Pens are being sharpened and word processors cranked up this week to alert the Citizens Assembly that there are people in Ireland who view the baby in the womb as a proper child. Sadly this has become necessary as there are journalists who refer to the child in the womb as a zygote – a collection of cells – in an effort to make more palatable the horrendous slaughter of the innocents should abortion be legalised.
The 8th amendment to our Constitution was passed in order to grant the unborn child equal rights to life as the mother. The removal or dilution of this right is being sought by those who see Ireland as a “modern State”.
Having recently introduces same-sex marriage legislation they are now trying to make abortion as available as contraception. The UK who have had legalised abortion for some time now have 1 in 5 babies aborted. In Sweden, often held up as an example of a modern State, the ratio is 1 in 4 babies aborted.
These statistics should send a shiver down our spines but the fact is that they don’t. We have been conditioned by the experience of abortion in places such as the USA or the Netherlands. In the latter there now is a culture of death established with euthanasia becoming an accepted way to go. This moves society away from the idea of caring to killing in a relatively short time.
The fruit of the womb has an honoured place in the Bible. From earliest times if a pregnant woman got caught up in a fight and as a result gave birth prematurely there was to be restitution. The child in the womb had rights (Exodus chapter 21 verse 22). In Isaiah God speaks of Israel as a child made by him and formed in the womb (Chapter 44 verses 2 & 24).
This theme punctuates Scripture but perhaps arises most plainly in the Psalms. “You created my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Chapter 139 verses 15 & 16).
In the New Testament prior to the birth of Jesus his earthly cousin, John the Baptist, was active in his mother’s womb! (St Luke chapter 1 verse 41).
“When Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”
It is perhaps a reflection of how far we have strayed from Christian values when we use the terms of ‘foetus’ and ‘embryo’ in place of ‘fruit of the womb’.
And that fruit, like every other fruit, is a gift…but Mary’s is a gift par excellence – God’s love gift to a world that is chronically opposed to Him “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (St John Chapter 3 verse 16).
Let’s make sure that the view from the wombs of Irish mothers is one that reflects the love of God and not the selfishness of man.

Net shopping is becoming popular. It has not taken long for drug dealers to catch on to this method of trading. It provides vendors with a relatively safe distribution system with few of the usual problems of gang warfare.

In fact the dark-net, as it has been named, caters for other commodities. There is a whole inventory of items to be purchased. In addition to drugs and chemicals some of the headings are weapons, gold and digital products both in the software and malware categories. If you click on a heading the drop-down box reveals a wide choice and price range.
Traders have their own recommendations received from satisfied clients all of whom remain anonymous thanks to layers of protection and encryption. Of course the address for delivery must be known but it need not be the client’s home. The parcel can be delivered to a PO Box No. or to a locker in a “Parcel Hotel” which cater for this trade.

Payment is made in Bitcoin, the virtual on-line currency. Bitcoin can be bought on the web with a credit card. You can avoid having your purchase of Bitcoin linked to you by another procedure which is on offer.
With all these possibilities we can expect to see an uptake of computer courses specialising on the internet by those looking for a safer alternative than the street corner trader.
Laptops and tablets will be popular items for the junkie’s stockings this Christmas!

The Garda will have to up their level of computer literacy if they are to keep abreast of their felons. At present their best detection weapon is the sniffer dog! She will need to produce lots of sniffer puppies to keep up with the demand!!

There have always been secret societies operating out of sight and destabilising society. It was no different in Jesus day. There was a guerrilla band operating around Jerusalem one of whose number called Barabbas had been captured. He was sentenced to death at the same time as Jesus and Pilot, the Roman Governor, in a crowd pleasing tactic offered one of the two prisoners’ release. Only one could live. The other would die instead.

The crowd chose Barabbas’s release! (St Matthew chapter 27 verses 15 – 18.
Barabbas was the first man who could say Jesus died in my place!
His name is distinctive. It translates as “son of the father”. But we are all sons or daughters of our father. We might call him “Mr Everyman”. And Mr Everyman could say with the hymn-writer “In my place condemned He stood”.

But the hymn-writer had a deeper meaning which becomes true for every repentant sinner.
It comes out in the next line of the hymn “Sealed my pardon with his blood”. Jesus death purchased redemption by his death and resurrection (Romans chapter 4 verse 25).

You don’t need the dark-net. Salvation is preached openly and received freely by every believing junkie today as it was for me many years ago.

The recurring scandal of soaring motor premiums reached its head this week when a Representative of the Industry received a “roasting” on the Prime Time T V programme. He had no convincing answers in the face of a statistically well prepared mature PhD student who was turned loose on him!
This topic has been in the news as recurring price hikes have increase renewal premiums by considerable percentages over the previous annual premium causing an outcry in the media. There is word of a Government commission to look into the escalating personal injury awards that are a major contributor to these hikes and, in particular, cap whiplash awards at a level comparable with that of the U.K.
There have been allegations of price fixing as the market has moved in unison in the face of heavy losses. Companies’ statistics do not vary very much and their attempts at valuing the cost of future claims (a necessary function as most contracts run for 12 months) also tend to work out along similar lines. The public want to see the figures in the interests of ‘transparency’ but these must remain confidential in a competitive market.
The industry has also to cope with accident and injury claims from uninsured drivers. This it does through a Bureau financed by a levy on companies operating in the Irish market. Recently, on the failure of an Insurance company, the courts ruled that the Bureau should pay for its unpaid claims. This is particularly galling as the failed company had distorted the market by price-cutting bringing all premiums down through intense competition to an uneconomic level. This has produced the current premium increases in an effort to build up the reserves and produce a profit.
Because of the risk-taking nature of insurance the margin of solvency required by law is higher than that of other businesses. This requires the building of reserves to achieve the required margin and not to use these reserves to pay current claims. Failing to take this into account in the past has led to the bankruptcy of a number of Irish Insurance companies.
Greed lies at the heart of it all. From over inflated premium to the over stated or fraudulent claim. To combat these requires constant vigilance, both on the part of the Central Bank and the various insurance watchdogs.
Jesus said, “Be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions” (St Luke Chapter 12 verse 15). That begs the question, what does our lives consist of? The answer may be found in St Paul’s advice to the Colossian Church. “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (chapter 3 verse 5). This can only be done by turning to and trusting in the living reigning

When I came to Ireland many years ago I was told “people make a sport of their religion and a religion of their sport”! It is true that sport is taken very seriously. Indeed there may even be something of the religious fervour of bygone times to it.

There are annual pilgrimages to Croke Park in Dublin from all parts of the country to attend the finals of our national games of Gaelic Football and Hurling. These are splendid occasions with the flags of the competing counties colouring the stadium. The games are preceded by the junior finals to give the rising generation taste of playing in front of a crowd of 86,000.
The culture honours its traditions with due regard to the history of the games and the remembrance of past victories and players. It is part of the glue which holds Ireland together!
In addition there are “foreign” games which command a growing importance, especially now that soccer teams are playing at European level. But this day it is all about rugby!
Ireland’s team beat the mighty New Zealand side two weeks ago in Chicago. This momentous event had never happened before in 29 attempts over 111 years! In fact when it comes to rugby New Zealand were considered unbeatable. To even contemplate back to back victories is unthinkable.

The media and the bookies agree it is not going to happen. Sadly they were correct!

When it comes to religion it must be acknowledged that all religions are not the same. There are those which by diligent attention to various duties and obligations seek to attain their goal.
And there is Christianity which is dependent on the work of another.
It is faith in the sufficiency of His work (Jesus on the cross) and not on the individual’s performance or the collective performance of the church that St Peter says brings you across the line, “Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts chapter 4 verse 12).

Is it too daunting, too impossible to think about. Like getting the ball at the line and only have to fall over to win the game. In fact it’s better. You are carried over the line by God’s grace, “It is by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians Chapter 2 verses 8 – 9). Our contribution is the faith with which we have been gifted!

The Irish rugby team return to the training ground with sore limbs after a couple of days off. Believers have no days off!

Christians have been chosen to carry the life–changing message of the grace of the Saviour King with us wherever we go. Our training is ‘on the job’. Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ,… “We implore you on behalf of Christ. Be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians Chapter 5 verse 20).

He played his ace and won the game. There was no need to revert to plan B which would have contested the result had Hillary won. If you are a bridge player, he won the rubber or if tennis is your game the match was over with a straight ace.
The appeal direct to the marginalised and largely ignored masses was heard and understood. This man was outside the political elite. He was a one-off. The defence mounted by the status quo i.e. Hillary was carrying the baggage of her husband’s history plus her blunders in office and it proved too heavy a burden.
Much has been written as to whether Donald will be different in office to the Donald who proved to be so adroit at handling the electioneering. I don’t think so. Will he be wise enough to surround himself with good advisers? I think he will. But will he take their advice? I am not so sure!
Self-made men find it hard to hear what they see as lesser mortals say, especially when it contradict their gut reaction. It is that gut reaction which, according to Donald, has served him so well in business which he brings with him into the political sphere. The difference is that in politics decisions can change the lives of millions for good or ill. It’s no accident that the Emperor was worshipped in the Roman world. Although that power today is hedged about by laws there is only one finger on the nuclear button!
So what controlling influences could be attributed to Donald? We have learned he went to the same church as Norman Vincent Peale and embraced the ideas in his book, “The Power of Positive Thinking”. Some of the results may be scene in his successful business deals. There is no evidence that Scripture is the controlling influence in his life whereas that may be the case with Mike Pence, his Vice President elect.
When Jesus was confronted by Pilot, the all-powerful Roman Governor of Israel, who explained in simple language that he had the power to have him killed, Jesus replied “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above” (St John Chapter 19 verse 11). Authority on earth comes from God. We are to obey the government and pray for those in authority and if you find that hard just think what it must have seemed like to those in 1st century Rome! (Romans Chapter 13 verses 1 – 5).
The most sublime example of ultimate power under total control is that of Christ on the Cross. The ability to pray for the forgiveness of those who were crucifying him (St Luke Chapter 23 verse 34). Power which does not acknowledge that it comes from God will always be defective being centred on man. Let us pray the America will remember the founding fathers motto and put into practice “In God we Trust”.

The visit of Pope Francis to Sweden earlier this week started the year of commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation (usually reckoned to have commenced on 31st October 2017). Luther was the subject of his visit to the leaders of the Lutheran Church in the Swedish city of Lund.
So who was this Luther who faced down the might of the Catholic Church of his day? What drove him to attempt to right the corruption? But first he had to sort out his relationship, or lack of it, with God.
Luther’s personal problems came to a head when he read in the Bible that God requires righteousness. Luther saw no possibility of him ever pleasing this righteous God. It was at his first mass, as an Augustinian Monk, he felt utterly unworthy and realised that instead of loving this God he hated him. It seemed as if there was nothing he could do to span the gulf between this righteous God, who punished sin, and Luther, the sinner, who had tried all the Church had on offer to rid himself of his sin, including holy orders.
Luther had understood that this longed for righteousness was something which he had to achieve by his own efforts. The breakthrough came when he realised that the righteousness which St Paul refers to and which God requires is not something which you earn but comes from Jesus Christ whose righteousness it is. It is given as a gift to be received by faith. It is imputed to the repentant sinner who is then declared righteous in God’s sight (Philippians Chapter 3 verses 7-10).
Jesus accomplished all this on the cross. Not only is there forgiveness to cancel our guilt – this would leave us saved but naked. But the righteousness of our Saviour is imputed to us, it is our covering, so that we are robed appropriately as the redeemed people of God.
Thus our acceptance before a thrice holy God is totally dependent upon the work of the Saviour, Jesus Christ. St Paul puts it simply “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Romans Chapter 3 verse 22).
When it all came together for Luther he said, “Here I felt I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates”. His conscience was no longer troubled. As he later said “My conscience is captive to the Word of God”. And that word was the light to his path (Psalm 119 verse 105).

There can be no doubt that the latest information on Hillary Clinton’s emails have filled her opponent in the US
Presidential race with delight. When our plane took off from Philadelphia this week Donald Trump was trailing
in the polls but by the time we landed in Dublin things looked a lot brighter for him.
What happened to bring about the change? The Federal Bureau of Investigation decided to open an investigation
into Mr Weiner, the husband of Hillary’s aide who, it is alleged, had been involved in correspondence of a sexual
nature with a 15 year old girl. Weiner’s computer, which the FBI seized, showed that Hillary had been using it for
her ‘classified’ emails.
As a former Secretary of State, Hillary would have been expected to use only the encrypted computers of the State
department when dealing with ‘classified’ material. Only 3 months ago the FBI reprimanded Hillary for a similar
offence which had been brought to light by ‘Wikileaks’ who released copies of emails produced on her home computer.
The FBI called her actions “extremely careless” which was mild compared to the words Donald Trump used to describe
her actions in his campaign speeches!
However all this may not be enough to erode the lead the polls show in Hillary’s favour so the focus over the
remaining days (election is 8th Nov.) is on the Senate where 34 seats (total is 100) are up for re-election.
There the Democrats (Hillary’s party) hope to gain 4 more seats which would give them a majority. It is thought
that Congress with its majority of 30 seats in favour of the Republicans (435 total) would be beyond the Democrat’s
grasp.
The only election mentioned in the Bible (a Book which favours no one type of political party) is that of the person
elected to salvation. It makes it clear that it is God who does the electing. It is His choice. It does not
depend on us (Romans chapter 9 verses 10-12). Our task is to make sure that we are in that number and the passage in
2 Peter Chapter 1 verses 3-11 is helpful.
The result of the US election pales in significance to our own election. It is not for 4 years but for eternity.

There is something far wrong with a country where its people clamour for the death of their young. It seldom happens in the animal world although there are one or two species where the male becomes murderous. But when the female of the species wants to destroy that which she has been given the power to create – that is a different league. That belongs to the so called evolution of modern western humankind.
The main change in the law in Ireland took place in 1983 with the inclusion of the 8th amendment to the Constitution which gave babies in the womb the same right to life as the mother. This unusually powerful step (the Constitution is for values which are considered to be ‘set in stone’) was seen to be necessary to quell the emotions of the campaigners and secure the welfare of the unborn.
There have been one or two small changes culminating with the 2013 Act which changed the wording from ‘life’ of the mother to ‘health’ of the mother. More recently we have been bombarded by statistics purporting to show a swing towards a more liberal abortion regime. The Government have responded by forming a Citizens Assembly to discuss the 8th amendment.
In the US for example abortion rates have been falling. There are probably a number of reasons for this but possibly longer acting contraceptive methods have had a significant impact on unwanted pregnancies. This has led to the closure of abortion clinics with their draconian suction and cutting tools.
On the more positive side adoption rates have been rising. Homes for unwanted children, especially those with so called abnormalities, can be places where great love is experienced. Whereas societies where the condition of Down’s syndrome has been almost eradicated due to abortion, as if it was an infectious disease, are depriving themselves of the essence of a caring society.
The Bible differentiates between man and animals. Man is made in God’s image which, although dreadfully marred is still in His image. This means to kill a human is murder whereas those who say killing whales is murder are wrong. It may be unwarranted slaughter but it is not murder. Humankind is intrinsically different from the rest of creation despite strenuous efforts to say we are evolved hominids.
Jesus came across many cases of people who would have been aborted because of their physical challenges. His remedy was not extermination but healing. In this he demonstrated his Messiah-ship and gave a foretaste of the life to come.
Take the case of the paraplegic. St Luke records his four friends had to carry him to Jesus. They would never have believed Jesus if he had simply said “Your sins are forgiven”. There would have been no verifiable proof. Jesus added the words “Rise, pick up your bed and walk”. The healing was complete the man walked (Chapter 5 verses 17 – 26).
This incident foreshadows the last supper where Jesus proclaims the cup to represent his blood which was to be “poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins”. No one would have believed that sins were forgiven. There would have been no verifiable proof. Then came the cross and resurrection. The dead walked. It was all true. Thomas exclaimed “My Lord and my God” (St John Chapter 20 verse 28). The Spirit came and millions believe!
This great salvation includes repentant bereaved mothers who have experienced abortion. There are no excluded categories.

We are treated to a regular spectacle of destruction in Aleppo in our TV news bulletins as the combatants use their latest weapons on the population. At the present time Russia seems to have the freedom of the air which it uses to carry out daily bombing raids. On the ground the forces of President Bashar al-Assad plan to continue the offensive until “terrorists are wiped out”.
Part of the problem is the number of terrorist groups involved and after five years of fighting it becomes difficult to decide who to support and who the legitimate targets are. Apparently the US has equipped some of these groups with ground to air missiles similar to the one the Russians used to bring down Malaysian Flight MH17 over Ukraine. It’s becoming like a real life version of a digital kid’s game.
Of course the real victims are the civilian population. With two hospitals destroyed this week caring for the wounded gets harder. Access to food is becoming difficult as the siege of the city has not permitted the latest convoy of humanitarian aid to enter and some of its trucks were damaged by the fighting.
Cease-fire agreements have been broken as soon as they have been made. There is an intensity to the fighting perhaps to secure as many gains as possible before the US election when a new President, inaugurated next January, may not have such a detached attitude to Syria’s treatment of her own people.
Some who read their Bibles a certain way may say that we do not have that long. The Lord’s return is expected imminently. They have seen the signs of his coming and consider them to be, in the main, fulfilled. On the other hand scripture underlined the fact that no-one knows when Christ will return and rather humorously tells us to stay awake! (St Mark Chapter 13 verses 32-36).
Perhaps the most useful advice to follow is that given to Titus, a gentile, who was told how to occupy himself in the Gospel period between the first and second comings of Christ, “the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (Chapter 2 verses 11-14).
St Paul who passed on the advice seems to anticipate our multi ethnic, multi religious society when he says salvation is for all people. There are none excluded on the grounds of race or religion. This salvation cuts through all man made boundaries. It goes to the heart of the matter – the problem of the human heart with its inclination towards evil. It teaches us to renounce the evil and choose what is right. It can do it for the “Boys with Toys” and it can do it for you and me too if we are seriously anticipating his coming again.

Record crowds marked this year’s championship with the total attendance at 283,000 over the three days. 700 acres of land at Screggan, Co Offaly, were hired from local farms to cope with the 1,700 exhibitors. They were prepared to pay anything between €1,000 and €100,000 for their site, the latter figure locating you in the centre next to the Organisers.
It originated in 1931 when JJ Bergin of Athy challenged Dennis Allen of Gorey to produce the best drill. The resulting plough-off was the start of the annual competition which has become the biggest outdoor event in Europe. All this has been managed, as far back as one can remember, by Anna May McHugh and her family.
The President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina were there. Michael D can always be relied upon to produce a speech and in it he picturesquely described the Ploughing as the Olympics of the Land! Indeed he has just had published a book of the speeches he has delivered since he came to the office some 5 years ago. An answer to the Christmas gift problem perhaps!
One of the best laid out displays of old farm machinery and implements I have ever seen was on view. In addition to the re-creation of the farm kitchen and neighbouring shop etc. were the many original Ferguson tractors. These were the ‘little grey fergie’ TE20 model which popularised the three point hitch now used universally by tractors when operating machinery. Harry Ferguson who invented the machine was a Christian. The Ferguson was sold all over the world and continue to be sought after today.
Each year there is an innovation that catches the imagination. This year it was the use of drones to assist in crop-spraying on difficult to access areas of the farm. These carry up to 15 litres of fluid and can be programmed to recall where they finished spraying so as to avoid overlapping. They also were being used for stock control such as counting the cattle and incorporated a small sensor which gave a bio-feedback as to how the animal is doing. I think it may be some time before they replace the farmer as a herdsman!
Jesus used many agricultural terms when communicating truth. He referred his words as seeds which could be sown into good soil i.e. people to produce a harvest of righteousness. He knew that a seed is never going to reproduce itself unless it dies and is planted into good soil. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit (St John Chapter 12 verse 24). This is the miracle of the new birth which takes the word of God and regenerates new life from those who are dead in sin. You see it in plants with seed and in people with the words of God.
“Jesus said, when I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all men to myself” He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die (verses 32-33). His death secures for the believer – life. The invitation is the same today as it was in times past – to look and live. The parallel Jesus said was with the serpent in the wilderness when the blood poisoning could be stopped by looking in faith to the symbol of death, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life (Chapter 3 verse 14 and Numbers Chapter 21 verse 9).
The only way to plough a straight furrow is to fix your eyes on a marker and go for it. The only way to plough a straight furrow through life is to look straight ahead to the cross and not take your eyes off it and follow Jesus. “I am the way, the truth and the life” (Chapter 14 verse 6).