Category Archives: Daybook

What I’m up to.

Seals, encryption, fascism and John.

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I’m posting later than I planned this morning. Overnight, the Norfolk police, on the advice of the US department of justice, raided Tallbloke, who was instrumental in breaking the emails that discussed Micheal Mann and his crew deliberately subverting peer review, and have becume known as climategate. They have also asked that his wordpress.com account be frozen. He is now being libelled. His account is here.

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I do not understand this. Carbon credits are dead. Dodo dead. For China and India… exempt from the Kyoto accords, produce more carbon than the west. For the West is rich. We can afford expensive and green kinds of energy.

But this kind of clumsy thuggishness is becoming a pattern for the US administration — in everything from chasing people who use bittorrent (Yes, I do. Great for downloading the next version of Fedora. And Hulu won’t let me watch some TV programmes — yet my pay TV company is quite happy for me to use a DVR), to the war against drugs (Don Brash does not go far enough. I would legalise and regulate drugs. It worked for the Victorians… if you were addicted you could buy your heroin and kit from a chemist. Yes Heroin. One of my friends is the son of rural UK GPs and recalls diamorph (Herion) being in the fridge — along with the antibiotics and insulin — in case of emergencies (or childbirth, where until recently in the UK it was the pain relief of choice).

I’m not sure how this links to the day’s reading… except that the seals of secrecy will all be blown asunder. Destruction will come in the end of the days, and there is not very much we can do to stop this.

Or the climate changing. The greeks had a term for that conciet. Hubris.

Revelation 6:1-17

1And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. 2And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

3And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. 4And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

5And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. 6And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

7And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. 8And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

What are we to do? We have a duty, as citizens to stand up. We should not in any way have the delusion that the big government agenda and the green agenda that is being pushed is in our interests. (Global warming? Meh. It is supposed to be summer and I am sitting in the house with the heat pump on because it si in the low teens celsius. It should be ten or so degrees warmer at this time of year).

But the duty we do have is to do good to those around us. The homeless, the poor, the needy, those oppressed and those in prison. For that is what Jesus himself states will be the test on the last day.

Matthew 25:31-40

31″When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.

God does not care about Gaia. God cares about people. And the enviromentalists want us to work together in joyous union. For which there is an old name. Fascism.

Easy to sing about. Hard to live.

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I have put a challenge out to my Catholic commentators, I would like them to expand on the examples that Mary and Joseph give us. For they were faithful. To each other. Mary became Joseph’s wife, and was loyal to him. She was the mother of our LORD, and raised him well. She remembered his childhood — and that witness is in two gospels. Luke appears to have been fascinated with her.

Mary did her duty. And the idea of preaching this in a women dominated church… strikes me with fear. I can fear the anger ans women will [without thinking} say what lucifer did “Non serviam” (I will not serve, I will not submit”.

For we all have to submit to the will of God. For men, Joseph is an example of a righteous man called to do a most difficult charge. For women, Mary. But the Catholics have exapnded this further, and they have an open invite to post a compare and contrast with modern women here, if they cannot get it onto the high traffic sites.

Out duty is simple. Do justice. Keep the faith. Do not oppress.

Zechariah 7:8-14

8 The word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying: 9 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another; 10 do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another. 11 But they refused to listen, and turned a stubborn shoulder, and stopped their ears in order not to hear. 12 They made their hearts adamant in order not to hear the law and the words that the LORD of hosts had sent by his spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great wrath came from the LORD of hosts. 13 Just as, when I called, they would not hear, so, when they called, I would not hear, says the LORD of hosts, 14 and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and a pleasant land was made desolate.

I am aware that the theologically trained and those more skilled in exegesis can unpack this. Let’s have a quick look at what Calvin said…

We now then understand the Prophet’s object. He had said in the last lecture that he brought forward nothing new, but only reminded them of what had been taught by other Prophets; and here he pursues the same subject – that God made more account of uprightness and kindness than of those legal shadows, which in themselves were of no moment.
The judgement of truth, he says, judge. This could not have been extended indiscriminately to the whole people; but by these words the Prophet indirectly reproved the judges, because they committed plunder, either through favour or hatred, so that they decided cases not in a just and equitable manner. We then learn from the Prophet’s words, that judgements were then given corruptly, so that the judge either decided in favour of a friend, or was bought by a price or a reward. As then there was no truth in the judgements given, but false pretences and colourings, the Prophet here exhorts them to execute the judgement of truth, that is, true judgement, when no respect of persons is shown, and when neither hatred nor favour prevails, but equity alone is regarded.
He then addresses the whole people in common, and says, Show, or exercise, kindness and mercy, every one towards his brother. He not only bids them to abstain from doing any wrong, but exhorts them to show kindness; for it would not be enough to do no harm to any one, except each of us were also solicitous to assist our
neighbours; inasmuch as it is the dictate of benevolence to help the miserable when necessity so requires. But we must recollect that a part is given twice for the whole in what the Prophet says: in the first place, he refers only to the second Table of the law, while he includes in general the rule by which our life is to be formed; and in the second place, he enumerates not every thing contained in the second Table, but mentions only some things as instances.

It is however certain, that his design was to show that men are greatly deceived when they seek to discharge their duties towards God by means of external rites and ceremonies; and farther, that it is a true and substantial evidence of piety, when and one observes what is just and equitable towards his neighbour.

So it is not about being “Churchian”, or as alte said, our salvation does not depend on ugly sweaters and gospel songs. We need to be just, and care for our neighbour, while keeping ourselves pure.

Easy to say, Easy to sing about. Hard to live.

We must endure… and ignore.

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Yesterday the son wanted to know why Isreal has so many enemies, I reminded him that the Arab nations are not many, but the Muslim nations are: and Isreael is but one. Block voting, and a hatred of Judaism that Muhammed the false prophet had has led to hatred to this day. Then I looked at the paper this morning and saw this.

Green MP-in-waiting Mojo Mathers has accepted an apology from a Conservative Party member who questioned whether the deaf Ms Mathers should be an MP because she didn’t have all her “faculties”

I don;t care that Moju is deaf. I care that she is a leftist princess who demands apologies from people who are not in parliament when she is. She has just become an MP, but she is already infected with the love of power.

Which brings us to today’s readings.

Revelation 3:7-13

7″And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens:

8″I know your works. Look, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but are lying — I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. 10Because you have kept my word of patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth. 11I am coming soon; hold fast to what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. 12If you conquer, I will make you a pillar in the temple of my God; you will never go out of it. I will write on you the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem that comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. 13Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.”

Matthew 24:15-27

15″So when you see the desolating sacrilege standing in the holy place, as was spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand), 16then those in Judea must flee to the mountains; 17the one on the housetop must not go down to take what is in the house; 18the one in the field must not turn back to get a coat. 19Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! 20Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a sabbath. 21For at that time there will be great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’ — do not believe it. 24For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25Take note, I have told you beforehand. 26So, if they say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look! He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man

Let’s start with the easy stuff. The greens preach a false gospel. The earth is continually being polluted, and we must punish and restrict what we do to rescue this. Quite different from being a careful steward, and being faithful. For we are warned to ignore the false preachers, who call us to see some guru in the desert, or conflate this with some goal — from equality to ecological preservation — that is not ours.

For (and this is the hard bit) Philadelphia is the faithful church. Jesus (who is the one who truly holds the keys of the kingdom) notes that they are faithful. They are called to endure. To keep faithful. To keep the commandments.

An example. In this time of 24/7 commerce, it is very hard to do NOTHING. We are pressured to do something, to shop, to work… every day. If you are a doctor or nurse, you are rostered on. But you need to schedule times of rest. Our Jewish and SDA friends can teach us (again) what we have lost: how to keep a sabbath rest.

For the church of Philadelphia was poor, powerless and without any power or influence. By the standard of the world, it had failed. THey had no special status as disabled, not power to enrorce a tolerence of their lifestyle. Instead they were shunned.

And they had to enture.

As do we.

Mary, the most blessed of women.

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Today we discussed a forbidden topic among the reformed in Church. And that is Mary.

Luke 1:46b-55

46b My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
50 His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,
55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

In the reformation, the doctrines of Mary being without sin and ascending to heaven were rejected. Instead, Mary is fully human, a young Jewish woman, probably in her teenage years, betrothed (and preparing) for a marriage that was arranged with Joseph.

But she saw the child within her as the saviour of Israel and herself. She carried Jesus. We are to note that of all women she is accounted as the most blessed.

But in her lifetime… her husband died (which is what most commentators beleive — Jesus on the cross told John to look after her). Jesus Brothers went on in ministry — but even then, they were martyred. Do the math. If we say that Mary was ay 156 or 17 when she conceived by the spirit of God Jesus, and he lived 33 -34 years, at around my age (51) she was standing watching her first child be crucified.

Mary reminds us that the external signs of prosperity are not what God calls blessed. He chose a woman from the most marginal and dspised region — Galilee — and from a poor family. Mary may have been related to a priest’s wife, but she was going to marry a tradesman. She reminds us that Godly and blessed women still marry, still live within those walls — in fact it is significant that she DID marry — unlike most Female saints, who chose not to. Like most Jews, she was too sensible to see God as her boyfriend, but as the almighty.

If you compare her hymn (which is the text) and the prophets, you can see that see shes that the coming of the kingdom will be about justice. And this justice is something that all will plead for. And although Mary is fallen, she allowed the incarnation, and that makes her blessed.

As we are if we work for liberation, and freedom of the oppressed. Which takes me from Pergolesi to Gorecki, From the mother standing at the cross to a child awaiting death.

Suzuki Quartet Busking.

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These four girls were busking at the Farmer’s Market this morning.

If you got close, you noted that they were using Suzuki method books… and had the usual stickers on their fretboards to help them keep intonation.

Note that they are wearing hats… you can get sunburnt in 15 minutes here. And the difference in saturation is real… the sun is as harsh at present as the first photo indicates.
Musically? Good for kids. Son noted their intonation was off… one of the curses of good pitch recognition.

Divorces suck.

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Workstation window, Summer morning (today)


The Christmas party scene is upon us. So last night my boss and went to a party run by Zentech. During the dinner, one of the women excused herself. She later told me that she had to check that her two primary age children had been safely picked up by their father, who lives in Australia. She will use her annual leave to be with them in Australia for the last three weeks of the (six week) school holidays.

Which she is not looking forward to. Divorce sucks. For all of us. It is a cancer within our church. It devastates the children in our society. It has affected me. And it is killing our churches.

Revelation 3:1-6

1″And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars:

“I know your works; you have a name of being alive, but you are dead. 2Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God. 3Remember then what you received and heard; obey it, and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. 4Yet you have still a few persons in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes; they will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5If you conquer, you will be clothed like them in white robes, and I will not blot your name out of the book of life; I will confess your name before my Father and before his angels. 6Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.”

Ouch. This is aimed at the church. We have to look and consider what are the issues of this age, and reform, publicly repent, and note the correction. Without repentance there is no revival. And there is rot inside the church. There always is: the doctrine of Catholicism or universality implies that there will be those who cause conflict and dissension, who actively inhibit the preaching of the gospel.

This is a matter for prayer and reflection. This costs. Particularly for those forced to be single through divorced and widowhood, where the culture of the world (which is over sexualised) argues for rapid moves to fornication, and does not seem to consider the idea of courting, discernment and having one’s sexual life under a covenant (of marriage).

If Jesus would destroy a temple, and threatened to destroy Sardis, he is capable of destroying us.

Matthew 24:1-5

1As Jesus came out of the temple and was going away, his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2Then he asked them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”

3When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4Jesus answered them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. 5For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah!’ and they will lead many astray. 6And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet

Well, what is my position and response? Last night I felt solidarity with my dinner companion. We both, as a metaphor, have that T-shirt. Dealing with your ex is not easy… and I cannot see myself ever becoming best mates with any partner she has. (And what she does is no longer my business. The covenant is broken and dead. Any spiritual head-ship is broken. And in the end, we will both be held accountable).

This morning I am missing companionship. The boy is asleep (in Dunedin) or in Auckland. And I tell myself that the issues and pain we have when raising children is but a season in our life. For the Psalmist reminds us that we are ephemeral.

Psalm 90

1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
in all generations.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

3 You turn us back to dust,
and say, “Turn back, you mortals.”
4 For a thousand years in your sight
are like yesterday when it is past,
or like a watch in the night.
13 Turn, O LORD! How long?
Have compassion on your servants!
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad as many days as you have afflicted us,
and as many years as we have seen evil.
16 Let your work be manifest to your servants,
and your glorious power to their children.
17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
and prosper for us the work of our hands —
O prosper the work of our hands!

One of the ways that divorce destroys is that we see the work of our hands — our possessions — being fed to the family court, and the love of our lives — our children — being torn from us. It hurts.
The idea that divorce is something that is a phase from which you will recover and move into a better relationship.. is wrong. But it is in the church.

And like Moses, we need to pray for mercy… and preservation.

PHOTO COMMENT.
The photo was taken by a logitech webcam. It is the camera you have with you that matters.

Politics makes truth lies.

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Today is the last day of the conference. This morning two very eminent men discussed how the new classification system in draft (ICD-12 in the first talk, DSM5 in the second) there is a conflict between what is known and how symptoms cluster and what people want.

The best example was narcissistic personality disorder. There is no evidence that differentiates this from the other externalising personality types. It was not in the original draft of DSM5, and is not in ICD12 draft. However, in the last month, some senior member of the APA insisted it be added, despite evidence, because it was his career.

The rhetoric is that our classification systems should be driven by evidence. From scientific studies. Preferably replicated scientific studies. However, politics are driving the classification system that will distort the science.

If we allow politics to make the truth lies, if we see ourselves as special, there is a remedy, and he is a cross-grained prophet called Amos.

Amos 9:7-8

7Are you not like the Ethiopians to me, O people of Israel? says the LORD. Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir? 8The eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth — except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,

Any privileged we have… as a nation, as a family, as a city is by the grace of God. ANd God holds people, families, cities, and nations accountable. We must not assent to that patriotic lie that our nations are particularly blessed. Instead we should acknowledge that we are accountable. For to whom much is given, much sill be required.

The revelry of the loungers shall pass away

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I slept in, and went to Knox this morning. One of the commentsin the message was that if we ignore the pain and suffering at (what the kitsch song calls “The most wonderful time of the year”) then we miss the point of the gospel, and we cheapen the gospel.

AMOS 6:4-7
4Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory, and lounge on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock,
and calves from the stall;
5who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, and like David improvise on instruments of music;
6who drink wine from bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
7Therefore they shall now be the first to go into exile, and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away.

I have been trying to navigate my way around the difficulties within this time — as a solo Dad, seeing the relationships of my friends implode and reform, and knowing how much pain there is even in a rich country at this time.
There is a reason that the Pogues Christmas song is so popular. It speaks without sentiment. It reminds us of the lost and lonely as did the old carols. We see the Christmas season through a cultural filter of coca cola advertisement, Santa Parades, end of year prize-givings, carols, and a haze of carbohydrates and alcohol.

But that was not what it was like in the beginning.

LUKE 1:57-63
57Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
59On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. 60But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” 61They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” 62Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. 63He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. 64Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. 65Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. 66All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.

MARK 1:1-8
1The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2As it is written in he prophet Isaiah,
“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way;
3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”
4John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The gospel starts with prophecy — to Elisabeth, Mary and Zechariah — and moves rapidly to repentence.

Repentence. Because the Kingdom is at hand, and is with us. if we do not care for our nation and care for the lost, then we will be judged, and in that turmoil the elite will lose their luxury and be equal in their distress with the poor, and the twittering of the amateur improvising pretty music in their revels will give way.

Is the human duty to care for legislation?

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Last night I watched an election where the centre-right party won, but the very things that will ensure it remains in power — reform of the voting system and powerful coalition parties — failed. I can recall a time three elections ago when the same thing happened to the left: their reliable coalition partner (The Alliance) fell apart. The left now have four parties in parliament: the right one and two midgets: ACT and United Future.

This morning I read the blogs and the left is spinning that they are well placed to come back in 2014: the right are down to one monolith and they will get the people to see they are right. In a similar way, the right, who won, are despondent. They have control of the house for three years, but this is the highest ever percentage voted (48% for their party, which would be a landslide under First Past the Post) but don’t have coalition parties.

What I am thinking today is what is our duty, and it comes in two parts. One is to God, and the other to each other.

Amos 2:4-8
4Thus says the LORD: For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because they have rejected the law of the LORD, and have not kept his statutes,
but they have been led astray by the same lies after which their ancestors walked. 5So I will send a fire on Judah, and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.

Ideologies matter. We must not follow the errors of the past. The last century showed that unbridled capitalism unbalances a society, that a strong middle class stabilizes it (based around marriage and kids, with a living wage for the main earner), and that both fascism and soviet socialism fail as human and economic systems. More recently, we have be led astray by the doctrine of feminism, free love, and easy divorce: we are reaping two to three generations of children who are less stable, less trusting, and less able to form relationships because they have not seen this in the families they grew up in.

6Thus says the LORD: For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals — 7they who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth, and push the afflicted out of the way; father and son go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned; 8they lay themselves down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge; and in the house of their God they drink wine bought with fines they imposed.

In the same manner, we are commanded as people and as a nation not to oppress the poor. The NZ compromise was a form of social safety net (which was originally bought in by Richard Seddon’s liberal party in the 1890s). This has morphed into a centrally run set of rules one requires a postgraduate degree to navigate through.

Individually we should care. We need to support the systems in place in our towns that act as a net: the food banks, the night shelters, the work training… but as individuals we cannot do more.

The state can. But the state is not good at sorting out circumstances. Moreover, the state, in most of the Western World apart from Australia and New Zealand, is bankrupt. You cannot support ten bureaucrats checking on the administration of one person’s dole. We need to simplify, tighten, and make local the means of social welfare.

The big challenge for any government, left or right, is to do this when the tax receipts (from VAT, company tax and income tax, which are the main sources of revenue in NZ for the gov’t( drop because wages deflate, businesses are losing money, and people are not buying.

Perhaps here we do need to look back to the last depression. The use of social banking, social networks (run by unions, friendly societies, churches, the rationalist society…) allow the prudent middle and working class people to have some security for these times. The use of charity — with lower taxes, the social pressure to be generous increases — helped provide for institutions that sheltered the indigent. However, in those days, the unionist worshiped in his chapel the same God and trusted to the same means of salvation that his boss worshipped in his cathedral. There was a shared sense of morality.

And here, Chris Trotter is correct. We have lost this.

The challenge we face, in this time of great difficulty, is to resurrect the human duty to care. For this cannot be legislated, no more than we can force an lion to not eat the lamb put into his cage.

An

We are censored today.

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Well, today is the election. This means that any person who blogs in New Zealand is under a set of restrictions. David Farrar summarized them very well as

The Electoral Act states in Paragraph (g) of Section 197(1) that it an offence at any time on polling day (before 7 pm) to publish any statement advising or intended or likely to influence any elector as to the candidate or party for whom the elector should or should not vote, or any statement advising or intended or likely to influence any elector to abstain from voting.

This means I will not be posting any material after midnight that could be seen as influencing any elector as to how to vote, or not to vote. I am asking all those who comment to do the same. The law should be interpreted broadly, so do not post comments tomorrow on any candidate, MP or party, current issues or policy.

I have been no more selective in the reading for today than usual. The PCUSA has four readings most days… Psalms, Old Testament, New Testament, Gospel. It would be redundant to post the entire thing — you can link to it.

But there are two parts to this.

Matthew 20:29-34

29As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30There were two blind men sitting by the roadside. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31The crowd sternly ordered them to be quiet; but they shouted even more loudly, “Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!” 32Jesus stood still and called them, saying, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they regained their sight and followed him.

Here Jesus does not do what the crowd want him to do. He ignores the populace. He is undemocratic. There is no election. But there is also no censorship of the cries of help. He heals the blind men…
… and that incident, one of many, is in the Gospels. It is a correction to our five year plans. Things change. One has to make them work… but one must never, never stop paying attention to the needs of others.

1 Peter 4:7-11

7The end of all things is near; therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers. 8Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. 9Be hospitable to one another without complaining. 10Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. 11Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ.

Peter continues to talk about the fiery trial that is descending on the church (If I recall my Tacitus, Peter was literally correct — Nero burnt Christians, whom he blamed for a large fire in Rome). He talks about how we should behave, being serious, loving each other, placing ourselves in training, and doing everything for the glory of God.

In functional societies, there is no law against choosing to live deliberately, carefully, and with love for one’s brothers and sisters. We do not, yet, have this

The horrible thing about the Two Minutes Hate was not that one was obliged to act a part, but that it was impossible to avoid joining in. Within thirty seconds any pretence was always unnecessary. A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture, to smash faces in with a sledge hammer, seemed to flow through the whole group of people like an electric current, turning one even against one’s will into a grimacing, screaming lunatic. And yet the rage that one felt was an abstract, undirected emotion which could be switched from one object to another like the flame of a blowlamp. Orwell, 1984, Ch.1

I pray this does not happen. And I need to do my duty and vote.