ALL THE ESSENTIALS

 Photo Credit: BBC  Expectations, Great expectations and dreams of better conditions are the aspirations of most people demonstrating in the Middle East and North Africa, however, for some these dreams may never materialise. The change for now can only be described as cosmetic as nothing apart from dictatorial rulers have been removed but their apparatus remain  in place. The constitutions and laws that treat Christians and other religious minorities as second class are still in place. The question is will it ever be changed? The names- Muslim Kingdom and Islamic Republic still remain but will that also change? These are questions that need addressing. As the wave of change sweeps across the region it is unclear what or who will fill the vacuum as there is no clear leader. No clear leader means no clear agenda and what to expect. Therefore this euphoria could very quickly turn to disappointment for many. This disappointment has alre...

"I am quite satisfied as to the genuineness of the defendants' beliefs (Christianity) and it is, I have no doubt, one which others also hold."  'It is a very clear example of how social attitudes have changed over the years for  it is not so very long ago that these beliefs of the defendants would have been those  accepted as normal by society at large. 'Now it is the other way around."  The words of Judge Andrew Rutherford (JAR) in awarding costs of £3600 against Peter and Hazelmary Bull for refusing unmarried homosexuals and heterosexuals double room bookings in their home based guest house. As devout Christians, the Bulls believe that they are accountable to God for whatever occurs under their roof, hence the long standing policy not to let double room to unmarried persons. JAR seems to say, yes you're beautiful and admirable people but unfortunately that which you call your conviction or belief or faith is archaic. Christianity is no longer relev...

At the center of the Christian faith is the conviction that there is a God of power who is able to do exceedingly abundant things in nature and in history. This conviction is stressed over and over again in the Old and New Testaments. The God whom we worship is not a weak and incompetent God. God is able to beat back gigantic waves of opposition and to bring low prodigious mountains of evil. This ringing testimony of the Christian faith is that God is able. There are those who seek to convince us that only humanity is able. Their attempts to substitute a human centered universe for a God centered universe is not new. It had its modern beginnings in the Renaissance and subsequently in the Age of Reason, when some people gradually came to feel that God was an unnecessary item on the agenda of life. In these periods others questioned whether God was any longer relevant. The laboratory began to replace the church, and the scientist became a substitute for the prophet. Not a few joined Sw...