What if God Took the Short Option...

What if...

In Genesis 3: 16-19 God said this to the man and the woman after they were deceived and disobeyed God falling into sin. “To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply, Your pain in childbirth, In pain you shall deliver children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.”

Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; With hard labour you shall eat from it All the days of your life.

“Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; Yet you shall eat the plants of the field; By the sweat of your face You shall eat bread, Until you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”

This section of Genesis shows God’s judgement on mankind for falling into sin but this is a New Beginning when it could so easily have been an ending. If I were God I would have thought “If I make the man and woman infertile then this will be the end of mankind in one generation. If I shorten their lives to seventy years they will be a memory in only seven decades.” Experiment failed and experiment over.

Given the hard lives that sinful men live, the frightful way they treat each other, their propensity to sin, wickedness and war. Why did God decide to be merciful to mankind. Why did He let us live? Understanding how God hates sin and wickedness why would he fight so hard to bring about a pathway that would rectify the fall into sin? Why would He tolerate the carnage of mankind in sin as he laboured to save a remnant of mankind for another age?

Can it be that He loves mankind, that he feels responsible for us even though our ancestral Father and Mother chose to sin and disobey Him? Is it truly a case of the end justifies the means. to bring a chosen people out of sin, out of darkness and into His glorious light? To sacrifice a part of Himself, Jesus coming and living as a man, performing a ministry of truth and miracles, being rejected, beaten and crucified unto death and resurrected unto Eternal Life. That those of mankind who believe on Jesus Christ may receive eternal life themselves.

Then the Father sending not only the Son, but at the behest of the Son then sending the Holy Spirit to dwell within those who believe on Jesus Christ, still sinners, enabling the new believers to be baptised into the remission of sins and the newness of life with Christ Jesus. Hidden with Christ in God.

So we go from the possibility of a short life as a race, because that is what could have happened if God had taken the short option on mankind. To a covenant and pathway to restoration into the family of God. We are redeemed, unfallen and people of God’s own possession. A people belonging to God.

What an amazing God we have. Who so loved us that He gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, that whoever believes on Him; shall not perish but inherit eternal life. For we have all sinned, all fallen short of the glory of God. There is none righteous not even one. For the wages of sin is death but the freely given gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. Hallelujah!

A Good Defense

 

1 Peter 3:15 "But in your hearts honour Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect…"

 

I was listening to a sermon the other day where the preacher was speaking about the falling away of so many people in this time and noting that Church Attendance in Europe was below ten percent. He also noted this this trend was occurring across the Western World. At the same time secularism and atheism are on the rise and becoming more militant and anti-Christian.

 

In the United Kingdom and Europe Atheists are placing advertisements on buses and there is a common theme that Christians are bad people. The preacher I was listening to was saying that He believed that this is because Christians are not ready to mount a defense of the Word of God and to preach the gospel. This struck me at heart as I am not good at talking to people about the Word or sharing the gospel. As a result I tend to be more of a keyboard warrior and probably much less effective as an evangelist than if I simply shared with people.

 

I have to say I'm not great with Church Attendance either. I can only promise to try to do better on that front. So, thinking about it, what does a defense of the Word of God look like. Well, it means that I am a bible believing Christian and I need to make a defense of my faith and God's Word is a part of that. The Word of God is inerrant which means it's all true, such that, I believe everything in the Bible is true including the following:

 

• In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth.
• He created Man in His own image.
• He drew the rib bone from Adam and from that He fashioned Eve as a helpmate to the man.
• Adam and Eve listened to Satan and fell into sin.
• The sin of mankind was great and God sent a great flood on the Earth to destroy man.
• Noah and his family survived the flood by building and Ark at God's behest which God also filled with animals.
• God has instituted covenants with mankind by which their sins are forgiven and they can follow God's plan of rescue from sin unto eternal life.
• God formed a covenant with Abraham and promised him a descendant who would save mankind from sin and usher in an eternal Kingdom of God and of peace and righteousness.
• Abraham's descendants found themselves captive in Egypt and God sent His servant Moses to rescue them from Pharaoh.
• God sent plagues upon Egypt and caused Pharaoh to expel God's servants the nation of Israel.
• God parted the Red Sea so that Israel might cross on dry ground and escape Pharaoh's pursuing army.
• God gave Israel under the leadership of Moses the Ten Commandments and the rest of the Law.
• God led Israel in the desert for forty years because they were disobedient and followed false idols.
• Joshua the son of Nun succeeded Moses and led the next generation of Israelite's into the promised land which is where the nation of Israel dwells today.
• Israel dwelt there under the rule of the Judges although the people complained that they wanted a king.
• David became King of Israel in 1000 BC.
•  Israel disobeyed God they were eventually taken into captivity by the Assyrians and the Babylonians circa 722 BC for the Northern Kingdom and Judah in 597 BC.
• They allowed to return under a decree of Cyrus the Persian around 556BC.
• Under the direction of Ezra and Nehemiah the Jews returned to Jerusalem and work started on the rebuilding of the City and the Temple.
• The Bible contains a lot of prophetic information relating to past and present empires in the Books of the Prophets. The Old Testament contains the books of the Major and Minor Prophets. Prophecies relate to the coming of the Messiah (Jesus Christ). The regathering of Israel in the End Times and the time of the Great Tribulation which is beginning to happen in the present time.
• The New Testament begins with the birth of Jesus who is of course the promised Messiah. The four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John describe the birth and early life of Jesus and then cover his three year ministry which culminates in His death, burial and resurrection. Matthew ends with Jesus Great Commission of the Church to take the gospel to the nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He then ascended into Heaven.
  
• The writings of Paul and the Apostles contain guidance about salvation and the Christian life and the bible is concluded by the book of Revelation that leads on from the Old Testament book of the Prophet Daniel that describes the World Empires of Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome ending in a reborn Roman Empire that is the brittle strong alliance of Europe in our time. Revelation addresses the Churches of the First Century and moves on to describe the change of batten from the Church in the Age of Grace to Israel in Christ Jesus during the Time of Judgement (Seventieth Week of Daniel - The Tribulation).

 

So this is what a bible believing Christian believes - This is what I believe.

 

As to the gospel? Well in this time there are many who say they believe only what they can see with their eyes and touch with their hands. However, as the bible says in Romans 1: 19-21  "For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honour him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened." Look around you there is plenty that cannot be explained without Jehovah the Creator God.

 

Closer to the heart. If you desire eternal life after this life on the Earth. Then that can only be found in Christ Jesus. John 3:16 says this “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." Believe on Christ Jesus unto Eternal Life. Come Lord Jesus.

 

Reference List

 

1 Peter 3:15 From <https://www.openbible.info/topics/a_good_defence>

 

John 3:16 From <https://biblehub.com/john/3-16.htm> 

 

Romans 1: 19-21 From <https://biblia.com/bible/esv/romans/1>

When Statesmanship Died in Aotearoa

 

I don't know if you have looked at what has been happening in New Caledonia over the past couple of weeks. The indigenous started to revolt against the French government because they do not have the same rights as French nationals living in their land. So they starting burning cars and taking the law into their own hands. Then big planes arrived from France with soldiers and weapons on board.

 

Here in New Zealand Maori had a hui last week to decide how to progress their aspirations for a separate government for Maori. David Seymour who was with, Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon in Parliament, when questioned by the news media about the Maori hui merely laughed and joked that as long as they didn't tax him he couldn't care less.

 

He doesn't seem to mind that his lack of statesmanship could result in similar political unrest to that in New Caledonia. If he doesn't listen to voice of the Maori people and seek to negotiate with them. Is this more evidence of the current culture of Ideology over common sense. I believe X so I don't care what you say because you believe Y. If so, are we destined to plough into civil war for the lack of the maturity to enter into a dialogue?

 

You may have noticed the previous government made a huge financial contribution to the gangs of New Zealand Aotearoa. If you have seen the gangs in the media lately you may have noticed that they are looking very buff. They seem well exercised, well disciplined, able to march in columns. In fact, they look absolutely military and positively warrior like.

 

Are we on the verge of an uprising or is there something slightly more medium term in the wind. The recent political polls showed that the current government had already done enough to scare away the left leaning swing voters that supported them through the election. May be, the gangs are waiting a change of government and the support of a coalition of the far left to bring our democracy to an end. To replace it with a one party system with which the left can better control the population and address the climate change issues and other global Mother Earth concerns. While allowing a modicum of self determination to Maori.

 

I guess how this right wing government respond to the resolutions of the Maori Hui to bring in Maori self rule will give the public an idea of what is actually going on in the halls of power. I got the distinct impression from the last Labour government that just as the President of the United States isn't the true center of power in the USA. So, the ruling coalition in New Zealand doesn't seem to be the true locus of power either. It's just entertainment for the viewing public while the global elite control the day to day running of the country through the Civil Service.

 

It will be interesting to see what happens as the next few years play out. I suspect their will be bigger fish to fry. Will World War 3 and a general move in the West to a war status impact on the political status in New Zealand Aotearoa. Will the agenda's of the United Nations and the World Economic Forum unfold like an anti-Christian cloud of darkness as their occultist insanity attempts to reduce the World's population and save Mother Earth. Only to be stopped in its tracks by the Time of Jacob's Trouble and the rise of the Antichrist. Well not stopped so much as the same agenda for a different cause.

 

However, it is time to state things as they are. Yahweh, the Hebrew, Christian God is in control as we move into the last days and the beginning of the Time of  Sorrows. As to what happens in New Zealand Aotearoa and the World as a whole. A time of judgement is coming and the most important message to those who do not know Jesus Christ is this. A time is coming where you will not be able to buy or sell outside of the Antichrist System with out a mark on the back of your right hand and on your forehead. A time to choose Jesus Christ and eternal life or short term gain and eternal damnation. Maranatha - Come Lord Jesus.

IQ in New Zealand

A friend of a friend was venting a work. The discourse went that New Zealanders are stupid people because we attempt to educate people who are possessed of a low Intelligence Quotient. Singapore was cited as an example of country where low intelligence quotient is not accepted in their society. I was not aware that this was the case but being an Asian country it doesn’t surprise me.

I would have to say that in this day and age this is a moot point. Asians are in my experience not more intelligent than people of different ethnicity. They are however, highly motivated to study and work hard as a people. In Education the focus in Asia is on discipline, self discipline, performance and individual comparison. Low grades are simply not tolerated.

Although, New Zealand does not share that academic philosophy in 2024. It attained to a similar standard up until half a century ago in the early 1970’s. At the time we were genuinely among the top ten nations for academic attainment in the World. In 2024 we are now ranked 27^th in OECD¹. The education system is now in crisis and in need of a complete renovation.

How it has gotten this bad is a subject of considerable contention. Many would point to the disaster that was Tomorrows Schools in the 1990’s. Later the Numeracy Project of the early 2000’s was an equally disastrous intervention that destroyed mathematics teaching at the primary level for the foreseeable future. The trend toward digital devices instead of books through the Twenty Teens has impacted on handwriting, language acquisition and effectively turned the minds of students to mush. Attempts to make the Curriculum Documents of the 1990’s easier to use had debased the curriculum leaving a wake of learning strategies and concepts that are not fit for purpose and the list goes on.

The only way to fix this catastrophe is Back to the Future. The wise mentors of Education from Post War Era New Zealand understood that education has to be fit for purpose. They weren’t producing Einstein’s, they were matching needs for people to have careers and vocations and for the economy to have trades-staff and professional people. In short producing graduates to fill the positions that were actually available.

To achieve this, they used behaviourist text books and techniques like wrote learning to ensure that the fifteen year old entering the work force could read to at least a 12 year old level, could perform addition – subjection – multiplication to 6 digits, perform short division and knew their times tables by heart to 12 times. Could write a decent letter of application for a job and had a legible handwriting style. If you have this knowledge you can get a start in life, even in 2024. If you decide to attend university as an adult you can do it with determination and hard work.

Secondary education needs to toss NCEA in the bin. Put a system in place which is based on the World renowned Cambridge system or is the Cambridge System. For those needing an intermediate qualification one could be instituted at Year 11. We used to have one that was externally assessed called School Certificate. Just saying.

However, one would be remiss if it was not mentioned that student attitude and self discipline are an integral part of learning acquisition and academic achievement. It would also be pertinent to mention that this crisis of Education is not unique to New Zealand nor is it unintentional. Liberal Activists have steadily infiltrated the student bodies and the faculties of many universities unleashing a flood of secular socialism which has corresponded to the decline in the Education System over the last five decades.

Hence, corporal punishment was removed from the schools and eventually criminalised even in the home environment. At the same time beginning with the revision of the Health Syllabus in 1985, an emphasis on student and child self esteem was begun within the education system in New Zealand. The impacts of this emphasis combined with a liberal shift away from self discipline have profoundly impacted how student behaviour and academic achievement are managed in educational settings in this country.

Add to this sea-change in student teacher relationship and the changes mentioned earlier in relation to how maths and literacy are taught in primary schools and to some extent in secondary schools as well. Then, it is not in anyway surprising to find that we are in a catastrophic downward slide of student achievement, nationally and internationally, on compared assessment tools and achievement standards.

Other Factors,

Just before the implementation of Tomorrow’s Schools in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s the Lange Labour Government under wisdom of then finance minister Roger Douglas implemented a financial policy for New Zealand that became know as Rogernomics. Globally known as Neo-liberal Economics or possibly Top – Down Economics. In basis it held that the resources of production should be held in the hands of a few and this should be achieved through corporate centralisation.

An example would be the food industry where super market chains like Woolworths and Food Stuffs have massive super markets which have all but destroyed small business franchises like the 4 Square branded local stores. The corner dairy actually buys the majority of their goods from the shelves of the supermarkets and with small mark up sells them to their customers.

The idea is that these huge stores are responsible for 100 percent of grocery sales and all of the profits go to their owners who have no serious competitors. The result is a pyramid structure of wealth accumulation where the wealth goes from the majority to an elite minority. Over a period of time those at the bottom levels of the pyramid become increasingly impoverished. The result ultimately is the destruction of the middle class as small business is eliminated and white collar workers are reduced in numbers. You end up with the haves and have nots.

Combined with liberalism the secular attack on Christianity and the nuclear family this has led to catastrophic social change. This is reflected in the replacement of family supervision of many at risk children and the intervention of state controlled services. Increasingly the state is making social policies and attempting to educate citizens in their version of social morality in place of Christian morality. An example would be the current campaign by the New Zealand Teachers council called “Unteach Racism.” A CRT initiative without doubt. Is there any limit to where this madness will appear. One wonders what business it is of the Teachers Council to take the lead in such an emotive issue. Surely this would be the domain of a political party and subsequently the job of the Ministry of Education should it be decided it was necessary.

So, reviewing the conversation that led to the writing of this opinion piece. New Zealanders are not stupid for not ensuring that our citizens have a certain level of intelligence quotient. We are stupid for allowing the political elites to secularise our society and sabotage out education system. It we had retained out Christian moral values continued to push back against liberalism as the liberals are pushing against Christianity now. Then our society would still have a strong emphasis on the family, moral decency, self discipline and common sense. Our education system would likely still be one of the finest in the World.

Reference List

1Once world-class, NZ’s education system is now a disaster. How do we fix it?

https://www.nzinitiative.org.nz/reports-and-media/opinion/once-world-class-nzs-education-system-is-now-a-disaster-how-do-we-fix-it/ Hartwich Dr Oliver, NZ Herald, 9 November, 2022

Russia and the Time of Jacob’s Trouble

The war between Russia and the West over the Ukraine is something that most people have an opinion about. Even if it’s just that old adage “When the elephants fight the natives get trampled.” I guess there are several take away's from the situation to date:

 

• Don’t mess with the global superpowers or the war in the Ukraine could come to your country.

• You have only to look at Libya, Iraq, Syria and the Ukraine to learn that a prolonged conventional war is difficult to recover from, during and afterwards.

• Don’t underestimate the ability of Russia. Those who have in the past have lived to rue the day.

• We are quite probably on the cusp of a reborn USSR.

• One only has to look at the emergence of the Third Reich to see parallels between Nazi Germany rising prior to WWII and Russia rising now, prior to WWIII.

• The Third Reich was based on recently subjugated countries and did not bond but Russia is seeking to re-establish that which formerly stood for seventy years and was bonded.

• The biblical power of Gog, Magog and the allies that stand against Israel in the Last Days is looking more, and more, like Russia and her allies in the current era.

What you make of the battle to take Ukraine tends to be based on which news sources you follow. The difference in the opinion is basically that if you support the West you think that silly old Russia and Putin are technologically out matched and cannot hope to win this war. If you support Russia you think that Russia is gaining the upper hand in this war in technique and technology and that they are just coming to their prime as they apply what they have learnt to the war in the Ukraine. Victory is nearly assured. The truth is somewhere in between, I feel.

To re-establish the Soviet Union will require that Russia is able to win the war in Ukraine and subsequently reacquire the Baltic's and Latvia, Georgia and Estonia. All of this without starting a nuclear war with the West.

Russia in Prophecy

Ezekiel 38 1-9 “The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him and say, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. And I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armour, a great host, all of them with buckler and shield, wielding swords. Persia, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer and all his hordes; Beth-togarmah from the uttermost parts of the north with all his hordes—many peoples are with you. “Be ready and keep ready, you and all your hosts that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them. After many days you will be mustered. In the latter years you will go against the land that is restored from war, the land whose people were gathered from many peoples upon the mountains of Israel, which had been a continual waste. Its people were brought out from the peoples and now dwell securely, all of them. You will advance, coming on like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your hordes, and many peoples with you.”

So, Gog and Magog refers to modern day Russia. Persia is a reference to modern-day Iran. Cush describes present-day Ethiopia and the nations of Central Africa. Put and Libya are located in northern Africa. Gomer is the people who settled in Germany. Beth Togarmah is Asia Minor and Turkey. Living in the current era it is becoming increasingly likely that this alliance of nations will move against Israel.

One has only to review recent events in Israel with the Hamas attack in the Autumn of 2023 against the concert goers and the various Kibbutz near Gaza. Then the subsequent invasion of Gaza by the Israeli Defence Force and rampant destruction in Gaza to envisage the hooks being driven into Gog’s jaw and him being turned around with His allies to attack Israel.

The Hamas attack puts me very much in mind of Ezekiel 38: 9-10 “Thus says the Lord God: On that day, thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil scheme and say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will fall upon the quiet people who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having no bars or gates,’ to seize spoil and carry off plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and the people who were gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell at the centre of the earth.”

So back to 2024, what is the likely sequence of events that culminate in Russia and a coalition of allies e.g.: Iran, Lebanon, Egypt and Turkey. Potentially, even China, Central Asia and the Central African nations. Causing them to assemble a war machine and physically invade Israel.

My opinion would see the events being something like this. Time frame is a guess at best.

• 2024/5 – Russian war in Ukraine culminates in the fall of Ukraine to Russia.

• 2025/6 – Russian pursues war with Latvia, Georgia and Lithuania.

• 2025/6 WWIII begins as Nato attacks Russia with Sweden and Finland.

• 2026/7 – Nato Alliance under a declaration of War against the Russian Alliance initiates the formation of a the New World Order / Global Government.

• 2027 – Israel becomes the Middle Eastern Front and the Russian Alliance attacks and begins to press the war against Israel.

• 2028 – Conventional war continues against Russia with Putin making substantial gains in the countries of the old USSR as he seeks to resurrect the Soviet block.

• 2029 – Blockchain and Chinese Style Communism are initiated in the West as per the World Economic Forum and NWO. Citizens are now under state control and assessed by CCTV and AI. Christians are increasingly persecuted.

• 2030 – Population reduction strategies are implemented by the NWO to reduce Climate Change and to preserve the Earth Mother.

• 2031/33 – Russian Coalition invades Israel and is destroyed by Earthquake and confusion. The NWO launches a pre-emptive nuclear strike against Russia and it’s allies and they are destroyed.

• 2031 – The Seven Year Tribulation. The Russian invasion of Israel could be at the beginning of the Tribulation or about around a year before the mid- Tribulation.
  

• 2033 – China having reigned for a year, a month, a day and an hour is destroyed by a star called “Wormwood” without human intervention as described in the book of Revelation.

• 2034 – The Anti Christ takes control of the NWO and rules from Jerusalem for three and one half years – The Great Tribulation.

• 2038 – The Battle of Armageddon – The Lamb of God – Yeshua Ha Mashiach returns – The Second Coming of Jesus Christ – The establishment of the Kingdom of God

The dates suggested above are by no means a prophetic. These events are merely a guess based on what the bible suggests and what we see happening between Russia, China and the West in the current era. It would certainly appear the Third World War is at hand and the events happening in Israel at the present are a genuine catalyst and are the hooks in the jaw described in the Ezekiel prophecy.

When we consider what our Lord Jesus Christ said in Matthew chapter 24 and the scriptures which speak of the regathering of Israel in these last days as mentioned in Isaiah 11:11-13 and Jeremiah 31: 7-11. Which speak of the judgement of these last days. The prophecies mentioned above from Ezekiel 38 certainly seem to fit in with this time when Israel is regathered. Maranatha – Jesus Come Quickly.

Reference List

Ezekiel 38: 1-9 https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Ezekiel/38/type/nasb 23/05/24

Ezekiel 38 & 39 https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=pretrib_arch Thomas D. IceLiberty University, tdice@liberty.edu May 2009

What Countries Are Gog and Magog in the End Times? https://preachitteachit.org/ask_roger/what-countries-are-gog-and-magog-in-the-end-times/ Roger Barrier March 16, 2019

Your Particular View

The World has one truth although you would not know it. Looking around everyone does what is right in his own eyes. Proverbs 21: 2-3 says “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart. To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.”

We live in a time where knowledge is so diverse that truth can literally be what we say it is. Politicians and rulers are so powerful that they can control the flow of information so that it becomes disinformation. If you follow one stream of information you will be led to believe truth A. If you follow another stream of information, you will be led to believe a completely different truth. Truth B or any variation of the truth depending on the stream of information you hold to be the accurate one.

An example of this phenomenon would be the news streams relating to President Donald Trump. The comparative information streams about Trump in the news media describe several variations on two themes. Stream A is the liberal theme and in the media it is the dominant stream. It describes a sadomasochistic, somewhat doddering, largely immoral, tyrannical dictator who cannot be trusted and should never be the President again. This stream has been successful in dividing public opinion about Donald Trump to the point of initiating open revolt on the streets of the United States of America.

In this case, Stream B is the conservative stream which hails Donald Trump as a hero of the common man. It is a view that would have been popular across society in the post war and cold war eras. He is shown as an instinctively capable businessman, a successful corporate leader, a woman’s man but who wouldn’t want to be Donald Trumps woman, the savior of the American Dream, a bastion of conservative and libertarian philosophy, the only hope of quashing the traitorous democratic far left and averting a communist takeover in America.

In this way those who control the news media and information in all of it’s forms are able to manipulate the world view of the people who consume this data. To demonstrate my point I would make this statement. “I have never met Donald Trump in my life.” Yet based on my belief that the information I have accumulated from the news media over time I have a view of Donald Trump as a person. Even though I have never met the man personally.

This applies to many different items in the many different news streams that I have gathered information from during my life. When I was young I was afraid of the Soviet Union and believed it was the evil empire. I got this perspective from the news media even though I had never been to the USSR and had no physical proof that it really existed. I still haven’t been to the countries that comprised the USSR but I believe, still to this day, that the information I had when I was young was the truth.

What I am saying here is this. We live in a time where there has never been more information available about any given subject. We have a tendency to accept information that fits in with our schema of accepted knowledge or our personal truth, as we see it. So we are constantly adding bits of information to our overarching accumulated world view or general perspective on what is important in life and the world around us.

The question is “Are we skeptical enough about the accuracy of sources of the information that we accord the status of Truth?” This is an important issue to consider because it can alter our mood, the way we perceive things, the way others see us, the issues that we believe are important in our lives and the priority that we accord to them.

We can be labeled conspiracy theorist, crazed loon, leftist liberal, conservative crank and all because of the information that we gather and the amount of emphasis we place on its importance. The question is “Can we be sure the information that we are using is true?”

This is not a new question and it is one that had been dealt with in the same way for eons. To the Jew and the Christian the writings of the Old Testament profit Isaiah have this to say about a this same problem. Isaiah 33: 15,16 “He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, who despises the gain of oppression's, who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking on evil, he will dwell on the heights; his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks; his bread will be given him; his water will be sure.”

In short, if you See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil and Stay Close to God then all will be well you. Regardless of how important the information seems. How accurate, or how appropriate. It is better to focus on the Word of God and listen for the still small voice of the Holy Spirit¹ in your life, than to stir yourself up with all of the uproar of this World and the chattering of Prince of Darkness.

Sanity relies on keeping your thoughts in proximity to God and studiously avoiding fleshly flights of fantasy. Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

1Still small voice. 1Kings chapter 19 verses 12-13

Aotearoa and the Mâori Christians

I watched an interesting video recently that was passed on by a Christian friend after a conversation that we had about the current Mâori co-governance movement. In this conversation my thoughts had come from a booklet containing the writing of Sir Apirana Ngata on the Treaty of Waitangi. The gist of his booklet was that Mâori in 1840 were worried about the imminent arrival of the French and the Russians and sought a treaty with the English. Ngata felt that the Maori understood that they would receive English citizenship and protection from other foes.

Though this maybe true, it does not take account of the atrocious treatment that Mâori received subsequent to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Particularly, as a result of the fact that Mâori refused to sell their land to the New Zealand Company and others seeking land for immigrants to Aotearoa New Zealand.

From a Christian perspective the video that I watched powerfully informed me of some things that I, until now, had previously had no idea about. Firstly, that my Great, Great Grand Mother and her daughter, my Great Grand Mother arrived in New Zealand in February 1842 on the Fifeshire at Nelson. They were caught up in the first actions of Edward Gibbon Wakefield to attempt to acquire land from the Maori for settlement by immigrants that he had brought from the United Kingdom with the promise of a new and better life.

The trip on the Fifeshire had been a momentous one the my Great, Great Grandmother losing a child on the trip and the Captain choosing to forego a stop at South Africa to resupply with food and deciding to continue on the voyage to New Zealand. This meant little food for the second half of the journey.

After the ship landed at the port of Nelson, events soon led their family into conflict when Wakefield attempted to take possession of Mâori owned land that he claimed to have bought. Mâori denied him access to lands and disagreed that he had purchased land from them, so he led a contingent of settlers against them. This resulted in the death of a chief’s wife and the subsequent deaths of a number of settlers at the hand of the chief concerned. Most likely not the start my family were expecting.

The video that I watched supplied much of the detail above except the fact that my ancestors were there to see it. What I found to be most interesting was the events which later led to the atrocities inflicted on Mâori at Parihaka in the Taranaki. It was stated the Mâori population at the time of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi is believed to have been 70,000 people and that half of these folk were converted to Christianity.

Prior to Parihaka Mâori decided not to sell any more land. They were embroiled in a conflict with settlers over land being taken from them. The government of the time said that the Mâori had a legal grievance with the settlers but that the fact they had been in revolt against the Crown meant they were in the wrong. The government then confiscated one million acres of Mâori land in the Taranaki area.

Christian Mâori then built a settlement at Parihaka and lived peacefully with Pakeha at the time. However, when men came to survey the land the Mâori from Parihaka uprooted the survey pegs and ploughed the land. This was very effective strategy and the nature of their protest became known in England.

Subsequently, embarrassing questions were asked of the New Zealand government. It was decided to build a road toward Parihaka. Troops were sent to deal with the protesters. When the troops arrived the children of the settlement met them with gifts of food. This stopped them in their tracks but they were ordered to attack and remove the Mâori at Parihaka.

It was a brutal engagement and men, women and children were beaten and women were raped. The leaders were imprisoned without trial for years. The well established settlement of modern timber dwellings was raised to the ground. This was a tragic outcome and those responsible have much to atone for.

The reason I find this tragedy so devastating is that these were our brothers and sisters in Christ. After this terrible event Mâori began to fall away from Christianity. They saw that the missionaries said ABC but did abc. They said that they would do abc in future to the Pakeha. The result was ultimately the end of the Mâori Revival in Aotearoa in the first part of the Nineteenth century (1800 - 1850 AD).

It makes sense to me now why I have found Mâori to be  such a dear people. Considering what they have been through at the hands of Pakeha and the British Crown. They are very forgiving and prepared to reconcile. I have said for some years that it has always seemed to me that if Mâori were prepared to repent, God would give Aotearoa back to them. I used to wonder why I thought that to be the case, but now that I know of Parihaka and other groups in Mâori who were bible believing Christians in the Nineteenth century. I understand why. Yahweh has loved them once and He waits for them to return to Him that he might bless them once again.

Reference List

Christianity and the Treaty https://youtu.be/4x8bDSr1C6o?si=821HCmGU-c7VzBr1

New Zealand Company settlers arrive in Nelson 1 February 1842 https://nzhistory.govt.nz/first-nz-company-settlers-arrive-in-nelson