Christian Medical Comment: What causes homosexuality Peter Tatchell? Well it depends on which view is most politically convenient at the time

Christian Medical Comment: What causes homosexuality Peter Tatchell? Well it depends on which view is most politically convenient at the time

By God’s Grace

Looking at Paul’s first letter to Christians in Corinth we find the church in Corinth was a very real church that struggled with many of the same problems we can identify in most churches today. As people come to faith from all sorts of backgrounds in the world we still struggle with the same problems they faced.

1. There is the struggle to leave behind the way the world thinks (what Paul calls “the wisdom of the world”) as we strive to grow in the wisdom of God.

2. The temptation to declare ourselves for or against this or that party or personality in the church

3. The challenge to see ourselves as servants faithful to the great truths and duties that have been entrusted to us.

4. The question of how we conduct ourselves in our families, in our fellowshipping and how we engage, as we inevitably must, with the world around us while holding on to the sure hope of future resurrection to glory.

We tend to think of the church in Corinth as so very dysfunctional that any comparison with our own circumstances is insulting. But, I have found the story here very encouraging for three reasons:

Paul reminds Christians, “Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?” (3:16)

It was Samuel Johnson who observed that, “Men need to be reminded more than they need to be informed.” As we go about kingdom business we, like the saints in Corinth, need to be reminded that we (plural) are the temple of God and that God's Spirit dwells in us. You cannot be a temple on your own and we need each other to fulfil our role as God's temple.

Paul, as he begins his letter, reminds believers, “in him you have been enriched in every way – in all your speaking and in all your knowledge – because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.” (1:4-7) This, writes Paul, is “because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.” (1:4)

We can never be reminded enough that whatever we are we are in him. If we are to think with God's wisdom, act as servants to each another, reach the lost we must recognise our need of heaven's equipping. If ever you have felt inadequate to the task (and who doesn't?) before you in God's service Paul assures us that we have been enriched in every way because of Jesus. We can sometimes forget to marvel that God should choose to use us at all, to remember that it is by grace alone that we are included and equipped for the work. Lets encourage one another in these things.

Finally, he promises us, “He will keep you strong to the end...” (1:8)

God, writes Paul, “who has called us into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ, is faithful.” When we look at ourselves and consider each other we must remember that a great work of salvation and sanctification is going on in my life and yours every day. In his first letter John wrote:

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!...Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:1-3)

By his grace he dwells in us, by his grace he enriches us and by his grace he promises to keep us strong to the end.

How Big is Your God?

Some years ago I came across a man who was a convert to Islam. I am always interested in how these things happen and it seems the first thing that grabbed his attention was the first verse of the Koran, “Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of worlds...”

He was impressed because it mentions “worlds.” His point was that this seemed to anticipate and embrace modern science because it recognised more than one world. He had always had the idea that the Christian God was a God limited to this world, or that was the impression he had grown up with. I have thought a lot about that.

I am also reading a book entitled “The Genesis Enigma.” It is the account of one atheistic biologist’s grappling with an amazing discovery he has made in the first chapter of the Bible, i.e. he is amazed to discover that the creation account in Genesis is accurate to the very latest scientific discoveries and understanding of origins. He says, “Genesis 1 is correct in a way it has no business to be.”

He is an evolutionist of course and I don't want to get into that but he struggles with questions science simply can't answer. At one point he writes, “I see no problems whatsoever with the process of evolution. But I have encountered questions about life on earth that should have an equivalent scientific answer, yet to which no answer seems to be forthcoming.” He goes on to suggest maybe science will never answer those questions and perhaps the only answer is a Creator.

Like my Muslim acquaintance, however, he has come across too many Christians who have a God incapable of dealing with let alone ruling and reigning over what is being discovered by science. As  JB Phillips put it “Your God is too Small.” But I have also been reading Genesis for myself (Its is January after all) and right there in Genesis 2 we read, “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.”

“The heavens and the earth...” I think that covers worlds, “...in all their vast array...” I think that copes with anything science might throw at us. In the Psalms we read:

“O LORD my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendour and majesty.

He wraps himself in light as with a garment;

He stretches out the heavens like a tent.” Ps.104:1,2

The Bible reminds us that our God is so great we can trust him even in the face of death. That when our prayers seem not capable of being answered yet his purposes serve a greater end even through the greatest trials, and even death is conquered in those who trust in him. Paul writes of God's,

“Incomparable power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead, and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms far above all rule and authority, power and dominion...” Eph.1:19-21

As we enter a new year we must enter it trusting in this God and not the feeble God of limited imagination. We must say, “Worlds?” Let me tell you about worlds.”

“By him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities, all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church...” Col.1:16-18

What Mike Tea Learned at Christmas 1975

Back in the 1970’s I worked in a famous gentleman’s outfitter’s in the High Street (I won’t name it because someone is bound to start singing and I don’t want you to do that) Back in the day it was all a woman could do to get her husband to go shopping for clothes once a year. This particular Christmas a young family came in to buy dad some clothes for the festive season before going on to toy shops and goodness knows what altogether.

I don’t recall whether they bought anything but I do remember a desperate wife and mother come rushing back into the shop, followed by her vexed husband and family asking if we had found some money she had dropped..

This was a time when credit cards were not common-place and debit cards hadn’t been invented. It was not uncommon for people to come into town with their money in cash and this is what they had done; a couple of week’s pay, bonuses, holiday money, all in a bundle and now lost at the very beginning of their adventure in the Christmas rush.

Well, we searched high and low but never found that cash and they went on retracing their steps and hoping above hope that some kind soul had found it and “handed it in” somewhere. During the rest of the day we found ourselves periodically going back to the search, looking under coat racks, searching behind counters, even looking in those places out of bounds to customers but nothing turned up.

The look of desperation on her face wrung our hearts that day, moved us to action, and I simply hope they found their money. I learned three lessons from that encounter, the first about life in general, the second about people and the third about me.

About life I learned that some things happen about which we can do nothing no matter how much we might want to do something. The lesson is that we should do what we can and not what we can’t. So often we get in our own way in a futile effort to change the past when the future is ready to meet us with fresh opportunities for growth and redemption.

About people I have learned that everyone, no matter their status in life, can be a moment away from calamity and disaster. An unkind word spoken in haste can be as devastating as a betrayal, job loss is often unexpected and frightening, the loss of all your Christmas money a week before the big day is certainly disastrous when it is all you have. The loss of a loved one…

A sudden turn in fortune can be devastating and people are much more vulnerable than a brave face and a confident step would have you think. We should stop assuming everyone else is alright and show a kindness, be a friend.

Every year when Christmas comes around I think of that family and their unfortunate mother. I learned about myself that I care and think about these things; that’s who I am. Life is too short to go around trying to be someone else. Find out who you are and be that person because that’s who you were made to be.

Have a Happy Christmas and, if you are into that sort of thing, resolve in 2013 to do what you can, not what you can’t, to remember that other people are vulnerable too, and to find and be who you are. You’ll save yourself a lot of time, make some new friends along the way and maybe even make a difference.

The Best Tea in Carmarthen–The Old Curiosity

Carmarthen lays claim to being the oldest town in Wales. There are fabled links to Merlin, and certainly it dates back to Roman times. It stands on the banks of the river Towy and is the capital of the county of Carmarthenshire.

It is also my favourite place to go to get away, a place from my childhood, where I used, as a boy, to visit the cattle market in the town centre (now sadly moved out to nearby Johnstown – the cattle market that is, not the town centre).

In its place stands the inevitable shopping mall that makes at least that part of Carmarthen indistinguishable from any other town. Thankfully, most of the old streets and many of the old names survive.

 

The winding little streets leading to and from the old town quay are there, Bridge Street (right), Quay Street where the museum used to be before it, too, moved out of town, and Blue Street where the bus station is today.

 

Water Street is where we would go to find Morgan’s Traditional Chip Shop for a slap-up meal of fish and chips with plenty of salt and vinegar (before the days when we all did our best to live forever), “Established 1934” it says over the door and I certainly remember it from the 1950’s and 60’s.

This leads out to St Catherine Street and the old cattle market end of the produce market (left) where you could buy fresh produce at temporary stalls from farmers in for market day. The produce market has moved to its second new home in 30 years, a purpose built indoor affair I haven’t made up my mind about yet. It doesn’t give you the same panoramic view across the central market stalls that the old place had and lacks that old world, Heath Robinson charm.Time will tell no doubt.

Lammas Street is where we used to get off our Eynon’s bus to begin our exploration of the old town, and where we met the last bus of the afternoon home. There was a gentleman’s outfitters there many years ago with a huge Top Hat hanging outside to advertise its business. Although another business occupies the property the hat of fond memory is still there.

The street (right) is named for Lammas Day, a day on which the first harvest is celebrated. It falls on August 1st and is marked by bringing to church a loaf made from the first crop of the year. It coincides with the feast of St Peter in Chains, when St Peter’s miraculous deliverance from prison is commemorated.

Speaking of St Peter, Jackson Lane leads up from the market to King Street (left) which leads from Nott Square at one end to Saint Peter’s Church at the other. St Peter’s is not far short of celebrating its 900th year and is a great building with a lively congregation whose avowed aim is “Seeking to know Jesus and to make him known.”

On that pleasant walk from Nott Square to St Peter’s is a wonderful restaurant, The Old Curiosity (right). On the wall at the back are framed pictures showing the shop when it was indeed an Old Curiosity Shop, filled with antiques, curios and books. The restaurant has kept that old world atmosphere and it is here that you will find what to my mind is the best cup of tea in Carmarthen – along with many more delightful treats.

The menu is surprisingly broad for a small establishment and the food is really good. Nothing is too much trouble for the polite and helpful staff and whether you simply need somewhere to sit away from the bustle of a busy market day with a cup of tea and a snack or you are looking for a good meal to set you up for the rest of your day exploring this old capital Margaret (left) and the others will not disappoint you.

I do like Carmarthen and when I go there I always seem to find my way to The Old Curiosity restaurant in King Street. The tea is delicious – did I mention the tea?

Faith, Sex and the Tyranny of Political Correctness

There is now in the public mind, it seems, a right to not be offended and a right to take offence at just about anything with which you might disagree. A friend who recently left hospital after major surgery shared a disturbing account of how far this nonsense has gone.

After surgery she was put in a room by herself and, to aid her recovery and keep up her spirits, she played Christian music on a loop. She also had a prominently placed text to remind her that, “they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

A nurse attending her lost no time in declaring, “I find that deeply offensive!” referring to the music and text. If she had said the music was too loud, it might have been understandable. If there had been complaints from other patients (she was alone in a room remember) it might have seemed reasonable to comment. If she had said the music was not to her personal taste it would have been a step too far but forgivable. But the only reason to comment it seems was that the person who had been charged with the care and welfare of a patient after major surgery somehow found Christian music “offensive.”

Where do these ideas come from? Where do people find the justification to insist others shut up if those people don't like what others are saying? How does playing Christian music become “offensive” and where on earth does a nurse get the notion that her right to not be offended by something so innocuous overrides her duty of care?

What if your home was burgled and the police made no secret of their being offended by your having a Bible on the coffee table? What if a doctor appeared reluctant to treat you because of a cross on your lapel? What if your employer penalised you for having firm Christian views?

Well, the last has already happened. In a remarkable and worrying case, a man from Bolton, England had his salary reduced by forty percent and was demoted because of comments he made on his Facebook page in his own private time. He won a breach of contract case against Trafford Housing Trust.

The trust argued he broke its code of conduct by expressing religious or political views which might upset co-workers. Astonishingly, they appear to have extended this policy to views expressed outside work, which brings us to the bizarre position where an opinion expressed by a private citizen, in his own time, to a limited number of people on Facebook is cause for discipline because it might, just might be seen by some co-workers who might, just might be upset by what they read and whose lives might, just might be blighted by a point of view??

Reading the trust’s official response two things stand out for me. The first is the way they have still sought to smear the name of Adrian Smith by opaque references to his “previous disciplinary record.” Has he been warned before for having and expressing traditional Christian views? They don’t say but the suggestions is put in the reader’s mind that this must be a thoroughly unsavoury character.

The second is in the way they seek to put themselves, by contrast, in a good light and to make Mr Smith appear awkward and un-cooperative. They state, “We had tried to come to a settlement with Mr Smith, which would have resulted in him receiving ten times the amount he will receive, but he chose to reject this offer." But Mr Smith made it clear that this was not about money but about an important principle. In a statement after the hearing at London's High Court he said:

"Something has poisoned the atmosphere in Britain, where an honest man like me can be punished for making perfectly polite remarks about the importance of marriage.

"I have won today. But what will tomorrow bring?

"I am fearful that, if marriage is redefined, there will be more cases like mine - and if the law of marriage changes people like me may not win in court."

He added: "Does the Prime Minister want to create a society where people like me, people who believe in traditional marriage, are treated as outcasts?"

You can hear his statement read out here.

Speaking of men of principle, it is ironic that Peter Tatchell, the prominent gay rights campaigner, has called the council's actions “excessive.” The irony is not that even Peter Tatchell thinks these actions excessive but in the fact that it is his activities and the activities of others like him over the years that has planted in the public mind this notion of a right to not be offended.

He and others have consistently taken up a position of apparently unassailable “Outrage!” at anything and anyone who disagrees with their view of the world. It is those people who win the argument by refusing to have the argument, who take up the victors position without having engaged in the battle for right and truth, and who shout down anyone daring to challenge or contradict – it is from these the idea of a right to not be offended comes.

Besieged by the hysterical voices of libertarians, council officials, employers, private businesses and others find it best to parrot what they hear than to risk giving offence to the bullies. Our society is being redefined under our noses and any and every voice raised in protest is shouted down, characterised as reactionary and prejudiced, and good is called evil while evil is called good – even when it comes to the caring professions it seems.

I am reminded of the words of George Orwell: “Liberty is the right to tell people what they don’t want to hear.” Our liberties are being eroded and we need to raise our voices before our voices are silenced and everyone the loser for it.

Christian Men’s Conference Carmarthen

A wonderful opportunity is coming up for men in South Wales to get together and enjoy fellowship, challenging teaching and wonderful worship of the great God we serve. The Carmarthen Christian Men’s Conference is happening again on Ocober 20th 2012 and promises to be better than ever. With speakers Julian Thomas, the event’s organiser, Lewis Roderick and keynote speaker David Dando it is a great day with this year’s theme being STRENGTHEN YOUR RESOLVE!You can book by ringing 07817 679680 or by e-mailing julescpm@gmail.com I look forward to seeing you there.