Blog | frasergo.orghttps://www.frasergo.org/blog/2022-05-24T13:17:17+00:00BlogThat He Is and No More2022-05-24T13:17:17+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2022/05/that-he-is-and-no-more/<p>In preparing a message on prayer recently, I remembered a quote that previously impacted me:</p>
<p><em>"What a man is on his knees before God, that he is, and no more"</em></p>
<p>I don't like quoting people without a proper source, and I seemed to remember it was by Robert Murray M'Cheyne, so I set off in search of the original author, to confirm this.</p>
<h4><strong>M'Cheyne or Owen?</strong></h4>
<div>There are a number of unsourced attributions - to M'Cheyne online (<a href="https://www.kingscrossnyc.org/2015/11/what-a-man-is-on-his-knees-before-god-that-he-is-and-nothing-more-%E2%80%95-robert-murray-mccheyne/">1</a>, <a href="https://livethelife.org.za/sermons/1-timothy-2-conclusion-summary-what-a-man-is-on-his-knees-before-god-that-he-is-and-nothing-more/">2</a>), and in books (<a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=kjQyEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT79&dq=%22what+a+man+is+on+his+knees+before+God%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi24MG_lPj3AhVBilwKHVGeCrwQ6AF6BAgJEAI#v=onepage&q=%22what%20a%20man%20is%20on%20his%20knees%20before%20God%22&f=false">1</a>, <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=OAVSCwAAQBAJ&lpg=PT235&dq=%22what%20a%20man%20is%20on%20his%20knees%20before%20God%22&pg=PT235#v=onepage&q=%22what%20a%20man%20is%20on%20his%20knees%20before%20God%22&f=false">2</a>, <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=4AUjEAAAQBAJ&lpg=PA137&dq=%22what%20a%20man%20is%20on%20his%20knees%20before%20God%22&pg=PA137#v=onepage&q=%22what%20a%20man%20is%20on%20his%20knees%20before%20God%22&f=false">3</a>), or John Owen (<a href="https://media.faith-bible.net/scripture/matthew/the-lords-prayer">1</a>, <a href="https://www.challies.com/quotes/7-things-that-christ-is/">2</a>, <a href="https://johnowen.org/quotes/">3</a>). The earliest attribution of these was to M'Cheyne in <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=82fMFqbwdDEC&lpg=PA8&dq=%22what%20a%20man%20is%20on%20his%20knees%20before%20God%22&pg=PA8#v=onepage&q=%22what%20a%20man%20is%20on%20his%20knees%20before%20God%22&f=false"><em>Pray in the Spirit</em></a> by Arthur Wallis, published in 1970.</div>
<div></div>
<div>However, it doesn't seem to have been said by M'Cheyne. I found a <a href="http://www.shallwesingasongforyou.co.uk/2017/10/what-a-man-is-on-his-knees-before-god/">blog post</a> by <a href="https://twitter.com/stutefc">Stephen Steele</a> questioning him (or John Owen) ever saying this, and linking to another <a href="https://fauxtations.wordpress.com/2016/06/14/what-we-are-before-god/">blog post</a> by <a href="https://twitter.com/frgeoffhorton">Father Horton</a> on the <em>Fauxtations</em> website, assessing a similar quote to attributed to St Anthony of Padua ("What we are before God we are and nothing more") as a misattribution.</div>
<div></div>
<div>In <em>A Communion of Love: The Christ-Centered Spirituality of Robert Murray M'Cheyne</em> by Jordan Stone, the attribution to M'Cheyne is questioned but a fuller quote from John Owen is given in <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=7KShDwAAQBAJ&lpg=PT151&dq=%22what%20a%20man%20is%20on%20his%20knees%20before%20God%22&pg=PT151#v=onepage&q=%22what%20a%20man%20is%20on%20his%20knees%20before%20God%22&f=false">Footnote 777</a>:</div>
<blockquote>
<div>A similar quote often attributed to M'Cheyne is as follows: "What a man is on his knees before God, that he is- and nothing more." No source exists in those secondary resources that reference it, nor has one yet been found. It sounds very similar to a statement attributed to John Owen that "a minister may fill his pews and communion roll but what he is on his knees in secret before God Almighty, that he is and no more." Thomas, <em>A Puritan Gold Treasury</em>, 192.</div>
</blockquote>
<div>I can't find a copy of <em>A Puritan Gold Treasury</em> in electronic format, but it is <a href="https://banneroftruth.org/us/store/devotionalsdaily-readings/the-golden-treasury-of-puritan-quotations/">purchasable online</a>.</div>
<div></div>
<div>I did search through all 21 volumes of <em>The Works of John Owen</em> on the Internet Archive (indexed helpfully at <a href="http://digitalpuritan.net/john-owen/"><em>The Digital Puritan</em></a>; at over 500 pages each, John Owen wrote a lot!) and couldn't find this reference. But I did eventually find a quote more similar to the original, in Volume 13, <em>The Nature, Power, Deceit, and Prevalency of the Remainders of Indwelling Sin in Believers</em>, on <a href="https://archive.org/details/worksofjohnowe13owen/page/180/mode/1up?view=theater&q=%22that+he+is+in+the+eyes+of+God%22">p180</a> :</div>
<blockquote>
<div>Hence our Saviour lets us know, Matt. vi. 6. what a man is in secret, in these private duties, that he is in the eyes of God, and no more.</div>
</blockquote>
<div>You can read this more easily in a <a href="http://www.onthewing.org/user/Owen_Indwelling%20Sin%20-%20Modern.pdf">modern PDF</a> of the 1885 Glasgow Edition of this book (nicely produced by William Gross), on p115.</div>
<div></div>
<div>I would guess that this is the true quote, and that the preface of "a minister may fill his pews and communion roll" is an embellishment by somebody else - although Owen uses the word "communion" a lot, I can't find one mention of a "communion roll" or "pews" - in his works.</div>
<h4><strong>An Earlier Quote from St Francis</strong></h4>
<p>I did also find a similar (but much older!) quote attributed to St Francis of Assisi in <a href="https://swinzelerblog.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/the-rule-of-the-secular-franciscan-order.pdf"><em>The Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order</em></a>: "Francis reminds us of this in Admonition 19, <em>we are what we are before God and nothing more"</em>. In <a href="https://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/wosf/wosf03.htm#fr_120"><em>The Writings of St. Francis of Assisi</em>, Part 1 Admonition 20</a> we find: "Blessed is the servant who does not regard himself as better when he is esteemed and extolled by men than when he is reputed as mean, simple, and despicable: for what a man is in the sight of God, so much he is, and no more.". This is <a href="https://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/wosf/wosf03.htm#fn_120">footnoted</a> with some further attribution (the embedded links are mine):</p>
<blockquote>
<div>See <a href="http://rilievo.poliba.it/bsc/bsc/st/cc/orm/francescani/fonti/ff_leggendamaggiore_lat.html#Cap_I_6">Bonav. <i>Leg. Maj.</i>, VI, 1</a>: "And he had these words continually in his mouth<b>: '</b>what a man is in the eyes of God, so much he is, and no more.'" See also <a href="https://www.ccel.org/ccel/kempis/imitation.THREE.50.html"><i>Imitation of Christ</i>, Bk. III, Chap. L</a>, where the same saying of St. Francis is quoted.</div>
</blockquote>
<div>The Bonaventure quote from Legenda Maiore gives us this in Latin: <em>"Sed et verbum hoc dicere solitus erat: "Quantum homo est in oculis Dei, tantum est et non plus".</em></div>
<h4><b>Who we are before God</b></h4>
<div>It's interesting to think of the sequence of inspiration and reflection that these gradually changing quotes form over time:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>"When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you". (Jesus, 1st Century, Matthew 6:6 NIV Translation)</li>
<li>"What a man is in the sight of God, so much he is, and no more" (St Francis of Assisi, 13th Century, Admonitions, 20).</li>
<li>"What a man is in secret, in these private duties, that he is in the eyes of God, and no more." (John Owen, 17th Century, <i>Indwelling Sin in Believers).</i></li>
<li>"What a man is on his knees before God, that he is - and nothing more" (possibly M'Cheyne, 19th Century, but equally possibly someone else loosely quoting Owen)</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>The difference in emphasis is interesting:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Jesus' original saying in Matthew 6 emphasizes God the Father seeing and valuing your prayer: God sees what is in secret, where others don't. Although it doesn't clearly state that what is done in secret is the truest reflection of your nature or character, that is arguably implicit in the context of 6:1-6 stating that if the motive of prayer or given is being seen by others, God will not reward you.</li>
<li>St Francis's quote emphasizes that since God sees our true nature, what He sees of us <em>is</em> who we really are. Any other layers of pretence we put on are invisible to God, and are not really true of us. We therefore ought only to value what God sees in us, and not what others sees in us. Prayer is not explicitly in focus here, but rather our reputations.</li>
<li>Owen's quote emphasizes again that God really values who we are in secret, not what we project. The focus is on what God sees, rather than on what our essential nature is. The context is discussing our life of prayer - those "duties of private communion with God [which] are the means of receiving supplies of spiritual strength from him". We need to come to God to receive the grace and strength He gives in communion with Him.</li>
<li>The form attributed to M'Cheyne returns the focus to our nature, character or being, using a similar formulation to St Francis - and pictures us on our knees before God, as though the rest of the universe has become irrelevant. We are once again stripped back to what is really going on in our hearts, and the deepest reality of our hearts is how we relate to God.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>(Of course, "a man" in all of these could better be "a person", since gender is irrelevant here)</div>
<div></div>
<div>All this shows that Christian quotes on prayer can be meaningful, old, and passed down over a long period of time without anyone knowing who originally said them - and that you can spend a long time researching this on the Internet!</div>
<div></div>
<div>Let's pursue genuine communion with God, and not a self-image or image before others that is ultimately a fake.</div>
<p><em>PS I haven't posted a blog post in seven years, and this still works! Phew!</em></p>Old News that's Good News2015-05-04T00:00:00+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2015/05/old-news-thats-good-news/<p><img src="/static/media/uploads/phone-notifications-old-news.png" style="float: right; border: 2px solid black;" height="400" width="225">My phone has icons for the different apps I use - social media, email, and a program I use to read the Bible. Some of them call out to me with numbers highlighting in red how many unread messages I could look at. But the Bible app just sits there unobtrusively - it never changes.</p>
<p>Modern internet culture loves the high speed of the information super-highway; the emphasis is often on what's new rather than what's profound, and on how much content we can skim over rather than what we can be transformed by. Yet the very word <em>gospel</em> means <em>good news</em>. So how can we receive the Bible with the enthusiasm of someone receiving good news, even though it's thousands of years old?</p>
<p>I've found the <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yyc9AAAAcAAJ&dq=%22I%20saw%20more%20clearly%20than%20ever%2C%20that%20the%20first%20great%20and%20primary%20business%20to%20which%20I%20ought%20to%20attend%20every%20day%20was%2C%20to%20have%20my%20soul%20happy%20in%20the%20Lord%22&pg=PA409#v=onepage&q=%22I%20saw%20more%20clearly%20than%20ever,%20that%20the%20first%20great%20and%20primary%20business%20to%20which%20I%20ought%20to%20attend%20every%20day%20was,%20to%20have%20my%20soul%20happy%20in%20the%20Lord%22&f=false" title="From "A narrative of some of the Lord's dealings with George Müller"; quoted by John Piper in Desiring God and many other authors...">advice of George Mueller</a> (it's worth reading the extended quote) really helpful recently:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I saw more clearly than ever, that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not, how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man may be nourished...I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God and to meditation on it.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Mueller saw that the Bible is not just a set of content to be processed as information, but is nourishment for our souls. Coming to it as a search for delight in God, rather than to fulfill a duty to God, means that we're mentally tuned in to receive that nourishment. Yes, there are more ways we should study and seek to understand the Bible, but for my own daily growth and the health of our souls, I've found that this has been a huge blessing recently.</p>
<p>The reality is that God's word is <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+4%3A12&version=NIV">alive and active</a>; though the words haven't changed reading the Bible is an opportunity to engage with the living God who's incredibly and graciously eager to speak to us and work in our lives. Rather than seeing ourselves as consumers and producers of news, let's remember that we're branches of the vine. As Jesus said in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+15&version=NIV">John 15:5&7</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing... If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>We have the opportunity to live in deep connection with Christ, and see wonderful fruit in our lives. Let's not allow the smaller benefits of a digitally connected world to deprive us of living on what will really nourish our souls.</p>John 1: Memorizing Scripture and Poetic Devices2015-04-24T12:07:18+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2015/04/john-1-memorizing-scripture-and-poetic-devices/<p>For a believer in Christ, memorizing Scripture is a powerful and helpful aid to our faith. Poetic devices such as rhythm, rhyme, alliteration and structure are aids to memorization. Is it possible to produce Scripture translations that use these devices, <em>while remaining accurate translations</em>? These would have other benefits as well (children's illustrated Bibles, audio tapes that flow well, etc), but since memorization is clearly most helpful when as close to the original as possible, there would be challenges. Yet these challenges are similar to any translation effort; the switch of mode of expression is similar to a language switch.</p>
<p><img src="/static/media/uploads/papyrus66.jpg" style="float: right;" title="An early Papyrus - the first page of John's gospel" height="337" width="300" alt="The first page of Papyrus 66, showing the first verses of John's gospel">I've experimented with the first half of John 1. Interestingly, I found that this mode of translation can actually lend itself to a more literal translation in places; for example using the same English word for the same Greek word in the same passage can both be more transparent to the original, and function poetically. (<em>NB: I'm not a Greek scholar, nor am I proposing that this has sufficient academic rigour behind it; but as an experiment.</em>)</p>
<p>So here's my stab at the first half of John 1, drawing on other English translations, with some free verse, and some almost-limericks. In places it's a fairly close translation, in others I've thrown in repetitions or words for the sake of meter. Some lines flow significantly less well than others :)</p>
<p style="margin-left: 5em;">In the beginning was the Word<br>And the Word was with God<br>And the Word was God<br>He was with God<br>In the beginning</p>
<p></p>
<p style="margin-left: 5em;">All things were made through him<br>Nothing that was made was made without him<br>In him was life<br>And that life was the light<br>The light of all mankind</p>
<p></p>
<p style="margin-left: 5em;">The light shines<br>It shines in the darkness<br>The darkness has not overcome it</p>
<p></p>
<p style="margin-left: 5em;">There came a young man sent from God<br>The name he was given was John<br>As a witness he came<br>Witnessing of the light<br>So that through him all might believe</p>
<p></p>
<p style="margin-left: 5em;">He himself was not the light<br>But he came to bear witness to it<br>The true light that gives<br>Light to all people<br>Was coming right into the world</p>
<p></p>
<p style="margin-left: 5em;">He was actually here in the world<br>The world came into being through him<br>But the world didn't know him<br>Though he came to his own<br>His own people did not receive him</p>
<p></p>
<p style="margin-left: 5em;">But to those who received him<br>Who believed in his name<br>He has given the right to become<br>Children of God<br>Who were born not of blood<br>Nor the will of the flesh<br>Nor the will of a man, but of God</p>
<p></p>
<p style="margin-left: 5em;">The Word became flesh<br>Came and dwelt among us<br>And we have seen his glory<br>The glory as of the only Son from the Father<br>Full of grace and truth</p>
<p></p>
<p style="margin-left: 5em;">John witnessed about him<br>He cried out and spoke:<br>"This is the one that I said:<br>'He's coming after me<br>But he was before me<br>And so he ranks first above me'"</p>
<p></p>
<p style="margin-left: 5em;">For from his fullness<br>We have all received<br>And grace upon grace now is ours</p>
<p></p>
<p style="margin-left: 5em;">Through Moses was given the law<br>Through Jesus Christ grace and truth came</p>
<p></p>
<p style="margin-left: 5em;">Though no-one has even seen God<br>The only One (himself God)<br>- so close to the Father<br>That One has made Him known.</p>Diagnosing and defeating racism through the good news of Jesus2015-01-18T20:46:49+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2015/01/diagnosing-and-defeating-racism-through-the-good-news-of-jesus/<p>Here are some thoughts on racism that I hope may help Christians to see the enormous difference that the grace of God revealed in the gospel of Jesus should make to racial tensions and division, and to our own hearts, whether we need to repent from racist attitudes and practices, or receive healing from being hurt by them. Other people are far more capable and qualified to write about this, and because these areas are so personally painful to many, it can seem easier to remain quiet, but as I've considered the pain that I hear from brothers and sisters I respect in different places, I felt that silence can exacerbate the pain, and we need to be rather proactive about engaging this issue.</p>
<p>I've found it particularly painful hearing of appaling stories of racism in Cape Town, my home city, in the last few months. For a number of years now people have been saying that the racism they experience in Cape Town is worse than in other parts of South Africa. Many white Capetonians have seen Cape Town as a historically more liberal place, and assumed that we do not have an issue. Yet we must open our ears and eyes to hear the stories, see the pain, and be willing to find ways to transform our city. And we must see that the extreme cases - as shocking as they are - are not the whole story, but we must also deal with the day to day attitudes that do not embrace and welcome all people - in fact we need to go the extra mile to find ways to counteract these attitudes.</p>
<p><strong>The conflict between racism and the gospel</strong></p>
<p>Racism greatly dishonours God by refusing to acknowledge, appreciate and admire his glory in all people created in His image. It leans towards idolatry by exalting a human image typified by race rather than the glory of the one true God. If God's multifaceted glory is only partly reflected in each person, then denying that glory in a certain group is ultimately to reject aspects of who God is.</p>
<p><span>Racism promotes a false gospel that locates acceptance and favour in physical and cultural characteristics rather than in the love of God the Father for all his children, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in dying for us all, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit who unites us in one body.</span></p>
<p>It is a form of iniquity that shares its roots with pride, and bears the ugly fruits of violence, oppression and hatred, sometimes disguised as indifference. Like any sin it comes in more and less visible forms. Blindness to its existence is a major impediment to dealing with it. As Jesus <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+9%3A41&version=NIV" target="_blank" title="John 9:41">told the Pharisees</a>, they needed to acknowledge their blindness, but in claiming that they could see their guilt remained undealt with.</p>
<p><strong>Roots and fruits in society and the church</strong></p>
<p>Racism entrenched over time produces structures of social evil. We must deal with both the root and the fruits. We cannot only rectify the injustice in society; we cannot only deal with the underlying sin. We need to deal with the smouldering embers of racist thinking and attitudes or we will not put out the fires of racial injustice. And we need to produce fruit in keeping with repentance by dismantling the systems that racism has produced. This includes dealing with the imbalance of power between groups, while finding ways to no longer be defined in those separate groups - valuing and honouring our differences but acknowledging our common humanity as those created in the image of God.</p>
<p><span>In the church, racism is a rebellion against </span><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%203&version=NIV" title="Ephesians 3">God's eternal purpose</a><span> - to make known his manifold wisdom to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms through the church, which lives out the mystery that through the gospel both Jews and Gentiles (that is, all the other nations), are members together of one body and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.</span></p>
<p>It is ugly when we who bear the name of Christians deny the cries of pain from our brothers and sisters. Those who are experiencing the pain and disgrace of being treated as less than people created in God's image because of their race and then have the courage to stand up and say "No!" show incredible courage and dignity. In the vulnerability of doing so they should be heard, honoured and embraced.</p>
<p><strong>The gospel tells us the truth and calls us to transformation</strong></p>
<p>The true gospel tells that we are all together glorious as those created in God's image, but all marred and broken through our fall away from God into sin. We are all offered redemption and a way back into relationship with God through Christ's death on the cross, and then restored to his image through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. We must not leave these truths to one side; if we understand the spiritual, mental and emotional roots of racism as described above, then we can only fully combat them by wielding the gospel armour that God has given to us.</p>
<p>This means that those of us who have consciously or unconsciously idolized our own race need to repent and acknowledge the glory of God in all those around us. We need to unlearn patterns of thinking that demean and overlook others and be transformed by the renewing of our mind, so that we can appreciate and admire the people He has created them to be. We need to deal with the pride that so pervades our thinking and recognize that we are all dependent on one another in Christ's body. And we need to stand with and speak up for those who are experiencing the painful effects of racism, honouring them as image-bearers of God.</p>
<p>It is good news that those who have been painfully hurt by racism can find grace as they drink from the deep healing wells of the love, grace and acceptance of God, honour as the body of Christ stands together with them, and joy as they see the transforming power of God at work in those who have previously been seen as their enemies.</p>
<p>Let's be the people of grace that God has called us to be and demonstrate the power of the gospel by allowing the Holy Spirit to work in these areas to produce true transformation. As a white South African, I'm learning to ask questions - what have people experienced - rather than assuming I know, and then listen with empathy. I'm challenged to think how I should live this out; let's pray and ask God to help us, with sensitivity enter into conversations across the divides and act towards unity and restoration.</p>
<p>As Jesus told his disciples:<em> “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”</em> <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+13%3A34-35&version=NIV" title="John 13:34-35">John 13:34-35</a></p>On birthdays and grateful joy2014-06-03T16:11:06+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2014/06/on-birthdays-and-grateful-joy/<p>When James was celebrating his eighth birthday, he made the following comment:</p>
<p><em>I want everybody to enjoy my birthday, because we're celebrating that God made me.</em></p>
<p>To me, this is profound. It's a way of thinking that recognizes the awe of being created with gratitude and joy, and wants to share that joy with others.</p>
<p><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Great_pershing_balloon_derby_2005_09_04.jpg/639px-Great_pershing_balloon_derby_2005_09_04.jpg" title="Hot air balloons" height="480" width="640" alt="Balloon launch at the Great Pershing Balloon Derby near Brookfield, Missouri on September 4, 2005. Photo taken by Joe DeShon. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic license." longdesc="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_pershing_balloon_derby_2005_09_04.jpg"></p>Elephant moralities2008-11-07T09:57:23+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2008/11/elephant-moralities/<p>In a recent SABC article <a href="http://www.sabcnews.com/south_africa/general/0,2172,179465,00.html">SA to earn millions from biggest ivory sale</a>, the following peculiar sentence is found in the last paragraph:<br />
<i> Parts of the 45% </i>[of the ivory from the period 1988 to 1994]<i> are of elephant moralities.</i><br />
Perhaps <i>moralities</i> should read <i>mortalities</i></p><br class="clear" />Lex and Wycliffe2008-11-02T21:55:31+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2008/11/lex-and-wycliffe/<p>Lex Loizides has been doing a great <a href="http://lexloiz.wordpress.com/">series of blogs on church history</a>, but little did I know that he's actually a first-hand source! For example, he's just done a <a href="http://lexloiz.wordpress.com/2008/10/30/a-yorkshireman-delivers-a-blow-to-rome-and-a-bible-to-england-part-1/">post on Wycliffe</a>, who was a fantastic preacher as can be seen in this great painting:<br />
<a href="http://frasergo.org/node/111"><img src="http://frasergo.org/files/images/lex%20with%20wycliffe.jpg" /></a><br />
<i><b>John Wycliffe</b>. In the villages and towns the people listened eagerly to Wycliffe and his preachers reading passages from the Bible - in English. One in particular, in the lower right hand corner, seems in earnest prayer... perhaps due to the proximity of the axe to his face.</i>
</p>
<br class="clear" />North Korea and oppression2007-07-09T11:04:03+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2007/07/north-korea-and-oppression/<p>I watched a talk on <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2531661047425836509">linkglobal and their work in North Korea</a> and it is profoundly disturbing what seems to be happening in that nation - and has been for many years - yet most international criticism seems reserved to things that will affect other nations. It's as though a government can crushingly oppress millions of people that happen to be in its own territory for years, and others are only worried if it may affect them. (See <a href="http://www.linkglobal.org/">Liberty in North Korea</a> for more info).</p>
<br class="clear" />Language and Politics2005-04-13T21:28:00+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2005/04/language-and-politics/A few language related news items from South Africa over the last few months:<br/>
Firstly, the Pan South African Language Board <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20050221083650199C640819">decries the loss of human languages</a> but only has International Mother Tongue Day and such like as solutions. Surely this is a feather-weight solution to a hippo-sized problem? For many people they'll pay as much attention as to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Talk_Like_a_Pirate_Day">International Talk Like a Pirate Day</a> (or less). We need rather concerted efforts on the part of governments and civil society around the world.<br/>
For example, <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=qw1112882582283B251">Mbeki raising the issue of language neglect</a> with the National House of Traditional Leaders. This is great. Interestingly, he quotes the above report to say that in South Africa, only Afrikaans is defended by its speakers. <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20050316070700887C984941">Declining interest in African languages</a> is reported in the Department of Education.<br/>
What can we do to fight these things? <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20050318104622613C471286">Promote the use of diverse languages in court</a>, for a start - the article illustrates the kind of difficulties of encouraging multilingualism when there are several languages at stake. But it's a road that needs to be travelled. Fortunately <a href="http://www.info.gov.za/documents/constitution/1996/96cons1.htm#6">the South African constitution mandates government promotion of languages</a>. For <a href="http://www.translate.org.za">translate.org.za</a>'s part, we're trying to ensure that people can use the language of their choice on their computers.<br/>
Behind all this is a mentality issue: are we as South Africans just going to imitate the west or are we going to celebrate our uniqueness and diversity? And keep a good sense of humour at the same time - sometimes <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20050312103908872C514652">localization goes awry</a>.<br/>
Unrelatedly, I found this quote fascinating: <a href="http://www.highwayafrica.ru.ac.za/hana/indexabout.asp">Rebecca Wanjiku on the World Summit on the Information Society</a> in Geneva, 2003:
<blockquote>Being my first time to attend intergovernmental negotiations,
the chance was an eye opener for me. I witnessed "reputable" governments
opposing press freedom, locking out major input from the civil society
and at the end of it, I understood why my government never discloses its
contribution to the public.</blockquote><br/>
Hopefully South Africa will not allow the many winds and waves of global and local thinking to divert us from what is truly important.Blue Rose details2005-04-07T11:01:00+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2005/04/blue-rose-details/<p>Several months after I posted <a href="/blog/once-in-a-blue-rose/">Once in a Blue Rose</a>, an article appears with a photo:<br> <a href="http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2005/04/06/_roses_are_red_and_now_blue_with_the_help_of_csiro_technology.html">Roses are Blue</a> (also on Slashdot: <a href="http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/04/06/173247&tid=191&tid=14">True Blue</a>)<br> The question is, Is the photo real? The one <a href="http://www.physorg.com/news3581.html">here</a> is apparently not... (see <a href="http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=145193&cid=12156641">the slashdot comments</a> which reference a <a href="http://demo.rentmyhouse.ch/">preexisting version</a>)</p>Grief and celebration2005-02-09T21:15:00+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2005/02/grief-and-celebration/<p>The last two months have been full of emotions of all shades...<br> Maurits and Kirsten's wedding on December the 18th. Fantastic celebration. Came out to discover that one of our friends from antenatal class's gorgeous baby Justin had died the night before, apparently of SIDS. Danielle used to meet up with his mum Kathy and some other mums. Heartbreaking grief.<br> Then Christmas celebrations with lots of family and friends (was great having MJ and then Brett and Jo to stay) and <a href="/blog/debbie-and-jonnys-wedding/">Jonny and Debbie's wedding</a>.<br> Danielle's parents came to stay as well for about 10 days in early January, great for us all to enjoy James developing together...<br> Then on Saturday 16th of January received a tragic phone call from my brother Andrew telling us that <a href="http://www.newfrontiers.xtn.org/notice-board/SimonPettit/module_index.php?id=151">Simon Pettit</a> had died suddenly of a heart attack in New Zealand. Simon led <a href="http://www.jubilee.org.za/">Jubilee Community Church</a> for 14 years and was a great-hearted man. He ran to the end, always pointing upwards. Danielle and I were so privileged to have been on a trip with him to India in 2002. Almost every discussion I had with him made me see the issue in a totally different light. So full of life, it seems impossible.<br> The afternoon after his funeral, a young man in our church who has been suffering from a brain tumour died. His parents have been absolutely courageous.<br> Then on the 28th of January, one of my dad's oldest friends, <a href="http://www.mth.uct.ac.za/~hahn/">Brian Hahn</a> was attacked on the university campus and critically wounded. He eventually suffered a stroke and became unconscious the following wednesday, and died on Saturday the 5th of February. This has been really tough for my dad - they founded a Christian newspaper on campus while they were still students. He spoke at the <a href="http://www.uct.ac.za/news/newsroom/index.php?id=5476&offset=0">memorial service</a> today.<br> And in the midst of all this, I'm thoroughly enjoying being married to Danielle and a father to James. "Even in laughter the heart may ache, and joy may end in grief" (Proverbs 14:3) has come to mind repeatedly. The New Testament seems to have a much deeper understanding of suffering than we tend to as well, been pondering these things. And praying for family members whose loss is profoundly deeper than mine.</p>Preached at Jubilee on Building the Church with Gold, Silver and Precious Stones2004-12-17T11:21:00+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2004/12/preached-at-jubilee-on-building-the-church-with-gold-silver-and-precious-stones/<p>Preached at Jubilee last Sunday night on <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/index.php?search=1%20corinthians%203&version=31">building with gold, silver and precious stones</a> - how we build the church.<br> Included this great version of <a href="http://www.cubekc.org/architivities/pigs.html">the three little pigs</a> ("Wolf-Side story"?) and a picture of the <a href="http://www.mikelevin.com/TajMahalHorizontal.jpg">Taj Mahal</a>, contrasted with the <a href="http://www.housesofthefuture.com.au/hof_houses04.html">Cardboard House</a> mentioned last week on Slashdot.<br> What kind of church are we after? Something temporary or something permanent, something functional, or something of beauty? We need to build Love, Obedience, Passion for spreading God's glory (<a href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jim_Elliot">Jim Elliot quotes</a>) as well as Persistent Prayer, Faithfulness and Commitment, Sacrifice and Suffering and Discipleship. We need to avoid building mere structure. Building on the precious foundation of Christ, building for eternity means we cannot settle for less. And God supplies the materials by his grace (v10) so we don't ever have to settle for less.<br> Felt like it was delivered OK, people encouraging afterwards. <a href="http://davidf.sjsoft.com/sermons/building-precious-stones/">Presentation here</a> [dead link] and <a href="/static/media/uploads/old-invention-blog/building-precious-stones.mp3">low-quality MP3 here</a>.</p>Evidence of ties between al-Qaeda and USA2004-10-05T11:14:00+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2004/10/evidence-of-ties-between-al-qaeda-and-usa/<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3715396.stm">Interesting logic</a> from Mr Rumsfeld:<br/>
<blockquote>
Several hours after his appearance, Mr Rumsfeld issued a statement saying his comments had been "regrettably misunderstood" and that he had acknowledged there were ties between Osama Bin Laden and Iraq based upon CIA intelligence.<br/>
This included "solid evidence of the presence in Iraq of al-Qaeda members, including some that have been in Baghdad", he said.</blockquote><br/>
Aha! I have "solid evidence" of the presence of al-Qaeda members <i>in the USA</i> (admittedly, its old, from about September 2001). <i>They must be funding them!!!</i>Lack of logic may shape psychologist's thinking about language2004-08-24T12:13:00+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2004/08/lack-of-logic-may-shape-psychologists-thinking-about-language/slashdot mentioned an article entitled <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996303">Language may shape human thought</a> in which a psychologist argues for a variant of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapir-Whorf_hypothesis">Sapir-Whorf hypothesis</a> on the basis of a study of the Pirahã tribe.<br/>
On closer examination his logic is fairly interesting ... extracts from the article illustrate this:
<ul>
<li>"There are not really occasions in their daily lives where the Pirahã need to count" explains Gordon</li>
<li>The language, Pirahã, is known as a "one, two, many" language because it only contains words for "one" and "two" - for all other numbers, a single word for "many" is used.</a>
<li>In order to test if this prevented members of the tribe from perceiving higher numbers, Gordon set seven Pirahã a variety of tasks.</li>
<li>For one, two and three objects, members of the tribe consistently matched Gordon's pile correctly. But for four and five and up to ten, they could only match it approximately, deviating more from the correct number as the row got longer.</li>
<li>Gordon says this is the first convincing evidence that a language lacking words for certain concepts could actually prevent speakers of the language from understanding those concepts.</li>
</ul>
None of this (at least in the article) contains any justification as to why the perceived lack of the Pirahã to compare numbers of objects comes from the lack of number words in their language, rather than from <i>the fact that they never need to count in daily life</i> by Gordon's own explanation.Language inequality still a reality in South Africa2004-07-16T21:01:00+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2004/07/language-inequality-still-a-reality-in-south-africa/From an article on the Small Claims Court in the Southern Suburbs Tatler, our local freebie newspaper:<br/>
<blockquote>The third case that afternoon involved a Xhosa-speaking man who, apparently, did some building work for a Xhosa-speaking homeowner and did not get paid for it. The two parties could not converse in English, and the commissioner had to rely on a friend of the defendant to translate. It soon became apparent that the arguments were too complex for the now bewildered commissioner to make a ruling without the presence of an official translator. The case was postponed.</blockquote><br/>
So they may still get a ruling eventually, but it will be more difficult. Unfortunately language inequality is still a reality in South Africa.Once in a Blue Rose2004-06-30T21:40:00+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2004/06/once-in-a-blue-rose/First saw on <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=31&art_id=qw1088594821985B215">IOL</a> that someone has managed to make a genetically modified blue rose. In the hunt for pictures, went off to <a href="http://news.google.com/news?q=blue+rose">Google News</a> but alas a search for "blue rose" only turned up <a href="http://www.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20040630-000270-0634">one other article</a>. Both attribute the discovery to <a href="http://www.suntory.com">Suntory</a> which doesn't have any updated news on its site. Both mention the subdivision called <a href="http://www.florigene.com.au/">Florigene</a>, but their website still says <i>While we don't have a blue rose... yet...</i>. Like trying to find a rose in a haystack.Xhosa Childrens Bible2004-06-24T16:54:00+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2004/06/xhosa-childrens-bible/Met up with Mahle today who is interested in making a Xhosa Children's Bible or at least part of one.<br/>
Great idea.Smells of corruption...2004-06-14T08:38:00+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2004/06/smells-of-corruption/<p><a href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=13&art_id=vn20040612143201251C499022&set_id=1">Telkom can't explain its tarrifs</a>. Well that's not surprising - a legislated, state-owned monopoly has been privatised and their prices are higher than prices in countries with competition. Why would they be otherwise. But at least the government seems to think its a problem. What smells of corruption is the quote from the Telkom representative:
</p><p>
<i>"There are interesting economics as far as pricing is concerned. Maybe we should go away on a retreat - away from the media - and we can explain to the committee how it works," group executive Nkhetheleng Vokwana said.</i>
</p><p>
Now why would the retreat need to be away from the media? Maybe in a nice game reserve where the committe is wined and dined...
</p><p>
<i>Vokwana said Telkom was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the second national telephone operator, saying there was a need for people to be able to compare apples with apples.</i>
</p><p>
Since the second national operator would be in a similar position to Telkom, of course their prices will be high too... South Africa really needs a lot more deregulation in this area.</p>World War Two Casualties2004-06-05T17:27:00+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2004/06/world-war-two-casualties/<p>Take look at the list of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_War_II_casualties_by_country">casualties by country</a> in World War Two. Changed my perception of the war - far more losses in Russia and China than I would have expected...</p>Prison, Restitution and Translation2004-05-27T08:44:00+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2004/05/prison-restitution-and-translation/<p>Last night at <a href="http://www.jubilee.org.za">church</a> we had the final of three training seessions on being a multi-cultural community in South Africa. Jabu spoke about his experiences in the struggle, going to prison, what God did in his life. It reminded me of <a href="http://www.christianity-books.com/The_Heavenly_Man_The_Remarkable_True_Story_of_Chinese_Christian_Brother_Yun_185424597X.html">The Heavenly Man</a>. Then Charles from the Foundation for Church-led restitution spoke about giving his farm for restitution to those who have been wronged, and Alastair spoke about restitution too ... Steve wrapped it up with presenting the education fund Jubilee is starting as a part of restitution.
</p><p>
Afterwards spoke to Jabu, he said he'd heard about the translation work, and wants the Zulu programs ... couldn't believe its free software ... said "it'll help people learn computers..." so hopefully <a href="http://www.translate.org.za/">translate.org.za</a> is also doing something to redress the injustices of the past. Gave me extra motivation to release the Zulu translation, and make sure we're rounding off any bugs.</p>