Lest We umm.....

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years contemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

from For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon   

November 11^th is Remembrance day.  The anniversary of the armistice that ended WWI, and a day where some of us remember those brave men and women who fought to defend us in wars through our modern history.


The day is not without controversy.  

War is not a glorious pursuit.  At its most idealised, war is the senseless killing of brave young men and women.  In real life there is the widespread suffering and death of bystanders; innocent or otherwise.  War makes murderers out of soldiers and even the most noble warrior sinks to perform atrocities they could scarcely have imagined.

It was not lightly that General Sherman pronounced "war is hell".

Yet there is more to the story.  We of the western democracies live in extraordinary peace, freedom and prosperity.  Had not brave young men and women stood up for us against Wilhelm, Hitler, Mussolini, Tojo, Stalin and so many more, our privileged way of life would have long ago been trampled under an emperor's heal.


There is truth in the saying, sometimes attributed to George Orwell, "We sleep peaceably in our beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on our behalf."

So let us remember those young men and women who made such sacrifices so that we can enjoy our lives.  Let us also remember that dictators and aspiring dictators still walk among us.  Let us value those rough men and women who still stand ready to violence on our behalf, to preserve our way of life.

Lest we forget.

Denial

No, nay, never
No nay never, no more

- Traditional Irish song

The Jewish Holocaust is, for many people, a defining period in Jewish history.  Under the hand of Adolf Hitler, approximately six million Jews were murdered.  It isn't the worst massacre in history.  Stalin murdered around twenty million people.  It was not the last such horror with genocide attempts across Africa, in the Balkans and beyond haunting is to this day.

So what makes the Holocaust so memorable?  Perhaps it is that the German people, civilised westerners, calmly and coldly accepted it and, in some cases,  joined in.  We cannot rely on stereotypes of "barely civilised Africans" or other such excuses.  These were people just like us.  It challenges us: what would I have done in the circumstances.  It is not a comfortable feeling.

Thus it is not surprising that we feel deeply affected when somebody denies that the Holocaust ever happened.  It seems to defy logic as there were many witnesses.  I have met some myself.  We cannot comprehend what thought processes lead somebody to that belief.  Yet Holocaust Deniers undoubtedly do exist.

A common response is anger and a desire to stop the denier spreading their malicious beliefs.  Prominent British denier, David Irving, has tried on a number of occasions to organise lectures in Australia.  The immigration officials have refused to allow him into the country.  Sadly, this generates accusations of censorship and he possibly gets more publicity in being thwarted than he might have received had the lectures gone ahead.

I have come with a better response to Mr Irving's distasteful message.  Let him speak where he wants, and treat him with the respect he deserves.   You point your forefinger in his general direction and laugh out loud. 

Amazing Grace -- Reflections on Christmas.

Amazing grace. 
How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. 
I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see.  
 
Twas grace that taught my heart to fear 
And grace my fears relieved. 
How precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed.  

John Newton

This morning we will all focus on the baby Jesus -- and that is appropriate.  But amongst the good will and feasting, remember why this tiny baby is still the focus of our attention after 2000 years. 
 
The beautiful baby grew up and became a man.  Thirty three years after that first Christmas He endured a brutal, agonising death.   He didn't need to do that.  He chose to do it out of love for mankind.  For you, for me, for the humblest and the most exalted.  Jesus chose to die as an atoning sacrifice so that we could be forgiven for our sins. 
 
For all my failings: shameful things I've done and the duties I've shamefully neglected.  Not because I'm good or clever or in any way deserving of redemption.  Because, even in the depths of my sinfulness, Jesus loves me. 
 
Talk about amazing grace!


Happy Christmas to all my friends and family.  Remember, Jesus loves you too.

Motivations

Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly

Stephen Covey

I am often amazed at some people's ability to determine what other people really mean. 
 
If you support building a Mosque near Ground Zero you are clearly a Muslim collaborator who supports terrorism and abuse of women.  If you oppose the Mosque you must be a redneck racist who hates all foreigners.
 
There always seems to be somebody who knows what you really mean.  I know it is not fashionable, but I've frequently found that the best way to know what somebody means is to ask them. 

If I hear one more politician reporting of their opponent "Sure s/he said [insert a position] but it is clear that they mean the opposite" . . .

Well I probably won't scream and yell, as I'd like to, because it will certainly happen tomorrow. 

Sigh

You Have the Right?

No man is an island,
No man stands alone,
Each man's joy is joy to me,
Each man's grief is my own.
           Joan Baez (reinterpreting John Donne)

A Bill of Rights
Frank Brennan's National Human Right Consultation committee has published its findings: that Australia needs a Bill of Rights.  Supporters of such a Bill, and there are many, are largely astonished that anybody opposes their position.  This post explains why I number myself amongst the opponents.

In theory, a bill of rights sounds like a great idea.  Who could be against human rights?  We all want basic rights like "freedom of speech", "freedom of religion" and such.  Don't we?

Which Rights
One objection frequently heard is the question of "what rights to include".  Among the rights recommended by Fr Brennan and co. is :

"The right to life. Every person has the right to life. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of life. The death penalty may not be imposed for any offence."

That would effectively end debate on abortion, euthanasia and capital punishment.  That might be a good thing, but the community is far from unanimous on that point.  Another is:

"the right to privacy and reputation"

Does that mean you can never damage anybody's reputation, even with truth?

Overreaching
Because rights are generally defined in very simple terms, it is easy to stretch them to mean more than was ever intended.  In the USA, the right to free speech is used to justify pornography and slander.  The right for a well-armed militia is used to justify children carrying automatic weapons.

Freedom of Religion
The most conflicting issue is freedom of religion.  As a Christian, I am a big fan of religious freedom.  I don't want anybody telling me what I can believe and I don't want to tell anybody else what they can believe.
But what if my religion finds western society offensive and wants to destroy it?
What if my religion suppresses and brutalises women[1]?
What if it requires child abuse or illegal drugs?
Are we really ready for unrestrained freedom of religion?

No Rights
I'm going to go one step further.  There are no absolute rights.  No man (or woman) is an island.  every right that you have, impinges on my rights, and vice versa.  I cannot (wrongly) accuse you of a crime, I cannot tell others the PIN for your bank account or what hours your daughter will be home alone.  That is not a problem, I shouldn't be able to do those things.  But I do not have unfettered freedom of speech.  As soon as we acknowledge that, it becomes plain that any simple list of rights will always be inadequate.

Defending Freedom
Yet that does not mean that freedom is unimportant.  While our freedoms are always limited by common sense, the freedoms that we do have are precious and are worth fighting for.  Our freedoms have been greatly curtailed in recent years as we react to real or perceived threats from terrorists.  Try asking a local airline employee if they've heard the one about the archbishop and the suicide bomber.  We need to continually scrutinise and challenge the laws that restrict us.  But we need to know that we will never be without any restriction.


[1] I'm not targetting Moslems here.  Most Moslems I've met neither want to attack western society nor mistreat women.  A few do, and the law will have to apply to them as well.  There are radical Christians as well as radical Jews.  Those are just as dangerous as radical Moslems.

Origin of Species

"Nothing at first can appear more difficult
to believe than that the more complex organs
and instincts have been perfected, not by means
superior to, though analogous with, human
reason, but by the accumulation of innumerable
slight variations, each good for the individual
possessor." - Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species

Want to start a fight amongst a group of theologians and philosophers?  Start talking about evolution.

At one end of the scale you'll meet Creationists who believe that Genesis 1 is a literal description of how God created the earth.  At the other you'll find the likes of Richard Dawkins who's self-worth is so tied to evolution that he finds it mortally offensive to even have a discussion on its merits.

What is a person to think?

The Two-Minute Oversimplified Guide to Evolution

1. Long ago in a (not very) far off place, the perfect combination of chemical soup, temperature and pressure spontaneously formed primitive life.  External factors, such as lightning strikes might have been involved.
2. Primitive life reproduced and mutated in random ways.  The trigger for mutation might have been solar radiation, or possibly something else.
3. Some mutations were more viable than others and the more viable tended to survive and reproduce while the less viable died off.
4. Repeat "2" and "3" a few billion times until the primitive life evolves into cherry tomatoes, blue whales and John Lennon.

Now despite my flippancy, the above is approximately what most modern scientists believe happened.  There are a few disagreements (OK, lots of disagreements) on the fine details, but you're not really supposed to talk about that.

The Extra-Literal Creationist Guide to Evolution

1. God made the universe in six, 24-hour days.
2. On the fifth day, God made all the sea creatures and birds.
3. On the sixth day God made the rest of the beasts, then He made man (singular).
4. God took a rib from man and used it to make woman (singular).
5. The man and woman went forth and multiplied and John Lennon was one of the results.
6. A heretic named "Darwin" (also a result of the multiplying) made up some garbage about evolution.

A Proven Fact

If you start discussing evolution you might be hear the phrase "evolution is a proven fact".  This is, of course, complete garbage.

How does one prove a scientific fact?  There are two main methods: you demonstrate with mathematics that it must be true, or you reproduce it in a lab.  We haven't got close to doing either of those yet.

So is it all wrong?  Well, no.  That's not what I said.  It is a theory.  We've gathered a lot of data, such as fossil records, and evolution seems more or less consistent with the data.  There are certainly problems, but that is to be expected.  We may eventually come up with a theory that better explains the data we have, but nobody has done that yet.

Why is it Important?

To many Christians, the reliability of the bible is of vital importance.  If we cannot trust the bible on creation, how can we trust it on salvation?  To some atheists, it becomes equally important.  If you reject God, you want to be sure that you are right about His non-existence.  A theory that contradicts Christian teaching is solid gold.

Creation Science

Some Christians, certain of the bible's accuracy, simply reject modern science's interpretations.  Science has often been wrong before, it is not infeasible that it should be wrong again.  This is not an unreasonable view.

Others, though, take that further.  They embrace science and attempt to demonstrate, scientifically, that evolution is not plausible.  Unfortunately, much of this is based on poor understandings of science and maths and it is generally viewed poorly by the scientific community.

Intelligent Design

"Intelligent Design" is a controversial term.  Some people simply use it as a new badge for "Creation Science" which, unsurprisingly, generates a lot of scepticism from mainstream science.  Others use the term in a much different way.

It is possible to read the early parts of Genesis as a parable, rather than a historical account.  In the New Testament, Jesus regularly speaks in parables (e.g. The Parable of the Sower).  It is not unreasonable that God might use similar techniques in the Old Testament.  Reading Genesis this way, we take the message of the Creation Story as "God made the Earth" rather than an exact description of how He did it.

Some Christians, thus, are comfortable with the idea that man may have evolved, but insist that it happened according to God's plan and under His direction.  Where a "pure" view of evolution insists that every mutation is completely random, an Intelligent Design proponent would see God's hand guiding evolution to its present state.

This, of course, quite unsatisfying to the atheist who sees evolution as a justification of their position.

So What is True?

You'll have to decide that for yourself.  If you want to say that God could not have created the world in six days, could not have left it as we find it now, then you do not know the all-powerful God with whom I am acquainted.  For myself, I lean toward an Intelligent Design understanding, but I acknowledge my ignorance on the topic and will not be astonished if I am one day proven wrong.  I am certain that God is sovereign and that He made the world.  "How he did it" is a great topic for discussion, but isn't important to my faith.

Who, Me?

"Who are you?" --Pete Townshend

"Who, exactly, is Michael Smith?" the hypothetical reader may ask.  A fair question.  Let me suggest some answers.

• I'm an Australian
  Born in Sydney during the 1960s I grew up in outback Broken Hill before returning to Sydney in the 1980s.  I've been here ever since.
• I'm a Dad
  I've got two wonderful daughters.  Becky is 23 and Jessie is 17.
• I'm a Programmer
  I studied Computer Science at the University of NSW in the late 1980s.  Since then I've had a number of different jobs, but most involved writing computer software.  As I write this (October 2009) I work for RailCorp which runs the NSW railways.
  I'm one of the fortunate few who gets paid to do something I love.  If I didn't get paid to write software, I'd probably do it for free on the weekends.  But don't tell my boss.
• I'm a Writer
  For some years I wrote a column for an Australian magazine that was the top seller in its category.  Now I don't write for money, but I love messing with words and write things when I get the chance.
• I'm a Musician
  I love listening to music, but I love playing it more.  I used to play in bands, performing Australian bush and country music and occasionally perform light classical music.  I'd sing and play instruments including guitar, mandolin, recorder and percussion.  I haven't done much playing for a while, but it might be time to get back into that.
  
• I'm Disabled
  A strange virus left me with damaged lungs a few years ago and I now need an oxygen tank to help me breathe.  Another problem causes a lot of leg pain and prevents me walking more than a few metres at a time.  It sucks, but life goes on.  There are plenty of people worse off than me.
• I'm a Christian
  I believe in God.  I believe that the bible is His word.  I attend Wild Street Church in Maroubra when health permits (which isn't as often as I'd like).
  In some people's eyes that makes me defective but I see that as their problem, not mine.
  My relationship with God is the single most important thing in my life.  I thank God every day for the good things in my life and I ask His help with the tough things.  So far, it has worked out pretty well.

Well, that's a small glimpse of who I am. 

New Beginnings

Welcome to my blog.

I've had two previous attempts at getting this started.  Not easily discouraged, I'm making a third.  Lets see how this one works out.

I'm not sure that a single person ever viewed my previous attempts and have no particular reason to believe that anybody will want to read the new posts.  However I'm a programmer and we don't let logic or common sense influence our progress.  So here goes ...