I watched spellbound at the heartfelt pearls of wisdom that so eloquently rattled off the tongue of our future King during his Reith Lecture last May.
“Respect for the Earth, Can Sustainable Development be Made to Work in the Real World?” was his subject and what a controversial one it turned out to be.
For myself I was enthralled by his passion, commonsense and informed knowledge gleaned by talking with many of the world’s leading experts in the field of climate change – a unique position that only someone of Prince Charles’ ilk could indulge.
Of course we had the usual detractors such as the ubiquitous Richard Dawkins who tends to get wheeled out at the first sign of religious or spiritual utterings, but on the whole the world sat up and took notice of this quite brilliant heartfelt speech.
In today’s Telegraph I read that 500 leading companies have backed the Prince of Wales’ campaign for concerted action on climate change. The likes of Shell, BP, EDF and Virgin have all signed a communiqué calling on world leaders to commit to cutting emissions by at least 50 per cent by 2050.
It may be too little too late and Charles did not sugar the pill during his speech but at least we have hope if we act now.
I don’t pretend to know all the ins and outs of the extent of the problem but the stats the prince quoted seemed pretty damning to me and put the fear of God in me as to what the likely scenario will be if nothing is done NOW.
Yes many Christians feel these uncertain times are the type described in the Bible as the precursor of the ‘end’ and indeed many of us might actually pray for deliverance from the evil of this world, however I feel sure that we are meant to repent the sins against our planet in the same way as those against God and it is not good enough to sit back and do nothing in the vain hope that all will be well.
I cannot believe the changes in technology I have witnessed in my lifetime and to me it only shows to prove how organisms can develop exponentially in the same way as the advances in computer science.
I hope we listen to the man and do something. The clues are all there for us to see!!
Tuesday 22 September 2009
You can fool most of the people...............
I know it is stating the obvious and I know the only people who really believe that illusionist Derren Brown correctly predicted the National Lottery numbers are those that also believe that the Rovers is a real pub and that WWF wrestling is for real. However, an audience of more than 2.7 million suggests that a high percentage of the viewing public were either fascinated at the prospect of some true divine intervention or were merely curious as to Mr Brown’s modus operandi!!
I actually fall within the second group as I like to think I can work out most illusions and this particular one is a bog standard variance on the old tried and trusted ‘prediction’ trick that Derren himself often ends his shows with whereby a box hanging precariously and quite transparently above the stage throughout his act is opened to reveal an accurate account of all that has gone before………..Magic!
Derren Brown has quite a good patter, although not all magicians find it ethical that he often ‘lies’ to his audience rather than merely leaving them spellbound. I find him very clumsy sometimes when he is studying hidden set pieces and forgets to concentrate on the continuity of the act - and as for that mannerism whereby he appears to have just been injected with botox – well what’s that all about? Is this meant to denote his mystical qualities or perhaps the tic is his way of adjusting his collar as he really does have some neck!
Why I mention all this is because I was flabbergasted that the Daily Telegraph actually gave almost half a page to the Lottery phenomena with a header ‘Mystery remains as Derren Brown tries to explain lottery prediction’. Well Derren didn’t try too hard and in fact ended up saying how he didn’t do it!
I will not spoil the act by telling you how the trick was done but all I will say is that it is easier to perform such a feat in a studio than in someone’s living room.
Oh and sorry to disillusion all those avid fans of the psychic mediums such as Colin Fry and Derek Acorah – these people too are just performing an act, only sometimes they themselves do not even know it. It is very skilful and is as equally enthralling as watching the Undertaker or his ‘brother’ Kane but it ain’t real folks.
So why is my God so real to me when I cannot show you any more proof of Him than Derren Brown or Colin Fry can show proof of supernatural ability?
Because I want Him to be real! because the alternative is unthinkable! – oh yes this is undoubtedly true but it goes a little deeper than that I’m afraid – If I am deluding myself also then what is the downside of this? God doesn’t expect us to live our lives without joy and character so it is wrong to assume that we must automatically become pious - although some Christians do – and this is not necessarily a negative thing. The simple truth is that humans have a great propensity to cock up their lives if left to their own devices. Greed takes over, lust becomes addicted, alcohol, drugs, selfishness, jealousy all become the norm and then depression and anxiety takes hold – the good might feel guilt but without some constraints the evil that men do will always prevail as an acceptable barrier to love and respect and honesty. Not a single man alive or dead has managed to live a sinless life without God’s help. All have died with hope, some more than others, but the Christian ones have died with a faith and trust that they will be held accountable for their actions on earth and that this judgement might be favourable if they are truly reborn. You see there is no downside. People’s opinions mean nothing – Vanity Vanity Vanity – the cool factor is the biggest delusion of all. Who is cool? NO ONE – it is an illusion – in reality we are all lost souls trying to impress each other, trying not to show each other our weaknesses, scared of the judgements we will undoubtedly receive if our fellow man knew how uncool we really were. It is all just VANITY.
It is not that I don’t believe in the supernatural – I certainly do – and I have had many personal instances of the paranormal in my life, but I just KNOW that all those people I mention above are mere purveyors of an art form – all just Uri Gellers – the master of illusion who fooled entire nations with his trickery and earnt lots of money doing so.
If my God does not exist either then what have I lost? You see it is all about the journey and not about the arrival – that will always disappoint the lowly human being!
I know these words should remain unwritten and unsaid because some will automatically think my faith must be weak as I dare question the possibility of there not being a God but these are the same people who think I have a bad opinion of my own Catholic Church because I openly talk about all those wretched homosexual priests that have infiltrated the church and have subsequently been defrocked for their evil ways. To me it is a perfectly natural thing for someone with confused sexuality becoming a priest in the hope that they might lead a celibate life. Some will truly believe they can pull it off and others will not be true believers at all and will merely use the church for their own ends. This is the way of the world and does not make my church evil nor does it make organised religion evil. It is a proof of how low we can stoop without God in our hearts. Here again I must point out that I am not accusing homosexuals of anything and I love them as much as I love heterosexuals – I was once called homophobic by a member of my local Labour Party and it hurt like hell and is just not true – but in the Catholic faith priests are vetted as to suitability for the life of a priest and these people have subsequently shown themselves to be charlatans in the same way as homosexuals who give blood when they know they shouldn’t are charlatans. Yes it is discrimination but we are all discriminated against every day of our lives, especially the youth, but it is for the good of the majority most of the time and not a personal thing.
Enough said
I actually fall within the second group as I like to think I can work out most illusions and this particular one is a bog standard variance on the old tried and trusted ‘prediction’ trick that Derren himself often ends his shows with whereby a box hanging precariously and quite transparently above the stage throughout his act is opened to reveal an accurate account of all that has gone before………..Magic!
Derren Brown has quite a good patter, although not all magicians find it ethical that he often ‘lies’ to his audience rather than merely leaving them spellbound. I find him very clumsy sometimes when he is studying hidden set pieces and forgets to concentrate on the continuity of the act - and as for that mannerism whereby he appears to have just been injected with botox – well what’s that all about? Is this meant to denote his mystical qualities or perhaps the tic is his way of adjusting his collar as he really does have some neck!
Why I mention all this is because I was flabbergasted that the Daily Telegraph actually gave almost half a page to the Lottery phenomena with a header ‘Mystery remains as Derren Brown tries to explain lottery prediction’. Well Derren didn’t try too hard and in fact ended up saying how he didn’t do it!
I will not spoil the act by telling you how the trick was done but all I will say is that it is easier to perform such a feat in a studio than in someone’s living room.
Oh and sorry to disillusion all those avid fans of the psychic mediums such as Colin Fry and Derek Acorah – these people too are just performing an act, only sometimes they themselves do not even know it. It is very skilful and is as equally enthralling as watching the Undertaker or his ‘brother’ Kane but it ain’t real folks.
So why is my God so real to me when I cannot show you any more proof of Him than Derren Brown or Colin Fry can show proof of supernatural ability?
Because I want Him to be real! because the alternative is unthinkable! – oh yes this is undoubtedly true but it goes a little deeper than that I’m afraid – If I am deluding myself also then what is the downside of this? God doesn’t expect us to live our lives without joy and character so it is wrong to assume that we must automatically become pious - although some Christians do – and this is not necessarily a negative thing. The simple truth is that humans have a great propensity to cock up their lives if left to their own devices. Greed takes over, lust becomes addicted, alcohol, drugs, selfishness, jealousy all become the norm and then depression and anxiety takes hold – the good might feel guilt but without some constraints the evil that men do will always prevail as an acceptable barrier to love and respect and honesty. Not a single man alive or dead has managed to live a sinless life without God’s help. All have died with hope, some more than others, but the Christian ones have died with a faith and trust that they will be held accountable for their actions on earth and that this judgement might be favourable if they are truly reborn. You see there is no downside. People’s opinions mean nothing – Vanity Vanity Vanity – the cool factor is the biggest delusion of all. Who is cool? NO ONE – it is an illusion – in reality we are all lost souls trying to impress each other, trying not to show each other our weaknesses, scared of the judgements we will undoubtedly receive if our fellow man knew how uncool we really were. It is all just VANITY.
It is not that I don’t believe in the supernatural – I certainly do – and I have had many personal instances of the paranormal in my life, but I just KNOW that all those people I mention above are mere purveyors of an art form – all just Uri Gellers – the master of illusion who fooled entire nations with his trickery and earnt lots of money doing so.
If my God does not exist either then what have I lost? You see it is all about the journey and not about the arrival – that will always disappoint the lowly human being!
I know these words should remain unwritten and unsaid because some will automatically think my faith must be weak as I dare question the possibility of there not being a God but these are the same people who think I have a bad opinion of my own Catholic Church because I openly talk about all those wretched homosexual priests that have infiltrated the church and have subsequently been defrocked for their evil ways. To me it is a perfectly natural thing for someone with confused sexuality becoming a priest in the hope that they might lead a celibate life. Some will truly believe they can pull it off and others will not be true believers at all and will merely use the church for their own ends. This is the way of the world and does not make my church evil nor does it make organised religion evil. It is a proof of how low we can stoop without God in our hearts. Here again I must point out that I am not accusing homosexuals of anything and I love them as much as I love heterosexuals – I was once called homophobic by a member of my local Labour Party and it hurt like hell and is just not true – but in the Catholic faith priests are vetted as to suitability for the life of a priest and these people have subsequently shown themselves to be charlatans in the same way as homosexuals who give blood when they know they shouldn’t are charlatans. Yes it is discrimination but we are all discriminated against every day of our lives, especially the youth, but it is for the good of the majority most of the time and not a personal thing.
Enough said
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