Painting Fakes

I've just spent the afternoon setting up a Wordpress site to publish the songs I've been writing for my church over the last couple of years. Nothing too flash and still some more to be posted (as well as many not written yet) but feel free to check it out and use the songs if you like them.

I'm really enjoying Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes by Kenneth Bailey. Here's one of the little pieces in it that really struck me. I wrote a while ago about the message of the book of Ruth being that the law should be interpreted generously and inclusively, and that being about David's ancestors this story provided a model for the governing of Israel. Bailey draws attention to a similar story about David's descendent Joseph in Matthew 1:18-19. His (Jesus') mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because her husband was a righteous (or "just") man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. This was not just tact. The Old Testament punishment for a woman caught in adultery was stoning to death, and John 8:1-11 shows this was still practiced in the first century. Joseph, knowing that he's not the father of

I recently read Strength to Love , a collection of sermons by Martin Luther King . I was blown away by his eloquence, the coherence of his vision and by his passion. There are quotable quotes on every page. I'll give you a few to whet your appetite. God has two outstretched arms. One is strong enough to surround us with justice, and one is gentle enough to embrace us with grace. (from "A Tough Mind and a Tender heart") The saving of our world from pending doom will come, not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a non-comforming minority. (from "Transformed Non-conformist") Never must the church tire of reminding men that they have a moral responsibility to be intelligent. (from "Love in action") He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. (from "Loving your enemies") If an American is concerned only about his nation, he will not

Us Aussies are still a little dazed at the sudden replacement of our Prime Minister on June 24th. After a few weeks of low level rumours about a challenge to his leadership, it was announced on Wednesday and was all over by Thursday, with Kevin Rudd not even contesting the vote in the end as he realised he was a long way off having the numbers. The coup is unprecedented in that Rudd is still in his first term, was hugely popular up until the last 12 months, and hasn't been caught out in any sort of misconduct. His failure is purely political - his party just decided that they couldn't win the next election with him as leader. Our new PM, Julia Gillard, has immediately set about getting rid of the various issues standing between her and success. A lot of people have expressed admiration for Julia Gillard as both the first woman and the first redhead to become Australian Prime Minister, and at her apparently more personable, natural style of relating to people. Even when Rudd w

I've been listening (again) to one of my favourite songwriters, Richard Thompson, who is also one of the more famous Western adherants of Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam. This is one of my favourites, Outside of the Inside, from the 2003 album "The Old Kit Bag". Have a listen here . God never listened to Charlie Parker Charlie Parker lived in vain. Blasphemer, womaniser Let a needle numb his pain. Wash away his monkey music Damn his demons, damn his pain. What's the point of Albert Einstein? What do we need physics for? Heresy's his inspiration Corrupt and rotten to the core. Curse his devious mathematics, Curse his deadly atom war. Chorus There's a message on the wind Calling me to glory somewhere. There are signs to deep for the dumb Like perfume in the air. And when I get to heaven I won't realise that I'm there. Shakespeare, Isaac Newton, Small ideas for little boys. Adding to the senseless chatter, Adding to the ba

Fern Elsdon-Baker, science historian, educator and atheist, has written a book called The Selfish Genius: How Richard Dawkins Rewrote Darwin's Legacy . Here's a quote from near the end of the book. "Another aspect of the proselytising effect of advocacy is the need for serious debate about whether science should be promoted as atheism to the extent that Dawkins does. By labelling whole swathes of the population as anti-Darwinian, anti-enlightenment or anti-reason, what is Dawkins actually achieving?....as we begin to face up globally to some of the most serious challenges to our generation - among them loss of biodiversity, climate change and international terrorism - should we not be seeking reconciliation, and attempting to recognise our shared agenda in the face of issues that will affect us all?....Those on either side of the faith debate need to work together to dispel misinformation about science, and to challenge detrimental superstitions and misconceptions."

I've just finished reading Helen Keller's The Story of My Life . What's really interesting about this book is that it's not very interesting. Or to put it another way, the remarkable thing about this book is its existence, not its content. For those who don't know about Helen Keller , she was born in Alabama in 1880, the daughter of reasonably well-off landowning parents. When she was two an illness (probably either scarlet fever or meningitis) left her without either sight or hearing. Thanks to the efforts of a young live-in tutor called Anne Sullivan and support from quite a few prominent people including Alexander Graham Bell, Mark Twain and the owner of Standard Oil, she ended up becoming the first deaf and blind person to earn a university degree. She was a celebrity in her youth, vilified in mid-life for her commitment to socialism, and lionised as a cultural icon in her old age. The Story of My Life was and remains her most famous and most widely read bo