Heartlines – moral regeneration for all

This morning I went to a meeting called by Heartlines, which describes itself as an outfit that uses mass media to get the nation thinking about values.
The meeting took the form of a breakfast at the Rosebank Union Church in Johannesburg and it took two hours of driving through heavy traffic to get there. [...]

Anti-Zionism is anti-racism

A staff member of the Anti-Defamation League, an advocacy group whose aim is to stop defamation of the Jewish people, has fired a staff member for failing to deny genocide.
In discussions with Zionists (the Jewish nationalists rather than the Zionist Christians) I have often encountered the phase “moral equivalence”, which is used to defend [...]

More on helping to free the Taliban hostages

In a new sign of hope, the Taliban released their first two hostages yesterday. The attention and persuasion is beginning to work–but 19 young people, mostly women, still face execution and the nightmare of captivity.
Over 90,000 of us from 187 countries have rushed to help, and added our voices to an emergency petition, calling on [...]

Synchroblog: Christianity – inclusive or exclusive?

This month’s synchroblog is on “Christianity: inclusive or exclusive, and you can find the contributions here:

Mike Bursell asks the question Inclusive or exclusive: you mean there’s a choice?”
Steve Hayes is blogging his thoughts on œChristianity: inclusive or exclusive?
It’€™s a family affair comes Jenelle D’Alessandro
John Smulo will be adding his thoughts
Erin Word share some thoughts [...]

British motorway closed for crime scene investigation

A British motorway has been closed for a murder investigation after a biker was shot over the weekend.
I’m struck by the thoroughness of the investigation. I can’t imagine the South African police investigating a crime as thoroughly as this, even murder. Imagine the N1 or N3 being closed like that. Perhaps that is why [...]

Emergence, Orthodoxy and the mind of the Church

Some interesting ideas on this topic here, which may link up with something I wrote earlier in Notes from underground: Emerging church and Orthodoxy revisited.
Not much more to say about it at the moment, just wanted to link the two ideas that provide a couple of models, or analogies for Orthodox ecclesiology.

Deputy Health Minister sacked on the eve of Women’s Day

A political row has broken out over the sacking of Deputy Health Minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge on the eve of Women’s Day.
Last night when it was announced on the radio it was said that it had to do with an unauthorised trip to Spain. My thougth was that at last the president was beginning to [...]

Is this an egregor?

Anthony North writes about the Count St Germain
The existence of a real Count Saint Germain is, perhaps, not the issue of importance. Indeed, whether he was a real mystic or a con man is similarly of little value to what he became.Saint Germain became, in effect, a cultural continuance upon death. Built up by mythologies [...]

Darfur on our doorstep

Does President Thabo Mbeki really think that there can be free and fair elections in Zimbabwe with the opposition being persecuted, and the brightest and best citizens living in exile?
It is the pretence that nothing is wrong in Zimbabwe that leads to the mistreatment of Zimbabwean refugees. in South Africa. When South [...]

Free the Taliban hostages

I received this notice of a campaign to free the South Korean hostages being held by the Taliban in Afghanistan. It could be worth a try.
23 South Korean aid workers, most of them young women, have just been taken hostage by Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, who are threatening to execute them this week. Not only [...]