I have just finished reading “The Gospel in the Marketplace of Ideas” because I thought it would be a help in speaking (or writing) about Jesus to modern people. The book is subtitled “Paul’s Mars Hill Experience for Our Pluralistic World” as the authors wisely focussed on Paul’s sermon addressed to Gentiles who would not have known anything of the Jewish scriptures and whose beliefs most closely match those found in the public square today.

After dealing with the world of 1^st century Athens and comparing it to the mismatch of ideas and religions available today the book focuses on Paul’s sermon found in Acts Chapter 17 verses 16 – 34. In a word for word analysis it reveals Paul’s in depth knowledge of the worldviews of the different groups he was addressing. By this means he gained their respect by showing an understanding of their position without diluting his message.

Using a statue to an “Unknown god” which he found there as his entry point to their beliefs he outlined the work of God in creation and in sustaining all that exists. He went on to reveal Jesus as universal judge and his resurrection as proof of this bringing forth a threefold response. Some mocked, some procrastinated and some believed and joined Paul.

All who engage in Gospel work will be familiar with the responses but few will have analysed their audience as thoroughly as Paul. His quoting from their literature where it fitted would have gained their attention in the same way as picking out the redemptive key in film or literature would do today as all great plots have their redemptive episodes.

This was radical – Paul was not looking for a new temple or a new statue – not even a priest! Paul did not require an effigy of Jesus since God can see, hear and speak. Athenian statues could do none of these things and were made redundant.

The word Paul used when he encouraged his hearer to repent had a double meaning: first to change one’s mind and second to change one’s practice. Action needed to follow understanding.

The Authors suggest a ‘Socrates Café’ as our Mars Hill and we could add ‘Third Spaces’! We have both in Dublin so bring on the debaters and pray that the Holy Spirit will bring forth a harvest.

Amid the many stories of the planet’s wildlife being slaughtered there emerged this week the story of the large piratical fishing trawler which bears its most recent name of Thunder. It underlined again the difficulty in policing the oceans and also the sad fact that if you want to destroy species and make a fortune in the process you need a ship.

Few, if any, nations wish to engage in the costly task of policing the seas so it was left to ‘Sea Shepherd’ (an Amnesty International type organisation sailing out of Amsterdam) to stalk the Thunder with two of its ships.

The chase started in Dec.2014 in Antarctic waters and ended in April. The voyage took the vessels through some of the world’s most hazardous waters as the Thunder tried to shake off her pursuers.

The species most at risk are Marlin, Swordfish and Tuna but the most coveted of all is the Tooth Fish renamed Chilean Sea Bass for the upmarket US restaurants. It is known as ‘White Gold’ and fillets sell at $30 a plate. These fish measure up to 6 feet in length and weigh 250 lbs. The Thunder was fishing for them on the Banzare Bank using 5 miles of illegal netting which was confiscated.

The journey ended with Thunder, its fuel supply running low, being scuttled off the West African coast. Its captain claimed it had hit an object but it appears he had sunk the ship to destroy evidence of illicit fishing. All were rescued and whatever evidence that could be grabbed from the vessel was taken as she sank under the water.

What has the Bible to say to all this?

When God said “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea…” (Genesis Chapter 1 verse 26) everything he had made was very good – both fish and man.

We must never underestimate the radical change that took place at the fall.

Instead of being good stewards of all God had provided sin, entering the world through our disobedience, has polluted all our efforts at husbandry.

The Thunder simply provides us with an illustration of what we are all capable of given the opportunity. The absence of law enforcement and the presence of great wealth offer an irresistible opportunity for short term gain. Only an encounter with the risen Christ can change the polluter to be a protector. Only when the fisher of Chilean Sea Bass meets the fisher of Men, turns his back on the former in order to embrace the latter can we hope for good stewardship in Antarctica or at home.

As Joseph Hart put it: –

‘Come you weary heavy laden, Lost and ruined by the Fall;

If you wait until your better, you will never come at all;

Not the righteous – sinners Jesus came to call.’

It has become a common sight to see ocean cruise ships packing the harbour in Dublin Port. We have become a destination of choice for those cruises sailing in more temperate climes whose passengers might just prefer the soft weather here to the baking sun over there!

Whatever brings them here the sight of ships 7 decks high have given way to a monster of 9 decks and 330m in length. These ladies have to be towed in backwards as they cannot, at present, turn around. However a pier is being removed as part of a major docklands redevelopment which will enable even the largest Cruise liner built (its 360m) to turn and sail under the eye of the ports four tugboats.

In order to cater for future expansion of maritime traffic the harbour area and channel are being deepened from 7.5m to 10.5m. Dublin port is fortunate in that the flow of water in the Liffey is sufficiently strong to scour the bed and prevent it from silting so to a large extent it maintains itself.

Some consideration has been given to the sea birds which nest in the area.

At present there are colonies of two types of tern. The renovations include a floating bird island to provide nesting space for them!

Of course ‘Cruising’ means something else to those interested in matters equestrian. It was a famous stallion, bred on the farm next door, who, for 5 years dominated the horse jumping scene in the latter years of last century.

He died last September at the age of 29 but has left many progeny around the world.

He is in the news again as his DNA has been successfully cloned, the first in Ireland, producing Cruising Encore and Cruising Arish. The latter has sired a foal which resembles Cruising’s attitude so much that it has been named Cruisitude!

It may be only a matter of time before they clone humans! One thing however that can never be cloned is the new birth. Each person born from above is unique – born of the Holy Spirit (St John Chapter 3 verses 3-9). Jesus answered the religious leader, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

(Probably Jesus was reminding him of Ezekiel 36 verse 25-27 – I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from fall your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.)

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Appearing around the same time (1930) Pluto the Planet and Pluto the Pup
have enjoyed a shared identity.    All this may be about to change as new
photos of the former came into the public domain last Tuesday revealing fresh secrets of the Planet whereas the Pup has nothing left to reveal!

In the flyby NASA treated us to pictures of the dwarf Planet.   Its mass is
only one sixth of our moon but it has mountains of rock and ice some 11,000 feet high and gorges estimated at 3 times the depth of America’s Grand
Canyon.  

One of the mysteries revealed by the photos is the absence of craters which
pock mark the rest of the solar system.   This lends credence to the view of
a recent date for its creation.   

Why has Pluto not got a smooth but a mountainous surface?    It would have
required great heat to melt the bedrock and create the mountains.    It is
another mystery as there is no possibility of it being heated by
gravitational interactions with neighbouring larger planets.   Some other
unknown means created the mountainous landscape.

The probe has confirmed the suspicion that liquid water exists beneath the
surface of these icy worlds at the end of our solar system.    The
geological processes seem to be continuing in a place where they were least expected!

The Psalmist was more familiar with the unexpected.   He revelled in God’s
revelation!    “The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above
declares his handiwork.   Day to day pours out speech and night to night
reveals knowledge.   Their voice goes out through all the earth and their
words to the end of the world”. (Psalm 19 verses 1-4).

God “speaks” in the order and perfections of his creation.   No one is out
of range of his voice.     No one can say I missed it.
In addition to the voice of creation St Paul writes of the voice of redemption in the message of Christ (Colossians chapter 3 verse 13-16).

Pluto the Pup obeyed his master’s voice.  By contrast many today are deaf to
the creator’s voice.    He still speaks clearly, “Come to me all who labour
and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.   Take my yoke upon you and
learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls”. (St Matthew Chapter 11 verse 28-29).

It’s nearly 2,000 years since the Apostle Paul heard the Macedonian call to “Come over and help us”. The people of Greece could do with a little help again today! This time however, whatever the spiritual needs are, they pale in the face of the gigantic load of debt which the European Community seems determined must be repaid.

Just how they managed to run up such a debt is a question we Irish should be able to answer – when we get the answer to our similar question from the Bankers Tribunal! The Bank Guarantee which sealed our financial fate was struck in Dublin in the small hours of the morning. The Greek parliament was called to a meeting at 5 minutes to midnight last night -seems familiar!

The easy way out of all this would be for the Greeks to bid farewell to the EC, declare bankruptcy and reinstate the Drachma. No longer tied to the Euro and relatively free of debt the old currency could find its own level in the financial markets. This would suit most Greeks but not the big boys in their boats! Those sleek super-cruiser owners would not take kindly to the drop in their asset value which would come about if the Drachma was reintroduced.

Joining them in their disapproval would be the more wealthy EU States who would have to write off their Greek loans. It might even remind Germany of the post World War loans which were cancelled for her, but that may be too far back to stretch the national memory!

Such thinking will never darken the door of Brussels where they are busy adding to the Greek debt by arranging another ‘bailout’. Ironically we Irish may be asked to contribute to this one having ourselves been a bailout recipient in recent times!

So bring on the Apostle Paul! We know what he would do. He would look out for believers, join them in prayer and preach Jesus as Messiah, crucified and risen. The response then was immediate and resulted in the first baptisms in Europe!

Opposition followed in the form of a fortune-telling slave girl who followed them shouting “These men are servants of the Most High God who are telling you the way to be saved”. St Paul, in the name of Jesus, commanded the spirit to come out of her and the spirit left her. Her owners were enraged that their source of income was gone, had the Apostles flogged and cast into prison (Acts Chapter 16 verses 11-24).

Material considerations were not allowed to get in the way of the Gospel in those days –read Verses 25- 40 – and neither should they today. God can turn around the most unlikely of situations. He did it for his people then. He will do it for his people today.

Roll out the barbeque and let’s celebrate. It’s the 4^th of July known as the day the US of A shook off the shackles of a British Parliament with its outrageous tax demands. Not even the infamous Boston Tea Party where tea valued around €750,000 (at today’s prices) was dumped into Boston harbour could slake the thirst for independence!

But all this was back in the 1770ies culminating with the signing of the declaration of independence in 1776. It enabled the Patriots to enshrine their political philosophies of liberalism and republicanism in a document which characterise the two political parties to this day. It also rejected the monarchy and the aristocracy and famously declared that all men are created equal.

This declaration was expanded on this week when the Supreme Court on a 5 – 4 majority ruled that States cannot ban same-sex marriage. In the name of ‘equality’ this law removes the ban right across the country.

The Bible is not silent about those who make such decisions. Alongside its clearest explanation of homosexual sin is the indictment of those who approve and institutionalise it (Romans Chapter 1 verses29-32). What happened in Ireland yesterday has happened in the US today!

The Bible is also clear as to the judgement which follows. In the same passage individuals who engage in these practices will receive the penalty of more of the same! It is as if God endorses their choice and says “you have made your bed so you must lie on it” (verses 24-27).

Can we assume God will judge the Nation, who legislates for sinful practices, any differently? Again this text would seem to predict an explosion of sinful practices – as if God’s restraining grace had been removed and the floodgates open (verses 29-32).

Christians are not immune from such sins. “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap” (Galatians Chapter 6 verse 7). The crucial difference is that we mourn over our sins. We do not make them into laws and go out and celebrate them. Instead we pray for forgiveness for ourselves and genuine repentance for others.

July 4^th is not quite the same this year. The Creator’s equality has been distorted. We need to shed tears for the Nations whose laws mock God.

Righteousness exalts a Nation but sin is a disgrace to any people (Proverbs Chapter 14 verse 34).

Roll out the barbeque and let’s celebrate. It’s the 4^th of July known as the day the US of A shook off the shackles of a British Parliament with its outrageous tax demands. Not even the infamous Boston Tea Party where tea valued around €750,000 (at today’s prices) was dumped into Boston harbour could slake the thirst for independence!

But all this was back in the 1770ies culminating with the signing of the declaration of independence in 1776. It enabled the Patriots to enshrine their political philosophies of liberalism and republicanism in a document which characterise the two political parties to this day. It also rejected the monarchy and the aristocracy and famously declared that all men are created equal.

This declaration was expanded on this week when the Supreme Court on a 5 – 4 majority ruled that States cannot ban same-sex marriage. In the name of ‘equality’ this law removes the ban right across the country.

The Bible is not silent about those who make such decisions. Alongside its clearest explanation of homosexual sin is the indictment of those who approve and institutionalise it (Romans Chapter 1 verses29-32). What happened in Ireland yesterday has happened in the US today!

The Bible is also clear as to the judgement which follows. In the same passage individuals who engage in these practices will receive the penalty of more of the same! It is as if God endorses their choice and says “you have made your bed so you must lie on it” (verses 24-27).

Can we assume God will judge the Nation, who legislates for sinful practices, any differently? Again this text would seem to predict an explosion of sinful practices – as if God’s restraining grace had been removed and the floodgates open (verses 29-32).

Christians are not immune from such sins. “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap” (Galatians Chapter 6 verse 7). The crucial difference is that we mourn over our sins. We do not make them into laws and go out and celebrate them. Instead we pray for forgiveness for ourselves and genuine repentance for others.

July 4^th is not quite the same this year. The Creator’s equality has been distorted. We need to shed tears for the Nations whose laws mock God.

Righteousness exalts a Nation but sin is a disgrace to any people (Proverbs Chapter 14 verse 34).

We are 9 days into Ramadan and my Jordanian barber reckoned he was over the worst part. The first 3 days were, in his view, the hardest. The long hours of daylight that come with the mid-summer Ramadan (it’s a movable fast) made each day a struggle and that hour before sunset when the smells of cooking filled the air added to the agony!

Eating and drinking are banned from sunrise to sunset and, for those who can bear it, swallowing saliva is not permitted. As if this was not hardship enough we are heading into a heatwave! So spare a thought for the Muslim neighbour over the next 3 weeks.

The Islamic State has been particularly busy this week. Presumably the work of Jihad in their eyes is nearer Allah’s heart than observing Ramadan.

Perhaps they manage to put the two together as they launched attacks in France, Tunisia, Somalia and Kuwait yesterday. In the case of the latter a Shia Mosque packed for Friday prayers was the suicide bomber’s target. Like the other attacks it was chosen to create maximum divisions between the different communities.

Meanwhile there was no letup in their normal battles in Syria where this week’s offensives were against Kobane which had been liberated by Kurdish fighters in January and directly against government forces in Hassakeh.

Their use of the social media and Utube has introduces a new dimension to the conflict enabling Islamic State to win supporters globally and gain new recruits, estimated at the rate of 1,000 per month.

Perhaps there will be a change as we approach the last 10 days of Ramadan. These include “The Night of Power” although which night it falls on is a matter of dispute. The favoured nights are the odd days i.e. 21, 23, 25, 27 and 29^th of the month.

Being a religion where merit has to be accumulated, praying through the Night of Prayer is the one to go for. It is reckoned to equal praying for 1,000 months – 83 years – in other words a lifetime.

Whilst it is easy to see the contradictions in Muslim behaviour I don’t know of any Christians who have prayer through the night!

I do know of many who have prayed and are praying for their Muslim friends to come to faith in Christ. God has answered these prayers many times. There are accounts of Muslims receiving dreams and visions of the risen Jesus coming to them in the night. This has led them to seek out Jesus for themselves. Ramadan seems to be a particularly fruitful time for this to happen.

My Jordanian barber’s longing was currently towards his fiancée back home and his marriage next year. This is as good an illustration you can get of putting your faith in Christ. In both marriage and conversion you commit yourself 100% to another in a lifelong relationship, covenanting to serve the other faithfully in the bonds of love till parted in death. Which is where the illustration breaks down as death opens the door into Christ’s neared presence forever. Trust Him.

There has only been one story this week and that has been the death of the 6 students in Berkeley. They had gone out on J-1 student visas which allowed them to work during their vacation and experience something of the American dream. Sadly it all turned into a nightmare.

It was a 21^st birthday party and 13 of the guests, including the birthday girl were on the 3^rd floor balcony when it gave way catapulting them to the ground 12 metres below. That seven miraculously survived, albeit with some horrendous injuries, is a testimony to the efficiency of the ambulance service and hospitals in the locality.

Many who sympathised had family members of a similar age and could identify with the loss being suffered by the student’s parents and friends.

It seems such a waste of young lives at their peak with all the potential they represented. Death always seems to be an intrusion into life and never more so when it comes to young people in their prime.

In Jesus time on earth, and perhaps even today, there was a presumption that people got what they deserved so when a tower fell killing 18 the question arose, “were they bad people?” The answer given by Charles Spurgeon the preacher, “No, they were bad builders!” chimes with the Lord’s reply which took the attention off the deceased and onto the enquirers. In saying the dead were no worse than the living he underlined the need of repentance if they were not to come to a sticky end (St Luke Chapter 13 verses 4/5).

There can be a false grief as well as a genuine grief. The national mourning in the UK that followed the death of Princess Diane was an example of the former. It is much easier to contemplate another’s death than consider your own!

On the other side of the US 9 people were gunned down in church while they were at prayer. Dylann Roof had been welcomed into the meeting before he opened fire. The local Senator called it a hate crime and claimed that they were killed because they were black.

The only survivor (she had pretended to be dead) along with relatives of the deceased in an emotional confrontation in Charleston offered Dylann forgiveness in the hope that he would confess and repent.

Of course he cannot confess what he hasn’t grieved over and he cannot grieve over what he has not seen – namely his sins – and he cannot repent of what he has not confessed. It is one of the most important operations of God’s grace to give us eyes to see our sin and hearts that are willing to confess it; then we can truly repent.

When this happens we can sing with Charles Wesley: –

Accepted in the Well-beloved, And clothed in righteousness divine,

I see the bar to heaven removed; And all Thy merits, lord, are mine.

Death, hell, and sin are now subdued; All grace is now to sinners given;

And lo, I plead the atoning blood, And in Thy right I claim Thy Heaven.

I suppose it could be said that the backpackers who created a breach of the peace in Malaysia had a mountain top experience! However this was very different from the type experienced by our charismatic friends in their more ecstatic forms of worship – in fact more of a pagan party!

With global holidays becoming more accessible it pays to learn some rudimentary things about the country, its customs and religion before visiting it if you want to avoid giving offence to the locals.

Mt. Kinabalu in East Malaysia is sacred to some of the Dusun peoples. At 13,435 feet it is the highest peak in the national park which is a world heritage site, a place of rare beauty and unique habitats of flora and fauna.

Last week, near the summit, 10 backpackers from the West ignored their guide’s protestations and decided to strip off. As is the custom they photographed themselves and the results were posted on social media and so came into the public domain.

The escapade was followed by an earthquake measuring 5.9 in which 18 people were killed.

For those who worshipped the mountain its desecration by the backpackers and the earthquake are linked. In their mind the mountain gods were angry and the earthquake is evidence of their anger. The local judiciary also were none too pleased and when 4 of the backpackers were caught they spent 3 days in prison and were fined £1,000 each.

The Bible tells us that God clothed our first parents. Stripping off in public is simply one of the signs of our rebellion against God disguised as a lewd prank.

This one may have started as a dare, something risqué done away from the gaze of others. There was the added incentive at making fun of the guide’s sensitivity by urinating on his holy mountain. Perhaps there was the belief that this was being done in private and the thought “who would see?” or “who would tell?” (Isaiah Chapter 29 verse 15).

Any hopes of it going undetected were blown away by “that half-witted Canadian guy who stirred up a media storm” as the father of the British student put it! Presumably this referred to the cameraman whose actions seem to have been planned – why else would the other 6 have given false names to the guide? He unwittingly fulfilled the Proverb “A man’s ways are in full view of the Lord” (Chapter 5 verse 21).

Thankfully the Lord is more discreet and keeps his counsel till the day of judgement (St Matthew Chapter 12 verse 36).

On that day and indeed every day we need the forgiveness that comes to the repentant believer in Jesus. God does not need a cameraman to see what we are like but to the believer comes the promise that our record that stood against us has been cancelled by being nailed to the cross and cancelled forever. (Colossians chapter 2 verses 13-15).