More on "total depravity"

The U.K. government’s Schools Secretary, Ed Balls (who, in my opinion, every time he opens his mouth, proves that he is one of the most accurately-named politicians in Westminster!) has come out with the statement that what the killers of Jamie Bulger “… did to James Bulger was evil, but I'm not willing to say the children were intrinsically evil”

This, of course, takes me back to a couple of days ago and Calvin’s doctrine of the total depravity of mankind. This doctrine does NOT teach that all of mankind is ‘totally depraved’; it teaches that ALL mankind (the totality thereof) is sinful.

This teaching comes straight from the written Word of God, the Bible. In Ps.51:5, David confesses that “Surely I was sinful at birth; sinful from the time my mother conceived me”, while in Ps.14:2-3 (repeated in 53:2-30) is the statement that “YHWH looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand; any who seek God. All have turned aside; they have together become corrupt; there is no-one who does good, not even one.”

This theme is picked up in the New Testament – most clearly in Paul’s Letter to the disciples of Jesus, living in Rome, where he makes the simple, but profound, claim that “… all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (3:23)

The simple fact of the matter is that I am not a sinner because I sin – I sin because I am a sinner! The sinfulness of Adam is inherited by all of his descendants. I have always found it interesting that one of the first words a small child uses is the word “No” – and disobedience is only a small step away from rebelliousness!

So, sorry Mr Balls, but you are talking a load of …! (you may insert your own name!).

However, the good news is that all is not lost. Paul continues, in v.24 of that 3^rd chapter of Romans: “…and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” This is simply making the point that salvation/justification is a work of God’s grace. Every single one of us needs it; not one of us can ever earn it; purchase it; deserve it.

Doubtless, Mr Balls, like me, has never been charged with, or found guilty of, a criminal offence. But we are both sinners from the moment of our conception – it’s in our genes – and we both need that salvation that comes only through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus, at Calvary.

Be srue to raed tihs!

Resraechres at Cmabirgde Uinvrestiy fnuod taht the odrer ltteers are wtitren in deson't mttaer as lnog as the frist and lsat ltteres are in the rghit palce. Yul'ol be albe to raed the wrods croerctly no mtater how jubmled the ltetres are. It semes taht yuor barin dosne't raed ecah lteter but sees the wohle wrod at ocne.

This little gem of information comes from the well-known "Ripley's Believe it or Not Souvenir Guidebook", and many will have read it before. By the way, in case anyone didn't quite get it, it makes the point that as long as the first and last letters of a word are in their correct places, our brains can make sense of what comes between them, however mixed-up those other letters are.

In the great book of the Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, given to His servant, John there is a fourfold reference to Almighty God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - as "the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." (22:13 - cf. 1:8, 11; 21:6). Disciples of Jesus may take great comfort (the word really means 'strength') that we follow a Saviour Who is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, and Who makes sense of all that comes between - all the mixed-up, confusing, seemingly illogical, circumstances of this earthly life.

The old illustration was of a tapestry which, when looked at from the wrong side (the back), is a confused jumble of ends of threads, of every colour and hue, that makes absolutely no sense; but that, when viewed from the correct side (the front) is a beautiful picture that brings joy and delight to the beholder. In this life, we see only the back of the tapestry. Only in Glory will the believer see the finished picture - and rejoice that our great God really did know what He was doing, even if His plan wasn't always clear to us!

You are what you eat - aren't you?

There may be some decisions that people make that effect only themselves - but they are few and far between! "No man is an island", said John Donne, and he was absolutely correct. Whether I like it or not, I am my brother's keeper! (see Gen.4:9).

Those thoughts came to me when I read, in today's newspaper, of Donna Simpson, a 42-year-old mother of two who is currently the world's fattest mother as recorded by the Guinness Book of Records. When, three years ago, she gave birth to her second child, she weighed in at more than 37 stones and, since then, she has managed to put almost 6 stones more! Her stated aim is to reach 1,000 pounds (just short of 72 stones!).

To pay for her food bill of some $750 (£450) per week, she has set up a web-site by which (sad) people pay to watch her eat, and wash.

So why shouldn't this woman gorge herself to such gross obesity? I think that her own body could do with some consideration. It certainly wasn't designed to carry that amount of excess weight around. Indeed, even the mobility scooter that she uses probably wasn't designed for such punishing use!

Then there are her children. The elder of the two, is reported as being 14 years of age. Has his mother ever given any consideration to what he might have to handle at school? Children can be notoriously cruel to one another, and this woman is providing plenty of ammunition. Additionally, her eating habits, and her weight, indicate that she will not live to see a ripe old age. I wonder has she given any consideration to the children who will be left without a mother?

Even her husband who, according to one report, likes large women (!!) must surely be concerned about the size of his wife, and wonder for how long he will have her with him.

And, of course, there are the taxpayers of her native New Jersey. They, I imagine, will be left to pick up the tab if/when her children need to be taken into care. Those sad people who have nothing better to do with their time and money than to watch her, and pay her for the 'privilege' are also effected - if only by having this opportunity to satisfy there own unusual desires!

In my opinion, this woman has serious psychological problems, and it is to be hoped that someone will step in and offer her the help that she so obviously needs. In a world in which thousands die of starvation every day, it is sad to see this one woman having such a strange goal in life! I wonder if she has ever read from Paul's letter to the disciples of Jesus in the Roman colonial city of Philippi: "Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things." (3:19)?

The total depravity of man(kind)

This oft-misunderstood doctrine formulated by John Calvin in his magnum opus “The Institutes of the Christian Religion”, came to my mind this morning as I listened to the Saturday edition of the Radio 4 programme Today.

One item of news was the call by the Children’s Commissioner, Maggie Atkinson, to raise the age of criminal responsibility, in England, from 10 years to 12 years, or perhaps 14 years. This came on the back of the well-reported, and commented-upon case of the re-arrest of Jon Venables on unspecified, but apparently serious, charges (see below). Ms Atkinson is of the opinion that Jon Venables and his co-convicted Robert Thomson should not have been tried, as they were, for the callous murder of toddler Jamie Bulger.

Thankfully, in my opinion, the government have immediately rejected her call – and only a true cynic would suggest that this had anything at all to do with the fact that a General Election is only weeks away!!!

One reason for my thankfulness is that, in the same radio programme, a young man with learning difficulties – one of the most vulnerable groups in our society – was interviewed. He did not always express himself in the most articulate manner, but it was certainly clear that he and his girlfriend were the objects of much verbal abuse, ridicule, and harassment, from children who were as young as ten – and possibly even younger.

Of course, the real problem with children of this age group is the apparent lack of parental control – or even, in many cases, interest! Perhaps if parents were to be held fully responsible for their own children up until they reach the minimum school-leaving age, we could allow the age of criminal responsibility to be raised somewhat. Until then, I believe that the Scottish Government is making a mistake with its moves to raise the age to twelve, and that the rest of the U.K. would be ill-advised to make the same change.

The Biblical teaching: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Prov.22:6) still has much to commend it!

Jon Venables

I have deliberately held back from making any comment on the case of the reported re-arrest of Jon Venables – one of the two young boys who were convicted of the torture and murder of little Jamie Bulger, way back in 1993 – on charges connected with child pornography. However, I feel that it is now time for me to express my own opinion!

The first point that I find to be relevant is that this young man has allegedly broken the terms of his parole, and of his ‘new identity’, and done so on a number of occasions. Indeed, it has been widely reported that, under the influence of alcohol, he has revealed his true identity on more than one occasion!

The second point is that, whatever I may think of the original case; the sentence given; and the fact of the release of both boys when they reached the age of eighteen years; this is a totally separate offence. The British justice system does not, usually, permit a jury to know of the previous record of the defendant in a court case.

However, I am currently in the process of making my first attempt at writing a publishable book! If it ever reaches the shelves of your local Christian Bookshop, it will probably have the title: “Getting to know you – Great Words of the Christian Faith”. I have just completed my first draft of the chapter that will deal with the amazing concept of grace. It isn’t too difficult to write about it – it’s the practising of it that causes me problems. Yet, as I think about Jon Venables, I wonder what Jesus would do in this situation! How would He react to this young man who is guilty of a terrible crime, and who is alleged to have committed further criminal activity?

One of the illustrations that I was using, earlier this evening, is taken from John 8. It’s the record of the story of the woman, taken in the very act of adultery and, while adultery, for all its seriousness, pales somewhat in the light of the murder of a defenceless toddler, it was considered to be a much more serious sin in Jesus’ day than it most obviously is in our contemporary culture. Please read the full story for yourself. I only want to remind you of the words of Jesus to those who were the accusers of this woman: “Let the one who is without sin throw the first stone”! He then told the woman to “Go, and don’t commit that sin again.” An act of incomparable grace.

Perhaps those of us who, in our natural state, would see Jon Venables hung, drawn, and quartered, need to look first at ourselves, before we pronounce judgement on him. Is this to condone his crime? Of course not. But nothing that is done to him will bring back little Jamie Bulger. There is a difference between justice and revenge. I fear that too many seek the latter!