It seemed such a good idea after two world wars fought mainly on European soil that the States of Europe should get together.   But peace comes at a price and anyone working out the maths could see the day coming when, with a population of less that 1% of the whole, this Republic's voice would become a whisper.  

What was perhaps less clear was the extent to which our nation’s statehood would be diluted.  The answer is hard to find in the 287 pages of legal jargon which comprise the Treaty. Perhaps it’s an unfair comparison but the USA was founded on a constitution 7 pages long!   There is some truth in the suggestion that the treaty was designed not to be read by voters but by lawyers.  

The democratic deficit was seen when, despite the French and Dutch voters’ rejection of the Constitution in 2005, they were denied any say on the Lisbon Treaty - which is reckoned to be virtually identical to the rejec ... Read More »

Or should it be Israel at 4,000? 

Last week's celebration of the founding of the State of Israel reminds us of the promise God made to Abraham to leave his father's country and go to a land I will show you; Genesis Chapter 12.  This "promised land" presented Abraham with some problems from the start but none were greater that the decision as to which of his two sons were to inherit it.  Was it to be Ishmael, the son of Abraham's disobedience or Isaac the son of promise? 

In the providence of God it was through Isaac that the blessing was to flow to the nations but Ishmael was also to be the founder of a great nation - the Arabs.  The struggles to gain possession of the land ebbed and flowed according to their obedience or disobedience to God's commands culminating in the exile when Judah went into captivity "away from their land". 

All that they had left was the promis ... Read More »

It must be the most callous disregard for its citizens witnessed this century for the military government of Burma to give a higher priority to their referendum than to the supply of aid to its people suffering from Cyclone Nargis.  

Not since Nero fiddled while Rome burned has there been such a studied indifference to the suffering of ones own people by those in authority.   But then Nero had some excuse - he was mad!   The Military government of Burma can only claim a degree of self interest that must astonish even Mugabe!   The refusal to grant visas to countries to land their planes laden with food and drinking water was a particularly callous action, apparently taken out of a fear that it might disrupt a referendum designed to help them remain in power.

Such is the paranoia of the ruling Junta that some foreign aid provided to disaster victims was modified to make it look like it came f ... Read More »

In Ireland we are sometimes blessed with a Spring morning which is idyllic!   The scents and sounds are stimulating and there is a real sense of it being good to be alive.   The grass, after a cold April, now bursts into that vivid luscious green that has the cattle lying down to ruminate after only one circuit of the field.  Spring flowers border the country roads and the new motorways with their young plantations of trees display that fresh leafy green that sooths the eye and sweetens the landscape.   It is good to rejoice in creation and recognise that even in a fallen world evidence of the Creator is plain to be seen for those who have eyes to see.

Of course such musings do not make news!   Newspapers are sold by highlighting our wrongs!  When the Times of London conducted correspondence into what was wrong with the world, G K Chesterton replied, in what is arguably the briefest letter eve ... Read More »

We are all too familiar with the horrors of suicide but now another phenomenon has hit the Irish scene where a family dies together.   The tragedy is compounded by the thought that they may not have been of one mind and the setting fire to the house, as occurred this weekend, may not successfully conceal what led to the disaster.  No doubt many factors contributed to the event but the notion that they would be together forever may well have influenced the distraught mind.
It’s only two weeks ago since Nuala O’Faolain gave a memorable radio interview reflecting on her feelings when confronted with terminable cancer.  She highlighted the world of difference between thinking about your death and knowing your departure date. For her, it was the sense of loneliness this information created that made the difference between merely reflecting upon death and her present situation.
Her chief regret was the waste of all her accumulated knowledge, leading t ... Read More »

It must have been perplexing for President Mugabe to read of the Taoiseach’s resignation so soon after he had won another five years in office. 

In Zimbabwe the man in charge makes the rules and if they are found to limit his ... Read More »

This week sees the 40th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King.

The small town Baptist Pastor who found himself projected into the Civil Rights Movement and, recognising the grave injustices, set out to “redeem the soul of America”. His recognition that love, translated into non-violence, would win the day was inspirational and his speeches, quoting liberally from the Bible, heralded a new day.

In the speech from the Lincoln Memorial Building in Washington he quoted Isaiah chapter 40, “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together” bringing hope of a better future to millions.

He said, in his descriptive language, “With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair ... Read More »

After years of trying to produce a secular state in Stalinist Russia there was a large political gathering one Easter. At a defining moment in the proceedings someone shouted the words, “He is Risen”. Out of the mouths of the thousands present came the Christian response, “He is Risen Indeed”! The life of God in the soul of man is not easily extinguished.

Most civilisations have the view that the soul is immortal but, uniquely, Christianity claims that the body will arise too. Our identity will be with us in the next life. We will be known to one another just as Moses and Elijah, although they lived in different eras on earth, knew each other and spoke together on the Mount of transfiguration.

Some may say, “Others have come back from the dead”. What makes Jesus so special? Was Jesus simply another Lazarus? But Lazarus and all the others eventually died had a funeral and a grave where their bones were laid. Only Jesus arose, never to die again. He is the first fruits of a new kind ... Read More »

It’s now official; the Rev Ian Paisley says that St Patrick was a Protestant!   He might as well claim him as everyone else seems to claim him too.