Culturally, in our context where death is the great taboo, this is fascinating - a popular song, whose subject is death, and living life now and how we treat those we love in the light of our own coming death: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4kzGhDEURA
Adding to the poignancy is the fact that, in this version, the singer (who took the song to number one in several countries) subsequently fell into adultery and is now divorced from his wife of the time he was singing it.
Saturday, 18 April 2020
Friday, 3 April 2020
561 deaths every single day
According to the news, in the last two days, 563 and 569 people died in UK hospitals whilst being infected with SARS-CoV-2, a.k.a. "coronavirus". News sites and newspapers splashed this as headline news.
This is very close to the 561 unborn children who, on average, lost their lives every day in the UK of the year (for 2018, the figures I found most easily) in the womb, largely because their existence was judged to be unwanted or inconvenient by one or both parents.
This did not make the news headlines at all, as far as I recall.
I read that NT Wright has recently written an article for the Times (which I have not looked for) broadly decrying anyone who suggests that God judges in history as "silly". But let's pose a thought experiment. Just pose a question for the sake of thinking it through, without saying that we know what God's purposes are in this, or any other specific event. Supposing that God decided to judge our nation for its never stopping shedding of its babies' blood ... how many of us would need to die each day for justice to be served? How many each day, and how many days should it go on for? How merciful is God continuing to be in granting so many of us long lives filled with years of peace and prosperity, whilst this unrelenting mill of innocent deaths has continued to grind?
I'm all for applauding those risking their lives in front-line service in the NHS to save others. But let's also weep tears and cry out in repentance to God for what else we, as a nation, do.
This is very close to the 561 unborn children who, on average, lost their lives every day in the UK of the year (for 2018, the figures I found most easily) in the womb, largely because their existence was judged to be unwanted or inconvenient by one or both parents.
This did not make the news headlines at all, as far as I recall.
I read that NT Wright has recently written an article for the Times (which I have not looked for) broadly decrying anyone who suggests that God judges in history as "silly". But let's pose a thought experiment. Just pose a question for the sake of thinking it through, without saying that we know what God's purposes are in this, or any other specific event. Supposing that God decided to judge our nation for its never stopping shedding of its babies' blood ... how many of us would need to die each day for justice to be served? How many each day, and how many days should it go on for? How merciful is God continuing to be in granting so many of us long lives filled with years of peace and prosperity, whilst this unrelenting mill of innocent deaths has continued to grind?
I'm all for applauding those risking their lives in front-line service in the NHS to save others. But let's also weep tears and cry out in repentance to God for what else we, as a nation, do.
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