This is a really nice little group of pages on the Lord's prayer. One good feature is that it gives some really quite meaty insights in a digestible and accessible form.
BBC - Religion & Ethics - The Lord's Prayer
Filed in: prayer, spirituality, paternoster, Lord's_prayer, Christian
31 December 2005
Flattening Hierarchies in Business
A nice little primer on flattening hierarchies with a lot of comment about co-ops too.
WorldChanging: Another World Is Here: Flattening Hierarchies in Business
Filed in: hierarchy, self-organising, co-op, management, structure
WorldChanging: Another World Is Here: Flattening Hierarchies in Business
Filed in: hierarchy, self-organising, co-op, management, structure
Court victory spam stopper?
This case does provide a guideline when it comes to successfully claiming damages from spammers," he said. "It also shows that wherever they are they can be held responsible for sending spam to anyone living in a British Isles jurisdiction.
Guardian Unlimited Technology | Technology | Court victory hailed as spam stopper: Filed in: spam, UK, legal
Motorbikes '16 times worse than cars for pollution'
I had been wondering about a bike or scooter but maybe not...
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Motorbikes '16 times worse than cars for pollution'
Filed in: motorbikes, pollution, CO2
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Motorbikes '16 times worse than cars for pollution'
Filed in: motorbikes, pollution, CO2
Evolution and intelligent design
Although I have a beef with evolutionism, I have no problem with evolution in principle as the means of creation. I recently found an article that does a good clear job of explaining what the fuss is about and outlining the issues. In it is this quote which is useful to use with creationist ID-ers [are there any other kinds?] to help get the discussion onto more interesting grounds.
Metanexus Institute: Filed in: Intelligent_design, evolution, theology, biology
Some obvious questions are not answered by the ID proponents: What is the mechanism of ID? How frequently does design occur? What percentage of organisms exhibit ID? Do we find design to be more prevalent in some lines of descent than others? Are human pathogens such as AIDS, cholera, and malaria intelligently designed? The latter question points to the observation that there are in nature many examples of what might be called 'unintelligent' design. Of all species that have arisen more than 99% have died out. While rabbits have a large and functional appendix, humans have only a vestigial, non-functional appendix that makes us prone to appendicitis. The recurrent laryngeal nerve in mammals does not go directly from cranium to larynx, but extends down the neck to the chest, loops around a lung ligament and then runs back up the neck to the larynx. This means that in a giraffe this nerve has a length of 20 ft., where one foot would have done. In the cephalopod (e.g., squid) eye the photoreceptor cells are turned towards the incoming light, which seems a good design, but in the mammalian eye they are pointing in the opposite direction, which would be poor design.
Metanexus Institute: Filed in: Intelligent_design, evolution, theology, biology
30 December 2005
when is comment spam not spam?
Take a look at the first comment on this posting. It starts like comment spam and is as vague as comment spam and like comment spam actually doesn't relate really well to the topic. So my question is whether this is some kind of experiment by c-spammers trying to get round the system of visual confirmation to post which has been, so far, successful in stopping automated comment spam dead. Anyone else been getting random bonhommie in their comments?
Oh, and the final sus thing is that if you click on the poster's link, it's a defunct account.
Nouslife: Right questions and wrong questions
Oh, and the final sus thing is that if you click on the poster's link, it's a defunct account.
Nouslife: Right questions and wrong questions
22 December 2005
Blair faces organised rebellion on nuclear issue
"If there was a free market in energy, ie no assistance for new nuclear build, no long term promise of a guaranteed market and no minimum price for nuclear, no one would build a new nuclear station. Nuclear is not carbon-free, nor is it renewable. We have been promised by government that there is a debate to be had, and no decisions have been made. But there is a change in attitude in government. Only three years ago a white paper pretty well ruled out nuclear, but it is now centre stage."
Guardian Unlimited Politics | Special Reports | Blair faces organised rebellion on nuclear issue: Filed in: energy, nuclear, UK, renewables
21 December 2005
The Corporate Begging Bowl
For a number of years I was interested and cross about the rhetoric of free enterprise which lionised libertarian ethics yet are parasitic on morality. Then I read David Jenkin's well researched lay account of the flaws in capitalist ideology and practice which said similar things and pointed out that the parasitism extends to infrastructure and even financial systems. In other words, while insisting everyone pays their way, the world's richest corporations get everyone else to pay theirs, including future generations. This article does a nice job of contextualising that kind of insight in the UK economy and then globalises:
Now I'm not against trade and self reliance or manufacture and so forth, but I am against an ideology that masquerades as fair, self-reliant and rewarding enterprise when it is used as a masque to hide the exact opposite taking place servicing the world's most powerful and wealthy at the expense of the poor, the environment and the future. And no, I'm not advocating socialism, just fairness.
George Monbiot � The Corporate Begging Bowl: Filed in: externalities, subsidies, trade, environment, capitalism, business
There is nothing unusual about these handouts for private companies. In his book Peverse Subsidies, published in 2001, Professor Norman Myers estimates that when you add the direct payments US corporations receive to the wider costs they oblige society to carry, you come up with a figure of $2.6 trillion, or roughly five times as much as the profits they make(8). As well as the $362 billion the OECD countries were paying for farming when his book was published (or rather, as we have seen, for activities masquerading as farming) they were shelling out some $71 billion on fossil fuels and nuclear power and a staggering $1.1 trillion on road transport. Worldwide, governments pay companies $25bn a year to destroy the earth’s fisheries, and $14bn to wreck our forests.
Now I'm not against trade and self reliance or manufacture and so forth, but I am against an ideology that masquerades as fair, self-reliant and rewarding enterprise when it is used as a masque to hide the exact opposite taking place servicing the world's most powerful and wealthy at the expense of the poor, the environment and the future. And no, I'm not advocating socialism, just fairness.
George Monbiot � The Corporate Begging Bowl: Filed in: externalities, subsidies, trade, environment, capitalism, business
Microgeneration Potential
Quick assessment of a UK report on microgeneration with a good few links for background. Important to note the last paragraph on what the report doesn't address.
WorldChanging: Another World Is Here: Microgeneration Potential
Filed in: energy, UK, electricity, micregeneration, grid
WorldChanging: Another World Is Here: Microgeneration Potential
Filed in: energy, UK, electricity, micregeneration, grid
Toy story in pictures
Now that's what I call journalism: good pictures, good interview material which speak for themselves. In this case they speak of the effects of globalisation and tell us some uncomfortable truths about stuff we buy...
BBC NEWS | In pictures | Toy story | Introduction
Filed in: manufacture, trade, workers, conditions
BBC NEWS | In pictures | Toy story | Introduction
Filed in: manufacture, trade, workers, conditions
Lords Prayer?
Another paraphrase masquerading as a translation of the Lord's Prayer [see my earlier comments]. Now, I'm aware that the line between translation and paraphrase as more discerned in retrospect than in the crossing of it, but as a linguist, I would be very uneasy about producing this as a 'translation', it's more a kind of reflection.
It's rather like what John's gospel seems to do with some of Jesus's teaching: recast it in terms of a different thought world. The difficulty with that is that the questions about fidelity to the original intent are bigger [John was judged faithul, that doesn't mean every such approach would be]. Not a worry for reader-response post-moderns, perhaps, but it is a concern if the authority of Christ in being invoked and the message of Christian faith being reworked by spurious appeal to such re-'translated' authority. Shades of Da Vinci Code. It's telling us something, though.
way out west: Lords Prayer?: Filed in: Christian, spirituality, New-age, prayer, paternoster Aramaic
O Breathing Life, your Name shines everywhere!
Release a space to plant your Presence here.
Imagine your possibilities now.
Embody your desire in every light and form.
Grow through us this moment's bread and wisdom.
Untie the knots of failure binding us,
as we release the strands we hold of others' faults.
Help us not forget our Source,
Yet free us from not being in the Present.
From you arises every Vision, Power and Song
from gathering to gathering.
Amen -
May our future actions grow from here!
It's rather like what John's gospel seems to do with some of Jesus's teaching: recast it in terms of a different thought world. The difficulty with that is that the questions about fidelity to the original intent are bigger [John was judged faithul, that doesn't mean every such approach would be]. Not a worry for reader-response post-moderns, perhaps, but it is a concern if the authority of Christ in being invoked and the message of Christian faith being reworked by spurious appeal to such re-'translated' authority. Shades of Da Vinci Code. It's telling us something, though.
way out west: Lords Prayer?: Filed in: Christian, spirituality, New-age, prayer, paternoster Aramaic
20 December 2005
E-Paper packaging
I'm looking forward to the chance for bricolage in worship contexts...
I hope we can not only recontextualise them but reprogram them. What fun.
If it does work and roll-out, we should look to subvert in worship and perhaps other ways bearing in mind Kalle Lasn's words,
Wired News: E-Paper's Killer App: Packaging: Filed in: screen, digital-ink, advertising
Siemens is readying a paper-thin electronic-display technology so cheap it could replace conventional labels on disposable packaging, ...
In less than two years, Siemens says, the technology could transform consumer-goods packaging from the fixed, ink-printed images of today to a digital medium of flashing graphics and text that displays prices, special offers or alluring photos, all blinking on miniature flat screens.
I hope we can not only recontextualise them but reprogram them. What fun.
If it does work and roll-out, we should look to subvert in worship and perhaps other ways bearing in mind Kalle Lasn's words,
"Let's look at the larger picture and deal with the pollution of our mental environment and see what it means for Siemens to throw one more very powerful, visual device into that."
Wired News: E-Paper's Killer App: Packaging: Filed in: screen, digital-ink, advertising
Quantum leap of life
Ina spirit of keeping informed so that we keep our thinking sharp:
There are some intriguing resonances in my mind about the Word, once we talk about origins in informatic terms ...
Guardian Unlimited | Science | Quantum leap of life: Filed in: life, origins, evolution, quantum, information
the problem of life's origin is switched from hardware to software. The game of life is about replicating information.
There are some intriguing resonances in my mind about the Word, once we talk about origins in informatic terms ...
Guardian Unlimited | Science | Quantum leap of life: Filed in: life, origins, evolution, quantum, information
I Dance, Therefore I Am
Brian Eno, interviewed by Wired magazine in 1995, said: "Do you know what I hate about computers? The problem with computers is that there is not enough Africa in them. This is why I can't use them for very long. Do you know what a nerd is? A nerd is a human being without enough Africa in him or her."
An interesting if all too brief reflection on the relation we have as bodily beings to our computers, or rather not. Could do with more depth, but a good start. If you are intrigued by the idea of our virtual disembodiment then you might like to know that it is a bit of a theme in cultural studies ...
Wired News: I Dance, Therefore I Am: Filed in: computers, Eno, Africa, body, mind
19 December 2005
Turning Parking Spaces into Parks
This is something I fancy having a go at ...
Treehugger: Turning Parking Spaces into Parks
Treehugger: Turning Parking Spaces into Parks
New Flushable Diaper
"Taking heed of the fact that a single diaper can take 500 years to biodegrade in a landfill, gDiapers have designed an absorbent diaper insert that can be safely flushed"
More hopeful news...
Treehugger: gDiapers: the New Flushable Diaper:
More hopeful news...
Treehugger: gDiapers: the New Flushable Diaper:
Less Silver Pollution Thanks to Digital Photography
A bit of encouragement to show how effective mass habit-changes can be.
"digital photography has helped reduce silver pollution in the water of Sweden's capital. 'Tests have shown that silver levels have dropped by more than half in five years in the waters of the Stockholm archipelago.' More digital photography means that there is less developing of conventional silver-halide film, and nowadays at least 90% of all cameras sold in Sweden are digital."
Treehugger: Less Silver Pollution Thanks to Digital Photography:
"digital photography has helped reduce silver pollution in the water of Sweden's capital. 'Tests have shown that silver levels have dropped by more than half in five years in the waters of the Stockholm archipelago.' More digital photography means that there is less developing of conventional silver-halide film, and nowadays at least 90% of all cameras sold in Sweden are digital."
Treehugger: Less Silver Pollution Thanks to Digital Photography:
get happy -l get ahead in life
"'Almost always it has been assumed that things that correlate with happiness are the causes of happiness, but it could be just the opposite - that those things tend to be caused by happiness,' said Professor Ed Diener from the University of Illinois, another author on the paper.
Other studies revealed that having a sunny outlook on life appeared to precede good fortune."
Which is interesting enough but there's more:
""Although nations cannot live people's lives and force them to be happy, they can create conditions - for example, parks, reasonable weekly work hours, a health infrastructure, and good transportation - that influence people's happiness,""
Now that's government and organisational policy that would make a real difference ...
Guardian Unlimited | Science | The recipe for success: get happy and you will get ahead in life:
Other studies revealed that having a sunny outlook on life appeared to precede good fortune."
Which is interesting enough but there's more:
""Although nations cannot live people's lives and force them to be happy, they can create conditions - for example, parks, reasonable weekly work hours, a health infrastructure, and good transportation - that influence people's happiness,""
Now that's government and organisational policy that would make a real difference ...
Guardian Unlimited | Science | The recipe for success: get happy and you will get ahead in life:
The Crucifixion of Christ, American Style
This is thought-provoking.
"Vice President Dick Cheney, appearing with former Georgia Senator Zell Miller before a uniformed military audience in Texas, suggested that Jesus’ 'love your enemy' message was a thinly veiled liberal euphemism that meant Christ wants to cut the defense budget and reduce the federal funding for the body armor badly needed by our brave young men and women in harm’s way.
'Let he without sin cast the first spitball,' Cheney mocked, to a standing ovation from the troops."
And it has Dubya's amendment of the Prayer:
"And never forgive the terrorists, who trespass against us.
And lead us not into appeasement,
and deliver the U.S. from evil.
Amen."
There's a lot in this that bears a lot of further reflection. Commended
Thomas Paine's Corner: The Crucifixion of Christ, American Style:
"Vice President Dick Cheney, appearing with former Georgia Senator Zell Miller before a uniformed military audience in Texas, suggested that Jesus’ 'love your enemy' message was a thinly veiled liberal euphemism that meant Christ wants to cut the defense budget and reduce the federal funding for the body armor badly needed by our brave young men and women in harm’s way.
'Let he without sin cast the first spitball,' Cheney mocked, to a standing ovation from the troops."
And it has Dubya's amendment of the Prayer:
"And never forgive the terrorists, who trespass against us.
And lead us not into appeasement,
and deliver the U.S. from evil.
Amen."
There's a lot in this that bears a lot of further reflection. Commended
Thomas Paine's Corner: The Crucifixion of Christ, American Style:
Geothermal Heat Pumps
If you want to know how they work...
WorldChanging: Another World Is Here: Geothermal Heat Pumps
Filed in: geothermal, energy, heat-pumps
Housewarming Eucharist
On Friday we had a housewarming, and quite near the start was a house blessing eucharist. Here are some of the liturgical highligts.
At the start we had 3 candles lit with some opening words, the idea from an Iona liturgy but adapted to a house warming context [see below]. These three lights are part of an array of seven candles which surround the bread and wine, four of which are not lit at the start. The three that are lit are extinguished at the confession [one for each of the responses to the confession -the Kyries for those who are used to such things] and then all seven are lit, one each in turn for each of the seven sections of the Eucharistic prayer. At the end of the service the candles are prayed over and taken to and left in different parts of the house as signs of prayer for the house in all its rooms.
In this service we used the track "Image of the Invisible" from Late Late Service's God in the Flesh CD. The track includes some words from the prologue of John's gospel and is an extended meditation on the incarnation, it seemed apprpropriate that we should use it in Advent for a house move ...
The prayers were done by handing out notelet sized pieces of paper and pencils and pens and asking people to write blessings while the Taize track 'O Lord hear my prayer' played in the background. For the Kyries we used the Russian Orthodox Kyrie from "A Musical Offering" and voiced-over the intro and sentences.
After communion we played Dido's "Life for Rent" which echoes themes of impermanence which work with how our life is just now and also echoes the idea that we need to learn to invest in treasure that lasts to eternal life ...
'if my life is for rent and I don't learn to buy
Well I deserve nothing more than I get
Cos nothing I have is truly mine'
Well, I find it quite spiritual, anyway ...
Words.
1st Voice: A light in the name of the Maker,
Who made a home for all creation.
2nd Voice: A light in the name of the Son,
Who brings all things home to God.
3rd Voice: A light in the name of the Spirit,
Who makes us at home in God and God at home in us.
three lights for the trinity of love:
God beyond us,
God with us,
God upholding us:
the beginning, the end, the everlasting one.
Gospel
Prayers
Forgiveness, using Kyries. Douse one of the three candles with each section.
O soul be joyful; the saving God stretches out loving hands to you to announce a loving reconciliation. Washed and made whole, let us open our hearts to God.
We are the body of Christ
God's Spirit is with us
Let's lift up our hearts:
We lift them to God.
Let us give thanks to our God
It is right to give thanks and praise
Blessed are you God: you took on human estrangement and had mercy on our rootlessness.
When we were still far off, you met us in Christ, and brought us home.
We bless you for Jesus who gave up the security of home to make known your homemaking. We praise you for Christ's redeeming death; for bearing bodily the inhospitality of human wrong.
dying and living, he declared your love, gave us grace and opened the gate of glory.
From the broken-ness of Christ's body blooms forth the New Creation where your home becomes our home and our creativity becomes your delight.
In Christ we know ourselves beloved of you, that all things will work for the good.
Blessed are you our refuge and our host; your joyful generosity provides this bread & wine;
earth-& rain- & sunlight-born, product of human care and delight.
We take them now and bless you, and in our sharing of them, renew Christ's eternal covenant.
Let your Spirit well up in us and in these gifts of your creation, as we eat and drink unite us in the body of Christ, remake us alive to You.
As bread and wine are made one with us, may we become one with you;
living our prayer and praying our life.
We proclaim Christ's death and celebrate the resurrection,
and so we find in this bread and this wine a foretaste of our messianic homecoming.
As we eat and drink these holy gifts make us one in Christ, our risen Lord.
Around this table we come with wandering Arameans, seekers of promised land and citizens of a more enduring city.
With them we offer our sacrifice of praise and join with the eternal song of heaven.
Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come,
hosanna in the highest.
On the night he was betrayed, Jesus took bread & wine, gave thanks, broke the bread, & shared it saying; “This is my body, broken for you”
When we break the bread,
is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?
Afterwards, he shared the cup, saying: “This is my blood of the new covenant”
We do this in memory of him: We will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.
Father, Feed us with the Bread of Heaven;
May we become drunk with your holiness.
Communion
God of our lives, you are always calling us
to follow you into the future,
inviting us to new ventures, new challenges
new ways to bless those around us.
When we are fearful of the unknown,
give us courage.
When we worry we are not up to the task,
remind us that you would not call us
if you did not believe in us.
You call each of us for a special purpose
Each person says next line individually
No-one else can fulfill my purpose,
All: it is entrusted only to me.
Words of blessing ...
At the start we had 3 candles lit with some opening words, the idea from an Iona liturgy but adapted to a house warming context [see below]. These three lights are part of an array of seven candles which surround the bread and wine, four of which are not lit at the start. The three that are lit are extinguished at the confession [one for each of the responses to the confession -the Kyries for those who are used to such things] and then all seven are lit, one each in turn for each of the seven sections of the Eucharistic prayer. At the end of the service the candles are prayed over and taken to and left in different parts of the house as signs of prayer for the house in all its rooms.
In this service we used the track "Image of the Invisible" from Late Late Service's God in the Flesh CD. The track includes some words from the prologue of John's gospel and is an extended meditation on the incarnation, it seemed apprpropriate that we should use it in Advent for a house move ...
The prayers were done by handing out notelet sized pieces of paper and pencils and pens and asking people to write blessings while the Taize track 'O Lord hear my prayer' played in the background. For the Kyries we used the Russian Orthodox Kyrie from "A Musical Offering" and voiced-over the intro and sentences.
After communion we played Dido's "Life for Rent" which echoes themes of impermanence which work with how our life is just now and also echoes the idea that we need to learn to invest in treasure that lasts to eternal life ...
'if my life is for rent and I don't learn to buy
Well I deserve nothing more than I get
Cos nothing I have is truly mine'
Well, I find it quite spiritual, anyway ...
Words.
1st Voice: A light in the name of the Maker,
Who made a home for all creation.
2nd Voice: A light in the name of the Son,
Who brings all things home to God.
3rd Voice: A light in the name of the Spirit,
Who makes us at home in God and God at home in us.
three lights for the trinity of love:
God beyond us,
God with us,
God upholding us:
the beginning, the end, the everlasting one.
Gospel
Prayers
Forgiveness, using Kyries. Douse one of the three candles with each section.
O soul be joyful; the saving God stretches out loving hands to you to announce a loving reconciliation. Washed and made whole, let us open our hearts to God.
We are the body of Christ
God's Spirit is with us
Let's lift up our hearts:
We lift them to God.
Let us give thanks to our God
It is right to give thanks and praise
Blessed are you God: you took on human estrangement and had mercy on our rootlessness.
When we were still far off, you met us in Christ, and brought us home.
We bless you for Jesus who gave up the security of home to make known your homemaking. We praise you for Christ's redeeming death; for bearing bodily the inhospitality of human wrong.
dying and living, he declared your love, gave us grace and opened the gate of glory.
From the broken-ness of Christ's body blooms forth the New Creation where your home becomes our home and our creativity becomes your delight.
In Christ we know ourselves beloved of you, that all things will work for the good.
Blessed are you our refuge and our host; your joyful generosity provides this bread & wine;
earth-& rain- & sunlight-born, product of human care and delight.
We take them now and bless you, and in our sharing of them, renew Christ's eternal covenant.
Let your Spirit well up in us and in these gifts of your creation, as we eat and drink unite us in the body of Christ, remake us alive to You.
As bread and wine are made one with us, may we become one with you;
living our prayer and praying our life.
We proclaim Christ's death and celebrate the resurrection,
and so we find in this bread and this wine a foretaste of our messianic homecoming.
As we eat and drink these holy gifts make us one in Christ, our risen Lord.
Around this table we come with wandering Arameans, seekers of promised land and citizens of a more enduring city.
With them we offer our sacrifice of praise and join with the eternal song of heaven.
Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come,
hosanna in the highest.
On the night he was betrayed, Jesus took bread & wine, gave thanks, broke the bread, & shared it saying; “This is my body, broken for you”
When we break the bread,
is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?
Afterwards, he shared the cup, saying: “This is my blood of the new covenant”
We do this in memory of him: We will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.
Father, Feed us with the Bread of Heaven;
May we become drunk with your holiness.
Communion
God of our lives, you are always calling us
to follow you into the future,
inviting us to new ventures, new challenges
new ways to bless those around us.
When we are fearful of the unknown,
give us courage.
When we worry we are not up to the task,
remind us that you would not call us
if you did not believe in us.
You call each of us for a special purpose
Each person says next line individually
No-one else can fulfill my purpose,
All: it is entrusted only to me.
Words of blessing ...
moved in and wired
Well, I'm back. We moved on Monday last and took a few days to get the house more or less sorted and then discovered that we had to wait till today to get internet access. I see my hits counter has plummeted in the last few days, just shows me how important to you, dear reader, is the ongoing adding posts. So I hope that a little traffic will now return!
Now for the eye candy. I have a lovely picture taken from our front window for your delectation and delight.
On a less happy note, I interviewed [on Wednesday] for the post of Chaplain to Northumbria University, and while I was considered "appointable" they made a judgement on who they thought would be best fit with the existing team, and it wasn't me. :-(
Watch this space for developments careerwise. My main 'issue' is that my wife is to be ordained in July, and I need to be able to keep faith with that in the sense of it gives the parameters for where I can work and to some extent, what kind of work.
Ho hum, what has God got in store?
Now for the eye candy. I have a lovely picture taken from our front window for your delectation and delight.
On a less happy note, I interviewed [on Wednesday] for the post of Chaplain to Northumbria University, and while I was considered "appointable" they made a judgement on who they thought would be best fit with the existing team, and it wasn't me. :-(
Watch this space for developments careerwise. My main 'issue' is that my wife is to be ordained in July, and I need to be able to keep faith with that in the sense of it gives the parameters for where I can work and to some extent, what kind of work.
Ho hum, what has God got in store?
15 December 2005
Normal service still to come
I've just discovered that our internet connection is at the mercy of BT engineers who will be enabling it on Monday 19th. So, save for occasional sorties to go online at college (like now), there'll be little activity here till then.
:-(
:-(
11 December 2005
Normal service will be resumed asap
This is the warning that within hours I am going offline to manage our house move which begins tomorrow morning. Tonight I have to disconnect our PCs and router. I don't know whether our new internet connection will be on tomorrow or whether it will require a bit more time to set up. I also don't know when I will be able to get online in anycase since I have a job interview Tues/Weds ... hopefully by Friday we'll be back ...
Normal service will be resumed asap
This is the warning that within hours I am going offline to manage our house move which begins tomorrow morning. Tonight I have to disconnect our PCs and router. I don't know whether our new internet connection will be on tomorrow or whether it will require a bit more time to set up. I also don't know when I will be able to get online in anycase since I have a job interview Tues/Weds ... hopefully by Friday we'll be back ...
09 December 2005
Green Tories, is such a thing possible?
If it's true and pans out it is conceivable I could do the unthinkable and find myself a Conservative voter.
Could these indeed be days of miracle and wonder?
Before we get too excited though, there is a lot of history to be undone.
Guardian Unlimited Politics | Special Reports | Environmental groups welcome green Tories: Filed in: UK, Conservatives, environment
"It's clear that Cameron sees an opportunity to win support by addressing environmental issues by ending the Tory pollute and privatise agenda - we'll have to wait to see whether he can bring the rest of his big-business party with him."
Could these indeed be days of miracle and wonder?
Before we get too excited though, there is a lot of history to be undone.
Guardian Unlimited Politics | Special Reports | Environmental groups welcome green Tories: Filed in: UK, Conservatives, environment
Don't make poverty permanent
Too many Westerners do not realise how far from free and fair are the ways that our economies play out into the global. We advocate free trade but everywhere it is in chains...
The whole article is a crash course in globalisation and the barriers to making poverty history.
Guardian Unlimited | Guardian daily comment | Don't make poverty permanent: Filed in: EU, USA, subsidies, Make_Poverty_History, fair_trade
Seventy percent of the population in poor countries work in agriculture and millions have seen their livelihoods devastated by western agri-business dumping subsidised products - such as corn, rice, sugar and wheat - on local markets.
Most of these subsidies are not paid to small farmers in Europe and the US but to large-scale farming operations and rich corporations.
The whole article is a crash course in globalisation and the barriers to making poverty history.
Guardian Unlimited | Guardian daily comment | Don't make poverty permanent: Filed in: EU, USA, subsidies, Make_Poverty_History, fair_trade
Temperate zone trees may not be CO2 sinks after all
It looks like trees in temperate zones may not be good carbon sinks like tropical ones ... probs for carbon mitigation schemes.
Guardian Unlimited | Science | Climate change theory barks up wrong tree, study shows
Filed in: climate, CO2, emissions, biosphere, temperate_zone
Guardian Unlimited | Science | Climate change theory barks up wrong tree, study shows
Filed in: climate, CO2, emissions, biosphere, temperate_zone
Organic Radical Battery
Not very efficient as yet but thin and flexible storage of electrical power means that some people are
"thinking about what they could do with power, processors and displays as flexible as paper."
WorldChanging: Another World Is Here: Organic Radical Battery:
"thinking about what they could do with power, processors and displays as flexible as paper."
WorldChanging: Another World Is Here: Organic Radical Battery:
How the World Works
New kid on the blog: in this case a blog aiming to help us be informed about globalisation. I,ve yet to determine the basic stance but I suspect it will be cricial engagement which is probably the best approach. I'm going to blogroll it and see how it goes.
Salon.com Technology | How the World Works
Filed in: blog, globalisation, economics, How_the_World_Works
Salon.com Technology | How the World Works
Filed in: blog, globalisation, economics, How_the_World_Works
08 December 2005
Oil industry targets EU climate policy
This is why we need to tighten up the EU rules on lobbying
They have a right to put their 'case', they shouldn't be able to do so without us knowing.
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Oil industry targets EU climate policy:Filed in: EU, climate, Exxon, lobby, oil, Kyoto
The documents, an email and a PowerPoint presentation, describe efforts to establish a European coalition to "challenge the course of the EU's post-2012 agenda". They were written by Chris Horner, a Washington DC lawyer and senior fellow at the rightwing thinktank, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which has received more than $1.3m (�750,000) funding from the US oil giant Exxon Mobil. Mr Horner also acts for the Cooler Heads Coalition, a group set up "to dispel the myth of global warming".
They have a right to put their 'case', they shouldn't be able to do so without us knowing.
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Oil industry targets EU climate policy:Filed in: EU, climate, Exxon, lobby, oil, Kyoto
Torture evidence inadmissible in UK courts; thank God!
We are in danger of becoming what we hate, I thank God that this pulls us from the brink of a deep, deep abyss.
Once we allow that the ends justify the means we are no better than the terrorist organisations we are seeking to defend against and convert.
Guardian Unlimited Politics | Special Reports | Torture evidence inadmissible in UK courts, Lords rule:Filed in: torture, civil_liberties, UK
The Law Lords' ruling has overturned the tacit belief that torture can be condoned under certain circumstances.
This ruling shreds any vestige of legality with which the UK government had attempted to defend a completely unlawful and reprehensible policy, introduced as part of its counter-terrorism measures.
Once we allow that the ends justify the means we are no better than the terrorist organisations we are seeking to defend against and convert.
Guardian Unlimited Politics | Special Reports | Torture evidence inadmissible in UK courts, Lords rule:Filed in: torture, civil_liberties, UK
Freedom Clothing Project
I have an interest in this company, not financially, just that I have come across the founder and am impressed with the principals he is trying to embed in the business -including a co-operative approach to employment. Please visit the site and see what you think.
Freedom Clothing Project � Home
fair-trade, clothing, UK, Palestine
Freedom Clothing Project � Home
fair-trade, clothing, UK, Palestine
5ive Questions
Seeing these on the Deeper blog, well, I got intrigued about my own answers...
So I'm thinking that as things allow over the next couple of weeks, I'm going to have a go at blogging them. You should recall that we are about to move house, so I don't know when I will actually get them out, but they are sitting on my shoulder asking to be reflected on ...
deeper: Redesigning Spiritual Formation Day 2: Filed in: church, Christian, ministry, post-modernism, arts, mission
5ive Questions
* 5. What's vision?
* 4. What's your favorite/least favorite part of ministry?
* 3. What does it mean to be missional?
* 2. What role should the arts play in church?
* 1. What's your view of postmodernism?
So I'm thinking that as things allow over the next couple of weeks, I'm going to have a go at blogging them. You should recall that we are about to move house, so I don't know when I will actually get them out, but they are sitting on my shoulder asking to be reflected on ...
deeper: Redesigning Spiritual Formation Day 2: Filed in: church, Christian, ministry, post-modernism, arts, mission
You can call me 'Master'
... of Arts.
I got my certificate through the post today declaring that I now have the degree of Master of Arts in Spiritual Direction, Life Coaching and Culture.
My thanks to the staff at Anglia who made it possible, and made a few rocky moments over funding a lot easier to deal with. I also give a hat tip to Bradford Diocese, particularly in the form of Paul Slater who funded it for my Sabbatical when I did the bulk of the ground work.
If you want to read the Thesis, it's here... as a .pdf, I can get you a digital copy if you want. Just leave a comment with an email addy or somesuch [though I suggest you leave it in the form "name AT domain dot whatever" to avoid the attentions of spambots and spiders].
Pastoral Theology (MA)
I got my certificate through the post today declaring that I now have the degree of Master of Arts in Spiritual Direction, Life Coaching and Culture.
My thanks to the staff at Anglia who made it possible, and made a few rocky moments over funding a lot easier to deal with. I also give a hat tip to Bradford Diocese, particularly in the form of Paul Slater who funded it for my Sabbatical when I did the bulk of the ground work.
If you want to read the Thesis, it's here... as a .pdf, I can get you a digital copy if you want. Just leave a comment with an email addy or somesuch [though I suggest you leave it in the form "name AT domain dot whatever" to avoid the attentions of spambots and spiders].
Pastoral Theology (MA)
07 December 2005
Secret ID Law to Get Hearing
The USA has no mandatory ID cards, doesn't need them because the voluntary means of ID seem to have become de facto requirements for participation in ordinary life. A fine example of function creep, backed by secrec government rules. Enter a refusenik:
I do hope he wins because it will help make the case against ID cards globally with all the civil liberties infringements they would bring in their wake.
Wired News: Secret ID Law to Get Hearing: Filed in: ID_cards, USA, Gilmore, first_amendment
Neither will he show his driver's license at airports, or submit to routine security searches. This refusal to obey the rules led him to file suit against the Bush administration (Gilmore v. Gonzales) after being rebuffed at two different airports on July 4, 2002, when he tried to fly without showing identification.
I do hope he wins because it will help make the case against ID cards globally with all the civil liberties infringements they would bring in their wake.
Wired News: Secret ID Law to Get Hearing: Filed in: ID_cards, USA, Gilmore, first_amendment
Privacy Is Endangered
There are a couple of issues in this story for me. One is that like many people I enjoy the capabilities that new technology can confer. In this case the ease of tagging pictures by having software identify faces in photos. What we need to get better at is seeing the downsides. I'm concerned therefore at the growth and extension of the participatory panopticon where surveillance is privatised and thereby deregulated. Why worry? Well...
Wired News: Face It: Privacy Is Endangered: Filed in: biometrics, facial_recognition, privacy
See also
If someone posts a photo that includes me, people who see the photo will see my face, but they almost certainly will have no idea who I am. If the photo is tagged with my name, a stranger who likes the way I look can then find out more about me. A prospective employer looking for more information about me can search my name and find the picture.
The privacy principles that made sense in the analog world do not make sense in a digital one. Historical assumptions about the relationship between being seen and being tracked have expired. We have to face these facts, or we'll miss the bigger picture.
Transplant surgery is too extreme for most of us. But cheap, ubiquitous and persistent searchability will forever change what it means to have your picture taken. Our reaction as citizens and as policy makers has to be balanced as well. Search is great. It's being found that's the problem.
Wired News: Face It: Privacy Is Endangered: Filed in: biometrics, facial_recognition, privacy
See also
More on ID and MP
Here's my next bit of correspondance with my MP on ID cards.
Thank you so much for writing again even given your skepticism about us agreeing. I note that further things about ID cards continue to emerge and because of that I would invite you to continue to consider the matter and perhaps to offer other perspectives to the ones I outline below. Of course I would be delighted to see you change your mind on the matter as I think that there are ample and good reasons not to pursue the path that Blunkett and Clark have set us upon; especially as the stated reasons for doing so seem to change every couple of months. It appears to be an idea in search of adequate justification.
I have included weblinks that point to articles that explore the points raised more fully rather than trying to summarise in situ. I hope that will enable you to follow up and respond more easily.
As a sidebar to the main issue; I am interested to note that you reply by letter. I would be more than happy to be emailed in reply as I prefer to think that there is some small saving to the public purse in so doing.
Anyway, to the matter at hand. You wrote:
"Arguments that it becomes easier to steal identity when one has an identity card are nonsense. It clearly makes such activity harder because identity, for the first time, will actually be linked to the person it belongs by the use of simple biometric information. "
Yes, but not really what I was getting at. The point is that there is a quite high failure rate in the biometrics and multiplying them apparently, statistically, makes it worse. Any failure, or any down time on the check back IT systems, or any false matches or negatives are gateways for criminals to exploit, and they will, but the stakes for the rest of us will be higher than now. It might also be worth mentioning that MicroSoft think
that security on ID cards is likely to be a problem. And they aren't the only ones. So, do I believe a loyal government MP [of a govt whose stance on this looks increasingly changeable] or the IT firms ? I'm sure you can appreciate my dilemma and that of more and more of your constituents as more and more information gets into public consciousness.
And that's without thinking about the inconvenience and expense and potential legal non-entity status conferred with each failure.
You wrote:
"protection and oversight there will be a scheme commissioner to supervise the functioning of the scheme, independent of the Government"
Such is superficially reassuring but in reality since the legislation would set their remit and the limitations to it and as the current data commissioner is not in favour of ID cards, I think that this is actually scant reassurance. Unless you can pretty much guarantee a stringent brief and effective powers to such a commissioner....?
Then there's
"computer systems I would counter by Pointing out that Government departments and agencies currently operate massive databases without any problems at all such as the Police National Computer and the DVLA database."
It's good to have successful examples but unfortunately they don't cancel out the concerns raised by the more recent bad examples. Especially given that the ID card project is going to involve some complexity and cross departmental co-ordination and as we've recently had reports of DVLA data being sold -potentially to criminals- you'll understand that we don't feel reassured that our data would be secure even in a well functioning system.
You go on to write:
"they are initially going to be voluntary and will not become compulsory until after another vote in Parliament" but that doesn't reassure about function creep and the 'little Hitlers problem'. The effect of a voluntary scheme is likely to be that the cards become de facto essential and also a means of petty abuse. We would have to see which has the greater effect on the general population. Though, obviously, I hope that the problems with the scheme will yet force a shelving of the idea.
For further reading check the del.icio.us tags on the matter and of course the collection of articles here.
Thank you so much for writing again even given your skepticism about us agreeing. I note that further things about ID cards continue to emerge and because of that I would invite you to continue to consider the matter and perhaps to offer other perspectives to the ones I outline below. Of course I would be delighted to see you change your mind on the matter as I think that there are ample and good reasons not to pursue the path that Blunkett and Clark have set us upon; especially as the stated reasons for doing so seem to change every couple of months. It appears to be an idea in search of adequate justification.
I have included weblinks that point to articles that explore the points raised more fully rather than trying to summarise in situ. I hope that will enable you to follow up and respond more easily.
As a sidebar to the main issue; I am interested to note that you reply by letter. I would be more than happy to be emailed in reply as I prefer to think that there is some small saving to the public purse in so doing.
Anyway, to the matter at hand. You wrote:
"Arguments that it becomes easier to steal identity when one has an identity card are nonsense. It clearly makes such activity harder because identity, for the first time, will actually be linked to the person it belongs by the use of simple biometric information. "
Yes, but not really what I was getting at. The point is that there is a quite high failure rate in the biometrics and multiplying them apparently, statistically, makes it worse. Any failure, or any down time on the check back IT systems, or any false matches or negatives are gateways for criminals to exploit, and they will, but the stakes for the rest of us will be higher than now. It might also be worth mentioning that MicroSoft think
that security on ID cards is likely to be a problem. And they aren't the only ones. So, do I believe a loyal government MP [of a govt whose stance on this looks increasingly changeable] or the IT firms ? I'm sure you can appreciate my dilemma and that of more and more of your constituents as more and more information gets into public consciousness.
And that's without thinking about the inconvenience and expense and potential legal non-entity status conferred with each failure.
You wrote:
"protection and oversight there will be a scheme commissioner to supervise the functioning of the scheme, independent of the Government"
Such is superficially reassuring but in reality since the legislation would set their remit and the limitations to it and as the current data commissioner is not in favour of ID cards, I think that this is actually scant reassurance. Unless you can pretty much guarantee a stringent brief and effective powers to such a commissioner....?
Then there's
"computer systems I would counter by Pointing out that Government departments and agencies currently operate massive databases without any problems at all such as the Police National Computer and the DVLA database."
It's good to have successful examples but unfortunately they don't cancel out the concerns raised by the more recent bad examples. Especially given that the ID card project is going to involve some complexity and cross departmental co-ordination and as we've recently had reports of DVLA data being sold -potentially to criminals- you'll understand that we don't feel reassured that our data would be secure even in a well functioning system.
You go on to write:
"they are initially going to be voluntary and will not become compulsory until after another vote in Parliament" but that doesn't reassure about function creep and the 'little Hitlers problem'. The effect of a voluntary scheme is likely to be that the cards become de facto essential and also a means of petty abuse. We would have to see which has the greater effect on the general population. Though, obviously, I hope that the problems with the scheme will yet force a shelving of the idea.
For further reading check the del.icio.us tags on the matter and of course the collection of articles here.
It's called Apophis. It's 390m wide. And it could hit Earth in 31 years time
Given how responsive we've collectively been to the comparitive certainty of climate change, what are the chances, do you think?
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | It's called Apophis. It's 390m wide. And it could hit Earth in 31 years time: Filed in: asteroid, Apophis, impact, near-earth-object, 2036
Having more than 20 years warning of potential impact might seem plenty of time. But, at last week's meeting, Andrea Carusi, president of the Spaceguard Foundation, said that the time for governments to make decisions on what to do was now, to give scientists time to prepare mitigation missions.
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | It's called Apophis. It's 390m wide. And it could hit Earth in 31 years time: Filed in: asteroid, Apophis, impact, near-earth-object, 2036
Personal stuff: moving and interviews
I am a bit circumspect about how much personal info I let loose on this blog. Sometimes it's because I don't think most readers would be that interested, sometimes, as with one of the things I will be sharing in a mo, it's because it might be painful if it doesn't work out and sometimes it's because I wonder just who might be reading and do I want it out there.
Anyway, the first thing I need to share is because if you are a reasonably regular reader, you will find that from this coming weekend, my blogging fades away. This is because we are about to move house. Not far and only for about 7 months [grrr] but it may take several days to be back in blog-entry mode.
Then, in the spirit of it not raining but pouring; the day after we move (ie Tuesday) I begin an interview process for a post as a university chaplain which has many things about it that look right and would be providential were it to be offered to me. However, I've been disappointed before and I scarcely dare to hope for it. Hence it is hard to share. The main interview is just after noon on Wednesday next...
youarewhatyoudelete: choice cuts
Future of Action on Climate Change?
When I've preached in the past about matters environmental, I have usually said things like the following as part of the doomsday scenario.
I've usually tried to express it in terms of how life might look for ordinary people. I include it here because I believe strongly that we need to awaken collectively to the urgency of the matter. The future of action on climate change is something we can all participate in and must do so.
Climate Change Action: What is the Future of Action on Climate Change?:Filed in: climate_change, contract_and_converge, politics, CO2, campaign
“The cost of failing to mobilise in the face of this threat is likely to be extremely high. The economic costs alone would be very large: as extreme weather events such as droughts and floods become more destructive and frequent; communities, cities, and island nations are damaged and inundated as sea level rises; and agricultural output is disrupted. The social and human costs are likely to be even greater encompassing mass loss of life, the spread or exacerbation of diseases, dislocation of populations, geopolitical instability and a pronounced decrease in the quality of life. Impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity are also likely to be devastating. Preventing dangerous climate change, therefore, must be seen as a precondition for prosperity and a public good, like national security and public health.”
I've usually tried to express it in terms of how life might look for ordinary people. I include it here because I believe strongly that we need to awaken collectively to the urgency of the matter. The future of action on climate change is something we can all participate in and must do so.
Climate Change Action: What is the Future of Action on Climate Change?:Filed in: climate_change, contract_and_converge, politics, CO2, campaign
06 December 2005
Worse Than Fossil Fuel
"In promoting biodiesel ? as the European Union, the British and US governments and thousands of environmental campaigners do ? you might imagine that you are creating a market for old chip fat, or rapeseed oil, or oil from algae grown in desert ponds. In reality you are creating a market for the most destructive crop on earth:... oil from palm trees."
Thought provoking article that needs to be read. Shows how the mechanisms that we use can be subverted by unintended consequences.
George Monbiot ? Worse Than Fossil Fuel:
Thought provoking article that needs to be read. Shows how the mechanisms that we use can be subverted by unintended consequences.
George Monbiot ? Worse Than Fossil Fuel:
The Struggle Against Ourselves
"we find ourselves in an extraordinary position. This is the first mass political movement to demand less, not more. The first to take to the streets in pursuit of austerity. The first to demand that our luxuries, even our comforts, are curtailed."
George Monbiot � The Struggle Against Ourselves:
George Monbiot � The Struggle Against Ourselves:
St Andrews researcher questions belief in hell
I suspect that people who think about faith and culture a lot will not find this surprising. The article reports research on beliefs about hell and the headline result is...
When you look at the detail reported then it starts to be a bit murkier still. I found myself wondering just what questions were put and how I would respond. I can't say that I take some biblical imagery literally or that I identify with some ways of 'using' the notion of hell to browbeat others. I can conceive of some lines of questioning which would have me apparently not believing. Why? Because I hope for all to be saved but I take seriously the possibility that such will not be the case; Jesus's teaching seems to envisage at least the possibility that some, perhaps many will not want to be saved. I also am not convinced that the Biblical stuff actually teaches the whole eternal torment thing. It does seem to me that being seperated from God is to be seperated from Life and so eternal separation would mean dwindling away to nothing, perhaps with anguish ... but that's about as far as I can go. I really hope that 'seeing' God would wake people up, on the other hand, I do think that CSLewis was onto something in The Great Divorce in the portrayal of the psychology of unrepentance.
Worth reading The Mystery of Salvation which broadly commends the kind of position I take.
EducationGuardian.co.uk | Research | St Andrews researcher questions belief in hell: Filed in: Christian, belief, hell, judgement
But what the survey did find was broad support for the notion of a judgment day, in which God divides the lost from the saved. While universal salvation in which all are united with God is popular in some clerical and academic circles, it is not the belief shared by most clergy in Scotland. The God of most of Scotland's ministers is one who divides."
When you look at the detail reported then it starts to be a bit murkier still. I found myself wondering just what questions were put and how I would respond. I can't say that I take some biblical imagery literally or that I identify with some ways of 'using' the notion of hell to browbeat others. I can conceive of some lines of questioning which would have me apparently not believing. Why? Because I hope for all to be saved but I take seriously the possibility that such will not be the case; Jesus's teaching seems to envisage at least the possibility that some, perhaps many will not want to be saved. I also am not convinced that the Biblical stuff actually teaches the whole eternal torment thing. It does seem to me that being seperated from God is to be seperated from Life and so eternal separation would mean dwindling away to nothing, perhaps with anguish ... but that's about as far as I can go. I really hope that 'seeing' God would wake people up, on the other hand, I do think that CSLewis was onto something in The Great Divorce in the portrayal of the psychology of unrepentance.
Worth reading The Mystery of Salvation which broadly commends the kind of position I take.
EducationGuardian.co.uk | Research | St Andrews researcher questions belief in hell: Filed in: Christian, belief, hell, judgement
'Narnia represents everything that is most hateful about religion'
I think that we need to listen well to our despisers. It is our enemy who may well tell us a truth about ourselves that friends fear to mention. In the spirit of exploration and knowing ourselves and those we seek to persuade better, how about looking over this?
A lot to unpack there. Both about atonement and also the use or abuse of power including crucially, rhetorical power.
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | 'Narnia represents everything that is most hateful about religion': Filed in: Christian, Narnia, CSLewis, atheism
Of all the elements of Christianity, the most repugnant is the notion of the Christ who took our sins upon himself and sacrificed his body in agony to save our souls. Did we ask him to? Poor child Edmund, to blame for everything, must bear the full weight of a guilt only Christians know how to inflict, with a twisted knife to the heart. Every one of those thorns, the nuns used to tell my mother, is hammered into Jesus's holy head every day that you don't eat your greens or say your prayers when you are told.
A lot to unpack there. Both about atonement and also the use or abuse of power including crucially, rhetorical power.
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | 'Narnia represents everything that is most hateful about religion': Filed in: Christian, Narnia, CSLewis, atheism
autistic children - faults in brain connections
I don't know anyone with autism; my interest is that the condition appears to give us information about how we as humans work or don't work with regard to things like brain function, emotion and sociability. This article reports research using brain scans,
Adding the the weight of evidence suggesting that 'mind reading' is fundamental to human social development which is in turn key for all kinds of other cognitive development.
For those of us interested in the corporate dimension of human being, not least for the image of God and understanding principalities, powers and original sin, this is important material for reflection.
SocietyGuardian.co.uk | Health | Scans of autistic children show faults in brain circuits: Filed in: autism, emotion, research, brain
The scans suggest that while people with autism can recognise expressions, the brain circuits that attach emotion to them are faulty, making it hard or impossible to read others' feelings.
Adding the the weight of evidence suggesting that 'mind reading' is fundamental to human social development which is in turn key for all kinds of other cognitive development.
For those of us interested in the corporate dimension of human being, not least for the image of God and understanding principalities, powers and original sin, this is important material for reflection.
SocietyGuardian.co.uk | Health | Scans of autistic children show faults in brain circuits: Filed in: autism, emotion, research, brain
Venezuela: Democracy under threat
I shared university accommodation, once, with a Chilean who was in exile after the CIA installed Pinochet -a dictator now facing charges of crimes against humanity- because he was a democratic socialist concerned for social justice. I see parallels with the situation in Venezuela. It's one of those things that makes you seriously question the wisdom of US foreign policy.
Venezuela, Chavez, democracy, USA,
Venezuela, Chavez, democracy, USA,
05 December 2005
The Apprentices
Apropos of "a blog discussion... on the way we learn and the way we are “formed” as disciples" I came across various articles one of which very much echoed the way that my thinking has been going for about 12 years, no longer in that when training for ordination I wrote a dissertation where this was one of the main motifs.
That image of 'recepcicle for grace' is very helpful. I think that Willard is right about us being paralysed by the doctrine, too. Good article.
The Apprentices - LeadershipJournal.net: Filed in: formation, spirituality, disciplines, grace, leadership, Christian
Zander: As I've tried to help people think about apprenticeship to Jesus and the spiritual disciplines, they sometimes accuse me of promoting a works salvation.
Willard: In most churches we're not only saved by grace, we're paralyzed by it. We're afraid to do anything that might be a "work." The funny thing is we will preach to people for an hour that they can't do anything to be saved, and then sing to them for a half an hour trying to get them to do something. This is confusing. People need to see that action is a receptacle for grace, not a substitute for it. Grace is God acting in our lives to do things we can't do on our own. Grace is not opposed to effort; it's opposed to earning.
That image of 'recepcicle for grace' is very helpful. I think that Willard is right about us being paralysed by the doctrine, too. Good article.
The Apprentices - LeadershipJournal.net: Filed in: formation, spirituality, disciplines, grace, leadership, Christian
Looking Like Jesus: Divine resources for a changed life are always available
This is an interesting article about Christian formation. The interesting thing is the conceptualisation of the factors into a triangle with life events at one corner, the action of the Holy Spirit at another and spiritual disciplines at the third. The centre is a 'mind set on Christ'. Could be a useful model.
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Dallas Willard ARTICLES:
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Dallas Willard ARTICLES:
Looking Like JesusFiled in: formation, spirituality, disciplines
Divine resources for a changed life are always available
Calendars use sex to sell God
I came across this by accident; my browser did something odd and in attempting to reconstruct my tabs I visited this news site which had a new article ...
I'm trying to decide what I think, but I'm concerned about just what messages were [a] intended and [b] are likely to be received. It looks as if it's in good taste. But I'm not sure what the net effect is likely to be. I'm all for shock tactics to scare the unhelpful prejudices about Christian faith out of post-Christian souls. Is this the way to do it? Maybe, maybe not.
Feel free to help me think it over....
Calendars use sex to sell God and cheese - World - smh.com.au: Filed in: erotic, Bible, Germany, EKD, pictures
A Protestant youth group has put together a 2006 calendar with 12 staged photos depicting erotic scenes from the Bible, including a bare-breasted Delilah cutting Samson's hair and a nude Eve offering an apple.
I'm trying to decide what I think, but I'm concerned about just what messages were [a] intended and [b] are likely to be received. It looks as if it's in good taste. But I'm not sure what the net effect is likely to be. I'm all for shock tactics to scare the unhelpful prejudices about Christian faith out of post-Christian souls. Is this the way to do it? Maybe, maybe not.
Feel free to help me think it over....
Calendars use sex to sell God and cheese - World - smh.com.au: Filed in: erotic, Bible, Germany, EKD, pictures
04 December 2005
Self-Ignorance is bliss?
This whole research is fascinating.
I'm not sure that it would surprise Christians who have made a habit of self-examination, though. Certainly I suspect that confession is not only good for the soul but in honing an ever more accurate self image -provided it is supplemented by checking out with trustworthy [=honest and compassionate] sigificant others. Of course there is the opposite tendency among the over-scrupulous of seeing ourselves as less capable or 'good' than we are. The trick is to be aware of both and find which areas of our life we need to apply which to. I also wonder about the conditions of testing this: I know a lot of people who seriously underestimate their abilities in key areas. Yet our systems of appraisal and development in workplaces do not encourage people to share what they perceive to be their weaknesses.
Maybe I'm missing something ...
Guardian Unlimited Money | Work | Ignorance is bliss: Filed in: social, self-evaluation, self-image
People's capacity to evaluate themselves is often much more meagre than common intuition would lead one to believe. Complete strangers armed only with scant information can predict a person's skills and abilities almost as well as he or she can. Acquaintances may actually predict a person's abilities and performance better than the person him- or herself.
I'm not sure that it would surprise Christians who have made a habit of self-examination, though. Certainly I suspect that confession is not only good for the soul but in honing an ever more accurate self image -provided it is supplemented by checking out with trustworthy [=honest and compassionate] sigificant others. Of course there is the opposite tendency among the over-scrupulous of seeing ourselves as less capable or 'good' than we are. The trick is to be aware of both and find which areas of our life we need to apply which to. I also wonder about the conditions of testing this: I know a lot of people who seriously underestimate their abilities in key areas. Yet our systems of appraisal and development in workplaces do not encourage people to share what they perceive to be their weaknesses.
Maybe I'm missing something ...
Guardian Unlimited Money | Work | Ignorance is bliss: Filed in: social, self-evaluation, self-image
What's a Forest Worth? More Than You Might Think.
This is potentially a great precedent:
WorldChanging: Another World Is Here: What's a Forest Worth? More Than You Might Think.: Filed in: value, ecosystem-services, Canada
demonstrating that Canada's boreal forests -- which cover nearly 60 percent of the Canadian land mass -- are worth substantially more as ecosystem services than if cut down for lumber, cleared for mining, or inundated for hydroelectric power.
The estimated market value of boreal natural capital extraction, in 2002 dollars (the point the study began), is C$48.9 billion, minus an estimated C$11.1 billion in direct air pollution from the work and government subsidies, for a total of C$37.8 billion. The estimated non-market value of boreal ecosystem services in 2002 totaled C$93.2 billion. The ecosystem services are twice the value of natural capital extraction, even if costs are ignored:
The ecosystem services with the highest economic value per year are (1) flood control and water filtering by peatlands?$77.0 billion; (2) pest control services by birds in the boreal forests?$5.4 billion; (3) nature-related activities?$4.5 billion; (4) flood control, water filtering, and biodiversity value by non-peatland wet-lands?$3.4 billion; and (5) net carbon sequestration by the boreal forest-$1.85 billion.
The report is a terrific example of how to do natural capital valuation.
WorldChanging: Another World Is Here: What's a Forest Worth? More Than You Might Think.: Filed in: value, ecosystem-services, Canada
Danish Researchers Develop Hydrogen Tablet
This looks promising. Of course the devil is in the detail and costings would be the crucial issue
Treehugger: Danish Researchers Develop Hydrogen Tablet
Filed in: hydrogen, energy, fuel, climate
Treehugger: Danish Researchers Develop Hydrogen Tablet
Filed in: hydrogen, energy, fuel, climate
03 December 2005
Prayer and personality type
A site that helps us to explore how our personality affects our preferred prayer strategies.
Prayer
Filed in: prayer, spirituality, personality, Christian
Prayer
Filed in: prayer, spirituality, personality, Christian
TURING'S CATHEDRAL by George Dyson
Since I read this article a couple of days back, I have found the final passage keeps haunting me.
I suspect, in Christian terms, that this would be another case of principalitites and powers only perhaps ratchetted up a notch; it would be easy to get all apocalyptic about it, but I think that we should note the way that emergent 'corporations' [that is, things that grow out of human collectivities that are more than aggregations] have tended to show up, it is not quite at that scale. However, comparisons with De Chardin's noosphere may be worth ruminating more.
Edge: TURING'S CATHEDRAL by George Dyson: AI, world_mind, emergence, noosphere,
"For 30 years I have been wondering, what indication of its existence might we expect from a true AI? Certainly not any explicit revelation, which might spark a movement to pull the plug. Anomalous accumulation or creation of wealth might be a sign, or an unquenchable thirst for raw information, storage space, and processing cycles, or a concerted attempt to secure an uninterrupted, autonomous power supply. But the real sign, I suspect, would be a circle of cheerful, contented, intellectually and physically well-nourished people surrounding the AI. There wouldn't be any need for True Believers, or the downloading of human brains or anything sinister like that: just a gradual, gentle, pervasive and mutually beneficial contact between us and a growing something else. This remains a non-testable hypothesis, for now. The best description comes from science fiction writer Simon Ings:
'When our machines overtook us, too complex and efficient for us to control, they did it so fast and so smoothly and so usefully, only a fool or a prophet would have dared complain.'"
I suspect, in Christian terms, that this would be another case of principalitites and powers only perhaps ratchetted up a notch; it would be easy to get all apocalyptic about it, but I think that we should note the way that emergent 'corporations' [that is, things that grow out of human collectivities that are more than aggregations] have tended to show up, it is not quite at that scale. However, comparisons with De Chardin's noosphere may be worth ruminating more.
Edge: TURING'S CATHEDRAL by George Dyson: AI, world_mind, emergence, noosphere,
P57. Enough to put you off your food
An excract from the plant Hoodia Gordonii...
Good news for those suffering from overweight, maybe not for those with anorexic tendencies. Life's complicated isn't it?
Guardian Unlimited | Science | P57. Enough to put you off your food: Filed in: diet, appetite_surpressant, eating, obesity
p57 suppresses hunger so well that it can make people eat 1,000 fewer calories per day compared to their usual diets. For a society facing the burden of a growing obesity epidemic, Hoodia gordonii is a mouth-watering prospect.
Good news for those suffering from overweight, maybe not for those with anorexic tendencies. Life's complicated isn't it?
Guardian Unlimited | Science | P57. Enough to put you off your food: Filed in: diet, appetite_surpressant, eating, obesity
02 December 2005
Wired News: Fuel Up with Banana Peels
This is a development worth watching:
Wired News: Fuel Up with Banana Peels: Filed in: CO2, generation, energy, fuel_cell
The process is 70 percent efficient, double that of traditional coal power plants, ... in a single step, they can take pulverized coal -- or anything else that contains carbon, including human waste or banana peels, for example -- and directly transform the fuel's chemical energy into electricity by electrochemically oxidizing the carbon. The byproduct is carbon dioxide -- but it is emitted in such a pure form, Dubois said, that it's easy to contain. "If you have a conventional gas-fired coal plant and capture the (carbon dioxide) -- 75 percent of the cost is separating carbon dioxide from air," he said.
Wired News: Fuel Up with Banana Peels: Filed in: CO2, generation, energy, fuel_cell
Prescott housing advisor resigns 'in despair'
This is more than a shame, it's a crying shame.
Let's hope that pressure can be brought to bear to ratchett standards back up. Unfortunately, new Labour seems to be into the old game of pandering to strong business lobbies, who always squeek but an things like this will ultimately be okay, once the turbulence of change has subsided.
Guardian Unlimited Politics | Special Reports | Prescott housing advisor resigns 'in despair': Filed in: environment, housing, efficiency, standards, building, WWF
"WWF seeks to work constructively with progressive government agencies, but on this occasion we regret we can no longer sanction what Mr Prescott's department is producing.
"The government must now take the public consultation extremely seriously if it stands any chance of delivering what is so urgently needed."
Let's hope that pressure can be brought to bear to ratchett standards back up. Unfortunately, new Labour seems to be into the old game of pandering to strong business lobbies, who always squeek but an things like this will ultimately be okay, once the turbulence of change has subsided.
Guardian Unlimited Politics | Special Reports | Prescott housing advisor resigns 'in despair': Filed in: environment, housing, efficiency, standards, building, WWF
Pay women not to have abortions, say Italian MPs
Why?
Most developed nations are 'suffering' similar demagraphic issues, though probably Italy doesn't have enough immigration to offset low birthrate as in the Anglophone world. So could this attitude to abortion translate?
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Pay women not to have abortions, say Italian MPs: Filed in: abortion, Italy, incentives, population, welfare
The low fertility rate threatens to undermine competitiveness and make Italy's welfare system unsustainable. Giuseppe Fioroni, one of three MPs sponsoring the budget amendment, said: "We want to prevent children being considered as luxury goods in the way that they are now."
Most developed nations are 'suffering' similar demagraphic issues, though probably Italy doesn't have enough immigration to offset low birthrate as in the Anglophone world. So could this attitude to abortion translate?
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Pay women not to have abortions, say Italian MPs: Filed in: abortion, Italy, incentives, population, welfare
01 December 2005
Anthony's family 'still forgive'
I maintain an interest in the dynamics of forgiveness and Christian faith. This is a particularly inspiring and challenging instance.
BBC NEWS | England | Merseyside | Anthony's family 'still forgive': Filed in: forgiveness, Christian, murder, racism, spirituality
And while they will never forget, his mother Gee and sister Dominique said they had certainly forgiven.
"Why live a life sentence? Hate killed my son, so why should I be a victim too?" said Mrs Walker.
"Unforgiveness makes you a victim and why should I be a victim? Anthony spent his life forgiving. His life stood for peace, love and forgiveness and I brought them up that way.
BBC NEWS | England | Merseyside | Anthony's family 'still forgive': Filed in: forgiveness, Christian, murder, racism, spirituality
San Francisco moves towards a true cost model
"This summer, San Francisco became the first city in the US to enact legislation requiring the use full-cost accounting principles to guide city purchasing. Some $600 million in spending a year ? from toilet paper to computers ? will now be made according to criteria that considers not just materials and transportation costs, but also environmental and health costs as well. "
Adbusters : San Francisco moves towards a true cost model:
environment, industry, ecology, capitalism, USA, pollution, true_cost,
Adbusters : San Francisco moves towards a true cost model:
environment, industry, ecology, capitalism, USA, pollution, true_cost,
The Depths of Ekstasis
This entry from Matt Stone at Ekstasis deserves showcasing as does one of the pictures imho.
"The purest ecstasy
Is knowing Christ crucified
...
In his self sacrifice
My karma is nullified"
Ekstasis: The Depths of Ekstasis:
"The purest ecstasy
Is knowing Christ crucified
...
In his self sacrifice
My karma is nullified"
Ekstasis: The Depths of Ekstasis:
Alarm over dramatic weakening of Gulf Stream
There's some bad news and there's some good news.
Bad news: it looks like the North Atlantic current is indeed weakening and that will lead to temperature drops in Northwest Europe particularly in winter.
The good (?) news is that on current showings ...
I had been wondering if that might be the net effect. We should recall, however that most other parts of the world will not be so fortunate and that their problems will still be ours, too.
Guardian Unlimited | Science | Alarm over dramatic weakening of Gulf Stream:Filed in: climate, cooling, Atlantic_current, UK, NWEurope
Bad news: it looks like the North Atlantic current is indeed weakening and that will lead to temperature drops in Northwest Europe particularly in winter.
The good (?) news is that on current showings ...
Any cooling driven by a weakening of the Atlantic current would probably only slow warming rather than cancel it out all together. Even if a slowdown in the current put the brakes on warming over Britain and parts of Europe, the impact would be felt more extremely elsewhere, he said.
I had been wondering if that might be the net effect. We should recall, however that most other parts of the world will not be so fortunate and that their problems will still be ours, too.
Guardian Unlimited | Science | Alarm over dramatic weakening of Gulf Stream:Filed in: climate, cooling, Atlantic_current, UK, NWEurope
Tablighi Jamaat: Jihad's Stealthy Legions
If you are interested in the internal 'politics' of Islam in relation to jihadis, then this is a really helpful article, situating the groups around Tablighi Jamaat in relation to Wahhabism, Deobandi (and by implication the Barelwi schools) and Jihadi groups.
Tablighi Jamaat: Jihad's Stealthy Legions - Middle East Quarterly - January 2005 Islam, UK, jihadis, proselytism, conversion,
Tablighi Jamaat: Jihad's Stealthy Legions - Middle East Quarterly - January 2005 Islam, UK, jihadis, proselytism, conversion,
Toy soldiers
The peace movements ought to be aware of this and we ought to be looking at how to counter it. It's quite clearly desensitasation and is likely to promote mindsets that think first in terms of violent responses. We need simulation games of good quality that reward peacemaking responses. Do we have the people to do it?
Guardian Unlimited Technology | Technology | Toy soldiers: Filed in: military, violence, gaming, IT
The whole purpose of America's Army, a first-person-shooter simulation of army training and combat whose development began in 1999 and which was launched in 2002 (on July 4, Independence Day, of course), is to recruit more soldiers.
"Players can download it free from the internet, and use it to try the role of soldier, virtually, and see if it's something they want to do in real life,"
Guardian Unlimited Technology | Technology | Toy soldiers: Filed in: military, violence, gaming, IT
US and EU: 'illegal' agricultural subsidies
This might shake up the EU budget talks.
Oh, and interestingly the USA is also fingered for it. Much to the chagrin of US cits who thought they were in a free-market economy; no it's only selectively free market and the selection is of the worse sort since it increases misery [contradicting 'the pursuit of happiness' which is supposed to apply to all humankind].
There's more of interest too:
"The choice lies with the US and the EU," the report said. "Either they face manifold legal actions that will force reform on a piecemeal basis, or they negotiate reform upfront in the Doha Round."
Let's see if the WTO is a rich nations' cartel enforcer or whether it can be reformed to make development easier.
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Report condemns 'illegal' EU agricultural subsidies: Filed in: EU, CAP, G20, development, Doha, WTO, reform, agriculture, farming, fair_trade, Make_Poverty_History, USA
The EU is paying "illegal" subsidies worth more than $4bn (£2.3bn) to farmers under the common agricultural policy every year, Oxfam claimed today. A report issued by the international aid organisation accused the EU of illegally subsidising wine, dairy, corn and other food producers, claiming that 38 developing countries were suffering as a result.
Oh, and interestingly the USA is also fingered for it. Much to the chagrin of US cits who thought they were in a free-market economy; no it's only selectively free market and the selection is of the worse sort since it increases misery [contradicting 'the pursuit of happiness' which is supposed to apply to all humankind].
The report accused the US of paying more than $9.3bn in illegal subsidies, and said the total figure of £13bn for both the EU and US would be much higher if other crops were included.
There's more of interest too:
"The choice lies with the US and the EU," the report said. "Either they face manifold legal actions that will force reform on a piecemeal basis, or they negotiate reform upfront in the Doha Round."
Let's see if the WTO is a rich nations' cartel enforcer or whether it can be reformed to make development easier.
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Report condemns 'illegal' EU agricultural subsidies: Filed in: EU, CAP, G20, development, Doha, WTO, reform, agriculture, farming, fair_trade, Make_Poverty_History, USA
The Age of the search
This is one of those articles that it seems to me that well-read people will need to be acquainted with. The article is called "The Universal Library" and it's by George Dyson, reflecting further on his visit to Google. I've called it "the age of the search" because that is a refrain in the article and seems to me to sum up better the most interesting point of the article.
First up, having decided to publish my book through a print on demand route for a number of reasons [one being that I think this may be the future for books that are unlikely to be high volume and I want to understand by doing], this chunk was intriguing.
And note that the search is the important thing rather than the artefact itself. That's why the rights lobby have got it so wrong. The point is to be found not to hide info until someone pays. The value will be in the capacity to add value and a book will only be a part of the whole package of what an author is selling.
Does it mean the end of the book? I tend to think not and agree that
The article looks briefly at the info-maths of the universal library and points out the meaningful role of the author:
In fact we might say that the author is the search engine, a specialised type, customising the search to the human mind, interests and cultural specificities.
Edge 174:
Filed in: library, googol, books, information, knowledge, search
First up, having decided to publish my book through a print on demand route for a number of reasons [one being that I think this may be the future for books that are unlikely to be high volume and I want to understand by doing], this chunk was intriguing.
soon enough the options will include bookshops offering to print a copy, just for you. Google Library and Google Print have been renamed Google Book Search — not because Google is shying away from building the Universal Library (with links to the Universal Bookstore) but because search comes first. To paraphrase Tolkien: "One ring to find them, one ring to bind them, one ring to rule them all."
And note that the search is the important thing rather than the artefact itself. That's why the rights lobby have got it so wrong. The point is to be found not to hide info until someone pays. The value will be in the capacity to add value and a book will only be a part of the whole package of what an author is selling.
Does it mean the end of the book? I tend to think not and agree that
... so many of us (not only authors) love books. In their combination of mortal, physical embodiment with immortal, disembodied knowledge, books are the mirror of ourselves. Books are not mere physical objects. They have a life of their own...
The article looks briefly at the info-maths of the universal library and points out the meaningful role of the author:
"If you had found an index volume it wouldn't help you any," Professor Wallhausen had warned, "because the contents of the Universal Library are not only indexed correctly, but also in every possible incorrect and misleading manner." The Library, indeed, contained everything, Borges explained, including "the minutely detailed history of the future, the archangels' autobiographies, the faithful catalogues of the Library, thousands and thousands of false catalogues, the demonstration of the fallacy of those catalogues, the demonstration of the fallacy of the true catalogue..."
Even in the Age of Search, we still need authors to find the meaningful books!
In fact we might say that the author is the search engine, a specialised type, customising the search to the human mind, interests and cultural specificities.
Edge 174:
Filed in: library, googol, books, information, knowledge, search
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I've been watching the TV series 'Foundation'. I read the books about 50 years ago (I know!) but scarcely now remember anything...
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I've just had an article published on emergingchurch.info. It's an adaptation of some of my book, but I thought I'd share it and...
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from: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/online/2012/5/22/1337672561216/Annular-solar-eclipse--008.jpg