Syria

I was surprised, but relieved, to see parliament vote against military action in Syria. It's right that the government condemns what appears to be the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime, though other conventional weapons have done just as much damage and killed more people. I suggest that if our government wants to do something constructive, and to be consider a 'major player' in the international scene that it uses the money that would otherwise have been spent on bombing raids to provide more aid for the thousands of Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries.

There is more than one way for Britain to be great - bombing others is not one of them.

Postcard from Shropshire

Staying here in beautiful South Shropshire I've acquired two new interests: geology and birdwatching. We are just round the corner from one of the most important sites in the history of geology - Comley Quarry (see photo), where, in 1888 a professor from Birmingham discovered the first Lower Cambrian fossil, thus being able to date the rocks as Cambrian. This dating apparently set a standard for all other similar rocks. The Quarry isn't much to look at, but it has international significance. Who'd have thought it? This immediate area near Church Stretton has volcanic rocks on one side of the A49 and sedementary rocks on the other. It makes for an interesting landscape.

And my other new interest - birdwatching. I'm not exactly a seasoned 'twitcher' but I've enjoyed watching the local birds through our window and can now identify blue tits, great tits, nuthatches and chaffinches. I spent this morning, as it was raining, photographing them as well. This photo is of a nuthatch.

The south of Shropshire is a wonderful place to visit for hill walking, with easy access from Church Stretton. I can see many benefits in retiring here when it's time. I'm told that a retired bishop with an extensive model railway lives here. The more I read about house prices and the cost of commuting in London rising so quickly, the more I can see the attraction of living somewhere else. That fine if you've got the choice, which I might have when I retire, but it's more worrying for those whose job and family needs them to stay.

Responding to Wagner's 'Ring'

It's over a year since I blogged - no time, or nothing to say? A bit of both. However, I've spent the last week, on and off, listening to the arguably the greatest music-drama ever composed: Wagner's 'Ring of the Nibelungen' from the BBC Proms. Whatever you might think about Wagner the man or the musician, there is no doubt that this great tetralogy stands as a monument of human endeavour. Not only did it influence the development of Western music for decades to come, but even the course of human history in the way some of its ideals were hijacked by Hitler for his own wicked purposes.

Though familiar with some of Wagner's music, this was the first time I had listened to to whole 'Ring' as a single event. One runs out of superlatives to describe the performances by Staatskapelle Dresden, under Danial Barenboim, with one of the best cast of singers (in particular Nina Stemme as Brünnhilde, and Bryn Terfel as Wotan, in Die Walküre). Listening to the whole Ring is liked being sucked into a giant maelstrom of ideas, both philosophical and musical.

Wagner was a philosopher all his life, greatly influenced by the German Idealists such as Kant and Hegel, and later Feuerbach. The idea of God (or the gods) being simply a projection of man's ideal is a starting point here, though in Wagner's case the gods are actually less worthy than the humans, being seen to be corrupted by the desire for power, and behaving in a selfish and arbitrary way. There is the theme of freedom through struggle ('Mein Kampf'??), but one in which true freedom allows for the possibility of self-sacrifice - Brünnhilde's immolation in the flames along with her beloved Siegfried. There is the theme of the search for one's mother - Siegfried brought up by the evil dwarf Mime desperately wants to know who his mother was. (I wonder if, when he discovers Brünnhilde, he actually has found a mother-substitute with whom he can fall chastely in love? Shades of Oedipus.) Brünnhilde, for her part sees in Siegfried both a hero/lover and son. Freud would have had a field day with this - not to mention the sibling incest between the twins Siegmund and Sieglinde, the father and mother of Siegfried.

Casting its shadow over all these murky relationships is the theme of the corruption of power, and, what Marx would later describe as a critique of capitalism. Alberich, the evil dwarf who has renounced love in favour of power, keeps the Nibelungs as virtual slaves in the underworld as they hammer out the Rhine gold to make the all-powerful ring. That ring contains a curse that blights anyone who takes hold of it - powerfully described by one of the many musical leitmotivs of Wagner. Alberich is the archetypal capitalist who steals the wealth produced by the oppressed workers. (Wagner took a leading role in the revolution of 1848, and had to flee to Switzerland for a time under suspicion from the Prussian authorities.)

It's not surprising to see why Wagner's 'Ring' stirs up such powerful feelings among those who persevere in listening to its entirety. I, for one, couldn't sleep for the multitude of leitmotivs buzzing round my head all night: The Ring, The Sword, The Curse, The Rhine, Valhalla, etc. And now I've been driven to find out more about the philosophical context that Wagner was working in because without that the story on its own doesn't really make much sense - there are so many unanswered questions and inconsistencies such as 'Why doesn't the owner of the ring simply use its power to get rid of everyone else who is threatening them?' I suppose that would be too easy, and there would be no story.

Two less-than-serious footnotes: 'Walhall', the abbreviated form of Walhalla often used in the libretto, is only one letter removed from 'Walsall' in the West Midlands. Not exactly the home of the gods reached by a rainbow bridge.  I couldn't help thinking, as I listened to Act 2 of Götterdämmerung, that the men's chorus singing "Heiahei, heiahoi" was not very far from Disney's Seven Dwarfs - "Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work we go." You need to keep a sense of humour to avoid becoming a Wagner-worshipper and taking his view of life, the universe and everything too seriously. Nevertheless, this Proms Ring Cycle will be a performance to remember for a long time to come.

We are in a rich season of sport at the moment: Euro 2012, Wimbledon and The Olympic Games, not to mention the cricket and the Tour de France. It seems to me that there is something almost religious about sport. Think of the ways that sporting values parallel spiritual values: the idea of dedication, of sacrifice, of team spirit, of challenge and endeavour, of achieving (or scoring) a goal, of the encouragement of the spectators, and of the joy of winning.


The writer to the Hebrews had the Olympic stadium in mind when he wrote ‘Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus…’ And St Paul also thought in those terms when, near the end of life, in prison and in chains, he wrote to Timothy: ‘I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness…’

The spirit of the Olympics is one which encourages a purity of purpose. Athletes don’t compete for money, but for the glory of winning. It’s sad, therefore, when the Games are sometimes highjacked for political purposes, because there is something noble about dedicated athlete’s lifestyle. there is something noble about playing as a team – in fact it could be a good description of the church: each person playing their part, some at the front, some at the back, those who attack, those who defend, those who can pass and those who can score. it’s been good to see how the England football team seemed to play so well together in the recent Championship, and how the team spirit did so much to give them a boost. And Roy Hodgson said how important the fans were in encouraging the team.

St Paul also wrote to Timothy, ‘Physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.’ If we are at all inspired by the Olympics perhaps we could consider how our own spiritual lives could be more disciplined, how we can get involved in the ‘game’ of being the church, and what we can do to be winners that bring glory to Jesus, the ‘captain of our salvation’ (Hebrews 2:10 KJV), and to God himself.

The Preston Passion

BBC iPlayer - The Preston Passion

I've just watched the BBC's 'Preston Passion' - an imaginative and moving retelling of aspects of the Passion of Christ. It very powerfully portrayed the elements of Pilate's dilemma, the grief of the women who watched Jesus suffer and die, and the self-sacrifice of Jesus himself. Well done to the BBC for using its resources to bring Christ's Passion to a mass audince in such a popular way. But I'm afraid I would only give it 7 out 10 because the heart of the story was missing: Christ's sacrifice for our sins. Without his atoning death all we would have would be a series of moving stories with some moral value, but nothing that actually changes lives - and changes the status of life from that which is estranged from God to that which is reconciled to God.

Perhaps it would be too much to expect the BBC in such a multicultural society as ours to be quite as explicit about the reason for Christ's death and its true significance. For those who are familiar with Handel's 'Messiah', and the text from Isaiah, we did get a little reference to Christ's sacrificial death as the choir sang: 'Surely, he hath born our sins and carried our sorrows: he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him...'

The real difference Christ's death makes to us is that our sin - whatever comes between us and God - was dealt with once for all. His death opened the way for all who believe to be not just improved but saved.

Why David Cameron and the Government are wrong regarding gay marriage - Philo Trust

This is taken from J John's blog at Philo Trust


It is hard not to be troubled about the government’s moves towards legalising same-sex marriage. Although the words used are those of ‘consultation’ there is evidence that ministerial minds are already made up. Yet you do not have to be a Christian to have concerns about the issues raised by this concept. It is important to remember that despite the sneers, it is not homophobic, fundamentalist or politically incorrect to raise such concerns. Indeed, you could argue – as some have – that redefining marriage in this way does no service to the gay community itself. Let me raise the issues as I see them.

There is the issue of motivation. Civil partnerships have existed since 2004 and appear to work satisfactorily. So why is there this demand for a change in the basis of marriage? It’s hard not to conclude that this is a deliberate and aggressive attack on traditional heterosexual marriage. A small but vocal minority within the gay community seem to be pushing for a ‘take it or break it’ attitude to marriage. And within this government there appears to be little more than a desire to follow the crowd and gain votes. This combination of hostility and expediency is the worst possible basis for legislation.

There is the issue of principle. Jews and Christians would point to the clear definition of marriage set out in the first pages of the Bible (Genesis 2:18-24) and see in this God’s design for the human race. The Christian would want to point out further that this definition of marriage is reaffirmed both by Jesus (Matthew 19:4-6) and by St Paul (Ephesians 5:31). Non-believers and believers alike must recognise the near universality of this pattern of marriage in history and geography. It is also an unarguable fact that a working marriage is the foundation of social stability, a proven source of human happiness and the best basis for the nurture of children. Surveys suggest that most women and many men in partnerships would prefer to be married. If ever there was an institution over which the phrase ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!’ was written, it is traditional marriage.

There is the issue of precedent. If we feel that we are free to redefine marriage what, if anything, do we now exclude from legal ‘marriage’? Polygamy? Any combination and number of partners? Once you have dismantled the weighty historical and biblical foundations that uphold traditional marriage, what other foundation will you build in its place? And why should this new foundation hold? On a related issue, although we are assured that vicars, priests, rabbis and imams will not be forced to conduct gay marriages, can we really be certain that, in ten years’ time, this will not be the new frontline? I think not!

There is the issue of gender. At the heart of the ‘gay marriage agenda’ is a presumption that men and women are sufficiently identical that they can be interchanged in relationships. It is taken for granted that it doesn’t fundamentally matter whether a relationship is male-female, male-male or female-female. Yet the Bible, psychology and experience combine to state that men and women are different in many ways. Feminism did not simply achieve a measure of equality for women but also a hard-won acceptance that women and men are different and that those differences can be celebrated. Allowing same-sex marriage tramples over that recognition of gender differences.

There is the issue of appropriateness. Traditional marriage is designed – or has evolved – to accommodate the complementary psychological and physical differences that exist between men and women. Same-sex relationships are very different. So on what basis do we assume that marriage is appropriate for them? Legal homosexual relationships are a relative novelty in the West and surely we need time and study to find out what is the best legal and social framework for them. To assume it is marriage is yet another presumption.

The evidence is utterly overwhelming that this proposed ‘consultation’ on same-sex marriage is hasty and ill-conceived. This proposed consultation is driven by the desire of the government to be popular; to overturn it will require little more than the recognition that it is, in reality, deeply unpopular. This is a bad proposal, made for the worst reasons and one that could have a lasting impact on society. Silence is not an appropriate response.


Posted by: J.John

Categories: J.John's Reflections

Tags: Why David Cameron And The Government Are Wrong Regarding Gay Marriage

The world has gone mad!

It's bad enough having Easter eggs on the shelves soon after Christmas, packed in amongst the bunnies and chicks, but now M & S have Percy their 'Easter Pig'.  Rabbits and chicks I can understand - spring, new life, etc. But what has a pig got to do with Easter? It seems rather ironic, given M & S's Jewish roots, that they should celebrate this great religious festival with a pig.