A call to action

Time to ditch Jack Sparrow’s moral compass?

/ Minimalist Christian / Leave a comment

I read a headline this morning that the UK government is paying strip clubs and lap dancing bars thousands of pounds to employ young people.  http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/National/article1376579.ece What sort of moral compass are they travelling by.  It is Jack Sparrow’s compass: it points at whatever you feel like.

Many of the young people I meet today have already succumbed to the temptations of smoking (tobacco and weed), drinking (to excess), internet pornography and instant gratification sex.  Many have anger management problems, are bored easily, struggle to see any purpose in life, and find it hard to get and keep jobs.  And I live in ‘middle England’, I can’t imagine what it is like in the most deprived areas.

Who can blame them?

We have structured our society so that we take our children away from their parents and put them in schools where the only adult interaction is focused on learning facts that will help them pass exams.  We have structured our economy such that parents have to work long hours, often at weekends, so our less affluent families have little time for child parent interaction.  We have so regulated schools with ‘child protection’ that the few adults who do interact with children are not allowed even to touch them, and who live in fear of accusation of child molesting. We have done our best to mock and marginalise religious institutions who try to suggest that some form of restraint might be beneficial.

We have put our children in an institutional ‘Lord of the Flies’ scenario, and added the instant gratification of TV, internet, and readily available drugs (legal and illegal).

Surely it is time for a serious rethink.

Instead of sticking plaster politics and abdicating any vision of the future to ‘market forces’, let’s try to define what we want society to be like, and then see what needs to be done to get there.

Please share your ideas of what an ideal society would look like.

The wealthy are redeemable.

/ Minimalist Christian / 3 Comments

I read today that the plan to reintroduce a 50% tax band has ‘stoked fury’.

It is criticised as “penalising the business community, which is already hard-pressed.”  Yet “The 50p top rate, which affects the top 1% of earners..”  http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/Politics/article1367969.ece

If I were cynical I would say that this looks like the wealthy lining up to protect their wealth.

With nobody pointing out the moral obligations of the wealthy as members of society, that we need them to be ready to help the millions who are really being penalised by austerity, and who are really  suffering, then who can blame them.  With government leaders like Boris Johnson telling them it is good to be greedy, then a selfish attitude to protecting their wealth is inevitable – but as a society such selfishness is not acceptable.

Research has shown that wealth in a moral vacuum will lead to selfishness, lack of empathy and self-justification.  However it also shows that with a little moral guidance, pointing out the difficulties being faced by those on very low incomes the attitude can change.(See http://www.ted.com/talks/paul_piff_does_money_make_you_mean.html?utm_source=email&source=email&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ios-share)

I don’t believe that the wealthy are irredeemably greedy, but please can we offer some moral guidance, and help them to understand that we are “all in this together”.

So please, politicians and media magnates, say to the wealthy, “There are millions of people in our country who are really suffering due to economic hardship.  They are not all scroungers.  Most would like to work and to contribute to society, but they cannot.  They need your help.  Will you help please?”

Thank you.

Scientific support for The Rainbow Economy

/ Minimalist Christian / Leave a comment

A link to a fascinating talk below.  The beginning is rather depressing, but the finish supports the solution proposed in The Rainbow Economy.

Do listen to it all.

http://www.ted.com/talks/paul_piff_does_money_make_you_mean.html?utm_source=email&source=email&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ios-share

 

The Rainbow Economy

/ Minimalist Christian / 1 Comment

My three posts “Austerity is working?” I, II, and III have highlighted that there is an inherent injustice in our world today.  And Ian (comments) tell us that even in economic terms austerity is not working.  What is the solution?

I reminded us of the amazing and bloodless transition from an Apartheid regime to a Rainbow Nation that was led by Nelson Mandela.  It worked because he managed to change the hearts and minds of the people to repent of and forgive past injustices, and be reconciled to one another.  He changed the attitudes of the people of the nation of South Africa.  He, Desmond Tutu and others reminded people that everyone, black or white, was equally valuable; not equal (as in identical) but Sons of the same Father.  His vision was a nation which was a single community which treated everyone as a brother, irrespective of colour.  Mandela changed the rules of the game – he change people’s attitudes.

Economics is about predicting the outcome of different actions and regulations. Predictions are based on the response of individuals to those actions educated by the response in similar situations in the past.  The distribution of wealth shown in my earlier posts is a result of the initial distribution of wealth, economic rules and regulations, and people’s attitudes. As a simple formula:

Distribution of wealth today = Fn(Distribution yesterday, Economic Policies, Attitudes)

We have seen that the trend of today’s equation is to distribute the wealth more towards the rich.  We have seen that most people would prefer a more even (but not uniform) distribution.

But it seems that the only variable in the equation above that anyone advocates changing is Economic Policies.  Whether someone is an extreme capitalist or extreme socialist, focus is on tax and spending regulations and regimes – about different Economic Policies.

But what about Attitudes?

I recall a radio interview with one of Margaret Thatcher’s colleagues or friends, asking how she reconciled her hard economic policies with her Christian beliefs.  The reply was that privately she looked to charity to ease the discomfort of those who suffered.  But of course it would have been impossible for her, or the tough government to tell the nation to be charitable, it would reek of hypocrisy.  Instead, her government and policies changed attitudes in that they gave individuals permission to be selfish and greedy – echoed today in Boris Johnson’s speech headlined “Boris Johnson invokes Thatcher spirit with greed is good speech”.

Ian made another comment, that in today’s South Africa there is an “endemic entitlement mentality including laziness, victim mentality, and bitterness that redistribution has not brought what the poor expected”

From these two example. at either end of the wealth spectrum, attitudes focus on self-interest. Such attitudes might be justified by comments like:  “It’s not my job to care about anyone else – that’s the government’s responsibility” or “It’s the government’s responsibility to give me a job – it’s my right, I shouldn’t have to suffer”.

In the past humans lived in groups and tribes where everyone knew each other and everyone looked out for each other.  People lived in communities and all felt responsible for the good of the community as a whole.  There were expectations on individuals to contribute to the community and to help each other if they found someone in need. Relationships were considered important (you had to live with each other after a dispute) and everyone pulled together to make the community work.  

Today we live in states where (generalising) we look to the government to look out for others.  We don’t really care about the community as a whole so long as we are alright.  Relationships matter less because we can always move somewhere else if we fall out with our neighbours, move jobs if we fall out with our boss, and change partners if we fall out with our partner.  Our role in and value to society is as a ‘consumer’, and policies focus on giving the consumer what he wants.  We have expectations of our government, and having paid our taxes we don’t really see that we should do anything more to help them. As long as we as individuals are comfortable we see no need to do so.  We have abdicated our social responsibility to the state.

I think it is time to take it back.

Our attitude needs to change from that of selfish individual consumer.  We need to become once again a member of a community, a member of society who feels responsible for society as a whole.

We need to change our expectations of ourselves and others to do what we can to help each other.  We need to embrace the attitude of “what can I contribute” and respond according to our abilities.  In such a climate we would see for instance Mr Cameron the individual behaving as if we are indeed “all in this together” and using his personal fortune to benefit others.  We would see those who are on state benefits asking what they can do to contribute to society – and being given opportunities to contribute.

We need to value each person equally and encourage each to grow to fulfil their potential. Love has been defined as exerting oneself for the well-being of others.  We need to love more – achieved by looking outwards.  Oswald Chambers said that ‘Self-pity is of the devil”.  Self-pity in difficult circumstances leads to bitterness and a victim mentality.  Self-pity in comfortable circumstances prevents doing what is right for fear of our own needs in the future.

This new attitude is not completely absent from society (see links at the bottom), but it is rarely promoted and needs boldness and courage because it is so counter cultural.  But let’s all be part of the revolution.  A revolution in attitudes rather than government.  A revolution that says “we are all going to make our society healthy …. Starting with me!”  A revolution that calls us to “love one another as we love ourselves”.

So where can we start?

Take a look around and ask “what could I do to help?”  “How can I spend my time better?”  “How can I spend my money better?”  “Who can I help who is struggling?”  “Can I be doing something more valuable than watching TV?”  There are so many possibilities. Can I help a young person contribute to society and earn some money?  What organisations or charities could I help?  Can I mentor someone?  Can I visit a lonely old person, or pay their heating bills?  Now I’m retired, what can I volunteer to help with?  Since I have no time with my busy job, can I support important work financially?

But also, encourage others to do the same.  When our friends grumble at the government for this or that, challenge them to think differently and take back some personal responsibility.  We need to give each other permission to help society, to expect it rather than be surprised by it.  We all need to change mindsets.  We need to spread the word!

And of course we need to let the government – our representatives know what we want them to truly represent.  We need to let them know what sort of economy we want, but we also need to demonstrate that we are ready to contribute too.

So, we are not helpless observers.  Each one of us can make a difference.  Let’s try.

Here as promised are some links which show some of what is happening already:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-official-statistics-show-resurgence-in-volunteering-as-millions-more-give-their-time-to-help-others

http://www.ivr.org.uk/ivr-volunteering-stats

In Britain, philanthropy is more dependent than ever on the generosity of the wealthiest, with the richest 1,000 taking a growing, active and more public role in charitable giving. Even as the latest UK Giving report showed a 20% fall in real terms in the amount the public gave to charity last year, the new Sunday Times Giving List survey showed a more than 20% increase in giving by the wealthy elite.  http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/business/BusinessRichList/article1246509.ece

http://www.gatesfoundation.org/

https://www.cafonline.org/PDF/UKGiving2012Summary.pdf

And finally, for encouragement, some quotes from one who claimed to speak for God:

“If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.”

“Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”

“Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.”

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy …. for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”

“Do not worry about your life, what you will eat and drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?”

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?… You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and they you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye”

Previous posts:

https://philhemsley.wordpress.com/2013/12/10/austerity-is-working/

https://philhemsley.wordpress.com/2013/12/27/austerity-is-working-ii/

https://philhemsley.wordpress.com/2013/12/30/austerity-is-working-iii/

Austerity is working? III

/ Minimalist Christian / 7 Comments

The world economy is in difficulty and has been for many years now.  Debt is embedded in the system: individuals owe money to banks (who live off lending them more), nations owe money to the financial markets. All measures of wealth show that the richest are getting richer and the poorest are getting poorer. (See Austerity is working II).

People agree that the ideal is not a flat distribution of wealth.  They think that the distribution of wealth favours the rich too much, but in reality it favours the rich much more than we realise:

wealth distribution

But is there a problem with this? It depends on your personal philosophy.

For instance, if I think it is right that one human being, through no effort of its own (e.g as a result of who its parents are and where they happen to live) should be 1 million times richer than another, then this data in itself will not worry me.

Similarly, if instead of comparing myself to those who have more income than me I compare myself to those with less then I will not enjoy any feelings of being ‘hard done by’.

Opinions vary, but it seems that around $50000 is an ideal income for happiness. http://www.learnvest.com/knowledge-center/the-price-of-happiness-50000-123/ and a 2012 UK headline stated that “Families need £36,800 to live acceptably, study says” http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18770783  Anyone earning more than that is likely to feel very comfortable.

So, in the rich West, most people are basically happy most of the time, cocooned by an income where financial concern is limited to sustaining the present level of comfort rather than worrying where the next meal is coming from.  Most of the time the inequality of wealth doesn’t really impact, apart from leading to a few grumbles and jealous thoughts about those who earn more than we do. Passivity rules until or unless a crisis occurs which affects us as individuals, and then we get to see how difficult the situation really is for those who the system exploits and tramples… the poorest.

As I said in my earlier post (Austerity is working?) the current crisis has not noticeably affected the rich.  Maybe there has been some mild discomfort for the better off, but the brunt of the austerity is taken, as usual, by the poorest.

Most of us realise that this is profoundly unjust.

Most of us want something to be done about this, but we look at our politicians and realise that they simply don’t understand.  They are not even in the ‘mild discomfort’ bracket, and simply cannot empathise with those who have NO money at all to feed their family; those who have to get the basics for survival from the multiplying food banks.  The people want the politicians to understand, hence petitions challenging MPs to experience living on low income:  http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/iain-duncan-smith-iain-duncan-smith-to-live-on-53-a-week

The gulf in understanding is emphasised when the rich Mayor of London advocates greed:

Johnson called for the rich to be hailed for their contribution to paying for public services as he said that the top 1% of earners contribute 30% of income tax. “That is an awful lot of schools and roads and hospitals that are being paid for by the super-rich. So why, I asked innocently, are they so despicable in the eyes of all decent British people? Surely they should be hailed like the Stakhanovites of Stalin’s Russia, who half-killed themselves, in the name of the people, by mining record tonnages of coal?”

The mayor added: “It seems to me that though it would be wrong to persecute the rich…. http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/nov/27/boris-johnson-thatcher-greed-good

What exacerbates the injustice is the despair that there is no hope of changing the system.  Those who have the power are those who benefit from the present system, and they have no intention of changing it.  The democratic process which in theory would allow the people to choose honourable and just leaders offers no serious alternative.  The traditional parties are basically indistinguishable, and so people begin to jump at any possibly credible alternative, such as the right wing UKIP party – not realising that the basis of the policies of UKIP is as flawed as the traditional parties.

And here we approach the reason for our problem. Economics works by trying to predict the behaviour of the masses to different financial laws and environments. And behaviour of the masses responds to the moral climate generated by the media and politicians. Changing the moral climate is a necessary part of the solution, but at present there are few trying to instigate the essential global climate change.

Governments are afraid of doing anything to damage the economy.  They will only introduce humane policies if the pressure against the injustices of the system becomes too strong: if there is sufficient discomfort that we ordinary people are jogged out of our passivity; and when the politicians are at risk of losing their power.  Today, ordinary people are stirring, but as yet they don’t see any way of ousting the politicians.  In the past, these sorts of frustration have led to revolution and bloodbath.

Is there any alternative?

For an answer I look at the most recent success of humanity over greed and selfishness.  I look at the transition from an evil apartheid regime ruling South Africa to a Rainbow Nation.  I look to what made the difference between a bloody revolution and a peaceful change.

Mandela realised that trying to force a powerful opponent who had suppressed and oppressed millions of fellow human beings to hand over power by violence would lead to immense human tragedy.  The mind-set of all oppressors includes fear of retribution, indeed, doesn’t justice demand retribution on the oppressor?  Doesn’t justice demand an angry and violent response to injustice?  That is the response of human nature.  And if you are like me, you will have an inner core of anger at the injustice in our country today.  It would feel right to ‘persecute the rich’, and the frustration at not being able to do so makes the anger and bitterness deeper.  We are justified in feeling that – justice demands a fairer system.

But that is not the way.  “An eye for an eye makes everyone blind”.

Mandela changed the hearts and minds of those in power.

The first step was to jog the world out of passivity, to show the world the oppression and to campaign for justice.  The South African government could no longer claim ignorance about their unjust position.  They realised that apartheid was untenable and so the barrier to change moved to one of fear of retribution if they were to lose power.  We see the beginnings of that same fear in Boris Johnson’s comment that “it would be wrong to persecute the rich” – but I think we are in the situation where world leaders are still convincing themselves that the present system is OK.  “Economic Apartheid” is working just fine!

Mandela’s second step was to graciously talk with those in power.  He was willing to forgive their past injustice, and to lead his followers to forgive.  He was not prepared to accept future injustice, future oppression of either the blacks or whites by the other group.  He presented the vision of a rainbow nation, and inspired both blacks and whites to embrace that vision.  Mandela gave up justified bitterness for the sake of the people, and he taught his nation to do the same.  We need to learn from his approach.

So where are we today?  We know that Economic Apartheid is unjust, but too many people have adopted the Johnson mantra ‘greed is good’, or are not sufficiently discomfited to shift from passivity.  There is not yet enough voice crying out against economic injustice, and there are too many who justify it or ignore it.  That needs to change.  You and I need to change.  We need to speak out.

Then we need a vision for a “Rainbow Economy”, and a change in mind-set that underpins it.  That will be the topic of a future post.

………………………………………………..

Related links:

https://philhemsley.wordpress.com/2013/12/10/austerity-is-working/

https://philhemsley.wordpress.com/2013/12/27/austerity-is-working-ii/

To ensure that you hear about the Rainbow Economy, click the ‘follow’ button.

 

Austerity is working? II

/ Minimalist Christian / 10 Comments

Some items that I heard on the radio driving home – excuse any imprecision, I had my hands on the wheel and did not take notes:

  • In the past year, the top 1% incomes have risen by around 35%, everyone else has risen by around 0.5%.   Economists are debating whether this signifies and economic recovery.
  • Quantitative easing puts money into the hands of the already very rich, in the hope that it will trickle down to the rest of the population.  So far we have seen an increase in the number of houses exchanged for over £1million, and the highest price ever paid for a work of art.
  • No central bank is likely to be bold enough to stop quantitative easing in the future.

I struggle to understand how, in a supposed democracy, this fits with austerity working. The poorer are getting poorer and the richer are getting richer.  How can a civilized world accept this?

See the following for more.  This is a global problem.

https://philhemsley.wordpress.com/2013/12/10/austerity-is-working/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPKKQnijnsM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWSxzjyMNpU

And some alternatives:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKCvf8E7V1g

http://robinhoodtax.org.uk/

http://www.robinhoodtax.org/

https://philhemsley.wordpress.com/2012/10/06/basic-economics/

See also:

https://philhemsley.wordpress.com/2013/12/30/austerity-is-working-iii/

Don’t forget to ‘follow’ to hear more…

Austerity is Working?

/ Minimalist Christian / 7 Comments

“Austerity is Working” proclaims the headline in The Sunday Times.

Why does this make me angry?  Shouldn’t I be glad that this pain that we are ‘all’ going through is finally working?  After all, ‘we are all in this together’ so isn’t this encouragement to keep taking the treatment?

But what does ‘working’ mean?  Let’s look at some other headline news that I recall recently:

  • More people in work than ever before rely on state support to feed their families
  • Food banks opening and helping thousands (and bizarrely someone claimed that this was a sign of a civilized society, that a few good people try to make up for the ineptitude of the rich)
  • The “lost generation”: young people struggle to find work and purpose.

Is that what we mean by ‘working’?  Surely not.  Let’s look further:

  • 2500 bankers are going to get bonuses of over £1 million
  • 11% pay rise for MPs to take their salaries over £70thousand

If I were cynical I might think that the writer must be referring to the latter two examples.  But no, he is referring to the new god, “the economy”.  This “thing” that we have raised above basic humanity, above compassion, above “loving our neighbour as ourself”.

And who are the priests of this new god?  Not the small people.  Not those who suffered from losing all their savings in the banking crisis, or those whose money bailed out the banks.  Not those who have to pay the extra ‘bedroom tax’.  Not those who are now going to have to work to 66 or older just to feed themselves.  Not those who frequent the foodbanks and rely on state support.

The priesthood are the wealthy.

Compared to many, I am wealthy.  I could pay more tax and it would be no more than a minor inconvenience. But it makes me ashamed that we have a government who would rather tax the poor than risk offending the rich.  Why do we not have a government who would close the budget deficit through taxing the higher paid, or tackling obscene bonuses, and a rich class who would willingly support them?

I have not suffered at all in this economic crisis.  I continue not to suffer.  And neither do any of our MPs, or any of those who administer the economy.  Neither does Mr Johnson, who openly advocates greed as good.

I am ashamed, but helpless.  I cannot see any political party that would change things.  They all worship at the same altar.

I do what I can for those around me, and I’m sure you do to – but it’s not enough.  It’s time for a new politics.  It’s time for another Mandela, or Gandhi; time for a statesman not a politician.

The nation waits, but where is such a leader to be found?

—————————————————————

https://philhemsley.wordpress.com/2012/10/06/basic-economics/

https://philhemsley.wordpress.com/2013/12/27/austerity-is-working-ii/

A vision and purpose for 2013

/ Minimalist Christian / 2 Comments

In the 2011 UK census, nearly 60% of the population want to be recognised as Christian.  Many other surveys show that the proportion of the population who regularly attend church services is between 5% and 15%.  (Tearfund report on churchgoing 2007, http://www.eauk.org/church/research-and-statistics/english-church-census.cfm, Religious Trends – Brieley)

This data shows that there are 45 – 55% of the UK population who want to be associated with Christianity but are not being supported by the various churches in the country.  To my mind this is not an acceptable situation.  Something must change.

The popular representation of Christians is that we are uncaring unloving people:  We are sexist, not allowing women bishops.  We are homophobic, not allowing gay marriage or gay clergy.  We are ignorant – ignoring scientific data and insisting that the world is 6000 years old and was created in six days.  We are hypocrites and child molesters.  We instantly jump to judge everyone else’s behaviour whilst being just as bad ourselves.  Our bottom line is that “you are going to Hell if you don’t believe what I believe”.  Of course, that’s complete b*****cks, but it certainly doesn’t encourage anyone to explore what Christianity is actually about.  I wrote my first book “The Leap” to address some of these issues.

So there is an image barrier that prevents the 55% exploring their spiritual roots.  But there are many other barriers. To name a few:

  • long working hours leave people exhausted (Nearly 20% of men and 6% of women work over 49 hours per week – 2011 census).  We want to relax and do something enjoyable at the weekend and the image of sitting in a cold uncomfortable church pew is not very attractive.
  • entertainment is at our fingertips in the comfort of our own homes, we don’t want to go to the trouble of going out.
  • nearly 50% of the population live alone (2011 census).  There’s all the housework to do. The barrier of going out alone can be immense, loneliness is a hard habit to break

Jesus came to bring life in abundance.  We are missing out!  We catch glimpses of what life in abundance might be in the spirit of the Olympics,  in the national celebrations and street parties of the Jubilee.  Neighbours got to know each other, perhaps speaking for the first time in years.  The hearts of the people in this nation are good – look at the response when Claire Squires died – nearly £1million donated. http://www.justgiving.com/Claire-Squires2

The church in the UK needs to provide opportunities for this spirit (which is a reflection of the spirit of God within all of us) to grow, for individuals to explore and develop their spiritual side, their humanity.

We need to fight against the materialist mindset that tells us we are simply a bunch of chemicals.

We need to fight against the economic mindset that tells use we are just consumers, human resources, a drain on the economy.

We need to free and inspire the hearts and minds of every man, woman and child to love one another, forgive one another, and love God – with all our hearts, minds and souls.

Let’s go for it! Let 2013 be a year we remember.

Time to come alive!

/ Minimalist Christian / Leave a comment

As you walk round this weekend, look at the faces of those you pass.  Look perhaps at the men pushing the trolleys in Aldi, Asda or Sainsbury’s.  How many of them are lifeless, pursuing the daily trudge?  Then look in the mirror – are we the same?

Life is not meant to be like that.  We are made for life in abundance, life in all its fullness.  A great man once said “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

What does life in abundance mean?  Perhaps we should see what the man said.  When asked he answered: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.'”

It’s not so much what you do as how you live that brings life in abundance.  It’s not so much climbing the mountain or sailing the seas – although I recommend both – it’s about choosing to love, every moment of every day, even in the aisles in Asda.

It’s been said “Find out what makes you come alive, and go and do it.” If you are not alive today, you need to follow that advice.  Perhaps you feel you don’t have the energy to love at the moment, perhaps your work is just so draining that it deadens you.  If so then it is worth looking for a change.  Perhaps there’s an addiction that you need to break; it’s possible, you can break it!

But the key to coming alive is love; positive, hardworking, determined expending of ourselves for the benefit of others.

Does injustice make you angry?  Don’t just grumble, go and do something about it. Come alive fighting it.

Does poverty make you angry? Don’t just grumble, go and do something about it. Come alive fighting it.

Does child abuse make you angry? Don’t just grumble, go and do something about it. Come alive fighting it.

Does the sex trade make you angry? Don’t just grumble, go and do something about it. Come alive fighting it.

Does human trafficking make you angry? Don’t just grumble, go and do something about it. Come alive fighting it.

Does the hopeless plight of teenagers make you angry? Don’t just grumble, go and do something about it. Come alive fighting it.

The list goes on.

St. Irenaeus said that “Man Fully Alive is the Glory of God”

It is time to come alive.

 

Jimmy Saville OBE – tribute to the sex trade.

/ Minimalist Christian / 15 Comments

Britain is offended, and rightly so, by the behaviour of Jimmy Saville, and by the collusion of those close to him who knew of his salacious deeds and did nothing.

But rather than spending our energy on the past, on a witch hunt from 30 years ago, can’t we direct our anger towards stamping out the same thing that is happening today?

Saville wasn’t born a sex fiend, he was trained.  And who trained him?  The same people who are training the men of Britain today: the porn industry.

It starts innocuously with that great British institution – the Page 3 girl.  And it leads on to the soft porn mags, or more effectively the internet.  And it grows to the depravity of the sex traffickers and the brothels.

Are you willing to do anything to turn the tide?  Here are some simple steps:

Remember the words of Martin Luther King:

“The greatest sins of our time are committed not by the few who have destroyed, but by the vast majority who sat idly by”