Cuteness and climate change

At the IMAX theatre at OMSI in Portland, Oregon I saw To the Arctic.
The movie contains lots of cute footage of polar bears and dramatic scenes (e.g., mass caribou migration) in the Arctic.
But, the strong and disturbing message of the film is the terrible consequences of global warming for the Arctic, especially for wildlife. The decreasing area of ice means reduced habitat, less availability of food, and longer migration times.
It is quite possible that by 2050 there will be no polar ice cap.

Universities need a free press too

I am in Seattle and found interesting this article about a local student newspaper. It underscores the importance of accountability and transparency for college and university administrators (and faculty too).

Moltmann's Ethics of Hope

In the theology reading group [the Volfians] our next book is Ethics of Hope by Jurgen Moltmann. In the Preface he states

The principle behind this ethics of hope is:  

—not to turn swords into Christian swords 

—not to retreat from the swords to the ploughshares 

—but to make ploughshares out of swords.

Swords to ploughshares is an allusion to Isaiah 2:4.

This statue Let us beat swords into ploughshares is found in the gardens of the United Nations in New York and was (ironically?!) a gift from the Soviet Union in 1959.

A life of a musical genius

On a recent Brisbane-LA flight I watch the documentary In search of Haydn.
(This review in The Age is fair).
It is a little dry at points and at times could have benefited from more music rather than just experts talking about Haydn. They highlight that The Creation was in some respects a culmination of his career. They also claim it is an Enlightenment apologetic something I think is overstated.

Are you a rhino or a hedgeghog?

My wife and I recently worked through the Marriage Course with another couple. We all found it very helpful and would certainly recommend it.

One amusing and insightful idea was the view that in conflict individuals either tend to be rhinos [charge and attack!] or hedgehogs [withdraw and be prickly!]. Realising which you and your spouse each are can be helpful in avoiding, addressing, and resolving conflict.

A communal perspective on Romans 9

Romans 9 is a difficult passage to understand. Isolated verses sometimes appear to be used to support a harsh and rigid form of pre-destination and election. This can make God look unjust and fickle as He "randomly" chooses to "harden the hearts" of some individuals.
In our individualistic Western mindset we can read the passage as answering the question "why does God save some individuals and not others?"
However, it was pointed out to me this week there is an alternative reading; one with a more communal perspective that I think is more consistent with the context.

Reading the passage in context it may be more that Paul is addressing the issue of why God has chosen to make salvation by faith available to the Gentiles.
It is not concerned with the mechanism of salvation of individuals, even Pharaoh, but rather the means of salvation, and what communities this salvation is available to.

Paul recounts several key events in the history of the formation of His chosen people Israel: the birth of Isaac, the birth of Jacob and Esau, and the Exodus from Egypt. They illustrate that God acts in a free and sovereign manner, with mercy, and to accomplish His purpose: the formation of a great nation through which His glory would be manifest. Furthermore, the choices God made were not based on the performance or acts of any individuals involved. This grand narrative is not concerned with individuals but the history of a people.

Reading Romans 9 with the next chapter is important.
Some of Israel became mistaken that God saved them because of their righteousness. They focused on a righteousness that is based on the law. No, the real righteousness of God comes by faith. This is available to all.

¹²  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. ¹³ For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Passing through the Red Sea, Raphael (1518-19)

Do we ever learn anything from history?

“What experience and history teach is this — that nations and governments have never learned anything from history, or acted upon any lessons they might have drawn from it.”

George W.F. Hegel, 1830

This quotation is given at the beginning of a fascinating article in today's Weekend Australian A Lesson worth its weight in gold.

It recounts similarities (and some differences) between Europe's current financial problems and those from the 19th century. The desire to implement a common currency was also behind the failed Latin Monetary Union.

Aside: further illustrating "there is nothing new under the sun" in some respects the article is similar, including the Hegel quote, to an article from October 2011, by Oliver Hartwich in the Business Spectator.