As readers of this Blog would know, I have been reading ‘The Reformers and Their Stepchildren,’ by Leonard Verduin. I have now completed this book and maintain that this is a book that should be read by all Reformed believers. It is a brilliant treatment of both the Reformers and those who sought a more ‘radical’ reform, in order to bring the church back to that which was modelled on the New Testament example.

Verduin deals with many of the disputed areas between the Reformers and the Stepchildren, and in so doing shows how the Reformers chose to go only so far in their work of reformation and indeed how some chose to back peddle in some areas. As much as I respect many of the Reformers (if not all), I have always been saddened by their refusal to fully reform the church/separate from it, and to set up a church based on the New Testament model, which was something the stepchildren also sought. The Reformers treatment of the stepchildren will always be a blight on their legacy also.

Read this book without being biased either way and allow the truth of the Scriptures to determine the path on which you walk. There is much food for thought in this book and a real challenge for Reformed believers throughout.

Wasn’t going to mention it, but I find myself becoming, well not excited, but warmed by thoughts of the return of Peachy tonight…

David Gale’s Peachy Coochy Nites

The projector projects 20 images for precisely 20 seconds each. The Coocheur (or Presenter) speaks for precisely twenty seconds per image. Randomness is discouraged but narrative linearity is not automatically esteemed.

David Gale, having launched a nationwide performance must-have, continues to curate this series of Peachy Coochy events at ArtsAdmin’s stylish yet reassuring Bar. Each event features six Coocheurs, or Presenters, drawn from many walks of life. Each Coocheur will compose a verbal response to 20 images of their choice. Each presentation lasts 6 minutes and 40 seconds. There will be gaps between presentations for drinking and light conversation.

David, something of a Black Belt in these matters, will both compere and present the chippings that may not be reverse engineered towards an originating block.

Peachy Coochy Nites subscribes to the the National Belief System and is therefore committed to the provision of a wide range of contributors such as the wrangler, the wrestler, the trainer, the page, the maid, the surfer, the beachcomber, the collector, she who maintains a corral, he who mends fences, they who do windows.

The next Peachy Coochy Nite will be held, as usual, in the Bar at Toynbee Studios on Thursday November  26th at 7.30 pm. Tickets £5.00. Booking advised but walk up welcome.

More details here:www.artsadmin.co.uk/projects/project.php?id=211
A map here: www.artsadmin.co.uk/contacts/

The Guardian catches some cooch: www.guardian.co.uk/stage/theatreblog/2008/nov/17/theatre-peachy-coochy-performance-art

It’s not a surprise that when Apple launched their line of telecommunication devices, they instantly catapulted into popular status. Like the iPod, many flocked to get their hands on Apple’s sleek mobile phones. And more recently, there has been a clamor for the iPhone 3G. Known to be the “fastest iPhone ever,” it has become the technologically savvy’s accessory of choice. With its many applications, it’s also a phone that suits people who are constantly on the go. However, since the iPhone is quite pricey, many people tend to get contract mobile phones instead. This allows them to get their handset of choice without spending too much.

If bought without a contract, an iPhone 3G -s costs around £199 onwards. Since it has a sleek design, functions as a widescreen iPod, cellular phone, and wireless internet device, it could easily be concluded that it is worth spending on. Well, maybe it is, but why pay that amount when you can get your very own iPhone for free?

Getting contract mobile phones is a great alternative for those who want to own the latest, most sophisticated cellular phone models. The iPhone is no exemption. By getting a mobile phone contract, the cellular phone user not only gets his or her dream phone. This will also entail the mobile user to save a lot of money on phone bills. The line rentals for contract phones are really affordable, and there are many plans to choose from. There will surely be the right plan to meet everyone’s specific needs. Also, some plans are customizable. You get to choose how many call minutes would be necessary monthly, and you can regulate how much you pay for text messages.

Another perk of getting contract mobile phones is that they usually come with free gifts. Phone companies sometimes offer free line rentals for a specified number of months. There are also options for cash backs and other gifts. This is certainly more attractive than just buying an iPhone unit. Let’s say that a plan costs £45 a month. You simply pay this amount for the months specified in your contract, and you still get to own your dream phone. In contrast to this, if you avail of the iPhone for, let’s say, $199, you’ll still have to get a phone line and pay the bills. This clearly illustrates that getting contract mobile phones will save you a lot of money.

Applying for contract mobile phones is relatively easy. They are available at most reputable stores and supermarkets. However, if you are not satisfied by the deals you find in stores, you can opt to shop for your contract mobile phone online. Just make sure to compare the best deals available, and see if the sites you intend to purchase your contract phone from is safe and reliable to transact with.

Dan Marks

http://www.bestmobilephonespro.com

http://iphoneinsuranceuk.com

It is common practice for literary journals to request previously published stories are not submitted.

I think I have found a quandary of the digital age: what happens when a story is accepted and published by a very fine litzine (Insolent Rudder in this case) but then the online only publication goes out of pixel (for one can’t say print?).

Unlike a story that had been printed in traditional media, where copies would still be around even when the publisher were not, in the digital realm that story has ceased to exist, it has been unpublished.

Does it then still count as previously published if no-one can point to a copy?

(It is not lost like a fabled masterpiece, for I still have a copy. Although, since I wrote it I know what happens, there’s little point in my reading it.)

What is the etiquette for missing stories?

As visitors to ‘At the BookShelf’ would know, I have been reading ‘Reformers and Their Stepchildren,’ by Leonard Verduin. I have now started chapter four and progress through the book may appear slow and you may think this is a reflection on the quality of the book. That would be a mistaken assumption however.

In reality I am finding the book a brilliant treatment of the differences between the ‘partial reformers’ (such as Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, etc) and the more ‘radical reformer’ who sought a complete transformation of the church to that which more accurately reflected the New Testament model.

The ‘slowness’ of my reading is more a reflection of my reading half a dozen or so books at the same time. Reading so many books at any given time is fairly normal for me – in fact, I would call normal (for me) reading far more books at any given time, but I am trying to reign myself in a little here. I just love reading – I am a bibliophile and bookworm remember

The third chapter of Verduin’s work has to do with the lack of true church discipline in the churches of the Reformers and their indifference (generally speaking) to ungodliness in the church (remembering that their churches basically included all in a given location or region).

The third chapter presents a very clear case of the real time contradiction of the Reformers and the reform they were bringing to bear on such places as Geneva, Zurich, etc. To a large extent their work of reform didn’t go anywhere near far enough to satisfy their ‘stepchildren,’ who when they tried to go further were branded as heretics, with their efforts at a more thorough reform being identified by the reformers as evidence of their heresy.

It is a very engaging chapter I believe and one that is helpful for shedding light on Christianity even to this day.

My love starts in the dark,

Slowly creeping out the shadows to captures its next victim.

For nights it lurks to find it’s perfect prey.

Finally considering those worth loving are already loved.

Left with no hope love found fate,surrounded by light .

If what love thought was impossible became possible,

then my love wouldn’t harm.

But my love is afraid and will creep back into the dark…

Have you ever sought out for someone and when you found them you felt you would taint them?If so share…

I have been reading ‘The Reformers and Their Stepchildren,’ by Leonard Verduin, in the last week or so. It is not the first time that I have read this book, having read it some time ago – probably 10 years ago now I would say.

This is a book that I would recommend to any believer, but particularly to a Reformed believer, whether he be Paedobaptist or Baptist. Verduin seeks to analyse the Reformation and the relationship between the Reformers and their ‘stepchildren’ from a Biblical standpoint, rather than any particular denominational standpoint. Though he does defend the stepchildren, he does so only when they are in line with Scriptural teaching on the point being discussed within that particular chapter.

Who are the stepchildren? The stepchildren or the ‘second front,’ as Verduin also describes them, are those believers who sought a complete reforming of the church. In fact, it may be fair to say that these believers sought a complete break from the Romish church, and a new church built on the teachings of Scripture and modelled on the New Testament church alone.

The frustration for these nonconformist believers was that the reform movement only went so far and did not result in the complete renewal that they desired and that the situation required.

Thus far I have read only the first two chapters of the book and once again I am finding it a very worthwhile read. I find myself in substantial agreement with the position of many of the stepchildren and with Verduin. With as much respect as I have for the Reformers, such as John Calvin, Martin Luther and John Knox, I too would have found myself frustrated at the level of reform achieved by them (though they were better men than I). A complete break and renewal would have been the way forward I believe.

The first two chapters deal with the joint secular-religious church-state that was set up at both the time of Constantine and then at the Reformation in the various Protestant nations that embraced the Reformation. They deal with the all-embracing religion that was constructed in such centres as Geneva and the ‘unified’ approach to it, as well as the reaction of the stepchildren and their withdrawal from it.

This book is as close to a must read for believers as there is I think – especially of the Reformed persuasion.

My copy of the book (paperback) is by William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. and was printed in 1964.

A council’s consultation about possible new Gypsy and traveller sites in Lincolnshire begins…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: airport transportation. The blog is also related to: airport airlines.

The above is from the trailer for ‘(Untitled)’, a new comedy directed by Jonathan Parker (who I have never heard of before) set in the world of modern art.

I had a genuine laugh out loud moment when I saw the label. Then I thought why hadn’t I thought of that. Pure brilliance.

If it has just one other joke as good then the price of admission is money well spent. (The title doesn’t count).

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9myaiQs3GI

Town and parish council are being asked if they need to keep their local phone boxes as working pay phones…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: mobile phone offer. For a different topic see sentences that begin with letter. The blog is also related to: free mobile phones.

A man who exposed himself to a group of schoolgirls in Shropshire is also thought to have approached three women…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: education for teachers. The blog is also related to: teacher education.

Regret only the error never made; those made make an excellent teacher.

A teacher is not one who gives us knowledge, but one who challenges us to use knowledge.

Knowledge ought be sought, gained, even shared, but never kept.

The knowledge kept is an ignorance carried to the grave.

Nguyen Xuan Sang, a farmer in Quang Hai Commune, Quang Xuong District, Thanh Hoa Province teaches vocational training to homeless children. The number of underage children working to earn money for their families is increasing, especially in remote areas. — VNA/VNS Photo Duong Ngoc

HCM CITY — Harsher punishments should be meted out to those who exploit children, according to Le Thi Xuan Lang, deputy chief inspector of HCM City’s Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (DoLISA).

Lang said the current fine levels were woefully inadequate to deter child exploitation.

Parents who forced their children to do excessive work or work that could be harmful to their health face fines ranging from VND500,000 (US$27) to VND1 million ($54). They would face fines of VND1-5 million ($54-270) if they exposed their children to physical abuse or harmful substances.

Lang said fines should be three or four times higher than the current levels and jail terms imposed for the most serious offences.

The number of underage children working to earn money for their families is increasing and it is traditional in remote areas for parents to send their children out to work.

Lang attributed the problem to poverty and lack of knowledge, adding that homeless children were most at risk of maltreatment.

According to an inspection conducted by DoLISA from March to July this year in 24 communes and districts in HCM City, 62 out of 173 inspected production units were using child labour, most of whom came from Tan Binh and Binh Tan districts. A garment maker in Tan Phu District forced children to do tailoring work from 6.30am until midnight with less than one-hour break in the afternoon.

Moreover, the 30sq.m room where 13 children worked and slept had no windows. The lighting system was also bad, making operating sewing machines hazardous.

Nguyen Mai Oanh from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said it was high time the authorities cracked down on the exploitation of children.

Laws on child protection, according to Lang, should be more specific to the many hundreds of ways companies get round the child-protection law.

“When inspected, most firm owners claimed that they were employing their relatives’ children because their families had knowingly sent them to work. Few possessed ID cards, which meant inspectors found it hard to determine if the children were of working age,” she said.

Over 96 per cent of the children were employed by word of mouth without official documentation. DoLISA also found that those that had filed applications forms had had them filled in by relatives.

Lang said the minimum working age should be raised from 15 to 16 and that children should not have to work more than seven hours a day.

“Many employers are making use of the regulation to abuse children who are not strong enough to do the work,” Lang said.

Over 75 per cent of employees working in craft workshops, or as mechanics and domestics are children. 47.6 per cent of these are aged 13 to 15, while 4.7 per cent are under 13, according to figures provided by DoLISA inspectors.

Lang said there were too few inspectors to monitor child exploitation.

“It is common to have just one official managing family planning, demographics and children’s rights in many districts nowadays,” she said.

According to DoLISA’s last inspection, 69.4 per cent of firms failed to have business licences, 85.5 per cent had no records of the number of employees they had and 98.8 per cent had no social insurance.

Lang said the department would conduct more spot checks on firms and punish those that infringed the child-protection law. —

Source: vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn

A pregnant mother selects powdered milk. To control price fluctuations, the Department of Taxation submitted a proposal to impose a cap on the price of milk products. — VNA/VNS Pham Hau

HA NOI — A proposal by the Department for Taxation Policy calls for a price cap on milk products to control price fluctuations.

Under the draft proposal, the specific price for milk products would be based on regional retail prices, including container costs. Businesses breaking the price cap would be fined VND15 million (US$830) plus the difference in revenue earned from the increase.

The department wrote the proposal due to the unreasonable prices of milk products in the domestic market which occurred after the Government reduced import taxes on milk by 50 per cent and the cost of milk powder on the world market dropped.

The proposal points out that milk is among 14 categories under the Gov-ernment’s price stabilis-ation plan. However, the domestic price continues to increase.

Because there has not been a consecutive 20 per cent increase within 15 days, the Government can not intervene regarding pricing regulations.

The Ministry of Finance and the General Department of Taxation previously co-operated to evaluate the input costs among milk businesses and called for price stability. However, the situation seemed unchanged. According to the Viet Nam Standards and Consumers Association, the price of imported milk powder products in Viet Nam is 20 to 60 per cent higher than in other regional countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Le Danh Vinh said that a price cap could be applied according to the law of Viet Nam. “I agree with the solution,” he said.

Head of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Legal Department, Tran Huu Huynh, expressed his concern that the proposal might raise objections from milk businesses and some other parties because there was no proof of price distortion.

According to Huynh, the legal framework in Viet Nam does not support investigations of price fixing between businesses.

“However, an unreasonable milk price is a signal. It is quite a feasible measure to protect consumer rights at this time,” he said.

Opinions from milk businesses haven’t been optimistic. “It’s not feasible,” said Director of Hanco Food, Pham Ngoc Chau. “It is normal for different products to be offered at various prices. It’s not easy to set a price cap”.The draft did not mention the deadline for registering the price cap and the conditions for adjusting the cap level for powdered milk. Meanwhile, milk prices fluctuate monthly.

“It will be very difficult for businesses if the price cap is not adjusted properly,” said Chau.

Director of Nutifood, Nguyen Thi Lan Huong, said the proposal would be tough for managing departments because high prices was not the main purpose of business – the sale was.

“I think they should leave the market to rule itself,” said Huong. —

Source: vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn

Can Gio ecosystem in Can Gio District, HCM City, is popular with tourists. City officials want a scientific preservation order placed on the Can Gio mangrove forest. — VNA/VNS Photo Trang Duong

HCM CITY — Forest rangers and the local administration should preserve HCM City’s Can Gio mangrove forest using scientific forestry methods, ensuring the trees grow naturally, a city official said.

Nguyen Trung Tin, deputy chairman of HCM City People’s Committee, told the forest rangers and Can Gio District officials during a trip there last Friday that the forest is the city’s “green lung”.

“It also shields the coast from the intrusion of salt water and strong winds,” he said.

Trees in many parts of the forest have died of pests been destroyed by people trying to catch peanut worms that live in the marshy area.

Experts say the mangrove trees in Can Gio, a reforested area, should be trimmed when they reach the age of 15 or 16 to create space for other trees to grow and check the spread of pests.

In some areas, however, this has not been done, stunting the trees’ growth.

Tin praised the authorities for handing over the upkeep of the forest to local residents late last year.

The district chairman, Nguyen Huu Hiep, said 137 families maintain around 26,000 ha, generating a stable income from the forest and climbing above the poverty line.

Forest rangers and other officials manage the remaining 4,398ha.

Nguyen Dinh Cuong, director of the city Forest Guard Station, said thanks to handing over the forest to the residents, the incidence of logging and other illegal activities has decreased by 15 per cent compared to last year.

Le Van Sinh, director of the Can Gio forest administration committee, said hundreds of students come to the forest to do researc. They include foreign students, mainly from Japan.

He said that the city plans to earmark 50ha in Tam Thon Hiep Commune to develop an environmental study camp for students.

The Viet Nam Forestry Sciences Institution, the Southern Forestry Planning Sub-Institution, and the HCM City Agriculture and Forestry University are also carrying out four research projects in the forest.

The Can Gio mangrove forest, the world’s only regenerated reserve, is a symbol of Viet Nam’s efforts to recover forests and lands devastated by toxic chemicals and bombs the US used during the war. —

Source: vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn

Photo by Alison Baskerville

I missed it last time due to holidays, something I wont let happen again; it’s free, in a great setting and sounds fantastic. See you there.

Sat 12 September 2009
2pm – 4pm
London Bridge City Pier

Flood Tide, created by jazz trumpeter and composer John Eacott, is a unique open air musical performance generated by the movement of tidal water: a live sonification of tidal flow. A sensor placed in the Thames reads the river’s tidal movements which are then converted into musical notation and played live by an ensemble of 40 musicians. The piece will last for approximately two hours, and will include string and wind instruments, drums and voices.

Flood Tide is an ambient piece that aims to encourage a new kind of listening- the audience are invited to drift in and out of the music, listening for a while and then moving on, perhaps to return and hear how the piece has changed.

www.thamesfestival.org/weekend/detail/flood_tide