EN94 Smugness Hacking
So who hasn’t heard or been intrigued by this story?
I have been listening to this unfold for what feels like ages and ages - I meant to do something on it months back but never got round to it. In the end this was a good thing because it has really hooked into the public consciousness.
There are so many interesting angles on it that I felt a little bewildered by where to start. I asked a few friends to give their gut-level reactions and I had some helpful and interesting perspectives. This gave me enough of a feel to launch out on the cartoon.
Here are the (anonymous) responses.
Me: What is your one-line gut level Christian response or reflection on the whole phone hacking saga? I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips. Its another classic example self-righteous moral outrage that turns a blind eye to the public lust for gossip and the political lust for power/money/influence that encourages these things to happen. We all have a bit of Jacob in us and need God to change our hearts.What made us so desperate for that kind of news that no-one cared about the source?Symptomatic of a sinful nature. To sin and hide it cover it up. Misuse any technology.As a Christian, remember God has no need to tap your phone to see your wrongs. If you don't want it known don't do it! XIt is sad, but there are bigger injustices out there. Why are we so upset by this, but not by other violations?Easy to pontificate when the curtain has been pulled back, need for a distinctive voice when the world is on the side of the Murdochs.Sin is manifested in many and various ways - only Christ has sacrificed himself for wretches like us.Gut level - a great, interesting story of crime + corruption in high places.Numbers 32:23: “...you may be sure that your sin will find you out.” This applies to everyone. The hacked. The hackers. The writers. The readers. Their world is built on what others think of them. The hacked weep that their carefully constructed media image is blown. The hackers that they were caught. The writers that their fiction of the "public good" is revealed as calculating. Only the readers get a free ride at the moment. There is a greater judgment coming. There is an opinion on their lives that will trump all others. that should be our chief concern.Rather than joining in the condemnation of those who have done wrong, let’s be like Jesus and live in contrast to the world around us – loving the criminals (recognising that we are among them), showing grace and mercy to those who sin against us, thereby showing that through Jesus there is an alternative way. That is not to say that phone hacking and dishonesty do not matter – far from it, they nailed Jesus to the cross! – but we have all sinned, we all need forgiveness and as God has shown us grace, we should also show grace to others.
Thanks to everyone who took part.
Materialism, Presumption and Prayer
The details of the talk can be found here.
EN61 Brand and Ross
The Bible epilogue text can be found here and here (you will need to scroll down to find the exact part).
Yes, it was a major media event - perhaps whipped up by people who didn't like these two presenters, perhaps an indication of how disgraceful licence-fee wages are for such childish antics, perhaps a sense of people getting ready for harsher financial times. Anyway - it dominated the news for some time and so I weighed in with this piece that has two main ideas in it:
1. The observation that speech can do plenty of damage (as is so well observed in the James text)
2. That making denouncing statements when we are also casual with our own speech is a risky position to be in.
On the whole this isn't really one of my favourites. I think that the plank in the eye bit is the best part just because it looks amazing to have a plank sticking out of a face like that. The other part isn't great mainly because doing likenesses isn't a personal strength.
EN45 the 'F' word
The Bible epilogue text can be found here (you may have to scroll down a bit to find the exact part...).
Gordon Ramsay represents a cultural shift in terms of swearing becoming accepted. His skills are immense, but it hurts my ears when I watch. I usually have to turn it off because it often feels so unnecessary. This strip is an attempt to link some biblical wisdom to the Channel 4 program. Surely the irony of quality going in through the mouth and contaminating garbage coming out stands tall.
I tried to get a sort-of representation of Ramsay together. Also, a few little extra details crept into the final version from the first rough:
Thanks to Mr and Mrs Frog and the wife for valuable comments.