Another sunny day spent inside a dark optics laboratory....
...imparting knowledge and good humour to undergrads, guiding them in
their pursuit of the elusive art of white-light interferometry. The
group this week is tenacious: they don't let me slide by with a
surface-level explanation of the various phenomena. They won't give up
or let go until they understand thoroughly what's going on. (It's exhausting!)
I used to be like that, as an undergrad. Must have driven my profs
crazy. (Now I feel like I'm barely holding on by the skin of my teeth!)
An ordinary week: three dinner parties so far, replete with intense,
impassioned discussions with articulate Brits. This week's topic:
the church and social action. Yes, evangelism is paramount. But are we
perhaps unhelpfully neglecting social justice issues? Does the Bible
not command that we should speak for those who cannot speak for
themselves? But then how does that work out- is it enough to buy Fair
Trade coffee? Should we be more active in fighting to end the sex slave
trade in southeast Asia? Or maybe spend weekends with the down-and-out
in London? It's easy to get myopic.
I love the stimulating atmosphere of Cambridge... Ben says here
he can think, and even breathe, so much more freely than home in
Cardiff.
sounds very tiring... kinda like getting used to modulo arithmetic aßb(mod n) now I can't even just divide them, it's all very confusing. But dosn't the ß look cool?
ReplyDeleteso, what's the difference between coffee and Fair Trade coffee? And what can we do to end the sex slave trade?
uh oh. i dont think xanga supports unicode. its a = with another -. a three line equals (actually it's a congruence symbol)
ReplyDeleteHmmm... on this system (using my roommate's computer tonight) your fancy symbols show up as the angstrom symbol followed by a beta, (which might secretly be an ess-tset)Fair Trade Coffee is somewhat faddish here, but I think it has noble sentiments behind it... basically paying coffee growers a higher price for their coffee than is naturally set by the market forces, the idea being we can spare the extra 5 cents but it makes a bigger difference to them. I guess the underlying idea is that free trade doesn't necessarily always translate into fair trade, for the poor guys. You, being a libertarian, probably would contest that point.The International Justice Mission is doing quite a lot to free girls in southeast asia from the horrible things they're subjected to. Check out their website at www.ijm.org for details about stuff they do. Worthwhile.
ReplyDeleteit's an ß. [I hope that shows up]
ReplyDeletewell, free trade is good, but in the overall scheme of wealth-destruction (or in select places like the US, and other rich and growing contries wealth creation) domestic policies have larger impacts.
did you ever read my free trade paper?
Oh, and yes, you can buy fair trade coffee, but before I'd do it, I would have to look at just how it's done, and what countries, governmental systems, etc. are involved.
http://ia300127.us.archive.org/3/items/International_Free_Trade/International_Free_Trade.doc
ReplyDeleteHello Annie! You won't remember me... I am a friend of your mother's.
ReplyDeleteYou make some interesting observations about social responsibility. We should, obviously, be working on that. But (to ask questions instead of answering them for you), how do we do that outside the framework of the Church? It's easy to reach the widows and orphans within our local churches, to see the needs in our community, and to train up our own children, because they are reachable and we are given guidelines in the Bible. For those larger issues, do we need to seek out Christian (or trustworthy) organizations for more effective assistance? Fair Trade coffee is a good thing, but ending the sex slave trade is a big job. I think David Livingston was working on abolishing the slave trade in Africa when he was there. When we end abortion, will we embrace the single mother and adopt the unwanted babies? As the wife of a police officer specializing in gangs and juvenile crime, I have developed a lamentably cynical attitude about the homeless and "underprivileged" - I'm pretty sure we need to HELP, but who and how? What is the best use of the money God gives us for ministry? How do we aid people effectively and efficiently, without being taken advantage of, wasting it, or infringing on people's dignity? How do we be sure it is done to His glory? Do we work within the secular government agencies? I do not believe Christians should withdraw from the world and social responsibilities. At this stage of my life, being a wife and mother is a full-time job, but in a few years I will have more time and hope to be able to minister according to Titus 2:3-5. I hope I can be like the Proverbs 31 woman, helping people, but I am just one person. What little I can do, I want to do very effectively - and primarily, to the glory of God.