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. 

Unlucky 13?

2013 has not been a good year for us. With a prolonged cold Winter stretching through nearly the whole of Spring, a camping holiday within the UK which was not all that great, my nearest and dearest falling ill and had to be taken to hospital in Reading, about twelve miles from where I live as the crow flies; and as I visit her every evening without fail, I watch with despair her condition deteriorate, with a total loss of ability to sit up straight, let alone trying to stand up and walk. Then within the last week, she was transferred to John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, one of the country's top medical centres which has a neurology specialist department.

 

But as I watch the medical team scratch their heads over exactly what is the cause of her problem, my daily visits has to be reduced to weekends only, and with a bit of luck, Friday afternoons as well, if I can get the week's window cleaning round finished in good time. Because Oxford is about thirty miles away from home, and this involve longer train journeys, including platform waits for delayed trains at Reading, the slow bus journey from Oxford Station to the hospital (route 13, of all numbers) covering five miles, and stopping every fifty metres to pick up and drop off fellow passengers; and while the entire trip extended from one hour one way from door (of my home) to door to Royal Berks Hospital in Reading; it takes approximately two and a half hours from door to door to J.R. in Oxford, and that is mainly due to the slow bus leg of the journey. These are times when I wished I had the confidence to learn how to get behind the steering wheel when I was in my late teens or early twenties. I guess I am one of the minority who never felt at home sitting at the driver's seat of a car, let alone affording to cover all the costs involved with owning and driving a vehicle.*

 

One of the problems with city bus rides is that the vehicle can get caught in a traffic snarl up, as was one occasion on Friday evening, returning to the station. I had no choice but to sit there, feeling frustrated as something to add to my effort to cheer up my bed-bound sweetheart who at times feels very helpless, alone and frightened. On top of all this, the past week we were meant to celebrate our wedding anniversary in warm sunshine over the Greek Mediterranean island of Crete. Instead, this year's anniversary was total rubbish, as I walked into Alex's special care ward at J.R. and found that she has passed out unconscious, and I had to alert the staff, to whom credit due, responded instantly and successfully brought her round.

 

This year in particular has certainly have been the year of hospitals. Because not long before my wife went down, I made regular visits to Reading Royal Berks hospital to visit my sick father, who had suffered a series of strokes. Then there was one early Saturday morning during the Summer when Alex and I were just about to leave the house to board a train to London, to join a long-standing mate from college, to enjoy a boat cruise together along the River Thames to Greenwich, one of the areas in London made famous by the East-West Meridian passing though, as well as being a naval base and home of the tall ship, the Cutty Sark, which Alex had always found inspiring. Instead, the phone rang, from my elderly mother that Dad had been rushed to hospital in Reading having just suffered a stroke. She passed this on as information only, but I was feeling: how could we enjoy such a day trip to London while knowing that my mother sits at her husband's bedside in distress? So after phoning my old college friend to tell him the news and cancelling the trip, we made our way to Reading instead.

 

Such as the direction my day-to-day living has taken this year. Lately I have been discussing with one or two friends whether being the year 2013 has anything to do with these things experienced. Of course, 2013 is one whole integer, as the number 13 is also an integer in itself. But by both posting on Facebook and talking face to face, I seem to have found agreement among others that 2013 is indeed unlucky.

 

And yet, "unlucky for some" the negative influence of the number 13 stemmed from the Christian faith, when there were once twelve righteous souls, including Jesus Christ himself, and one wicked person, Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus to the Sanhedrin for thirty pieces of silver, and then regretted what he had done and went on to hang himself. In the New Testament of the Bible, whenever a list of Jesus' disciples was made, Judas Iscariot was always mentioned last, hence allocated the 13th place.

 

Yet last night, I stood on the terminal platform in Reading for the delayed arrival of the train due to take me home, I felt a surge of anger. There are times I wish I could cry out to God, Why? I wanted to kick the wall of the station premises, to shout, scream, holler. But I would look foolish among the crowd of waiting passengers, all standing on the platform with such a stoic indifference which, according to some, makes Britain unique in its averse to grumbling!

 

As I sat in the train, I felt my anger directed at the churches, particularly the charismatic movement where one can "claim victory over the situation and over superstitious thoughts."

Claim victory? Personally, I have never seen this in the entire Bible. We can't "claim" anything. For we by nature are depraved sinners, born without strength and with no hope. We are all like a fading leaf, all our righteousness are as filthy rags, we are like grass scorched by the sun, chaff which is blown away by the wind. As I read Isaiah chapter 6, in verse 5 we read of the prophet crying out in despair, after seeing a vision of God in the Temple:

 

"Woe is me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty."

 

The prayer uttered by Daniel the prophet in chapter 9 of his book, fifteen verses are committed to him acknowledging first the greatness and holiness of God, and his love for Israel and his promise to Abraham that under Moses he will deliver his people out of Egypt and settled in their own land, with the Law of Moses to guide them. But instead, Daniel admits, including himself along with the national guilt, that Israel had refused to obey the Law, and all acted wickedly. He then admits that God is fully righteous and just, and had full right to punish Israel by forcing them to be expelled from their own land to Babylon. He then pleads for God's mercy and grace, for forgiveness of their sin, and for the restoration of Israel as a nation and for Jerusalem in particular. Daniel does not "claim" anything. Rather he admits his own helplessness and that of his people, and pleads instead for mercy and forgiveness.

 

In the new Testament, neither Paul, Peter, James, John and Jude ever "claimed" anything for themselves, neither do they exhort anyone else to do so. Instead, they remind the churches of their forgiveness of their sins, of the imputed righteousness of Christ, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and to encourage them to walk in holiness before God, for the benefit of others, in the power of the Holy Spirit within them, always to thank the Lord for his goodness and mercy, along with the riches of his grace. In Paul's letter to the Romans, he goes deep into theology, explaining about our sinful, helpless state, our inability to keep the Law of Moses, the good news of judicial acquittal, and the new life in the Holy Spirit as an act of grace. But never did he exhort us to "claim" anything.

 

There are times when superstitious thoughts do enter my mind, and actually believe that there is some kind of negative energy at work connected with these ideas, such as whether the number 13 is unlucky or not. I have connected the number 13 of the year 2013 with the negative things which occurred this year. But I don't "claim any victory" over any of these. Rather, I acknowledge that God himself foreknew all these things long before we were ever born, and to know that all things - both good and bad - works for the good of those who love God, and are called according to his purpose, so Paul wrote in Romans 8:28.

 

Like any frail, helpless human born of dust and ashes, there are, and will be, times of feeling superstitious, and that negative forces are at work. Paul exhorts the Ephesians to wear the armour of God to protect themselves spiritually, and to hold the shield of faith to bear the fiery darts of the evil one, and using the sword of the Bible to counter such accusations, worries and fears. But as for victory, that belongs to Jesus Christ alone. He was the one who atoned for our transgressions, he was the one who rose from the dead, he alone is the first fruit of the Resurrection. When he returns to usher in his glorious Kingdom centred on Jerusalem, then - and only then - will victory come our way.

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* For those not familiar with the geography of Southern England; Reading Station is a principal through station on the Great Western Railway from London Paddington to the West Country, including a branch line to Oxford. However, Reading Station also has a set of terminal platforms, into one of them is served by the London Waterloo to Reading commuter line, which passes through our home station of Bracknell. Therefore, to get to Oxford, or to any other West Country destinations, a change of trains at Reading is necessary.

 

Apology for the lack of pics. This blog was typed out during the small hours of this morning (Sunday) due to the extra busy schedule.