Wonderful Therapies During a Crisis.

As I sat at Starbucks this morning with a cappuccino, a croissant and The Daily Mail newspaper - all in a traditional Saturday morning ritual, and an Asian young man sitting at the table next to mine with a laptop, and just a few metres away, a group of thirty-something women laughing during a hearty conversation. I find it rather amazing that a coffee bar can bring the best out of people, despite that my beloved is on her way, by taxi, to the hospital to have a new catheter fitted, and my own spirit grieving over the fate of those stranded at Hamid Karzai Airport of Afghanistan's capital, Kabul.

While I could help but feel the oppressive air around me, caused by the endless news bulletins covering Afghanistan and the distress felt over those who are stranded there, together with my wife's poor health and her recent hospital visits, I have found one sliver of hope which has wonderful therapeutic benefits to both mind and soul alike: to recognise the sovereignty of God and to thank Him for the good things we have the freedom to enjoy.

Britain, being an island, is very different to landlocked Afghanistan. At least, despite our appalling climate, there is always the trip to the seaside. Whilst stuck in a traffic jam stretching several miles along the road, difficult - and expensive - parking facilities, or rather the lack of them, bored children aggravating their parents as the car in front refusing to budge forward a few inches, and the prospect of the blue sea lapping gently over a sandy beach being so alluring, many a family is prepared to take the risk of being stuck in traffic for several hours - even if Dad finds damp sand clinging between his toes so irritating.

If an Afghan family wishes to visit the coast, they must first cross into Pakistan - if they can do that with ease, as far as I'm aware, Pakistan doesn't support the Taliban. But even with a safe entry into the neighbouring country, it would be a long drive to get to the Gulf of Omar coastline, around 16 hours by car, covering 1,226 km, 757 miles, from the Afghan border at Chaman. And that if there is no traffic congestion.

 

According to Taliban custom, everything associated with entertainment is banned. Music is banned, along with owning and playing of all instruments, so is television, the VCR, ariel dishes, the cinema, theatre, the internet, watching or playing football or any other sport, kite-flying - a popular pastime among children - is also banned, as with having pictures, toys and models of all animals. Women are denied any education, and they must only leave their homes wearing a full-face burka and accompanied by a male chaperon related to her (eg, husband or brother.) Little wonder there are many trying to flee!

As I sat at the table, I was looking back on how I felt towards God. And I couldn't help feeling a degree of anger towards Him! Especially about my wife's poor health caused by a side-effect brought about by her daily medication. My mind was racing with one question after another, basically, Why? Why are we having such negative experiences while there are other Christian believers living life to the full? As I pondered on these thoughts, I began to realise how blessed we really are. Especially as I turned the pages of the newspaper and arrived at the page featuring Covid. Then I remembered.

At the start of the pandemic in March last year, I stood on a boardwalk near my home and cried out to God for us not to be affected by the virus. Seventeen months later my prayer remains apparently answered, even if my wife had it for a few days last summer before her immune system freed her from further infection. Her recovery was swift. Whether I was affected by the virus, I will never know. But this was something to thank God for, our safekeeping during the pandemic. So far. Even though we're both fully vaccinated, I refuse to sit on our laurels. We could still be struck down.

And I'm so thankful that we live in a land of democracy and freedom. And despite the lockdown, our freedoms remain enviable if compared with living under a Taliban regime. Indeed, during the first lockdown, someone may be fined for enjoying a flask of tea outdoors or taking a dog out for a walk in a large, deserted park. But at least nobody received floggings for such "offences". Add to that, the restrictions were temporary. Furthermore, we still enjoyed a greater level of liberty than Australia or New Zealand - thanks to our successful vaccination rollout.

Australia. I have backpacked through this wonderful country in 1997 for nearly six weeks. The trip included snorkelling at the Great Barrier Reef and hiking through the Blue Mountains National Park. Yet, I now thank the Lord I don't live there, despite wishing otherwise earlier. The lockdown restrictions imposed during the pandemic wasn't that far off from the restrictions imposed by a Taliban State. For example, facemasks were mandatory outdoors, with fines handed out to anyone out and about without one. And what I have heard, it took just one infected arrival to New Zealand from Sydney to shut down the whole of the country. Yet despite such draconian measures, the number of infections is growing, albeit slowly. As Sweden taught us, the virus is here to stay. The pathogen cannot be eliminated. It's here to stay. We just have to live with it.

I thank the Lord for the brilliance of both the British and European scientists for their rapid development of the AstraZeneca and the Pfizer vaccines. As such, we have regained much of our freedoms. As an anti-masker, I feel relief that here in the UK, those wretched "face nappies" are no longer mandatory in many places, but I still carry one when out and about should I be asked to wear it.

Further thoughts passed through my mind as I sat at that table. How is it that by living in the West, I have a better chance of hearing the Gospel and believing than one born in the Middle East, especially in a Muslim country? This, to me, is not only grossly unfair, but it's also practically insane. A baby born in a "Christian country" and with a church found in every town and plenty in larger cities, there is a good chance that the child will hear the Gospel. But where Islam dominates, if ever the Gospel is announced, the preacher is likely to face execution. The child growing up hearing the Gospel in an Islamic State is nigh impossible.

A Mosque in Afghanistan.

All this makes me wonder why God allows such a scenario - that your eternal destiny is determined by where you were born? That if you believe that the Bible says that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven after death (John 14:6, Acts 4:12.) Then I think about one poor Afghan who was so terrified of the Taliban takeover of his beloved homeland, that he tried to escape by clutching at the wheels of a US Force plane as it was taking off from Hamid Karzai Airport - only for his remains to be discovered after landing at Kuwait. He was only nineteen years old, a very handsome young Muslim and a promising footballer. His fear of the Taliban ending his potential career in professional football and his liberties was too much for him, thus putting his own life at risk. A lost eternity? So much for being born in an Islamic State.

However, that does not deter me from grieving over my own countrymen. Although a third of our population claim to be Christian, the majority are either agnostic or atheist. Among the Christian claims, the greater majority are nominal. That is, they don't attend church regularly but only for Christenings, weddings, funerals and Christmas. As for the atheist's way of thinking, they tend to lump all religions as one anti-science nonsense, including Young-Earth Creationism. I fear that the takeover of a State by the Taliban and then imposing draconian restrictions will have a bad influence on Christianity in the atheist's eyes. After all, Muslims acknowledge Jesus Christ having once lived. Only that they believe he wasn't even crucified, let alone rising from the dead.

The average atheist, and perhaps many Christians too, are unlikely to be aware that the Christian faith and Islam does not lead to the same God, as the Vatican insist. Allah is not the triune God of Israel or of the Bible. The God we worship as Christians are in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. By contrast, Allah is a single entity that has no son. Rather, Allah represents the moon god, and this becomes evident, as seen above every mosque. The symbol on the roof of each mosque is always shaped like the crescent moon, and the symbol is also found on some Islamic flags. These include Algeria, Comoros, Pakistan, Maldives, Tunisia, Malaysia, and a few others, but neither on Afghan nor the Taliban flags.

The founder of Islam was the prophet, Mohammed. His bones are with us, buried in the city of Medina in Saudi Arabia. The founder of the Christian faith is Jesus Christ. Mohammed died a natural death and did not atone for our sins. Jesus Christ was crucified as a criminal specifically to atone for our sins. He was then buried, as Mohammed was, but three days later, Jesus rose physically from the dead - the first person ever in human history to do so - whilst Mohammed remains in his grave to this day. Hence the difference between Christianity and Islam is so wide, it could be considered poles apart. Jesus Christ rose from the dead. No other religious founder had achieved that. 

Oh, the ugliness of the Crucifixion and the beauty of the Resurrection! I love to say that after His Resurrection, Jesus Christ has two bodies. He took one with Him to Heaven, leaving the other behind. Hence my thanksgiving for all the good things God has given us. Thinking of all my travel experiences - memories I treasure - and the lovely wife I now have...

Thank you, Lord.

Giving thanks to God for his goodness - even if everything looks to be so dire - is good therapy. Maybe this psychological therapy was well recognised by the apostle Paul. He wrote on many occasions to always give thanks to God throughout the New Testament. And that applies specifically to people like me. My natural temperament tends to be pessimistic and prone to fear of the unknown, anxiety, the feeling of uncertainty and depression. Recognising God for who He is and counting my blessings and acknowledging God's goodness are all good antidotes to these negative emotions.

The crescent moon topping every mosque. 

And church fellowship. One of the greatest benefits I missed during the pandemic was face-to-face contact with other Christians, the moral support gained when the chips are down, the greetings and hugs, and the one-to-one talk with another believer over coffee. And now we have the technology. Through Zoom, I find the weekday morning prayers a great benefit. And also through Facebook. However, with Facebook, there are several Christians who refuse to be "friends" with me. And some of these folk I knew personally as far back as the late seventies.

One, in particular, arrived at our church from University around 1978 or 79. By around 1981 or 1982, he then took on a mortgage for a property not far from where I lived, and he also took in two graduate lodgers whose incomes helped sustain his mortgage. When I played squash each week with one of his tenants, he took me to this grad's home for toast and coffee. We teased each other in good spirits. There was never any animosity between us. Instead, laughter abounded as well as some more serious discussions. As far as I'm aware and my memory allows, I had never intended to cause any offence.

Earlier in the week, I was browsing Facebook, and I came across his friendship seeking list. When I clicked onto his profile, I saw included in his photos one of the Grand Canyon. This inspired me to ask for his "friendship" having known him for over forty years. No response. I then checked his response on his profile before writing this blog. Not only was I rejected, but the Friend Request prompt was deleted. It was paramount to being blocked.

He is not alone. I have known several grads within my age margin who has taken the same attitude, all of them I've known for decades. I just don't understand why. I prefer to know. Like this, I can make appropriate amends if necessity calls for them.

These are very critical days. With my beloved, and myself too, under the constant eye of the NHS, along with the Taliban bringing all faith into disrepute, including and perhaps, especially the Christian faith, it's time for brotherly love, support and friendship to take a stand.

A Grueling, Fiery Stairway to Heaven?

Nachi Falls in southwest Japan is 133 metres high, making it the highest waterfall in the country. It tumbles down a forested cliff, giving the area a stunningly dramatical setting. Near its top, there is a villa of temples, making this area a centre of the Shinto faith. Alongside the waterfall, there is a 600-metre long stairway where once a year, a group of pilgrims has to ascend and descend the whole length of the stairway until the leader declares the stairway cleansed from any spiritual contamination which might have polluted it. 

Nachi Falls, Japan.

Pantheism is the central belief of the Shinto faith. That is, every object has a divine spirit, known as a Kami, whether it be a tree, a rock, or for this case a waterfall. And because of this particular cascade is the tallest in Japan, it's believed that this very work of nature has the chief of all Kami. Give this divinity what it asks for and the prosperity for the whole of Japan is guaranteed.

And so this young man, in his twenties and holding down a job as a Government clerk, each year he joins a group of pilgrims, each carrying a massive torch made of burning wood, up along the stairway and back, until the route is cleansed from all impurity. Each torchbearer has an assistant who walks alongside to keep the burning wood under control, using water if necessary. To add to all this, each torch is huge and heavy, nearly the weight of the carrier himself. Although the young man is fit and strong, after five round trips he begins to tire. For a brief moment, he is allowed to hand the huge torch to his assistant, but must take it up again and continue with his journey.

Five rounds, or return trips, of the pilgrimage, would have taken him 6,000 metres, but then the priest still hadn't declared the stairway cleansed. How many more rounds the lad has to do before such a welcoming message reaches his ears, we were not told. But I would not be too surprised that he could have covered as much as 10,800 metres, which is over six miles in nine return trips. It may or may not have been that long. Or it could have been even longer. It was all up to the discretion of the priest, who could vary the length of the pilgrimage year by year. At last, when the stairway is finally declared to be purified, an offering of Kami and thanksgiving is made to the waterfall, and Japan can be guaranteed another year of peace and prosperity.

At another location, this time, in the African State of Mali, the city of Djenne boasts one of the largest mosques in the world, which is built of mud. Therefore, after the annual rainy season, everyone on the town volunteers to facelift the whole edifice by applying fresh mud, which must be kept wet with a constant supply of water, over the entire building (with the supplying of the water done by the women.) The roof with its towering minarets must be given special attention. A special place in Heaven is reserved for whoever reaches the pinnacle of the tallest minaret, and so, before dawn, a group of young men literally race to climb the turret. The first to get to the top can begin his duty with a sense of triumph. One participant has run, climbed and won the race over and over again for the last few years. The promise of Paradise is held to him for another year.

However, everyone who contributes to the project will have a place in Paradise. Therefore it's of no surprise that everyone able does his bit. Normally the entire annual facelift is completed in a day. 

Grand Mosque, Djenne, Mali.

Then there is the Shaolin Temple in China, which includes a monastery. Here we are introduced to a Buddhist student, in his late teens, who is training to be a Warrior Monk. This includes an extremely complex martial art of Kung Fu. This lad had to train for many years before the great day he has to take a twofold test. The first is for him to demonstrate the skills of his Kung Fu training. This includes the Monkey Climb, where he had to balance himself on a pole very much like a monkey hanging from the branch of a tree. Except that in Kung Fu, the "branch" is an ordinary pole which is picked up and carried around like any other inanimate object. To pass the test, the student had to perform his moves with lightning speed and split-second accuracy.

The second part of the test was to recite his Scriptures off by heart. Texts from the Buddhist Pali Canon, for example, were picked out by pure random by the judges and had to be quoted by heart, without any referring to the book. It was equivalent to me being asked to quote verbally the whole chapter of Luke 18 or 1 Corinthians 5 by heart without looking at the New Testament. And he had to get every verse, every word, right. Then he is given judgement over the whole two-part test. Fortunately, he passed, which enabled him to become a full-time monk. Had he failed, he would have to wait three more years before retaking the test.

A Warrior Monk at Shaolin Temple, China.

These three are examples taken from a BBC documentary, Sacred Wonders, a series of just two episodes. I was intrigued by how such non-Christian religions have such demands for hard work and tests of physical and mental endurance to earn salvation or even worldly peace and prosperity. But there is this one nagging feeling I had when watching these programs, maybe two nagging feelings. One was the feeling of sorrow for these participants and their mental and spiritual enslavements to these works to attain salvation, whether it's heaven, nirvana or a good life here and now (probably followed by karma.) The other feeling was how weak, inadequate and mentally, spiritually and physically puny I felt when I compared myself to these three young men living around the world.

The Buddhist student, for example. If the two of us were standing in that courtyard face-to-face, he would floor me instantly! No matter how many gym workouts I might have had. No matter how hard and strong my barrel-shaped biceps might be, strength alone would be no match for this student young enough to be my grandson. And then after telling him that I have read and studied the Bible for the better part of half a century, he dared me to recite a chapter, any chapter, without peering into the book. With my own sense of idiocy enveloping me, I would have to kneel and beg for his understanding.

All this is a demonstration of single-hearted commitment to their faith, and especially when such faith demands endurance to breaking point and never shrinking back. Of the three, I have to admit that the Buddhist student had displayed the greatest demonstration of commitment, even if that test - if passed - was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to prove his worth for monkhood. As I see it, the other two candidates may not be so spectacular, but they have to endure such tests every year for the rest of their lives.

Do I see such levels of commitment among Western Christians, myself included? That's quite a point, that! After all, there is quite a difference between a true Christian who was martyred under a fuselage of flying stones under Caesar's orders or stretched helplessly on the Rack during the Inquisition, and that of a modern middle-class college graduate and regular church-goer admitting his belief in Theistic Evolution in order to save face before a sneering scoffer. 

It has made me wonder of the times I hesitated to make an outright confession of faith to an unbeliever when I felt a sudden wave of embarrassment. I still ask myself what has brought me to such a state? Is it from a sense of self-preservation, unsure how the unbeliever will react? Perhaps, but it was not always like this. I remember the 1970s in particular when I never hesitated to confess Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ, the risen Son of God. In a sense, I shook the whole of a precision engineering factory, both among the office staff in management and my colleagues on the shop floor alike. Back in those days, embarrassment wasn't an issue.

By looking at the lifestyles of these three young men, I try to get to the source of embarrassment. The first is the lack of a sense of assurance. And I say this as one who wholeheartedly believes in Eternal Security of the Believer. Could it be from the subconscious echo from Roman Catholic upbringing, when the presence of sins in my life has actually placed a block on my assurance? Or the teaching of some evangelicals who insist that we are not securely saved, but only conditionally, and salvation can be lost if those conditions aren't met? These churchgoers are known as Arminians, after a 16th Century Dutch theologian who taught such soteriology. We have a few of these people in our church at Ascot, despite our Elders' stance in Once Saved Always Saved. Indeed, I'm literally disliked by one Arminian couple who has already condemned me to Hell as an unrepentant sinner! That can be quite disturbing.

Tied to all this is this theory pushed as scientific fact and universally accepted - Darwin's Evolution. So certain is this in the minds of unbelievers (and many believers too) that for me to proclaim Divine Creation as both historical and scientific fact to an unbelieving world at times makes me feel like an idiot. 

To sum up: A lack of assurance from God and a fear of man's rejection of the Gospel has overtaken my commitment to evangelise my faith to outsiders.

Oh, do I need a new backbone! How I want to overcome this fear. Fear is bang opposite to faith. It's not a life I want to lead. And yet there are three sources where faith, I believe, can be gotten - through prayer, the Bible and church fellowship. All three are equally important and are used for building up of faith (known as edifying, from an Italian word Edificio - a building.) One of the wonders of church fellowship is the ability to get together with one of the Elders for a chat over coffee at Starbucks, or even a pub. I had a few of these and I find them so uplifting. To be loved, accepted without judgement by other believers is such a lovely thing, a sweet aroma drifting towards Heaven.

Then there's prayer. If I don't know what to pray about, which is often the case, then just by giving thanks for the temporary pleasures will often lead to intercession or to other topics. Temporary pleasures include marvelling at God's creation. I'm fortunate enough to live right next to some woods, and especially in the Summer, such can inspire thanksgiving. This along for my wife, our home, our holiday memories, our finances. Then along comes confession of sin and supplications - that is asking God for things, especially concerning our health.

And a thorough knowledge of the Bible mixed with faith is another of the three sources. For example, one well-known Arminian preacher once said:

There is not a hint of Once Saved Always Saved found anywhere in the New Testament.*

By studying the Bible and absorbing its goodness into the soul, I can point to at least three chapters where Eternal Security is hinted at - John 10, John 17 and Romans 8. And there are a lot more found elsewhere, even in the Old Testament. For example, in 1 Kings 19:18, we can read about how God has kept or reserved for himself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal. This is not a chicken-or-egg scenario. Those seven thousand men were saved due to the imputed righteousness of Christ into their souls, and not because they simply decided not to bow to Baal. As with us, the salvation came first, then the sanctification.

Or the case of Job, who declared that he will see his Daysman stand on the earth with his own eyes, even if his own skin has long decayed, Job 19:27. And in Isaiah 53, there is one set of prophecies about how the suffering of God's servant will justify many (imputed righteousness) while he was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities, and by his stripes, we are healed.

Together with Jeremiah's prophecies coupled with Ezekiel's about taking out the old heart of stone and replacing it with a new one of flesh, for his sake rather than ours, I can't help but read Eternal Security into these chapters. Above all, Arminianism denies the Omniscience of God, a divine characteristic these prophecies so well attest!

And that was why I felt sorry for those three young men - a Shinto, a Muslim and a Buddhist. Like the Jew, and despite their heroism, they have failed to attain the righteousness they were seeking, according to Romans 10:1-4. This is because they try to establish their own righteousness instead of accepting the imputed righteousness of Christ which is offered to all believers.

As for myself, it is my prayer that God will strengthen my backbone (metaphorically) and embolden me to share the love of God through faith in Jesus Christ, and at the same time, rebuke any belief in Evolution which destroys any credibility of the Gospel.

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* David Pawson, Cambridge post-graduate Methodist and holder of a B.A. in theology, an itinerant preacher and pastored several churches.

A Tough Learning Curve.

His boyhood environment could not have been more English in gentility. At a predominantly wealthy, middle-class southern county of Kent, sometimes known as the Garden of England; young Adrian Elms was the only dark-skinned student at an otherwise all-white Huntley School for Boys in Tunbridge Wells, a prosperous town close to the border with Sussex. He was bright, did well in class, and on the field he was a very talented footballer. He made every effort to be popular among other students. He was a source of good humour, attended reggae dance nights and enjoyed life to the full. He was often referred to as "black Ade" as it is said that all the other pupils at the school had never seen a black child before coming from Tunbridge Wells.

Despite his extroverted exterior, I have wondered what effect all of this had on the boy. Perhaps rather like an exhibit in a museum, he attracted attention, and so put in an extra effort in both academic and sport alike to equal them in their acceptance. But the mild racism he felt was a victim of, slowly ate into his soul. Because no matter how well he did at school, no matter how high a standard he managed to achieve, somehow he felt that he wasn't really one of them. He looked different, he felt different, and as such he was convinced that he was different. And within his subconscious, he was aware that he was not fully equal to them. A bright and clever academic? Therefore he might well have been aware of the history of prejudice shown to non-whites by the "noble" Caucasian. Centuries of Negro slavery in the New World, the presence of the Ku-Klux-Klan in the USA, Apartheid in South Africa, decades of white aggression by the Far-Right at English football stands, and various other acts of discrimination, including the murder of Stephen Lawrence by a gang of white racists in South London in April 1993. Such discrimination is present to this day - the latest being the aggressive xenophobia which has experienced a surge straight after the Brexit referendum. And that niggling feeling that being dark-skinned has made him trail behind his white-skinned colleagues on the Darwinian evolutionary scale, seeing himself as still closer to the ape than the more-advanced Homo Sapiens he shared the classroom with.

Little wonder that he was viewed with a level of suspicion by everyone else in the school, so he believed.

And throughout his school days, he had no interest in religion, especially Christianity. He might have been repulsed by the idea of a white, unloving English God, whose Son might well have indeed "walked upon England's mountains green, and on England's pleasant pastures seen" - despite this Son of God being Jewish, and therefore a potential, could-have-been victim of Adolf Hitler's pogrom to "solve the Jewish problem". And no doubt, a boy's school such as Huntley had based its entire curriculum on Church of England liturgy to be a good British subject of Her Majesty the Queen and of her entire white-skinned Government. So little wonder, some years after leaving school, whilst drinking in a pub, he responded to a racist snide with violence, slashing the perpetrator's face with a knife.

And so led up to the events of the past few days. A terrorist attack in the heart of Westminster in the name of Allah, taking the lives of four victims and injuring many others before he himself was shot dead by the Police. 

In the name of Allah? Or is it more to do with his rage against the British establishment, from which he had always felt some kind of exclusion, simply because of the colour of his skin? And using the name of Allah as a cover or excuse. Adrian Elms, or should I say Khalid Masood, never loved Allah - at least not in the same way as a Christian believer loves his Lord Jesus Christ. Instead, for the terrorist, Allah was a power source for hatred, disguised under a "holy" name of Jihad. To love the Lord Jesus is intertwined with loving both believers and unbelievers, and doing good to all, even to God's enemies as Jesus instructed in his hillside sermon (Matthew 5:38-48). The vivid contrast of attitude and behaviour between a devout Christian and a radical Muslim seem to enforce the idea that all religions leading to God cannot possibly be true.

And the hysteria which ensued after the London incident. As one English patriotic newspaper journalist wrote: "We as a nation is lost. Loss of hope, loss of the spirit to fight." And yet let's face it. The London attack was a minor issue - a tragic one, sure - but still comparatively minor. Yet I can't help sense a national panic on a giant scale. Day after day, the aftermath of the incident makes for headline news on both television and newspapers. A comparatively minor incident? In the London attack, only four people died, five including the terrorist. On 13 November 2015, 130 people died when a terrorist struck a nightclub in Paris. Then on 22 March 2016, 35 died when a bomb went off at Brussels Airport. But those two European attacks are minuscule when compared with the combined Twin Towers and the Pentagon attack on 11 September 2001, when up to 2,996 lives were taken. All three of these incidents were carried out by radical Muslims. Now imagine what state our nation will get into if a plane piloted by an Islamic terrorist was to slam into the Shard, Britain's tallest skyscraper, or into the Gherkin, a prominent building in the City, or for that matter, into the National Westminster Bank tower, also in the City? Imagine the giant plume of black smoke rising heavenward for hours on end. Indeed, how would our media react? And how long would it go on for? Food for thought, perhaps?

Not that I wish any of these things of course! But I cannot help the feeling of deep curiosity for the national reaction and aftermath of such a catastrophe - if our media goes into panic mode after just five deaths. As the aforementioned journalist, Daily Mail writer Katie Hopkins wrote,

Because all the while those forgiving fools in Brussels stood with their stupid hands raised in hearts to the sky, another mischief was in the making. More death was in the pipeline...an entire city of monkeys. Blind. Deaf. And dumb.

She then criticised Islamic London Mayor Sadiq Khan for being the son of a bus driver and called him a fool for praising the efforts of the Police, Ambulance and Medical staff for ensuring the safety of the surviving victims.    

I find such an article incredulous, but it has won support from many in the comments forum which follows. London, a city of monkeys? Or was she referring to Brussels? I think she was referring to both cities. Blind monkeys! Deaf monkeys! Dumb monkeys! And if it was London she had in mind, then the whole city of the blind is led by a one-eyed king, and tragically the one-eyed king is a son of a bus driver. Maybe if his father was an influential banker, a magistrate, or even a royal escort, she might have seen him in a different light. Who knows. But a city of monkeys? Oh yes, of course. The majority of Londoners are Remainers. And also very cosmopolitan. Blame the liberals for allowing large crowds of immigrants into our country and through multiculturalism, practically destroying it. 

Except - that this London terrorist was not an immigrant. He wasn't even born Muslim. Instead he was born right here in England, I believe from Christian parents, as far back as 1964. So this perpetrator was properly British, and not an immigrant. He had the same national status as I have. My parents were both Italian. So biologically speaking, I'm a full-blood Italian. But I was born here in England. In Westminster to be more precise. Both of us were home-born, and therefore having nothing to do with our entry into the European Common Market in 1973. We were both already here before then, and I was even old enough to vote In. Yet I have always been legally British. I hold a British passport, I'm registered as a legitimate British citizen. I worked for nearly half a century here in the UK and contributed towards the good of society which included paying of taxes and National Insurance. Both the English Lake District and the Dorset coast I consider as favourite natural beauty spots, along with being impressed with both Roman and Medieval history. And I have explored the UK from John O'Groats to Lands End, and Wales too. But according to Hopkins, because I voted Remain, I'm a liberal, a fool, a blind, deaf and dumb monkey, lost somewhere on Darwin's evolutionary scale. Indeed, her attitude is an insult to every Londoner and to every Remain voter across the country.

The opposing contrast between this female patriotic and the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth could not be more dynamic! God loves all mankind enough to give his precious Son to suffer a cruel death to atone for all, Muslims included. If it takes immigration of Islamic people into this or any other western country to heighten the chance to hear the Christian Gospel and believe, then I'm all for it. I long to see Muslims come to Jesus for salvation. It is so easy. The only requirement for the Muslim is to change his mind (repent) and believe in his heart that this Jesus of Nazareth is the risen Christ. Resurrected physically from the dead. That what makes the Christian faith so unique. Jesus is risen! Risen from the dead. This cannot be said about Mohammed, nor of any other religious founder or leader. Jesus is the risen Christ. And by believing, eternal life is given, and is saved from an eternity in Hell, separated from God. Only faith in Christ can change the world, not patriotism. If every single Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, European, American - both North and South - the British Commonwealth - if everyone repented and has a heart-faith in the risen Christ of Nazareth - only then there will be a big political and social improvement throughout the whole world.

Instead, Hopkins preaches hate - as much hate as the Muslims hate westerners. Really, in a sense she has become as one of them. She has even admitted that in her younger days she would have gladly picked up a gun and shoot. Really, I can well ask: Is there any difference at all between a patriotic Englishman (or ~woman) and a radical Islamic?

Such hate on both sides will not solve anything. Instead, hate will only bring death, and Hell will follow. This is a very serious matter. Eternity is a very long time indeed, and if God has already provided a way of escaping eternal separation, then it would be tragic for one to step into a lost eternity out of patriotism or religious extremism, when one can simply believe in the risen Christ and be eternally safe - not just from eternal punishment but into a loving relationship with the heavenly Father through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, with flawless love flowing between every redeemed saint residing in a glorious new world!  The same offer of salvation applies both to the English and to Muslims, along with all other nationals and hate groups.

Just in case I may have appeared as glib over those five deaths in London (including that of the terrorist), I mourn for them. It was a needless tragedy. But what makes it a tragedy is that all these deaths were premature - each life cut short. It is equally tragic to have happened in London as it did in Paris, Brussels, and in New York. But the truth is that we will all die. Everyone of us. It is a matter of sooner or later. As the Bible testifies:

It is appointed for all men to die once, after this the judgement...(Hebrews 9:27).

But this is so unnecessary. God promises eternal life as a free gift to every believer. Why not take his offer and be eternally acquitted? It's far, far greater in value than patriotism.

To Take A Peek Inside...

Mohamed Lahouaj Bouhlel, the terrorist trucker who deliberately slew many in Nice, hardly ever attended a mosque, so his cousin testified. He ate pork, a meat forbidden in Islam. He also drank wine - also forbidden in the Islamic faith. And oh yes, he took drugs as well, also forbidden. Yet as he used his truck as a weapon to plough into a cheerful crowd celebrating their Bastille national holiday, he cried out in Arabic: Allah is great!

Is he?

Allah must be one hell of a lousy entity if he has ordered such a massacre to be carried out in his name. And then, the hating trucker had hardly completed his divine assignment when the police approached and shot him dead. Maybe some of the more radical Muslims are now looking at this martyr and feeling envious of his entry into paradise populated with virgins for eternal enjoyment as a reward for his Jihad commitment. So the Muslims believe. On the contrary, if the whole Bible is a true and a reliable document, then this Allah is certainly not the God of the Bible, neither the God of Israel, nor the God of the Christian. Allah had never created the Heavens or the Earth, neither breathed life into any organic substance, whether it be animal, human or vegetation. Rather, Allah is more likely a demonic entity residing in the air, and the slavish master of deceit for every Muslim who has lived and died without ever knowing Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour. A shocking testimony! Furthermore, this would immediately bring up the question - how can I be so sure that I am in the right faith and they are not? Does this train of thinking make me equally bigoted as the Jihadist himself? More on that a little later.

 Victims of the terrorist attack, Nice.

But what was really on Bouhlel's mind? Simply this: Hatred of society. Hatred based on envy of the freedom enjoyed by us Westerners. No diet restrictions, no ban on alcohol, no compulsion for religious attendance, women don't have to cover their faces with a burka or veil. Education is free, and leading to advances in Science and technology. But most of all, we are free to enjoy some fun without the fear of breaching religious restrictions. For example, I do not perceive as sinful to have a glass of wine with my dinner, or to bite into a delicious pork fillet, or for a mate and I to enjoy a day out at the fairground, or to take my wife out to a dance hall or to a rock concert. And at church I can stand and clap my hands in joyful praise, even feeling free to remain seated while others are standing. No tight religious liturgy or order of service, as in a mosque. And no calls to compulsory prayer at fixed times. Instead, we are free to pray any time.

Tied in with this may well have been a feeling of inferior complex. Perhaps wishing for a higher level of education and a profession to go with it, bringing in a decent income. Decent by comparison with high income earners in France or any other Western country, and not by Arab standing. Envy gives way to hatred, and hatred into revenge, bloodthirsty killing of as many as possible. No consideration for young children or their mothers. Instead, man, woman and child suffers without any discrimination, without a sliver of pity.

His hatred of Western society with all its liberties was also tied with hatred of his own childhood religion. Islam is a religion of fear, based on works and punishment. Hell is real to Muslims as well as to Christians, but with the former, one has to work to earn his place in Paradise, although a direct entry is granted to anyone who dies in defence of his faith, or better still, to fight in order to spread it. What I find amazing is there has always been a parallelism existing between the history of Islam and the history of Roman Catholicism, where direct entry into Heaven is concerned. The Vatican grants a plenary indulgence for anyone who dies whilst defending or promoting the faith. That means the martyr enters Paradise from the moment of death through his own merit, and not on the merit of Jesus Christ.

But with the case of Bouhlel, I don't believe either Heaven or Hell mattered to him. He hated his own religion, and he hated the freedom within the constitution of Western society. And he took his revenge. It is certainly not new.

The first recorded case of hatred based on envy is about Cain and Abel. Abel offered a sacrifice based on faith which was acceptable to God and, in a sense, he was set free from the penalty of his sins. Cain's sacrifice based on self-effort was rejected by God, and we read that "his face fell". Consumed by envy, hate and anger, he did not hesitate to slay his own brother (Genesis 4:1-16). In the New Testament, a well detailed record of the first Christian martyr is readily available. After showing the real meaning of the Law to all the Sanhedrin members assembled, and demonstrating their inability to keep that Law, Stephen was led outside to be stoned to death (Acts 7). The real fury among the Sanhedrin was aroused when Stephen shared his vision of the risen Lord standing up beside his Father, ready to receive him. Again, expressing his own freedom from the Law led to his murder by the hands of those who maintained living under the Law.

Nice during better times - symbol of Western liberty.

Then to mention the countless believers who were martyred for their faith and freedom in Jesus Christ, first by the Jews who were still bound by the Law of Moses, then by the Romans, who for millennia had to sacrifice at the altars of their pagan deities. Indeed, the believer's freedom in Christ did not go down well among those under the Law, whether Jewish or Gentile. And so, over the first centuries began the rise of the Catholic Church, whose Catechism rejected salvation through faith in Christ alone. As a result, the Vatican instituted the Office for the Preservation of the Faith, still in operation to this day. This department of the Holy See was responsible for the torture and killing of "heretics" who found freedom in Jesus Christ alone.

As the aggressive stance of the Catholic faith subsided with the rise of Protestantism and the widespread reading of the Bible by the common people, another source of aggression began to rise - and that is within Islam, and at present poses the greatest threat to the West since the War. As I see it, the liberties we enjoy both as individuals and socially were initially laid by our Bible-believing Christian forefathers, particularly in Northern Europe, Britain, and North America. These freedoms now enjoyed represents the freedom bought by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and are meant to allow us to live for God out of the purity of our regenerated hearts. Catholic-dominated Southern Europe, along with South America, learnt of such freedoms only after the Roman Catholic Church was forced to relax its church regulations under the eyes of the Protestant world.

What a great pity it is, when deserting the Bible has led to the rise in crime and the decline of personal morality. For example, a quiet social at the pub. There is nothing wrong in that in itself. From time to time I go out for a drink with my mates (although these days, being on medicine, I abstain from all alcoholic drinks.) But none of us has ever left the pub drunk. Unfortunately here in the UK, excess alcohol consumption is a problem among the younger people in major cities. Our reputation abroad, especially at the Mediterranean island of Ibiza, has become notorious through consumption of cheap alcohol. With the thought of taking my wife in a wheelchair to Paris in the Autumn, I am concerned about the high levels of pickpocketing and handbag-snatching. And that despite the presence of the famous Notre Dame Cathedral, the principal church of the whole of France.

Reading and understanding of the Bible, mixed with faith, liberates us to live for God from the purity of our hearts, enhanced by the presence of the Holy Spirit within. Paul himself writes that having faith in Christ liberates us from the obligation of the Law of Moses (eg: Galatians 3:1-25, 5:1-6 where circumcision is part of the Law) but gives us the enablement to live in Christ with the power of Christ in our hearts. Supposing much of society read, believe in, and take heed of the Bible. Would there be far less evil in the world? But amazingly enough, it is the academic world which must take a large proportion of blame for our present society's rejection of Holy Scripture. The theory of Evolution is constantly pushed through schools, colleges and the Media, mainly television. Darwinism is constantly being popularised in BBC documentaries presented by atheists such as Professor Brian Cox, along with naturalist David Attenborough.

Multitudes tune into, watch and soak in these Darwinian theories, maybe not realising that such propaganda destroys the credibility of the Bible. For if the record of Divine Creation is proved to be false, along with the existence of Adam and Eve, then how could the record of the Virgin Birth of Christ, his Crucifixion and Resurrection be reliable? Genesis holds the key of the entire Bible. If proven historically untrue, then the whole Bible falls, including the New Testament. And it is this unbelief which enslaves us to the moral law with the resulting increase in evil. There are many atheistic academics who knows the Bible very well, maybe even better than Christians do. But their head knowledge without faith provides a source for ridicule rather than believing, and the multitudes follow in their footsteps, simply because they are well learnt and therefore counted for reliability.

But I need to answer this question: If I, for example, declare that Jesus Christ and the Bible is right but Mohammed and the Koran is wrong, does that make me a bigot? One source of proof is Old Testament prophecies. No other book contains prophecies which as been fulfilled over thousands of years as the Bible has. Even in the dawn of human history, a prophecy was announced by God to the serpent, within both Adam and Eve's earshot. All three heard the prophecy of the coming Messiah (Genesis 3:15). Later, Melchizedek  brought a meal of bread and wine to Abraham, after freeing Lot and the people of Sodom from hostile armies (Genesis 14:18-20). The bread and wine can only symbolise the body and blood of Jesus Christ, some two thousand years before he was born.

The story of Moses' early years is also prophetic of Jesus Christ. When he was a boy, the young Hebrew was adopted by the daughter of Pharaoh King of Egypt. He grew up in the King's palace. When he was in his forties, he went out to see for himself the plight of his own Hebrew people. He saw one of his own brothers being beaten by an Egyptian guard. In his quest to deliver Israel, he killed the guard and buried his body. The next day, he saw two Hebrews fighting. Moses went over to them and asked why they were fighting each other, since they are brothers. But the one in the wrong replied, Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Will you kill me like you killed the Egyptian yesterday?

At this, Moses fled from Egypt to the desert of Midian, where he spent the next forty years tending sheep, and marrying a non-Hebrew wife Zipporah, before being called by God in a burning bush to return to Egypt (Exodus 2). Jesus came into the world to redeem Israel and rule over his Jewish kingdom. But instead he was crucified, buried, and on the third day rose physically from the dead - a phenomenon never experienced by Mohammed or by any other religious leader. He then ascended to his Father in Heaven, where he is now, waiting for the command to return to the Throne of his father David in Jerusalem.

Moses was rejected by the children of Israel, so was Jesus rejected by the same people. Moses went into exile, so did Jesus after his Resurrection. During his exile, Moses married Zipporah, a non-Jewish wife. The Bride of Christ is the Church, which is mainly Gentile, which he is at present gathering together during his "exile". Just as Moses returned to Egypt to rescue Israel from slavery to the Egyptians, so Christ will return to deliver us from our sins and all its effects, including death.

Other prophecies relate directly to the Jewish Messiah. Micah foretells of his birth in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), and that a virgin shall first conceive (Isaiah 9:14) and the child will be called Immanuel, which means God with us. David's psalm foretells of his suffering on the cross, along with the accurate description of how his clothing will be distributed - a thousand years before the event taking place, and long before the Roman form of capital punishment by crucifixion ever existed (Psalm 22). Isaiah gives a full chapter over the future suffering of Jesus - some 700 years before it happens (Isaiah 52:13-53:12). Then Zechariah 9:9 foretells Jesus entering Jerusalem riding upon a donkey, a foal of a donkey, which was fulfilled at his Triumphal Entry. And in Zechariah 11:12-13, an accurate prophecy of the thirty pieces of silver was foretold, which was fulfilled in Judas Iscariot's betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane. These are just a few of the many prophecies regarding Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

It has been mathematically proved that if all the prophecies foretelling the life of Jesus were not divinely inspired, then the probability of all these prophecies being fulfilled entirely by chance would be one out of a number consisting of one, followed by 181 zeroes!* On the contrary, the Koran does not contain any prophecies whatsoever, which makes the Bible unique among every other book ever written in human history.

The claims of Jesus himself. One of his titles is Immanuel - "With us is God." A series of sermons delivered at our church at the moment is about what Jesus says about himself. Statements such as: I am the Way the Truth and the Life, I am the True Bread from Heaven, I am the Door of the Sheep, I am the Resurrection and the Life, I am the Light of the world - has never been spoken by Mohammed or by any other religious founder. These statements must prove either:
That this Jesus of Nazareth is totally insane, or a deliberate liar, or -
What is says about himself is true, and therefore must be the Son of God, something Mohammed does not and cannot claim.

Thirdly, Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the only person in human history ever to rise physically from the dead. This itself is enough testimony that he is the unique Son of God.

My faith in Jesus Christ as the son of God is not based on bigotry, but of his testimony on who he is. And Mohammed, whose bones are still with us, buried in Medina, cannot even compare.

Too bad Mohamed Lahouaj Bouhlel never knew Jesus Christ as his Saviour. Had he, he would be alive and well now, along with 84 other people who have so far died at the promenade in Nice.

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* Henry M. Morris, The Bible and Modern Science, Moody Books, 1968. P. 120.

Fill Our Churches with Muslims!

Warning: Strong language.

My spirit groans within as I resign myself to two major issues to come within the next month. The first is to do is the reality that Britain will leave the European Union as a result of the referendum which is due, from this time of writing, in less than two weeks. Polls indicate that the Outers - consisting of both Brexit and Vote Leave - are at present in the lead by 10% over the Remain campaigners. And the gap looks set to get wider as Tory-leaning newspapers and TV interviews continue to plead with undecided voters to vote out. And to add to this, a large percentage of traditional Labour voters up in the industrialised North are voting out as well, despite their representatives at Westminster pleading with them to vote Remain. The other issue is about the opening of the European Cup football tournament, and perhaps with a level of justification.

Because even 24 hours before England kicks off against Russia in Southern France, trouble among fans of both sides had already brewed. English fans, over the top with drink, shouting, Isis Isis, where are you? At another point they were chanting, Fuck off, Europe! We are all voting out! Little wonder that the French (and other Continental citizens) could have angrily responded with, Well, fuck off out then! You're not welcome any more! Russian fans were so infuriated with such behaviour from the English side, that they laid into them, resulting in a street brawl which hastily brought in the police and security officials to the scene. Afterwards, the same English fans lay the blame squarely on the Russians for initiating the violence. Meanwhile, back in the UK, the nation rejoice over the official 90th birthday of the Queen, consisting of the Trooping of the Colour at the Mall, a pageant performed by all the military regiments of both Britain and the Commonwealth, and watched by the adoring public, a large number having the same abusive Euro-septic mentality as the English fans in Marseilles.

The spirit of national pride, with all the inter-tribal hatred existing between them. And the West claim to be Christian. It does make me wonder on how such citizens of Western Christendom would have responded if they opened the Bible at 1 John 3:14-15. They would have read:

We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in them.

I'm aware that some Christians refers to only fellow believers as brothers. But according to verse 15, any fellow human can be a brother, as we are all of God's universal paternity. As Luke 11:13 indicates, even an evil man can approach his Father in heaven and ask for the Holy Spirit, and his request will be gladly granted. It is what we call "the sinner's prayer" in our day. Little wonder that when Muslims enter the UK and witness for themselves various levels of national prejudice, they fail to convert to Jesus Christ, and instead build their own mosques, and continue on in their Islamic faith.

And here lies the bone of contention. Perhaps the one main reason why the Outers are ahead in the polls is the issue of immigration, and the slow destruction of British culture as we have always known it. Only earlier in the week there was a video posted on Facebook about this white, elderly Englishman, probably in his late seventies, ordering a young Muslim to "go back to your own country!" The rhetoric was so insulting that, after about five minutes of abuse, the staff at the superstore where all this took place had to intervene. The truth being that the young man was born here, as with his parents, and therefore as much British as his oppressor. According to the Outers, it was the European Union who had allowed in multiple thousands of refugees from Syria and other Middle East Countries, with the false belief that the UK is their prime destination, due to the law of Freedom of Movement within the EU.

To be honest, I'm just about sick of it all! Every day there is a debate on the news bulletins and on online newspapers. Both sides firing at each other with rather unconvincing arguments over the future of the Economy. To and fro, to and fro, heaven help me, I'll be glad when this is all over, even as a defeated 'In' voter, after my affiliation to the losing side, I can rest my cheeks within both my hands and sulk a little, knowing that the referendum issue had missed the whole point. And that is, Jesus Christ is, and will be, the only way, the truth and the life. No man can come to the Father in heaven except through him.

Because it is here in the West, including the United Kingdom, where a far better chance of hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ is possible. Instead of looking at the Islamic world with fear, trepidation and hate, why not try love? The love which only the Holy Spirit can bestow on the believer in Jesus. Paul, once a devoted Jew, a Pharisee, and a son of a Pharisee, who believed that all non-Jews were unclean, had this to say:

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptised into Christ has clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to promise. Galatians 3:26-29.

If ever there was a melting away of tribal and national warfare, this must be it. Faith in Jesus Christ. That is why, instead of driving away Islamic immigrants out of the country, why not invite them in, so they can see for themselves that the Resurrected Jesus is far superior to the long-dead Mohammed, whose bones rests inside a tomb in Medina. Jesus is risen! He is alive! More than that, he is ready and willing to bestow eternal life to everyone who, by faith, calls on his name. What a wonderful alternative to all the tribal differences between nations and the ongoing political dispute over the coming referendum.

Because there is only two groups of people alive in this world, as was always the case since the dawn of history. The saved and the lost. Those who believe that salvation is a free gift given to all who has faith, versus those who believe that salvation must be earned through works and religious devotion. Nationalism is based on works and merit, not free grace. The triple-fold result of nationalism is ethnic pride, together with the feeling of racial superiority, along with hostility towards neighbouring nations, such as with the English towards the Scots to the north and towards the French to the south. Such hostilities, amazingly enough, has shaped England to what it is today, with a rich history to show. On the political front, the European Union has helped unite such nations, including that of Britain's former enemy - Germany - which disputing has been the cause of two world wars with millions of lives lost. Nationalism can also bring hostility to the Jews, as was the case of Nazi Germany which had some 6,000,000 Jews slain in the Holocaust. Even at present, there is a general dislike for the Jews among the far-right, the most fervent advocates of Outers.

How the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ had demolished all the barriers which are the bottom causes of hatred, fear, and warfare. The European Union can only provide a social unity, resting on political co-operation. But it still leaves the human spirit unregenerated. The free gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ is far better, and in theory, it should result in a far greater sense of unity and brotherly love which is divine and eternal. And the crunch of the matter is that this free gift is available, including all Muslims, taking in the terrorist groups such as Isis and the Taliban.

Yet our churches here in England seems to hang on to the status quo. As long as all attendees conform to Britishness, then we'll remain within the safe zone. Vote to leave the EU. Slow immigration down, better still stop it altogether. Then send all the illegals back to their own countries. At last, public bodies such as the NHS will be relieved of such a heavy burden of overpopulation. Employment will be freed up from foreign employees, and jobs can go back to British workers, who will demand higher wages. And not to forget the return of the traditional tea break. But as the foreigners return to their countries, the chance of finding faith in Jesus Christ diminishes, particular among the Muslims, as a typical Islamic country is very hostile to Christianity. In short, our churches unwittingly approve of the Muslim's eternal doom for the sake of Britishness.

Recently we at Ascot have dispatched a small team to India. The team included one of our church elders. They were in India for just over a week, helping to set up a large church conference and festival, a little like our annual Spring Harvest and New Day Christian festivals. Hundreds of Christian believers attended the conference, and returning home with changed lives. It was a wonderful move of the Holy Spirit in a faraway tropical sub-continent. Over here, one conference held, I think, is the New Frontiers International Conference. These mass meetings attract thousands. What an ideal venue for Muslims to integrate freely, and seeing for themselves the freedom resulting from the free gift of grace through faith in Jesus. Eternally saved without works or compulsory religious devotion. Only through faith alone, and the joy overflowing from the heart of believers. Yes, I wish that thousands of Muslims would enter the European Union, including the UK, to see the love of Christ, and be saved. But not only Muslims but Hindus and Buddhists as well.

It is not the will of God that anyone should perish, but all should come to repentance, so Peter writes in his letter (2 Peter 3:9) - and God commands all men everywhere to come to repentance (Acts 17:30). Out in the East there are whole nations consisting of the lost, hearts of those who had never seen the love of Christ in us. Yet while these populations slowly perish without hope, we bicker over the referendum and our national sovereignty. We represent our country whilst at a football tournament and end up causing trouble and stirring fights. All for the sake of patriotism, while one after another, including all the football supporters and the unbelieving British, slip into a lost eternity. What a sobering thought!

Maybe just a word of realism here. It is humanly impossible to encourage huge masses of Muslims and other adherents of different faiths to attend a large Christian conference. It's equally impossible, humanly speaking, to persuade unbelieving Brits to attend such meetings. But with God nothing is impossible. Perhaps if all of us who truly believe can muster a heart for the lost, maybe the Holy Spirit can start moving. After all, if three thousand Jews were saved through the sermon of just one man at Pentecost, who knows what God can do.  

Magpies, Stars, and Terrorism.

I saw a cartoon printed on a newspaper page one day this week. It was divided into two frames: the one on the left featured a presenter on television asking the question to the viewer: How can we relieve ourselves from the fear and anxieties of our current affairs and situations? The frame on the right showed the smiling viewer having just turned off the television. Sometimes I feel that I'm with the viewer. Day in, day out, I can't escape the bombardment of the recent Paris atrocities spooned into us from the TV, radio, newspapers bought at a newsagents, or browsed online. Just when I need to get on with life, we remain constantly reminded.

Don't get me wrong, what happened on that fateful Friday has to be taken seriously. I feel full sympathy for all the families of those killed and those severely injured. Then again, the Paris bombing took place during the evening of Friday November 13th. Many consider Friday the 13th to be a very unlucky day, especially for traveling. So I can imagine myself boarding an airline that Friday morning, checking into a hotel by mid-to-late afternoon, then that evening set out "to paint the town red" - that is, to enjoy the diversity of entertainments on offer, and not to shed or spill blood!

Later that evening, several gunmen burst into the club I happen to be in and shoots, taking many casualties. Friday 13th has struck full time. Fortunately I escape, and make my way back to the airport several days later, trembling from head to foot, deciding never to travel on Friday 13th again. Superstition, yes - to you maybe and perhaps for me as well, just silly superstition. Or was it? Were the terrorists aware of our extra caution taken on Friday 13th? Was our superstition known to them? After all, Friday 13th was also a title of a successful big-screen movie released in 1980, with eleven more installments until the latest version was released in 2009, the 12th so far. Even if the movie was banned from being shown in the Middle East, surely it would have been impossible for it to be shown across the Western world without somehow attracting their attention.

Superstition is based on fear, the fear that something bad might happen in the near future. Like the apprehension I feel about magpies. By walking or cycling, but never driving, (I don't have a licence) if I see a single magpie, alone and without a companion, tension arises. I then tend to recite something like, It's only a bird, created by God, in whom I trust. If I see two magpies, (as I often do) then I tend to feel a sense of relief that something good will happen. But even then, I remind myself that God is sovereign, and all good things comes from him, and not from the two birds. Just in case you are unfamiliar with the magpie superstition, here in the UK we use to have a ditty: 

One for Sorrow, Two for Joy. Three for a Girl, Four for a Boy. Ma-a-a-a-agpie!

And this song was the theme for a children's programme of the same title broadcast on TV during the 1960's, at the peak of my schooldays, and it was ITV's rival to the more popular BBC show Blue Peter. But by becoming familiar with the song, an awareness about the bird began to develop which wouldn't have done otherwise. But any reasonable person can blow holes through the superstition. Sure enough, I have seen three magpies together, and I have three daughters. But I have also seen four of the birds together, but I still have no sons. But what about if I see five or more together? Does that mean anything? Or supposing I pass by just one bird, but turn a corner and behold, there is another. What would be in for me? Sorrow or Joy? And what about one or two pigeons, robins, or for that matter, a hawk, night owl, or eagle? Don't they have any superstitious powers? What of a variety of these birds together at a certain area? Would the one magpie among a flock of seagulls bring sorrow? Or would two magpies among pigeons bring me joy?

Perhaps the same with astrology. The stars column appears in all newspapers and magazines, or at least it used to anyway. These daily or weekly personal predictions are very generalised, and can mean a host of happenings. I have once read that they are mainly computer-generated, a long list of data stored in memory, and each for the twelve signs of the zodiac is taken from the database at random. Normally the devotee does not notice that his day's reading had already appeared under another sign some months previously. But I have also heard stories of these predictions coming true to those who believe in them. One of these stories included a church leader in America who wanted to demonstrate to his congregation that astrology is nonsense. So he began to read them each day to prove his point. To his horror, his readings began to come true. He had no alternative but to drop to his knees and confess his sin to God before he was set free from its power.

But is there a common link between superstition and religion-inspired terrorism? I think there is, and it's fear. Fear of the future, fear of Hell, the want of salvation. The attacks, of course, could also be revenge for the bombings and military action in the Middle East, and also for the support in the West for the State of Israel. But aside of these things, I believe that the want of salvation is the bedrock for not only Islam, but for all religions.

It had the same effect on Christianity over the Middle Ages. The Roman Catholic Church had its Inquisition, when those who disagree with its teachings were branded "heretics" and were tortured on the Rack and other dreadful instruments. We can't deny that the Church of Rome has blood on its hands. One notable example was the execution of Bishops Ridley and Latimer, both burnt alive at a stake in Oxford on October 16th, 1555. They were just two among multiple thousands of men, women and children who were executed for posing a threat to Roman theology. When Martin Luther first believed in Justification by Faith alone, taken from Romans 1:17, the Catholic Church was up in arms, and called for the Council of Trent during the mid 1550's to reaffirm that salvation is infused into the sinner by the grace of God, and must be sustained by human effort, including participation in Church ritual and catechism. This "salvation by works" combined with the denial of the Cross, along with the fear of Hellfire, has been the basic cause for relentless persecution over the centuries, including warring conflict between Catholics and Muslims throughout the Crusader days of the 11th Century. Really, coming to think of it, men of faith has always suffered persecution by those who think they can make their own way to God. From the time when Cain murdered Abel, all the way through to the stoning of Stephen by the Jews, the killing of the apostles and many other believers, right through to the present day.

The Church of St Peter, Vatican City

And as the bloodshed by the Catholic Church recede into history, I see people of the present throwing up their arms at the horror of the recent massacre in Paris, carried out by the Islamic State. Cries that this terrorist group is posing a threat to our national security and calling for the Syrian refugees not to be let into the UK, I believe, will not solve the problem. As long that there are people who believe that salvation can be earned, then I think that social unrest and persecution will continue. Also I believe bombing the Islamic State to oblivion will only cause the rise of other groups to carry out revenge attacks in the future, with their belief that their acts will earn them a place in Heaven.

This may seem odd to you as one reading this, and you may not even agree, but my awareness of the magpie, the popularity of astronomy, and the practice of religion (not just Islam) all boils down to fear and insecurity. Whether its fear of what might happen tomorrow in this life or what eternity holds for us after death, fear holds sway in them all. I also believe that this same fear can rise among true believers in Jesus Christ as well. Thoughts such as, Did I believe the right way? or Did God really save me when I asked Jesus into my heart? or If I'm truly saved, then why am I still committing sins? or even Can I sin myself out of my salvation?

Lately, I have been reading posts and blogs posted by those who have an inkling for Universal Salvation. I have to admit, I find these blogs incredibly edifying, even causing me to think, Wow! If only this is true, that God was in Christ, reconciling the whole world to himself, not counting their sins against them (2 Corinthians 5:19). God being seen as so loving to helpless mankind that although the first Adam brought sin and death to many, how much more has the second Adam brought eternal life to many? (Romans 5:12-21) This gives the impression that if the work of the first Adam brought death to "the many" - by asking how much more has the second Adam brought life to "the many" - that the work of Christ exceeded that of Adam on a quantitative scale, a basis for Universal Salvation. Really, I wish that the idea of a fiery Hell could be eradicated from our minds, to love and serve a wonderful God totally without fear or apprehension. It is thought by them that if the second "all men" - found  in verse 18 - and if the second "the many" - found in verse 19 - are not the same as the first "all men" - found in verse 18 nor the first "the many" - found in verse 19, this must mean that each of these two sets of the same words have different meanings. 

But wonderful is the idea of Universal Salvation looks to be, I do find problems with it, and that could be the reason why the apostle adds a condition found in verse 17 where it says, "those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness" seem to indicate true believers only. But there is more to this. When I consider the evil these terrorists have done - alongside the acts of pedophiles, impatient drivers, fraudsters, thieves emptying your bank account, burglars invading and wrecking your home, those who committed murder, and even snobbish people, isn't it true that the thought of them going to Heaven after death seem insulting to the spirit? Would you rather see them get their comeuppance instead?

But here is where I believe the wisdom of God is different from ours and much greater. His desire is to bring these people to himself, and he has given us believers the privilege of such a commission. There are times that I wish that I could enter a room filled with these terrorists, ready to go out to kill every non-Muslim, and to tell them that the difference between Jesus Christ and Mohammed is that it was Jesus Christ who laid down his own life to atone for our sins, was buried, and on the third day rose bodily from the dead, and he is now sitting fully alive at his Father's throne in Heaven. Mohammed did not die for your sins, but died like any other man, and his bones are with us to this day, buried in Medina. This is a full denial to the popular belief that Mohammed rode to heaven on a horse from Jerusalem. By repenting (changing their minds about Jesus Christ and accepting him as their Saviour and therefore, God) they too can receive eternal life and enjoy totally changed hearts.

That is the true solution to all the world's problems, including fear and terrorism, along with false religions. The turning of the human heart towards God our Saviour through faith in Jesus Christ.

And appreciating his creation, including the magpie. 

A Cruel Slave Driver

You sit back and relax as the 'plane awaits takeoff at Boston Logan Airport, Massachusetts. While waiting for the all-clear runway signal to come on, you find yourself getting engaged in a conversation with a suited businessman sitting next to you. It wasn't long before he asks you what your interests are, after realising that there is no common denominator between his occupation and yours. This influential Boston banker is flying to Los Angeles to seal a business deal. You are flying to the same city for some fun at Disneyland, after deciding to take a short break from your job as an assistant at Boston Aquarium.

Boston Aquarium, visited 1998.

In answering your companion, you begin to share your testimony of God's love through faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour, just as the airline gathers speed on the runway and soars into the air. You feel your spirit warm as you recall your dependence on the Lord during rough times and how you enjoy thanking and praising him when everything is going well - and also admitting that you still have a long way to go. 

The banker turns towards you and asks, Are you a Creationist? 

You reply, Yes most certainly. The Gospel of Jesus Christ would be totally meaningless if the Earth with all its life, including us, were not created by divine intelligence.

The banker bursts out laughing. I'm wasting my time talking to the likes of you! Divine Creation. Indeed. Six thousand years? Not only are you disputing many of the world's top scientists, but you are likening their established geologic time span to that of New York City being only a couple of metres away from Los Angeles. You religious types are a laughing stock in the community. Nobody takes the likes of you seriously these days. 

You then emphasise that faith in the risen Lord is far more important for him than the debate over Creation versus Evolution. Meanwhile the 'plane soars westward over the Eastern coast of the USA. Then all of a sudden, five Arab men rise from their seats and make headway for the pilot's cabin. Realising what's happening, some of the passengers screams. There is a lot of scuffling heard from the cockpit. Two of the hijackers come out of the cockpit and begin wrestling with passengers attempting to intervene. One of the passengers is stabbed. The plane swerves and begins its descent. Soon the twin towers of the World Trade Center appears directly in front. Amidst screams, there is a sudden judder, and a massive ball of fire rockets through the airline. The next moment you find yourself in the arms of the risen Lord, as he greets you. He then directs you into a city so astonishingly beautiful, that by comparison, Disneyland wouldn't stand a chance. You also notice six more souls from the flight of 92 people are also with you. But there is no sign of the banker. Despite your attempt to search, he is nowhere to be seen.

Of course, this is fiction based on the historical event of 9/11. The five hijackers were from the extremist Muslim group Al Qaeda. Of a group of nations who believes that Allah is the only true God and there is no other. They are so devoted to this entity, that only earlier this year a young Muslim jihadist was ordered against his will to blow himself up in his tank he was driving to a nearby enemy city. How one Muslim group could be enemies with another of the same faith can be puzzling to me at least, but more likely it's to do with Sunni versus Shi'ite. The youth burst into tears at the thought of imminent death, and the terror of passing. But he went his way to become a suicidal hero. This is a reflection on how many other terrorists, including those of the 2005 London bombings, are committed to sacrifice their own lives for Allah, with a promise of Paradise with its harem of virgins.

According to them, Allah is a moon god who does not even have a son, let alone an advocate to atone for their sins. Their salvation is based on works, with the hope that sufficient works outbalancing sins will take them to Paradise. It is a motive based entirely on fear, without a shred of agape love which characterise the true God of Israel, the Church, and the Bible. Allah is an angry god indeed, who will either have all unbelievers converted to him or put to death. Perhaps you may be thinking, Thank goodness I wasn't born in the Middle East or in any Muslim country. That is the very line of thought that I still live under. The same applies to all other non-Christian countries, and to Catholic nations as well. I came to believe that only those born in Northern Europe (e.g Germany, Denmark, Holland, Scandinavia, United Kingdom) and North America have a far better chance of hearing the Gospel and believing.

Being born in a non-Christian country and growing up there must be the nadir of bad luck or misfortune, as the average Western Christian may see it. There is even a long-held belief that England is the New Jerusalem, from a poem written by William Blake, along with the crackpot theory that Britain is the lost tribe of Ephraim and America is the younger tribe of Manasseh, despite that there is not a shred of Biblical evidence to support this. That is how far the British had gone in the past centuries as they reclined in the couch of spiritual self confidence. Rather, in a converse sense, it looks to me that being born in the West has no guarantee of salvation, as the banking businessmen in the above story can testify.

I sense a kind of invisible force in the air which is, and has always had, fought for every attempt to keep the average sinner blinded from the truth of the Gospel. Every effort has been made to hide the truth of justification by faith alone, whether it's the aggressive spreading of Islam, the more peaceful religions of Hindu and Buddhism, or even within the Christian faith, away from simple believing, towards a whole convolution of works, whether it's Roman Catholicism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormonism, Uniformity, Christian Science, or even debating whether one's salvation is eternal or not. Such a divisive image of Christianity presents a laughing stock to a mocking unbeliever. Then going back to the banker on the flight to Los Angeles. A fictional character he may be, but he is the accumulation of many real people who thinks that Creation is too ridiculous to be factual.

In the Western world, the theory of Evolution hold sway over almost the entire population, and especially here in the UK, the home of Charles Darwin. Ironically enough, Darwin's work is based on the work of another Brit, Charles Lyell, who wrote Principles of Geology, and founded his theory of Uniformitarian Geology (as opposed to catastrophism, as taught in the Bible). Little wonder that in the UK, and particularly here in England, Darwin's theory is taken as factual history by virtually everyone, including a large percentage of church-goers. Nothing robs the Gospel of Christ Crucified of its power more than the relegation of Creationism to the level of fanciful myth.

The Bible insists that the one who truly believes is fully acquitted from his sins and the righteousness of Christ is imputed into his account. Because Jesus himself had never sinned while here on Earth, his righteousness is perfect. As a result the believer cannot lose his salvation. He has the righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed into his account. But there are many who believe that salvation can be lost if he departs from the faith or commit too many sins. There are many from top universities who graduate on this idea. And most likely unknown by many, this "losing of salvation" theory, prominent in some Protestant churches, had its origins from the Vatican.

Paul the apostle, in his letter to the Ephesians, writes about the principalities which are at work within those who are disobedient (Ephesians 2:2, 6:12) and the only work which these forces can achieve is to convince the mind that attempting to reach God is by human effort, salvation partially by works, or kept by the believer's faithfulness rather than the righteousness of Christ. This runs parallel to the Edenic Lie, which promises human effort for an upward attainment to godhood as depicted in the theory of Evolution. This, I think, is the essence of disobedience: not to accept the complete righteousness of Christ, but to infuse works or any other effort into God's covenant of salvation, and to reach the state of divinity on the basis of self-effort.

If I were to die now, my entry into Heaven will be on the righteousness of Christ alone. However, I do believe that the grace of God will cover everyone who earnestly called on the Lord to save them. As a result, I do believe that an element of Roman Catholics are saved, along with remnants of all other Christian-based faiths and cults, including Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons. They are saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus, and not by any doctrine they may hold on to. God's desire is for all men everywhere to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9) and anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13).

It is a crying shame to see everyone else under a cruel slave-driver being deceived with the idea of a works-based salvation. Then this same slave driver insisting that works alone is not enough, but martyrdom with the taking of other lives will secure a place in Heaven. All of this is a lie, and a lie which brings fear, hate and anger towards everyone else, but especially towards Christian believers.

The opening story is based on historical fact - the total death toll of  2,996 people (both in New York and at Washington D.C.) including all nineteen hijackers. But the disaster was not only the responsibility of the hijackers, not even just the responsibility of their leader who ordered the plot, Osama bin Laden. Rather it was the prompting of the real slave driver, invisible, but not lacking in power.

The good news however, that this power has already been defeated by Jesus Christ on that morning he rose physically from the dead. Christ's Resurrection has already sealed Satan's doom.