Mark Keown

I see that the NZ Herald is reporting that fewer nurses in Auckland are prepared to work in second trimester abortons. Some of these nurses have worked at them for a time but have now withdrawn (see http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10555056 ). This is a small sign of light in the darkness of abortion in NZ; some in the medical profession have a conscience. We need to pray that over the next decades and centuries, our civilisation shifts to realising that a civil society should protect the most vulnerable of all people including the unborn child, the elderly, the sick and disabled. They are not inconveniences to kill off! We need to work constructively and determinedlyto end this horrendous evil and injustice. Perhaps the nurses will help lead the way.

So it is 2009. Nice day here in Auckland to get it rolling. What will happen? 1. Economic Turmoil: I suspect that we have a challenging year ahead as a nation and world with the global economic crisis. It will take at least this year to get out of it. For NZ, I suspect once the New Year sales are over, the lower dollar will mean more expensive stuff, and the market will slow more. The speed of recovery will be completely dependent on the ability of the US government to get their economy rolling again. That may be difficult, how long can they prop it up? 2. Trouble for John Key: He has inherited a golden challice, a slowing weakened economy. If the global economy does not start to get moving again, I suspect the honey moon period will be a short one and National will come under pressure. How will he handle it? Will he make it to a second term? It will be interesting to see if he holds his poise and has the wisdom to do the business as the pressure comes on. 3. Sporting predictions: The ...

So what of 2008. Here are some thoughts. 1. Person of the year : Like everyone I have read, I go for Barrack Obama! He was the focus of the year. His defeat of Hillary Clinton and then of John McCain to lead the greatest nation on earth and in a sense have power over us all, was astonishing. His charisma is phenomenal, his speaking inspired, his presence powerful. I hope he can live up to the hype, one suspects, no one can. 2. Disappointment of the year : Sarah Palin to me is this person. She started with such high hopes, but she was clearly the wrong person for the wrong time. She seems a neat lady, a full-on Christian, but that is not enough in politics. One has to have a certain gravitas and wisdom to go with the passion and compassion; she lacked a little of both to me. She may come back more mature and be a political player in the future however. 3. Kiwi Person of the Year : John Key. He is no Obama, but he took the political scene here by storm. He won well and has shown great ch...

It is truly stunning that God became flesh. Who would have thought, the one who set the universe in motion, shaped it, selected planet earth in the milky way, filled it with glorious flora and fauna, placed his image bearers on it, granted them dominion, worked for their salvation despite their failings, would become flesh? Not just, a body (soma), but sarx, one with the creation. He, the Creator of all things, became a part of his creation, to save it. He did not despise matter or the human body. He entwined himself completely with humanity, his DNA forged into Mary's ovum, and became a zygote, a foetus, an embryo and then the child Jesus. And he did not enter the world as one might expect as a king, a man of power and glory, but as a powerless child of controversial circumstances in a humble Jewish home. What a story! And who was it that recognised him? Not Caesar, or Herod. The Angels of course did, as they heralded his entry into his world. It was the humble shepherds, ironical...

In light of the absence of anything decent to contribute to the world, I will make a few comments on the Black Caps that I need to get off my chest. I really don't get the selection of the Black Caps for the first test against the Windies beginning in Dunedin tomorrow. Here are some questions. 1) Why drop an opener who has just scored 83 against Australia in a test in Australia? That is a disgrace to me. Sure, Redmond has not done that well. But he has shown good promise in England despite not performing in the test. He appeared to come of age in that innings. So why drop him? Of course, it may be because his name is Redmond, remember Rodney? 2) Why drop NZ's best opening quick for the last 10 years, Chris Martin? I don't get this. Over 140 test wickets, bowled well in Australia, if not quite at full tilt yet. Surely, a couple of tests on NZ green wickets against the hapless Windies are just what he needed to go past 150 test wickets. Wierd! 3) Why drop NZ's exciting ne...

For anyone who is interested, I have attached my tribute to Rev Stuart Lange here. He is a legend! It was fun to roast him.... A Tribute to Stuart Lange, No Longer Vice Principal Community of Laidlaw… But still church history lecturer… so not a good bye, but my way of Saying Thanks to you for your years as VP Community… Stuart Lange, not Langey; or Longey; or not langgggg.. but Lange! Or, as I like to put it, S.lang… Slang… for good reason. Stuart Lange, history prof, a man who truly embodies his subject; the quintessential historical prof… Slightly eccentric, crooked smile, hooked and bent nose… you know he has a crook elbow too, took the dog for a walk, hit the chain, smashed the elbow… Of course the dog was unharmed… No Surprise, a lover of animals, each year looking after the animals at the Massey Christmas drive through, donkeys, lamas… etc… Then there is his Einsteinlich hair… kind of a wild man of Southland look… in fact… Stuart Lange A face a cartoonist would die for! The ne...

How would it be possible for a Christian party to get traction in NZ now? I really have my doubts that it could even if there were the will. It would require all the Christians to work together, which seems impossible. Look at the current situation with 4 parties, 3 of whom polled beneath Legalise Cannabis and the Bill and Ben party! Even then, it would require getting 5% of NZer's to agree to vote for them and/or get an electorate seat or two. Getting 5% seems an aweful long way off when the combined vote was 2.8%! Peter Dunne may get another crack in the future, but he was close to losing this time. Can he pull off another one? Plus, he can't go on forever. The smaller parties have built themselves, in the main, off disaffected mainline party MP's (Anderton, Dunne, Peters) who have pulled the plug on the parties and gone alone. Are there others who could come out of the mainstream to work with Dunne and the other Christians? They would have to be high profile, safe seat p...