George's Blog
I long for a just society is where each member of the community cares for the rights of each other member. This sounds a little idealistic but we can hunger and thirst to live in a world where this ideal for humanity is paramount. Jesus told us that God blesses those who seek justice for their fellow-man.
“God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.” (Matthew 5:6 New Living Translation)
I feel passionate about compassion particularly for the billions who are living in desperate poverty around the world. Extreme poverty can be eliminated if people like you and I say ‘enough is enough’!But compassion alone is not enough. So many people are exploited by the powerful and the elite and this demands justice for the oppressed. It is not a case of compassionate acts or fighting for justice. It is a matter of compassion AND justice.
I have just published the book “Compassion and Justice” on Kindle. It is priced at £3.99 in the United Kingdom, 299 rupees in India and $5.68 in the rest of the world. It contains 50 or so of my blog articles about Compassion, Vision, Giving and Justice.
I am not selling this book to top-up my income but to provide funds to expand the campaign of awareness I am involved with. Please support me in my efforts to spread the good news of compassion and in my fight for justice on behalf of the voiceless.
There may be a delivery charge for the paperback version
On a kindle device, search for “George Dowdell”
Contrary to common perception, the number of people dying through war and conflict has drastically reduced.
Pessimists and scare-mongerers like to say that the world is getting worse and worse. The opposite is true. Television news and newspapers make us more aware of problems throughout the world but statistics paint a very different picture. As Harold Macmillan said back in 1957, “Most of our people have never had it so good”. Extreme poverty is reducing, diseases are being eliminated, fewer people are dying because of war and life expectancy is improving. If you want a fuller picture, read on. [Read more…]
Apparently, George Osborne and Iain Duncan Smith have decided to cut benefits to people of working age. This will include tax credits payable to people in work and which support families on a very low income. They claim this is a part of, “making work pay“! Many of those affected will be on the minimum wage. It seems crazy to me that the government (or the taxpayer, you and me) should subsidise companies which do not pay enough to their staff to enable them to look after their families. The answer must be to increase the minimum wage sufficiently to make work really pay.
Can we smash the cycle of poverty and prevent one generation trapped in poverty producing another poor generation? Returning from our visit to Jaffna recently we were overwhelmed by stories which emphasised the importance of education and the potential to radically change lives. In this article I present some anecdotal evidence that sponsoring really works. Ensuring that boys and girls receive a good education really changes the lives of young men and women.
The modern city of Colombo
I first visited Sri Lanka early in 1988, but have just returned from what must be about my 30th visit. The roots of the poverty relief charity, Kingscare/Karuna Action developed here, and the country has been central to it’s work and vision.
I remember well my first visit. I came with a burden and a dream along with a certain amount of idealism. I knew that God had called me to take some action to relieve poverty which I knew held so many in it’s grip of slavery. I had read every book I could find, both Christian and secular, on the subject of poverty and world problems. I was anxious to find ways that the Church of Jesus Christ could be a blessing to the whole world.
This is an excellent article by a blogging friend.
Terrorism has become an unfortunate fact of life in first world countries over the past decade or two. The Twin Towers in the US in 2001, the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings which affected many western tourists, Spain’s train bombings in 2004, the 2005 London transport bombings and now the several recent terrorist actions in France (and more besides) have all understandably generated outrage.
I have been pondering these matters for a while. Here’s a few of my thoughts, ending with 4 lessons I think first world christians can learn.
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