The Power of the Sword

 In his recent work, 'Letter to the American Church", Eric Metaxas points out that the Christian community in Germany almost entirely missed out the warning signs in the 1930's regarding how National Socialism would take and abuse the levels of power to bring a process of control to completion. Abusing these means to bring every aspect of the national order, including the spiritual dimensions of life, into the sphere of direct control beneath an ideology currouption, sealing the culture in a cult of death, thus nothing was outside the sphere of their influence.

Metaxas notes that this was achievable due to 1: The social fracturing of the county caused by the war, 2: The Fusion that existed in the country between the secular powers and the influence these brought upon the structure of the church and 3:  The impoverished spiritual state of the German church itself, which had given so much away to secular approaches to the message and place of the message of Christianity. It is no wonder then that the church generally proved to be a bent force when facing the far more strident and advancing creed of the new social strident messages of the day.

This work, however, makes an even more vital observation in respect to the sorrowful state of the church in our times.

In an earlier section, Metaxas also touches upon the radical changes that commenced in the American church in the 1950's, when the state, which according to the American constitution, is supposed to be something entire separate to the church in the nation, begun to introduce policy which impacted directly upon what a minister was allowed to say and teach from his pulpit on Sunday's if he wished to remain in post. Here we see how the supposedly 'healthy' nature of 'democratic' sate influence has continue to grow and control the role of Christianity in a fashion that is tightly controlled and restricted for the last 60 years amidst Western society.

The depths and spans of such control became fully evident in 2020, when these states closed the churches entirely in respect to there normal functions, and since that period, the direct influence of what is deemed state dogma continues to feed directly into the regular nature of church life, meaning that further restrictions can be introduced when deemed necessary by the state.

This process of the use of the sword of state to curtail and steer church authority is of course not new. In his excellent study of the nature of the church in relation to this issue, The Subversion of Christianity, Jucques Ellul shows how such processes have been at work amidst the Christian community in an obvious and corruptive manner since the 4th century onwards, meaning that the Spiritual nature of the message and significance of the faith has so often become subverted to other political and economic ends, where the power of the sword of the state has become the primary focus and the crucial truth of the Gospel has become buried in the process of placing secular power and position first.

The same is so often the case today, especially in respect to the war Christian belief systems so often interpret present concerns or events through the lens of a secular requirement to see that certain 'powers' are defined as 'good' (godly) in what they say or do,  even what this means ignoring the actual need and suffering of other Christians who are effectively ignored in the manner that certain events are defined and understood through such partial analysis.

Perhaps the greatest tragedy in all of this, as Ellul and Metaxas both state, is the manner in which the church continually looses sight of its true message and role as a result of effectively siding with powers and ideas that leave the culture bereft of a vital spirituality which Christ brings to save a truly change this fallen world.

It has, no doubt, always been the case, and the kingdom comes in spite of such troubles, but it would be something if Christians at least woke up to the realty of this estate.

Excellence or Folly.

 "But in a great household, there are not only vessels of Gold and Silver, but of wood and clay - vessels for honour and dishonour". 2 Timothy 2:20.

Back in the heady days of my youth in the mid 1970's, whilst being at a boarding school in West Sussex, I had the opportunity to attend for a couple of summers the developing "canvas" of 'new' notions expressed at the Caple Bible weeks held in the grounds of what was then Elim Bible College. There, I  witness first hand the sprouting of the "renewal" movement which would become identified with the Restoration teachings of the likes of Ern Baxter,  Derick Prince (of the Fort Lauderdale Five) from America, and the likes of Bryn Jones, Arthur Wallis and Terry  Vergo from the UK as they brought "Restorationism" to the Charismatic Movement with a fresh wave of enthusiasm. 

Whilst I swam amongst these waters for a few years, I was never comfortable with the various spiritual emphases of the movement as a whole, especially as certain spiritual requirements came to the fore and the teaching took a far more dispensational and zionist stance, leaving those of us who asked why such things were right when they argued with scripture looking for another home. That lead me to seek a home for a time in the reformed wing of Christianity, but I soon discovered this to be just as moribund by extreme Calvinism and legalism as its Charismatic relation. This lead to my digging deep into church history to find those believers who were truly worth listening to both in the past (The Apostles, Irenaeus) in the Reformation (Martin Luther) and in our own age (C S Lewis) who sought to point correctly to Christ and the exclusiveness of His unique and entirely saving work.

Whilst my particular experiences may have been particular in some respects to myself, the general tenor of the last four decades of what has occurred amongst many church groups will be familiar to many. As the general "direction of travel" of all of this is known,  where it has lead - the "downgrade" as Spurgeon referred to it in the 19th century, has most certainly lead to a large 'going to seed' of the spiritual crop of our times. Many have become bewildered with the political nature of the direction of what was deemed 'godly' became squared to a very particular interpretation of the nature of Spiritual anointing amongst the social well being of the national population of a region of the Middle East, often to the entire expense of the rest of the global church and other considerations.

What this, in effect means, is the Gospel itself and the very work of God as Saviour becomes subservient to other, more supposedly immediate concerns and needs (in the news and in the 'presenting' nature of what is currently defined as 'spiritual'), leaving the church without its true voice and the world bereft of the vital call of the good news as a consequence. The violence of this estate, which has grown like a cancer over the last century, leaves Christianity buried at the very hour that the world so deeply needs the vital light it is meant to bring.

Service in this hour means raising a voice that will never prove popular as it calls us to refuse the easy road of perceived 'anointing' that others loudly proclaim, and walk the far harder pathway 'less travelled'  if we really want to bring actual worth and value to this generation. May Christ enable us to do so!

The Darkness of an eternal winter.

 Scripture speaks profoundly of the emptiness of the soul and the world without God, and we are about to experience that realm in a deluge of blackness spreading for our called 'leaders', as experienced this week in England -

So as we reach the end of some very candid exchanges in the Covid enquiry this week, what conclusions can we reach about where we are and where the new incoming bolicvies of the World Health Organisation and the UN are taking us next…

1. There is no recognition that the policies employed (especially the use of lockdowns and an experimental vaccine) were in any way incorrect, so they will be we employed again continually in the years ahead, and will be even more draconian than last time.

2. Those independent minded media groups and individual experts that sought to question these approaches - and were proved RIGHT by the findings to do so! - have been thoroughly criticised and marked as a trouble to be corrected/surpassed this week, so will clearly be even more 

3. The New On Line Safety Act is already being employed to curtail any opinions which are not mainstream. There is clearly going to be far more censorship on mainstream platforms in the months ahead, and with the WHO being given the authority to call for lockdowns anywhere they determine there to be a threat, never mind an actual problem, bringing with that severe restrictive methods upon anyone, the world is about to enter a new phase of authorities unseen in many places before.

2020 was the moment that the genuine freedoms of our country died, along with the established church giving way to total authorising, and we are about to begin to experience the full consequences of this on a massive level.

This is just the first real implementation, however - what is coming in the next 12-14 months as the full ramifications of A I implementation begin to bite into our society is going to be fare more horrendous as humanity becomes incarcerated by a new and far despotic manner of total submission to something without any sense of basic goodness than has been experienced in the moral social restraints of everyday life.

The days coming are going to be black.

In parts of the country already, growing numbers of people are already without the basic necessities of everyday life, and this is increasing each day.

Those who role us are involved in the most malevolent forms of evil when it comes to the genuine needs of the neighbours.

The Official cover reposonse has spread a blight of wickedness and evil amongst us, and that savage pall of savage darkness is about to become much, much thicker in all of our lives.

When these things unfold, dear Christian, look up, for your redemption is drawing near, not in the false hope of dispensationalism, but in His glorious coming to establish a new eternal creation as the Kingdom of Heaven renews creation into it's eternal state as the Home of Christ's reign forever.

In CHRIST Alone...

THE Message for today, and these troubled times.

God's Saving work in Christ! 

The Current Context. - where we must stand.

Where we start. -

“I mean that the heir - as long as being a child - is no better than a slave (though being the owner of everything. They are still under a ‘guardian-ship’ and being managed by the conditions set upon them by the owner (the Father).

In this manner, we also were as children, were managed by both the elementary principles of this present world (order) until fulness came to us in our being clothed in the work of God in His only Son, who redeems us from being under the law.

True liberty, then singularly belongs to those He has adopted who truly are His children, who have His spirit in their hearts (thereby know Him as their true Father) and are therefore no longer slaves to any of the former things which bound them, but heirs of the Son, and therefore heirs of God!”  (Galatians 4:1-7).

Notice here the condition of those who are NOT free in respect to the actual inheritance of God - they are like children, without any true awareness of what is meant to be theirs, and are therefore compared to slaves, because they are actually still without what is necessary to be inheriters.

At present, they are very far from the actual riches which God is desiring for them. Our own natures and even the law in effect prevent us from seeing what is truly provided and leave us stranded in a place far from where the unmerited work of grace wants us to be.

We must, then, see the Church for what it is - the only save harder, able vessel, to deliver us safely from our certain demise and calamity to the shores of the new creation. If we determine that any other method or message must be pursed to give us clarity and purpose, we will entirely miss the singular means of rescue that the Father provides through His only Son.

The work of God alone takes us to safety - a confidence and living must be within the confines of that care alone.

I doubt many Christians would have felt at home most evenings in the smoke-filled lounge of the Kilns in Oxford during the 1950s and early 60s, where the likes of two brothers world sit most evenings smoking as they discussed everything from the news to the arts and science, and how to view life through the lease of what had been established by a man who had come some 2,000 years earlier, but anyone who has seen the film Shadowlands will know in that very context, miracles of all manner occurred, and God established a work that continues to endure and thrive nearly a century on. In my recent visit to that same house, I quickly recognised the telling divide between what we so often view as ‘vital’ to our religious frameworks and the true and profoundly deep work of God amongst His people - something which endures and is enhanced by the storms and troubles, and leans that these are indeed so often the very means that God introduces to lead us deeper and further into the unfathom-lall depths of His un-exhastive Love.

The arm of flesh is not our ‘aid’ - our working well must derive from a deeper and richer source than our own derived beliefs or intentions - true righteousness is the fruit only the cross and the life which grows from this in Christ’s resurrection.

The means God chooses to build His work so often appears futile in the view of the world. Who would chose the means of a man and woman naked in a garden as the method by which one day the entire order would become populated with a race that will be viceroys to express genuine might and majesty of the eternal Almighty. Who would judge it good that these same persons be allowed to truly choose their path and by their error, be clothed in an unwarranted mercy by their maker, who would ensure that their offspring would be made complete by simply trusting in the depths of that same maker’s unfathomable goodness.

True virtue is not some mechanised scheme that we can calculate and assimilate in some robotic manner - it is union and communion in a living relationship with a person closer and richer than our very own blood and scales.

The world we inhabit is indeed one inhabited by darkness and corruption because of the fall, and yet, time and again we learn that it amidst this very calamity that God sees fit to make His particular mark of unmerited mercy, using the very means that have been so marred to establish what will endure forever, and thereby write large the truth that His great redemption envelops all things - not merely those that our division-ist schemes define as acceptable and approved.

What begins as we meet in worship around the word and the supper, permeates out from there into every sphere and aspect of life - from sweeping the floor, to deigning a masterpiece of art - every facet of every area of life is ‘sacred’ territory’ which the Lord desires to make stamped with the mark of His presence and splendour, and we as His ambassadors are provided to the world to see that this is so - we fall so woefully shoot when we deny the vital nature of this goal.

The creed of true faith takes root in our entire dependance and communion within a norther - he who marries Himself only to us by being our Lamb, our food our sustenance and sufficiency that entirely satisfies us.

The church cannot be a place which merely echos or reflects what a lost culture rants as being vital - it must always speak from a calmer, deeper source of rightness and good care for all that is genuinely value.

Worship both stems from and leads us to a vision of the Lord that is holier and greater than the blindness of this moment, bringing a radiance that is as transforming as the moment when the Lord unveiled to Job that His was were more profound than a men could ever truly contain or comprehend.

This is the Lord with whom we have to do, and our beings, communion, giving of worship, service and Joy are all bound into His being Himself amongst us, however extraordinary and overwhelming that proves to be. The error comes when we seek to confine such marvel to the poverty of our impoverished desires or ambitions and thereby fail to allow Gods magnificence to find its true expression.

God must never be confined to the thoughts and ways of angry sinners!

Ours must always be a faith informed and energised by the Jesus of Calvary and the empty tomb - the God who has torn the veil from heaven on down to the earth, and there, raised the dead. The people He assembles have only come from amidst the precious shed blood of Christ, and thereby, on that Holy ground alone, give true worth and sacrifice in response to His giving all. No other ground, no other estate is worthy or acceptable, so let us be people who forever confess and express only that which He has declared good, for nothing but judgement is found outside those courts of true righteousness.

The Widow to Heaven is open - the Dove has brought the first fruits of a renewed world to us - feed upon the rock, and find true health, dear ones, in His eternal table.

State of Things

 "A man planted a vineyard, dressing it with a fence and a place for the wine - press as well as a tower. Having so established the lot, he hired those who would work the lot to provide the results of the crop, and left for another district. When the time arrived for him to claim the due results of his investment, he sent one of his servants to collect these from the tenets, but instead of paying what was due, they took this servant and mistreated him, and sent him away empty handed" (Mark 12:1-4).

How do we take Jesus words here in the light of the current state of Christianity?

How would we apply them to the present?

THE ESTATE.

Condition 1 - The “immersed”

Entirely submersed by the prompts of the culture.  See no need pragmatically,  to be anything else than what the current culture requires of you. In effect, hoarding the actual calling we have, to produce fruit worthy of our calling, and adulterating this into something entirely self-serving. We become those who dress the vineyard only to aggrandise ourselves.

Condition 2 - The Partially aware.

Beginning to emerge - aware of at least some of what actually counts and beginning to be altered by that awareness.

Such life in a troubled state. They know more is required - that the cost may be high, now they must chose which direction they will take - who they will truly serve.

Condition 3 - Those made genuinely free by truth, who are in the midst of the fray.

Like those 'helpers' Christian met on the road in Pilgrim's Progress, they are commonly berated and abused by those who use the Lord's instruments only to ingratiate themselves or taint good means and ends.

The 'down curve' of the spiritual condition of the message and estate of the church was noted by C H Spurgeon in the the 'downgrade' controversy of the 1900's, but Martin Luther informed his associates that the rich, untainted strength and significance of the Gospel of justification would be lost 'within a generation' of its re-discovery, simply because men would arise quickly who would proclaim themselves of the same cloth as those who had re-discovered the truth, but in their aims and intentions, their essential message, would be very different to the vital truth He proclaimed concerning the work and means of Christ.

The consequences of these troubles became crucially apparent during the 17th century and the feeding of the West upon the nursing milk of the Enlightenment and its accompanying 'liberating' revolutions of human ascendance against the vital role of genuine Christ-centred truth, leading in its wake the bloody confusion that has come to dominate human existence for over a century.

The church has proved to be the hireling, either miss-managing the owners interests, or having no real means to supply to the Lord what is rightfully due when sent to provide and facilitate this, and the reason is simple. Since at least the middle of the 20th century (as noted in the work, 'Letter to the American Church'), the modern church has relented to laws and associated requirements that have effectively silenced his speaking to the wilder sections of the contemporary society, which has introduced such legislation as  the means to silence the voice of the faith amongst the world - to make faith merely a 'private' matter, with no capacity to impact upon the behaviour or thinking of the contemporary closure of the message which calls us to the vital reckoning before God.

The belief is that such an estate brings escape from the day of consequence (it does not), but what of those 'servants' who chose to live "passive" through this day, who in effect entirely fail in their true service and perhaps even seek to use such an estate purely for their own ends?

If the last few years have surely taught us anything, it is that such duplicitous living cannot continue, and we must detach ourselves from this, or all indeed will be lost for good.

Megam Basham

 A superb introduction to one of the most important Christian journalistic voices of the last few years. Watch, and enjoy.

What is the need of the hour?

 Unpacking the first half of Psalm 68 -

Verse 1:

The verse speaks of the arising of the Lord in such a way that His enemies are "scattered" (submerged into disarray). Blessings and Judgement come together in this vital movement.

Verse 2.

The power of God changes the state and nature of the situation entirely. Wickedness evaporates when God arises in this manner and inhabits the moment entirely, making it entirely His own. 

Verse 3.

So what is our role in this? We need to delight deeply in our triumphant King!

Verse 4.

The hour has come to raise the Lord up in our songs of delight in His great majesty and total reign over all current circumstances and events. Such an estate truly elevates us because it fixes us on what matters in the moment and thereby raises us for what truly counts.

Verse 5.

In this, God's truth and righteousness is established, affirmed and secures us in a stability as profound as a vital, enduring relationship treasured at the core of the most bonded and loving family.

Verse 6.

This rescues us from our exclusion - it brings us to our true place of meaning and significance. Our souls are thereby liberated from the severance from being devoid of our Father.

Verse 7.

Our God is coming to us.dwelling in His might amidst the desert (what comes from the source of His walking through such a wilderness).

Verse 8.

The refreshing rain of God and His breaking upon our world are what is needed to come and increase in this hour.

Verse 9.

And this is the wonder promised for the hour - amidst the dry season, when all is so parched, God will confirm His inheritance by sanding a deep and satisfying refreshing to those who have sought Him.

Verse 10.

Our retched poverty then, is amply covered and replaced by the wealth of the riches He is seeking to bestow upon us in such a time as this.

Verse 11.

Here, then, is a word of encouragement for our precious sisters - to not be afraid to be bold and speak up!

Verse 12.

The day approaches when our enemies will melt away like a vapour before the rising and light of the great morning star. All they thought belonged to them will become the wealth of the meek and gentle folk of God.

Verse 13.

Your calmness and rest in the Lord will be beautiful and adorn with a deep majesty bestowed by His hand.

Verse 14.

In that day, the earth will once more become covered by the sweet and gentle grace and beauty that fall from His hand from heaven to make all good.

(Please take time to look at and unpack the rich promises of the rest of the Psalm).

Un-crumpled

The 24th chapter of Matthew's gospel presents us with a truly "Rubicon" moment in the life and ministry of Christ.

The years of public ministry are closing, the dark days of Calvary are already casting their shadow, and His disciples are uncertain as to where circumstances are about to take them - do they have a future.

They look around for something rooted deep, and point to the enormous stones and foundation's of Jerusalem's magnificent temple - surely here, they think, is something un-movable, but the Lord quickly corrects them. These very stones are soon to be hurled aside like chaff - the certainties that appeared so set are entirely unable to face the cracking and perplexity which is approaching.

Where do we find ourselves in this present hour? We find all those 'means; which we have taken for granted breaking in the same fashion - nothing appears to be able to stand before the tsunami of human evil and depravity being unleashed amongst us this past week. It confirms that the depth of human wickedness is rooted in our dreadful condition and, when circumstances allow, it rises to overwhelm all deemed just and necessary for civil society.

As the world begins its decent into unprecedented darkness, Jesus tells His disciples to look deeper, beyond the troubles that are now coming upon their day that will then continue in numerous forms across what would become the days of the church age.

What is required of us at this moment as that we become un-crumpled, that we adhere to Christ's call to watch and pray - that we in effect allow these circumstances to work upon us in such a fashion that we raise our gaze and perspective to what these troubles ACTUALLY signal - a far greater age is close at hand, ready to break upon us and transform this benighted sorrow-soaked age into something imbued with a richness and majesty we can barley comprehend - it's magnificence is so profound and enduring.

When we find ourselves despised by this falling regime, we will lift our faces because the hour of our great redemption is about to fall, and heaven and earth will be forever radiated by the glory encountered in God's Slavic work in His beloved Son.

Raise the arms that hang down, find a new strength to walk and run in your lengths, and raise your voices in clear expression of truth and delight - Christ is at the very gates of this plagued city - and they are about to burst open at the majesty of His victory!

Scientia ab initiis?

What happens when humans loose their way - what becomes the reason debt of what defines us, of what consumes our time,

And why does this ‘miss the mark…?

C S Lewis notes in one place (The Weight of Glory), how the majority of people in the modern world who reflect upon the issue of expressing some manner of virtue in life will almost always convey the notion that ‘unselfishness’ should be the hight to reach for. He goes on to note how such high ends can actually blind the soul to a far deeper and greater need - to actually, significantly know and convey genuine love. The inherent danger here is that some virtue can so saturate our existence that we entirely loose sight of what we actually need to be inheriting and thereby sharing with the world so needy beyond us.

I watched a superb example of this in a new popular movie this month. 

The new Science Fiction film, The Creator:

https://youtu.be/ex3C1-5Dhb8?si=6skmWKmJ6eVA89y7

it seeks to ask some deep questions about where we are as a society which is about to become soaked in the exponential capacities of Artificial Intelligence.

It does so in some familiar terms (conflict between two world powers) whilst using a far more relatable story (the union of two people, and what this creates) as the centre of what unfolds.

The story takes a surprising turn when we learn the nature of the AI and its aims, and this adjusts the manner of the objective the intention of the principle protagonist.

This leads to the acceptance that what is indeed required (no doubt, in measure, of what is defined as ‘loving’ behaviour) to sacrifice on an enormous level to insure what has been deemed “good” will be achieved.

What is surprising about this tale is not only the defined purpose of AI itself (somewhat entirely different to our present situation in reality) but the manner in which a kind of ‘religion’ or theology is wrapped around the views at thereby motivation of the two lead characters. This expresses well exactly the danger that I touched on above - how easy the ‘religions’ of our time can “sample” what they believe to be a ‘good’ from elsewhere (i.e. Christianity), when in fact they have missed the true value of the faith by a vast galactic distance.

It comes, then, too this - is our life here now merely contained and concluded in our own inclinations to ‘better’ ideals, or is it actually com-mated in the exhaustive intentions, coming and actions of another?

Christ, indeed, must become all for genuine, unchanging love to become evident here. The Creator gets one thing right - genuine comprehensive salvation must come from Outside of us!

The 'Ought' and the "Can' (Real progress).

 Utter progress in faith - where it actually comes from and takes place with the guys.

THE Issue

 So, what really is at the heart of the present 'big media' story in the UK? Is it the thinks we're being told to focus upon, or is there a bigger MORE VITAL story to be told here?

Glen does a great job here in asking the bigger questions regarding this matter, and what really needs to come first.

THE REVELING

Great Posting from the guys this week. Sit back, tune-in and just soak up the splendour of Gods astounding grace.

So, where are we....?

"There is no health within us".

If you were to ask a good historian where the fundamental "break" came between the 'modern' world (the general social and philosophical attitudes embraced and employed today), they would point you to the vast divide caused by the First World War and how the world entirely changed forever at that point. If you were to ask an honest scientist where the problem exists today, you would get an answer in respect to the unavoidable trouble facing the race and the planet along these kind of lines.

Back in the 1970's, Scientist and writer Issac Asimov stated in an interview that if the US failed to continue to develop its space program to the point where by the 90s there were bases on the Moon and Mars and humanity was exploiting the asteroid field for resources, the entire venture would prove for naught. Well, as Weinstein notes in the above video, modern physics has gone down a dark rabid hole for the last four decades, and this has meant that none of what needs to be addressed has been, so in the natural sense, science has in effect shoot the race in the head, and having done so, cannot recover the essential nature of what's necessary.

Anyone who doubts this analysis just needs to take a good, hard look at the data of how, for example, the population of the world has been 'assisted' by the so-called medical response to what was almost certainly a man-made virus over the last three years. The reality is that there was a highly effective medical means of dealing with this available before the route taken was employed, and often imposed, upon us - that story will be told one day when what happened in parts of the globe without access to the MRNA materials becomes clear.

Christianity is the solution to both the undoing of the evil found amongst us and to the lies that pervade our society, but Christians must take up their calling and speak the truth in love, even if it proves painful to do so. That is the call of the hour.

L I E S

 "Be yourself mindful of this - your adversary the Devil is looking, prowling for those he hates, seeking to devour them! Resistance is imperative! Sufferance of this manner is common for the Christian, but such suffering when endured well will bring genuine refreshment in Gods good grace and confirm your faith" 1 Peter 7:11.

So yesterday, I was listening to a discussion on a Christian podcast concerning the value of the Biblical doctrine of Creation, and how this plays such an important role in how we seek to unpack and live our lives here, because it is the fact that the world that is here has been designed  to open our eyes to its Creator which should be behind every aspect of life.

Helpful then, when suddenly, the two Christians talking decide to inform us just how dangerous it was in recent times (from 2020) for their follow believers to 'go against the science' in respect to their response to recent events.

There's no elaboration of this statement, so I presume they are raising a warning against people who questioned the mainstream response to the 2020 crisis (the 'science').

This is tragic, and needs to remind us just how much of the church is still choosing to conform to directives and mandates that are entirely contrary from authorities to the clear Apostolic requirements regarding our responsibilities to "BE" church whatever the external circumstances - free in Christ.

Enough material concerning the entire failure of the authorities to actually protect people has been accumulator in the last 18 months to show the response was evil, and Christianity must now show this clearly in the manner it operates and goes forward. he time for such vile social compromise is well expired! Time for the church to show the Devil the door and allow Christ is full reign over us, whatever suffering this may bring!

The Credit thing

 Well worth a listen. Start the day well.

My condition

After successful surgery, I returned home (!), so will hopefully spend around the next 4-5 weeks recuperating. I am hoping that will allow me to return to work, at least for a period.

I will seek to write more again as my skills become more pronounced, I hope, in the days to come.

In His care and mercies.

Sound of Freedom

Now on international everywhere.

If there's one film you should support this year, it's this one.

Simply one of the most powerful I have seen in my life, and what it states about what is going on in this moment and what is needed amidst our entire race, if you can hear it, resonates so deep.

See it at the cinema as a shared experience with others whilst you can.

The Present Situation.

 Dear Readers.

Short of a major miraculous change in my condition in the next few days, I will be going into hospital in a few days for radical surgery to remove a growth from decide my brain. The outcome of this is unsure and may still only leave me with my current quality of life for a few more months or it may result in extending this two another year or possibly longer. I will know more about that within a few days, but I will be in hospital after the surgery for something like 7-days to prevent infection.

I will seek to post a further update here once I am able.

Your prayers are frilly appreciated.

My current condition.

Hi apologies I currently  not wrong much due to evens this summer. which have impacted directly upon by mental health and abilities.

Around two months ago a view noisy group of birds decided broke.to take up residence in the woods behind by estate resulting in two months of gelling screaming especially especially between 2 and 4 inf the mornings. The is resulted in two moths of entirely blocked wind.

The impact effect of this on my mental vacillates as been huge. I’m a having real trout troubles with reading and wiring.

I’m hoping this is only temper and well research one my require sleep patterns are required, bur its hard to live when so much of life revolve aways this, I’d failure your prayers.

A local power surge two months recorded in sixteen social properties on my estate loosing their boilers so I have had now hot water water for healing. Its looks like my insurance will by resolved this week saw so pen-fully we can get some those thing done soon.

Howard,

Iis nope has taken over to write. Thats hat how bad things are right tow. I also discover a spot a hemp this tweaked when I can sleeve without two noise so I am humming I can renew my natural sleep batters in the weeks head and thaw feel away meant abilities to renew.

The geed news is that I’ve been apple to work through all of the and a have my usually leave coming up in 5 weeks, so 3 woks above.

Why we musk keep using cash

 Why is matters https://youtu.be/SUartZqwXnE

Getting it all in perspective,

 A superb presentation by a man who really does have a fresh perspective on where we are and why that matters.

Enjoy and focus on what is really good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbhNY8_IG9k&t=3566s

Unceasing Strength

 "They will be called oaks of righteousness - planeted by the most high, to express His unceasing glory. They will build up the ancient places, raise up what has become devastated causing this to be renewed - the defamation of many generations will be swept away".  Isaiah 61:2-4).

The messages good work to unprocessed is not only that they shall be rescued from their trial, but that full and unceasing redemption will come in the fact that all that has been repressed and devastated from the evil of oppression will be full restored.

We see this first expression of this in the promise of our physical resurrection. Death will not have the last work over us - the very natural powers which currently appear to dominate everything are themselves subject to a far greater, everlasting authority.

Our spiritual renewal now leads to our becoming clothed in a flesh that is immortal - but that is but the opening line of the glorious plan that God has for His creation.

In Romans 8 the Apostle proclaims that all of creation is to share in this splendour - to be renewed to share in the life that flows from our extraordinary saviour. All that was made with the intent to truly express the marvel and unfathomable richness of God's extraordinary love and joy will indeed do so in a manner that will take eternity to hold.

That is our hope, and evident in the appearing of Jesus Christ.

The Wrong Olympus

 So, what does this year's serious biography cinematic event say about the days in which we live?

Well, it tells us why all the 'prophets' of doom regarding the end of the world are looking in all the wrong places for the cause of a demise. It isn't because we merely need to tweak our life styles of all embrace that latest expression of yoke culture. Something fare more pernicious is at play, and our living in an atomic moment is simply a fundamental expression of this fatal condition.

To come to the film itself...

So Nolan's "Modern Prometheus" tale of Oppenheimer is told between two, oh so telling scenes involving another vital player on the stage of modern physics, and the conversation at the centre of these scenes - as the conclusion of the film implies - is so much larger than what was done at Los Alamos. This theme is repeated in a brief, vial meeting with Bohr around to thirds of the way through the movie, reminding us that the vital structure for this 'new' atomic world was very much born in the old world so fertile for the evil of nazism and eugenics which itself had been born out of the misery of mechanised warfare unleashed in the trenches of world war one as a result of the ideology that spawned from the enlightenment that killed the true health of the West. 

That is our inheritance. That is why our world is dying.This horrifying tale reminds afresh of just how deep the present pit is that modern man has thrown his world into in respect to severing us from what we should be - children of our caring and gracious God, who, thankfully, is able to reach down even into the lowest depths of this pit to make us free in the redeeming blood of His only Son - the one true hope for this broken world.

Worth your time.

 I want to address your attention to something really worth your time today.

A few recent thoughts, however, I'd like to share before taking you there.

Most of us are no doubt familiar with the Apostle’s warning to Timothy how in the last times, the very nature of what would be manifest amongst people  - the very expression of the human condition would clearly become even more disrupted and distorted than it had been in prior periods and seasons of evil.

Paul speaks of this as being a particularly difficult time because even people’s natural (normal) affection for each other will fade and be replaced with a state of explicit selfishness expressed in the pursuit of purely material wealth and well-being;  a brash, savage attitude towards what should actually genuinely define life - a perpetual existence, in other words, that becomes more and more a silencing of the truth which enriches us in favour of what leaves us devoid of any true virtue and love.

The route into this nightmare is clearly being expressed all around us today -

go with the flow, play the game your being instructed to play and don't ask any questions, not only regarding those calling the shoots, but of yourself - just fall in line, because yes, why you are being manipulated, it's done in such a way that it "does you good"... at least until it's too late to get out of the web.

Applying this approach of course has vast consequences for everyone - it bends and distorts the fabric of whats true until its so warped we cannot see it any longer.

We're either dying in the worse sense or being saved in spite of ourselves - those are actually the only real options.The present 'culture' is all about the first of these.

So, what is at the centre of us, of all - that makes or brakes?

Liberty which is external and internal is what's required if we are to see a conclusion to all tyranny - so is that where our journey now is taking us?

A wicked king - a foolish life - seeks to build treasure cities in this moment whilst it oppresses any who denies its folly.

I say all of this to invite you to sit and listen to wisdom that cracks and yet rescues the world, and us along with it, if we have ears that can lead us to wisdom.

So take time to listen, and understand the wonders that our true Creator and Deliverer has wrought amongst our world: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEASnFvLxhU&t=3410s

Part one of a truly series on the Book of Exodus.

And there it is...

The very popular Joe Rogan podcast came up trumps again this week, when he invited Steven Myer to come on the show and discuss the subject of Intelligent Design in the universe. It was a fascinating discussion, so here are some of the key moments for you to enjoy:

Clip 1. What the images from the James Webb telescope are actually telling us about our universe.

Clip 2. Finding God in the universe.

Clip 3. Marrying our being here to the greater reality in which we live.

Enjoy!

 

Why this counts...

Why the movie that’s making bigger box office than I Jones matters and why the main stream media don’t want you talking about it…

https://youtu.be/bXWJkIAoC7M

The Demeaning

"It was for freedom that God has made you free".

Paul to the Galatians.

How distressing it is when you encounter someone who is choosing, of their own volition, to take steps that results in them becoming so much less then they should be - to cripple themselves in a fashion that holds them back from, yes, engaging with life in a way which may require a level of risk and challenge, which could launch them into a much richer place of truth and health than they had previously known.

This world is saturated with ideologies and cull de sac approaches that so readily impression us . Paul himself (the writer of the verse above) had once been so caged by his religious convictions. As a consequence, he judged his view to be superior (the best that could be held), and this superiority spurred him to shed blood, justified by his misplaced convictions concerning truth. Only a full-scale divine intervention broke his total bondage to such bleak pride.

Sometimes, of course, the chords which grip us just as tightly appear far more secular and mundane, but are just as deadly in their consequences. A young man, for example, is given an opportunity to employ his abilities in a role so he can begin to extend his skills. He chooses instead to rest back, not applying himself to the opportunity. What will those who have provided such an opening make of this? How long will it be before such an attitude results in loosing all that has been gained. Such a fool finds themselves quickly loosing what they had been provided as a means to so much more.

Of course, the road block can be so often seem to be something even more necessary to us than mere laxity - we might even view it as something truly benevolent.

Jesus met those for whom their wealth, or family, or some other "imperative" held them back from taking the necessary steps that were key to obtaining life which would allow them to become genuinely rich. When our presumed "obligations" enable nothing but our stumbling into a prison of missing the divine intention for our days here, then we truly become lost. The cares of now are no more than deadly traps when they remove our gaze from what is truly to be gained - a liberty which makes all that was purposed and intended by our Maker (aiding something spread out before us to be obtained) - whatever troubles must be faced to truly inhabit such wealth.

The Apostles were wealthier in chains in prison than the materially richest man who has ever lived, because they owned a freedom that will never cease and cannot be taken away. Will that same anchor hold us in the days that are to come?

T h e - C o n v e r s a t I o n

 Sometimes, a moment comes along in social media that is worth our attention. This conversation is certainly such a moment.Take a look.

Serious Business

 If you were to ask a group of thirty odd randomly people what is Christianity all about, I seriously doubt any of them would give as their answer knowing the deepest forms of joy.

Jesus informed His disciples that He taught them what He did so that their joy may be truly complete.

C S Lewis noted that our becoming truly rooted in this particular gift, however, is the true, profound business of heaven - but keeping to the place where this is vitally true isn't a easy thing. Recall the story of Mary and Marta and Lazarus. When death falls upon their lives, the narrative informs us that Jesus deliberately delayed comping to them until that death had reached its full conclusion, putting Lazarus in the grave for several days. Not a situation any of us would in any way view as the harbinger of unbound joy. Heavenly joy, however, is something that vastly exceeds the bounds of our own current longings and expectations.

What follows, as Lazarus is freed from physical death, is a clear realisation that with God, the putting aside of our mortal bodies is merely a transition to the place where we reside until what was merely mortal is clothed with the flesh of immortality - the implementation of a restored creation that never fades or wares out.

We are creates created filled with desires, and the truth is that God wants us to delight in His investing of us in this fashion in our fellowship with Him so that He can bring these longings to their true and fullest fruition within His creative work (Psalm 37:4). This involves shaping us and the world around us in such a fashion that even through the deepest times of trouble and pain, the fruit that is produced from this will be something which eternally endures because it is endowed with an everlasting virtue of genuine and unfading joy which will come to mark us as creatures enterally freed by His astonishing love and righteousness.

Eternity will be the realm where those spenders we have barely begun to grasp and comprehend are given their fullest, most enduring and truly enriching expression, because there our joy will be eternally full, as it flows and returns to the makes, saviour and maintainer of our being - the dear Lord Jesus.

 

Comprehending the Brightness

 "Can you know the ordinances of the heavens - establish their rule on the earth?". Job 38:33.

I recently partook in a refreshing walk amidst the stunning scenery of Dartmoor. About half way through this, my friend and I came upon the enigmatic zone of two straight lines of standing stones. Stretching out for a good length, probably around half a mile, there were placed there because of the stunning spread of the sky above. In this spot, on a clear night, it would have been easy to view an extraordinary disc of the heavens. It's perhaps no surprise then that the other ancient feature of this landscape were marker stones that identified places of burial. Whatever the spiritual aspects of these people's lives, they clearly felt a very deep sense of connection to the majesty of the heavens. The vast splendour of what was "sung" into the world by such a breath-taking expression spoke of an unceasing magnificence in their lives.

I touch on all this because recently writer David Beddiel published a reflection in which he sought to argue that the reason that the notion of God is so buried in our lexicon of vital ideas is because of our shared fear of death. Whilst I don't doubt that this indeed often troubles us and it can no doubt be an imperative cause for wanting a way out, I think the far more fundamental reason for thinking on such things is the manner of sense of connection that inspired the thousands of standing stones across our world, erected as people  who allowed the grandeur above their heads to resound so deeply in their souls.

The magnitude of what was encountered "spoke".

In our present times, such considerations in our lives have become disturbingly rare. Perhaps a moment of astonishment in the birth of a child, or when something entirely uncanny encroaches.

The 'mystery' of the latest on-line game or other entertainment, which seem, at least initially, to beckon us into a realm of unceasing welcome and revelry, prove to be far more satisfying than the often arduous demands of everyday life.

I recall a documentary some years ago which told of how some children raised in modern cities have never visited the coast or even seen a night sky without the every-present haze of the continual street lighting - never, in truth, been exposed to the wider realities around them.

Is this why some modern social commentators can feel so comfortable arguing that there is 'zero' that is miraculous about the conception of a baby (it's merely biology) or that there is nothing extraordinary behind our being here.

We tend, like gamers or confined creatures in a matrix, to buy-in to the notion that "science" gives us a reason (or at least, an excuse) not to reflect further - to see the kind of wonder our ancestors perpetually knew, but this is our profound mistake.

The world is still just as extraordinary, in truth, in so very many ways, and good science actually opens us to the truth that what is genuinely astonishing is still there for comprehension to encounter.

The little we actually know shouldn't incarcerate us, prevent us, or limit us to the life that foolishly concludes that it's all merely irrelevant and accidental.

Eternity resonates in our minds and hearts when we contemplate the vastness before us not as random stuff, but as the magnificent creation of a master artists, and that we have a role within the vast scope of His work. Molecules and Atoms were formed in such a way to bring you and I into being in our uniqueness - think on that. It all has place and purpose, so where will the ramifications of that astonishing truth take you today?

The Missing Piece

 "They dress the wounds of the people in a fashion that states that the wounds are not truly serious. They bring no peace"  Jeremiah 6"14.

So, yesterday, I watched a fascinating and deeply troubling speech given by Robert Kennedy on the modern history of American foreign policy and the impact this has had upon the modern world. It's striking for a number of key reasons, but it spoke again to the trouble we all so clearly face at the core of all our current woes - what happens when we seek to apply the wrong solution to a problem and what follows as a result.

Back in 2020 here in the UK, when we faced a new trouble in the form of a pandemic, the UK government chose not to look to God for aid, but to place it's confidence in the recommendations of what was defined as science, which was to be implimented and rolled out to every person in the country by the means of the state 'church' - the National Health Service. Government mandates made it essential that everyone comply with the new requirements, from not going anywhere (except for essentials), to wearing masks to taking numerous injections of the materials that were supposed to protect or cure you from the virus.

This is always how religion seeks to resolve a human crisis - follow the rules, do what you're told, and you will be defined as 'good' by those around you. It doesn't solve any of the inherent problems - it doesn't take them away - it just makes everyone the 'property' of a particular system, and from then on, they continue to conform to whatever nonsense is given for them to follow.

Jesus spoke of such evil as leaving us as people without anyone who truly cared for us - as those bereft of true and lasting hope. The only true remedy is when truth comes in such a fashion that it truly makes us free to comprehend the truth about ourselves and our world, so we can see the lies for exactly what they are.

The religion of the day is 'sciencism' - not empirical, valid science, but the hocus pocus that the likes of Neil Ferguson and co can manufacture out of thin air that then becomes the basis for the actions of an entire company of people. This is no different to the travelling snake oil salesman that tells you he has a remedy to cure your ills, when all he's interested in is fleecing you!

Jesus faces the charlatans of His day and says away with them - don't listen to their lies. There is only one truth and that will truly make you free.

The same is true in this hour as our world enters a despicable day of darkness - do not believe the lies, but rejoice in the truth, for the day is fast approaching when that truth alone will endure forever!

Getting into what's good.

 So, this week, I came across a You Tube channel that is really worth some interest.

It's called 'Strange Theology' because, whilst it seeks to discuss some very apt theological themes and subjects, it's doing so in correspondence with current discussions on issues that people are talking about.

Have a look at this video put up this week to give you an idea. There's a growing number of presentations of this kind on intriguing subjects, so see what you think.

The Adorning.

 "Only the unshackled will remain". C S Lewis The Great Divorce.

The 'magic trick' (great illusion) of our time is that "rationalism", as now defined, provides the singular means (dialectic) to total wisdom - the understanding of things as they really are (purely materialistic), thereby facilitating our 'ascension' from the phantoms of the need for God, or heaven or any required redemption.

This is the religion of the day, and all action must be taken to advance this - onward to the desired utopia!

The priest behind the curtain of this delusion is the shaman of atheistic belief (who shares far more with the likes of Marx or the Ayrian mystics than they would care to admit - the only reality is the material).

The enchantments of the cultic soothsayer is the language which converts, conditions and conjols. Such manipulation is continuously broadcast to muddle and mute free thinking - to disrupt and prevent true liberty which can only be evidenced by providing the necessary good order of what we actually are meant to inhabit.

The call is continuously to accept the new synthesis, to deny what is of eternal meaning and value.

The problem, of course, is the 'closed order' such beliefs affirm is constantly interrupted by something higher than the mundane. As Jordan Peterson discusses here, modern "enlightenment" only works when we choose to tune out the deep reality that is at work amongst us.

When we recognise the limits of the 'fashion of the day', we quickly long to be seeking to be arrayed in something far more substantial and enduring, and that allows us to travel to the far more fulfilling realm where what what we are engaging is eternal and vital - both the immediate and the etherial are brought close and together as creation and redemption marry in the revelation of the eternal Father who sustains and completes what is His handiwork.

The agony of the present is the poison of the lie it provides. Atheists caricature Christianity as a 'cult of human sacrifice' because of the unique work of Jesus whilst they perpetually offering up the current generation to death via the dogmas of the age (abortion is merely 'healthy care', nothing else, and mutilation the minds and bodies of children because they must be allowed to be re-defined sexually to be entirely healthy). Evil masquerades behind a presumed 'good' to grotesquely conjure a world drunk on selfish, destructive ends.

The true health is something so much deeper, richer and enduring.

Come to the place where the honey runs, and the sweet goodness never ends!

Stepping Out

 "What if I knew I couldn't loose this time".

Cages - We The Kingdom.

"Now, when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your head, because your redemption is drawing close".  Jesus - Luke 21:28.

It's been a brutal week.

There's been the news that A I is rushing forward at what appears to be increasing speed, and the cultural ramifications of where this may go are chilling to say the least (take a look here at one possible track that may arise soon).

Then the middle of the week brought the news via the Wall Street Journal that the Instagram network has been furnishing one of the biggest pedophile networks in the world, almost certainly behind the trafficking of thousands of children.

This was followed by the news that The World Health Organisation is about to establish a monitoring system via iPhone technology devised by the EU during the pandemic which will allow them to restrict global movement of anyone who is not sufficiently vaccinated accoutring to their records with the failed mRNA materials employed during the Covid outbreak. Just how pernicious this program is can be appreciated when we unpack the latest scientific data on the development of the man-made virus itself, as shown here.

So, with all this in mind, look afresh at Jesus' words to His disciples in respect to the days which were about to open up in front of them. They were about to face an empire that would hate them for their testimony to what happened but Jesus tells them the solution is to look beyond all of that - to be truly in tune to what happens, and what really counts, asking for the strength to walk through it all, because He has promised to be with them.

This world is going to stand before the King, and what makes us ready for that moment is what has already been done by the King, so look above the waves - see the grace that pours down upon us because of the Cross and the empty tomb.

We're never ready for what life breaks upon us - whatever the challenge may be. Some days we just collapse under the weight of it, but the GOOD NEWS is, You're on your way home! Underneath all these troubles, there are everlasting arms, and they will carry you to that place where war will end and troubles will be purified into precious treasures.

The answer to right now isn't panic or over confidence in what we can achieve - it's to look into the amazing provision of Jesus - that's what will keep us going, even when we fail. His all sufficient work at Calvary is what will hold us in our troubled times today and in our final breath - it will take us home.

Beyond our woes, or worries, there is a well that never runs dry, and table always provisioned with over abundant goodness.

The future is set, and it's entirely defined for us by an unfathomable Lord of mercy.

So, let the world froth with all its folly.

Jesus is on the throne of grace, and He will bring us to the splendour of His reign.

You are not up to the challenge - none of us actually are.

The one who was is YOUR SAVIOUR!

He is on the throne, and HE RIGHNS - FOREVER MORE!

That is the true source of our peace and our joy.

Jesus is Lord.

Respite

 "Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her, and there I will giver her a vineyard. The Valley of Achor, is a door of hope. And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth. And in that day says, the Lord, you shall me your husband, and I will make you lye down in safety, and I will betroth you to me for ever... I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice and in steadfast love, and in my mercy, I will betroth you to me in my faithfulness... And you shall know the Lord".  

The Valley of Achor by A Door of Hope.

So, yesterday, after a very hectic work day on Thursday, I managed to grab a lunch break and head out for a short walk down to the city's barbican, which was swimming in people out enjoying the good weather and each others company amidst the pleasant surroundings. I walked around amongst this for a short time, but then found what I was looking for - a small corner where two large horse chestnut trees provided a gorgeously calm and refreshing spot where I could step out of the heat and fully appreciate the lustre of the numerous flower arrangements near by and the voluptuous feel of the calming breeze for a few moments before heading back to the office.

The words of the Psalmist regarding finding himself in such restoring places comes easily to mind in such a moment, and I'm reminded that amongst often harried or demanding conditions, it's these moments that are provided to 'speak tenderly' that however troubling the times, the Lord who has come to dwell with us is the one who can cause the very aridness of the most demanding realms to be transformed into a refuge bursting with beauty and refreshment, purely because He delights in showing His goodness to us.

The days are indeed fraught with the foolishness of men - their empty wars and broken promises littler the barren realms they make everywhere, but the Lord is so good, and wants us to look afresh as His unceasing care in all these places - where men find nothing in themselves but empty ruin, God comes and renews through the precious life that He so often provides, and we find our souls enlivened afresh by the wealth of love that He showers upon us.

May these days allow us to look with such a gaze afresh, and see the beloved who sands us such care so entirely!

A true reckoning

 One of the most telling things that rings so true about the Gospels of the New Testament is the way in which they narrate the various characteristics of the people who followed Jesus most closely.

They were ordinary people who were wrestling with the impact of the unmistakable work of God amongst them, and it is that which allows us to draw so closely to the 'taste and tone' of what Jesus conveys as He brings heaven amongst them.

One of the key lessons to learn from this manner of unpacking the good news is in respect to the true nature what's good - what actually amounts to holiness.

In Mark 7, Jesus sits to eat with His disciples after a typical day amidst the heat and the dust ministering to so many... and the religious folk present are mortified.

There was no ceremonial washing, not lengthy actions of purification; the disciples just reclined at the table and tucked in, enjoying the food and each other's company, in a state viewed as entirely impure to some others present.

They were not only unwashed - they were unsanctified, unworthy, in effect, to participate without purifying themselves.

Surely, they reasoned, Jesus, a rabbi and a follower of God would have no part of this outrage. The requirements of "the law", they ranted, must be adhered to!

Before we unpack what happens next, how do we evaluate such obviously earthy behaviour? Is it acceptable, or troublesome to us? How would we respond to such men as these, given their cultures taboos? Do we see ourselves in their enjoyment of this moment, or, are we like those present who were standing in judgement of such obscenity?

Religion cannot abide something so unhindered by what it deems essential to be godly. The adherents of this case express their shock to Jesus - why would something so 'unclean' be allowed amongst his closest group? Surely, this must be admonished and ended quickly in the most stringent manner!

Notice what Jesus says in response to their cries of disgust.

There is a realm of difference between those who 'play' at being godly, and those that are (the reference He draws from Isaiah is telling them just this).

What God commands, and what they couldn't begin to comprehend, was something far more costly and total than they could ever achieve. The disciples of Jesus knew they were just straightforward men, fallen and deep in need, which is why they were with Jesus.  Religiosity merely hides such truth behind a veneer of arrogant deceit (that we can comply to our own definition of goodness and that will suffice). The true evil of this is that it rises in us because we are afraid to partake of what God is really offering, and think our side-stepping can provide an alternative, acceptable to Him whilst stroking our own egos.

So, what are we to do? What, as Christians today, is required of us?

In this superb little presentation, Chad Bird lays it out beautifully. Enjoy.

Troubling the Waters

"There must be someway out of here" 

All along the Watchtower.

In a recent interview on the nature of the troubles currently whirling through our society, Atheist and academic Peter Boghossian informed the Spectator that one of the key reasons that we have such dreadful ideology at work everywhere right now is the impact of New Atheism on our times. It has been a movement, he notes (around the 43 minute mark), which has demolished confidence in faith systems, especially here in the west in Christianity, and replaced it with a gaping hole which has been filled with the utter nightmare we now face of totalitarian identity movements and the abyss this brings with it.

Whilst the likes of Sam Harris revel in the stupidity of this, others are beginning to seriously ask what can be done to rectify the horror. Is there any solution to an age falling to a morass of meaninglessness?

I also came across this superb piece today which shows how someone who was a third generation atheist came to genuine and life changing faith in God - it really hits the spot :)

Enjoy!