Trident replacement

The more I think about it, the less I like the idea of replacing Trident, our nuclear deterrent. The thought that we might wish to obliterate 100,000 people or more is something I personally would abhor, and I think the church should too. But there are practical reasons why one should oppose this move. Can we think of any situation within the lifetime of the replacement when we would actually use it? And if we are not going to use it, spending on conventional armaments is likely to be much more effective. And think about the political effect of retaining it against the political effect of giving it up. If we do not give up Trident, what hope is there for nuclear disarmament, ever? I think we would be safer without it than with it.

Whatever the outcome, I think the issue should be debated, in Parliament and on the streets and in church. To go ahead with the replacement without a debate would be nothing short of scandalous. We need to get a message across to our politicians and I for one feel that it is 'Not in my name'.

The significance of the ordinary

Well, we have had a bit of an interruption on the blog as a result of moving house and holidays. And the trouble with holidays is that all the work you didn't do on holiday is there when you get back. In my case, that is cleaning the house and weeding the garden, tasks which tend to give rise to the comment, 'Surely we were not meant to do this'. But, oh yes, we are. Ordinary things are what life is made up of. And even extraordinary things become ordinary if you repeat them enough - just ask the business occupants of an airport lounge. Flying to exotic places can be a chore too, so there is no escape from the ordinary things of life.

The problem is to give the ordinary things we do a glow. I watched The singing estate last night and was struck by how much it meant to the people involved to take part in singing in a choir - and all the things which went with it. It was just like Operatunity: the people involved were going through a life changing experience, but after the climax of the series, life will revert to normal. But I hope that the participants will have a greater appreciation of music and this will give an extra dimension to ordinary life.

Our beliefs should also give ordinary life a glow. We are trying all the time to look at the world with God's eyes, to judge things in the light of eternity. I can do that when weeding, after all each plant is a source of wonder, but I must admit that cleaning the bathroom is hard to see as 'apparelled in celestial light'. But unless people do have a life changing experience to give them this kind of outlook, what do we have to offer to them?