Wednesday 27 February 2013

Love me, love my dog!



The test of a good society is that the great majority are engaged in the basic arts, and only a few in the arts of luxury. When large numbers are engaged in producing luxuries for the rich, that society has become corrupt.
St John Chrysostom

Sunday 10 February 2013

The King and Us


One of the stories that has come out of these islands this week has been the finding of the remains of Richard the Third under a car park in Leicester. One wag claims Richard 3 now owes three and a half million pounds in parking fees. 

The monarchy no longer have the same power in Europe or elsewhere. Democratic governments we now claim are our strongholds and freedom a sort of totem. However, what happens when the majority are wrong? Moses came down from the mountain to find God’s people in revolt demanding gods not God. 
On the radio this morning I heard of a Lutheran church in Denmark who claim to be happy with the decision, presumably in Denmark ( it was in the early hours and I only heard the broadcast once ) to have same sex marriages. The reason for their contentment was that the congregation were agreed they were OK and that they the congregation were moving in the same direction as the citizenry of Denmark. 
People do have to make decisions and the Byzantine method of opening a page at random in scripture and finding what the verse says seems ludicrous to us now. 
However, the idea of making our decisions to be in line with the people as Aaron did seems equally madcap. Poor old Aaron was at gunpoint though ( had guns been invented!! )
I fear the freedom we claim in the West to be our strength could ultimately lead to our downfall.

Ironically, as Christians we are being called to spend eternity with a king and not a democratic government.