Bloodshed and brutality by bandits in central Nigeria

 It is so sad to hear about deaths and bloodshed in central Nigeria at this Christmas season of peace and goodwill to all on earth. Bandits have mercilessly attacked innocent people and murdered over 150 people in the central plateau area around Bokkos, Jos and Barkin Ladi.  

When young men are given powerful weapons and operate without morality but are able to become bandits, robbers and heartless thugs, then death and destruction inevitably occur.  Bandits have brought murder and mayhem to the streets of central Nigeria.  There is little protection and safety from these bandit assassins.  There seem to be enormous security issues for the government.  Boko Haram and Islamic State warriors are active in the northern parts of Nigeria, and they move south to wreak havoc from time to time.

I am looking into the ethno-religious tensions in the central plateau area.  What causes these bandit militias to murder and maim?  How are they so heavily armed and willing to shed innocent blood?

Terrible Taliban Afghanistan fails its folk

 As expected, the Taliban have failed to run a sound, stable and secure economy. Folk are starving to death. Children are poorly educated. Women live in hellish conditions.  There is no free press. There is no freedom of religion. Bandits and weapons dealers muck up the country. Corruption is rife. Lawlessness and violent incidents are common.  

You can rely on the Taliban to ruin the health service and university system, and keep the country back in the dark ages of fear, superstition and bigotry.  

Afghanistan is a land without hope and without prosperity under Taliban tyranny.

Please bring back K9

 Bring back K9. K9 is needed to help Doctor Who. K9 is needed to improve the good Doctor’s performance. K9, you can come back, be regenerated and warm the hearts of loyal fans. You have been missed and your return would be most welcome. You should be copied. Replicas should adorn toy boxes and toy stores. Your return would be eagerly awaited.

Godliness with contentment is great gain

Yes, godliness with contentment is great gain.  To have both godliness and contentment must be for Christians a tremendous combination.  To achieve and to attain these wonderful virtues in life should be treasured above fame and fortune.    

There are wealthy, famous folk who know little joy in their life but turmoil, tension and trouble. They have no inner peace and certainly no contentment. Despite their wealth they are dissatisfied, depressed and disenchanted with their comfortable but sad lot in life. And there are poor people who have little joy in their struggles to make ends meet, to pay basic bills, to find good accommodation and feed the family. In their own way they can also be very materialistic, holding fast and firm to what they have, having little concern for their spiritual well being.  Gambling recklessly, decadent behaviour, heavy drinking, bad drugs, STDs and criminal activity afflict and ruin all communities. There is pleasure in sin...for a season but it leads to the broad way, which ends in a narrow, perilous place.

Yet there are poor, godly people with many hardships, trials and tribulations, who have discovered true contentment.  And with godliness too. There were the humble poor in South Wales mining communities, who found solace in the Saviour, in singing in the chapel choir, in the fellowship of believers on Sundays.  My late father in law knew them well in Ynysybwl. He worked down the mines at Lady Windsor Colliery. Hard back breaking work. 

So it's not a question of being well off, well paid and superannuated, because during the Welsh Revival many of the people were not. They were not at all blessed with this world's goods, with grand houses, with large salaries, with expensive cars, audio equipment, electrical devices, mobile phones, large televisions, and many items thought in these days to be so essential to be able to enjoy the good life. They were not rich in material possessions, but they were rich in faith, fellowship and Christian friendship.  They rejoiced in the chapel culture, in songs of praise and the stewardship of Christian grace. Sons grew up with good role models, so very few absentee fathers who cleared off and avoided their responsibilities.

I would contend that they were happier, often healthier, certainly mentally speaking, though coal miners were troubled by pit disasters, pneumoconiosis, and terrible working conditions.  The sense of community and Christian values helped them through many dark times.  Crime was low. There was love in the family and fellowship at the chapel. Education was highly valued; it was a clear way to get out of poverty and on to prosperity. The Protestant work ethic prevailed. 

Many were helped a great deal by the chapel and the Sunday school. Reading aloud, speaking in public, performing in plays and musical events developed many talents. Through chapel and Sunday school activities the children gained confidence in performing in public, sometimes before large congregations, at local, area, national and international eisteddfods, and at Christian conventions and community events.

It is not surprising that the Welsh produced many great singers, preachers, hymnwriters, musicians and actors, and let us not forget the teachers.  Wales has been called a nation of pedagogues. Perhaps you can remember a Welsh teacher at your school in England. And some of them played a good game of  Rugby, like my wife's uncle Arwyn who played for Wales (schoolboys) and Northampton (when he was a schoolmaster).

Godliness with contentment is great gain, but is holiness the same as godliness? Can someone be godly but not holy? Can they be holy but ungodly? Are holy people more or less contented?

Wealthy and financially healthy lefties love pretending they are not rich

 Growing up in north London I lived among the chattering classes. Yes, those who have dinner parties and think that they know how the country should be run. They know best and they have a better grip on life than anyone else.  Some of them who live in N6, NW3, N2, N10  and N12 often like to think that they are not rich but comfortable.  They are at ease in Zion, happy with their lot in life and rarely admit that they are privileged and perfectly positioned to enjoy a lavish lifestyle.

The fact is that in this modern world of conflict, catastrophe and constraints, they are enjoying a very rich and high standard of living with tremendous benefits, blessings and bonuses.  The haughty of Hampstead and Highgate, the muesli munchers of Muswell Hill and financially secure of Finchley seem to take their privileges and places for granted.

They enjoy very good schools, good access to libraries, cinemas, theatres, cultural events, museums, the Northern Line, great transport links and the lovely lung of London... Hampstead Heath and Kenwood. And the Heath and Kenwood are free for all to enjoy. Fabulous.

North London offers so much, but who can afford to live there? Parking can be hellish but the transport system really helps. Though getting out of north London to Barnet and beyond on a Friday afternoon evening, particularly when the weather is fine, can be frustrating.

I read with interest an article in the Sunday Times about FAME AND FORTUNE.  It seems to me to exemplify this North London phenomenon that I encountered from birth in N2. Someone who says that the last thing they want in life "is to be rich".  But they are by world health and social standards very rich indeed. They are Oxford educated. They live in a four bedroom flat with a huge garden in Ealing. Their husband worked for the Financial Services Authority now the FCA.  This self confessed lefty has the safety net of "extremely rich relatives".  This journalist and TV pundit, with considerable influence, earns good money regularly, and has two children, probably high achievers, who could help with the cash flow problems.

Now add all these factors together and that sounds like someone who is wealthy and financially healthy,  someone who is rich, which of course is the last thing she wants in life.

PS 30/11/2023

I must admit that this journalist is one hundred per cent right and completely on the money in saying:

I know the misery that money causes in families: the fights, the favoured ones, the unfavoured ones. It's a miserable thing to be that rich.

Knives Out?

The Open Church and Management Methods

 It was good to see an end of Purpose Drive Church courses in UK Baptist churches.  In previous blog posts I have contended that the PDC courses and method were in no way compatible with Baptist church practice and membership.  These courses had a harmful and detrimental effect on Baptist church life by attempting to by-pass the established method of church membership through the process of the church meeting. Completing the course gave a way to direct membership.

Baptists have been accused of embracing the heresy of church democracy. It is maintained, by  opponents of church democracy, that the church should not be run by or allow key decisions to be subject to the members at the church meeting. The final decision should rest with the elders or leaders or senior management/leadership. The leadership should move the membership to make the best decisions (or the decisions that they want).

Management by senior leadership or team, often salaried staff members, seems to be a popular development in some churches.  While the church meeting and the members may appear to have a final say in the decision making process, in fact the management orders the agenda, the process and the policies at the church meeting.  Any other business (AOB) in some places can only be entered on the agenda, and therefore conducted, when the subject is checked and carefully vetted by the management.  Under this system the church member cannot raise any spontaneous and immediately pressing concerns.  Consequently certain subjects are kept off the agenda, and the control of what is discussed is firmly in the hands of the management team.  This inevitably stifles debate.  It leaves absolutely no room for open discussion of a controversial issue that the management do not want to pursue.  If the AOB is submitted to the management at a later time, a future meeting, then they can manipulate, massage and move issues to suit their ends.  The level of management control stops and stifles openness and pressing concerns.  

Allowing management in a church context to operate in this way often has other serious implications.

It would not allow for prophecy, for the exercise of certain spiritual gifts, for open prayer and charismatic worship. A church devoid of spontaneity and openness would be detrimental, in my opinion, to the spiritual health and welfare of the fellowship.

In my experience, tightly managed church bureaucracies lead to frustration and failure.  This is particularly the case when the young people and young adults in the church are not invested in the church meeting.  Some pastors, teachers and preachers maintain such tight control that they fail to develop, to nurture and to encourage the next generation and those with leadership potential. 

It was sad to see talented young people and young adults leave these tightly controlled/ hierarchical fellowships for more open churches where their abilities were given the opportunities to thrive and develop. On the other hand, it was necessary in order for them to flourish, but it was a painful experience.

Are we equipped to tackle the neo-Arians?

 Few today seem to know about Athanasius and the Arian controversy. In some ways it is being played out when one encounters the Jehovah Witnesses.

Now I respect them for their stand in WW2, their high ethical values and their commitment to spread their message in the face of ridicule, rudeness and rank contempt.

Their message is not new for Arius once taught doctrines with which they would be comfortable:

Jesus was a created being.

There was a time when He was not, when He did not exist.

Jesus is not the divine Son of God or God the Son.

There is no Trinity.  

God is one and there is no other God(s).

There is no Godhead of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Jesus did not teach that He is or was God.

All of the above statements or doctrine are false, wrong and heretical according to Christian tradition, what is called Orthodoxy, the right way established by the universal Church and true to the Biblical narrative.

Today we have various forms of this false teaching. It is said that Jesus was a good teacher, a great example, a wise and wonderful person, a person to respect, honour and esteem as a religious leader.

Now all of these comments have elements of truth and merit. But a clear and honest reading of the New Testament and a good understanding of the whole Bible shows that Jesus was the divine Son of God> He is the King of Kings and LORD of Lords, the Alpha and the Omega, and the Way, the Truth and Life. He is the Saviour who came to save sinners. God was in Christ. God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Jehovah Witnesses (JWs) twist the New Testament Greek and have their own translation, the New World Translation.  Certain texts, for example, in John's Gospel are changed to suit their doctrines.

In the original text it clearly states that:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

And He, Jesus, the Word, the divine Logos, is God, not a god or a created being. Jesus is God and it is clear in John's Gospel that He was worshipped. John 9:38 is clear. And the JWs admit that only God should be worshipped.

When it comes to John 12: 41 the JWs are all at sea and have to play all sorts of theological gymnastics to explain the meaning of the text. Please read it. Mark, learn and inwardly digest the context and the deep implications of this verse with reference to Isaiah 6 and you should see what I am getting at.

Happy Halloween? Happy and blessed All Saints' Day!

 Many people are quite unaware and unfamiliar with the fact that Halloween is on the eve of All Saint's Day.  In the Christian tradition, rather than the neo-pagan and secular one of today, All Saints' Day is the day to celebrate the triumph of all saints, dead, living and yet to be, over the forces of darkness. The victory is over Satan, sin and selfishness. For Christians there is a fabulous hope of future glory in a New Heaven and a New Earth where righteousness dwells, where Christ Jesus rules and reigns supreme and without any opposition.

Being happy and blessed are clearly linked in the Bible. Blessing brings happiness and authentic joy. Some would argue that there is no true happiness without holiness, sanctification, in Christ Jesus. Some think that they are happy, but in reality they have a false sense of eternal security if they are not in Christ. He is the only eternal hope for humanity. One day that shall be made clear, though some have already discerned it. Some have glimpsed beyond this present age. Some have seen unutterable things. Some have experience ineffably joy, realized abundant life having eternal quality. He will usher in the final Kingdom, when all things will be under His authority. Every tongue will confess that He is LORD.

Underdog Football from Manchester United

 Underdog football sums up Manchester United's abysmal performance at Old Trafford last Saturday.

In the second half the defence was poor and the attack was firing blanks. City, on the other hand , were showing their superiority and looked like the home side rather than the away side under pressure. Whether you believe that United are the devil's team or not, they played like middle table mediocrities badly in need of a radical overhaul.  

The United goalkeeper, Andre Onana, played magnificently and made some world class saves, beautiful to watch.  He is the best player in their squad on current form, though Rashford shines from time to time.

City are a quality side, which the Red Devils cannot match at all this season, perhaps for some time to come.

It is unlikely that Erik ten Hag will be there for much longer, but it's a funny old game.

Manchester United 0  Manchester 3.  

The Kingdom of Heaven, not middle class, bourgeois family values

 Jesus came preaching the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew's Gospel) and the Kingdom of God (Luke's Gospel). The Lord taught us the parables of the Kingdom. He preached repentance, for the Kingdom was at hand. He was the King, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. It can be argued that the Kingdom was and is where Jesus ruled and reigned, where His authority, power and victory are established.

His Kingdom has been misunderstood, for some identified it with the Church, or Christendom, where the influence of the Church held sway. 

The correct understanding would be to say the the Kingdom of Heaven/God takes its point of departure from God, whereas the Church takes its point of departure from Christians, followers of Christ, and is therefore flawed. The Church is an imperfect human institution, although as ecclesia it is the fellowship of those called out to be God's people. Is it a hospital for sinners rather than a gymnasium or club for the spiritually elite?

Jesus did not come preaching family values, not as we currently understand them and certainly not as some experience them in tensions, conflict, disagreements, divorce, broken homes, unhealthy relationships, squabbles and frayed exchanges. They can be units of support, comfort, consolation, and caring, but how often do they come with a spiritual dimension?

When Jesus preached there was conviction, authority and truth that penetrated the heart and mind. 

Woke and pseudo theologies have presented us with a god without wrath, men without sin, and a kingdom without judgment, so that there is no need for Christ on the cross to save us.  According to this form of religion, there is no hell or any prospect of a perilous separation from God, no weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth,  no place of regret and grief for past iniquities, no punishment of the wicked. People are left to follow the broad way and rely on their own good and bad works, what they considered to be best, good intentions.  Human religion does not call for repentance, to turn away from evil, wickedness and the sin that separates us from God.

The New Testament reveals that salvation is by grace through the divine gift of faith,  and this leads to good works which God has prepared for us.  Please see Ephesians 2: 8-10.  This is the wonderful message of the Gospel, the Good News, that Jesus came into the world to save sinners, to deliver us from a lost eternity, so that we are able to come to eternal life.  This eternal life has the quality of eternity, the abundant life that God intended us to live. In Christ Jesus there is the certain hope of a glorious future, and the reality of an abundant life now.

 

Is the call of God beyond family first values?

Some churches are very keen on the family, perhaps family first, and Christian family values. The church as the family of God is promoted, endorsed and applauded in line with certain verses in the New Testament.

However, in the early Church community there were those who did not enjoy family life and comforts of a happy home life with close relatives. Some were slaves, displaced persons, refugees, members of the Jewish diaspora, people who had fled persecution and terrible hardship as strangers in a strange land.

Jesus called people to follow Him, and even forsake family, friends, financial security and an easier life. 

Can  you think of relevant Bible verses?

Think of Jesus' encounter with the rich young ruler, and the man who wanted to settle his family affairs before responding to Jesus' call.  

Are Christians today in danger of elevating family values above those of the call of God in Christ Jesus?

It is an important question that needs to be considered in the light of Jesus' teaching, and of course the whole counsel of God. 

We like to talk and discuss Christian family values, in many ways, and it is good to work out what that means. But I would suggest that there are other ways, other important aspects of Christian life, such the church as a community, a partnership which invests in what is best for needy folk, a fellowship where there is caring, sharing and bearing one another's burdens, worries and cares, and of course ministering with prayers.

I  asked a Christian from South Korea, when I was a post graduate student at Oxford: what in your opinion is the difference between Christians in the UK and Christians in your country?

He replied, "Here you talk and discuss a lot. Back home we pray a lot. We pray a lot more than we talk."

And 1Corinthians 4:20 is a word, a message to me, as much as anyone!

Congratulations to Professor Hippolite Amadi

 Last month, September 2023, Hippolite Amadi who is currently Visiting Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College, University of London, won the Nigeria Prize for Science.

This prize was awarded for Professor Amadi's innovative work which led to tremendous advances in neonatal and child healthcare.

There are now neonatal research centres in Nigeria that bear Professor Amadi's name. An impressive legacy.

FIFA means finance is first aim

 Now we all know it and it is abundantly clear, FIFA mean Finace is First Aim. It's all about the money.

The Chief Executive Officer should be called Phil Aguria, lover of money. And the love of money is...

Barry George was shamefully treated

 Barry George , who was wrongfully convicted of murdering Jill Dando, suffered dreadfully in prison knowing that he was completely innocent and the evidence was handled badly.  It was a professional hit. Jill was assassinated on her doorstep in west London, shot by a gun that Barry had never fired or was trained to shoot. Barry deserves a generous ex gratia payment , though it will never remove or compensate for those years he spent wasting away in a prison cell. Disgraceful. Those who were involved and responsible for this atrocious miscarriage of justice should contribute to the payment in some way.

The Death of Michael Reid, formerly Bishop of Peniel Church

 I have recently discovered that Michael Reid, who led Peniel Church near Brentwood, died in January 2023.  He did achieve success in establishing a large church with an impressive choir, a private school (Peniel Academy), a Bible college and substantial properties around the Coxtie Green area. Unfortunately his ministry ended in disgrace and shame. His adultery was exposed and, after an independent investigation which led to the Langlois Report, horrendous evidence of harm, toxic abuse, bullying and deceit. It is true to say Reid created "havoc and pain for many."

There are many well documented victims of this abusive ministry.  It is easy to find the evidence. There are those who still carry deep mental wounds and painful psychological scars from their experiences at Peniel Church, at the end of the last century and up to his resignation in April 2008. Reid did not leave the church manse willingly. It took considerable effort to remove him. There was rejoicing when he departed. Many were glad to see him go.  

There are important lessons to learn from the Langlois Report and the whole Peniel episode so that these abuses are not repeated.

An Awakening at Asbury

Christian and mainstream social media has been full of the news of events at Asbury University in Kentucky. Thousands have been attending chapel services and crowds have been gathering from all over the USA and beyond. It has been called a revival, an awakening and a move of God, a work of the Holy Spirit.

 From what I have observed on line by listening to testimonies, discussions and videos, there does seem to be a genuine and sincere expression and experience of praise, worship, repentance and deeper commitment to the Lord. I rejoice with those who have found joy in their discipleship, a closer walk with the Lord Jesus Christ and a deeper commitment to Him. 

 Yes, there may be some questionable theology and dodgy doctrines shared by a minority, and some things that offend the hypercritical, the pharasaical cynics, the ultra pious and theologically sophisticated. But when all is said and done, I rejoice in the work of God at Asbury, in the praise, in the worship, in the frequent recitation of the Bible, in the real repentance and conviction of sin by people at the chapel services etc.

 Jonathan Edwards put forward a five fold test of revival. At Asbury, to some extent, one could argue that the test has been met, the five fold criteria are evident. People are convinced of Christ and lead to Him in the assurance that He is the divine Son of God, sent to save sinners, operating against the interest of Satan's kingdom, causing people to forsake sin and to set their affections on the things that are above, leading them to a greater regard for the Holy Scriptures as the Word of God, awakening the ability to discern spiritually between truth and error, light and darkness, and manifesting a spirit of love, both to God and to others.

 How much fruit and eternal content will come out of the Asbury Awakening only time and eternity will tell. But Jesus is being glorified, uplifted and worshipped. To God be the glory, great things has He done, is doing and will continue to do.