Thursday 28 April 2011

Immortality

Photography by Nick Clark
This week was my birthday and, inevitably, the subject of aging arose. At the time it was treated jovially, but I find that it’s all too common that people express their fear of growing old, and in turn this fear is oft extended to death. I lightly touched upon this subject in my previous post, where I explained my reasoning that because death is inevitable there is no point to fearing it, and such a fear is only restrictive to an individual’s productive achievement. That is not too say death itself is insignificant; it’s finality certainly brings purpose to life, and obviously the death of someone is sorrowful. The fear of old age holds more merit; I’m certain no-one likes the idea of becoming dependant or their flesh aging. However associated health issues are best prevented in living a healthy lifestyle before reaching such an age; senescence is of course inevitable and thus, through a similar reasoning used above, should be taken in stride; whilst other, inescapable aging problems are left to fate, although that’s not too say they shouldn’t be contended with all your spirit.

When this topic of conversation occurs one notion invariably materialises; immortality. If the chance arose for you to become immortal would you take it?

Thursday 21 April 2011

Chevin Adventure A GoGo!

The Destination.
The other day I awoke to a rather glorious sight; the sun was in ascendant through an azure sky, its light burnishing the vegetation throughout my valley with a resplendent green. Immediately I thought of one thing: photography. There was no way I was letting such a wonderful day go to waste, especially since the previous days I had encarcerated myself within the confines of my house in order to prepare for my university finals.

However I lacked a camera. Fortunately this rather major issue was quickly resolved; a quick Facebook message later and I had managed to persuade my friend Rowan to accompany me whilst I abused his substantial, Canon EOS 400D camera. My objective was to photograph the expansive vista, known as “Surprise View”, that provides a massive 60km panorama of West and North Yorkshire. However such a view is only accessible by hiking to the top of the Chevin, the more prominent hill of my valley that dominates the southern horizon. The Chevin, a name derived from Celtic ‘Cefyn’ or ‘Cefu’ meaning ridge, has been a constant character throughout my life with some of my earliest memories being me playing on its steep slopes. Despite forming the valley within which my town is situated I hadn’t visited the old hill for some time, so the beautiful day that presented itself to me was the perfect opportunity to rediscover its secrets.

Sunday 17 April 2011

The Bible and Homosexuality: Romans 1: 26-27

This epistle to the Church of Rome is probably the most influential passage in the entire Bible in regards to the Christian view of homosexuality, being the most oft quoted piece of scripture in the condemnation of homosexuals, even before Leviticus 18:22 and 20:18. Its power lays most prominently in the fact that it exists in the New Testament; the second section of the Bible which contains Christian teachings. Similarly influential for the passage’s prominence is its authorship; it was written by Paul upon whose words a large amount of modern church doctrine is based upon. Paul wrote other epistles referencing homosexuality, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 and 1 Timothy 1:9-10, however this passage is by far the most explicit in its condemnation.

Its literal interpretation is probably responsible for a large proportion of the negative opinion of homosexuality that pervades a considerable section of Christianity, especially evangelical and fundamentalist sects, and is seen by many as one of the most important references in the bible-gay debate. All quotes below are from the English Standard Version.

Wednesday 13 April 2011

France's Burqa Ban: Fighting Oppression With Oppression?


On Monday France’s lower parliament approved a bill banning the wearing of clothing that intends to hide the face in public areas. The ban itself appears to target the conservative dress worn by Muslim women; specifically Burqas, large garments that cover the entire body save for a mesh over the eyes, and Naqibs, all-covering garments which have a rectangular slit over the eyes.  President Nicolas Sarkozy justified the move by stating that it would help fight the subjugation of Muslim women who are forced to cover themselves up, however in the process the ban itself appears to remove the human right of religious expression and defies French ideals of tolerance and liberalism.

Monday 4 April 2011

The Bible and Homosexuality: The Books of Kings

In the context of discussion about the depiction of homosexuality in scripture Kings takes somewhat of a backseat, with debate more often focused on Old Testament passages from the books of Genesis and Leviticus, or on Romans from the New Testament. Despite being marginalised to some extent, Kings is used to support arguments that, at the very least, uphold homosexual acts as perverse.

Such arguments are often based on the literal interpretation of the Bible, a view which advocates the idea that the whole of scripture is true and without error. I grew up with such an opinion being from an Evangelical background; however through in-depth research I discovered that such interpretations are too narrow, are often blinded to the wider historical context and significance of the text, and can lead to very dangerous and radical beliefs.

As the passages from the books of Kings supposedly concerning homosexuality are short and reference the same issues they are all contended in this one post. All quotes below are from the English Standard Version.
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