Should we stay or should we go?

referendum 2The people of the United Kingdom are about to make an important decision.  Should we leave the European Union or should we stay in and try to reform it? I am appalled at the level of debate so far.

  • Scare stories about the economy if we leave.
  • Talk about an overcrowded island because of immigration.
  • Politicians insulting one another.
  • Total polarisation of views as though there weren’t good points on both sides.
  • Talking down the 5th largest economy in the world.

I have been undecided but now must admit that I have made a personal decision but this article is not meant to be a one-sided presentation or tirade against the alternative point of view.

Continue reading “Should we stay or should we go?”

Beyond Justice

Version 2If you have read any of my blog posts then you will know that I care deeply about justice for the powerless and for the voiceless of this world.  The principal of justice is very important, but we need to be very careful about how we apply justice.  How often have we heard people effected by crime cry out, “We want justice” when they really mean that they want revenge and to see perpetrators suffer.  This may be a natural response but as followers of Jesus we should not seek revenge and retaliation. Continue reading “Beyond Justice”

Just war theory, non-violence and Jesus

Is war ever justifiable?  I contend that there is no such thing as a ‘just war’.  We must ask the question: “What does Jesus say about fighting for King, country, empire, freedom or democracy?” Can violence overcome evil, even if it is the lesser of the two evils, and is it morally acceptable?

We live in a society in which the law intervenes if we injure, hurt emotionally or physically, or kill another human being.  Yet in war, our soldiers are encouraged to kill soldiers and civilians, all in the name of patriotism!  What sort of logic says that if I go to another country and kill people I would be jailed or executed, but if our politicians declare war I can put on a uniform and be encouraged to kill.

The ‘just war’ theory was invented when the emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.  It has been used throughout history by the ‘Church’ to legitimise killing, suffering and devastation.  During the middle ages the priesthood would tell their Kings that their evil plans were justified because the other side were even more evil. Continue reading “Just war theory, non-violence and Jesus”

Resurrection

Vision refreshedFor thousands of years humans of all cultures and all races have acknowledged the inevitability of physical death but have refused to accept that this event is the end of personal existence.  Almost all religions and tribal mythologies have some concept of an afterlife.  Only recently have atheists and humanists rejected the idea that there is any other form of existence for us.  I suspect that the hardest problem with accepting an atheistic world view is giving up the hope of resurrection.

There is an old saying, “Nothing is certain but death and taxes”.  In the natural world, life and death are fundamental to existence.  Jesus said,

“I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds”.

Our physical bodies consist of about 7*1027 atoms (that’s a 7 followed by 27 zeros!) or seven billion billion billion atoms.  These atoms do not really belong to us, they are constantly being replenished and eventually have to be given up to the ground, and then to produce other life.

But we are not just flesh and blood.  The real you, and the real me, is the breath that God breathed into us; what we call our spirits.  The hope and the certainty of resurrection is that even though our bodies die, our spirit can live on for ever.  Death, mankind’s oldest enemy, was defeated when Jesus as the Son of God, died a terrible death on the cross but three days later was resurrected, bringing hope to us all.  The Spirit of God, alive in Jesus, made it impossible for him to stay dead.  That same Spirit of God, alive in us, means that we too have the hope of resurrection (see Romans 8:11). Continue reading “Resurrection”

My new book

sunset book front coverCompassion and Justice

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” in paperback and in Kindle format. 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.

To Order direct from Amazon

There may be a delivery charge for the paperback version

  •                                 Paperback          Kindle
  • USA                                $11.99             $5.68
  • United Kingdom           £7.99             £3.99
  • India                           INR 878        INR 299
  • Rest of World               $11.99             $5.68

On a kindle device, search for “George Dowdell”

A new book on Kindle!

sunset book front coverI 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.

Ordering from Amazon:

There may be a delivery charge for the paperback version

  •                              Paperback       Kindle
  • United Kingdom        £7.99          £3.99
  • India                       INR 299    INR 878
  • Rest of World            $11.99          $5.68

On a kindle device, search for “George Dowdell”

Should we bomb in Syria

isis-execution-peshmerga-forces
21 Kurds executed, from an IS video

The terrorist group known as ISIS, ISIL, IS or DAESH is obviously a major threat to peace in the Middle East and to a lesser extent to Western nations who oppose its aims. They have executed (murdered) at least 10,000 men, women and children between June 2014 and September 2015 — in Iraq (7,000 plus) and Syria (about 3,000).[1] Continue reading “Should we bomb in Syria”

Making Britain great (again?)

Hope and glory

Land of Hope and Glory,
Mother of the free,
How shall we extol thee,
Who are born of thee?
Wider still, and wider,
Shall thy bounds be set;
God, who made thee mighty,
Make thee mightier yet!
God, who made thee mighty, Make thee mightier yet!

On Saturday, we missed the “Last night at the Proms” so watched it a few days later on “catchup”. Traditionally, the last part of the last night’s concert is full of patriotism, as they sing, “Land of hope and Glory”, “Rule Britannia”, “Jerusalem” and the national anthem. Continue reading “Making Britain great (again?)”

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