Pride in perspective

This week London will host the G20 summit, a meeting of leaders from the world’s most powerful nations who between them represent 85 per cent of the world’s economy.

It is hoped that the summit will yield initiatives to tackle the current global financial crisis, and also agree measures to prevent a future crisis. There is a real sense in which those who sit around the G20 table hold the world’s economic future in their hands, so they should certainly take their responsibilities very seriously.

And yet, formed in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis back in 1999, the very existence of the G20 constitutes an acknowledgement that our economic powers can be rendered powerless by events, and so seek strength in numbers and cooperation.

Both Obadiah and Nahum would want to remind G20 members that it is ultimately God who holds the destiny of nations in his hands and ought to be acknowledged as such.

Like the G20 countries, Lewis Hamilton knows what it is to experience a downturn in fortunes. The defending Formula 1 world champion started Sunday’s Australian Grand prix back in 18th place on the grid, his McLaren car being woefully off the pace in qualifying.

Nevertheless, Hamilton eventually finished third, and commenting on the race said, ‘by the grace of God I managed to bring the car home’. Obadiah and Nahum would applaud his perspective, and the complete absence of arrogance that characterises Hamilton’s approach to his achievements as a result.

This in stark contrast to the arrogance of the now disgraced financial traders who once proclaimed themselves the ‘masters of universe’; the irony of which would not be lost on Obadiah or Nahum!

Nigel Hopper

Mamma Mia! Manna's insect goo?

On the 28th January one of the WordLive writers suggested the Manna that sustained the Israelites in the desert was insect goo. It certainly wouldn't have counted as one of their five-a-day. Locusts are well known as being on the biblical menu, but that is normally for the prophetic elite. One of our readers spotted this and asked the following question.

'I wondered if you could tell me how you know that Manna was a type of insect goo. I've not heard this theory before and am curious to find out more.'

Well, not shy of a challenge, we sent out intrepid biblical expert into the jungle of theological tomes in the corner of the office. Several weeks later he emerged with the information we were all waiting for. So if you want to know all there is about manna, read on.

'Actually there have been a lot of attempts to identify manna with some natural edible substance found in the Sinai desert. To quote from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol 3, (Eerdmans, 1986), p239, ‘The most widely held theory , which has received support from scientific investigations, links manna from a secretion of the tamarisk tree (Tamarix gallica) that forms small, yellowish-white balls that are very sweet … FS Bodenheimer has argued that these are actually excretions of insects that penetrate the tender bark of the twigs, rather than a product of the tree itself.’ But since this only occurs for a few weeks every year one can’t get round the fact this was a supernatural occurrence!'

So there you have it, an event more amazing than Meryl Streep starring in a musical. Manna, a gift from God.

No need to put off worrying

You don’t need Old Testament prophets around to bring a sense of gloom these days. The British Government’s chief scientist warned about the possibility of food, water and energy shortages bringing about a ‘perfect storm’ within 20 years.

He predicted that it would bring mass migration and violence on a global scale. If he’s right and if you’re not worried already, now may be the time to start.

Of course, there’s no need to wait 20 years to see the social unrest which injustice can create. Last week’s general strike in France was accompanied by riots in the streets, some of which targeted ‘anything that represented ostentatious wealth’.

The US may not have riots in the streets but there is huge public anger over bonus payments to staff at AIG, the insurance company which has been bailed out by the government. Some staff received death threats and the company warned staff not to wear the logo and to travel in pairs at night.

Legislators who rushed to approve a 90 per cent tax on these bonuses included many usually opposed to tax increases and limits on executive pay.

But alongside all of that was a great reminder that even huge injustices can be put right. After 27 years in prison, Sean Hodgson’s murder conviction was quashed thanks to new DNA evidence and he was released. I think Amos would have been pleased (Amos 5:24).

Emlyn Williams

WordLive email back to normal

It would appear that the WordLive email is back to normal. It no longer gives you the opportunity to read the Bible passage several times, and whilst we would encourage anyone to get stuck into the Bible at every opportunity, this is probably for the best.

We do apologise for the last five or so emails and hope that it hasn't harmed your WordLive experience or clogged up your inbox too much.

Normal service has been resumed.

WordLive email issue

Now, we are all for helping WordLive users to meet with God through the Bible and prayer. While some people may think that reading, then re-reading, then re-reading and finally re-reading the Bible is a good thing, (and to be honest I may agree with them) having to do this in the WordLive daily email isn't best practice.

We did (well David, our resident clever-bod did) some database upgrading to improve the search functionality on WordLive. However, it seems that this may be causing the email delivery a few issues... like making it put the Bible passage four times into an email.

This is being looked into but it may take a few days to resolve. In the meantime, please feel free to read the Bible passage as many times as you wish, but remember this increase will not continue permanently via the email. As always, we apologise for any inconvenience.

Looking for God

You could be forgiven for missing it, but the race is on to find the so-called ‘God particle’, the Higgs boson. And with CERN’s Large Hadron Collider out of action, the Americans believe they will beat the Europeans. (See the BBC article for more details.) Missing the recent celebration of Darwin would have been harder.

Any attempt to discover the wonders of the universe is welcome. Christians need not fear scientific investigation or discovery. We live in a glorious world which induces a sense of wonder.

But while so much scientific research in previous generations was undertaken in a sense of humility before an awe-inspiring creation and a great creator, much today seems to be undertaken in a spirit of human independence or even arrogance. We can find the answers. We will solve the ultimate questions.

God is, in the words of one of the new breed of atheists, Richard Dawkins, a delusion.

There are others who cannot believe in God but seem to wish they could. Check out the Daily Mail interview with David Attenborough or the Times article by Matthew Parris.

John’s Gospel is structured round a series of signs. For those who will come, either to the created world or to the Gospel records, with open minds and humility there is much to be discovered of the ways of God. Let’s cultivate such an attitude for ourselves and encourage it in others.

John Grayston

Whose wisdom?

Every day, it seems, the news gets worse. On every hand there is gloom, doom and dire forecasts of recession and depression. If ever there was a time when we needed wisdom, it is now.

Our governments need wisdom – it sometimes looks as though the economic forces are uncontrollable. We need wisdom at a personal level in a whole range of decisions affected by the current situation. So, where do we turn?

In Corinthians, Paul talks of two sorts of wisdom: the wisdom of God and the wisdom of man. We can choose to live by one or the other.

God’s wisdom looks odd. It works through weakness rather than power, through the insignificant rather than the prominent. And it makes the wisdom that this world has to offer look foolish, empty and short-lived.

We humans always assume that we know better. Perhaps our current situation should tell us otherwise. But we are slow learners. We will always find a way. There will be a solution.

There is no instant answer in the Bible for the current global financial situation. But in God’s wisdom there are values and ideas that might help us through.

Ideas about where we put our treasure, about our priority to care for the weak and the dispossessed, about generous giving rather than selfish accumulation – about worship of God rather than worship of self-gratification.

John Grayston