Sunday, September 29, 2013

Production

Looking back on the month, I completed essays in the areas of linguistics, logic, and religion, revised about two-thirds of a book on electronics, and drafted about thirty pages of another project. Two of the articles have been published -- the third rejected. I am glad to be able to see "the end of the tunnel" of the book. The work loomed large at the start. OBSERVATION: And consulent ministry continues.

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Favourite Church Bell


This bell (pictured) tops my list of favourite Church bells in South Africa. It is the bell of the Uniting Reformed Church (URC, or VGK) Elands Bay. An elderly woman, a member of the Church, watched me taking photos. She said: “We are proud of our bell, Sir. It has a strong sound.” OBSERVATION: This bell has been very well used. Note the wear on the bottom right hand side. You may click on the image to enlarge to VGA.

Friday, September 27, 2013

Photo Of A Photo

There are things that, for reasons of health and safety, a husband cannot put on a blog. Yesterday I wanted to take a photo of wife E. -- her hair in afro style after she had been working on a theology assignment late at night. She immediately hid her face behind her cell-phone -- but unwittingly transmitted her image via the cell-phone display -- to my camera. This photo is only being shown in very small circles.

Our Plot In Spring

Wife E. and I visited our plot last week. That's her in the background surveying our river (the Kleinrivier). The photo reveals the first greenery of spring. The first leaves are coming out on the poplar trees. The ground has been churned up by pigs -- a herd of them roams free in the village. OBSERVATION: There is a lovely video of Tesselaarsdal on YouTube. Produced by a well known lady I married. The history of Tesselaarsdal may be sanitised (I have heard different versions).

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Employment As An Act Of Love

The Congregational Church takes a unique view of ministerial "employment". Rather than employing a minister (from the Latin implicare, to enfold) it sets him/her free -- to follow the call of God. When this is properly understood, it is, I believe, an act of love. It seeks to set a minister free from all the impediments and cares that might slow or dampen his / her ministry. OBSERVATION: The position is stated, for example, in the 'textbook' on evangelical Congregationalism, Evangelical & Congregational: "A Church does not employ a minister. It releases him from the need for secular employment."

Green Lagoon


This one's just to add some colour to the blog. It is a picture taken in our local urban park. The seaside suburb Mouille Point is in the background.

Translation

Not seldom, I read translated texts -- translations from Chinese, for instance, or Greek. It is my view of language that one needs to understand a text in order to translate it. A "blind" translation may be a very awkward product, even if it may seem to be technically correct. And yet, understanding implies interpretation, and interpretation implies license.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

"Our Owl"

Together with my plot of ground, I acquired an owl. In African culture, these are harbingers of death -- portents of doom. This owl is also blind in one eye, which should no doubt compound the bad news. It regularly perches on a hut on the grounds, or flies to my trees nearby. Actually it is a magnificent creature -- a huge, powerful bird -- graceful in flight. It is welcome.

Denying The Power

A verse that has come to mind much recently is 2 Timothy 3:5, which speaks of those who are "holding continually to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power". "Power" might refer to the power that should be at the heart of godliness, or (my preference) the Power (capital P, for God), whose ever-present power one reckons with in His Church. I have previously noted that people who effectively deny this Power are big liabilities in the Church. They may be wonderful people -- goody-two-shoes, some might say (see John Gill for what I consider some alarming commentary) -- but they think humanly, and their eyes are generally closed to the Power -- they don't see it.

Monday, September 23, 2013

A Postcard From ... ?

I took this photo yesterday. But where was the photo taken? There's a lagoon in the foreground, and a palm-fringed shoreline (if one clicks on the photo to enlarge), rolling fields, and mighty crags covered with snow. I took the photo near my front door, from Cape Town's City Bowl.

Kepler

Johannes Kepler was a key figure in the scientific revolution -- and a man who has my admiration, not merely for the science. His life was an extraordinary chaos -- an unbelievable turmoil, one might say -- not least because of his Christian convictions. Even his grave was destroyed. And yet a golden thread ran through it all -- he held the line -- and triumphed.

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Amalienstein Lutheran

This is the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Amalienstein. Amalienstein is a small village in the Karoo semi-desert. The Church was completed in 1853. Restored sixteen years ago, it is again looking a little woebegone. You may click on the image to enlarge to 80k. OBSERVATION: Amalienstein might fall within my new Karoo parish -- if anyone speaks English there. (One won't find another shot like this on the Internet -- inside the perimeter wall).

NOTE: Correction. There is one such photo at Gallo Images. (A very wide angle shot is required).

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Personal U-Turns

 One of the strange things I find in ministry is that people will sin, willfully, belligerently, deviously, repeatedly -- and it seems to matter nothing to them. But come their deathbed -- or come a conviction of sin -- perhaps a very long time after -- and there may be a complete, passionate reversal in the way they see it. What is strange about this is: why didn't they see it when they did it? And if it suddenly matters now, did it in fact matter all along?

Experiments

My solar experiments are coming on apace. My lounge and kitchenette are now lit up almost entirely off solar power. As expected, though, things are not working to theory. In fact, the real world is a long way off the theory. In spite of rainy weather, power in has been surprising, while power out has been puzzling. The photo shows a solar panel in the lounge window.

Friday, September 20, 2013

Project 43

Today I spent some time revamping my electronics books, which I am combining (and augmenting) in a single 300-page volume. At this moment, I have reached project 43 (of about 200) -- an unusual one, and it is obliquely related to the Church. In 1826, Benedict Prévost, a monk, noted a "heavenly light" on his fingers as he waved his hands about in the cloisters. What he had discovered was "subjective colours" -- an effect that is usually demonstrated today with Benham's Top. In short, pulsed monochromatic light produces the illusion of colour. This can be replicated electronically, and quite strikingly: which is project 43.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Frailer Creation

A genuine problem of race is ... skin colour. I myself am of European stock, and burn very quickly in full sun -- in less than half an hour perhaps (ten minutes is enough for some). Now consider the situation where much of one's time is spent with people of a darker tint. If one has the freedom to disregard the sun, then one does -- and they do. It is a way of life. But imagine the problems and surprises that this delivers for one of God's frailer creation. (Some Blacks jokingly refer to themselves as "all weather models").

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

The Glen Too

When one speaks of the Glen, in Cape Town, one normally thinks of a deep, narrow, shady valley at the side of Lion's Head. However, this is not the only Glen in Cape Town. There is also a Glen just above the city centre (pictured), very close to where I now stay. OBSERVATION: The more familiar Glen, while we were courting, was a favourite spot for E. and me. See also Hiking.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Authoritative Blog

Thanks to Jenny Hillebrannd's researches, I discovered today that my blog may be the most authoritative Christian blog in Southern Africa. So it is on the surface of it anyway, although statistics can be misleading. OBSERVATION: Interestingly, I find that I have had personal exchanges with four of the next five bloggers on the "authority" list. What's the secret of the authority? I have some idea. I think I blogged about it, although I hardly remember what.

Pursuing Bones

Last week son M. visited the Universities of Rome and Catania, and the legendary Spinagallo Cave south of Catania (it is filled with the bones of extinct elephants). This week he met Adrian Lister and Victoria Herridge at the Natural History Museum in London -- which in his field is like entering the presence of the King of Babylon. He is pursuing elephant bones around Europe. Acknowledgement to CNN for the photo of Victoria, in front of Spinagallo Cave.

Monday, September 16, 2013

Bereavement

One of the very hardest things for me about being widowed was something I had neither anticipated nor (to my notice) come across in many counselling sessions. I found that I had, after a long marriage, ceased to be one of two, but had become one in two. As a married man, when people addressed me or encountered me, even where my wife was not present, I felt as though they were looking right past me -- to some we which was not me. But when my wife died, the spotlight seemed to be unbearably on me.

The Eihatsu Maru Again

To add a little colour to my blog, here's another photo of the Eihatsu Maru -- a ship that beached in a densely populated suburb of Cape Town. The harbour-master told me that the captain was drunk -- mistaking the lights of the suburb for the harbour. One of those epic mistakes that people make.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Grand Designs (Solar)

Last night I took the first few steps in my grand designs to bring solar power to my home. I set the base system in place, and replaced one of two ceiling lights in the lounge with solar powered lighting -- operated by a foot switch at the front door. That might sound simple, but it was a huge job. Also, solar power is a combination of electronics and electrics, so one needs to be alert. OBSERVATION: The AC ceiling lights in the lounge weren't working anyway. I carefully nudged open the fixing plate (theoretically there was no power) -- and there were fireworks. All the lights in the complex were out. Together with a flaky chipboard ceiling this looked like a disaster waiting to happen.

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Positive Mindset

I was discussing, with a minister friend, the need for a "positive mindset" as a minister. Personally, I don't see that a positive mindset is enough to sustain one in ministry. Year by year, there is too much in ministry that, on the surface of it, would discourage even the most positive mindset. However, if one has hope in what God is doing, this grounds a positive approach to everything. God Himself never disappoints.

Little Boy To Big Man

I lent a friend some money this week. He needed it fast. I thought his wife made a classic comment that evening: "This morning he was a little boy. This evening he is a big man."

Friday, September 13, 2013

Domestic Scene

With a tired mind and nothing better to post this evening, here is a domestic scene this week, in our new home. Note the Römertopf clay baker. A clay baker can turn an inept husband into a cordon bleu chef on the first attempt, without effort. And note the two computers. Wife E. was completing a theology assignment, while I was catching up with some e-mails.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Racism Less Than Dead

A churchman said to me recently: "I wish I could say that racism is dead in the Church. In fact it is very much alive!" OBSERVATION: It has been proposed that racism is heresy. I wouldn't go so far, but I would say that racism probably indicates that one hasn't cottoned on to the true gospel. What is racism? I might say something like this: not seeing the grace and power and beauty of God in a person of another culture (not merely their intrinsic worth) -- which raises the bar, I think, above the usual definitions.

Taking Photos

I love to take photos. I have a good camera -- and once in a while I get a good shot. One of the challenges is "No cameras", and in South Africa one doesn't quite know where to anticipate this. In my experience, I have been ordered or asked to turn off my camera several times in government spaces (some places one wouldn't expect) -- also by angry rioters (see the photo), at a police cordon (by police), in a township (by shy residents), outside a synagogue (by security), and once an Apostolic Church made me delete photos. On the other hand, people sometimes love me to take photos -- ask me to take photos. Mostly, they just don't mind.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Electronics Book

Good news for electronics enthusiasts. This morning I roughly compiled more than 300 pages of material for a large-format book: ©How to Really Do Something with Six Components. This will re-launch my 2007 three-book series of super simple circuits -- and add a whole lot more. What can one really do with six components? Build a metal detector, a SONAR, an intercom, a TENS unit, a bird scarer, a radio, a lightning alarm ... and very much more. The trick is to do it with so few components -- something that I was well known for in the electronics world. OBSERVATION: One seldom comes across a circuit that really does something with six components. Twenty and up would probably be the norm. (I have found my own circuits really useful in doing something necessary in no time).

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

The Molteno Reservoir

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This is Molteno Reservoir -- or Molteno Dam -- above central Cape Town. For decades, the reservoir provided all the water that the city needed -- but by now, it has become a "side show". Many people have asked about the scattered strands of E.'s and my new life on this blog -- and I hope to draw them all together soon. Here's one of them: We now live above the Molteno Reservoir. Our old home is on the other side of that mountain (Lion's Head -- said to be one of the most magnificent climbs in the world). OBSERVATION: I have said that I intend to claim that little turret in the middle of the reservoir for a personal studio. You may click on the photo to enlarge to 110k.

Monday, September 9, 2013

You-Said-I-Said

One tends to attribute a special authenticity to certain documents such as affidavits, dockets, clinical notes, accident reports, press releases, statements, company letters, and so on. But where people are corrupt -- and they often are -- such documents may be worth no more than you-said-I-said -- except for the fact that there is a higher risk of being caught out if it's on paper. The ancient Romans already had a term for something like it: argumentum ad verecundiam. In the course of ministry, I have encountered all of the above which were not what they seemed.

Festivities

This is a re-post of one of my favourite photos from the time of E.'s and my courtship. It was the evening after I had successfully negotiated the bride price. The women were here preparing a feast for the same day. And in the background centre, with her back to a Dover stove, is my (then) mother-in-law to be. This photo was a special challenge, among other things because it was taken by the light of just two candles. You may click on it to enlarge to VGA.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Salt River Methodist

It's been a while since I posted a photo of a local Church. This is the Salt River Methodist Church, which celebrated its 130th anniversary on the 28th of April this year. The foundation stone was laid by Rev. John Walton MA. OBSERVATION: "MA" would not typically be appended to a name now -- it carried much more weight once. You may click on the photo to enlarge.

Annoyance

I get annoyed when my theology and philosophy don't hit the top ten in general searches (not specific searches with title and/or author). This is mainly because I blame myself for not having written something of a suitable standard (content and style) with suitable appeal (approachability). And also, because my best writing does hit the top ten. OBSERVATION: I am keen to see what my latest article will do: which is absolutely nowhere in the rankings right now.

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Jack

This is Jack. He is a Jack Russell. However, one should not be misled -- he is named, apparently, after Jack Daniels. He is the dog who lives with the family with whom my wife works as au pair. OBSERVATION: An interesting thing about Jack is that he can observe the dinner table motionless for half an hour -- but toss him a bite without warning and he will snap his mouth shut on it before it hits the floor.

Friday, September 6, 2013

Moment Of Triumph

In South Africa, one doesn't pick up hitchhikers. However, I do pick up people from time to time with my three-wheeler. I passed these young men in a township, struggling greatly with a supermarket trolley to get this object (whatever it was) to a scrap metal dealer a kilometre away. So I picked them all up, together with their "loot". It was a moment of triumph for them when we arrived at the scrap metal dealer (see the photo -- you may click on it to enlarge).

Thursday, September 5, 2013

The Foolishness of God

When God Himself, or when someone who truly represents a Biblical perspective, imparts to someone (in love, we hope) that their name on that foundation stone is worth nothing, or their forty years as secretary in the Church are worth nothing, or the many labours of their hands are worth nothing -- in comparison to the glory of that which God truly requires -- then there may be fury in the Church. In the Bible, one finds a gallery of characters among God's people who react with fury to ... the foolishness of God: "The foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom" (1 Cor 1:25). Cain, Jonah, Uzziah, Saul, and many others, rage when it is revealed to them that their devotion, their stature, their righteousness, their money, their purposes, and so on, was not what God requires -- or what God needs. It is the same today, and ministers need not be surprised when they experience it.

Fluffy Chicks


I took this photo of two fluffy chicks in our urban wetlands (Green Point), the day that the sun came out after the storms last week. I don't know what kind of chicks they are. You may click on the photo to enlarge.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

The Bishop And I

The bishop and I, we are still circling each other in the ring (I recently blogged about a bishop who tried to put a road through my property, without my knowledge). But it's an absurdity in more ways than one -- the municipality granted him lands without access to them -- none. I suggested that the municipality create a corridor, or a servitude -- they had a surveyor out there today. On a personal level, the bishop and I have a warm relationship (in more ways than one)! See also Kwaai Bridge.

Chance Shot

For good measure, here's another photo of my three-wheeler being serviced last week, by a minister friend -- a chance shot, but a good one. I couldn't see what I was photographing here. OBSERVATION: These are good opportunities to speak about ministry and theology, too.

Monday, September 2, 2013

Squabble


I took this photo today of birds fighting in our local urban park. You may click on the image to enlarge to 300k. While wife E. works out at the gym, I walk through the park and buy me a chocolate sundae at McDonald's.

A Good Work

I had just got up to prepare for my service on Sunday when I received a long-distance call -- someone who had heard of my resignation: "You must not think you did not do a good work [in urban ministry]. You touched many people's lives, including mine."

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Blossoming Ministry

Wife E. and I had a fruitful weekend of ministry in the Karoo this weekend (a semi-desert). In August I commenced a Consulent Ministry there. It was good to see E. blossoming in ministry this time -- the first time I have so seen her come into her own. I took this photo on a smallholding where we stayed. These are apricot blossoms. Peach blossoms are a deeper pink. The mountaintops were covered with snow.