International Conference on Computing and Mission (ICCM)

The International Conference on Computing and Mission (ICCM-Europe) takes place in the Netherlands 10-13 March, 2010.

'Engineering and Theology' matches 'Computing and Mission'.

I have therefore just booked to attend.

I hope to have opportunities to share information about Go Bible for mobile phones.

Geese in Their Hoods (Spurgeon on Romanism)

Following the recent news about Pope Benedict's invitation to disaffected Anglicans to join the Church of Rome, I bring to mind the writings of Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-92) that touch on the tendency (even in his day) of some in the Church of England to drift back towards Romanism.

His article, Geese in Their Hoods is well worth reading, not only for his observations during his travels in Europe but also for his candour in confronting the errors of Rome.

The nineteenth of the Church of England's Thirty-nine Articles is mild in comparison with Spurgeon's treatment of such "too-hot-to-handle" issues today. viz.

XIX. Of the Church.
The visible Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men, in which the pure Word of God is preached, and the Sacraments be duly ministered according to Christ's ordinance, in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same.

As the Church of Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch, have erred, so also the Church of Rome hath erred, not only in their living and manner of Ceremonies, but also in matters of Faith.

You can still obtain the 1997 reprint, edited by Timothy F. Kauffman, published by White Horse Publications.

Retirement

Just a short post to inform readers that I retired four weeks ago, after over 36 years in the semiconductor industry. For most of that time I worked as a test engineer on power semiconductor devices, all at the same site in Stockport, which was under five different company names over this period:

1. Associated Semiconductor Manufacturers (ASM) Ltd.
2. Mullard Limited
3. Philips Components
4. Philips Semiconductors
5. NXP Semiconductors

Due to the current recession, there was a need to reduce "head count", and a call for voluntary redundancies was announced in April this year. I volunteered almost straightaway, was accepted in June, and finished work on 25 September.

I had already switched from full-time employment to part-time in June 2008, so I enjoyed 15 months of having Mondays free before finishing. This gave me a taste for retirement, but not for inactivity.

Now that I am the Go Bible project leader for the CrossWire Bible Society, I have more than enough to fill my waking hours. This brings the engineering and the theology even closer together than I could have imagined.

The slow death of congregational singing

The slow death of congregational singing
by Mike Raiter, Principal of Victoria Bible College
The Briefing, April 2008.

It seems like genuine, heartfelt congregational singing is experiencing its dying gasps. But why does it matter and why should we care? Mike Raiter brings us back to the Bible to inject our singing with new life.

I was at a convention recently, seated near the rear of the auditorium. The music team at the front were ‘leading’ (and I use that word advisedly) and we were singing. Well, we were meant to be singing. And so I did what I've done quite often lately: I closed my eyes and listened to the singing. The song leaders with their microphones were clear and distinct. I could identify each of the several instruments accompanying the singers. But if you blocked out the ‘worship team’, all that was left around the building was a barely audible murmur. I opened my eyes and looked around. Most folk were either standing silently, not even making a pretence of singing, or were little engaged in the activity.

I turned to a friend next to me and commented, “No-one's singing”. He looked at me as if I'd just observed that no-one was flying.

more ......

Rhode Island Coffee and books

One day before Christmas I had a coffee and a Danish pastry at Rhode Island Coffee on Little Underbank in Stockport. There were a few books related to Rhode Island on the window ledge, so I browsed through one of them.

It was Marguerite Appleton, A Portrait Album - Four Great Rhode Island Leaders.

Here is the Amazon link.

The time I spent there was enough to read the first chapter, which was about Roger Williams, (1603-1883), the co-founder of Rhode Island. He is credited for originating either the first or second Baptist church established in America.

He also wrote, The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution, for Cause of Conscience (London, 1644). This is his most famous work, and was the ablest statement and defence of the principle of absolute liberty of conscience that had appeared in any language. It is in the form of a dialogue between Truth and Peace, and well illustrates the vigour of his style.

A pleasant interlude in a brief shopping errand.

Statistical analysis of Bible verse lengths

In the course of my Go Bible activities, I found it necessary to perform a statistical analysis of Bible verse lengths, in order to test a conjecture that there had been systematic truncation in the particular source text that I had been working with. This was the French translation by Pirot and Clamer.

This is an illustration of where my Engineering and Theology interests and skills overlap.

The underlying probability distribution would be of interest to statisticians.

• Cubic polynomial best fit below the mode, where mode length = 79 characters
  
• Linear best fit above the mode

The chart lends weight to my truncation conjecture. There was a second peak of verses with length=255. The few slightly longer verses may be explained by word-wrap effects.

Further details are given in this Go Bible Forum topic. If you are not a forum member, you will first need to register before logging in.

Messianic Good News

Messianic Good News is a non-profit organisation, founded in 1950 for the purpose of proclaiming the good news of salvation in Jesus the Messiah to Jews and Gentiles primarily through the written format. They publish and distribute tracts and books for outreach as well as the quarterly, “Messianic Good News,” through which they aim to encourage and equip readers with a deeper understanding of the faith. These articles are available on the website.

They recently hosted a conference in South Africa, on the subject, ISRAEL IN THE LAST DAYS - a critical look at popular views of the end times. The speakers were:

• Stephen Sizer - who spoke on Israel from a theological perspective
  
• Kevin Daly - who dealt with the misconceptions in popular dispensationalist views
  
• Peter Cohen - who spoke on the prophecies of Daniel 9 and Matthew 24
  
• Alan Morrison - who gave a two part paper on "the Restoration of all things".
  

Transcripts of all the conference talks are now available.

God’s Undertaker: Has Science Buried God?

New book out from LionHudson on 7 September 2007.

With new atheism loudly gaining more and more media attention, and religion seemingly being backed into a corner with nobody to stand up and rationally defend it, John Lennox’s new book God’s Undertaker: Has Science Buried God? is a much needed addition to the science and faith debate.

God’s Undertaker is an intelligent response to the claims of new atheism, which, based on the evaluation of modern scientific evidence, argues that theism sits more comfortably alongside science than atheism.

Written by John Lennox, a well respected academic and mathematician, the book has received acclaim from top scientists as well as respected figures in the religious community and will provide a thought provoking and fresh basis for discussion.

I have already pre-ordered a copy. The author is a friend from my time at Cambridge University (1966-1969).

The linked page also gives details of a public debate between Richard Dawkins and John Lennox, to be held in Birmingham, Alabama, USA on 3 October 2007.

Atheist Delusion and Richard Dawkins

The Atheist Delusion website is a useful compilation of critiques of Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion.

The welcome page begins, "Richard Dawkins, the world's most famous atheist, makes his home in Oxford, England. It was in Oxford, back in 1978, while sitting in a biology class in Magdalen College School, that I was first exposed to Richard Dawkins' favoured theory of human origins - Darwin and Wallace's idea of 'evolution by natural selection'. Sitting in one of the biology labs of a School founded in 1481 and attended by the likes of Sir Thomas More, William Tyndale, Cardinal Wolsey and John Foxe, I learnt of an idea that, according to Richard Dawkins, makes it possible to be 'an intellectually fulfilled atheist'."

The webmaster is Michael J. Penfold of Bicester on Oxforshire.

Pentecost - Sunday 27 May 2007

Our blest Redeemer, ere He breathed
His tender last farewell,
A Guide, a Comforter, bequeathed
With us to dwell.

He came in semblance of a dove,
With sheltering wings outspread,
The holy balm of peace and love
On earth to shed.

He came in tongues of living flame
To teach, convince, subdue,
All powerful as the wind He came
As viewless too.

He came sweet influence to impart,
A gracious, willing Guest,
While He can find one humble heart
Wherein to rest.

And His that gentle voice we hear,
Soft as the breath of even,
That checks each fault, that calms each fear,
And speaks of Heav’n.

And every virtue we possess,
And every conquest won,
And every thought of holiness,
Are His alone.

Spirit of purity and grace,
Our weakness, pitying, see:
O make our hearts Thy dwelling place
And worthier Thee.

Harriet Auber (1773-1862)