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Good article, William, although according to some of the contributors to this blog the big religion story is that there are too many religious stories!

On a serious note however, isn't it sad, frustrating, obvious perhaps, that most of the stories are about rows and fights. Too often we believers get noticed for the wrong reasons! I am reminded of the words of the apostle Peter:

"Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world."

Yikes!

Hi William:

What about the top ethics stories of the year? Here are a few suggestions, internationally and locally:

1. Rising food prices are pushing millions into hunger in the Third World. The West is preoccupied with the ‘global economic recession’.

2. During the ‘credit crunch’, bankers, who have ripped off millions, continue to earn millions. The less well off suffer most - as usual.

3. Robert Mugabe continues to wreak havoc in Zimbabwe and the cholera death toll mounts. The West does nothing: Zimbabwe has no oil or gold.

4. Israel bombs Gaza, killing scores of women and children, claiming the right to defend itself with a ‘proportionate’ response to Hamas rocket attacks, which have killed about 15 Israelis in the last 7 years against the Gaza death toll of 400 in 4 days.

5. American election politics dominated the British media in 2008, proving yet again that Britain is the 51st state.

6. Nevertheless, the election of Obama brings some hope that American foreign policy will become more international and that the government will assist stem cell research and acknowledge climate change.

7. American culture continues to dominate British society, with violence-obsessed films, video games etc poisoning young minds.

8. The Hadron Collider begins working on 10th September and, despite Alf McCreary’s daft opinions, hopefully laying the foundations for more knowledge with the recreation of the post Big Bang conditions on earth. Good luck for renewal of the project in 2009.

9. Local MPs/MLAs thwart an attempt to extend the abortion act to Northern Ireland and give NI women equality of rights with their fellow British citizens.

10. Iris Robinson is given 30 minutes of airtime on Radio Ulster to expound her view that homosexuality is an abomination. Thankfully, opposition to her view was also given extended airtime.

Happy New Year.

Brian's list sounds like his top personal rants of the year!

Hi Augustine:

Happy New Year.

I'm an admirer of Swift's epitaph as translated from the Latin by Yeats:

"Swift has sailed into his rest.
Savage indignation there
cannot lacerate his breast.
Imitate him if you dare,
world-besotted traveller.
He served human liberty".

Or, as your namesake, Augustine of Hippo put it:
"Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are".

Hi Brian

Happy New Year.


I know what you mean, sometimes I am so pregnant with righteous indignation about the hunger and violence in the world that I can't quite bring myself to finish my second slice of apple pie.

Peter:

It should be humble pie.

It should indeed, Brian; but isn't that one of the problems we have in the West, we wish to speak of such things as justice and liberty and hope, yet we are almost suffocated by the excess around us.

We speak of these things, yet there is nearly always a second helping of pie on offer.