relationships

“Here, there be dragons”

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Centuries ago many people used to live their entire lives within a few miles of where they were born. Occasionally travellers would pass through with tales of far-away places which held wonders, treasures and maybe ‘dragons’. But few would dare cross the borders surrounding their small world of familiarity.

Dragon-Linda_BlackWin24_JanssonNowadays many people again live their entire lives within a relatively small environment. Maybe it is not physical, since modern transportation puts the whole world within reach, but I’m speaking of relationships, culture and spirituality.

Our sphere of friends is gathered through encounters where we like to pass our time: work, the sports club, the toddler group or school, the pub. We meet like-minded people in comfortable environments and put down roots there. Occasional travellers pass through with tales of other lifestyles: we get peeps at them on the TV reality shows, a foreigner might join our band, or a tragedy might move us out of our comfortable world. But “few dare cross the borders of their small world of familiarity”, and most will lobby to maintain their personal utopia.

We understand how the world works through what we have learned through personal experience, the media and common sense.  With our Western worldview glasses we know such things as: the economy has to be healthy, everyone should be educated and democracy is the only system that works. And of course we should all have rights, to health, happiness and freedom, particularly freedom of speech. We seldom stop to question the basis on which we have decided that all of these ‘truths’ are correct. When we hear tales of other cultures we are fearful that they will invade our territory and bring unimaginable horrors and suffering.

But perhaps we are most fearful of uncharted spiritual seas. England used to be a Christian nation, although deeply divided between Protestant and Catholic, but has largely come to believe in Scientism; the religion that science can explain everything. It can be comforting to think that science can tell us why Grandma died, and to hope that in the future cancer will be conquered. Occasionally we will hear tales of a spiritual realm, something that is not simply made of ‘stuff’, and strangers will speak of God and tell us that we have a ‘soul’. A frequent response is to ignore such ramblings, or to accept that such things may be ‘okay’ for them, but I’m quite happy in my own ideas thank you very much.

Secretly, if we are bold enough to ask ourselves, we will admit that our small-world outlook is largely driven by fear. We are afraid that we will lose our basis for life, even if it doesn’t seem to be working too well for us at the moment. We would love to befriend those in different circles, experience different cultures, and reach a satisfying understanding of who we are spiritually; we yearn to find our soul and our purpose.

It is the beginning of a new year: 2015. Two thousand and fifteen years after a special baby was born. Who as a man spoke strange tales of a spiritual realm and a God. A man whose words gave us a rock to build our lives on. A man who willingly allowed himself to be crucified to show that death could not hold him – or us. A man who Christians call God. Perhaps it is time to take our courage in our hands and explore this strange new land? Many have gone there before, but few have returned with tales of dragons! Instead, they come back with stories of hope and fulfilled purpose; the promised land. Shall we go?

War, religion, God, and why I write

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I remember a discussion soon after I became a Christian where I was asked “so what about all the other religions?”  My reply was that they were simply mistaken.  I think the remark was taken to be rather arrogant.

I read the news today. I see the conflict, anger and fear; fighting between Moslems of different sects.  I see forced imposition of religious dogma; conversion to another religion punishable by death.  We all know that this is not as it should be. And I am reminded of my reply.

Reason and evidence tells me there is a God, and my whole being tells me that love is our ultimate purpose.  And when I find that love underpins and is at the heart of Jesus teaching I begin to see how it all fits together; how we are meant to be.

If I were God and someone from another religion was praying to me, I would not ignore them because they think I have a different name, I would not condemn them because they don’t understand my intentions for them.  I would be saddened that they are misled, I would try to teach them, and I would restrain some of their actions, but I would still love them.

As a mere human trying to follow God’s purpose, I don’t hate the Muslims, or even the Westborough Baptists, but I believe they are misled and mistaken.  I hate what they do, and I want them to stop.  I want them to understand the truth, and find their real purpose.  I want that for everyone.

If we all really understood Christ’s teaching, if we really loved God with all our heart, and loved our neighbour as ourselves, if we really were ready to forgive others and restore broken relationships we know that the world would be a better place.

That is why I write.  That is why I follow Christ.  That is my purpose.

What is yours?

Time to ditch Jack Sparrow’s moral compass?

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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.

Scientific support for The Rainbow Economy

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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

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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/

A fresh understanding of Grace

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St Paul asked the rhetorical question “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace?”  He then went on to answer with complicated and metaphorical language about being buried with Christ through baptism.  But I read this just after reading a facebook post from someone I care about behaving in a way that frankly won’t bring them happiness, and is simply satisfying their lustful urges. Looking at how I felt puts a new and simpler perspective on the question.

Let’s take it as read that God is love, and that he loves each one of us deeply.  We also need to understand that sin harms us deeply.  It may satisfy an immediate urge, but it harms us.  In the same way that it saddens me to see those I love harming themselves, it must sadden God so much more to see us harming ourselves.  Yet God still loves us, and in the same way that I still care about the person above, he cares about us.  I will not reject that person, and God will not reject us.  But it saddens Him so much that he was prepared to see Jesus tortured and killed on the cross to try to get through to us.

So if St Paul’s language seems confusing, just put yourself in God’s place and imagine how you would feel seeing your beloved son or daughter self-harming.  You would long for them to give up their life of sin, and return to your loving arms.  If they wanted to make a fresh start,  you would do whatever it takes to wipe their slate clean.  And that is just what God has done for us.

That’s why we shouldn’t keep on sinning; it causes God more pain and sadness and it does us no good either.

Simple.

Mitochondrial donation – some concerns

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The UK government has decided to consult publicly on the introduction of regulations to allow mitochondrial donation.

I suspect that at the majority of people in the UK have no idea what mitochondrial donation is, what the risks and technical issues are, or what the ethical considerations might be. I wasn’t until very recently!

This short note attempts to give a very brief introduction to the concept and raise some considerations that might inform the discussion.  It is not an expert paper – I am not an expert, but it is an overview to prompt further thought and discussion by the majority of UK citizens, who are also not experts.  A source of information on the topic is “Novel techniques for the prevention of mitochondrial DNA disorders: an ethical review”.

What is Mitochondrial donation?

The majority of human DNA is contained in the cell nucleus, however some is contained in the mothers mitochondria – so called Mitochondrial DNA.  Mutations or abnormalities in mitochondrial DNA (as in all DNA) can lead to disorders in the developing offspring.  Since these disorders are due to the DNA, they are not curable.

“They are progressive, can be very seriously debilitating and disabling. They may also cause miscarriage and stillbirth, death in babies, children and young people, or severe symptoms which onset in adulthood. The symptoms and the age and severity at which they are experienced vary widely between patients, which can make diagnosis difficult. Mitochondrial disorders may affect one organ at a time – for example resulting in blindness or heart failure – or may affect several areas of the body at the same time. Mothers can pass on mitochondrial disorders without having experienced symptoms themselves, which in some cases may mean that they are not aware that they carry mutated mitochondrial DNA that can cause disorders in their children.”[i]

Mitochondria are separate ‘bags’ within a cell, and so can be separated and removed from a cell.  They can be transferred from cell to cell, and so in theory the mitochondria from a parent whose DNA is abnormal can be removed and then replaced with mitochondria from another person who has normal DNA.  The new cell then contains DNA from the female nucleus donor and the father, and a small proportion of DNA from the mitochondria donor.

As with all new technology, implementation is far more difficult than the theory.  However, experimenters believe they are making progress.  Around 30 children worldwide have been born using a technique whereby mitochondria from a donor are injected into the mother cell, providing an excess of mitochondria, in effect trying to dilute the faulty mitochondria.  These trials have indicated a higher than normal incidence of Turners Syndrome (which resulted in miscarriage and a termination), a lack of ovarian development at puberty and short stature.  It may be associated with problems with major organs and mild learning difficulties.

What are some of the risks?

What loving person cannot want to improve the life of another in the best way they can?  If I were a scientist researching mitochondrial diseases I would use all of my expertise to try to find solutions.  In my own job as a design engineer I am continually striving to improve our product, and I sometimes get immensely frustrated by the procedures and processes that are put in place to make sure that new developments are as risk free as possible.  New concepts that I think are very likely to work are often years in development and testing before being introduced into a machine.  But I accept the situation because of the consequences of something going wrong.  A similar situation must apply with Mitochondrial donation.

The amount of testing and refinement that is needed with a new technology depends on the impact if it goes wrong.  Let’s consider some of the impacts if mitochondrial donation were to go wrong.

  • Being genetic, the outcome of the genetic manipulation will be permanently in the gene pool of the descendants.  Our knowledge of how DNA works is still very limited.  Only a few years ago scientists labelled most of the human DNA as ‘junk’, but now controversial recent research is showing that what was previously written off as junk may be important in helping each cell become the type of cell that it needs to be.[ii]  There must be a risk that future generations will suffer unknown and unpredictable consequences of ‘unnatural’ DNA mixing.
  • We really don’t understand how DNA forms our developing body.  We know that a single DNA change can make the difference between a fruit fly having two or four wings, but we don’t know how that happens.  Humans comprise 50 trillion cells, yet our DNA string only contains 3 billion base pairs. That’s more than 10,000 cells per base pair.  We don’t know exactly how so few DNA base pairs can manufacture such a complex entity as a human, although applying engineering principles we can infer that the cell itself must be an intelligent component.[iii]  How will that cell respond to the modified mitochondrial DNA from a donor?  Would it be like running Microsoft software on an Apple computer?
  • The body has evolved to reject unviable embryos.  The trials mentioned above showed that this happens.  Might mitochondrial donation lead to an increase in miscarriages and terminations?  Would the stress and damage to the mother and couple exceed the risk of mitochondrial disease?
  • If mitochondrial donation techniques were to become widespread, but only effective for a proportion cases, what would be the consequence on those parents who still have ‘disabled’ children?  Would the emotional strain be even greater than today?  Would society shun or blame them for having disabled children?
  • We learnt above that often a mother will not know that she has a disorder.  For such parents mitochondrial donation will not be an option, unless there is a universal screening program.  What would be the social and emotional impacts of such a program?

Questioning our assumptions

These are of course only a few of the questions that need to be considered.  However, perhaps it is also important to consider the cultural assumptions that we might be unknowingly making when considering the issues.

A parent will always want the best for their children.  If one were to ask any couple, “would you like a healthy or unhealthy child” then I cannot imagine any couple opting for the latter. However, if you were to ask the parent of a disabled child, “would you rather have Julie or not have Julie” the responses would not be so clear-cut.  If you were to ask “would you rather have Julie but that Julie was not disabled” then the responses would probably lean towards the not disabled Julie.

Anyone who loves others would love to see them fully healthy, intelligent, happy, hard-working, fulfilled, loving and loved, friendly, etc. etc.  Whilst the attributes and character traits of an individual are interlinked, they are not directly and positively correlated.  Health doesn’t lead to happiness.  Intelligence doesn’t lead to being loving or loved.  So we must be wary of concluding that it would have been better if Julie had been born healthy.  She may be more loved, more fulfilled and happier being disabled than she would have been if she had been healthy.  Would Stephen Hawking have become the great physicist that he is if he had not been disabled?

We assume that a long life is better than a short life.  Is this correct?  How do older people think about this?  Are the years in our life more important than the life in our years?

Are we convinced that the end of this life is the end of everything?  If not, then why do we want to keep people from dying? Is it for their sake or ours?

What aspects of life are important, what we produce or the relationships we forge?

Is suffering always a bad thing?  What does evidence suggest?  Would South Africa have successfully transitioned from apartheid to democracy without Mandela suffering years of imprisonment?

In conclusion

This short post was prompted by the UK government’s intention to introduce regulations to allow mitochondrial donation.

We need to question that intention.  This is not an issue to approach lightly and quickly.  Consideration goes beyond the term of a single parliament, and beyond single countries.  I do not feel comfortable that our government, elected by only a small proportion of the population, seems to be intent on adopting a technology which could have severe consequences.

What do you think?

Kill your darlings

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A recent post by my wife:

Kill your darlings.

I’m worried!   Just hope I ‘add to the story’…

What’s it all mean?

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I unashamedly quote the following that was written perhaps 3000 years ago.  If you’re having a stressful time, perhaps at work, this puts it into perspective:

“Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”

What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes.  The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again.  The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles.  Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea.  Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.

 History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.  Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new. We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now.…….

So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God……

.... remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don’t wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well.  For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.

…taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Time to come alive!

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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.