Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Lost At Sea

I wonder whether any readers have been "lost at sea". I was, for some anxious moments, twelve years ago. I was on a motorboat with three men, travelling between Maiana and Tarawa atolls in the Pacific, when we spotted the smoke of a trawler. Our skipper turned the motorboat around and chased after the trawler, to exchange greetings. But in the process, we completely lost our bearings. The skipper stopped the boat. All three men stood up -- silent for what seemed an age -- scanning the horizon, and trying to discern where Tarawa lay. Then they all at the same time pointed the same way. The way they found Tarawa was by discerning a (very, very faint) green glow on the underside of the clouds.

Blogger Charts

Blogger gives one a list of one's most popular posts: current, daily, weekly, monthly, and all time. With this in mind, in just 2½ days, my post on Bridging Inferences has reached No. 2 in the monthly chart -- an extraordinary showing for a piece on linguistics. That having been said, it is a radical piece. OBSERVATION: Some of the strangest posts may enter the popularity charts -- and sometimes, too, ones which one expected to do well.

Monday, March 30, 2015

Change And Continuity

Some, when they think of continuity in the Church, think of the continuity of individuals. It surely is more important, though, to have a continuity of covenantal commitments and spiritual ethos. In fact, that is why Churches have, on the one hand, statements of faith and polity, and on the other hand, constitutions and resolutions. If there is change, therefore, it may be worth the question: is it people who have changed, or is it something about commitments and ethos that has changed?

Racism In South Africa

One generation after apartheid, something has gone badly wrong with race relations in South Africa. One symptom of the new tide is overt racism. People put their names to it, too, and in public places. One would not have contemplated this just a few years ago. Blacks are referred to as neanderthals, trolls, savages, turds, and so on (see, as an example, a public debate at the news service News24). It hardly gets worse. A foreign newspaper put it euphemistically last month, referring to "a recent spike in race-tinged comments". OBSERVATION: One cannot assume that this has not entered the Church. I know that it has. Francis Schaeffer wrote about the spirit of the age: "Fog cannot be kept out by walls or doors ... till the room we live in is hardly distinct." In the present situation, I think that ministers might be better served by assuming that the fog has entered the Church than that it has not. Some good news, though, is that general contact between races has increased. (See also Rainbow Index).

NOTE: Since my recent post, News24 has added this to its comment boxes: "Only comments that contribute to a constructive debate will be approved by moderators."

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Cranky Camel

Being at a loss as to what to post today (or perhaps rather, having a surfeit of things to post), here is a thirteen-second video of wife E. mounting a camel earlier in the day. Afterwards she was handed a certificate for "outstanding courage and bravery". The camel was cranky, as will be seen.

To-Do Lists

Every week of my ministry -- sometimes every second week -- I have set aside time one morning of the week to create a to-do list. This list then accompanies me everywhere I go. Early in my ministry, I would simply add items to this list and delete them as they were accomplished -- yet with more items to add than to delete (which is typical of ministry), my to-do list at one point grew to more than one-thousand items. Later in my ministry, I cut this list to two pages (seventy or eighty items on two sides of one sheet), and discarded the rest -- prioritising ten or twenty items, through prayer, which I treated as absolutely essential. OBSERVATION: To sketch this in more detail: I have first worked through accumulated correspondence, files, notes, and so on (just to decide what to do). Then I have reviewed my own scribbled reminders, accumulated during ministry day-to-day. Then I have sketched out forthcoming services and events. And finally, I have written up all points which the office secretary might implement. Such a to-do list is no small task. For instance, there will typically be around one-hundred pages of paper to review in such a session.

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Bridging Inferences

My essay on Bridging Inferences has temporarily gone "off air" while the journal Philosophical Investigations relocates on the Web. It was, however, a very popular essay. I had in mind to put a reduced, spoken version of the essay on YouTube, yet did not achieve the technical quality desired. For the sake of sharing the content, however, here is a foretaste of what is hopefully to come. OBSERVATION: An understanding of bridging inferences is crucial if one is to overcome the fact-value gap, and further to reintroduce ethics to metaphysics. My Society metaphysic shows further how bridging inferences may be integrated into a broad philosophy. I am not aware of another systematic approach to what I have to say here. However, I do know of a brilliant intuitive approach by Virginia Woolf, in the only known recording of her voice.

Searching My Blog

Generally speaking, one does not know who is looking in on a blog -- yet one does have access to general statistics. On that basis, it is possible to make some fairly detailed observations. This morning, the case in point is that my blog, from time to time, gets searched for matching themes in other posts on the blog. So for instance, I recently referred to race in a blog post. The statistics show that my blog has been searched for similar posts. These, once found, have been targeted several times. OBSERVATION: Sometimes such searches are fairly vast and intense, sometimes more casual.

Friday, March 27, 2015

Exhaust Welding

I took my car / automobile today to have the exhaust welded. Needless to say, welding presents some good photo opportunities. OBSERVATION: The exhaust was damaged while I was parking in a township. The surface of the parking space was uneven. That uneven.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Mailing Myself

Occasionally I receive e-mails from myself -- when it isn't me -- see the image. A web-master friend comments that one has to be very clever to do this. It's not a problem to me: such mail is quickly deleted. However, it could be a problem to others who receive "my" e-mails. OBSERVATION: It's possible that I fall prey to this because my e-mail is a very public one. Just today I came across this on the Internet: Томас Скарборо e-mail: scarboro@iafrica.com

A Bad Sign

I consider it a very bad sign when Churches seek to be homogeneous -- although it is supposedly a respectable idea (my alma mater Fuller once taught it). It is a bad sign because it indicates that there are influences more compelling than the gospel in the Church. When it comes to race in particular, there are various degrees of being an integrated Church: • one admits other races into membership • one encourages them to minister (the priesthood of believers), and • one appoints them to Church office. (And in rare cases, one marries them). OBSERVATION: One (ex) Church elder said to me: "We welcome Blacks warmly in our Church -- but membership, that is where we draw the line!" Others draw the line in other places, and sometimes it may not be the whole Church which draws the line, but a part of it. But no, equality needs to be complete, or there is something wrong, if not fatal. In the same way, that means equality for Whites and for all races and cultures.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Church Junk Mail

The e-mails I receive from Churches are seldom if ever "junk", yet e-mail clients and ISP's have often perceived them as junk. Having said this, in my experience some Churches' e-mails go to the junk-box more often than others: Pentecostal Churches are the hands-down winners here. OBSERVATION: Most of the mail that goes to my junk-box is phishing (masquerading) or written in Chinese.

Leading And Following

I have attended far more Bible studies lately than I have conducted. Yet it is awkward for me to attend Bible studies where I am used to "propelling" them -- not only leading, but thinking on my feet all the way through -- and so I generally listen quietly while, inside, I continue to be "on the hop". I said to one Bible study leader, about my quietness: "I listen with great interest and appreciation." OBSERVATION: And where I do speak, I would hope that it would be for encouragement.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Muscadel In Church

I may have discovered why the Calvynse Protestanse Kerk (CPK) is so popular. One of their members joked: “We use Red Muscadel for Communion. On Communion Sundays the Church is full! That's because it’s a superior experience!” OBSERVATION: Muscadel is a heavy, typically South African wine. Webster’s Dictionary calls it a “rich sweet wine”. It may also be called Muscat. The CPK is a Congregational denomination.

New Essays

More than two weeks after the publication of my metaphysic, the trend-lines of the world's oldest general philosophy journal continue up (see the image). OBSERVATION: Trend-lines depend a lot on the time period surveyed. These are two-year logarithmic trend-lines of journal visits and views -- bearing in mind that there will be other influences besides mine. After the initial shock of success, I am planning more essays, ultimately for an expanded metaphysic. In other words, this was not the destination, it was a milestone. Some topics I may give priority are being, mind, and materialism, where I believe I would offer a fundamentally different approach to those "received".

Monday, March 23, 2015

City Bowl

The photo shows Cape Town's City Bowl (the city centre) from Signal Hill, just after sunset. On the left in the distance is Table Bay. On the right in the distance one sees the floodlights of Newlands rugby stadium, the oldest rugby stadium in Africa. Also on the right are the lower slopes of Devil's Peak, which some would rename Dove's Peak (in Afrikaans it is the difference of one letter). Beyond Devil's Peak are the low-lying Cape Flats, which once were covered by water. You may click on the photo to enlarge.

What Now?

There are some things they don't show you in the movies. Real life teaches us so much more. A woman I counselled in time of trouble was S., whose husband was dealing in drugs. The police sought to stop him at a road-block -- but he sped away. The police gave chase. He wasn't winning, so he jumped out of the car and made an escape on foot. The police called in a helicopter -- and arrested him. Now here's the part you don't see in the movies: I said to S.: “Did you know he was doing this?” She said: “Yes (a pause) ...” Then: “What am I going to do now? I don’t know. And our boy. How will I put him through school? Where do I get the rent? The food? The clothes? My husband brought home the money. This is very serious. I’m getting older. I think I need to get serious about God.” OBSERVATION: Sadly, after this, S. discovered she had AIDS.

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Francis Schaeffer Foundation

The President of the Francis Schaeffer Foundation, Udo Middelmann, congratulated me on the publication of my metaphysic this morning. He lectures worldwide on ethics and society -- and was my lecturer too, many years ago. He is the son-in-law of Francis Schaeffer. OBSERVATION: Even now, as I embarked upon my metaphysic, I studied (among others) Francis Schaeffer's writing style in order to find my own. My metaphysic is at The Philosopher, close to the top of the page, titled Metaphysical Notes.

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Clerical Wear

I visited African Praise this morning, which manufactures clerical wear. This has changed a great deal in South Africa since I first saw it. Half of it has now adopted colourful African patterns and images. I asked Rev. Jo Tyers where it all began. The African styles were first tried by a self-help project in Grahamstown under Rev. John Stubbs. Then, in 2003, Revs. Trevor and Jo Tyers turned the idea into a now thriving business. OBSERVATION: An uncle of wife E. is to be ordained at Easter, hence the interest in African Praise.

Friday, March 20, 2015

Congregational 1800-1896

I received an interesting snippet today. It is a brief history of the Congregational Church in Cape Town from 1800-1896. It appeared in the Cape Town Guide, printed in the final years of the 19th Century by the looks of it, and digitised by the University of Pretoria in 2011. OBSERVATION: "Congregational" is variously described: A direct democracy under Christ, the headship of Christ over the members' meeting, a body which covenants with God and with one another, government by the people for the people, a self-governing Church, a believers' Church, a Church of equals (all of these definitions too short, and not each one as good as the other). Here's a frequent definition: "Where a Church meets in Christ’s name, and the members are actuated by a desire to do God’s will, there He avails Himself and guides His people, and their findings are those which He imparts." You may click on the image to enlarge.

I'm Content

I said to wife E. this week: "I'm content." Which perhaps is an English way of saying "I love you" (the classic English formulation is "I don't mind you"). In fact the only grief we have had with one another was cultural. Yet precisely because there is such a cultural chasm, one can work it out quite simply. There's no wondering about subtleties such as run through other relationships. OBSERVATION: There's a photo of us on my profile below right. Wife E. is on it because I am not an individual.

VW vs. Mahindra

On Wednesday, the high-voltage electrics of my VW blew out. The cost of fixing them is nearly ten percent of the cost (second-hand) of the car. Compare that with my Mahindra (pictured) which has no critical electrics at all. One could strip out every last wire and it would still run. Further, it hasn't needed one spare part (except filters and bulbs) in four years. The downside of the Mahindra, though, is that its body is prone to rust -- unlike the VW. And the VW, one needs to bear in mind, is now in its fifteenth year.

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Tumultuous Service


Some services are memorable for what shouldn't have happened. A few years ago, the African National Congress (ANC) asked me to conduct a funeral for a local official. Just before we got started, a man started ranting in the aisles. Some relatives of the deceased asked me to remove him from the Church. I said: “Find someone to do it.” This was passed on as: “Reverend orders us to remove him!” During the service, a man walked up to the front of the Church and seized a microphone. There was a rapid exchange of punches on the altar. I switched off the sound until he was muscled out. Then others tried to walk up, and were physically stopped in the aisles. There was a viewing of the body at the altar, and the partner of the deceased tried to touch him (but he had died of meningitis). A strong man grabbed her in an iron grip. Afterwards, there was a punch-up at the Church gate. OBSERVATION: Fortunately I didn't need to manage this. I let various functionaries sort out the “glitches”. In a way, though, the service did a lot of good. People were very thankful that I conducted it, and that I ministered to family and friends.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

A Funny Thing

A funny thing happened over at The Philosopher. This graph (above) shows the number of views that the journal has had since it began to log data in 2012 (the data is public). A logarithmic trend-line is here superimposed upon the views. The sudden peak at the end (on the right) coincides with the publication of my Metaphysical Notes. OBSERVATION: This need not mean that my Metaphysical Notes are driving the trend line, although it would not seem unlikely. (To view the Metaphysical Notes, click on the link above, and look a few lines down from the top of the page).

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

St. Patrick's Day

I attended a St. Patrick's Day street party this evening (pictured). Many years ago, a local plumber and his wife started the event on a whim. It has grown and grown. I'm not sure why one celebrates the day, as that is the day on which St. Patrick died.

Monday, March 16, 2015

Eita Islet

Painted on hardboard in the 1960's, the painting is by Ann Loveridge. She gave it to my parents as a gift. It depicts the islet Eita, between Antebuka and Tangintebu on Tarawa atoll. Eita was a magical place for me. Whilst most islets had a shore between land and lagoon, Eita was more interesting. Among other things, land and lagoon merged with one another, as one sees here. OBSERVATION: The notches cut into the trunks of the coconut trees enabled one to climb them for toddy and coconuts.

Criminal

I have had considerable trouble since resigning from urban ministry, having been accused nearly thirty times in writing of a variety of criminal offences. This translated (so far) into two sets of criminal charges against me, both of which were thrown out by the authorities (a waste of time, they said, and baseless). This week, I decided to refer all of the accusations without exception, with specifics, to the police. I said that such accusations cannot remain secret. It is now universal practice to hand over (alleged) ministry offences to the authorities, sooner rather than later. OBSERVATION: It presented a conundrum for the police, yet I think that they dealt with it in an exemplary way. I believe that what I did was "the only thing" to do. Emotionally, too, it was good for me to do.

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Bedroom Lights

This weekend, I put lights into the bedroom of our small cottage (pictured). The lamp covers are upturned enamelled porridge bowls, which I think look very nice. They cost me R14 (a little over a dollar) each. The expensive part was high-tech bulbs, 1.5 Watts each, which run off the house's 12 Volt system. 3 Watts total is more than adequate for lights which are hung fairly low in a bedroom. They are switched on and off with a pull switch (this one was awful to install) on the far left of the photo.

Saturday, March 14, 2015

Cultural And Traditional Diversity

In one of my Bible studies, the question of Christmas came up. Should Christians celebrate it or not? I quoted Romans 14:6: "He who regards one day as special does so to the Lord." If therefore you want to praise God through Christmas, well and good, and may God bless you. OBSERVATION: This has been a core principle of my (multi-cultural) ministry, and more generally so. The Christmas principle may be broadly applied. Whether one is considering prayers, dress, song, cultural practice, or even sacraments, the core question is: is it done to the Lord? If yes, then we cherish it, unless there should be very good reason not to.

Friday, March 13, 2015

Italian Grave

I recently blogged about an infant's grave in the veld, which I discovered near Velddrif, about 160km/100mi north of Cape Town. Close to that grave I found another – a larger gravestone, lying flat on the ground. I cleared away a lot of debris, and again cast sunlight on the headstone with a mirror. I'm not sure how much of the inscription can be made out – I have published this photo in fairly high resolution so as to improve anyone's chances of deciphering it. The surname may be “Carosini”, which would again be an Italian surname, and that of a member of one of the leading settler families in the area (the Berg River mouth).

Freedom Of Religion, In Theory

The South African Bill of Rights guarantees that "everyone has the right to freedom of religion". However my experience in ministry is that the exercising of this right, even in its most basic aspects, is frequently denied. For example, the right to attend Church on Sunday, or the right to fulfil important Church leadership functions (say, as an elder). The reason for the difficulty is economic priorities, by which I mean the priorities of the employer. Not seldom, churchgoers report to me that they will lose their jobs if they attend Church. In an urban Church in particular, this may have a disruptive effect on a weekly basis, which may be widely felt.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Nieuwoudtville Falls

On a whim, I have sometimes entered photos for photo competitions. This one won joint second place in the regular Argus photo competition. These are the Nieuwoudtville Falls -- in full flood here, in 2008 -- an awesome panorama which can hardly be held in such a small photo. It is two photos auto-stitched by a Pentax camera. One sees my shadow in the right bottom corner. You may click on the photo to enlarge to 360k.

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Philosophy And Revelation

When one writes philosophy, there are certain restraints. One cannot stray into certain areas without good reason. That is simply because philosophy is limited in its "powers". And if the philosopher assumes powers which he/she does not have, or cannot demonstrate, this does not bode well for a metaphysic (namely, a wide-ranging philosophy). Having said this by way of introduction, about a tenth of my recently published metaphysic (it's at The Philosopher, just under CONTENTS, titled Metaphysical Notes) deals with natural revelation, as opposed to supernatural revelation. There, with due caution, I propose that the concepts sin, confession, and repentance (among others) may be brought within the bounds of a metaphysic.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Inscrutable Counselees

Sometimes, the way that counselees describe their problems to a minister is as close to inscrutable as it comes. See whether you can see what this man was saying to me this week. It was the first thing he said: "I have TB, Reverend" (a very common complaint here). I said: "That's OK. Are you taking your medication to plan?" He said: "Yes, Reverend, to plan. But it's the second time." I asked: "Is it resistant?" The answer: "No, Reverend. But it's the second time." OBSERVATION: I didn't understand what he was saying -- in the moment. Next time, I shall speak to what I think the real problem is.

Road To A Metaphysic

A major purpose of this blog is to share "how it's done". Here's how my metaphysic came about (see the previous post). In June 2008, I holed up in the country one bitterly cold winter, and began intensive preparations for a paper. I finally wrote it in September 2009. Titled On Denotation, it explored Aristotle's views on language. Before I sent it anywhere, I had it checked by a number of postgraduate students. This paper was declined by three major journals, yet with praise. Then in January 2012, I decided to abandon conventions (journals tend to have a lot of them), and wrote the paper my way. The same month, I submitted it to The Philosopher, now under a new title Revisiting Aristotle's Noun. It was accepted a year later, subject to a rewrite of the introduction. In the new introduction, I suggested that Aristotle's views “might have profound implications for life in modern society”. Editor Martin Cohen replaced “might” with “do”, and the paper was published in March 2013. Through a series of essays on The Philosopher's sister site Philosophical Investigations, I explored these “profound implications” in a variety of ways, until a constellation of essays had come into being. Some of them attracted a lot of attention (and still do). The idea of a metaphysic was raised, and in September 2014, editors Martin Cohen and Perig (Pierre-Alain) Gouanvic created a public, on-line space for me to develop the project.  This provided the impetus and encouragement without which the work might have languished. The editors joked that a metaphysic would take a thousand years. In fact it took six months, in three phases. In the first and most intensive phase, the conceptual content was created, working to deadlines. An early objective was to establish whether it could work at all, conceptually. We sensed that it could. A second and faster phase, also completed to deadlines, meant improving on conceptual clarity, and readability. A third and final phase, without deadlines and with editorial oversight, saw the completion and publication of the project, in March 2015. Pages in The Philosopher describe the long-term development of the metaphysic. OBSERVATION: I took the photo while "holed up" in 2008.

Monday, March 9, 2015

Thanks Be

Thanks be to God. The Philosophical Society of England, in association with the journal The Philosopher, this morning published my metaphysic Metaphysical Notes in twenty parts (look just under the heading CONTENTS at The Philosopher). Metaphysics seeks to understand the nature of the whole of reality. OBSERVATION: This now represents the largest single contribution to the journal -- larger than the history of the Society in five parts. While the Society, in its own words, has published "a few less good" articles, there have been many celebrated contributors, among them Jan Smuts, Erwin Schrödinger, G.K. Chesterton, John Dewey, and Moritz Schlick. While my work may not be "unassailable", as one philosopher once said of his work, I believe it is vital, and that it introduces something fundamentally new.

Sunday, March 8, 2015

No Smiles Today

I took this photo at Church today. There was nothing and nobody who could make this young lady (on the right of the photo) smile. OBSERVATION: She is a pastor's daughter, so perhaps she understands the need for a little gravitas in life. You may click on the photo to enlarge.

Some Clarity

At the time of my resignation from urban ministry, people made claims which they could only have made if they had consulted my doctor at that time. However, if they had consulted my doctor at that time, they would not have made the claims which they did. What was going on? Last month, attorneys for my (then) doctor wrote that he "unequivocally refuses permission for any publication of any statements attributed to or purportedly made by him". Ostensibly, then, the claims which were circulated were not based on anything the doctor provided. This post should clarify some things therefore, both in his favour and mine.

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Infant's Grave

In South Africa, one not seldom comes across settler graves in the bush. There are many scattered near Velddrif, 160km/100mi north of Cape Town, where I took this photo near the south bank of the Berg River. It is an infant's grave. If one clicks on the photo, the whole inscription may be read. The name is Frederick Viola. Although the inscription is in English, Viola is typically an Italian name. This would fit with the fact that Italians settled this area. OBSERVATION: I used reflected sunlight for the photo. Natural light and flash did not adequately reveal the inscription on the gravestone.

Group Photo

Here is a group photo -- heretofore never seen on the Internet (I don't think), a world exclusive -- taken at the Maloti Missions Training Conference near Bloemfontein last year. It represents the reunion of Orange Free State and Lesotho missionary teams, with missionaries from eleven Churches. OBSERVATION: While the official photo was being taken from the front, I took one from the side. Once in a while, a shot from an angle yields something special. You may click on the photo to enlarge.

Friday, March 6, 2015

Promotional Video

I received a promotional video today from my alma mater the Staatsunabhängige Theologische Hochschule in Basle, Switzerland. You may view it at: https://vimeo.com/121328888  My old lecture hall is shown at 1:44 (above), even one of my old professors is still going at 4:18 -- thirty-five years on. Much of the video is shot in Allemannic (Schwyzerdütsch), which I still understand today.

Thursday, March 5, 2015

“Evangelical”

Yesterday I e-mailed someone about the word “evangelical” on a curriculum vitae: “Evangelical in Africa is not the same as evangelical in the USA. The word has been 'appropriated'.  One can no longer tell what people mean by evangelical, but a lot of people who should know that don't yet know it.” Other words may now be preferred to “evangelical”, so as not to get in a muddle. I myself have said that where one finds the word in Church constitutions, it should be overhauled. It doesn't mean now what it meant then. OBSERVATION: The form of words may remain the same, while their meanings undergo deep shifts. An example is the King James Bible's reference to “gay clothing” in Church (James 2:3). The words had a different meaning then. And a classic is: “I have given every green herb for meat” (Genesis 1:30).

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

The Big Picture

I agree with Thomas Kuhn, the philosopher of science, that if one is to have a significant impact on any field, one needs to come up with something integrative, expansive. One may work brilliant solutions in some area, yet this may be all but overlooked if one cannot show how it relates to the whole -- alternatively one will merely be slipping into an existing culture (which need not be bad in itself, however). This applies in theology, philosophy, physics, geology, and many other fields -- with some corresponding "big names" who demonstrate this being Calvin, Kant, Einstein, Wegener -- all of whom came up with expansive ideas, and could show how (ostensibly) they related to the whole. At the same time, expansive theories may jeopardise other people's work (and stature), and may for this very personal reason receive a hostile reception at first -- not that the matter is quite that simple.

Bathing Beauty

I don't know who this bathing beauty was, and no doubt she didn't know who I was. Anyway, she spontaneously (and exuberantly) posed for the camera. You may click on the photo to enlarge.

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Socialising

Son M. is becoming quite a socialiser. He received an invitation today to meet the President of the Federal Council of Germany Volker Bouffier (the Bundesratspräsident -- not the same as the Bundespräsident or the Bundeskanzler). Bundesratspräsident is an uncommon office: if the Federal President of Germany is unable to perform his/her duties, or if his/her office falls prematurely vacant, the Bundesratspräsident exercises his/her powers. Some former Bundesratspräsidents are Willy Brandt, Franz Josef Strauß, and Gerhard Schröder. The Bundesrat may be described as an Upper House of parliament.

Chocolate Cake

In 1982, Sea Point Congregational Church called me to plant a Church in Rondebosch -- called the Rondebosch Fellowship. Sea Point then sent members with me on loan, to boost the work. One of these members, an elderly woman with a unique story, baked me a chocolate cake. She invited me to her luxury home for a slice after the first service. I said it was a marvellous cake, and she gave me the rest of it. The next Sunday she invited me again -- for chocolate cake -- and again she gave me the rest of the cake. This continued even after the assignment in Rondebosch ended -- and continued for some fifteen years, every Sunday, unless I was out of town, which I mostly was. We (often it was "we") gently suggested that she might try vanilla cake, or perhaps cookies -- but she was not to be swayed. As she grew older, she could no longer bake the cake -- then she bought one every Sunday at Woolworths. The tradition finally ended when she entered an old age home. In loving memory of Mary Mahood.

Monday, March 2, 2015

Original Answers

I heard two particularly original answers during the last week. The first in a Bible study group. The Bible study leader asked the group: "What do you do if you're a Christian who suffers anxiety?" One of the group answered: "Lie awake all night." The second answer was in a furniture store. They had quoted me R350 for delivery. I said: "Your competition next door offers delivery free." The sales lady answered with a smile: "That's nice."

Gravestone Smash

In the mission, as a boy, a gravestone was delivered to the small island of Beru, to be kept on our veranda while the spirit of a Gilbertese child "first found rest". The gravestone's inscription was up against the veranda wall, behind it. But I wanted to see it, and pulled the gravestone from the wall.  It was heavy for me, and it toppled and smashed my left big toe. Our house help Temeeti came to the rescue and lifted the gravestone. But now we had a boy badly injured on a remote island, without Western help. My mother recalls: "A native bone setter came and stroked the broken toe back into shape." Then a Roman Catholic nun, Miss Maxfield, doctored me every day. As I remember, two Western doctors arrived a fortnight later. (This week, wife E. said to me: "Your toe really was messed up.")

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Pecuniary Nightmares

A retired minister wrote to me recently: "Very often nightmares happen in the area of a congregation's finances, so easy to get away with (initially) and so difficult to track down if there are a couple of like-minded bad apples in the barrel. I had some pretty strong personal (and private) rules. Rule no. 1: Never trust anybody when it comes to Church finances. Rule no. 2: Refer to rule no. 1! I learnt how to read a balance sheet, though not very well and would sometimes take our monthly finance report to a very good friend but a complete outsider to our congregation, to see if he could sniff out any apparent inconsistencies. I was 'lucky' and never had any problems -- that we found!"

Special Find

I overlooked a small treasure in moving house a year-and-a-half ago. I uncovered it this weekend. I found this 1908 Hiram Bingham II Gilbertese-English dictionary, filled with marginal notes, with George Eastman's signature opposite the title page. Bingham II and Eastman were the two legendary missionaries of the Gilberts in the Central Pacific. George Eastman went on to complete his own Gilbertese-English dictionary, which remains the standard in (now) Kiribati to this day. You may click on the image to enlarge.