Graduation Photos

Until wife E's generation, there were no university graduates in the family. I think there are two now in her generation (which includes her). She obtained a BTh. Now, in E's parents' home, there are many photographs on the walls. Perhaps half of them were taken by me. However, there were no photographs of E's graduation. Today I posted them some -- even though there is no street name to post to, only a township house number: New Rest No. 562. 

Maltese, Anyone?

Here's something interesting. I put up an interview with me in English, on LinkedIn. Then I put it up in Maltese, on LinkedIn. In Maltese, it had more interest in an hour than it had in English in a day. OBSERVATION: I know no Maltese. I used AI to translate the interview. The Maltese translation is: here.

Faked Overdose

T was a teenage member of the Church. Her boyfriend, said her mother, had died of an overdose. I went to see T. Her eyes were puffy. She said, “Maybe he isn’t dead. Maybe he went away. Or something.” OBSERVATION: This seemed strange to me, since dead is dead. It later transpired that he was “dead” enough to convince his family and friends -- however, he had faked his death, for the reason that some drug dealers were after him.

Police Accommodation

This seems beyond belief. It is the parking lot of a major police station in Cape Town's West Coast suburbs. The sign says, 

"PARKING FOR SAPS VEHICLES 

AND THEIR CLIENTS ONLY.

ILLEGALLY PARKED VEHICLES

WILL BE LIABLE TO A FINE."

The SAPS is of course the South African Police Services. Yet behind that sign lives a homeless person in a derelict car -- with attendant chaos. As I took this photo, there was a policeman behind me joking with women who were peddling their wares from the back of a car in the parking lot. OBSERVATION: Sadly, I knew a man who committed suicide in this same parking lot. His daughter, too, died by suicide -- referring to his suicide in her suicide note.

Extensive Interview on Holism

I'm pleased to learn that (click here to read it): An Interview with Thomas O. Scarborough on Holism is going to press tonight. It will appear shortly in SHARE magazine -- a philosophy magazine -- which I highly recommend: see SHARE Back Issues (the January edition, with my interview, is not up yet). This interview presents aspects of my thinking on holism, which differ substantially from standard thinking on holism. I shall be presenting some of my views on holism at my coming Annual Philosophy Lecture in Malta: see Event Details. 

English Garden

This one's just a pretty picture. It is my mother-in-law's garden. I suppose one would call it an English garden for its informality. It has mostly grown during the last year. You may click on the photo to enlarge.

Photo and Photo Negative

I just completed an interview on holism -- going to press tonight. My view of the whole differs from the standard view of the whole. Encyclopedia Britannica, for example, defines the whole as "having all the parts". Or Collins Dictionary: "A single thing which contains several different parts". My own definition is far more expansive. One could describe reality as a photo with a photo negative. The standard view of holism sees only the whole that is the photo. My concept includes both photo and photo negative. It is a rough analogy. But while it is easy to see the photo, it is not so easy to see the "photo negative".

Book Signing

A book signing has been added as an interlude during my lecture in Malta in March. It is to be my fictional metaphysics, This Town: A Complete Metaphysics. This has been described as "a triumph of metaphysical writing". OBSERVATION: As this is (recurrently) a ministry blog, it might be worth mentioning that two chapters of the book survey ... not the existence of God, but the relevance of God. The book is available on (click here): Amazon.

Eastern Cape Weed

South Africa is filled with odd and beautiful weeds. One tends not to notice them, because they are everywhere. Here is one, that I photographed in South Africa's Eastern Cape. You may click on it to enlarge.

Abusive Comments

Comments on this blog are moderated. In general, I publish all comments, except advertisements. Recently, though, I have received comments which I would characterise as abusive. I do not think I am obliged to publish abuse. These comments have almost all been anonymous and vague -- in fact, so vague that they seem impossible to answer. Whoever may be involved, do be specific, and if possible provide your name for context, and I can consider a reply. OBSERVATION: To put this in some perspective, a blog does not pass one-million views because it is disliked. I receive a great deal of praise through back channels.

‘Highly Defamatory’

Today I read, for the first time, a letter that was sent out to the whole Church (my city Church), after the close of my city ministry. It claims that I committed an offence, a crime, and was criminally charged. That is seriously false. I am putting up the full extract from the letter here. It is correct incidentally that a criminal charge cannot be withdrawn. The Cape Town Cluster -- which polices the police -- launched an investigation, and reported back. I am putting up a full 26 minutes of discussion with the Cluster, represented here by Capt. Noemdo-Jefta. The length of both extracts ensures that I can't be accused of being selective. Capt. Noemdo-Jefta states emotionally, "You were never charged! You were never charged!" This, she says, is because "There is no case here. There's no basis for crime. There's no merit to a criminal case." This means that they didn't even have the raw material. OBSERVATION: So a false report, of a grave nature, was put out to the whole Church, without my knowledge. As for the allegation, I don't know of any minister on Earth who committed such a crime -- it is as odd as it sounds. A second "crime" is mentioned in the recording -- I have no idea what that was. Maybe I committed it in my sleep. They owe me an apology. I have immediately contacted attorneys, as a first step.

POSTSCRIPT: I probably need to add, to synchronise this post with others: the Cluster made their pronouncements on the basis of the paperwork they examined, and interviews they conducted. Attorneys in the meantime respond that the allegation is "highly defamatory".

POST-POSTSCRIPT: There has been extraordinary interest in this post -- more than I can remember in years. Currently, it is no. 1 among Popular Posts in the right hand column.

Dark Counselling

This post is not for the faint hearted. A man confessed to this many years ago, in a counselling session. He was in reconnaissance (a recce), in one of Africa's wars -- in the vanguard -- and under orders to kill anyone who should see him. A woman was stamping maize in the African style with a baby tied to her back. She turned her head and looked into his eyes. With a single shot, he killed them both. OBSERVATION: Not only did this kill the mother and her baby, but it destroyed the man who did it -- and many with him who did similar things. He asked me whether there was any forgiveness from God. I said yes, but he was not willing to believe it.

Calling And Community

There is much emphasis in some Churches on "community". There is in fact a theology of community -- for example Stanley Grenz (Theology for the Community of God, 2000). I consider that it is not healthy if one's emphasis shifts too far towards "community" -- if one should emphasise community at all. Community is a by-product of the calling of the Church. It fails as a focus. However, it is an important by-product.

Beautiful Weeds

South Africa has many beautiful weeds. I spotted this one in South Africa's Langkloof -- a 160 km long valley. There are beautiful weeds all over, so one doesn't notice them until one stops to pay attention.

Flogging a Story

Before wife E stopped me (see a previous post), I contacted agents in connection with my new "fictional philosophy". In two weeks, eight agents have requested the manuscript. So far. My magnum opus -- my original philosophy -- was a different story. In two years, one agent requested the manuscript -- yet didn't accept it. It was a publisher who finally accepted it "on merit". OBSERVATION: Thus there is an altogether different "feel" surrounding my latest work. It is also a very different work. For example, it is written at the level of Grade 5. My magnum opus was written at the level of Grade 10.