How does your pay compare with an MP's by Michael Blastland

For a great article about how an MP's pay stacks up against the average, check out this article.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8072031.stm

To summarise,

after tax and benefits the average individuals income is £390 a week, £1690 a month or £20280 a year.

How do MP's compare?

if you take their expenses alone (£300 per week or £1300 a month, £15600 a year) - they are better off than 30% of the population. If you take their income alone (£820 a week or £3500 a month or £42600 a year), they are better off than 91% of the population. If you add expenses and income together (1120 a week or £4800 a month or £58240 a year after tax) , they are better off than 96% of the population.

are MP's badly paid? Not according to these figures.

MP's expenses

Much will be written about this i am sure. So I won't go on about how immoral it all is, most of us know that already.

But, two things came to me that I haven't read in the Telegraph.

1. just because something is within the rules doesn't make it morally acceptable. Which is why you can't legislate for morality. Government cannot be expected to set the moral tone for the country by passing laws. and just because it isn't illegal to do something doesn't mean that it is ok.

2. Didn't bankers use the same "we haven't broken the rules" argument when they sank the economy? Short selling isn't illegal. The sub prime mortgage market wasn't illegal. Being paid billions in bonuses wasn't illegal. How can we ever expect the government to deal with the injustice in the banking sector when they hare their own snouts in the trough!!

What does the kingdom look like?

I wasn't sure where to put this blog, on my God & Stuff or Credit Crunch, as it speaks to both.

Last week i was at a seminar where the speaker asked the question "what does the kingdom of God look like"? Apart from the obvious "a mustard seed" you mean?

The answer that he gave focused on signs and wonders. It was a revival/renewal meeting with prayer for healing at the end, so this wasn't surprising.

But i have been mulling over this question ever since. What does the kingdom of God look like?
I agree that we should expect to see miracles as signs of its reality. When the kingdom comes in all its fullness, we are told there will be no more illness.

But is that the main focus now? Two other things struck me as more obvious signs of the presence of the kingdom.

Firstly, justice. In the kingdom there will be an end not only of illness, but also of poverty. When Isaiah (or whoever!!) was given a picture of this coming kingdom he saw a place where the bruised reed wouldn't break - the poor and downtrodden wouldn’t be broken - where they would no longer cry out for help on the street - it was to be a kingdom of equality and fairness.

As Christians seek to live by kingdom values now, surely then we must seek to create a society where there is an end to poverty and greater. Surely we must live out God's bias to the poor and marginalised. Surely we must shun the 6 and 7 digit bonus culture and demonstrate a different way of living.

Which brings me to number two; transformed lives. Being a follower of Jesus is more than going to church on Sunday. It transforms every aspect of our being. Or at least it should. A sign of the genuine presence of the kingdom will be a transformed community of people living by different values, with different ambitions, held together by love - not wishy washy love or sexual love - but genuine sacrificial love for one another and for God.

When people on the outside of the kingdom come across it, they should see something of the power of God for sure, but primarily I think they should see something of the love of God being lived out in a community that cares for one another - especially its weakest and poorest members.

And i think that kind of community would be pretty good to belong to.

Atheist Bus proves to be a great advert for Christianity

I love this poster. I think it is one of the best adverts for God that i have ever seen. And even better because it was paid for by people who don't believe in God. Well, not the same God as me anyway.

Why is it so good?

Well, when they tried to think about what to say, the best the Atheists could come up with was there's probably no God. Stop worrying.

But is that really the best claim they could think up? It is utterly useless.

Imagine you are someone who is worried: A parent worrying about your child's future. A factory worker, worried about losing your job. A Spurs fan, worried that your team is going down this season. You see this advert on the bus and immediately think "you're right, why am i worried, now that there probably isn't a God, i will stop worrying and get on with life.

Being told there probably is no God will not stop you worrying about losing your job, how could it?

Ah, but perhaps it is worrying about the possibility of the existence of God that prevents people from enjoying life. I know some people that do worry about these things. And here is the best bit. Telling someone who is worried about the possibility of the existence of God that there probably is no God, will not stop them worrying.

Saying that there probably is no God is no use to anyone. It is an utterly pointless statement to make.

All this advert achieves is underling the truth that there is no proof for the claim that God doesn't exist, otherwise the advert would omit the word probably. Hence it reveals the truth that Atheism is a faith, a religion. That is, a world view based on un-provable beliefs and statements.

We can argue whether there is more proof for the existence or non existence of God, but it cannot be denied that both positions are positions of faith improvable by scientific fact.

And so, it is a great conversation starter about the existence of God and how He can set you free to stop worrying and really enjoy life.

Not quite what the Atheists had in mind!