The solution is a stronger witness in inner city areas and a stronger system of morality. That and a stronger police force which is actually allowed to do its job.
John, I hope you're not simply offering an excuse for juvenile delinquency. One might say "there but for the grace..." about some of the parents of these hooligans or about the parents and loved ones of the three persons killed while defending their businesses. We know now that some of the perpetrators of the criminal and violent acts of the last few days have been persons with jobs, not on the dole, and who came from the privileged class. Didn't Dickens incorporate the images of two horrible characters into one of the visages that appeared to Ebenezer Scrooge,the boy was named Ignorance and the girl named Want. The Spirit warned Scrooge to beware the boy most of all, for on his brow he saw that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased. A very highly regarded bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Bishop Nicolai Velimirovic once said that "what is killing us is our ignorance. I offer that that is precisely the problem facing not only England but the entire civilized World with such wayward youth, ignorance.
I'm with RMBruton on this. Our legislators need to read Exodus 21-22, ammend the law accordingly and then proceed to administer Godly justice on the lawbreakers. I'm sure in doing this, there will be a few murmurs from the bleeding-heart liberals but be assured there will be no riots in England for a looooooong time.
Personally, I'm instinctively in favour of the return of the death penalty. However, we need to retain a proper theological perspective on life. As the BCP constantly reminds us, God "desireth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he may turn from his wickedness and live". Grace alone, however, reminds me that I am a wicked sinner, deserving death. Only once I've taken that on board can I look at the sins of others and come to a proper estimate of both them and their wrongdoing.
I find RMBruton's own display of ignorance breathtaking. It is his sort of ignorance that Dickens is warning us about: that which his unreformed Scrooge exemplified ("Are there no prisons? … Are there no workhouses?”). All ignorance is dangerous but some ignorance is more dangerous than others. Read "A Christmas Carol" again and you’ll see what Bishop Nicolai meant.
I withdraw now to bandage my bleeding liberal heart.
I found it interesting, but sadly not surprising, that although the lectionary is currently working through Romans one of the passages it skips over is chapter 13 v 1-7. Not of course that that is the only passage of relevance here, but it is highly pertinent to the surface events of recent days.
Here is a thought-provoking editorial by fellow Canadian Rex Murpy: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2011/08/13/rex-murphy-english-yobs-put-the-boot-to-%E2%80%98this-other-eden%E2%80%99/
The solution is a stronger witness in inner city areas and a stronger system of morality. That and a stronger police force which is actually allowed to do its job.
ReplyDeleteThe solution to Spontaneous Terrorism is to bring back public hanging.
ReplyDeleteSurely, "There, but for the grace of God" go you or I?
ReplyDeleteJohn, I hope you're not simply offering an excuse for juvenile delinquency. One might say "there but for the grace..." about some of the parents of these hooligans or about the parents and loved ones of the three persons killed while defending their businesses. We know now that some of the perpetrators of the criminal and violent acts of the last few days have been persons with jobs, not on the dole, and who came from the privileged class. Didn't Dickens incorporate the images of two horrible characters into one of the visages that appeared to Ebenezer Scrooge,the boy was named Ignorance and the girl named Want. The Spirit warned Scrooge to beware the boy most of all, for on his brow he saw that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased. A very highly regarded bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Bishop Nicolai Velimirovic once said that "what is killing us is our ignorance. I offer that that is precisely the problem facing not only England but the entire civilized World with such wayward youth, ignorance.
ReplyDeleteI'm with RMBruton on this. Our legislators need to read Exodus 21-22, ammend the law accordingly and then proceed to administer Godly justice on the lawbreakers. I'm sure in doing this, there will be a few murmurs from the bleeding-heart liberals but be assured there will be no riots in England for a looooooong time.
ReplyDeleteKip' Chelashaw
Personally, I'm instinctively in favour of the return of the death penalty. However, we need to retain a proper theological perspective on life. As the BCP constantly reminds us, God "desireth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he may turn from his wickedness and live". Grace alone, however, reminds me that I am a wicked sinner, deserving death. Only once I've taken that on board can I look at the sins of others and come to a proper estimate of both them and their wrongdoing.
ReplyDeleteI find RMBruton's own display of ignorance breathtaking. It is his sort of ignorance that Dickens is warning us about: that which his unreformed Scrooge exemplified ("Are there no prisons? … Are there no workhouses?”). All ignorance is dangerous but some ignorance is more dangerous than others. Read "A Christmas Carol" again and you’ll see what Bishop Nicolai meant.
ReplyDeleteI withdraw now to bandage my bleeding liberal heart.
Mark,
ReplyDeleteBless your heart.
I found it interesting, but sadly not surprising, that although the lectionary is currently working through Romans one of the passages it skips over is chapter 13 v 1-7. Not of course that that is the only passage of relevance here, but it is highly pertinent to the surface events of recent days.
ReplyDeleteHere is a thought-provoking editorial by fellow Canadian Rex Murpy: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2011/08/13/rex-murphy-english-yobs-put-the-boot-to-%E2%80%98this-other-eden%E2%80%99/
ReplyDelete