Thank God for a different kind of leader

A consensual, collegiate leader who is decent, honest and principled (as everyone says Corbyn is but, "we certainly don’t want him"!)

For goodness sake, not a leader who forces his Cabinet to toe his/her line but who is the first among equals.  A leader prepared to listen and change in the light of advice from people who know what they are talking about.

A leader who does not rule or reign but who serves humbly with no strutting around, self importantly, on the world stage. (I have heard 'good' things of Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs who is also mid 60s)

A leader who sensitively and, from time to time, questions, challenges, checks on what his fellow departmental leaders in the Cabinet are up to but does not compel obedience to his/her wishes.  Who lets them get on with the job without constant prying.  An encourager and supporter of his/her Cabinet members.

A leader who no longer jumps into military interventions/interference in foreign lands without the clear say so of the United Nations General Assembly.

A leader who is the prime, meaning foremost, the first minister meaning servant of the people rather than an all powerful dictator who coerces and compels others to do as he/she says.

A leader of integrity and honour who sticks to his bottom, middle and top line of no aggression, ever -no first, second or third use of WMD - ever.  A WMD pacifist, only as Corbyn is.

No air strikes on Syria because:

Over the decades, NATO air strikes have always killed more innocents than fighters.  We end up doing more harm than good and making more enemies than friends.  Totally counter productive and thoroughly evil!

That should be the only argument (the killing of civilians) to stop the Western bombing (and now Russian air strikes, too) of even Iraq.

Aha, aha!  But UN has said to take “ 'all necessary measures'  to prevent and suppress its terrorist acts on territory under its control in Syria and Iraq."  That was the 15 members of the Security Council.  It was not the more than 190 members of the General Assembly of all the nations.

Bombing will not get rid of Islamic State.  They are bigger and stronger than ever after 18 months or so of such barbarity.

Military meddling in yet another Muslim majority country follows on from Egypt, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya - and, now Syria. 

We have given ourselves permission to bomb yet another country.  It continues our disastrous and aggressive foreign policy that has turned parts of the Meddle East into a bombing ground, a killing field and well over a million refugees fleeing from the Western fire and flames from the air.

Al Qaeda enraged the US/UK/French bull by 9/11.  Al Qaeda poked the snake and got just the reaction they wanted.  Bombing in far off countries is not effective.

Is this poetic justice?  We must be to blame for the mayhem, murder and mass migration to some of the countries striking the Muslims.  "12 million displaced people of Syria." (John Finnemore on the 'Now Show' 18 Dec 2015)  And, we magnificent, so magnanimous Brits take 20,000 fleeing from our bombing and over all of five years, too.  Never mind Germany taking one million in this year alone.

MOVE IT!

Over 100 years, Western influence in the Far East, Middle East and in parts of South and Central America has been so malign that I think we need to

• Move out of the Middle East, where our 100 years of military intervention and unappreciated influence has not gone down well;
• move away from the War of Terrorism;
• move out of the War industry that gives us such good economic growth and prosperity but, where our armaments, weapons and military intervention kill the people of the Middle East and are used against our own heroes of the armed services.
• Move away from world leaders and governments being overthrown by our American led coalition.
• Move towards greater toleration and humility in listening to and accepting the majority decisions of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
• Move out of attacking other countries or deposing their governments, unless we have a 60 to 40 majority of General Assembly members.
• Move away from revenge foreign policy;
• away from drone kill as many as possible that also means mistakes are made and many innocents (non-fighters) get wiped off the face of the earth;
• away from shoot to kill policy, to shoot to maim to bring them to trial, unless your life is in imminent danger when the Police have always been allowed to shoot to protect themselves.
• Move away from military strength on the world stage, to moral strength on the world stage.
• Move away from our continuous at sea, never stop threatening to wipe out much of humanity with our wonderful Weapons of Mass Destruction deterrent.

More on inheriting the earth

I heard Stephen Simcox speak this afternoon on the subject, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."

I did speak to him at the close of the Tuesday talk to make one or two of these points.  He is welcome to come back at me, again, of course:
1) That he seemed proud of his 27 years of military service, having mentioned it twice, I believe.  Perhaps, rightly proud.
2) I thought it was inappropriate for him to tell us so much about the work of a Roman centurion.  I felt that he was somewhat carried away by his background and work in the military and, therefore, that explained all the details.
3) I would have liked Stephen/Steve to have mentioned that Jesus was a man of non-violence and NOT a man of violence.
4) From my reading of the Jesus of the Gospels, it is unacceptable for any true disciple to want to inherit any part of the earth - let alone the lot!  But we have inherited so much, with our so good and perfect Western and Christian European empires in recent centuries.  And, we 'Christians' inherited the earth by militarism and certainly not meekness!
5) I think all of us Christians should have the meekness to understand that we belong to the earth (NOT that the earth belongs to us); that we are part of Nature; and, that it is none of our business to even begin to contemplate that we could  start owning the earth - but, of course, only on the Lord's behalf to make it better for Him and His return!
6) For me, having any kind of authority or power over others is not in line with the Jesus of the Gospels who rejected any such earthly power and dominion in the Temptations and throughout His ministry.  Our modern day Caesars need to exercise their power and authority with extreme caution and wisdom.  Preferably, only with the clear mandate of the General Assembly of the United Nations.  Our modern day Christs should stay well out of it!
7) I hope that you will not ask Stephen to deliver the talk on "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God", although it might be fascinating to hear what he has to say.  No doubt, he would say that the modern day centurions of our angelic British armed forces in Afghanistan, Iraq and countless other countries we have fought in, every single year, over the last 101 years, are the true peacemakers!
8) I do take and understand that Steve did do sterling and exemplary work during his time in the military, especially in Bosnia and Rwanda - if violence was no part of it.

Important but missing essentials

Missing words/ideas

Replenish

Sustain

Non-violence/non-aggression

     even, Non-intervention - unless with the clear mandate of the General Assembly of the United Nations to intervene in a peacekeeping mission

Distinguishing marks of which world faith?

no homosexuals in position of leadership

no abortion

no physician assisted suicide

no stem cell research

no killing of cells, foetuses

no physician assisted suicide for the elderly terminally ill, even with their informed consent and when they have full capacity and the

pro-life only for the unborn

pro the armed forces whenever the state says it is right to attack, invade and occupy other nations

Does Christian belief ever fall out with science?  It has done in the past over the age of the earth and its shape as a sphere and not as a flat surface.

God given truths are true for eternity.  Scientific truths are only true until the next theory is proved and verified and the work peer reviewed in a recognised journal.  Scientific truths are only true for as long as the evidence allows or the truth remains substantiated.

Values are:

too right wing when the life and teaching of Jesus is very left wing

not Sermon on the Mount compliant

personal salvation predominates instead of Jesus Christ as role model dominant

humanity is expected to exploit, consume and control nature, the earth and life support systems

The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof actually means that the Lord’s people own the world and can do with it as they want.  Only the Lord's people have the divine right to rule, on behalf of the Creator, over the rest of His Creation. In other words, the earth belongs to them, rather than they belonging to the earth - a fatal misconception in the Bible, a flawed book.