Increasing the Unit Price of Alcohol

Like most good ideas, the proposal to increase the minimum unit price of alcohol in order to deter young British drinkers has been ridiculed by many.

It's worth noting, however, that the idea is not only supported by Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson but by a growing number of medical professionals.

I was interested in note this week that Professor Martin Plant of the University of the West of England came out in favour of the idea, stating that a minimum price of 50 pence per unit would save 3,000 lives per year in the UK.

My prediction is that the idea will gain increasing support over the coming 3-5 years.

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On Changing the Clocks

It's really only 08.50 as I start to write this.

The change to British Summer Time at 01.00 this morning routinely produces such conversations in households around the country.

The practice of moving the clocks forward one hour on the last Sunday in March was enshrined in British law in 1916. During World War 2, however, the country operated on double summer time, when the clocks went forward in October of 1940 and then were advanced again in the Spring of 1941. Less night time for enemy bombing raids, presumably. Or was it designed to save energy through less lighting being needed?

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents favours returning to the system of double summer time, claiming that the lighter evenings would result in fewer injuries and fatalities on the roads and elsewhere. Such a system, of course, would see sunrise occurring as late as 10.00 am in parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland, were it implemented across the UK. The Local Government Association also favours such a system. A failed Parilamentary bill of 2006 would have allowed Scotland and Northern Ireland to opt out of double summer time if it were introduced in England and Wales.

In the Middle East, meanwhile, while the British-friendly Kingdom of Jordan adopts the practice of changing the clocks twice a year, neighbouring Saudi Arabia and Kuwait take a different approach. They keep the time constant year round but move the working day instead. Kuwaiti workers will therefore arrive at the office on Monday an hour earlier than normal. The latter system would no doubt generate its own variations on the "where did that hour go?" conversations.

Which reminds me, it's 10.10, so I need to go (even though it's really only 09.10).

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Jade Goody Dies

The death of Jade Goody was preceded in her final weeks by her baptism and that of her sons Bobby (aged 5) and Freddie (4).

It may prove that this action represented the most significant event to have taken place in Jade's 27 years.

Although Christians do not believe that baptism as such makes a person right with God, nonetheless, to the extent that it represents a genuine turning from sin and a trusting in Jesus Christ, water baptism can be seen as an outward expression of an inward change.

None of us have the knowledge or the right to judge whether such a saving faith was truly present in Jade Goody's final days - that is for God alone to judge. Christian friends who work in palliative care, however, tell me that such deathbed conversions are not uncommon.

The gospel writer Luke, who through his account of the life of Jesus frequently highlights the importance of the poor and socially marginalized in the circle of Jesus' early followers, records a conversion-at-the-point-of-death on the very day that Jesus himself was executed, around AD 30:

Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"

But the other criminal rebuked him....Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

It would appear from Luke's account that the Son of God was willing to grant eternal life even at the point of death to those who turned to him in simple faith and repentance, regardless of what sins they had committed beforehand, a practice which earlier on in his life earned him criticism from the religious leaders of the day who described him as "a friend of sinners."

Jade Goody's funeral service will be held at the Church of St John the Baptist in Buckurst, Essex. The church is a member of the Evangelical Alliance.

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The Trouble With Twitter

Cluster Ballooning: Extreme Sports Meets Childhood Dream

“Cluster ballooning is something very beautiful and whimsical – like something from a children’s story, or something from a dream. For me, the tension between those two elements – being carried away with these huge, colorful toys, and at the same time, exercising the appropriate skill not to end up in trouble with the FAA, or possibly injured or killed – that’s what I find so interesting about cluster ballooning.” (John Ninomiya)

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Sudan President Kneels to God, Crushing the Poor in the Process

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir's expulsion of thirteen international aid agencies working in the country - as retaliation for the arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court - is a contemporary example of a long tradition of tyrants invoking God's name in justification of the oppression of the poor - a tradition that includes Medieval Europe's anti-semitism and South Africa's apartheid laws.

In rejecting the authoity of the Court, the unelected President, who came to power in a military coup twenty years ago, announced to a large and enthusiatic crowd of supporters that "We will remain firm and never bow to anyone except the Almighty God."

Meanwhile, Amnesty International has warned that more than 2.2 million Sudanese face the risk of starvation and disease if the aid agencies are expelled. The thirteen international aid agencies have been working in a varity of projects, including healthcare, education and agriculture (picture from Oxfam).

According to the United Nations, meanwhile, some 300,000 people have died in Darfur since the conflict started in 2003. More than two million have been displaced.

The International Criminal Court issued a warrant for Mr Bashir on 4 March, accusing him of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. It is the first such warrant to be issued against a serving head of state. The arrest warrant, which includes an appeal to UN member states to support its implementation, lists 7 charges, including:

• five counts of crimes against humanity: murder ; extermination ; forcible transfer ; torture ; rape
• two counts of war crimes: intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population; pillaging

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Thomas Aquinas on the Credit Crunch

To take usury for money lent is unjust in itself, because this is to sell what does not exist, and this evidently leads to inequality, which is contrary to justice.

Thomas Aquinas,
Dominican friar and theologian (1225-1274).

source

Struck by Isaiah

Prophets tend to be fairly direct in their style and delivery. Isaiah, I'm reminded as I reread his message, is no exception.

The opening five chapters of the book that bears his name is a stinging indictment against a society that owes its existence to God's gracious calling of them and which now has abandoned God for the pursuit of false gods and material wealth.

Without pulling any punches, the prophet laments the nation of Israel's slide into unfaithfulness and injustice:

"See how the faithful city has become a harlot!"

Particular evils highlighted in these opening chapters include:

• bloodshed (1:15)
• corruption (1:23)
• injustice towards the economically vulnerable (1:23)
• occult practices and pagan religion (2:6)
• the accumulation of wealth (2:7)
• the worship of created things (2:8)
• arrogance (2:17)
• conspicuous displays of wealth (3:16f)
• economic speculation (5:8)
• alcohol abuse (5:11)

In the midst of these opening pages, which for a book written over 2,700 years ago reads with alarming contemporary relevance, the prophet announces a ray of hope.

Firstly, God promises cleansing from sin (4:4). Secondly, he announces a mountain that draws the nations (2:2f), the latter containing imagery resonant with the emergence of the Christian church.

I think I'm going to enjoy becoming reacquainted with "the evangelist of the old testament."