September 2018 www.because.uk.com

Believe:BuildingBridges

Snippets:The Real

Love Island

Change:Cast Your

Care

...for anyone who’s ever asked, ‘why?’Because

“It’s me... the SelfieSyndrome”

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At A Glance

“We must discover the power of love, the power, the redemptive power of

love. And when we discover that, we will be able to

make this old world a new world. We will be able to make men better. Love is

the only way.” —

Martin Luther King Jr (1929-1968)

Building BridgesOn the 2nd September 1945 Japan surrendered, thus bringing an end to World War II. This, however, was not before many prisoners of war were put to work on the Japanese ambition to build the infamous railway link between Burma and Siam — now Myanmar and Thailand. Eric Lomax writes in his book, The Railway Man, about the brutality of this experience. Years later, Eric would come face-to-face with the man who was the translator for Eric’s interrogators, Nagase Takashi. Read how Eric built a different kind of bridge in his encounter and how this can help all of us. Read on page 3.

Cast Your CareIt’s a little annoying, isn’t it? Having your email inbox invaded by ‘spam’ mail — its a waste of time trying to delete the stuff. But then something catches your eye just before you press delete. You stop your finger from clicking the mouse. You’re tempted. The product or service being offered seems seductive. Why? Because it fills a need, it covers over an insecurity. Here’s a reason not to click on it. Something that, unlike ‘spam’, can meet your true needs. See page 10.

Selfie Syndrome…Pose…flash…check…Selfies have become a routine part of our social diet. The word is even used as the title of the famous club anthem by The Chainsmokers. But duck lips and filters aside, there is now a name for the obsession of taking and uploading selfies, it’s called Selfitis! Apparently, you have caught the condition if you take and upload a selfie six or more times a day! But what is this cultural phenomenon telling us about where we are place our values? And how is it changing how we see ourselves? See page 4.

Snippets: The Real Love IslandThis summer, the nation fell head-over-television-sets in love with Love Island — the reality TV show that found a formula to get the nation talking about romance. At times it was funny, at other times it was brutal. But with all the biceps, bikinis and break-ups, did ITV 2 find the formula for real love? Come to the real love island where we search for what real love looks like and for the kind of values that lead to successful relationships. Come join us on page 6.

How Depressing!Depression is said to affect one in every 20 people worldwide. That is a depressing figure. In the UK, much of the treatment of depression comes from antidepressant prescriptions: 67.5 million of them were written in England last year, a figure that has doubled in a decade. This article briefly explores some of the reasons for depression and suggests a way forward. Read more on page 8.

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In his memoirs entitled “The Railway Man”, Eric Lomax writes about his experiences as a Japanese

prisoner of war in south east Asia during WW2. Like so many he was the victim of the Japanese obsession to build the infamous railway link between Burma and Siam – now Myanmar and Thailand.

He writes with brutal reality about the unspeakable cruelty exacted by the camp guards and military police on allied prisoners; not surprisingly he found that his entire life was haunted by this experience, in particular by the memory of the young Japanese translator Nagase Takashi, who worked for the interrogators, and who became the focus of Lomax’s pent-up rage, bitterness and longing for revenge.

Years after the war, Mrs Patricia Lomax wrote to Nagase having read a book he had written, entitled “Crosses & Tigers”, in which Nagase had included a chapter in his book about the torture that Eric Lomax had received by the Japanese military police.

After some correspondence by mail with Nagase, he and Eric decided to meet. Lomax and his wife travelled to the former prisoner of war camp at Kanburi, a short distance from the station platform on the River Kwai Bridge. Eric and his wife had lunch at the River Kwai Restaurant and met its remarkable proprietor, Tida Loha, who told them that she had given Nagase – who

had become a Buddhist – a plot of land next to the bridge to build what he called a Temple of Peace.

For years he had worked for peace and implored the Japanese Government to come out, face the world and apologise for the crimes committed against British POWs during that awful time on “the death railway” as it was called!

They met on that dreaded bridge that epitomised all of the suffering; Eric took the hand of his former captor and in Japanese said, “Good morning, Mr Nagase, how are you?” And he writes about that first meeting; “He looked up at me; he was trembling, in tears, saying over and over, ‘I am very, very sorry!’. Somehow, I comforted him saying something like, ‘It is very kind of you to say so’. We talked for a long time and seemed to be happy in each others company and we found that we had a lot in common, books, teaching, and world history.”1

Somehow during this emotionally charged meeting in that place of terror there developed an extraordinary bond between this former captive and his torturer, which culminated in an act of forgiveness on Lomax’s part. For the first time in half a century he was able to let go of his need to settle old scores, instead he found reconciliation and a new beginning.

\\continued on page 5

Building Bridgesby Cliff Neil

Cover photo and top right: istockphoto.com, top left: wikicommons, other photos: unsplash

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…Let me just take a Selfie before I start this article…

…Pose…flash…check…no, not happy with this one; let me try again…

…Pose…flash…check…yep! This one will do. Ok, back to the blog.

Does this sound familiar? I do love a great selfie moment. Even better if selfie stick and duck lips are at the ready! But if you are taking more than 6 selfies, and uploading them each day, then you may well have chronic selfitis! So what is it?

A recent study has put forward the idea that an obsession with taking and uploading selfies is a genuine condition called Selfitis.1 When I was a teenager the only ‘itis’ we were worried about was Tonsillitis. But today social media platforms like Instagram fuel our natural insecurities and oxytocin-driven desires to see our picture-perfect posts receive likes! But what is this selfie syndrome telling us about our national psyche?

You may have heard earlier this year on the news, the story of Junaid Ahmed, a 22-year-old, who has 50,000 followers on Instagram who admits taking around 200 selfies a day. Now that’s full on, but he is not the

only one who got addicted to the buzz of seeing your selfies being liked. Danny Bowman, now 23, “was also obsessed with uploading selfies on social media when he was a teenager.”2 He spent hours in the mirror and analysed his selfies for flaws. At 16 he attempted to take his own life. In rehab he was diagnosed with body dysmorphic disorder and said that social media had played a big part in this.

The problem is not a new one but an old one; as old as the first humans, but in this social media driven society it has found greater expression. Simply, the problem is this: we place higher value on what we can get rather than what we can give.

Getting likes on pictures is transactional, if you think about it. The likes become a kind of currency for what people think of our appearance? And that currency creates perceived value (false value, at that). It is value generated by how many likes we get. Our value, therefore, becomes tied to how good we look: how attractive our posts are to others. Which means we have created a culture where value is tied to our physical appearance (in Junaid’s case, he will delete a picture that has less than 600 likes). And this has wider repercussions.

If your value is determined by how many likes – the

Selfie Syndromeby Richard Fowler

Photos: istockphoto.com

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Building Bridges// Continued from page 3

These two men became firm friends for the rest of their lives and they visited each other often, in the joy of forgiveness!

Someone said once, and I can’t really remember who, “When I forgive someone, I set a captive free and that captive is me!”

There are some words that we humans have difficulty in saying, for example; I’m sorry, please forgive me, I love you and most importantly – I forgive you! But why is forgiveness so very important? It’s because in forgiveness a special power is released and reconciliation happens, peace of mind returns, prisoners are set free, burdens are cast down and joy fills the lives of those who are forgiven and those who have received that amazing gift of forgiveness.

There is indeed power in forgiveness, despite the excruciating pain as Roman soldiers pounded large metal spikes through his hands and feet, Jesus was thinking of forgiveness. Before his death he uttered this prayer, “Father, forgive these people because they don’t know what they’re doing!”2 And upon his death forgiveness was indeed ours, you me and everyone else on planet earth, for all eternity; because that amazing prayer was answered by his

Father – showing that, “mercy always triumphs over judgement!”3

At the end of the day, the only people we can really change is ourselves. Forgiving others is first and foremost the healing of our own hearts, because when we plan to get even with someone, we are only allowing that person to continue to hurt us!

Let us be free of that and live in the spirit of forgiveness!

References:1 Eric Lomax, The Railway Man, 1996 published by Vintage2 The Bible, Luke 23:34 (NLT)3 The Bible, James 2:13 (NIV)

transaction – you get, then, just like currency, it can fluctuate – likes can go up or down, and with it, your sense of value. Even more worryingly, if you derive value from how many likes you get, then you are well and truly handing over the control of your sense of worth to others – you end up being the emotional servant to the mouse click of people you don’t know and have never met! Scary!

And in a society that prizes, as its goal, material acquisition and the consumerism that flows from this approach, we may have ultimately created a culture that places value on what we can get, rather than what we can give.

So let’s bring some reality to the far too often fake world of social media: in the real world, your value never changes – your value is fixed because of who you are: a created and unique person. And your worth comes, not from what you get – what people think of you – but what you can give. When we place value on what we can give to others, this produces in us, not the

fleeting feeling of satisfaction from a like which will only last until the next fix, but a more sustaining sense of self-worth. Let’s go back to Danny’s story.

Danny is now at university helping younger people with mental health problems. Does he still post pictures on social media? Yes. But his pictures are of him talking to other people or doing speeches: pictures that focus on giving to others. Pictures that place value on giving to others and not getting from others – activities that are other-centred, not self-centred.

Simply put, when we go about our social media lives, let us remember an enduring principle from the principle Book of values: “the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”3

References1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-431970182 Ibid3 The Bible, Acts 20:35 (NIV)

6 Photo: istockphoto.com

Love Island – a reality check for loveby Richard Fowler

Islands can do strange things to us. Just look at Fortnite, Lord of the Flies or The Tempest – the islands in these tales are not great adverts for normal behaviour. I guess, there’s something about an island, isn’t there, that is just so detached…maybe from reality too. On islands, strange things can happen! (Well, that’s probably what Jean-Claude Juncker is thinking, anyway!)

This is true of the most watched TV show in the UK, the ironically named (un)reality TV show, Love Island, where a house full of an unnatural concentration of good-looking people, couple up, and engage in some very (...umm…) provocative activities! Why? To find real love!

So, is there anything real about this journey to ‘love’? Have these islanders now become our nation’s go-to gurus for the values we seek when it comes to romance in the real world?

Real? Wait a minute! Are we forgetting the emotional manipulation? It was uncomfortable viewing as we saw Dani’s tears as she was shown a video of her boyfriend, Jack, (who had been taken to another villa) with his ex-girlfriend. This treatment of Dani provoked 2,500 of us to complain to Ofcom.

Though ITV 2 may look at the more than 3.6 million-strong audience who watched the finale and feel they are justified in thinking, ‘who needs John Gray with his Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus book on successful relationships anymore when there is Love Island’ – we can learn all our values and romantic behaviour from the islanders.

Well, I’m not sure about Georgia’s interpretation of loyalty. Or Adam’s approach to speed dating. Or Megan’s and Wes’ idea of taking things slowly. Or how quickly Josh’s head really did turn. Or, even, Alex’s on-then-off-again relationship style. (But, of course, I didn’t watch any of it…much!) Casa Amor (house of love) did not seem very loving at times. But, hey, maybe we would all do the same in the melting pot of a semi-pornographic villa!

But really, are these the values that lead to real love?

I once read at a wedding what could arguably be called the greatest litmus test for real love. It was not something out of Casa Amor but from the Libro Amor

(book of love). This is what it says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”1 Can you imagine if the islanders applied these values to their island life? Think of the heartbreak and tears it would have saved.

In my love life (or lack of it), when I have strayed too far, for too long, from these simple values, things have not worked well. But each time I love in this way, things work better. They are like a reality-checklist for our love lives – real values that lead to real love.

Origins of Valueby Lavinia Mak

Have you ever asked yourself, ‘where do I get my value from and what is my identity rooted in?’ Often, we let society, friends, family, and life’s circumstances mould and shape our identity and the thoughts we have about ourselves.

We are bombarded by the ‘perfect’ images of beauty on Instagram, magazines, other social media platforms and TV shows such as The Next Top Model or Love Island. Society, in lots of ways, even subconsciously, dictates what ‘beautiful’ and ‘perfection’, should look like. We can fall into the trap of seeking this perfect look or body that we think will lead us to happiness, but… news flash! Looks fade and the approval of others will never be a measure of your worth. Indeed, perfection itself is an illusion; no one gets there, no one achieves it, and no one is sustained by it. Therefore, we need to look to something else for our self-worth and identity. Something or someone who will sustain us in everything and give us value.

This someone is God. Why? Because he created us. He knows are value. Therefore, we can look to him for validation, for our self-worth (and so much more) and to know how valuable we are to him.

Through Jesus Christ, God loves us unconditionally, no matter what we look like. He see’s things in us that

SNIPPETS:

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people miss. He sees us in the way we were created to be. He sees our potential, who we can be with his help. In a poem written in the Bible, it says that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.”2

Read that line again but slowly and think, really think, about the words ‘fearfully’ and ‘wonderfully’. God made each person. God doesn’t see you as others see you. Your value and identity is rooted in the one who created you (not in what people say about you, or in your career or anything else that may validate you).

Your value and identity isn’t found in what you look like because you are more than what’s on the outside. For you are God’s masterpiece, created in his image.

Why is there power in love?by Richard Fowler

The world watched when Prince Harry and Megan Markle were married at Windsor, earlier this year. It was fairy-tale-like all over. Maybe you, like me, were mesmerised by this marriage. But why?

Well, it’s hard to put your finger on. But there is something powerful, almost poetic, when you see two young people in love, committing themselves to one another. Then throw in a prince, a horse and carriage and some royalty, and you have quite the formula.

But there is another reason why this force of love – in any form or shape it takes – is so powerful. And so essential to our very being.

The answer was contained within the Bishop’s fiery message that day. The break-out star, Michael Curry, president of the US Episcopal Church, lit up St George’s Chapel with some wisdom for us all. “There’s power in love” he said. “There is a certain sense in which when you are loved, and you know it…when you love, and you show it, it actually feels right. There’s something right about it. And there is a reason for it. And the reason has to do with the source. We were made by a power of love. And our lives were meant,and are meant to be lived in that love. That’s why we are here. Ultimately the source of love is God himself. The source of all of our lives.”3

When you and I love, we align ourselves with the source of life – God. We are living out our true image, we are seeking something higher, something bigger than ourselves. A new way of thinking and acting, a better way that brings better results. But more than that.

When we discover the godly kind of love, not a cheap, sentimentalised version that is often masqueraded on reality TV programmes, then something profound can happen. Martin Luther King Jr put it this way, “We must discover the power of love, the power, the redemptive power of love. And when we discover that we will be able to make of this old world a new world. We will be able to make men better. Love is the only way.”4

So, how can we live in love, live this better way? Check out the infographic below.

References:1 The Bible, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIVUK)2 The Bible, Psalm 139:14 (NKJV)3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhV0PL49d3Y4 http://time.com/5283768/michael-curry-royal-wedding-martin-luther-king/

THE REAL...THE REAL...

THE REAL...SNIPPETS:

8 Photo: istockphoto.com

“More people should get pills to beat depression”. So says a headline from The

Times, 22 February 2018. The article claims more than a million extra people should be offered antidepressants after the largest study of its kind concluded that their effectiveness was better than a placebo.

According to scientists, patients and GPs must not be squeamish about treating mental health problems with drugs. The article goes on to list 21 different antidepressant medications in use today: from Amitriptyline to Venlafaxine. Worryingly, the accompanying descriptions include phrases such as “overdoses are particularly fatal” and “has higher risk of withdrawal symptoms”.

About two million people in Britain are thought to suffer from depression, whereas studies suggest that only one in six get the help they need. Data from NHS Digital shows 67.5 million antidepressant prescriptions were written in England last year, a figure that has doubled in a decade.

An Age UK report reveals that a million pensioners believe their life is meaningless. The charity says depression is affecting a quarter of the over 65s. 1

James Davies, a psychotherapist who co-founded the Council for Evidence-Based Psychiatry, said it is unclear how much difference the drugs make to everyday lives.3

Dr Andrea Cipriani, who led the latest study, as reported

in The Times, emphasised that people should not shun talking therapies, which are thought to be roughly as effective as antidepressants. Unfortunately, they are more expensive and often unavailable.

Cause

What causes depression? And why has it become “a global scourge that affects as many as one in 20 people on the planet”? 4

Most people feel sad or depressed at times. It’s a normal reaction to loss or life’s struggles. But when intense sadness – including feeling helpless, hopeless, and worthless – lasts for many days to weeks and keeps a person from living their life, it may be something more than sadness. Such a condition is described as clinical depression.5

Scientists have looked at what is happening inside the brain, comparing the different activity between “happy” brains and “depressed” ones. A pilot study showed that individuals with depressive symptoms had significantly less activation in the left frontal region of their brain compared with non-depressed participants. It suggested that the left frontal region contributes something quite specific to our emotional life, namely, positive emotion and the ability to hold in mind a desired goal and form a plan of action to reach it. The lack of these two components is a striking symptom in depression. 6

People often talk about a “downward spiral” of

How depressing!by Alan King

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events that leads to depression. For example, if your relationship with your partner breaks down, you’re likely to feel low, you may stop seeing friends and family and you may start drinking more. All of this can make you feel worse and trigger depression. 7

As a teenager, I faced a series of setbacks that brought me to a state of severe anxiety, which no doubt could have tipped me into depression. During my preparations for GCE ‘A’ level examinations, I had a serious road accident, which derailed my studies and led to poor exam results. This led to my university application being turned down. As a substitute, I plumped for a one-year course in Hydrology at Sunderland Polytechnic. Just a few weeks before the start of that course, the college wrote to me to say that, due to lack of interest, the course had been cancelled. Having now left school, I became distraught with indecision as to my future path.

In desperation, I went round one evening to the home of my recent chemistry teacher and knocked on his door. He invited me in, listened as I unburdened my problem and gave me helpful advice. His wise words lifted the clouds from my thinking. The very next morning, I went to the local library, trawled through their books on careers guidance and sent off speculative letters to several companies. Following this, I received a job offer from Shell Research Laboratories. Finally, I was on a progressive, upbeat path once more.

With a loss of hope and absence of any positive view of the future, it is a simple step into depression – without vision, people perish.8

Yet for a long time physicians have attempted to tackle the problem solely with medication. Fortunately, more recent discoveries have added cognitive-behaviour therapy and mindfulness (a form of meditation) to their arsenal of weapons to combat depressive illness.

Cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT) is a form of mental training. It focuses on teaching patients to respond to their emotions, thoughts, and behaviours in a healthy way. …the brain can change as a result of two distinct inputs. It can change as a result of the experiences we have in the world – how we move and behave and what sensory signals arrive in our cortex. The brain can also change in response to purely mental activity, ranging from meditation to cognitive-behaviour therapy.

An article from the Daily Telegraph, 9 April 2018, about recent research findings, highlights the unhealthy effect of negative thinking: “Gambling ‘can change brain structure’. Gambling physically alters the structure of

the brain and makes people more prone to depression and anxiety...” In contrast, scientists at the University of Toronto found that CBT has a powerful, positive effect on the brain activity underlying depression.9

Another approach

Depression is nothing new. Notice what wise Solomon observed nigh on three millennia ago:

“The will to live sustains you when you’re sick, but depression crushes courage and leaves you unable to cope.” 10

Practical solutions such as regular exercise, a balanced diet, mindfulness (meditation), charitable work, joining group activities, community singing (as described in an earlier Because article) – all can contribute to a feeling of well-being and lift depression. And yet sometimes the trials and stresses we face may be so overwhelming that we nevertheless lose hope and our enthusiasm for life withers away. We all need an over-arching hope to defeat every attack of negative thinking.

This is what King David wrote at a low point in his life:

“Why are you depressed, O my soul?Why are you upset?”

The second half of the verse tells us where David found hope and help in his depression:

“Wait for God!For I will again give thanksto my God for his saving intervention.” 11

To those who suffer the darkness of depression, the good news is that God himself responds with great tenderness, understanding and compassion. Jesus says: “Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Then come to me. I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis.” 12

References1 The Daily Mail, 21 March 20182 The Sun, 16 March 20183 The Times, 22 February 20184 The Guardian, 21 February 20185 https://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/what-is-depression#16 The Emotional Life of Your Brain, by Richard J Davidson PhD, pp 38-397 https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/clinical-depression/causes/8 Proverbs 29:18 Modern English Version MEV9 The Emotional Life of Your Brain, pp 174-17510 Proverbs 18:14 The Passion Translation TPT11 Psalm 42:11 New English Translation NET12 Matthew 11: 28 The Passion Translation TPT

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Cast Your Careby Irene Tibbenham

Are you sometimes afraid to turn on your computer? I can be. Why? Simply, ‘spam’, referring to the

myriad of messages I receive daily. Most of these are commercial advertising for a variety of products from companies I have never heard of or indeed do not want to hear from. Others are solicited ‘graymail’ e.g. from companies I once purchased from who now pursue future business.1

How much time do you spend deleting these? Are you pulled into having a little peek? Is there a recurring theme to them? Often these e-mails attract us to click on them because of our human insecurities and fear. But is there an antidote to the clickbait?

First, let’s ask where the word ‘spam’ actually came from.

The word spam was popularised by a Monty Python sketch in the 1970s, referring to ‘spiced ham’, a processed luncheon meat developed during WW2, and being the only thing on a café menu frequented exclusively by Vikings2. Containing ingredients now known to be unhealthy, the word is more familiarly used to describe unsolicited junk or bulk emails! Which can be equally unhealthy.

Not least because blocking and deleting does little to delay the onslaught of more inbox intrusions. Programmers work hard to stay one step ahead of the very clever people who are making money from the process, but it is not a fair game, as those who send spam emails try and target the weaker side of the human condition, including creating fear.

Alarmingly we are coming under ‘cyber’ attack on a global scale, as indicated by the mass hospital meltdown last year. Malware and ransomware, often sent as a virus attached to spam email, are on the rise

and can completely shut down an organisation. Yet it has become hard to imagine an age when email did not exist or where it was not integral to the fundamental functions within our society.

But even with so-called ‘innocent’ spam, there is an element of manipulation going on. What do I mean by that?

A quantifiable look at the themes of these unwanted emails show how cross-cultural they are, playing on our shared insecurities and fears. Some are beauty, youth, vanity – things that we all care about. And it is these cares that may lead us to click on that spam email. You see, where there is demand, someone will supply. But there is hope.

Getting older; being replaced by younger people; losing our looks; increasing our weight and girth; worrying about how we are going to die … these are common to each person. But we do not have to click on the next spam email to alleviate our insecurities. Instead we have been offered an alternative that is much

more reassuring.

Two thousand years ago, a person called Jesus Christ said to “Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”3 It is when we cast our cares on Jesus, including any insecurities we might have, that we will find peace and security in his love. In relationship with him, we don’t need what junk emails may offer us.

Click on Jesus and read him

References:1 https://daily.jstor.org/our-spam-emails-ourselves/2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anwy2MPT5RE3 Matthew 11:28-30 (The Message).

Photos: istockphoto.com

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To Let the Oppressed Go Free

by Ian Woodley

I have a little confession...although the music is stirring, I used to find the lyrics to the popular anthem

‘Jerusalem’ to be somewhat weird. As an Englishman, such thoughts did feel a little heretical, but many love this hymn: the Women’s Institute sing it and it always appears at the Last Night of the Proms (which took place a few weeks ago).

Yet, it was the only popular song I knew that refers to ‘Satanic Mills’, ‘My bow of burning gold’ and ‘My arrows of desire’. What on earth was all that about? I had no desire to offend any of the many loyal and devoted fans of Jerusalem. But I did feel that I was in the dark as to the meaning of this hymn.

Prompted to do a little research, I discovered that Jerusalem was a poem written by William Blake, later put to music by Hubert Parry.2 Many believe that Blake was concerned about the impact of the industrial revolution, the unchecked destruction of nature and of human relationships.

In a way, those dark satanic mills still exist today. News reports continue to shock me that slavery and other forms of exploitation continue even in this modern age.

The hymn contrasts all this with a very English myth, that Jesus of Nazareth once visited Glastonbury. Did those feet, in ancient time, really walk upon England’s mountains green? Did the man who showed deep compassion to the troubled and distressed really spend some time in Britain? Although such a visit is highly unlikely,3 Blake let his imagination explore the idea: how wonderful it would have been to witness the events of Jesus’ life.

As one biographer recorded, Jesus desired to lift the burdens afflicting those around him: “The Spirit of

the Lord is upon me [Jesus], because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”4

Now I maybe understand why Blake wanted his bow of burning gold and arrows of desire. He wanted to be part of the fight for freedom during his own time. Blake ended his hymn with a plea; that we all work together to build Jerusalem. This is another biblical reference, drawing on a vision of a heavenly city as described by John, one of Jesus’ disciples. John spoke of this new Jerusalem as a place where there is no more mourning or crying or pain.5

Blake was seeking for the hearts of his countrymen to be stirred by that vision. If that is where our heart lies – in a hope that one day all injustice is vanquished – then why not demonstrate that hope by working towards a better society for all today? We can all share in the compassion of Jesus right now, lifting the burdens of others and helping the oppressed find freedom. Let’s leave the final words to Blake himself:

“I will not cease from mental fight, Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand:

Till we have built Jerusalem, In England’s green and pleasant land.”

References:1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQ4K-2MINV82 From https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_did_those_feet_in_ancient_time 3 See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35304508 on the likelihood of Jesus visiting Britain.4 The Bible, Gospel of Luke 4:18-19.5 The Bible, Revelation 21:1-46

6 https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/54684/jerusalem-and-did-those-feet-in-ancient-time

Editor’s note: The Commonwealth Games that took place back in April was another inspiring event bringing the 53 member nations together in a demonstration of human effort and achievement. But it’s not just the

athletes that are inspiring; the anthems can be too. Team England’s famous ‘Jerusalem’ anthem was a rework of ‘Jerusalem’ by Tokio Myers (winner of Britain’s got Talent) and sung by medal-winning athlete Jazmin

Sawyers1. But what does this anthem mean?

Speaking of Life:

Real NEws

Visit our website at: www.because.uk.com

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It seems like everywhere we look these days, we’re hearing about fake news. And while the idea of “fake

news” may not be surprising to younger generations who grew up with the Internet, it sure is to a Baby Boomer like me! I grew up watching Walter Cronkite pass on Edward R. Murrow’s legacy of unflinching journalistic integrity to my generation of anchors. For decades, journalism as a profession has been trusted to deliver the truth. So, the idea that not only does fake news exist, but that it’s so widely available and so easily believed, is a bit of a shock to me. But as I was thinking about it the other day, it reminded me of something: the opposite of fake news – real news. And of course, I immediately thought of the one piece of real news that matters most: the Good News, the gospel of Jesus Christ.

As followers of Christ, I think that we hear the gospel so often that sometimes we can forget its impact. But in case we have forgotten, here is how this Good News is described in the book of Matthew:

“…the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned” (Matthew 4:16 NIV).

Think about that for a second. Those who haven’t yet heard the good news of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection are described as “living in the land of the shadow of death.” It doesn’t get much worse than that! But the Good News of Jesus is that this death sentence has been lifted—there’s new life available in a restored relationship with God through Christ and by his Word and Spirit. And not just for an extra day, an extra week, or even an extra year. Forever! As Jesus himself said,

“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die” (John 11:25-26 NIV).

This is why the gospel is described as good news: it literally means life! And in a world

where “fake news” is something we might worry about, I’m so happy that the best piece of news I’ve ever heard, is also the one I can put my absolute faith in. Aren’t you?

I’m Joseph Tkach, speaking of LIFE.

Speaking of Life is on YouTube and iTunes!Videos of speaking of life can be accessed at www.youtube.com/user/gracecommunion.