Contents
![[Cover of Issue 94]](cover.jpg)
Editorial
Letters
Life
Leaving university and getting a job is a tragedy that comes to us all sooner or later. Keith McKillop encourages us to think carefully about the ethics (or otherwise) of the organisations we decide to devote our lives to, and attempts to do the unthinkable and defend corporations.
However, difficult as this choice may be, it is still one of the many freedoms that we enjoy in our lives. Lizzie Freear points out many reasons why we should all be smiling.
Something that evokes mixed reactions in most of us is Valentine’s Day. Is it really just an irrelevant commercial festival or are there valuable things that it could cause us to think about? Johan de Jong’s article on Pink Fluffiness examines these and other themes.
And finally, once we’ve worked out where we stand and what we think about Valentines (or anything else), Greg Melia tells us to stick up for it and be prepared to take flack, while being prepared to change.
Katherine Boardman
Pink Fluffiness
Smile
Taking a Stand
Defending Corporations
World
Somebody once said, “Isn’t ‘love thy neighbour’ in the global village so inconvenient? God writes us these lines, but we have to sing them.”
This often feels very true to me. Just who exactly are our neighbours? In an age when we can fly to the other side of the world in a day, just where do you draw the line? There is so much pain and suffering in our world — far too much for us to be able to do something about everything, so just who do we help? When Jesus said we should love our neighbours, he meant the people that it is in our power to help. In New Testament times, this would literally be your neighbours, but now we have a much bigger responsibility.
This issue’s World articles focus on these problems and more. David Jones shares his thoughts on the state of society today, and what it would mean if all of Britain followed Jesus’ command to love our neighbours. Lizzie Freear’s article provides much food for thought about the issue of Christian unity.
David Jones and Paul Harford’s article highlights the aims of the MakePovertyHistory campaign, which is attempting to do exactly as its name suggests, by working for debt cancellation, better aid, and trade justice for developing countries. The article shows us just what a huge problem this is, and how easy it is for us to get involved and do something about it.
I urge you as you read these articles to think about what Jesus said, and how you can help make a difference to the lives of those less fortunate than yourself. This year we are being offered the chance to make history: please take the time to be a part of it.
Rachael Stephenson
The Jones Files
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
Make Poverty History
Belief
What is truth? Not being a philosophy student, I couldn’t give an authoritative answer on the subject. I remember watching an episode of Star Trek long ago, where it was said, “The first duty of an officer is to the truth”. I’m wondering if that’s something that could apply to all of us. As Christians, what do we really believe? More specifically, what do we personally believe? How did we arrive at this belief? Will it change? How? Does it matter?
All of these are questions, and we should neither be afraid to ask them, nor to listen to the answers. Our faith will be challenged, and through this our faith will change. Do we fear the change because we don’t want to lose our faith altogether? For some, they feel it best not to risk this, and thus disregard the awkward questions. For me, I’d find it worse to risk living a lie. Perhaps Wodu Majin captures these ideas better than I do, in the poem ‘Truth’.
In my travels, I’ve found that C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape letters to be a thought provoking work on the difference between appearing Christian, and being Christian. Greg Melia looks at his other works, and asks if we can still learn from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
In looking at one’s belief, one thing that may be questioned is a person’s interpretation of Bible verse. I don’t believe in saying “The Bible says this, and that’s the end of it”, which to me will stifle healthy debate. Instead, Doug P. Baker offers a remedy by exploring the difference between a blessing and a commandment in ‘The Great Blessing’. He contributes further with a discussion on the potential world of difference there could exist between that which represents, and that which is being represented in ‘Hellfire: Literal or Symbolic?’.
Keith McKillop