Many people who were told that they have T-cell CLL in fact have LGL leukemia. In the Blood of 10th March there was an article on the disease by Thomas Loughran Jnr from Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute, the world expert on the condition.
LGL leukemia is characterized by a clonal expansion of either CD3+ cytotoxic T cells or CD3- NK cells. The phenotype of the cells suggests a chronic antigen driven immune response as initiator of the disease. LGL survival is promoted by the growth factors PDGF and IL-15 which produce resistance to apoptosis.
Clinical features of LGL leukemia include neutropenia, anemia and associated rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Treatment usually becomes necessary because of symptomatic neutropenia or severe RA and is usually begun with low-dose methotrexate. Failure of this agent generally means a switch to low dose cyclophosphamide and then to cyclsporin.
LGL leukemia is usually an indolent condition and m,any cases do not require treatment. Death, which is rare, is usually from neutropenic sepsis.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
John 1:13
Children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
The description 'born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God' applies first and foremost to Jesus. Mary was astonished to be the chosen vessel; he husband-to-be was embarrassed and would have put her quietly away. No doubt there was shame in the family. But the Gospels tell us that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
If we are born again it is the same with us. Conceived by the Holy Spirit. What a blessing! Co-heirs with Christ! Because we were born in the same way. If we but believe in him.
The description 'born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God' applies first and foremost to Jesus. Mary was astonished to be the chosen vessel; he husband-to-be was embarrassed and would have put her quietly away. No doubt there was shame in the family. But the Gospels tell us that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
If we are born again it is the same with us. Conceived by the Holy Spirit. What a blessing! Co-heirs with Christ! Because we were born in the same way. If we but believe in him.
Living in the Spirit. Galatians 5:16-18
It is hard to live a good life. Even Jimmy Carter confessed to Playboy that he had committed adultery in his heart. The footballer, Wayne Rooney is probably heading for a two match ban for swearing at the TV cameras. I don't suppose he planned to offend, but his emotion at scoring three goals got the better of him. I have less respect for those celebrities who think it will be amusing to let off a few swear words on late night TV.
One of the TV programs we watch is Taggart. It is a cop show set in Glasgow and one of the cops, Robbie Ross, is sure to have an illicit relationship with a young girl before the episode is completed. He has gone from a fresh faced youngster in 1990 to a raddled has-been in the years that we have been watching, like the picture of Dorian Gray. His attitude represents that of many men to women.
The pedophile scandals in the Roman Catholic Church have become headline news. We have also seen countless Protestant preachers go off the rails when temptation hits them. You would think that men whose lives are supposedly devoted to preaching the gospel would be able to keep themselves on the straight and narrow.
Paul tells is to live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. How do you live by the Spirit?
It isn't a case of letting go and letting God. We are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12). If you abandon your responsibility for how you live you will find yourself in the position that Paul finds himself in Romans 7 where he complains bitterly of the fact that he practises that in which his soul no longer takes delight; practices that his regenerated soul hates. The Spirit and your sinful nature are in conflict with each other so that you do not do what you want (v17).
You need to practise. Be honest with yourself. Practise the presence of Christ. Would you do that if Jesus were in the same room as you? He is by his Spirit. Would you not watch your tongue? Would you not hold back on your flirting? Would you really fail to declare that earning to the tax man? Would you cheat at business?
Wayne Rooney swore at the TV camera because he was brought up in background where it was commonplace to swear. As a young man I worked during the school holidays at a factory that polished windscreen wipers by an electrical process. It was hot, acrid, smelly, and dangerous but it paid good wages. Employed there permanently were boys I knew who had left school at 15. They were, to a man, ruffians and bullies and not the sharpest knives in the canteen of cutlery. Their every other word was a swear word. It was because that was their background. They knew no other way. They had practised swearing from an early age. Daily practise at living a holy life is a great help and the Spirit aids you. He will remind you of his presence. He works within you.
There are grace aids that the Holy Spirit has provided. Expose yourself to the Scriptures every day and you will find it hard to live sinfully; especially if that exposure includes how Jesus has died for your sins. Prayer allows you access to the Almighty himself. Do you have the effrontery to lie to him bare-faced? You might find it helpful to pray with someone else bodily listening in. Many have found that belonging to a prayer triplet helps. Enjoy the communion of the saints. Not just the ceremony of Holy Communion or the Lord's Supper or the Eucharist (whatever your tradition calls it), though this will bring you face to face with the Lord's sacrifice, but just the daily interaction with God's people. It's hard to keep up an act ('hypocrite' comes from the Greek for actor) under the penetrating eye of those who know you. I remember my daughter taking part in a Nativity play when she was young. Her even younger brother saw not an Angel, but, "That's my sister!" was his interrupting cry.
You can't save yourself, no more can you sanctify yourself; both are supernatural happenings. But Scripture tells us to keep in step with the Spirit (v25). You will not be able to keep up with him by yourself; but he gives you Usain Bolt's legs and the stamina of Lance Armstrong. It is not just a matter of obeying the Law. We have shown in the past sessions in Galatians that you can't do that. If you are led by the Spirit you are not under the Law (v18). The Law spells defeat, bondage, the curse, spiritual impotence and imprisonment. The Law cannot save.
One of the TV programs we watch is Taggart. It is a cop show set in Glasgow and one of the cops, Robbie Ross, is sure to have an illicit relationship with a young girl before the episode is completed. He has gone from a fresh faced youngster in 1990 to a raddled has-been in the years that we have been watching, like the picture of Dorian Gray. His attitude represents that of many men to women.
The pedophile scandals in the Roman Catholic Church have become headline news. We have also seen countless Protestant preachers go off the rails when temptation hits them. You would think that men whose lives are supposedly devoted to preaching the gospel would be able to keep themselves on the straight and narrow.
Paul tells is to live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. How do you live by the Spirit?
It isn't a case of letting go and letting God. We are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12). If you abandon your responsibility for how you live you will find yourself in the position that Paul finds himself in Romans 7 where he complains bitterly of the fact that he practises that in which his soul no longer takes delight; practices that his regenerated soul hates. The Spirit and your sinful nature are in conflict with each other so that you do not do what you want (v17).
You need to practise. Be honest with yourself. Practise the presence of Christ. Would you do that if Jesus were in the same room as you? He is by his Spirit. Would you not watch your tongue? Would you not hold back on your flirting? Would you really fail to declare that earning to the tax man? Would you cheat at business?
Wayne Rooney swore at the TV camera because he was brought up in background where it was commonplace to swear. As a young man I worked during the school holidays at a factory that polished windscreen wipers by an electrical process. It was hot, acrid, smelly, and dangerous but it paid good wages. Employed there permanently were boys I knew who had left school at 15. They were, to a man, ruffians and bullies and not the sharpest knives in the canteen of cutlery. Their every other word was a swear word. It was because that was their background. They knew no other way. They had practised swearing from an early age. Daily practise at living a holy life is a great help and the Spirit aids you. He will remind you of his presence. He works within you.
There are grace aids that the Holy Spirit has provided. Expose yourself to the Scriptures every day and you will find it hard to live sinfully; especially if that exposure includes how Jesus has died for your sins. Prayer allows you access to the Almighty himself. Do you have the effrontery to lie to him bare-faced? You might find it helpful to pray with someone else bodily listening in. Many have found that belonging to a prayer triplet helps. Enjoy the communion of the saints. Not just the ceremony of Holy Communion or the Lord's Supper or the Eucharist (whatever your tradition calls it), though this will bring you face to face with the Lord's sacrifice, but just the daily interaction with God's people. It's hard to keep up an act ('hypocrite' comes from the Greek for actor) under the penetrating eye of those who know you. I remember my daughter taking part in a Nativity play when she was young. Her even younger brother saw not an Angel, but, "That's my sister!" was his interrupting cry.
You can't save yourself, no more can you sanctify yourself; both are supernatural happenings. But Scripture tells us to keep in step with the Spirit (v25). You will not be able to keep up with him by yourself; but he gives you Usain Bolt's legs and the stamina of Lance Armstrong. It is not just a matter of obeying the Law. We have shown in the past sessions in Galatians that you can't do that. If you are led by the Spirit you are not under the Law (v18). The Law spells defeat, bondage, the curse, spiritual impotence and imprisonment. The Law cannot save.
Tuesday, April 05, 2011
John 1:12
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God
All. Not just people like him who were Jews. Not just men. Not just white people. Not just free men. Not just good people.
Imagine if America suddenly decreed "All people have the right to become Americans." Libyans, Iranians, Mexicans, Nigerians, Afghanistanis, Serbians, Yemeni, Sudanese, Somali pirates, Ghaddafi's thugs, war criminals from Bosnia, Nazis who fled to Argentina, pedophiles, rapists, murderers. Everybody.
That is the offer of Jesus. No-one is too bad to be saved and no-one is so good as not to need saving.
The qualification? Those who receive him, who believe in his name. It means those who recognize him as God, who trust that his death on the cross and resurrection from the dead have paid for all their felonies and misdemeanors, their slightest sins and their most severe ones.
Why is that not you? Are you too proud to be a dependent? Must you do it your way? Do you imagine that this life is all there is and that when you die you rot? What if you are wrong? Where did you ever get a better offer than this? Is it too good to be true? Try it and see. What do you have to lose?
All. Not just people like him who were Jews. Not just men. Not just white people. Not just free men. Not just good people.
Imagine if America suddenly decreed "All people have the right to become Americans." Libyans, Iranians, Mexicans, Nigerians, Afghanistanis, Serbians, Yemeni, Sudanese, Somali pirates, Ghaddafi's thugs, war criminals from Bosnia, Nazis who fled to Argentina, pedophiles, rapists, murderers. Everybody.
That is the offer of Jesus. No-one is too bad to be saved and no-one is so good as not to need saving.
The qualification? Those who receive him, who believe in his name. It means those who recognize him as God, who trust that his death on the cross and resurrection from the dead have paid for all their felonies and misdemeanors, their slightest sins and their most severe ones.
Why is that not you? Are you too proud to be a dependent? Must you do it your way? Do you imagine that this life is all there is and that when you die you rot? What if you are wrong? Where did you ever get a better offer than this? Is it too good to be true? Try it and see. What do you have to lose?
Monday, April 04, 2011
Serve one another in love. Galatians 5:13-15
According to an American study, within 3 years almost 7 out of 10 released male prisoners will find themselves back in prison. In the UK it is about 10% fewer. When Nelson Mandela was released after 27 years on Robben Island, the question was would he take up the armed struggle again and take revenge on his white persecutors? In fact he showed remarkable tolerance and forgiveness.
In Galatians 5:13-15 Paul tells us that we have been set free from the prison of the Law. Some criminals turn back to crime because they have become institutionalized in prison; they can't live without someone telling them when to get up and when to go to sleep, when to eat and when to wash. They need the ordered life; the hustle and bustle of life outside is beyond them. Some Christians are like this. They feel comfortable if the Law regulates every moment of their life.
On the other hand some criminals repeat their offences because they are professional criminals; this is the only life they know and they enjoy their lives for the easy money and the kicks. Some Christians are like this. They think that freedom from the Law gives them license to sin. Let sin abound so grace may abound. If our sins are forgiven why restrict ourselves?
But Paul tells us that rather than falling into either extreme we must serve one another in love. The whole of the Law is summed up as 'love your neighbor as yourself', but Paul wants us to go beyond that - not only should we love our neighbor, but we must be a slave to them.
Remember Jesus did not stop at loving our neighbors; he shocked his listeners by suggesting that a Samaritan was his neighbor and then told them to love their enemies. Just like Nelson Mandela.
It’s not easy. If nearly 70% of prisoners are recidivists is it any wonder that we so easily slip back into our old ways? It’s the natural thing to do. That is why we need supernatural help. Modern Christians have two approaches to the supernatural: they see it nowhere or they see it everywhere. Miracles are by their very nature rare. Otherwise they would be predictable happenings and absolutely natural. I have never seen a miraculous healing, for example. People tell me that they have, especially on the mission field, but they always seem to occur where there are no medical scientists to examine them. On the other hand some people explain away every miracle, even the resurrection.
I take the view that if Scripture tells me there was a miracle, then I accept the miracle. But I also believe that the Holy Spirit is active in the world and every day is making the dead live. For no-one who is dead in trespasses and sin cane be born again without the Sprit’s enabling. Nor can anyone released from the prison of the Law fail to return there without the Spirit’s help. But for the Holy Spirit we would all be recidivists.
In Galatians 5:13-15 Paul tells us that we have been set free from the prison of the Law. Some criminals turn back to crime because they have become institutionalized in prison; they can't live without someone telling them when to get up and when to go to sleep, when to eat and when to wash. They need the ordered life; the hustle and bustle of life outside is beyond them. Some Christians are like this. They feel comfortable if the Law regulates every moment of their life.
On the other hand some criminals repeat their offences because they are professional criminals; this is the only life they know and they enjoy their lives for the easy money and the kicks. Some Christians are like this. They think that freedom from the Law gives them license to sin. Let sin abound so grace may abound. If our sins are forgiven why restrict ourselves?
But Paul tells us that rather than falling into either extreme we must serve one another in love. The whole of the Law is summed up as 'love your neighbor as yourself', but Paul wants us to go beyond that - not only should we love our neighbor, but we must be a slave to them.
Remember Jesus did not stop at loving our neighbors; he shocked his listeners by suggesting that a Samaritan was his neighbor and then told them to love their enemies. Just like Nelson Mandela.
It’s not easy. If nearly 70% of prisoners are recidivists is it any wonder that we so easily slip back into our old ways? It’s the natural thing to do. That is why we need supernatural help. Modern Christians have two approaches to the supernatural: they see it nowhere or they see it everywhere. Miracles are by their very nature rare. Otherwise they would be predictable happenings and absolutely natural. I have never seen a miraculous healing, for example. People tell me that they have, especially on the mission field, but they always seem to occur where there are no medical scientists to examine them. On the other hand some people explain away every miracle, even the resurrection.
I take the view that if Scripture tells me there was a miracle, then I accept the miracle. But I also believe that the Holy Spirit is active in the world and every day is making the dead live. For no-one who is dead in trespasses and sin cane be born again without the Sprit’s enabling. Nor can anyone released from the prison of the Law fail to return there without the Spirit’s help. But for the Holy Spirit we would all be recidivists.
John 1:11
He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
In the Middle East, the giving of hospitality is the greatest responsibility. We 'might entertain Angels unaware' as Abraham did above Sodom. But not only to reject the visitor but to reject the owner is a heinous crime. It reminds us of the parable told by Jesus in Matthew 21, of the wicked tenants who first beat and injure the prophets and then kill the son.
The greatest of all sins is to reject the son since without him there can be no forgiveness of sins and no redemption. Yet this is what most people do.
In the Middle East, the giving of hospitality is the greatest responsibility. We 'might entertain Angels unaware' as Abraham did above Sodom. But not only to reject the visitor but to reject the owner is a heinous crime. It reminds us of the parable told by Jesus in Matthew 21, of the wicked tenants who first beat and injure the prophets and then kill the son.
The greatest of all sins is to reject the son since without him there can be no forgiveness of sins and no redemption. Yet this is what most people do.
Sunday, April 03, 2011
John 1:10
He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.
Have you ever felt that your contribution was not recognized? I was listening to a congregation singing a hymn that I had written and was peeved that no-one had acknowledged that I had written it. Stupid pride! But consider that the whole world was made by Jesus and we not only fail to acknowledge it, but we have spoiled it. I would be upset if someone singing one of my hymns changed an 'and' into a 'but', yet we have despoiled the world he made with greed and selfishness. Where there were green fields there are slag heaps; beautiful rivers have become polluted pools; loving communities have become warring partners; handsome bodies riddled with bloody bullets.
Lord, grant that we should recognize your presence among us.
Have you ever felt that your contribution was not recognized? I was listening to a congregation singing a hymn that I had written and was peeved that no-one had acknowledged that I had written it. Stupid pride! But consider that the whole world was made by Jesus and we not only fail to acknowledge it, but we have spoiled it. I would be upset if someone singing one of my hymns changed an 'and' into a 'but', yet we have despoiled the world he made with greed and selfishness. Where there were green fields there are slag heaps; beautiful rivers have become polluted pools; loving communities have become warring partners; handsome bodies riddled with bloody bullets.
Lord, grant that we should recognize your presence among us.
Saturday, April 02, 2011
health update
I have finished my final course of chemotherapy. As usual I am extremely sleepy, but I shall sit in front of the TV and watch India play Sri Lanka in the cricket world cup final.
Gleevec for CLL
Mcl-1 is one of those anti-apoptotic proteins that belong to the bcl-2 family. It may well be the most important in CLL. A paper from Liverpool has demonstrated that c-Abl is involved in the up-regulation of Mcl-1 in CLL which suggests that Imatinib (Gleevec) might have a role in its management.
NICE approves azacytidine for MDS
On March 23, 2011, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published guidance on the use of azacitidine for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes, chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia, and acute myeloid leukaemia. Azacitidine is recommended as a treatment option for adults who are not eligible for haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation and have one of the following conditions: intermediate-2 or high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (according to the International Prognostic Scoring System), chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia with 10–29% blasts without myeloproliferative disorder, or acute myeloid leukaemia with 20–30% blasts and multilineage dysplasia (according to WHO classification). These recommendations mirror the population specified in azacitidine's marketing authorisation, and are conditional on the manufacturer providing azacitidine to the National Health Service (NHS) at a discounted cost.
This outcome is a result of appeals by interested parties. The cost per QUALY at £47,200 was in excess of the usual £20-30,000 but azacytitidine was regarded as a step change in the treatment of these difficult conditions.
This outcome is a result of appeals by interested parties. The cost per QUALY at £47,200 was in excess of the usual £20-30,000 but azacytitidine was regarded as a step change in the treatment of these difficult conditions.
John 1:9
The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
Pilate said, "What is truth?" and today post-modernists recognize all sorts of alternative truths as if there were no absolutes. Such an approach to truth is mere nonsense and wishful thinking. It's like facing an approaching tsunami and wishing it wasn't there.
We no longer need be in darkness. Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. When the true light comes there is nowhere to hide.
Pilate said, "What is truth?" and today post-modernists recognize all sorts of alternative truths as if there were no absolutes. Such an approach to truth is mere nonsense and wishful thinking. It's like facing an approaching tsunami and wishing it wasn't there.
We no longer need be in darkness. Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. When the true light comes there is nowhere to hide.
Friday, April 01, 2011
John 1: 8
He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
He may have been a miracle baby but he was a minor player in the drama about to unfold. He didn't even fully understand what his role was. When in prison he sent a message to Jesus asking if he had got it right.
If even John the miracle baby can doubt, how much more so might we. Although we are told that we are in God's plan and we are assured that he has a plan for us, we seldom know what it is. We must continue to keep faithful and trust that 'he knoweth the way that you take'.
He may have been a miracle baby but he was a minor player in the drama about to unfold. He didn't even fully understand what his role was. When in prison he sent a message to Jesus asking if he had got it right.
If even John the miracle baby can doubt, how much more so might we. Although we are told that we are in God's plan and we are assured that he has a plan for us, we seldom know what it is. We must continue to keep faithful and trust that 'he knoweth the way that you take'.
Prognostic markers again.
A new paper from Montserrat's group on prognostic markers in stage A CLL suggests that the most useful indicators of a short progression-free survival are a total white count of greater than 30k and unmutated IGHV genes. The problem with the FISH abnormalities del 17p and del 11q is that they are so rare in stage A cases that they really do not really make an impact, whereas unmutated IGHV genes occur in 36% of cases. In multivariate analysis CD38 and ZAP-70 were squeezed out. Perhaps after 12 years people will begin to realize that V gene mutations ought to be done in every case.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Voodoo Histories.
In my 30 years in charge of a blood bank we only twice gave a patient the wrong blood. The first occasion was when the othopedic ward was closed for August. A patient was returning to the general surgical ward having had a hip replacement. A ward sister instructed a staff nurse to set up a unit of blood for him. Unfortunately, a general surgical patient returned from the OR at the same time and the nurse gave the first patient blood meant for the second one. She did not follow protocol and never checked with another nurse that she was giving the correct blood. It was in fact group A blood into a group O patient. He had a massive transfusion reaction with acute kidney failure, but he recovered completely after three weeks in intensive care. He sued the hospital for £5000. He was badly advised - he could easily have got £50,000.
The second occasion was caused by a lab technician who just picked up the wrong tube of blood to cross match and didn't read the label. Luckily he realized his mistake and rushed over to the ward and stopped the transfusion when only 10cc had gone in. The patient suffered no ill effects and he did not sue the hospital.
Here's the amazing thing. It was the same patient, in this time for a prostate operation. When I told my colleague he snapped his fingers and exclaimed, "Bother! But we will get him next time!"
The patient could be excused if he thought that there was a conspiracy out to get him. Who would be responsible? MI5? The CIA? The IRA?
I have just been reading Voodoo Histories by David Aaronovitch, a book about conspiracy theories. It covers the Protocols of Zion, supposedly a conspiracy among rich Jews to take over the world, the show trials in Russia, supposedly uncovering a conspiracy among Trotskyites and particularly among Trotskyite Jews to sabotage Stalin's five-year plans, the America-Firsters who suspected a conspiracy to get America into the second world war for the benefit of Roosevelt's (mostly Jewish) friends in the armaments and banking industries who would make a killing from war profiteering (viz Steinbeck's East of Eden). It was even suggested that Roosevelt engineered the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor to ease America's way into the war. It goes on to cover the McCarthy hearings, aimed at detecting a plot by Jewish movie moguls at indoctrinating America's youth with communistic ideas.
You may have guessed by now that Aaronovitch is Jewish and is particularly sensitive to conspiracies implicating Jews, but this should not detract you this book deals with other issues and is pretty comprehensive and well written.
Of course the Kennedy killings were ripe for the conspiracy theorists. Oliver Stone's film JFK would have made the apparent inconsistencies of the Warren report available to a wide audience. It seems to me that Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone, was a nutter who wanted to be famous and Jack Ruby was an angry anti-communist who wanted revenge. Similarly, Sirhan Sirhan shot Robert Kennedy and Ted Kennedy was alone responsible for Chappaquiddick. Marilyn Monroe was not murdered at the behest of RFK, Martin Luther King was not murdered as an FBI or CIA conspiracy, the Bush cabal did not blow up the levies in New Orleans to kill black people, OJ Simpson probably did kill his wife, Princess Diana should have been wearing a seat-belt and she might have survived the accident in Paris, David Kelly, the weapons inspector committed suicide and was not murdered by MI5 at the behest of Tony Blair. There was no Passover plot not has the Catholic church kept secret that the descendants of Jesus and Mary Magdalene living in France.
The question is why are such conspiracies so easily believed in. It is interesting that many will dismiss many obviously ridiculous conspiracy theories but then say I am sure we are not being told the truth about --- it could be anything. Very intelligent people dabble in areas in which they are not expert, but have heard it from a trusted source. Since the Internet became available these theories have 'gone viral' as they say. They have been widely believed in however implausible. There has come a new definition of truth. No longer is there objective truth, merely a truth that fits my prejudices. They call it post-modernism.
We all like a story. The truth is that real life isn't a story. Like my anecdote about blood transfusions, co-incidences happen. Life stories don't have a beginning, a middle and an end. They don't resolve themselves with a happy ending or even a sad one. They just sort of dribble out. Perhaps our minds are conditioned to look for patterns in everything we see. I once attended a lecture by epidemiologist, Ray Carwright, during which he plotted on a map cases of childhood leukemia. He told us that every one of these was within 5 miles of a military establishment. Of course, we all expected this to be something to do with radiation, but at the end of the lecture he told us that the military establishments were iron-age hill forts.
Far more dangerous than the conspiracy theories is the reaction to them by those who believe in them. After all, Hitler believed in the protocols of Zion and these are still believed in by most Arabs. Similarly, street Arabs are absolutely convinced that 9/11 was the result of a plot between George W Bush and Mossad.
Of course we who believe in absolute truth can dismiss these theories with aplomb.
Now about global warming...
The second occasion was caused by a lab technician who just picked up the wrong tube of blood to cross match and didn't read the label. Luckily he realized his mistake and rushed over to the ward and stopped the transfusion when only 10cc had gone in. The patient suffered no ill effects and he did not sue the hospital.
Here's the amazing thing. It was the same patient, in this time for a prostate operation. When I told my colleague he snapped his fingers and exclaimed, "Bother! But we will get him next time!"
The patient could be excused if he thought that there was a conspiracy out to get him. Who would be responsible? MI5? The CIA? The IRA?
I have just been reading Voodoo Histories by David Aaronovitch, a book about conspiracy theories. It covers the Protocols of Zion, supposedly a conspiracy among rich Jews to take over the world, the show trials in Russia, supposedly uncovering a conspiracy among Trotskyites and particularly among Trotskyite Jews to sabotage Stalin's five-year plans, the America-Firsters who suspected a conspiracy to get America into the second world war for the benefit of Roosevelt's (mostly Jewish) friends in the armaments and banking industries who would make a killing from war profiteering (viz Steinbeck's East of Eden). It was even suggested that Roosevelt engineered the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor to ease America's way into the war. It goes on to cover the McCarthy hearings, aimed at detecting a plot by Jewish movie moguls at indoctrinating America's youth with communistic ideas.
You may have guessed by now that Aaronovitch is Jewish and is particularly sensitive to conspiracies implicating Jews, but this should not detract you this book deals with other issues and is pretty comprehensive and well written.
Of course the Kennedy killings were ripe for the conspiracy theorists. Oliver Stone's film JFK would have made the apparent inconsistencies of the Warren report available to a wide audience. It seems to me that Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone, was a nutter who wanted to be famous and Jack Ruby was an angry anti-communist who wanted revenge. Similarly, Sirhan Sirhan shot Robert Kennedy and Ted Kennedy was alone responsible for Chappaquiddick. Marilyn Monroe was not murdered at the behest of RFK, Martin Luther King was not murdered as an FBI or CIA conspiracy, the Bush cabal did not blow up the levies in New Orleans to kill black people, OJ Simpson probably did kill his wife, Princess Diana should have been wearing a seat-belt and she might have survived the accident in Paris, David Kelly, the weapons inspector committed suicide and was not murdered by MI5 at the behest of Tony Blair. There was no Passover plot not has the Catholic church kept secret that the descendants of Jesus and Mary Magdalene living in France.
The question is why are such conspiracies so easily believed in. It is interesting that many will dismiss many obviously ridiculous conspiracy theories but then say I am sure we are not being told the truth about --- it could be anything. Very intelligent people dabble in areas in which they are not expert, but have heard it from a trusted source. Since the Internet became available these theories have 'gone viral' as they say. They have been widely believed in however implausible. There has come a new definition of truth. No longer is there objective truth, merely a truth that fits my prejudices. They call it post-modernism.
We all like a story. The truth is that real life isn't a story. Like my anecdote about blood transfusions, co-incidences happen. Life stories don't have a beginning, a middle and an end. They don't resolve themselves with a happy ending or even a sad one. They just sort of dribble out. Perhaps our minds are conditioned to look for patterns in everything we see. I once attended a lecture by epidemiologist, Ray Carwright, during which he plotted on a map cases of childhood leukemia. He told us that every one of these was within 5 miles of a military establishment. Of course, we all expected this to be something to do with radiation, but at the end of the lecture he told us that the military establishments were iron-age hill forts.
Far more dangerous than the conspiracy theories is the reaction to them by those who believe in them. After all, Hitler believed in the protocols of Zion and these are still believed in by most Arabs. Similarly, street Arabs are absolutely convinced that 9/11 was the result of a plot between George W Bush and Mossad.
Of course we who believe in absolute truth can dismiss these theories with aplomb.
Now about global warming...
Bunsen burners
Today is the 200th anniversary of Robert Bunsen, inventor of the famous Bunsen Burner, with which every school lab is equipped with dozens. He is featured in today's Guardian. His reason for wanting a steady hot flame was to study the spectral properties of elements; the characteristic, brightly coloured light emitted by different elements when they are heated. He went on to split this light into its constituent wavelengths using a prism, in the process inventing a prototype of today's spectroscopes and founding the brand new scientific field of spectroscopy. They discovered that every element emits a distinctive mix of wavelengths that can be used like a fingerprint to identify its presence.
The same trick is used by astronomers to examine stars millions of light years away and say exactly what they're made of. Thousands of chemistry students will have sprayed a solution of sodium chloride in a flame to recognise the characteristic orange color. I remember starting out as a pathology doctor measuring sodium and potassium levels using a moving wire flame photometer. Every window in the building had to be closed lest a stray wind blew out the flame.
Bunsen detected a previously unseen blue spectral line produced by mineral water which he guessed was being emitted by an unknown element. Having gone to the extraordinary length of distilling 40 tonnes of water to isolate 17 grams of the new element, he called it caesium, meaning "deep blue" in Latin.
He also discovered that adding iron oxide hydrate to a solution in which arsenic was dissolved would precipitate the poison and render it harmless. To this day, the compound is used as an antidote for arsenic poisoning.
Freedom! Galatians 5: 1-12
America is the most Christian nation on the planet. But in American movies the watchword is not "Salvation" but "Freedom".
The nation began by seeking freedom from Great Britain. Its greatest war was about freeing the slaves, though the other side painted it as freedom from the hegemony of the Northern states. The isolationist movement in the 1930s talked about the freedom from being involved in foreign wars. The Second World War has been recorded as a war to free the Jews, though the Japanese were not anti-Semites and the Pacific war was by far the bitterest conflict for Americans. The cold war was about freedom from communism and today many in America want freedom from big government.
Here in Galatians chapter 5 we learn that it is for freedom that Christ has set us free! We are warned not to slip back into slavery. Christ died once and for all to set us free from the Law. Of course, as Gentiles you were never under the law, but this was not an advantage to you. You were still sinners, ignorant sinners, but sinners none the less. The advantage the Jews had was that they knew they were sinners in every detail. But their only remedy was an endless series of animal sacrifices that were only a picture of the real thing. They were waiting for absolution which would only come from the suffering servant of Isaiah 53. By his stripes we are healed, was the promise. The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
You can't have both! Either you are trusting Christ or you are trusting your own behavior for salvation. And if you go back to trusting in the Law, then Christ is worthless to you. I don't mean that you should go around being wicked so that grace might abound. By no means; we are to be imitators of Christ in doing good works, but it is why we are doing good works. Listen to Chris Kelly's illustration: If I fail to buy my wife flowers on her birthday I'm in the doghouse. The following year I remember to buy her flowers and I present her with them saying 'Last year I was in the doghouse for months because I forgot, so I've remembered this year because I don't want the same again. But I get the same again. The following year I say to her I've been reading a book about how to keep your marriage sweet so I've bought you two bunches of flowers. Doghouse again. Finally he says, "I've bought you these flowers because I love you." Success!
We imitate Christ because we love him.
The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love (v5).
Paul comes down hard on those who are trying to seduce the Galatian Christians (v12). James tells us that not many should presume to become teachers (James 3:1) because those who teach will be judged more strictly. Even a small suggestion of heresy is very dangerous - a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough (v9).
Paul was continually persecuted because of the scandal of the cross (v11). It is a truism to say that Christians are always tempted to water down the message. "It's too bloody this gospel - Mel Gibson's film went over the top with all that blood. We should concentrate of Jesus’ life and example not on some conjuring trick with bones. There were a lot of stories going around at the time; we should take Temple curtains torn in two and graves giving up their dead with a pinch of salt. He was not really killed; he was drugged on the cross and woke up later in the cool of the tomb and went off and married Mary Magdalene. They escaped form Jerusalem and he went on to father future kings of France."
Today the story of the cross is just as offensive to most people - a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
The nation began by seeking freedom from Great Britain. Its greatest war was about freeing the slaves, though the other side painted it as freedom from the hegemony of the Northern states. The isolationist movement in the 1930s talked about the freedom from being involved in foreign wars. The Second World War has been recorded as a war to free the Jews, though the Japanese were not anti-Semites and the Pacific war was by far the bitterest conflict for Americans. The cold war was about freedom from communism and today many in America want freedom from big government.
Here in Galatians chapter 5 we learn that it is for freedom that Christ has set us free! We are warned not to slip back into slavery. Christ died once and for all to set us free from the Law. Of course, as Gentiles you were never under the law, but this was not an advantage to you. You were still sinners, ignorant sinners, but sinners none the less. The advantage the Jews had was that they knew they were sinners in every detail. But their only remedy was an endless series of animal sacrifices that were only a picture of the real thing. They were waiting for absolution which would only come from the suffering servant of Isaiah 53. By his stripes we are healed, was the promise. The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
You can't have both! Either you are trusting Christ or you are trusting your own behavior for salvation. And if you go back to trusting in the Law, then Christ is worthless to you. I don't mean that you should go around being wicked so that grace might abound. By no means; we are to be imitators of Christ in doing good works, but it is why we are doing good works. Listen to Chris Kelly's illustration: If I fail to buy my wife flowers on her birthday I'm in the doghouse. The following year I remember to buy her flowers and I present her with them saying 'Last year I was in the doghouse for months because I forgot, so I've remembered this year because I don't want the same again. But I get the same again. The following year I say to her I've been reading a book about how to keep your marriage sweet so I've bought you two bunches of flowers. Doghouse again. Finally he says, "I've bought you these flowers because I love you." Success!
We imitate Christ because we love him.
The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love (v5).
Paul comes down hard on those who are trying to seduce the Galatian Christians (v12). James tells us that not many should presume to become teachers (James 3:1) because those who teach will be judged more strictly. Even a small suggestion of heresy is very dangerous - a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough (v9).
Paul was continually persecuted because of the scandal of the cross (v11). It is a truism to say that Christians are always tempted to water down the message. "It's too bloody this gospel - Mel Gibson's film went over the top with all that blood. We should concentrate of Jesus’ life and example not on some conjuring trick with bones. There were a lot of stories going around at the time; we should take Temple curtains torn in two and graves giving up their dead with a pinch of salt. He was not really killed; he was drugged on the cross and woke up later in the cool of the tomb and went off and married Mary Magdalene. They escaped form Jerusalem and he went on to father future kings of France."
Today the story of the cross is just as offensive to most people - a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
John 1:7
He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe.
The word witness is the same word that we get our word martyr from and indeed John the Baptist would later be martyred. What a brave man he must have been. He was able, by God's grace to stand up to the wicked and absolute ruler and accuse him to his face of adultery. Because of his ascetism many see John as a hard man, but it was the quality of his personal life that made Herod sit up and take notice of him.
Notice that God's purpose in sending John was so that all men might believe. There is no sense in which John was only preaching to the elect. The gift of the Gospel is open to all sinners, whether they be Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus or atheists; whether they be hypocrites or adulterers, homosexuals or drug addicts, murderers or rapists.
The word witness is the same word that we get our word martyr from and indeed John the Baptist would later be martyred. What a brave man he must have been. He was able, by God's grace to stand up to the wicked and absolute ruler and accuse him to his face of adultery. Because of his ascetism many see John as a hard man, but it was the quality of his personal life that made Herod sit up and take notice of him.
Notice that God's purpose in sending John was so that all men might believe. There is no sense in which John was only preaching to the elect. The gift of the Gospel is open to all sinners, whether they be Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus or atheists; whether they be hypocrites or adulterers, homosexuals or drug addicts, murderers or rapists.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
John 1:6
There came a man who was sent from God. His name was John.
This was John the big dipper. He was baptizing in the Jordan where there was much water.
King James, when he commissioned the 1611 translation insisted that the Greek should just be transliterated rather than translated as the Puritans wanted. They would have preferred dipped or immersed, but the Puritans had the last laugh as many of them were called Baptists thereafter.
Notice that it wasn't John's idea. He was sent by God. 'John' means 'Jehovah has been gracious' and so he had.
This was John the big dipper. He was baptizing in the Jordan where there was much water.
King James, when he commissioned the 1611 translation insisted that the Greek should just be transliterated rather than translated as the Puritans wanted. They would have preferred dipped or immersed, but the Puritans had the last laugh as many of them were called Baptists thereafter.
Notice that it wasn't John's idea. He was sent by God. 'John' means 'Jehovah has been gracious' and so he had.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
John 1:5
The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
What is this darkness? Was not the creation the work of God's hand? How can it be anything other than good? Because of the Fall. Darkness here represents the evil in the world because of Adam's disobedience. The Fall caused the world to be cursed. Every bit of selfishness, greed, hate, spite and wickedness stems from the Fall. That is the darkness that the light shines on. Light not only reveals what is in the dark corners, it banishes darkness and this is light so bright that there are no shadows remaining.
The word translated understood is a difficult translation. Other versions have 'comprehend', 'apprehend', 'appropriate', 'overcome', 'put it out', 'extinguish', 'perceive', 'stop' or 'absorb',. The root of the word means 'to grasp hold of'. We are told by the experts that this is also a figure of speech called litotes, which means to undersell for effect. The best known example in British English would be "It ain't 'alf 'ot, mum." the plaintive cry of the British soldier in India or North Africa, meaning it is very hot indeed.
My own best shot at the meaning would be 'doesn't get anywhere near getting hold of it' which carries the double meaning of understanding and defeating. The light is victorious, nay, triumphantly victorious! Overwhelmingly victorious!
What is this darkness? Was not the creation the work of God's hand? How can it be anything other than good? Because of the Fall. Darkness here represents the evil in the world because of Adam's disobedience. The Fall caused the world to be cursed. Every bit of selfishness, greed, hate, spite and wickedness stems from the Fall. That is the darkness that the light shines on. Light not only reveals what is in the dark corners, it banishes darkness and this is light so bright that there are no shadows remaining.
The word translated understood is a difficult translation. Other versions have 'comprehend', 'apprehend', 'appropriate', 'overcome', 'put it out', 'extinguish', 'perceive', 'stop' or 'absorb',. The root of the word means 'to grasp hold of'. We are told by the experts that this is also a figure of speech called litotes, which means to undersell for effect. The best known example in British English would be "It ain't 'alf 'ot, mum." the plaintive cry of the British soldier in India or North Africa, meaning it is very hot indeed.
My own best shot at the meaning would be 'doesn't get anywhere near getting hold of it' which carries the double meaning of understanding and defeating. The light is victorious, nay, triumphantly victorious! Overwhelmingly victorious!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Slave or free. Galatians 4:21-31.
Paul continues his arguement contrasting the Law and grace by referring to the story of Abraham and the slave girl.
God had promised that Abraham was to be the father of many nations but his wife was old beyond the age of child bearing. What was a man to do? Put her away and find himself a younger model? That's what rich and powerful men do today. They call them trophy wives. Sarah seems to have been content to remain his wife, but let him take a slave girl for child bearing purposes. So Ishmael was born. A child born in a natural way, but as a child of a slave, still a slave.
Why is it that men behave in this way? King David was the same, so were Jacob and Judah. They never seem to take promises seriously. But God does. Let me take you back to the strange happening recalled in Genesis chapter 15. God had made a promise to Abraham who demanded a sign that God was serious. God had him bring a heifer, a goat, a ram, a dove and a pigeon. They were prepared and arranged opposite each other and when night fell a torch and a brazier appeared and passed between the pieces of the animals. I don't understand how this was significant, but it was certainly miraculous and was meant as a sign that God had truly made a covenant with Abraham. But Abraham didn't trust God enough to keep his promise and sired Ishmael on a slave woman.
In God's time he performed a miracle and Sarah bore Abraham a son in her old age. Isaac was a miracle baby; a son of the promise.
Paul in Galatians chapter 4 verse 24 tells us that these things may be taken figuratively, for the two women represent the two covenants. Hagar, the slave woman represents slavery under the Law, but Sarah represents freedom. And he quotes Isaiah 54:1, a prophesy of the barren woman bearing children.
If you are a slave then your future depends on your performance and if you fail to perform you can be thrown out, just as Hagar was thrown out when she began persecuting Sarah. If you are under the Law you had better perform or your future will be the same. And we know that no-one can keep the Law perfectly. James tells us that whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it (James 2:10).
On the other hand Isaac was the son born of promise and by the power of the Spirit. We are, exclaims Paul, not children of the slave woman, but children of the free woman. We are not children of God because we obey the instruction but because of God's free grace. If it were our performance that determined our salvation we could never be secure; instead it is God's love freely given. Not because we were better than others or because we deserve it more. God loves us because he loves us. There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God. Not life nor death. Not angels nor demons. Not the present nor the future nor any powers. Not height nor depth nor anything else in the whole creation!
God had promised that Abraham was to be the father of many nations but his wife was old beyond the age of child bearing. What was a man to do? Put her away and find himself a younger model? That's what rich and powerful men do today. They call them trophy wives. Sarah seems to have been content to remain his wife, but let him take a slave girl for child bearing purposes. So Ishmael was born. A child born in a natural way, but as a child of a slave, still a slave.
Why is it that men behave in this way? King David was the same, so were Jacob and Judah. They never seem to take promises seriously. But God does. Let me take you back to the strange happening recalled in Genesis chapter 15. God had made a promise to Abraham who demanded a sign that God was serious. God had him bring a heifer, a goat, a ram, a dove and a pigeon. They were prepared and arranged opposite each other and when night fell a torch and a brazier appeared and passed between the pieces of the animals. I don't understand how this was significant, but it was certainly miraculous and was meant as a sign that God had truly made a covenant with Abraham. But Abraham didn't trust God enough to keep his promise and sired Ishmael on a slave woman.
In God's time he performed a miracle and Sarah bore Abraham a son in her old age. Isaac was a miracle baby; a son of the promise.
Paul in Galatians chapter 4 verse 24 tells us that these things may be taken figuratively, for the two women represent the two covenants. Hagar, the slave woman represents slavery under the Law, but Sarah represents freedom. And he quotes Isaiah 54:1, a prophesy of the barren woman bearing children.
If you are a slave then your future depends on your performance and if you fail to perform you can be thrown out, just as Hagar was thrown out when she began persecuting Sarah. If you are under the Law you had better perform or your future will be the same. And we know that no-one can keep the Law perfectly. James tells us that whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it (James 2:10).
On the other hand Isaac was the son born of promise and by the power of the Spirit. We are, exclaims Paul, not children of the slave woman, but children of the free woman. We are not children of God because we obey the instruction but because of God's free grace. If it were our performance that determined our salvation we could never be secure; instead it is God's love freely given. Not because we were better than others or because we deserve it more. God loves us because he loves us. There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God. Not life nor death. Not angels nor demons. Not the present nor the future nor any powers. Not height nor depth nor anything else in the whole creation!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)