Jokes On USA Cutbacks In Financial Crisis

By Malgwyn | August 29, 2010

“I don’t make jokes,” said Will Rogers, “I just watch the government and report the facts.” If he were still alive, the famous humorist would have a field day with the current crop of Washington politicos.
Says Kelly Boggs, “Among my favorites in the egregious spending is $298,543 for a study on how to predict weather on other planets. Meteorologists have enough difficulty trying to predict Earth’s weather, so why do they want to turn their attention to Mars or Venus? Why do I need to know whether or not it is going to rain on Neptune tomorrow?”It makes me wonder if the UK has any such ‘jokes’ in its Government cutbacks? As long as you are not American, Kelly Boggs gives more to make you smile!

Posted in Humour, Political Issues, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Why God’s Law Is Good News - by Carolyn Arends

By Malgwyn | August 20, 2010

What possible connections can there be between my comments on Per Bolling’s book on Romans, 350 foreign criminals winning their right to stay in the UK on the basis of their human rights, and an article written by Carolyn Arends  in Christianity Today on why “God’s Law Is Good News“?

Well the book of Romans has a lot to say about God’s law, which would protect society if everyone kept to that law - no lying, stealing and killing etc, My sympathy is with Carolyn Arrends - although, from the comments to her article some of her readers obviously don’t agree with her - but seems to me her views on the law if followed would make all societies a much better and safer place - so how come she gets flack - and from fellow Christians?

Posted in Bible, Faith Issues, Social Issues | Leave a comment

350 Foreign Criminals Win Right To Stay In Britain

By Malgwyn | August 16, 2010

“UK Border Agency statistics showed 350 offenders, including a double murderer, were allowed to stay in the UK last year on human rights grounds instead of being sent home.
“In many cases, dangerous offenders were granted the right to stay despite the courts accepting that they pose a risk to the public.
“Among those to have taken advantage of the Human Rights Act to stay here are killers, rapists, serial burglars and drug dealers. Critics said the figures should prompt a further examination of how human rights laws are being used.” Read the whole article here.

Posted in Britain's Downside, Injustice, Political Issues, Social Issues | Leave a comment

Luther’s Decade Commemorations

By Malgwyn | August 10, 2010

Reading Bolling’s book on Romans  reminds me of how reading Romans did change one man, and how that altered the religious and political landscape of Europe. I am reading Bolling’s book on Romans with re-reading Roland Bainton’s biography of Martin Luther. I have posted a longer comment on Luther  in another setting.
But re-reading Luther’s biography by Roland Bainton, Here I Stand reminds me of his conversion experience beginning page 60 in Bainton’s book. It is sometimes referred to as his ‘Tower Experience’.

Martin Luther  brought changes to the world of his day that left a legacy of an open Bible for the common people. The Bible had been a forbidden book for centuries, only to be read and interpreted through the priesthood of the established church. By 1534 Martin Luther had translated the whole Bible into German for the German people. England had to wait until 1611 before we had the King James Version of the Bible.

Right now Germany is undergoing the “Luther Decade Commemorations”. It commemorates the time of Martin Luther’s arrival in the German town of Wittenberg in 1508 and the beginning of the 16th Century Reformation in 1517 when Luther nailed his famous 95 Thesis  to the door of the Castle church of Wittenberg. Part of the celebration will be 800 colourful miniature figures of Luther  - each about a metre in height - being placed in the market square in Wittenberg.Next year, Melvin Bragg will be presenting a new documentary on BBC2 to mark the 400th Anniversary of the publishing of the King James Version of the Bible, and what influence it had on the world of that time. The Bible Society will also be celebrating the 400th Anniversary of the publishing of the King James Bible.

The Bible Society says, “Next year promises to do unto the Bible what last year did unto Charles Darwin. 2011 marks the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Version, arguably the most important and influential book ever published in the English language.”

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“The Gospel According To Paul: A Plain Man’s Guide To Romans”

By Malgwyn | August 6, 2010

“The Gospel According To Paul: A Plain Man’s Guide To Romans” by Per Bolling, Autumn House, 2009. This book was a gift some months old, which I picked up to read recently when I found myself reading Paul’s Letter to the Romans. (Just click the forward arrow on the above link to go through Paul’s Letter to the Romans online from chapter 1.) I read through Romans recently (again) in the Gideon’s Bible in a hospital waiting room. Bolling’s book goes well with reading Romans - not a heavy commentary and is now one of my books that has become heavily pencilled, so it is not going to be given away. Needless to say it is a book I have enjoyed reading and an easy reference book to go back to. It is an 8″ x 5″ pocket size 168-page paperback - easy to carry for those wanting more than light (but not heavy) reading on their rail or air travels, or for giving more serious attention to Paul’s gospel to the Romans. The author has included a short 11-page chapter that summarises the Apostle Paul’s Letter to the Romans, “giving the reader a bird’s-eye view of how Paul thought when he wrote it.”

At the beginning of each chapter there is the author’s summary of what Paul is saying in the chapter. Each section being discussed is preceded by the biblical text in the NIV, all in short easy to read ‘essays’, so the book includes the whole text of Romans. The author draws the reader into the atmosphere and environment in which the letter would have been read to its original listeners - no ‘Staples’ around then to do any photocopying - but not avoiding those difficult bits - like Romans chapters 7 and 9-11. While there is no deep study into Greek terminology for the reader one gets the feeling of getting the benefits of the author’s own wide reading on Romans. It is as it says, “A Plain Man’s Guide To Romans“. On the rear cover there are statements by those in the past who have been challenged by Paul’s Letter to the Romans that are intended to challenge the reader:

“William Tyndale said that Romans lit the way to the whole Bible. “If you don’t understand Romans,” he wrote, “you really don’t understand the Bible.”

“Martin Luther said that Romans was the only book in Scripture that explained in full how God made possible humanity’s salvation. He called it ‘the purest gospel.’

“F. F. Bruce said, ‘Beware when you begin to study Romans. Anything can happen!’

“Per Bolling has discovered that all that is true. In this book he uncovers the purest gospel and gives it the clearest explanation. This book lights up the book that lights up the way into the whole Bible. No one will read it and remain unchanged. Anything can happen . . .”

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New 1900-feet Hoover Bridge Pictures

By Malgwyn | July 28, 2010

The Hoover Dam was a must to include in the Canyons trip - that was 10 years ago. I’ve always wanted to make a return trip - the new 1900-foot long Hoover Bridge is an incentive.

Posted in Personal, Pics & Stories | Leave a comment

The Greek Crisis, The E.U. And The Bible?

By Malgwyn | July 21, 2010

When I read about, US Forces Vandalize Babylon, it was about the same time as the reporting on the Greek crisis and conjectures on the possible break-up (or the break-down?) of the Eurozone. “The Euro as we know it is dead,” said The Telegraph. “Nightmare vision for Europe as EU chief warns ‘democracy could disappear’ in Greece, Spain and Portugal” said the Daily Mail. “If Greece was to default it would effectively spell the end of the Euro as a currency, according to Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) strategist and chief European economist Jacques Cailloux.” We should be glad that Britain never joined the Euro, said one business blog, and David Cameron assured Parliament that Britain will not be joining the Euro. We were right not to join the Euro, was another business headline

The Prime Minister was adamant that the UK Budget Controls will not pass to Brussels. Everything that had been built up over the years with a hope of a United States of Europe all of a sudden seemed to be falling apart. Initially, just one country in crisis was enough to bring about the collapse of the whole Euro enterprise. Then came problems for Spain, Portugal and Italy, and we didn’t seem to be sure where we were in the crisis rankings “Worries about the banks, shares plunging and a faltering housing market… Are we on the brink of a new crash? asked the Daily Mail. There was the worry about UK & Europe’s banks plunging into debt.
The Euro was unlikely to last five more years. And so we had John Humphreys asking have the sceptics been proved right over Europe?

Uncertainty still remains - Bulgaria and Ireland  are currently under pressure and there are those pundits who still believe the Eurozone is going to collapse with some speculating on its demise. On the other hand, there are business blogs and websites quite upbeat about a recovery, but then so was the Prime Minister John Major and Chancellor Norman Lamont prior to the 16th September 1992 when the UK Government crashed out of the ERM. We in the UK had gone up to 15% interest on our mortgages! Back then it showed how fragile political movements are, and the recent Euro crisis affirms that. Although we are getting a sense of recovery, it’s a costly one, not just for our generation, but for our children’s generation too.

In all of this that 2500 year-old prediction I had read in the Bible in Daniel 2 just stood out in my mind - that even if nations of modern Europe were re-united in someway - the text said, “The people will be a mixture (you can say that again!) and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay” (Daniel 2:43).

What I get from this 2500 year-old prediction is that we are down in the ‘feet and ten toes’ of this great metallic image  composed of 5 different minerals. It says in the script there is to be a 5th world empire, the next to come is to last forever. “The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure for ever” (Daniel 2: 44).

Speculators  may be jumping on the bandwagon of the current political uncertainties, but this one I wouldn’t speculate on - its been going to plan for the last 2500 years, I can’t see anything derailing it. When this is matched with the promises Jesus made in his apocalyptic speech in Matthew 24 and 25, it has something about it that makes sense, and that is what the Bible does for the times in which we live, it has a way of making sense of it all. And that is the purpose of the Bible - it takes away the uncertainties of the future because of the Person of Jesus Christ and what he has done for us (John 3:16)

Posted in Bible, Faith Issues, Political Issues | Leave a comment

Where To Park Your Car In Budapest

By Malgwyn | July 19, 2010

I’ve not been to Hungary but this car park in Budapest beats anything I’ve seen for car parking - you want safe parking? It looks to me to be vandal proof and theft proof and as secure as it gets!

Posted in Pics & Stories | Leave a comment

Screwtape For The New Atheists

By Malgwyn | July 18, 2010

“For anyone who has read the more dreadful histrionic books for and against atheism, Eberstadt’s letters are a welcome relief. Her tone is just right, and her premise enables her to hit heavy topics without devolving into polemic. The New Atheists’ selfrighteous, mostly humourless stance has been ripe for a takedown for years, and The Loser Letters delivers on the task.” It looks a good read. This review leads to other related articles on Christianity Today.

Posted in Books, Faith and Science, Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion | Leave a comment

Christopher Hitchens On Jesus: Is Jesus God?

By Malgwyn | July 15, 2010

“Two thousand years have passed since Jesus walked on the earth, and men still wrestle with the same question Jesus asked his disciples at Caesarea Philippi (Matthew 16:13-16). It’s the question every person must answer sooner or later:

“Who do you say that I am?”" And Christopher Hitchens? “

Posted in Bible, Faith Issues, Faith and Science | Leave a comment
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