If you go down to the woods today...

Actually, if you drive through BC Forests... We spotted this fella meandering across the road as we drove from Calgary to Cranbrook on my 3rd day. He got about 10 feet away from the car and started sniffing the air. He must have smelt the A&W. Today we went downtown Cranbrook and ordered our wedding rings. We got ones with a Native Wolf/Eagle, gold/white gold, recess design- unique to Canada. Unfortunately the rings won't arrive before we leave for Maui but we have some basic ones on loan for the event and we will be able to pick up our Native rings before we leave for England. Tags: Abandon All Fear T-Shirts Grizzly Canada Calgary Cranbrook

Oh, Canada!

Tomorrow I fly out to Canada for my first visit. I'll be meeting some of my new family and exploring for a week then flying down to Maui to get married to my ultra sexy Canadian fiancee, who is not feeling very ultra or sexy right now as she has a cold. I will be flying into Calgary and possibly staying overnight. We'll do some shopping and more importantly look for our rings. I had to give up on the parking ticket and pay it off. The courts were demanding the money and since I will be away for 3 weeks I won't be able to defend. However I intend to see if it's possible to lodge a complaint against the Central Fine Oriffice or potentially sue the council for misleading road markings- I'll keep you updated. I don't know if I will have time to blog anything of particular relevance, however I might try to post some images I take with my digital camera. For now, however, I will leave you with recommendations for some excellent blogs and sites. If you're looking for some deep conversation from an open Christian perspective then check out Dead Yet Living, though it's mostly run by students so the blog seems to have gone into recession recently. If you're of the political persuasion and are interested in an alternative to the evil Christian Right, God's Politics might be for you, I read Jim Wallis's book this summer and it altered or confirmed my perspectives on many things. There's always a lively debate going on at Mark DeHoog's blog and Nowheresville. Southampton University CU Chaplain writes some very witty commentary on life at the university and beyond. Please visit, especially if you are far away, because the site stats will really confuse him. If you're looking purely for laughs, I recommend the aptly named Hot Chicks with Douchebags, or the irreverent Chase me ladies, I'm in the cavalry. If you are interested in UK law, you should check out The Magistrate's Blog for an eye-opener into the thoughts of a magistrate, You're Nicked is another coppers blog, where, if you are like me, you may be surprised to find similar views to your own. Bill Sticker is Walking the Streets hoping to issue you a PCN for parking on double-yellows. Speaking of which Neil Herron is one man taking a stand against the system- and inspiring others. For straight up politics and current events Kel writes excellent commentary on The Osterley Times. The Gun Toting Liberal also offers some great commentary, and Snafu asks some probing questions at Not Proud Of Britain (But Would Like To Be). For political protest, look no further than Tales of the Freewayblogger, I'm sorely tempted to join in this fun and start it up here in the UK. Help - The Bailiffs are here! I've had some hits from people googling for what to do about Bailiffs turning up for unpaid fines and parking tickets discovering this blog and finding just a rant. Therefore if you are one of those people looking for legal help, you will probably need to contact a solicitor, however there is some research you can do before then to get you in the picture and understand your rights. Check out my links to Social Justice & Responsibility on the sidebar. There is nothing specific about bailiffs, however you will find links that will lead you to information that will be helpful in your situation. Also check out my previous post: Thick As Legal Thieves. If you find that you have a speeding or parking ticket you may want to check out Neil Herron's blog, the forums at Pepipoo and the Association of British Drivers website. If you feel you are being persecuted by authorities in anyway and need to know your rights check out Your Rights, Liberty or get in contact with Justice. Are the banks giving you hassle, over-charging you in fines or harassment? Go to the Consumer Action Group forums or Penalty Charges. Have you been ripped off/mis-sold a product or concerned about a rogue trader? Visit Rip-Off Britain and get tips from the Money Saving Expert. Hope to hear from you soon! Tags: Abandon All Fear T-Shirts Canada Blogs Social Justice Fun Politics Christian Parking Ticket Speeding Ticket Bailiffs Fine Charge Rights

The Next Housing Crash: Prelude

"...not an 'if', but 'when'." In the next few months, I intend to explore some of the lies myths surrounding the UK housing swindle market, using multiple sources for my research. It's a personal journey I've been on, from the self-deceptive prosperity teaching, to out of control debts, and finally an awareness of social injustice to the poor. Cliff D'Arcy writes for the Motley Fool - Why The Next Housing Crash Will Be Worse! and gives 10 reasons: We overspend without care Our bills are soaring Mortgage debt is massively higher Non-Mortgage debt has exploded Mortgage equity withdrawal has soared Wage inflation is modest The savings ratio has plunged Interest rates are low The state safety-net has vanished Private insurance cover is pants These reasons are just scratching the surface of what is a huge, growing, financial monster. I'm hoping to pull in as many sources as possible and put them into a concise article right here on Abandon All Fear. The other evening I met up with a good friend I had not seen for a long time. He was the one who had introduced me to the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and I looked to him as a source of inspiration for learning the secrets to getting rich. At the time, it was as the British housing market was taking off. Everyone was talking about getting into property, more so in the church than anywhere else. The story was different 3 years later. My friend had bought a property in the North, he had lost money on the sale. In fact he wasn't the only person who lost money on property in my church, there were many buying into housing race and wealth creation, without any financial intelligence or understanding of market forces. Yet the self-propaganda continues amongst many. I listened to my friend tell me that he still thought property would rise, and how it's still the best place to invest. I listened as he explained to me we have an influx of immigrants coming into the country which is driving prices up. He had a good argument, and 3 years ago my only choice would be to agree. But this time I was ready with some answers... I agreed that there were many more people coming into the country than going out, however the market itself relies on confidence and the availability of people to buy. There is a limit on how far prices can go up, because there is a limit on people's incomes. Not enough people can now afford to buy a house, and of those that do, they are stretching themselves to the limit. Bankruptcies are at record levels, and further increases in the interest rate will create millions more. Where bankruptcies rise so do repossessions, and where there repossessions, there is an urgency for the banks to cut their losses and get property off their books = price drop. As I already stated, all markets work on confidence. Something that my friend could agree with me on is that the best time to sell is when everyone is buying, the best time to get out is when everyone is getting in. Everyone jumped on the property boat and it is now looking like a boat that will capsize. People are struggling to sell, because they won't bring their prices down, some are determined to make at least 30% profit, others who bought recently are simply trying minimise loss on their ridiculously priced mortgage. For both of these groups it's taking them upto 18 months or more to sell, something in itself which would never have been heard of 10 years ago. All it requires is a loss of confidence in property, just as everyone rushed in and the price shot through the roof. All it requires is everyone to panic and rush out which will have the opposite effect. I intend to present the evidence and show that this scenario is not an 'if', but 'when'. Tags: Abandon All Fear T-Shirts Rich Dad Poor Dad Property Prosperity Teaching Wealth Creation Buy-To-Let Investments Housing Market Mortgage Debt Bankruptcy With the housing market as crazy as it has been recently, it's important to save as much money as possible when buying a home. If you're able to, you can save a lot of money by building a house. While building a house is obviously much more complicated than building a shed or even building a garage, the basics are still there. With the proper skills and hard work, you can build your very own house with your two hands.

Change The Reality!

"Remember those history lessons at school where you learned about how Hitler manipulated the media (radio and magazines) to convert the country to Nazism? We are now witnessing history brought back to life" I really wanted to blog on the topic of shamed Republican (R-FL) Mark Foley, but after the last few days I've ran out of energy. This was a combination of 6 hours working on the last post, being out clubbing Friday evening as part of my work leaving thing- then having to get up early on Saturday morning to go to the dentist about a large hole in my tooth (filling dropped out in the week). I felt like shipwreck this morning and my throat was sore (shouldn't have smoked that second cigar). I didn't really drink at all but after leaving the club at 2.30am, one of the guys persuaded us to go for curry. We left Birmingham at 3.30am and got to my friends by 4. Stayed there till 4.30 then drove home and got in at 5am. So I'm glad to see that Josh has posted something on his blog, Silent Speaking: "His [Newt Gingrich] statements just rub me the wrong way, and they are very telling of many politician’s refusal to humbly admit wrong without pointing the finger back at their enemies somehow; always blaming someone or something else ... This is like the instictive argument of a child who tries to somehow cover his fault by saying '“But he started it!”' or '“but so-and-so did this”,' implying 'this' was much worse than what he did as if that nullifies the fault somehow. ...the problem is Republicans certainly first found it advantagous to use Bill Clinton's unscrupulous behavior to draw a distinction between themselves and the Democrats based upon 'morals'” and '“character'”. And as Matthew 7 goes on to say in verse 2, For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Josh, Silent Speaking: But he started it! The thing that has most impacted me about the affair is how the propaganda arm of the GOP, Fox News, showed video cuts on The O'Reilly Factor with a label running across the screen declaring him a member of the Democrats (D-FL). Remember those history lessons at school where you learned about how Hitler manipulated the media (radio and magazines) to convert the country to Nazism? We are now witnessing history brought back to life: Source: The BRAD BLOG This kind of thing should disturb anyone. The O'Reilly Factor is a pre-recorded show, this seems like a blatant attempt to subconciously get it into the less discerning voters head, that it's just another sexually immoral Democrat. I'm not going to go any further on this as plenty of other blogs have covered the issue in more detial, however I will leave you with Jon Stewart's analysis of the blame game, and the shameful attempt to pass it onto (pass it off as) the Democrats: Tags: Abandon All Fear T-Shirts Mark Foley Democrat Republican Change the Reality Scandal Jon Stewart Propaganda Blame Game Fox News O'Reilly Add to del.icio.us

Too Long To Comment// Authority of Scripture?

"We seem to reach a catch-22, to interpret the Holy Spirit, we must rely on Word to confirm it, at the same time, we need the Holy Spirit to interpret the Word!" I've been joining in the comments debate over on Mark DeHoogs' blog. The question, or statement, is: Do our limited, cultural or arrogant interpretations of the word shame Christ and skew the message? I proposed that if we are all believers and have the Holy Spirit, we should all be able to read scripture and gain a consensus. To expand on my proposition, I believe that the Holy Spirit does interpret scripture for us, however we allow our limited, cultural interpretation to override the Spirit. Markimus then replied to this: "I think that is a good foundation... My question would be how do distinguish between our own ideologies and HS?" It's a challenging question, and I thought I would blog my answer in this case as it requires some detailed exegesis. Of course what I am about to go into, is going to be limited by my own understanding. So I'm issuing a disclaimer: I am not a bible student, and I am not trained in theology, Greek or Hebrew languages. So I'm going to be relying on the Holy Spirit and Acts 4:13 to back me up. First off, I think it's important to lay down foundations for the authority of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not merely a force, or a symbol, he (for the sake of argument I will refer as a male) is a dimension of the person of God (just as a husband can also be a father) with all the characteristics and actions of a person: Grieves, Physically Moves Us, Reveals, Joy, Teaches , Gives Birth, Hidden, Counselor, Speaks, A Witness, Speaks, Reasons, Warning, Intercedes, Friendship, Takes Offended, Prohecies The Holy Spirit is the spiritual manifestation of God, who resides exclusively within believers (however it is possible to be a believer and not have experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit): Spirit of God, Spirit of the Holy Gods, Speaking by the Holy Spirit, Speaking Though Us, Mouthpiece, Obedient, Given, received, Temple, Seal of Ownership, Lives in Us, Living in Him and He in Us Finally the Holy Spirit has authority from God to speak, teach, instruct and lead believers. He comes in power and truth. His authority and presence should not be taken for granted or treated lightly, and all should be respected at all times. He takes authority over the decisions of believers and of their interpretation of the word. He is also active in managing and building the church: Skill, Ability and Knowledge, Power, Plans, Presence, Wisdom and Understanding, Justice, Unforgiven, Timing, Reminds, Unseen, Instructor, Sends, Urgency, Blocks, Anoints, Belonging to Christ, Conscience, Signs and Miracles, Hope, Jesus is Lord, Giver, Revealer, Deep Conviction, Deposit, Signs and Wonders, Heaven Sent, Prophecy, Testifies Based on these assertions, we can determine that there is one Holy Spirit (no duplicity or double-standards), he comes from God and has Gods authority over believers, he is present amongst, and is the one common denominator of, all believers. With that in mind, we can trust that those who have the Holy Spirit, will be thinking along the same lines. But what about when it comes to interpreting scripture? The Bible clearly states that scripture was written under the influence of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21, John 6:63), so it would stand to reason that being the author of the scriptures He would be able to give clarity. However, we also know that it is possible to reject the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 4:8), to be stubborn. We know also that it is possible to be a believer and not yet have be filled with, manifest gifts of, or have received the revelation of, the Spirit (Acts 19:2). Therefore it is also reasonable to assume that people Christians can read and misinterpret scripture without the Holy Spirit for guidance. Therefore who is to say that I am not incorrectly interpreting the verses that I have so generously applied to this topic? (EDITS MADE: 07/10/06 - SEE COMMENTS) We seem to reach a catch-22, to interpret the Holy Spirit, we must rely on scripture to confirm it, at the same time, we need the Holy Spirit to interpret the Word! This is where I think we should stop looking at the Word and the Spirit as 2 mutually exclusive authorities. I believe that the Holy Spirit and the Word are reciprocative, or mutually inclusive. Imagine I decided to sail across the channel- the traditional way. I would need a boat with sails, and I would need the wind. If all I had was a sails but no wind, I would simply drift in the water, but if I relied solely on the wind taking me there and no sails, I would be spun around and tossed by the waves but not be able to control my direction. Therefore in this metaphor- the sails are the scriptures, and the wind is the Spirit. If we concentrate solely on the Spirit, we will be blown in many directions and led by many things that may not be of the Spirit (the crashing waves), however relying solely on scripture means that we will really miss out on the meaning, the journey and the purpose of the scripture. The bible puts this simply in it's own analogy: "...the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." - Ephesians 6:17 This now only leaves us to establish when we might be rejecting interpretation by the Holy Spirit (imposing our own cultural interpretation) and reading the scriptures out of context. Admittedly this is harder to establish, since it relies on how honest you are with yourself, how open you are to learn and the strength of your relationship with the Holy Spirit. But there are examples in the bible which show it is possible to have a consensus amongst believers. There are many points in Acts (Acts 1:14, Acts 2:1, Acts 5:12, Philippians 2:2) where it describes the early believers as being in 'accord' with each other. Were the early church always in 'accord'? If that was the case, half the New Testament wouldn't have been written! It seems that although the Holy Spirit was among the believers, their culture and limited understanding was always getting in the way- leaving the early church open to sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin! In conclusion, it seems that misinterpretation of the Word will always be a problem due to cultural ignorance or lack of education. God has given us his Holy Spirit and where we choose to ignore the Holy Spirit we risk believing and spreading a fallacy. However, I believe it is essential that we seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit. With all cultural misinterpretations aside, the answer to the interpretation problem lies in Pauls' letter to the Corinthians. In short, through the Holy Spirit, it is possible to understand the deeper meanings in the scriptures: "We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ." - 1 Corinthians 2:6-16 On an additional note: There are also a basic set of common beliefs that all believers adhere to. The Apostles Creed is an excellent example of this, I always feel stirred by the Holy Spirit as I read the words: I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. Source: Wikipedia Tags: Abandon All Fear T-Shirts Authority of Scripture Holy Spirit Interpretation Word Bible Ideology Fallacy Heresy Mark DeHoog Apostles Creed Exegesis Early Church Christian Believers Add to del.icio.us

Thick As Legal Thieves

"There is something interesting about the power of money, and the blindness of the middle class to the plight of the poorest in society." I was saving this to write something more full-blown, but time seems to be speeding up to my impending trip. So here's something short but should still have an impact on you. The BBC recently conducted one of their undercover expose's into the murky world of bailiffs. The results were as I expected, shocking but not surprising. Which begs the question, will the government ever do something about the abuse of power that goes on in this country? Jim Wheble writes: "They are supposed to be Officers of the Court enforcing the law on behalf of the public. Instead I saw bailiffs cheat, lie and dissemble. I saw them illegally breaking and entering and I saw them fraudulently conning members of the public out of hundreds of pounds. I'm not saying people shouldn't pay their debts and I'm certainly not criticising the companies who are owed money, but I saw bailiffs make people pay debts they didn't even owe and illegally inflate existing fines to more than they were supposed to be." - cont. I don't know which is worse, NIP fines before you have been judged guilty on evidence, or being judged in a court of law then handed over to these dogs? There's something sick about the way people who are in trusted positions of authority above us get pleasure out of seeing people who are already suffering a misfortune, going through unnecessary further pain. "See the problem is at the moment madam, the court has issued a warrant against him at this address," he tells her. He goes on to explain to the terrified woman that we are "court enforcement officers". He adds: "Unless we can gain £400 this morning...we do have a warrant to remove goods." I know this is simply not true - and so does my colleague. We have no right to remove this woman's possessions and no right to pressurise her into paying her son's debts. But that doesn't stop my colleague. He begins to walk round the woman's home, deliberately listing her possessions as though preparing to take them. He stops by her washing machine and carefully notes down its make. "I haven't done anything," pleads the woman, adding that she is a retired pensioner. But what my fellow bailiff is doing has nothing to do with the law either, as he freely admits to me while the woman is out of hearing. "We're not allowed to take washing machines any more either but I list them anyway cos it pisses people off," he says. "The washing machine is the main thing in their household, especially a lady's household. Their washing machine is like the business." It works. The mother panics and phones her daughter. My colleague takes the phone. "Right what I will do," he says. "I will do your mum a favour. We will leave this morning, but if it's not paid by... this afternoon we will come back with a locksmith if necessary to remove the property." Again that is completely untrue, he can do no such thing. But it works. The fine gets paid. I had expected to find rogue bailiffs. I had been told by one whistleblower - a bailiff for 20 years - that the business was riddled with illegal practices. What I found was more pervasive, more systematic, than I could ever have imagined." - cont. This is nothing short of an abuse of power and authority, similar to that of local councils and their parking practices, speeding fines, terror laws and bank charges. All are guilty of widespread corruption and ignore the ancient constitutional laws this country was built on. There is something interesting about the power of money, and the blindness of the middle class to the plight of the poorest in society. Those who have been taken advantage of by banks with their advertising and overly-complicated calculated interest rates. Many people simply dismiss issues like this and say things like "they shouldn't have got into that mess in the first place". A statement like that does not help the offender (victim), and it certainly isn't the attitude a Christian, who believes themselves to be forgiven for their mess, should have. I warn any Christian who is reading this and has such an attitude, change it or I garauntee God will- usually his best tool is to give you experience- I speak from such. Yes, the power of money. Why is it that in this country we accept that someone going overdrawn by £3 should get charged £30 each time? Why is it that we accept the police finding us guilty based on faulty technology, then offering nothing short of a legal bribe to get out of the uncomfortableness of court? Our duty as Christians is to obey the authorities, which I interpret as obeying the laws of the land. But where does that leave us when the authorities abuse their power, oppress the poorest (intellectually, financially and socially) of society and do not follow their own laws. Surely, as Christians it is our duty to study the laws and then hold authorities to account and follow the letter of the law in order to see authorities put back in their place? It is our lax attitudes that have created a society such as this: "There is little, I discovered, that can stand in the way of a determined bailiff - certainly not the law. Another bailiff there put it succinctly: "You are a legal thief," he says. And like thieves, many bailiffs quickly learn a basic skill - breaking and entering. After all, checking out the goods - even if they are not the debtors - is a lot easier when no-one is in. The best I met was an ex-cop, now working for Drakes. He showed me how to break into a house in a few seconds, using a special gadget that left not a trace. Another bailiff explained to me, they have no real fear of being caught breaking the law. After all it is usually simply the bailiff's word against the debtors. "I'm a court officer," he says. "Why shouldn't they believe me." The fact is that most people don't complain. Most people have no idea what a bailiff can and can't do. All too often it is that ignorance which the ruthless bailiff will exploit. But the end of the road came for me when I saw real damage being done. At Drakes, I was shadowing a bailiff known for going to any lengths to get paid. We were pursuing a fine that had been issued by the courts for an unpaid TV licence. The debtor wasn't in and nobody else at the house spoke English apart from the debtor's kids. The bailiff told the young girls that when people don't pay fines they can go to prison, and that was what could happen to their mother. The crying girls got the message. This was more than I could take." BBC News - At debt's door Where is the Church? Tags: Abandon All Fear T-Shirts Justice Legal Thieves Bailiffs Debt Predatory Systems court Abuse of Power Money Add to del.icio.us