Couldn't Help Noticing

Abortion and Amnesty International

Amnesty International have decided to support abortion rights, according to this piece in The Australian. The way they have done it looks pretty underhanded:

The new policy remains absent from Amnesty websites. A process of damage control appears to be in place. British Bishop Michael Evans, author of Amnesty's prayer and 30 years a member, describes this secretive process: “Amnesty seems to have tried very hard to keep the decision secret, stating that the policy would not be made public at this time, and that no Amnesty section or structure was to issue a press release, public statement or external communication of any kind on the decision.”

The previous position on the abortion question was ‘neutrality’. I don't see how this can possibly be spun as an argument for human rights. Christian supporters of Amnesty should let them know what they think.

‘Making the most’ of good publicity

I couldn't help noticing that in the latest issue of Southern Cross, there are not one, not two, but three positive comments about John Chapman's latest book Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life.

Archbishop Peter Jensen: “I have just finished reading John Chapman's latest book Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life. He writes as an older person for older people. As ever, he is hoping his readers will want to come to know the Lord Jesus. I think the book will do that, and I commend it to you.”

The Anglican Retirement Villages head chaplain, the Rev John Butler, is said by Southern Cross to have “strongly backed” the Archbishop's recommendation of John Chapman's book Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life.

And in a longer review, David McKay says,

In fifty pages of text, we are given a gentle, clear presentation of the Christian message, largely based on the words of the New Testament itself ... This would be a great book to give to any older person, whether Christian or not, because many of us have fuzzy ideas about the life to come and how God says we may enjoy it ... The thousands of people who have appreciated Chappo's talks over more than fifty years will enjoy hearing his voice i this informal, friendly little book.

You can order Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life in our online store.

Elitism

This article in The Sydney Morning Herald argues a case for elitism:

Because of this reluctance to acknowledge intellectual differences, no one tells high-IQ children explicitly, forcefully and repeatedly that their intellectual talent is a gift, and that they are not superior human beings but lucky ones. They are never told that their gift brings with it obligations, and that the most important and most difficult of these obligations is to aim not just at academic accomplishment, but at wisdom ...

The encouragement of wisdom also requires mastery of analytical building blocks. The gifted must assimilate the details of grammar and syntax and the details of logical fallacies because these are indispensable for precise thinking at an advanced level. They also need to be steeped in the study of ethics, starting with Aristotle and Confucius. It is not enough that gifted children learn to be nice. They must know what it means to be good. And the encouragement of wisdom requires an advanced knowledge of history. Never has the aphorism about the fate of those who ignore history been more true than it is today.

It's not a bad article as far as it goes, which is not far enough; there's no mention that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov 9:10), which should remind us that Aristotle and Confucius were fools.

In the end, it's not a good article either.

Paris Hilton

I wrote an opinion piece for The Daily Telegraph on Paris Hilton. Here's the start of what I said:

This morning I was thinking about Paris Hilton when a topless lady stood next to me.

Thinking about Paris Hilton is easy, when you're in a job like mine.

She's done time and in the middle of it, professed a religious conversion. Religion is what I do, so when somebody has something to say about it, I want to know what gives.

Christian retail

Readers of CHN may recall my two posts about this time last year of my observations from the ‘International Christian Retail Exhibition’ (formerly known as the Christian Booksellers Association Convention).

Another first-time attender, Rick Phillips, has just posted his observations of the 2007 fair over at Reformation21. I certainly relate to what he has written, including this helpful observation:

I understand that the CBA has no—as in zero—doctrinal requirements. I am sure that one could not sell a book at CBA advocating abortion. But one can most certainly publish books there attacking the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the inerrancy of Scripture, the atoning work of God's Son, justification through faith alone, or a biblical understanding of gender and sexual purity. In short, if you call yourself a Christian, then a Christian you must be. And that leaves us with little else left but, well, marketing ... It was also striking to observe the Christlessness of the Christian Booksellers' Association. The vast majority of it is about you.

Please pray for the Christian publishing (retail) ‘industry’—particularly in North America. It is highly influential in shaping Christian thought and culture. In addition, while there are good pockets of worthwhile publishing (as Rick Phillips points out), the ‘industry’ does at times appear to be quite spiritually sick and in need of a reformation.