekend, the Anglophone Caribbean celebrated the 170th anniversary of the emancipation of our ancestors from chattel slavery. Perhaps, we can best recall how it felt to our forebears by looking at a midnight celebration held in Falmouth’s Baptist church, in Trelawney, Jamaica:

As congregations gathered in every chapel across the island, the Negroes arriving for worship at Falmouth at 11p.m. on 31st July [1834] found a huge banner bearing the word Freedom across the entrance to the chapel. [Missionary William] Knibb [who had narrowly avoided being hanged as a suspected leader of the so-called “Baptist War” rebellion of 1831/2 and had then gone from Jamaica to England on an anti-slavery tour in which he addressed both public meetings and parliamentary committees] counted every last second till midnight and, as the final stroke died away, cried with all the fervour and relief of the bitter struggle finally won: “The monster is dead! The Negro is free!” [Cited: http://www.broadmeadbaptist.org.uk/people.php, cf. Sherlock & Bennett, The Story of the Jamaican People, (Kingston: Ian Randle, 1998) pp. 224 - 228. ]

Clearly, many of our ancestors saw freedom as a precious blessing from God, one that had been won at bitter cost. This is aptly summed up in the words of Paul, teachings that inspired many of our ancestors:

Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you – although if you can gain your freedom, do so. For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. [1 Cor 7:21 – 23.]; and . . . .

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery . . . . You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” If you keep biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. [Gal. 5:1, 13 – 15.]

How, then, did men from lands that had been Christianised for centuries enslave our ancestors? To see why, let us first note that the Bible has choice words on the slave trade, the foundation for plantation slavery:

The law is good if one uses it properly . . . [it] is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders [KJV: menstealers] and liars and perjurers – and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God. [1 Tim 1:8 – 11, emphasis added]

If a man is caught kidnapping one of his brother Israelites and treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. You must purge the evil from among you. [Deut. 24:7. Cf. Lev. 24:22: “You are to have the same law for the alien and the native born . . .”]

In short, there is simply no biblical defense for “Old pirates, yes, they rob I. Sold I to the merchant ships . . .” and the resulting chattel slavery imposed on our ancestors by the Europeans (who had the merchant ships) and the Africans, Berbers and Arabs who carried out the kidnapping and selling in Africa. But, greed for super-profits plainly blinded the traders to the serious moral and biblical issues at stake. So, instead of creating an indentured labour system, which the OT tolerates and regulates (and which was how for instance the Pilgrims settled in Massachusetts), the Europeans resorted to plantation chattel slavery and racism, backed up by unjust laws passed in the interests of the powerful. Then, they suppressed, ignored or twisted the scriptures and persecuted those who protested, to silence their uneasy consciences.

Thank God, many dissenting Christians dared to stand up stoutly for the liberating truths of the gospel in England, in America and – starting with black American Missionary George Liele, who came to Jamaica in 1783 as a refugee fleeing re-enslavement -- here in the Caribbean. Fifty-one years after that date, “the Monster” was dead. Then through an endowment from the people of God in Britain, a network of free villages was formed, starting the process of economic liberation. And, within five years of “full free” in 1838, a hundred Caribbean Missionaries went to West Africa -- the land of our ancestors -- with the gospel.

How, then, can we do less in our time? So, now, let’s talk . . .

AMEN

LT # 9 Current Interest Commentary:

On Tickling Ears vs. Sound Instruction

GEM 04:07:25

In his final letter, written shortly before he was unjustly put to death by Nero Caesar in ~ AD 67 [Christians were falsely accused of setting the fire that burned Rome in AD 64], the Apostle Paul warned Timothy -- and through him, us:

". . . the time will come when men will not put up with sound [instruction]. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." [2 Ti 4:3 – 4]

In short, there has always been a temptation to turn away from spiritual and practical truth and instead follow sweet-sounding talk that tickles our itching ears with myths and lies that tell us what we want to hear. But scripture warns: “there is a way that seems right to a man, but the end of that way are the ways of death.” [Prov. 14:12]

So, if Montserrat is to be successfully rebuilt, we must learn the vital difference between ear-tickling rhetoric and sound thinking under God: “Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labour in vain.” [Ps 127:1a] And that is what Let’s Talk is all about. Therefore, let us note Aristotle’s telling remarks in his The Rhetoric: “Persuasion is achieved by the speaker's personal character when the speech is so spoken as to make us think him credible . . . Secondly, persuasion may come through the hearers, when the speech stirs their emotions. Our judgements when we are pleased and friendly are not the same as when we are pained and hostile . . . Thirdly, persuasion is effected through the speech itself when we have proved a truth or an apparent truth by means of the persuasive arguments suitable to the case in question.”

That is, as a rule, persuasion – and rhetoric is the art of persuasion; not proof – uses the ear-tickling words of a clever speaker, to appeal to sin-prone emotions (especially pride, greed, lusts, fear and anger). Only rarely does a public debate instead focus on actual proof: laying out the true facts and then correctly reasoning from those facts to sound conclusions and associated duties. For, the latter requires: (1) knowledge of the background context; (2) fearlessly facing the material facts -- those that make a difference to the conclusion; and, (3) patiently following a step by step chain of careful reasoning. That’s often quite hard, and can take a lot of time. But, if instead we base our decisions on sinful sweet-talk, we are headed for shipwreck – as literally happened to the people who rejected Paul’s advice on his first journey to Rome. [Cf. Acts 27.]

A few examples from last week’s somewhat boisterous call-in segment will make the point clear:

--> You are only talking about gambling.

Not so: over the past eight sessions, we have focused on the Official Montserrat SDP Vision Statement and so have highlighted issues ranging from (a) the need to develop our new Community College and foster business incubation as a foundation for re-development; to (b) the need for God-fearing just governance in our various social institutions; to (c) the vast potential for agriculture. Also, sadly, this false accusation can easily distract us from the vitally important ethical issues and facts raised by the crisis with the Attorney General!

--> You are speaking normatively, not interpretively.

Now, the key issue in view last week was the need to recognise a Civil Servant’s right and duty to act in light of conscience, as guided by sound reason under the SDP’s long-standing policy commitment to wholesome re-development; and the material fact that the gambling proposal seeks to legalise making money through promoting an addictive, personally and socially destructive habit. That is, the issues on the table were about what OUGHT to be [i.e. the normative/ETHICAL], rather than what IS so just now. In short, if we are to correct injustice and reject unsound policy proposals, we must deal with the normative/ethical!

--> You hypocrite!

The follow up meeting with this caller revealed a key fact that he did not state during his call last week: I had been called over to respond to several questions raised by his wife, and did so until I became late for a meeting; thus, there was no deliberate refusal to address questions that he had asked. On the broader question, as we discussed earlier tonight, we apologise for our clumsy handling of calls last week, and are reworking the call-in component to give people and issues a fair hearing while keeping the programme on track.

--> You are Fundamentalists!

This word, in the 1920’s, originally meant people that were concerned to stand up for -- and live by -- the authentic, historically sound core teachings of the Gospel. But it has now become little more than a prejudice-driven accusation that means something like: “you Christians are ignorant, hypocritical, backward, violent religious bigots who want to impose a Taliban-like religious dictatorship.” Now, the Let’s Talk Hosts stand by the central fact that God vindicated Jesus and his teachings by triumphantly raising him from the dead; with over 500 eyewitnesses. So, unless we rebuild our nation under the Lordship and wisdom of the risen Christ, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of knowledge and wisdom” [Col 2:3], our efforts will simply be in vain. We are also just as committed to the God-given right of all of our people to responsibly exercise their democratic freedoms. So, we invite you to speak to the issues and facts, on whatever side you happen to hold; but, let us all respect the facts and avoid abusive words that stir up heat rather than give forth the light we need to guide us to safe harbour. [Cf. Ac 27.]

So, now, let’s talk . . .

AMEN

LT # 8 International Current Interest item:
On En-LIE-tenment
GEM 04:07:20

The Apostle Paul long ago counselled:

“Live as children of light . . . have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them . . . everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible . . . Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” [Eph 5:11 – 17]

In short, as the Psalmist said, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” [Ps 119:105]

But, ever since the great triumphs of Sir Isaac Newton in the late 1600’s, who discovered the laws of motion and gravitation, we have increasingly sought “enlightenment” through Science, education, and philosophy. Then in the 1800’s, the triumph of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution seemed to hammer home the last nail in God’s coffin. Even the leading Theologians began to explain the Bible in terms of man’s evolving religious ideas, rather than any so-called revelation from God. So, as Richard Dawkins sums up, it often seems that it is only the ignorant, stupid, insane, or wicked who reject the modern “enlightened” view of the world.

Q: Why, then, are there still educated people – such as us – who take God, the Bible and biblical morality seriously?

A: Because there is a big gap between how things may seem and how they actually are. That is, there is true en-LIGHT-enment, but there is also a deceptive (but ever so popular) en-LIE-tenment:

--> “Science” at most gives us provisional knowledge of the external natural and human world, based on experiments, observation and educated guesses as to the underlying laws. But, as “provisional” points out, science is open-ended; science is always subject to correction based on further research and analysis. For instance, over the past few decades -- as it has become ever more clear how finely and exactly tuned the laws and constants of physics have to be for life to be possible, and as the irreducible complexity of the mechanisms of life have been recognised – a growing number of scientists and philosophers have now seen that the most reasonable conclusion is that the universe and life have come from the hands of an awesomely Intelligent Designer, AKA God.

--> Also, the famous secular humanist Aldous Huxley (author of Brave New World, grandson of “Darwin’s Bulldog, Thomas H., and brother of the first leader of UNESCO, Sir Julian H.) gives away the game on philosophy, science and morality. For, in a famous quote, he confessed: “I had motives for not wanting the world to have a meaning; consequently I assumed that it had none . . . Those who detect no meaning in the world [e.g., that the complexity of life just discussed strongly points to God] generally do so because, for one reason or another, it suits their books that the world should be meaningless . . . For myself, as no doubt for most of my contemporaries, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation, sexual and political.” [Ends and Means, Chatto & Windus, pp. 270 – 273, parenthesis added.]

--> Finally, the decisive fact regarding the truth of the Bible and the Gospel is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, for which there were over 500 eyewitnesses, most of whom were alive when the record was made. As Paul said to the Governor of Judaea when he was on trial for his life because of his testimony to the resurrection: “What I am saying is true and reasonable. The king [Agrippa] is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner.” [Ac 26:25 – 26.] The king’s evasive reply, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?” and the silence of his accusers speaks volumes. So have the testimonies, transformed lives and impact of the many millions who have met God personally through faith in the risen Christ in the twenty centuries since.

So, then, we must choose in our day. Which will it be: Godly En-LIGHT-enment, or persuasive but ever so deceitful humanistic en-LIE-tenment?

AMEN

LT # 7 International Current Interest item:

On Legislating Morality

GEM 04:07:12a

“The Glory and the Shame.”

That’s how Roman Catholic Priest and Scholar Peter Hocken summed up a basic human puzzle: for all our vast potential to do good, we ever so often fall short of the glorious image of God that is in us; because of the shockingly deep roots of sin in our hearts: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” [Jeremiah 17:9.]

So, injustice, oppression and corruption all too easily and rapidly spread across state, church, families and the wider community, damaging or even destroying a society. Government, therefore, always has to address justice and morality as issues that are of first importance. As David said in his last words: “He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.” [2 Sam 23:3, KJV, cf. Rom 13:1 - 7.]

“But, you cannot legislate morality!”

This is a popular saying nowadays, but it is simply wrong. For, our rights are moral claims we make on one another: in defense of our life, liberty, property, reputation, family etc. So, if Government is to protect our God-given rights – i.e. if it is to be just – it MUST address morality: in its Laws, its Courts, Parliament and the Cabinet, as well as the Civil Service, Police and Schools. Otherwise, the state becomes tyrannical, and the people will either be utterly crushed or else they must rise up together to reform or if necessary replace such a corrupt and devilish Government. That is what our history of liberation from slavery and from share-cropping – not to mention the right to vote -- are all about!

So, since our region is so strongly influenced by trends in America, let us look with deep concern and prayer as we see the current debate in the United States Senate, over protecting what is now called “traditional marriage.”

For, Judges in Massachusetts have recently twisted the long-settled law on marriage; to promote so-called “same sex marriage” – never mind: (1) what God has to say on the sin of sodomy [e.g. Rom 1:16 – 32], (2) the known personally and socially destructive consequences of such homosexuality, (3) the absence of credible scientific evidence that this perversion is rooted in one’s genetic make-up and (4) the demonstrated importance of sound marriages and families to the survival of the community. Sadly, the proposed Constitutional Amendment is likely to fail; as most Democratic Senators (including Candidates Kerry and Edwards) and several Republican Senators are unwilling to confront the powerful Gay Lobby, now a major force in American politics. And, given the pressure from Amnesty International on Jamaica to legalise sodomy and buggery, and the similar pressure on the Netherlands Antilles to accept homosexual marriages from Holland, ill winds from the North are already blowing across our region.

But, while we look with shock to the North, we face a similar – but subtler -- dilemma at home. For, our own Montserratian legislature last week again considered the question of introducing Gambling as a fund-raising measure, and it was only with great difficulty that the public petition against the proposed act was finally read in the House. Thankfully, the bill had to be postponed again, due to the courage of concerned members. However, it is increasingly clear that Christians and others of similar moral convictions who hold responsible positions in Montserrat are under terrific pressure to accept gambling; regardless of well-founded and widespread concerns that such a policy promotes a greed-driven, addictive, selfish, corrupting and socially destructive practice. In short, Montserrat, too, is at the point of decision, and the issue is in doubt.

Are we really determined to be “a healthy, wholesome . . . truly democratic, God-fearing society” as our SDP vision statements have said – since at least 1997? Don’t these words actually acknowledge that we have a national covenant under, and with, God – a covenant that we break at our peril?

Let us therefore reflect soberly, let us pray, and let us talk these things over. After that, let us come together as a people, to act with courage to build a healthy, wholesome, truly democratic, just and God-fearing future.

AMEN

LT # 6 International current interest item:

On the Significance of July 4th

GEM 04:07:06

On Sunday, July 4, we celebrated the 31st anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramos, which brought CARICOM into being. It was also the 228th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence of the United States.

The first, laid the basis for the Single Market and Economy and Caribbean Court of Justice that are now on the table as the next steps in regional integration. The second marks the first modern example of sustained, successful self-government by a free people. It also lays out the biblically rooted basis for that success. So, let us reflect briefly on the words of Thomas Jefferson, that conscience-lashed, hopelessly indebted slave owner who said he “trembled” as he reflected on the sins of America in light of the thought that “God is just”:

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. [2nd Paragraph, US DOI, 1776]

These few words say a lot, and it is worth a pause to look at several points that highlight some of the challenges that face us as the people of the ever more closely integrated Caribbean region:

q Self-evident truths: If you reject them, you end up in foolishness. For instance, Psalm 14 points out that it is fools who say to themselves “there is no God” – for they thus become morally and intellectually bankrupt. Current events in North America and Europe provide abundant proof – e.g. contrast the rhetoric and the reality of counterfeit, so-called “same sex marriage.” [Cf. Rom 1:16 – 32, 1 Cor 6:9 – 11, Eph 4:17 – 24.] Equally sadly, many of our brightest people in the region have also lost sight of the fear of God; which Prov. 1:7 highlights as the first point of wisdom.
q God-endowed rights: A right is a binding moral claim we have on other persons – your right to your life, liberty, reputation and property (etc) means I have a duty to respect your life, liberty, reputation and property (etc). We have such rights because God has made us in his image, so those who turn their backs on God turn their backs on the only sound and sustainable basis for defending our lives, and our liberty! (Especially, if we begin to think that rights are merely entitlements granted by the state: what the state giveth, it taketh away too; when the balance of political power shifts.)
q Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness: Without life, all else is lost; and, as Orlando Patterson said, slavery is social death. Third, we are only truly happy when we fulfill our diverse talents and callings in God – that is how we can flourish in a wholesome, healthy, friendly, truly democratic and God-fearing society.
q Government is there to protect our rights: rulers fulfill their duty when they are just, and rule in the fear of God [2 Sam 23:3].
q The Right of Reformation: Whenever a government turns its back on its duty to be just, it is our right as the people to demand that the government mend its ways, or to change the Government. (Thank God, we have the privilege of the ballot box for that!)

So, as CARICOM sets about “the next step” in regional integration, let us insist that the CSME and the CCJ be accountable to the people, under God, for justice. That in turn requires that there be transparency provisions to hold these regional rulers and administrators to account, with effective mechanisms to reform -- and if necessary change or remove -- them. Last, but not least, let us always remember the warning of Lord Acton: “Power tends to corrupt; absolute power [– i.e. power without accountability –] corrupts absolutely; great men are bad men.”


AMEN

NOTE: On a weekly basis, I intend to post "steering word" commentaries from the Let's Talk Radio show, ZJB, Montserrat.

Here is the first in the series:

LT # 5 International current interest item:

Iraq Sovereignty Hand-over
GEM 04:06:29

On Monday June 28, TV news reports showed Mr Bush at a NATO conference in Turkey – glancing at his watch; then smiling and shaking hands with an equally beaming Mr Blair. Thus, two days ahead of schedule, Sovereignty was handed over to the new Iraqi government.

With this fresh start, the long-suffering, but now liberated people of Iraq have an opportunity to become a shining city of hope in the Middle East. For this, we should pray; as a stable, free and prosperous Iraq can go a long way towards building peace, liberty and stability in that long troubled region. Especially, we should pray for the Assyrian and Chaldean Christian minorities who are very worried that they will be oppressed and persecuted by the Muslim majority (under the dhimmi code in Islamic sharia law). Second, current reports on Christian media networks are that some churches in Iraq are “doubling and trebling” their numbers, so we need to pray for even more showers of heaven-sent revival. Third, let us pray that the new Iraq contributes to the peace of Jerusalem; Psalm 122:6 strongly encourages us to pray for the peace of that city.

But also, the Iraq crisis shows the three great global forces that we mentioned last week at work:

1. The De-christianisers – While there is obviously much room for debate on the pro/cons of the renewed heavy fighting in Iraq in March 2003 that overthrew Mr Hussein, one of the major reasons that Mr Bush and Mr Blair were so harshly attacked over the past year in the media and international forums is their evangelical Christian faith. (For instance, in a recent BBC interview Mr Blair had to DEFEND himself from the accusation that he prayed with Mr Bush! Similarly, one of the main reasons Mr Bush – who qualified as a Fighter Pilot and holds a Harvard MBA -- is often accused of being “stupid” is that he is a Christian: after all, in many an atheist’s opinion, Christian faith is merely a discredited, damaging superstition and only the weak-minded cling to it. There is another word for such prejudiced, arrogant contempt: BIGOTRY. For, in fact God has shown that he will judge all men with perfect justice, by raising Jesus from the dead: with over 500 eyewitnesses -- there is convincing proof of the truth of the gospel, if only we would humbly listen. Moreover, if one is honest, s/he will also have to admit that all of us are a strange mixture of the glory and the shame; the wise and the stupid; the good and the bad – this simply shows that while God made us in his glorious image, we are ALL fallen sinners who need to repent and be reformed. So, through Jesus let us all confess our sin and folly and seek God’s forgiveness, empowering and wisdom to do better. Let us therefore pray for Messrs. Bush and Blair [and for the many other world leaders; cf. 1 Tim 2:1 – 2] that they -- through God’s grace -- will be wise and godly statesmen: building justice, liberty, enduring and sound peace and God-blessed prosperity.)

2. Militant Islamism – Most Iraqis are Muslim, and the overwhelming majority support the rise of a truly just, peaceful and democratic government. However, as we see day by day in our headlines, a few local and foreign jihadists are using terrorist tactics to try to destabilise the new Government and create a base for spreading Taliban-like radical regimes across the ME and wider world. Let us pray that they fail, for if they get their hands on Iraq’s WMD-building capacity (and perhaps stocks left behind by Mr Hussein as well), the resulting surge in terrorism, mass-murder and war in the ME and beyond would be far beyond our worst nightmares.

3. Christian Revival and Reformation – Last week, bro Kim of S Korea was murdered – it seems, martyred -- in Iraq by Islamist militants. (Now, “martyr” is actually the Greek word for “witness.” But, 2,000 years ago, Christians who were faithful to Christ rewrote its meaning with their blood: for, as Tertullian the great C2 Christian leader from North Africa said, the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.) Let us pray that in Iraq and across the ME, as in Ancient Rome, revival will continue to spread as consciences and minds will be stirred to listen to the good news of the Prince of Peace; so that the sacrifice of bro Kim -- who spent his spare time witnessing to Jesus even in Iraq -- will not be in vain.

Here in Montserrat, the same three global forces are at work, and so let us be wise as we listen to news and as we think about how best to rebuild Montserrat under our SDP vision as a healthy, wholesome, prosperous, democratic and God-fearing nation.

AMEN

Yet another
Day of Infamy

The Kairos
Focus

GEM 04:05:17

LEAD: Today,
Monday May 17, 2004, marks yet another "date that shall live in infamy."

For, it is the
day on which -- thanks to the refusal last week of the US Supreme Court to intervene
in a blatant case of Judges imposing their perverse opinions on the people of
Massachusetts and their elected representatives -- so-called "same-sex
marriage" will become legal in that state by Court order. Thus, through
the faith and credit clause of the US Constitution, this devastating perversion
of marriage (just check out what has happened in the handful of super-secularised
European countries that have done this before: try Focus on the Family for a
start) will be automatically legalised across the United States. (And thanks
to the disgraceful sacking of Judge Roy Moore last summer, officials who disobey
unconstitutional, tyrannical court orders will have little or no support in
the public and media!)

This has immediate
implications for public policy and morality across the Caribbean, for we are
heavily dependent on the tourism industry, which in several of our islands employs
up to 20 - 25% or even more of our people and produces a similar fraction of
GDP. For, there will now be a demand for us to recognise these so-called marriages
in our lynchpin industry; and probably -- given the recent case of mockery of
marriage through annual mass nude weddings (are they still sponsored by Playboy
porn cable tv?) in Jamaica -- there are figures in the industry who are looking
to a profitable new business opportunity: wedding services for so-called gay
couples.

(This is not just
scare-mongering speculation: here in Montserrat, in the course of canvassing
for a petition to Governement to roll back legalised Internet and Casino gambling,
we have discovered that there is support for such a "gay wedding industry"
proposal among certain sectors of the business community.)

But, What Saith
Scripture?

May I beg to remind
us of a couple of politically incorrect -- the perverted law in Canada now deems
the below: "hate speech"! -- scriptures?

Deut 8:17 You
may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced
this wealth for me." 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives
you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he
swore to your forefathers, as it is today. 19 If you ever forget the LORD
your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify
against you today that you will surely be destroyed. 20 Like the nations the
LORD destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the LORD
your God.

Rom 1:18 The
wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and
wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness . . . 20 For
since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power
and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has
been made, so that men are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God,
they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking
became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed
to be wise, they became fools . . . 25 They exchanged the truth of God for
a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who
is forever praised. Amen. 26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful
lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27
In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were
inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other
men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. 28 Furthermore,
since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he
gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29 They
have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity.
They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,
30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways
of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they are senseless, faithless,
heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they know God's righteous decree that those
who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very
things but also approve of those who practice them.

The Word of God
is plain: our long-term economic and national survival -- that is, truly sustainable
development -- are dependent on the blessing of God, and therefore on our attitude
to Him as communities. In particular, if we forget him and his word and choose
to put our own ideas and idols in their place, we will destroy ourselves in
a cesspit of immorality and perversion, deceit, vicious curiousity isuing in
evil invention, and violence. Resemblance to current events in our region, in
North America and the wider world are NOT coincidental.

Nor, is it hate
to point out to those who are rushing towards a cliff edge in a fog, that they
are heading to disaster. Just the opposite, in fact: it is loving one's neighbour
as oneself to frankly point out the truth! [Cf. Lev. 19:15 - 18.]

But, why is there
so little protest, so little action to oppose these destructive trends, so little
concern, so little prayer?

Let's Connect
the Dots

Perhaps, we need
to connect a few dots:

1] ANTI-CHRISTIAN
EMOTIONAL MANIPULATION: A long time ago, in his The Rhetoric, Aristotle
warned that our judgements when we are pleased and friendly are vastly different
from those when we are pained and hostile.

In recent decades,
we have been subjected through the mass media to the notion that godly intentions
are put forward by idiotic, fanatical, violence-prone hypocritical fundamentalists,
while perversions and perverts have been consistently portrayed in a favourable
light. So, today, so-called "gay marriage" is being portrayed as a
"fairness" issue, as is the notion that the insanitary, unhealthy,
grossly bizarre, personally and socially destructive activities called "sodomy"
are actually civil rights. All of this serves to undermine our confidence in
well-demonstrated facts: stable marriages and families, in communities that
depend on hard work in communities that promote justice and contribute to the
world through productive rather than exploitive or vice-based industries are
the demonstrated basis for sustainable development of a community.

2] DISTRACTION:
It is no coincidence that over the past several months, the current US Administration
-- led by a now much despised, Evangelical, born again Episcopalian -- has been
subjected to a flood of accusations of lying, hypocrisy and imperialistic intent
regarding its renewal of hostilities in Iraq (after 12 years of Armistice violations,
17 UNSC resolutions and several surges of renewed hostilities through brief
bombing campaigns failed to secure complince on the part of the Saddam Hussein
regime). But, just at the time vindicating facts are surfacing, our attention
is being diverted by: yet another accusation: prison "atrocities."
[I thought such terms were usually reserved for the sort of massacres and torture
chambers that have put 300,000 graves in the Iraqi deserts, thanks to the Hussein
family's activities since 1979. Or is this an attempt to create a sense of immoral
equivalency between a rogue prison unit and a sadistic, tyrannical mass-murdering
regime?]

I hear someone
querying: "Vindicating facts"? Yes:

(i) A few weeks
ago, 20 tons of VX and other deadly war gases were recovered, just in time,
in Jordan, in the hands of Al Qaeda operatives linked to Iraq. The gases reportedly
came in via Syria, but their ultimate origin is not in serious doubt: Iraq
is the only accessible source capable of manufacturing these gases on the
scale in question. Had they been released in Amman, Jordan, 80,000 people
would have died. If released in Israel, it would have triggered massive, perhaps
nuclear, war. In short, the cost of a smoking gun discovery would have been
catastrophic; but since there is no mass-casualty, WMD event, this has been
briefly reported and soon forgotten: don't hold your breath waiting for apologies
to the villified but now vindicated Administrations of Bush and Blair. For
shame!

(ii) Over the
past several months, significant, apparently well substantiated information
has surfaced that the Iraq Oil for Food programme, administered through the
UN Secretariat, had become a global bribery and illicit weapons smuggling
scheme, implicating senior UN officials and a cluster of Govermnments including
especially France and Russia. So serious are the allegations that former US
Fed Chairman Paul Volcker is leading an audit team set up by the UN, though
the scope is artificially restricted. For, US$ 111 Billions were processed,
only US$ 15 Billion of which went for actual food (much of which failed to
reach the actual needy people), and another US $30 Billions for various "cultural"
items. What happened to the other US $60 - 70 Billions? Could this explain
why even though so much was spent, the people of Iraq were still suffering
severe hardships?

3] MORE DISTRACTIONS:
Isn't it strange that an Administration that issued a press release in January
regarding the discovery of abuses at Abu Ghraib, and anounced that Courts Martial
were in train, would face at this time -- only two weeks before the Courts Martial
could convene -- a scandal triggered through leaking of photographs that the
leaders of the Pentagon pleaded be held back for a reasonable time in the interests
of protecting the lives of troops? Isn't it even more interesting that when
an innocent abducted Jewish contractor was beheaded by wanted Al Qaeda operatives
based in Iraq, in "revenge," blame was promptly attached to the Administration
-- whose officials had warned him to keep out of Iraq?

Also, since the
sort of perverse, homoerotic and sadistic behaviour captured for the camera
revealed in the photos reflects directly on a pornographic, perverted lifestyle,
what is the connection between the 1993 "Don't ask, don't tell" Clinton-implemented
policy on sodomy in the military [not to mention in the White House Oval office
- Fellatio is in fact a type of sodomy] and the recent events? The consequence
is quite predictable: Bush has now slipped to 46% in the polls, with Kerry --
whose public policy philosophy wioll materially advance exactly the destructive
agendas we are discussing -- now at 51%.

4] MEDIA BIAS
& AGENDAS: Thursday before last, I finally had enough of media manipulation.
On a BBC World Today programme, Korean Christians and missionaries were characterised
as gibberish-speaking, ecstatic crusading zealots, who have targetted the Middle
East. In that region "crusader" is not only a fighting word, it will
cost innocent people their lives. (BBC evidently knows this: when I checked
the online version, without notice of the alteration, references to crusading
zeal and to glossolalia had been edited out.) So, instead of reporting on the
transformation of Korea into a modern, highly progressive, exemplary Christian
nation that is now the number two sender of missionaries globally, we saw a
calculated hatchet job: and, to date, there has not even been an acknowledgement
of my complaint. Next time, when an innocent Korean, Chinese or Japanese is
murdered by blood-crazed jihadist zealots in the Middle East, do not expect
BBC, sadly self-righteous in its secularist agenda, to apologise or acknowledge
guilt.

On this one, I
have reached a pitch, where I have now developed an online rating scheme for
the media and similar presentations in the name of truth: http://www.angelfire.com/pro/kairosfocus/resources/straight_or_spin.htm

How it works:
media stories have (1) a head and lead, (2) the story proper, (3) characterisation
of people and institutions mentioned or implied, and (4) a background context.
For each of these elements, we should consider: (a) Accuracy, (b) Fairness,
(c) kindness, (d) balance (or whether it provides a counter-balance). So we
have a sixteen-point rating scale. Sources that consistently score 13 - 16 are
acceptable, but those at 7 or under are dangerous. Unfortunately, that is exactly
where much of the local and international media are these days. For shame!

Seeing the
Big Picture

One of the major
points above is: context -- or rather, the lack of it.

For, if we fail
to understand our times, we will not know what to do [1 Chron. 12;32]. in our
times, that means we need to understand how three major forces are dominating
global trends, and how we should respond intelligently and spiritually as Christians
in the Caribbean:

I: The Northern
Tidal Wave: out of Europe and North America, anti-Christ secularism, neo-paganism
perversions and apostate chhistianity have joined forces to target the world
with a filthy brew of unbelief, occult involvement, moral collapse, perversions
of every stripe and corrosive selective skepticism and suspicion of anything
that smacks of Christ.

II: The Middle
Eastern Tidal Wave: out of the jihadist, islamist ideology that once led
to the wars of muslim expansion from 621 - 1683, we again see a bloody surge
of jihad-motivated aggression. From Indonesia to Sudan, Nigeria and beyond,
blood, much of it innocent, flows once again. And, the global Dawah missionary
campaign, Saudi-funded tot he tune of US$ 100 Billions over the past twenty
years, seeks to islamise the whole world. (Those who are entertaining the thought
that such would be a blessing should first find out what dhimmitude is like,
perhaps by looking at www.dhimmi.org . Similarly, those who deride Christian
missionaries as illegitimate, should reflect on the impact of the global Dawah:
this is the principal source of the wave of Wahhabist extremist clerics that
have ideologically fanned the current jihad into flames. Go compare: who planted
hospitals and schools?)

III: The Southern
Reformation: thank God, over the past 100 and more years, God has sent out
a massive wave of the gospel, which has triggered a revival and transformation
of the South of the planet. And now, with China having multiplied its Christian
population at least twenty-fold in the past fifty years, over the next 20 -
30 years, that nation is poised to become the largest Christian nation on the
planet. Already, the Chinese church is looking to its global respoonsibilities!

So, the ball is
in our court. For, we in the Caribbean are the first region to be thoroughly
evangelised in modern times, and we are by and large the peoples of the 10/40
window, who through being brought to the Caribbean [with all the horrors that
that implies] have been blessed through the gospel in ways we often take for
granted. But now, we have to think harder than we have ever had to think before,
and awaken to our responsibilities in the world.

++++++++++++++++++++++

PS: I have been
very busy with a transition to Montserrat, and have had to neglect regular postings.
For this Iam sorry, and hope to be able to take back up the torch over the next
few weeks. Indeed, this discussion piece will be followed by other articles
one a week for the next little while. Let us think, and act, by God's grace.
Gordon.

Web Clips and Comments: Dec 29, 2003

SYNOPSIS: The capture of Mr Saddam Hussein has seemed to spark both
the "premptive surrender"
of Libya, which declared that it was abandoning its WMD programmes (including
nuclear programmes), and an upsurge in terrorism as the Islamists and Baathists
across the ME and world desperately try to still be in the fight. Sharon in
Israel has announced a disengagement option, where if talks show no progress,
he will pull back behind the now controversial West Bank wall/fence -- note
that a fence around Gaza has sufficed to prevent suicide bombings from the heartland
of Hamas and Islamic Jihad support!

Of course our local pundits continue their disconnect from and massive denial
of reality, both relative to the ongoing resurgence of the 1,000 year Jihad
that lasted from the 600s to the late 1600s, but also over local issues. For
instance, the Jamaica Theological Seminary-Caribbean Graduate School of Theology
[JTS-CGST] recently announced
the intent to become a regional Christian University, only to be pounced
on by Mr Mark Wignall, a former evangelical turned hedonist and secularist.
His major claim: that it is highly dubious that Christians can create a credible
university that addresses science and clinical psychology -- despite the existence
of the well-recognised Northern Caribbean University [a Seventh-Day Adventist
Institution] and the equally well respected JTS-CGST programmes in Counselling
Psychology and Guidance, at masters and bachelors levels. This I pointed out
in a rebuttal
that was published -- in a badly edited form. [I append the original.]

Perhaps the most significant item over the past two weeks or so is the David
Aikman National Review interview, in which he highlighted trends in the
church in China, which he numbers at approximately 92 Millions. [BTW, if the
usual claim that circa 1950 there were 5 million Christians in China, then about
80 Millions by the early 90s are correct, then this means four doublings over
forty years, or a compound growth rate of some 7%. That would mean that if the
rate continued, the current numbers should be about 150 - 160 millions. Of course,
such trends are seldom very smooth.] He observes that the trends are parallel
to the Roman Empire in the 200's which had the educated classes increasingly
becoming Christian, even in the face of waves of persecution. Such a trend portends
a tipping point in which the Christian community attains critical mass that
affects the national character, culture and policy -- pointing out that South
Korea, with Christians as 1/3 the population and a similar pattern of conversions,
has "tipped." [If that is a good indicator, it suggests China may
be as little as 20 - 50 years away from tipping, if the growth continues at
rates similar to those over the past half-century.]

Of course, that would be globally decisive, as it would mean that the two greatest
powers in the world at that time would be strongly even decisively influenced
by the Christian World- and Life- view. On that basis, though we see regional
and global turbulence over the next generation, the underlying trend is in favour
of the Southern Christian Reformation, not the Islamists or the Secularists
and Neopagans.

Something to think and pray about, especially as we consider that the Caribbean's
Christian community are in large part the people from the 10/40 Window, brought
under the influence of the gospel, and now able and empowered to carry that
message to the world.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:

• The current Advent Season brings to mind the perennial question of when
  Jesus was actually born ( Farah gives a minority view; the Shepherds in
  the Fields is usually held to indicate September-October) -- but, of course,
  Christmas is actually simply an Official Birthday, similar to the Queen's
  Birthday. I found a review
  on Saint Nicholas very interesting, given the beginnings of an attack
  on Santa Claus as being a religious figure too!
  
  
  
  


• The reflections of Rabbi Lapin on the significance
  of Hanukkah and the miracle of provision and sustenance by God are well
  worth a thought or two in a world where economic and environmental crises
  are the cry -- sometimes, the hysteria -- of the day. But also, we should
  not forget that the Season is a peak time for persecution by those who would
  drive Christ from the public square, and the
  jihadists. Let us continue to pray for the suffereingf church under dhimmitude
  and jihad, as well as the church under seige by the secularists and neopagans
  in the West.
  
  
  
  


• The US upgrading of terror level to Orange, has had quite an impact on International
  Travel, and will probably not do our Winter Tourist Season any good. It is
  claimed that the underlying
  basis is from Mr bin Laden's current plans. However, be that as it may,
  we dare not forget that the 9/11 losses were approximately equal to the number
  of babies aborted on any given day in trhe USA, and the blood of these innocents
  also cries out to God for justice, against the US establishment that refuses
  to hear their cry.
  
  
  
  


• On this score, I was intrigued to see Jill
  Stanek point out a biblical fact I had long observed: that when Mary went
  to the Hil Country to see her cousin Elizabeth, who was in her sixth month,
  John the Baptist, by the Spirit, even in the womb responded to the weeks-old
  embryonic Christ in utero, with joy! (There is no way that perceptive, consistent
  and informed Bible-based Christians should view the embryo as less than fully
  human and fully deserving of protection of life! BTW, this should make us
  think again about the use of contraceptive devices such as IUDs and Morning
  After Pills (and some "standard" pills) that do not block conception,
  but prevent implantation.)
  
  
  
  


• Neil Boortz raises a worrying question about how we perceive economic reality,
  and how
  our Profs and Teachers may in part be responsible for it, through manipulation
  of the classroom process. This is particularly in my mind because of a recent
  conversations with Christian brothers who seems to be fiormly of the opinion
  that the basis of the free enterprise economic system is greed and oppression
  of the working classes, not liberty and opportunity to pursue one's dreams,
  in ways that as Jeremiah 29 points out, can be compatible with the general
  benefit and advancement of the community. perhaps the online version of my
  CC article on Enterprise under God as a part of the work of the church should
  be of help. Cf. Table
  of Contents, Why Not Now?
  
  
  
  


• Dr Hamza, Saddam's bombmaker who fled to the West in 1995 and has spent
  years warning against the danger of the Iraqi programme, was seriously wounded
  in an assassination attempt in Iraq. The
  incident is worrying, and lends support to the credibility of his testimony.
  Don't expect to read this anytime soon in the writings of our local pundits!
  
  
  
  


• In a similar vein, it is sobering to read the
  assessment of the Clinton Administration in 1998 on Iraq, and contrast
  the public pillorying of the Bush Administration's similar claims over the
  past year and a half. Let us hear Senator Lieberman, from a recent hardball
  interview with Chris Matthews: "I want to be real clear about the connection
  with terrorists. I've seen a lot of evidence on this. There are extensive
  contacts between Saddam Hussein's government and al Qaeda and other terrorist
  groups. I never could reach the conclusion that [Saddam] was part of September
  11. Don't get me wrong about that. But there was so much smoke there that
  it made me worry. And you know, some people say with a great facility, al
  Qaeda and Saddam could never get together. He is secular and they're theological.
  But there's something that tied them together. It's their hatred of us." Developing
  . . .

FOCAL ISSUE:

Global tipping point

The Aikman story raises several interesting themes as we reflect on the three-way
contest for the hearts and minds of a global world:

1. The Secularists, neopagans and Apostates of the West


2. The Islamists and Jihadists of the Middle East


3. The rising Southern Christian Reformation

If the church in China can maintain an annual compound growth rate similar
to that over the past half century, within a Generation, China will become a
Christian culture. This alone would have great implications for the world, but
China is actually a striking example of a global phenomenon: the rising tide
of reformation that even now is transforming the South of the planet. For, Africa
has seen a truly spectacular explosion in Christian Faith over trhe past century
(which will make it and its extensions in the Caribbean ands the Americas a
focal point for the clash between militant islam and the Christian Faith), and
Latin America is shifting to a more evangelical form of the Christian Faith.
South Korea, as noted, has already tipped.

This highlights the responsibilityt of the Christians of the Caribbean. For
we are in the main the people of the 10/40 window, brought into the Caribbean,
and under the power of the gospel to liberate and transform, for instance leading
to relatively harmonious racial relationships, never mind the lingering but
thankfully fading stench of colour-class-race barriers.

Never have we been so well off economically, nor so well educated, nor so accessible
to travel. Does not this imply that it is a time for us to look back on the
heritage of the ex-slaves such as Fuller and Merrick, who in the 1840s pioneered
missions in Africa? Similarly, we cannot be dismissed in the North as right-wing
redneck ill-educated yahoos shouting out bigotry and fundamentalism.

Thatr is, we are well-positioned to play a leading roile in the work of the
church in bringing the gospel to the 10/40 window and the secularised and paganised
West.

So, itr comes down to a familiar question:

If not NOW, when? If not HERE, where? If not US, who?

END