"GOD'S PHILOSOPHERS: How the Medieval World laid the Foundations of Modern Science" by James Hannam.

I suspect that the word 'medieval' conjures up images in your mind of ignorance and superstition and that would have been true of me until I read this book which is deliciously subversive of our modern conceits about this period of history. James Hannam redresses the dark propaganda of the Humanists who have effectively written off a thousand years of human progress.

The ancient classical world's take on science was dominated by the writings of Aristotle who was considered the final authority. After the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th Century these writings were taken up by the medieval scholars - and over time found wanting. In fact the Church became the repository of learning and while the Church could be very defensive about its monopoly on Theology as an academic discipline, "Natural Philosophy", as science was then known, was an open field. The Christian doctrine of Creation - which emphasised that God and his Creation were separate entities made the study of Creation, and naturalistic explanations of it, possible. It was these scholars who first started to apply mathematics to physics; eg 'mean speed theorem' was not devised by Galileo but by 12th century scholars! And contrary to popular opinion the number 'zero' was not banned nor did these scholastics believe the world was flat; fears for the safety of Columbus' expedition were not founded on 'flat earth theory' but on the fact that the explorer grossly underestimated the size of the globe! Christian scholars travelled to the Islamic world without any seeming prejudice to learn from their contemporaries there. Nor were 'Christian' armies more likely to burn down libraries than any other contemporary army.

So how come we moderns have such a dim view of medieval scholasticism? Hannam points to The Renaissance (14th -17th Century) skewing our perspective of history. Moderns suppose The Renaissance to be about the rebirth of learning after a dark hiatus in human history but Hannam convincingly demonstrates that The Renaissance was actually a reactionary movement which looked back to the ancient classical world as unsurpassed. Consequently Humanist education centred exclusively upon the study of Latin and Greek classical literature, a feature which dominated European education for the following three or four centuries. It also meant a reinstatment of Aristotle - the progress made by the medieval scholastics being effectively junked.... or plagiarised by others as original work!

Another consequence of The Renaissance was, paradoxically, the death of the Latin language. After the fall of the Roman Empire Latin had continued to be used by the succesor nations and had continued to evolve as a European lingua franca but The Renaissance by insisting on a reversion to the "purer" Latin of ancient times was rather snobbish about Latin's modern incarnation and it became unfashionable to speak it.

Humanist education (by which is meant the study of ancient classical literature) despised the Christian era and looked back to the ancient pagan world with nostalgia - the legacy of this outlook is still present with us.

Hannam's book is wonderfully subversive of our modern conceit and questions many of our unexamined assumptions about the medieval period. I highly recommend this book.

Equality Law and the Christian Church.

Three amendments proposed by Baroness O'Cathain were approved by the House of Lords last night. These will help the church to continue to employ Christians ............. for the present.

There are two very important things to emphasise about the churches' stance over this issue, especially to those who will regard these amendments as an illiberal step. Firstly, the Christian church is committed to the principle of equality, St Paul wrote that in Christ "there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female" (Galatians 3 v28), there are no race, class or gender inequalities in God's eyes. Equality was a Christian concept long before our liberal establishment claimed it as its own invention. Our society describes as "community" ever more tightly defined and exclusive groups but the church is one of the most diverse communities within the UK today - in fact it is one of the few which genuinely draws together people from a diverse range of backgrounds. Thinking specifically about gay issues it is important to say that the church does employ gay people, but as with all Christian disciples, their lives must reflect the ethos of the organisation they will directly or indirectly represent, again St Paul said on these sorts of issues "and such were some of you" (1 Cor 6 v11).

So, secondly, the point of the churches' opposition to the government's Equality Bill is not to exclude some people groups from being employed by the church but rather to allow the church to employ professing Christians. The issue at stake is the independence of the church from state control.

It is a curious anomaly that our liberal establisment has excluded political parties from its Equality Bill; and indeed it would be incongruous if the law required such parties to appoint people who did not share their beliefs. Given that, is it so unreasonable for churches to seek similar consideration?

Did Aliens help to line up Woolworths stores?

In last Saturday's edition of The Guardian newspaper (16th Jan 2010) was a brilliant "Bad Science" article by Ben Goldacre. He reports that a researcher called Tom Brooks had analysed 1,500 prehistoric monuments and had found that all of them were on a grid of isosceles triangles, each pointing to the next site. "Such is the mathematical precision, it is inconceivable that this could have been carried out by the primitive indigenous culture we have always associated with such structures" Brooks is quoted as saying. In fact he does not rule out the possibility of extraterrestrial help!

Matt Parker, who is based at the School of Mathematical Sciences at Queen Mary, University of London applied the same techniques used by Brooks to the now defunct Woolworths stores. The results revealed an exact and precise geometric placement of the Woolworths locations, by "skipping over the vast majority, and only choosing the few that happen to line up" with 1,500 locations, Brooks had almost twice as much data to choose from.... so it is not surprising he could make his pattern fit selective evidence.

Imagine it, in some future era someone might look back using Brooks' technique and trace the patterns of the ancient Woolworths stores and conclude we must have had help from an alien civilisation!

John the Baptistic (2).
I am grateful to have been reminded that Adult Baptism is not without some controversy. Back in 1979 I joined a pioneering charismatic church in Bradford which had very clear views on adult baptism. (Incidentally isn't it curious how such churches could be quite legalistic?)

They took the view that only Baptism by "full immersion" was valid. It was suggested that the "Baptism of the Holy Spirit" (that's another story!) might be hindered by disobeying God's ordinance. I remember querying this with one of the elders; "what if you don't quite immerse [the candidate] completely? What if you stumble at the key moment and don't quite immerse them, you know.... a bit of their head is still showing... would their baptism be invalid?" I don't recall ever getting a satisfactory answer beyond a withering "stupid boy" look! which I took to mean "I'd make sure I did it right!" So I'm still unclear what they ever meant by 'valid'.

It did make me think that, maybe unwittingly, this particular church had an overly sacramental view of the ordinance.... by which I mean, not performing the ritual correctly could materially affect one's relationship with God! It struck me then to be a denial of God's grace, and I still consider it to be a denial of God's grace now. I note that the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith states "Immersion, that is to say, the dipping of the believer in water, is essential for the due administration of this ordinance" (Ch 29, part 4). This seems to me to be way too prescriptive. Why and in what way is this mode essential? "Essential" is a very strong word to apply, particularly if they actually meant pertaining to the essence of Baptism! It strikes me as ridiculous to dogmatize about the mode of Baptism. Don't get me wrong, my instinct is toward "full immersion" because that fits the symbolism (of burial & resurrection) better but my greater instinct is not to make a ritual a barrier to fellowship with a believer who takes a different view!

Incidentally I recall William Taylor, the rector of St Helen's Bishopsgate, making exactly the same point about "full immersion" during a Sunday morning sermon and how legalism on this point can be a sign that we are more Galatian than Christian!

Since 1979 and my encounter with the Bradford elder I mentioned I have been fairly agnostic on the mode of Baptism. The question really is 'what is the essence of Baptism'? It is all well and good to agree to differ on secondary issues - but what happens when one party sees it as a primary issue?

AVATAR.

Yesterday I went to seen the movie "Avatar" in 3D - stunning movie with very imaginative CGI. It was a long movie but I didn't feel that it was long, the action kept me entertained right the way through.
The storyline about the Military-Industrial Complex destroying the nature loving/tree hugging inhabitants of the beautiful world of 'Pandora' is ho-hum. I suppose it is meant to be a parable for our times. The takeaway message is that all living things are fundamentally interconnected and that by diminishing nature we ultimately only hurt ourselves, Humanity needs to live in harmony with Nature.
This is all very charming of-course, but the problem I have with such nature worship is that the Nature we have in mind is not nature as it truly is, cruel and arbitrary, but a sanitised version that is majestic and fundamentally good. Maybe the message is 'computer generated' too!
I must go find a tree to hug now!

PS 2nd Feb 2010. I see that Avatar has been nominated for best film Oscar - I guess it will win for its sheer novelty value. The CGI is very good in 3D but I did hear the plot described as "Pocahontas in Space" which I thought was very apt until I heard Mark Kermode call it "Dances with Smurfs"! Priceless.
It seems to me that there is a lot of nonsense about Avatar being the most succesful movie ever on the basis that it has taken the most in ticket receipts - firstly cinemas are charging a premium for the 3D aspect of Avatar, so the price is inflated at the outset and more importantly monetary inflation naturally means that the most recent films gross "more". In 1940 a cinema might charge $1 to see "Gone with the Wind" to go see a comparable movie now will cost much more. The best measure of a film's popularity is not ticket receipts but total number of tickets sold - on this measure ("bums on seats!") "Gone with the Wind" is easily the winner.... by a very long way!
Is 3D the future of cinema? I hope not! Because that would imply that the cinema will focus on the visuals at the expense of good storytelling. 3D is fine for a movie which is all about the visuals, but the best films are rich in plot and characters. I hope the visual component does not displace these other dimensions, I really do!

"From Life's First Cry"; a liturgical introduction to infant baptism.

For reasons which become apparent as this series of 'blog' articles unfolds I have decided to start towards the back of Lee Gatiss' booklet "From Life's First Cry: John Owen on infant baptism and infant salvation".

In Appendix 3 is a suggested liturgical introduction to a baptismal service for infants which includes the following paragraph "God said to Abraham in Genesis 17 that the promises he signed and sealed through circumcision were for Abraham and also for his children - that he would be their God and they would be his people. Hence the children of believers were circumcised as babies under the Old Covenant". The next paragraph starts "this privilege has never expressly been taken away from our little ones..." etc.

Firstly a general observation; it is interesting that circumcision here is placed in the context of the Abrahamic Covenant rather than the Mosaic Covenant which is generally where the New Testament writers and their antagonists placed it. Surely the logic of this Abrahamic association is for a continuation of circumcision into the NT era and yet there clearly is some sort of discontinuity over circumcision as the NT era dawns.

Secondly; it seems a bit of a stretch to assert that it was "believers" who had their children circumcised under the Old Covenant. One immediately thinks of the pharisees who were assiduous about all matters of the law and undoubtedly had their children circumcised - surely they and their predecessors wouldn't be described as "believers". Conversely Timothy was raised in a Godly household and wasn't circumcised!

Thirdly, isn't it the case that people may have their child circumcised for more cultural reasons than as an expression of faith? If we are to assume a covenantal relationship exists between God and the circumcised/baptised why limit the sacrament to "believers" anyway? The logic of the sacrament is that the baptised have a covenantal claim to have their children baptised whether they believe or not.

Fourthly; it strikes me that this liturgy blurs the distinction between the Abrahamic Covenant and the "Old Covenant" - it simply assumes that they are the one and the same when clearly they are not, Gal 3 draws a clear distinction.

In fairness I should add that when Lee introduces this liturgy he writes that this suggested format "no doubt has its shortcomings", and that it is not a formula he would use unthinkingly in every circumstance.

JOHN THE BAPTISTIC.

Our midweek Bible study group has been looking at the Gospel of John and I got to thinking about the baptism performed by John the Baptist and the controversy it provoked among the religious authorities of his day.

In John chapter one a delegation arrives to quiz John about his ministry and they specifically challenge him about his authority to baptise. John is calling upon the Covenant people of God (Israel) to repent and turn around. Clearly this rite had some End Time significance because they question his identity - if he is not 'the Christ', 'the prophet' or 'Elijah' on what basis can he baptise people. By what right could someone set themselves up to offer a sacrament to a people already circumcised?

At this point John points beyond the symbolism of what he is doing to the one who is to come after him; he can get people wet but the One he is heralding will 'baptise with the Holy Spirit.' Clearly something new is about to happen.

It strikes me that there is some considerable controversy about baptism within Anglican Evangelical circles. The issue is not about the baptism of believers - no one in this debate has an issue with this - the issue is about the baptism of the infants of believers and what significance this 'sign' or 'seal' has.

For those of us who are sceptical but accepting of infant baptism we will find ourselves challenged with the accusation that "believers' baptism" really arises from the modern day concepts of consent and self-autonomy, and consequently has little to do with a Gospel of Grace where faith is seen as a gift of God. This compromise with the spirit of the age is called "baptistic".

Readers of this 'blog' will already know that I have puzzled over the issue of infant baptism - and indeed puzzled over the passion felt by Paedobaptists that goes beyond a simple difference of opinion. I recently heard reported that one noted speaker said that not to baptise infants was actually to disobey God.... and would use Reformed Theology as his basis for this assertion. Indeed another proponent of Paedobaptism has argued that one cannot be 'Baptistic' and a 'Reformed' Christian because these are a theological contradiction!

To try and help unravel some of the theology about Baptism I thought that I might start a little series of discussions here looking at Lee Gatiss' booklet "From Life's First Cry: John Owen on infant baptism and infant salvation" published by The Latimer Trust. Lee was a curate here at St Helen's Bishopsgate until 2009 when he moved on to pursue an academic career in Cambridge. I think that his booklet puts forward a case in favour of infant baptism and that this provides a useful foil to help move this discussion forward in a constructive way.

It goes without saying I take a different view on these matters so watch this space.

Snow on the Tree today.

Cranes
above
The
Shard











Cranes Above "The Shard"! Photos taken this morning from Tooley Street with "Guy's Tower" in the background.
And a close-up taken from St Thomas' Street from outside Guy's Hospital.

Anjem Choudary, Wooton Bassett and a Christian Response.

Wooton Bassett is a small town in Wiltshire near the Royal Air Force base to which the bodies of fallen British servicemen are repatriated. In recent years the town has become the scene for dignified grief as many funeral corteges have passed through and the townspeople taking these sad sights to heart have turned out to pay their respects.

It is not surprising then that the planned anti-war march through Wooton Bassett by an Islamic group headed by Anjem Choudary should have caused such deep outrage among many people. It should be pointed out that in no sense could the good people of Wooton Bassett be described as pro-war; regardless of ones views about the politics of war one can still grieve for those who die serving their country.

I suppose the obvious point to make is that, never having heard of Anjem Choudary, this is simply a crass publicity stunt by an unrepresentative group who wish to gain some notoriety for themselves. Whether the march goes ahead or not the angry response has acheived exactly what he calculated it would do - it has granted him a national platform.

It should also be pointed out that there will be those on the far-right of British politics who will also seek to exploit people's natural anger by taking advantage of this march. Anjem Choudary's march is a gift to them too! The far-right will seek to paint all Muslims as closet jihadists and any event which can be used to this end will exploited ruthlessly to the full.

Indeed I would argue that between radical Islamic groups and the British far-right there is some mutually re-enforcing ideological myth-making going on. If people's anger at Anjem Choudary can be hitched to an anti-muslim agenda then the far-right is well served for obvious reasons; and if that anger alienates Muslims from mainsteam national life then groups like Anjem Choudary's can only grow in strength. As Christians we need to be very cautious about how we respond to these challenges - shall we engage in some sort of 'culture war' or will we allow the Gospel of God's Grace help shape our response?

As an Evangelical Christian I don't want my natural anger to be exploited by either of these odious groups and I believe that the Lord Jesus would want us to have some critical self-reflection before giving vent to any sense of moral outrage. It is better - in the final analysis - to suffer a wrong than lash out indiscriminately at others. Indeed a dignified refusal to 'respond in kind' is actually the bravest and hardest thing to do - but that is ultimately our calling as disciples of Jesus Christ; to display by our actions and words the Grace of God to a world naturally inclined to anger, self righteousness and hatred. This is an opportunity to manifest by our love that the Kingdom of God is present among us!

Winter Solstice!
Occurs today at 17:47 GMT when the North Pole is tilted 23.5 degrees away from the Sun.
This represents the shortest amount of daylight in the Northern hemisphere. From now the days get longer until the Summer Solstice when the North Pole is tilted 23.5 degrees towards the Sun.

Today at The Shard.

A Father's Anger, Health Care Administration and the Philosophy of Science.

It is not unusual for parents of children in 'intensive care' to vent their anger and frustration on staff members. One accepts that people under stress can display the recognised signs of grief; "denial", "bargaining", "anger" and "acceptance". These signs are not confined to the bereaved but can also be manifested in those who grieve for their child's suffering. Thank God that the vast majority of kids on our unit do get better! Our mortality rate is about 4% which compares favourably with comparable units.

Of course, understanably, such statistics cut little ice with parents, for them a death is not a fraction it is the loss of a loved one and that is 100%. Even when seriously ill children recover it should not be inferred that the parents are unscathed psychologically; they still had the fear of loss to contend with. They may also be grieving for the 'loss of innocence' - not their child's neccesarily - but their own! People can have a rather 'Pollyannish' view of life which a visit to PICU rudely contradicts, it isn't surprising then that parents feel a deep sense of anger at society for having sold them a lie - that 'all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds'!

Recently one father had a 'go at me'. He could not comprehend 'how in this day and age' medical science had no clear cut answer to an issue he raised. He was quite angry about it and I listened - I hope with good grace - to his frustrations. Of course I had no answer to his technical question although I could have replied "do you really want to discuss The Philosophy of Science?" I suspected he did not. His frustration arose out of a misconception about science; in his worldview "science" was about concrete facts, settled knowledge which can be looked up in a text book. But the reality is "science" does not deal in such certainties, what Mankind "knows" is only ever provisional - we must constantly re-evaluate our knowledge and revise our practice in the light of new information. Medical science is no exception, especially when one is dealing with complex and dynamic disease processes.

Another naive idea which came to grief was his view, of what I will term, his "entitlement" within the UK's National Health Service. I suppose, again, I could have asked "do you really want to talk about 'Social Policy and Health Administration'?" I suspected he did not. He clearly felt that having paid more than his fair share in taxes he was entitled to more than he felt he was getting. I listened - again I hope with good grace - to his frustrations. The answer I could have given would have been inappropriate; 'however much you have paid in tax it is no where near enough! And I bet at the last election you didn't vote for higher taxation did you?!' The demand for all health care services way outstrips the supply and the electorate needs to wake up to that reality. The government is not some rich uncle who can dig ever deeper into his infinite pockets, it is the tax payer who funds the health service and in a world with 'third party payment' we can always be very generous with other people's money can't we? But we live in a democracy where politicians will promise more and more while the electorate is prepared to pay less and less. This irreconcilable conflict is taken out on the people who have to break the bad news to a naive public that the State cannot always provide what they demand and that is usually the same people who are haplessly trying to make the system work!

Western society has produced a generation with a profound sense of what life owes to them. People feel some sort of entitlement from life which is bolstered by our concepts of 'rights' - as if our 'rights' are absolute and written as immutable laws into the very fabric of the cosmos rather than relative and subject to the vagaries of humanity.

But, of course, I didn't say any of this. This father was grieving, but not for his child, who was ultimately discharged from our unit alive and well - he was grieving for the death of his naive worldview!

The tree is now bare.

WESLEY OWEN & the decline of High Street Christian Book Retailing in the UK.

I can't say that I am entirely surprised by the demise of "Wesley Owen" but I was taken aback by "Borders" recent difficulties.

Each Autumn I visit the centre of Leeds to do some Christmas shopping - even though I moved to London nearly 19 years ago I still think that the shopping is better in my adoptive home town; it has everything from Harvey Nichols to a cheap & cheerful market, and every brand in between all in a pedestrianised area.

When I first moved to Leeds from Bradford to start my nurse training at St James' Hospital in the early 1980's the main Christian book retailer in town was 'Scripture Union' with a shop in King Edward Street in the heart of the retail district. I visited 'SU' almost on a weekly basis and built up a collection of books, some of which have stood the test of time and I still have them on my bookshelf.

'SU' subsequently became purely a publishing company and the shops were taken over by Wesley Owen. In Leeds the shop relocated to the other side of The Headrow (Leeds' equivalent of Oxford St!) and away from the main shopping centre.

Each year I would make a point of going into Wesley Owen and this has become my bellweather on the Christian retail scene for what it is worth. What has struck me quite forcefully in recent times is how little floor space is actually given over to books! There was a very large 'greetings card' section and a large area for music and DVDs, a sizeable space for religious knick-knacks and "art"; easily less than half the shop was for books (maybe 40% max if you include childrens books and sunday school material). They had staples like Bibles and a selection of BST commentaries (fair enough!) but I was confused by the section headings - under "Doctrine & Theology" they had books like 'The Shack'!

Readers of this blog will know that I do not rate 'The Shack' and yet even so I would not argue that this book should not be in a Christian bookshop - I do, however, have a problem with it being in that section of a Christian bookshop! The book I was looking for, John Dickson's "Sneaking Suspicion", an evangelistic book, was ostensibly to be found in the children's area an assistant informed us! Overall the selection of books on offer were, in my opinion, "lightweight" at best.

Some have argued that Christians should get out there and support shops like Wesley Owen because they are a witness to the Gospel on the high street. To which I have to say "how can I support them if they don't sell what I want to buy?"

I buy a lot of Christian books but as I've grown older I tend to buy weightier, thoughtful books and publications I will continue to refer to - not the pop paperbacks on offer at Wesley Owen. The stuff generally on sale will date very quickly and most Evangelicals will rapidly out grow this stuff - or, more worringly, the new believer will become very disillusioned with the brand of Christianity on sale there and will move on to other things entirely as they mature.

I also visited 'Borders' in Leeds the morning that company announced that it was going into liquidation. I loved 'Borders' as a book shop because it offered a wide range of unusual books and it had a great DVD section which included a lot of 'world cinema'. On this visit I noticed that it too was selling more pop books and the cinema section had also shifted down market. No doubt they had good commercial reasons for doing this but can a high street store really compete head to head with the internet and supermarkets? Such stores need to have a unique selling point. Surely it should have tried to retain its niche as an up-market bookstore that was a joy to visit and browse around!

If 'Borders' can't succeed on the high street by shifting down market Wesley Owen stands no chance! Surely the way to go is to become a specialist up-market book shop with a particular niche on the high street? But it seems to me that Wesley Owen has lost its soul.

We couldn't find the book I went in to buy - so the assistant very helpfully gave us the web address of an internet book retailer who did stock it! Need I say more?


Post Script dated 6-Jan-2010.
I gather that some of the Wesley Owen stores have been taken over by an Australian company called Koorang and these stores will continue to trade under the WO brand. Some other stores have been taken over by CLC. There remains a large number of WO shops, as yet, without a buyer including the one in Leeds.

UGANDAN LAW ON HOMOSEXUALITY!

There is a proposal in Uganda to pass a law which would include the ultimate sanction against homosexuals.
From an Evangelical Christian perspective I have never understood the church invoking the methods of the world to make people behave as if they are Christian. Such lobbying, at home and abroad, effectively substitutes law instead of grace, judgment instead of mercy and belies our professed trust in the sovereignty of God. When we use the methods of the world, or approve of them, we are in danger of bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ into disrepute.
In the final analysis only Christ can change people's hearts and these sorts of Post-Millennialist projects to enculturate non-believers into Christianity leaves me cold.
"Not by might, nor by power but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts", Zechariah 4 v6.

The Cherry Tree in our Front Garden has lost nearly all it's leaves.

In Christ alone my hope is found;
he is my light, my strength, my song.
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I'll stand.
+
In Christ alone - who took on flesh,

fulness of God in helpless babe!

This gift of love and righteousness,

scorned by the ones he came to save,

till on that cross as Jesus died

the wrath of God was satisfied -

for every sin on him was laid:

here in the death of Christ I live.

+

There in the ground his body lay:
Light of the world by darkness slain.
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
up from the grave he rose again!
And as he stands in victory,
sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
for I am his and he is mine -
bought with the precious blood of Christ.
+
No guilt in life, no fear in death;
this is the power of Christ in me;
from life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of Hell, no scheme of man
can ever pluck me from his hand:
till he returns or calls me home,
here in the power of Christ I'll stand!

Yesterday's developments at The Shard!

"YOU SWEEP THEM AWAY AS WITH A FLOOD; THEY ARE LIKE A DREAM."

Twenty years ago today the Berlin Wall was breached signalling the end of the Communist experiment in Europe. Within a few years the Soviet Union folded up and the world seemed destined for a unipolar future. Some even speculated that with the apparent triumph of Liberal - Capitalist- Democracy history itself had reached some sort of definitive conclusion.

Growing up in the 60's and 70's the mighty USSR seemed to be a monolithic power structure which would certainly outlast me - how wrong I was. As ludicrous as it seems now the Soviet Union and its empire seemed an unassailable fact of life and some of my contemporaries even saw it, on balance, as a force for good!

Psalm 90 seems apt;
"You return man to dust
and say, "Return, o children of man!"
For a thousand years in your sight
are but as yesterday when it is past,
or as a watch in the night."

It would be a bad mistake to put our trust in Mankind - whatever the political or economic ideology. The lesson of history is not the triumph of capitalism or democracy but the fragility of all that Man constructs and the hubris which asserts its ascendancy. Only God is "from everlasting to everlasting" and security is only found in Him! "Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations". Amen.

11th November 2009. A Wonderful Addendum!
I would like to add this additional comment: God sweeps aside these pretentions of Mankind - these mighty empires come for a season and wither; they are utterly insignificant to God. But in case we are tempted to feel that our individual lives have even less significance 2 Peter 3v8 relecting on Psalm 90 says this, "with the Lord one day is as a thousand years...." Nothing is insignificant to the Lord - He has all the time in the world for you!

Autumn leaves of our Cherry Tree.

Foundations of the SHARD!

People watching the Shard!

Dan's Favourite Aunt!


Paraphrasing (majorly) Dan Baker (and I appreciate I am taking a major liberty in doing so!) "if the only way you can discredit an assertion is by misrepresenting it then you are conceding that it CAN be taken on its own merits"!

The Voice of "Raven".

One of the most enjoyable things about my excursions to the Lake District is ending a walk with a journey on one of the 'Ullswater Steamers' back to my campsite at Pooley Bridge.

In fact the main reason I base myself at the wrong end of Ullswater rather than in Patterdale is so that I can enjoy the lake. Taking the first bus of the day along side the lake and returning on a 'steamer' (now actually diesel!)

At the end of a hard walk it is wonderful to sit back on the upper deck with a pint and watch the mountains go by - it is magical.

Back in the early 1990s when I first discovered this form of transport even the public safety announcement was wonderful. As soon as "Raven" set off an automated recording would be activated. "Welcome aboard the motor yacht 'Raven'." Sadly this has been replaced by the gruff sound of the captain, but back then it was a female voice with a mid-atlantic accent who spoke in such a mellifluous way - never has "float free buoyancy apparatus" and "self inflating life rafts" sounded so appealing!

For me, her voice will always be associated with "Raven"!

Lake District Adventure.

Most years I try to get away to do some walking in the English Lake District. I usually camp and do a series of walks over a week long period. This year I based myself at "Hillcroft" camp site near Pooley Bridge and used this as my base to do the following walks.

On Sunday 6th September I walked the length of Lake Ullswater from Pooley Bridge to Patterdale and around the south of the lake to Glenridding; I took in Hallin Fell (388m) en route. Ullswater is England's 2nd largest lake at 14.5km.

On Monday 7th I climbed "High Street" (828m) via Pasture Bottom and returned by way of Angle Tarn.

Wednesday 9th I went up "Fairfield" (873m) via St Sunday Crag and returned via Dovedale.

Thursday 10th I climbed up "Helvellyn" (950m/3,117ft) via 'Striding Edge' from Glenridding and returned by way of Nethermost Pike and Dollywaggon Pike and Grisedale.

CHILD PROTECTION!

*

Today was a 'Team Away Day' mainly dedicated to a variety of mandatory training issues. We covered things like 'Infection Control' and 'Pain Control in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit'.

*

We had a couple of major sessions on 'Child Protection'. One of the most distressing aspects of PICU is coping with the aftermath of a "non accidental injury". Sadly not all the kids make it!

"I'm not 52, I'm 18 with 34 years experience!"

"Striding Edge" in the English Lake District is a narrow ridge on one of the approaches to Helvellyn (950m/3,117ft), it is a tricky traverse and over the years several people have fallen to their deaths.

One noted instance is that of Charles Gough who was killed there in 1805 made famous by the fidelity of his dog which guarded his body until the skeleton was found some months later. The romantic poets wrote that the dog was sustained by "love sublime"............................. are you thinking what I'm thinking?

AMBIGUITY WARNING!
*
While I was away in the Lake District recently I came across this bottle of beer in a shop there and immediately thought of Dawn and what an apt gift to send on to her.
I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry about the surreal 'spin' she put on the birthday card I'd sent to her. I figured God was saying 'laugh don't cry!' So today I posted this gift to her but I did take the precaution of adding a warning.......and a special offer which I hope she will take me up on. The labels I added read as follows;

*
AMBIGUITY WARNING!


It should not be inferred from this beer bottle label that I have ever participated in or approved of animal cruelty. No conclusion should be drawn from the kilted figure that I am anti-Scottish or racist. or that I condone the Highland Clearances. The gender of the animal is not intended to imply misogyny or indeed prejudice against any other engendered or transgendered sheep. Just enjoy the beer.

*
Pete.
*

ps GENUINE OFFER!
*
Sometime when you are next in London I can give you a tour of where I work and you can get to know a bit more about me.

WHAT KIND OF GOD WOULD ALLOW A THING LIKE THIS TO HAPPEN?

*

*

*

post-script dated 31st August 2009 at 09:10 am.

Dear Dawn,

*

When I included this cartoon in the homemade birthday card I sent to you I was expressing my impish sense of humour and I was not trying to make some wider point.

*

I was not making out that human suffering is a suitable subject for mirth nor was I suggesting that in God's eyes all such suffering is seen as equally trivial.

*

First off; John Callahan is an American cartoonist who is quadriplegic following a car accident. He cannot grasp anything with his fingers and so he draws by holding the pen between his hands. And 'yes' his humour can be dark, which I do indeed quite like.

*

Secondly; the humour here is not aimed at human suffering but is found in the cartoon character's inappropriate sense of moral outrage at God over what the self-regarding cartoon character perceives to be a major existential crisis.

*

I guess some things just aren't funny if you have to explain them!

God Bless,

Pete.

*

*

*

PPS: 3rd September 2009. It has been pointed out to me that the Callahan cartoon suggests that all human suffering is somehow beneficial to the sufferer (it is fair to say that the cartoon character could probably afford to lose a few pounds!). But - in all honesty - it never crossed my mind that that was the main conclusion to draw from either Callahan, or by adoption, the birthday card I made. I do feel that to attribute such sentiments to me on this basis is surreal.

Gym Update.

Ran 2.63Km in 15 minutes on the treadmill. I'm trying to get reasonably fit for my Lake District walking trip in September.

Jubilee Line Blues.............

Last weekend (as usual) some part of the Jubilee underground line was suspended for engineering works which means that I had to take the bus to work instead. From Jamaica Road I caught the 381 to Waterloo and walked the rest of the way to St Thomas' Hospital.

On Sunday the bus journey was dominated by the banter of a small group of youths who permeated the atmosphere with vulgarity and menace.

I prefer the sullen silence of the tube journey!

Richard Dawkins' Summer Camp.

There is a superb cartoon from "Private Eye" about Richard Dawkins' Summer Camp aimed at teaching children the joys of atheism.

A camp leader is counselling one of the children, "I'm sorry Cuthbert but because you came last in the running race.... you must die!"

That 'One Small Step'...

Fot those of us on this side of the Atlantic Neil Armstrong's first step on the Moon came at about 3.30 in the morning of 21st July 1969. As an excited 11 year-old I came downstairs from bed to watch this event on TV.

7/7 Bombings.

Today is the fourth anniversary of the 7/7 Bombings in London in 2005. Three tube trains and a bus were bombed killing over 50 people.
I heard this on the news in the late morning of 7th July 2005 and phoned work saying that I was available if required.... I do have an 'Adult' qualification as well as 'Paediatric' and wondered if the PICU might have to act as an overflow from Adult ITU. I was asked to help cover the night shift - with the transport system closed down it was probably going to be impossible for a lot of our staff to physically get in to work anyway on PICU. I even volunteered to put up people from the day shift in our house if they couldn't get home.
As it turned out the transport system was up and running by evening, and everyone who was due in for work turned up. I wasn't actually needed. I went in anyway.
I never felt so proud to be a Londoner!

GEEZER MAIL!

I seem to have hit that difficult age when I start to receive unsolicited "geezer mail"! Just this morning I received ads for elasticated trousers, walk in baths, an adjustable bed, some sort of back support and a FUNERAL plan!

For crying out loud how old do they think I am?!

ADVANCED PAEDIATRIC LIFE SUPPORT.

I would describe APLS as a medical version of "The Crystal Maze". Imagine being ushered from one room to another with some life threatening scenario being laid out before you using a variety of mannikins and equipment.

Basic resus of infants and children are first covered and assessed. Then we moved on to the critically ill child. We coped with cardiac arrhythmias, shockable and non shockable rhythms, and defibrillation. Convulsing children, asthma, anaphylaxis, DKA and cardiogenic problems. And of course a variety of infective causes. Airway management skills are assessed.

The next day we looked at the critically injured child - head injuries, spinal injuries, penetrating chest and abdo wounds etc etc etc. Practical skills like chest drain insertion, surgical airway, emergency thoracocentisis and IO needle insertion.

The point is one expected to make a thorough assessment of the child, identify the problems and take effective action.

Today we had a final assessed scenario and an exam with an 80% pass mark. Anyway I'm pleased to report that I passed. I won't have to do APLS for another 4 years. Hurrah!

Federal Vision (again!)

I was recently told about the 'blog' belonging to David Anderson called 'More than Words' http://mothwo.blogspot.com/

He seems to share some of the same reservations I have about the whole "Federal Vision" mularkey; his blog might be worth checking out.

ADVANCED PAEDIATRIC LIFE SUPPORT!

I've been away on holiday for a couple of weeks and now I need to knuckle down and work through the APLS manual ready for the course next week at Guy's Hospital in order to renew my APLS certificate.

Jim Swift, killed in action, aged 19.

James Swift was my father's elder brother who died on the Western Front in 1918. When I was a kid the First World War seemed like ancient history to me but the older I get the time difference seems less and less significant.

Last weekend in Leeds I attended my aunt's 100th birthday party. Auntie Anne would have been 8 years old when Jim was killed; it is a remarkable idea that the records I airily pick over represent a real person that Anne knew and grieved for.

The details I have on Jim are sparse but knowing the date of his death and the unit he was with I can place him in the path of the German Spring Offensive of 1918. This was the German's final gamble to win the war outright before the Americans could intervene in force. The offensive is now known as "The Kaiser's Battle" or "Kaiserschlacht". German forces no longer required on the Eastern Front following the military collapse of Russia during the Revolution of 1917 were transferred west and the full force fell on the British front line starting on 21st March. British forces reeled under the blow, the Germans broke through and the army was forced to retreat across ground won at such a high cost in the preceding years. Eventually the British lines held and the German threat was contained.

I gather from the family that Jim had only just got to France when he was killed. This is the record I obtained from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Casualty: Private JAMES SWIFT. 205628
Served With: 7th Bn. Queen's Own Royal (Royal West Kent Regiment)
Died: 28th March 1918
Commemorated: POZIERES MEMORIAL
Somme
France
Panel 58 and 59
Additional Information: Age 19
Son of Patrick and Mary Ann Swift, of 38 Exeter St.,
Bradford, Yorks.
He was born and enlisted in Bradford and formerly served in the Yorkshire and Lancashire Regiment.

Jim has no known grave.

How long is a Piece of String?... ooops Cable?!

At the conclusion of our week of heart surgery we had dinner at an Italian restaurant in Nairobi. Cliff, our 'perfusionist', held a sweep-stake where we all had to make a guess as to how long the cable was from the maintained power socket to the Cardio-Pulmonary Bypass Machine in theatre. We all put a £1 into the pot.

Ivy won! It was 29 metres or 95 feet!

Clifford Longley.


I love listening to radio 4 - unfortunately there are occasional bits of grit in my breakfast that have to be endured like "Thought for the Day" on the "Today" programme. This morning I had that awful sinking feeling as I listened to the contributor.

Clifford Longley is a journalist with a long career commenting on religious affairs so it is more with a sense of depression rather than any other emotion that I say what I am about to say. I barely know where to start in unravelling his confection of platitudes... any way here goes.

The notion that people make ethical decisions based on whether they believe they may be rewarded or punished and that atheists, having no such motive, can actually operate on a higher ethical plane leaves me speechless. This is such a childish notion.

The adult reality is that people make ethical decisions based on the worldview they hold to. If one is a thoughtful Christian one makes Christian decisions. An atheist will make choices consistent with that worldview. If it happens that one is an atheist who follows a none Social-Darwinian ethical process then one does so because one instinctively knows (by God's 'Common Grace'!) that such a course is right even if one finds oneself acting in a logically inconsistent manner. That is hardly operating on a higher plane.

The bishop CL was damning on air I suspect was actually pointing out that our values arise from the worldview we hold to be true. Reading between the lines of CL's garbled account the poor bishop was probably simply affirming a Christ centred worldview (which is his job afterall!) but that obviously went completely over CL's head.

A Christian may act unChristianly/Atheistically. An Atheist may act unAtheistically/Christianly. It all depends on the operating worldview. But this is all beside the point because merit is not earned in God's eyes by what we do. That implies that correct ethical choices put us in God's good books but that is not how it works! We all foul up from time to time - so the adult issue is how now do we get right with God given the reality of our failure? As a Christian I believe in Jesus not in my capacity to make correct ethical choices. A Christian, by definition, is someone who has come to a point of repentance rather than the media caricature of someone who is self-righteous, ie someone who believes that they always make correct choices!

As a Christian I seek to make ethical and personal choices consistent with the world as it actually is; though in my weakness I often feel brow-beaten by media pundits pushing the official line and find myself compromising against my better judgement. And when I do fail my primary concern is not fear of being punished it is the sense I have of not having 'walked worthily of Lord'. Others may make ethical choices on worldviews they are in a better place to explain. I seek to make choices which please the Lord, so reward/punishment are not the primary consideration! The ethical debate lies elsewhere entirely in the nature of reality and truth and relationship with God.

Clifford Longley's piece this morning is merely yet another example of the infantilisation of religious discussion in the country when it is crying out for informed comment and debate.

Return from Africa!

I arrived back from Nairobi a couple of hours ago. In all our "MEAK" team did 17 operations on children with congenital heart defects including some of the more complex procedures yet attempted; Truncus, TGA etc.

Sadly one of our patients died midweek which was a low point for us all. We did have our successes - a baby girl with a huge VSD and failing heart had no clear left lung fields on X-Ray. Not only was her heart huge but she also had a raging chest infection. We did physio on her and suctioned out lots of gluey secretions. This is her X-Ray now - hurrah! we have some air on the left side!

The other highlight was that we did the first ever "Switch" for Transposition of the Great Arteries ever attempted in Kenya.

I'll write more about all of this but right now I'm exhausted after a sixty-five hour week and this will have to suffice for now!

The Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi.

During our time in Kenya we are aiming to do three major cardiac operations each day. I was speaking to the manager here this morning who told me that they only have the resources to do two or three a week normally; so in our time here our team could clear 2 or 3 months backlog! Which is quite an amazing thought!

I am also given to understand that we did Kenya's first ever "Switch" for 'Transposition of the Great Arteries".

An Amusing Sign by the road en route to the Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi.

A group of us from the PICU will be based there 15th-24th May 2009 as part of a team doing open heart surgery.

Nairobi sunset.

Crack PICU team,

Nairobi May 2008.

Claire Barker, Fiona Lynch, Natalie Robertson & Tim James

(I'm behind the camera!)

Peritoneal Dialysis.

During our 2008 trip to Nairobi on a Cardiac Surgery mission one of our post op children went into acute renal failure. I improvised a PD set, as well as made our own bicarbonate dialysis fluid. The advantage of taking a dinosaur like me along is that I remember how we used to have to do things twenty+ years ago!

Take a one litre bag of sterile 0.9% Saline for IV use and remove 350ml using an aseptic technique. Discard this 350ml.

Using an aseptic technique add the following to the remaining 650ml bag of 0.9% Saline; 300ml Glucose 5%, 10ml Glucose 50% and 40ml Sodium Bicarbonate.

Properties of this solution are as follows Sodium 140mmol/L, Glucose 2% and Bicarbonate 40%. PLEASE NOTE THIS SOLUTION CONTAINS NO POTASSIUM! Normally one would add 4mmol/L of Potassium Chloride depending on the patient's serum K+ level; however if the patient is hyperkalaemic use a reduced amount, eg if their potassium level is 5-7 add just 2mmol/L, and if the patient's level is >7 add no potassium to the solution.

Start with Fill Volumes of 10ml/kg. In over 5 minutes, dwell 10 min and drain over 15 min. And repeat the cycle. This will draw off some excess water as well as correct the patient's electrolytes and acidosis. Monitor patient's fluid balance and serum electrolytes regularly until the patient's kidneys recover. Until they do recover restrict the patient's fluid intake to 2ml/kg/hour if they weigh less than 10kg, and if they are upto 20kg give 1ml/kg/hour.

For larger patients give a maximum of 40ml/hr if they weigh more than 20kg (please note this is NOT 40ml/kg/hr but 40ml total volume per hour!)

Facebook.
I recently joined the Facebook crowd........................ so if you can't get enough of me here you can always look me up there!

(ps Gym today: ran 3.52 Km in 20 mins, weigh 91.0 Kg.)

More Training.


Today I completed my annual "Moving & Handling" mandatory training. And, as a special treat, we had a short session on the respirators we are being fitted with in case of pandemic Swine Flu. 3M Respirator type 7500 with p3 filters........................... so I'm okay!.........................

The Age of Aquarius!

Among the wide range of gadgets we use in PICU to help support the sick kids we have is this one. It is an "Aquarius" haemofilter produced by 'Edwards Lifesciences Services GMBH'. We use this for Continuous Venous Venous Haemofiltration (CVVH). We generally use this when the children are in acute renal failure and need excess fluid removing &/or their chemistry correcting. Occasionally we will have children who need a drug dialysing out.

In essence we draw blood out from the patient through a large intra-vascular catheter called a 'vascath' by means of the "blood pump" which is the red roller pump [top left]. The patient's blood is pre-diluted with a dialysis solution [Multi-Bic] drawn from a reservoir bag slung beneath the machine by the green pumps before entering the blood filter in the centre of the picture. Excess water is drawn out from the filter by the yellow pump into a waste bag also underneath the machine (not shown). The filter will also correct the patient's blood chemistry and pull out any other waste products too.

Depending on the size of the patient (and they can be infants all the way up to teenagers!) we will select the appropriate size filter and the various parameters for an effective treatment. This is programmed into the computer screen at the top of this picture.

Renal Replacement Therapies is one of my 'specialities'.

Covenantal Objectivity.


If someone died on the way to their baptismal service do you believe that that would be "objective" evidence that they were not saved?

Return to Africa.

This coming May I will be returning to Nairobi with a team of people to do open heart surgery on children there. This will be my third such trip having been before in 2007 and 2008.

My role will be to help set up an improvised Paediatric Intensive Care Unit on ward 4b in the Kenyatta National Hospital and to care for children following their heart operation.

The picture above was of first impressions taken by me in 2007 when we very first arrived on the unit we were to use. The electric bar fire was an improvised attempt at an incubator! The hurricane lamp was the emergency lighting. The ventilators were pretty good though. The monitors were clunky old Hewlett Packard monitors which I recall using twenty years ago - they're outdated but effective. Lab facilities were pretty minimal so we had to rely on our own clinical judgment a lot. It was a real privilege to be part of this whole enterprise organised by MEAK (Medical & Educational Aid to Kenya).

During our time there we did over twenty operations. My proudest moment came last year when I improvised a means of giving peritoneal dialysis to one of our patients with my own homemade brew of dialysis fluid! He was very ill and went into acute renal failure. The advantage of taking a dinosaur like me along is that I remember how we used to have to do things here 15-20 years ago.

We fly out on 15th May and return on 24th. If I can I'll try and post a couple of blogs describing our adventure there - but the photos might have to wait until I'm back in the UK!

Jars of Clay! Just Jars of Clay!

Last night at St Helen's we had our 'Annual Parochial Church Meeting' at which William Taylor and a number of others laid out the vision for the church over the next ten years. The venue is pretty sizeable but even so it was packed out!

The numbers on the electoral roll at St Helen's are currently 895 people - although I am sure that many more actually attend our range of services. This makes us one of the largest churches in London despite having lost a significant number of people in recent years to our various church plants around the city. We have a thriving Mandarin speaking congregation and on-going work among other communities within London. St Helen's continues to support work in the French speaking world and Sub-Saharan Africa. But William was very clear to emphasise that the continuing growth of the ministry here is not down to our abilities. It is the power of God's Word alone - it has to be - because we are just jars of clay! It is in our very weakness that God's power can shine through.

By God's grace our vision is to see 20 gospel hearted churches planted by 2020. We also want to develop a French speaking congregation from among the many such people based in London.

There is also a plan to beef up our 'Digital' ministry. The whole internet social networking thing is a vast new area we need to grow into. Our web page gives the impression that St Helen's is all about programmes rather than people and we hope to redress that perception by drawing on the individual stories of the people within our church family. So watch this space!

After the public business was wound up there was a brief meeting of the PCC - the Parochial Church Council - of which I am now formally a member. It is a real privilege to be part of this 20-30 strong group especially with such a fantastic strategy in place. It is comforting to be reminded that it is in our weakness that God's power will be demonstrated - I am very conscious of my own inadequacy, but I'm sure I'm not alone. Jars of Clay! Just Jars of Clay!

Latest on the Gym front!

Today I had a good run; 3.45km in 20 min! I also did some 'core' muscle exercises to help my back.

I would like to get to a point where I can run 10 kilometres comfortably again.

Cherry Blossom Snow.

Our lovely cherry blossom tree has slowly shed its petals.

Floating pink blossom gently fluttering down like snow on a warm spring breeze.

Daniel for Adults!

Today William Taylor continued his new series of talks on the book of Daniel. Last week we looked at chapter one and this Sunday we covered chapter two. What I find enormously encouraging is how faithful God is to his promises. Great empires come and go, nations rise and fall but God remains constant and those who put their trust in him are secure.

The great statue which depicted a whole sequence of mighty empires is ultimately overwhelmed by a rock not cut by human hand and the remnants of these empires are blown away like so much chaff in the breeze.
Where is babylon now? In a room belonging to the British Museum! In my own life time an empire like the Soviet Union - which seemed such a monolithic power at the time - vanished overnight. The recent financial crisis is a warning to us that God doesn't owe the west anything either. The veneer of civilisation we naively think is so secure is anything but. All such confidence is vanity.

Thank God that he stays true to his promises though. Are you going to build on the rock or on something else?