How to do ‘church’ at home

Paul Luckraft reviews ‘God and My Mobile’ by Nigel Cameron (CARE, 2018)

Last week we reviewed Nigel Cameron’s book ‘The Robots Are Coming’ published by CARE (Christian Action Research and Education). Professor Cameron is a leading Christian thinker on the new technologies and their impact on society.

This week we look at his second book, which is also highly recommended - not just for those with a particular interest in technology but for all Christians who want to be better informed about our digital age.

Despite its title, this book is about more than the mobile phone. It is an exploration of the whole digital explosion (a better term than ‘revolution’) that the author insists is far from over. In fact, “It has hardly started” (p13). Ours is a world unimaginable 40 years ago and which will continue to be transformed year on year.

Christians are going to need to come to terms with a society not only full of technology but driven by it. We will have to occupy the same world as everyone else, but when it comes to technology we will need to learn to “handle it differently” (p15). This book helps us towards that goal.

More Than a Phone

Of course, the mobile phone is more than just a phone and as such represents the whole digital world. In one chapter, Cameron lists 25 things your mobile can do (which may not be a comprehensive list). Moreover, the device we carry about today is already a million times more powerful than the mainframe computers that put a man on the moon, and we need to understand the challenges that this presents.

The device we carry about today is a million times more powerful than the mainframe computers that put a man on the moon.

The fundamental question is whether this century will see technology take over and start to rule over us, rather than vice versa. Throughout his book the author often refers to, and quotes from, the Centre for Humane Technology, a group “run by world-class disaffected leaders from the earlier days of the big tech companies that wants to put technology in its proper place” (p22).

‘Smart’ Lives

After the introductory three chapters, the book divides into four parts. Part 1 describes ‘The Incredible Journey’ of how we got here and is followed in Part 2 by six major challenges. Part 3 focuses on how we live ‘the mobile life’ and the final part asks what are the next steps. The book ends with three useful appendices for further study, discussion and prayer.

The history outlined in Part 1 is fascinating to read and leads us to the point of wondering what it will be like to live in an increasingly ‘smart’ home, where real-world objects are connected to the internet and (through the internet) to each other. These ‘cyber-physical systems’ will be all around us, and everything will eventually get plugged into everything else. One estimate is that we shall soon have 100 connected devices in every home. The house that spies on you is not far away!

The chapter on Amazon’s flagship technology ‘Alexa’ is particularly informative. Machines that listen to us and can speak back are becoming commonplace. Cameron also examines the whole social media phenomenon, explaining how the big companies exploit data for financial gain. As this is a new book, the examples are very up-to-date.

Christians have to occupy the same world as everyone else, but when it comes to technology we will need to learn to handle it differently.

The six challenges are illuminating. We know that our mobiles are immensely powerful portable friends helping us access global knowledge and communication, but here we learn about how they are also designed to distract us and prey on our vulnerabilities.

The author also discusses issues of privacy and security, exploring how we are at the mercy of the wealth, power and reach of the tech tycoons.

A Dangerous Gift?

Cameron believes that the internet should be seen as a gift from God, something to be welcomed that can enhance our lives in so many ways. Yet he is also clear that it has many dangerous features. One he highlights is that it is a breeding ground for fake news, false ideas and pseudo-science. The internet has become a playground for charlatans, eccentrics and other online crazies.

Towards the end of the book he again stresses how our vulnerability becomes someone else’s opportunity: for profit, exploitation or indoctrination. Our attention is deliberately captivated, potentially to the extent that addiction and spiritual wreckage can follow – not just for ourselves but also potentially for our children.

Overall, this is a well-produced book on glossy paper with colour photos. It has good endnotes and a useful glossary of terms, and is well indexed for easy reference. Recommended.

‘God and My Mobile: Keeping the faith in a digital world’ (168 pages, paperback) is available for £8.00 + P&P from CARE.

Knowledge and wisdom in an age of deception and unreality.

The Roman Governor of Jerusalem’s iconic question, “What is truth?” has probably never been more apt than it is today in the 21^st Century AD. Whether Pilate was being sarcastic or he was genuinely seeking for truth has been debated by scholars for 2,000 years. In light of the spat between the leaders of Britain and the USA over the tweeting of video clips, it would be good if all those involved paused to ponder his question.

We live in an age when technology has delivered the tools to create deception, whether by airbrushing photos or by deliberately producing deceptive videos, distorting the truth and creating fake news.

It is certainly unfortunate that the President of the United States should have retweeted video clips that had come from a doubtful source. It shows a lack of wisdom and a willingness to use material from a campaigning group to vilify millions of people who belong to a particular religion.

But it is equally foolish for the British Prime Minister to use the same medium of communication to point out the unreliability of the clips. Surely the more sensible approach would have been to make a quiet phone call. At least that way would have maintained personal relationships and not caused a rift between two friendly nations.

Knowledge AND Wisdom

The trouble with our generation is that we have enormous knowledge but we lack the wisdom in how to use it. There is good reason why Paul, writing to the church in Corinth where there was a lot of squabbling and disunity, referred to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The first two of these he linked together as ‘wisdom’ and ‘knowledge’ (1 Cor 12:8).

Celestial truth cannot be understood by the normal processes of human reason – it requires divine revelation.

There is surely a very good reason for linking these two. We can acquire an enormous fund of knowledge in our media-saturated world, where we have the whole internet at our disposal. But without the wisdom of how to use this knowledge, we can create chaos and confusion rather than promote enlightenment.

Jesus is the Light of Truth

As we enter the season of Advent it would be good to ponder on the prologue of John’s Gospel where he focuses upon the theme of light and darkness - also the theme of Hanukkah and Diwali at this time of the year. The unique feature of Advent, according to John’s teaching, is that although the light of truth came into the world at the birth of Jesus, the world did not recognise him.

John says that through the coming of Jesus, God actually came and “made his dwelling among us” – literally – “he pitched his tent among us”, as foretold by the Prophet Zechariah (2:10). But our human reason cannot cope with this. Despite all the accumulated knowledge of centuries of human development, this celestial truth cannot be understood by the normal processes of the human brain. This kind of knowledge requires wisdom that is actually a spiritual gift which can only be received through divine revelation.

God actually has to do something to our human nature to enable us to receive this wisdom, which enables us to perceive truth that goes way beyond the realm of human reason. This is what Jesus had to explain to Rabbi Nicodemus who was a devout scholar, a highly educated man and a senior academic. But his whole mindset was limited to learning on the level of human reason. Only a spiritual revelation would enable him to perceive ‘Kingdom truth’.

It was like opening the curtains in a darkened room, bringing a flood of light that shows all the things that were in the room but previously hidden by the darkness – things that you could stumble over in the dark.

The trouble with our generation is that we have enormous knowledge but we lack the wisdom in how to use it.

Deceit is Easy

In our world today, millions of people are going about stumbling over fake news, half-truths and blatant lies. They are easily deceived because they don’t know the truth that sets them free from all the duplicity, deviousness and unscrupulous machinations of the crooked generation in which we live. They are trying to see in the dark; trying to discern falsehood without having ever known truth.

It should be a salutary wake-up call to us when the leaders of the nations are found peddling fake news. How can we expect our children to discern right from wrong and to be protected from the multiple dangers of the internet and social media, if our leaders shows so little discernment?

It is small wonder that our children peddle nonsense and vilify one another over their mobile phones, sometimes with devastating effects upon their mental health.

Season of Opportunity

During this season of Advent, we have the opportunity in very practical ways to spread the true message of Christmas – the true light that has come into our dark world.

But so much depends upon our relationships with others, and how we use the tools of communication society has given us. If Donald Trump and Theresa May had only spoken to each other instead of tweeting, an embarrassing international incident could have been avoided. Surely this is a lesson to us all.

Postscript

Last week there were comments left on the editorial, speaking of the need for greater interaction between authors and readers. I warmly respond to this - we want to make this site much more open to constructive and thoughtful correspondence. Our Editorial Board are grappling with this subject and we are open to suggestions from any of our readers as to how we can improve such interaction so that we can all learn from one another in our search for the truth.

As part of this, don’t forget that we have established a secure site for such discussion, in partnership with the team at Issachar Ministries. If you would like to use this (there is a fee for joining) please contact Jacqueline at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Olave Snelling and Pippa Smith discuss pornography and the need to protect our children.

In the late 1980s, while filming at a school in Coventry for a series of ITV programmes on ethics and morality in the nation's life with Gerald Priestland, former Religious Affairs Correspondent for the BBC, an extraordinary and alarming finding was made.

In this deprived area of high-rise flats some distance from the city, request was made to film in the school playground, and later to talk to mothers and activists who were concerned to provide after-school activities for the children who otherwise had nothing. Filming completed, we talked to the headmistress, explaining to her that we had noticed a particular absence of the kind of 'playing' normally associated with large numbers of children in school playgrounds.

“I am not surprised,” said the headmistress, “My children do not know how to play.” She went on to explain that, in the large majority of households in the area, fathers were out of work. This was at a time when thousands lost their jobs because the machine tool industry (for which Coventry was famous) had hit the buffers, as had many other commercial and industrial enterprises. There was nothing for any of them, or their wives, to do. There was not even enough money to catch a bus into the city to do a little shopping.

Instead, they sat indoors and watched TV - but mainly explicit pornography, from early morning until late at night. Children watched this material before they went to school and would watch more when they came home. They were so de-sensitised to anything normal that they had no idea how to play as normal children would. That was in the 80s. Imagine what it is like now.

Children who had been exposed to explicit pornography were so de-sensitised to anything normal that they had no idea how to play as normal children would.

The Smartphone Generation – and its Consequences

Today, the situation is far worsened by the ubiquitous presence of technology. Smartphones, tablets and computers make even the youngest of children incredibly vulnerable to explicit and harmful material in circulation online – this is no longer an issue exclusive to television and ‘offline’ sources like DVDs and videos.

• 81% of 13-18 year olds have smartphones.¹ Smartphone ownership is now routine for children as young as nine.²
  
• At least 37% of 3-4 year olds go online; 28% of 3-4 year olds have their own tablet.³
  
• Within the 16-24 age group, 99% claim to use social media and say it accounts for 18% of all the time they spend using media and communications. On average, 16-24s spent 2 hours 26 minutes per day using social media in 2016; 61% use their smartphones to access it.⁴

Meanwhile, parents are trailing behind:

• 23% of parents say they have trouble controlling their children’s screen use.⁵
  
• 83% of parents have never received information about sexting (the sending of sexually explicit images of oneself via text or over the internet) and 84% of parents have never looked for it. 50% of parents want to learn more.⁶
  
• 42% have spoken to their children about sexting at least once, but 19% do not intend ever to have a conversation about it.⁷

Fighting to Block the Material

The effect of violent, horrific video material and pornography on children (let alone adults) is well-known, but little-recognised officially. Once seen, it cannot be unseen. It is highly addictive. It is utterly destructive. Pornography is a multi-billion-dollar industry and the exploitation of children and many adults caught up in the making of this material is a worldwide problem.

There are a number of heroes and heroines involved in trying to get this atrocious material blocked, not least Baroness Howe, CBE, who, after many years of trying, is seeing the Digital Economy Bill making its way through Parliament.

The effect of horrific video material and pornography on children (let alone adults) is well-known, but little-recognised officially.

This Bill would introduce Age Verification legislation, that would require all commercial providers of online pornography to have age verification controls in place to stop under-18s from accessing the material.

Where websites refuse to comply, the Age Verification Regulator (the British Board of Film Classification, the BBFC) would notify them and could, if required, disrupt them by cutting off their ancillary services. In the case of persistent infringement, these sites could actually be blocked in the UK. The Secretary of State, Karen Bradley, has declared the Government's interest to carry through legislation to protect under-18s and to make age verification compulsory for sources of this material in the UK.

But there are still problems.

Digital Economy Bill: Age Verification

Age verification is not a perfect, catch-all solution for the pornography crisis. If introduced as a legal requirement, it would only cover the 50 largest commercial porn websites operating in the UK, which the BBFC says is proportionate, but which is not exhaustive. It may also only cover the four major internet service providers (ISPs), leaving many other smaller ones left out.

This also leaves a lot of other media platforms (e.g. social media) unregulated, providing ready access to 18+ content. The majority of social media sites set a lower age limit of 13 for use of their sites, but 75% of all 10-12 year olds in the UK are on them anyway.

Internet service provider Sky has questioned the effectiveness of age verification checks and installed its own alternative solution: a Broadband Shield, which filters out harmful content automatically and is turned on for their internet customers by default (Sky is the only major internet service provider to do this). 62% of Sky internet users now benefit from its protection, compared to a much lower take-up of 4-10% when the default was set to 'off’.

Attempt to Hijack the Bill

The House of Lords.

Meanwhile, as reported last week by Prophecy Today UK, the Government is planning to table an amendment to the Digital Economy Bill to further water down its suggested protections. Bowing to pressure from Labour and the Lib Dems, this amendment would make explicit material currently illegal in the UK (i.e. material that is so harmful it is considered beyond age classification) legally accessible to adults – and so theoretically accessible to children (given the weaknesses of age verification as described above).

And so, a Bill intended to protect children and young people from the terrible impacts of pornography could cause untold further harm.

The Digital Economy Bill was meant to protect young people – but it could cause untold further harm.

This is all deeply concerning and comes before the Lords on Monday 20 March. The problem within the House of Lords is that most Labour and Lib Dem Peers are libertarian and outnumber Conservatives.

After the vote, the Bill will return to the Commons, where the amendment must be resisted by MPs.

It cannot be beyond the wit of man to understand that even over-18s are going to be affected by the hideous material these Peers want to liberalise (indeed, the BBFC knows that they would be). It is important to note that sex crimes have risen by 50% in the last 10 years and violent crime is also rising. Women and girls, as well as boys and men, will be more vulnerable.

We desperately need protection at this stage – not further liberalisation.

The Terrible Fruit

There has been a tripling in numbers of children reported to police for indecent images offences in the last three years, to more than 2,000.⁸ According to IWF Research UK, “Girls as young as 7 are being targeted online and posting explicit images of themselves – in some cases the material was secretly recorded on internet calling services and then posted by a third party.”⁹

A generation of children and young people are being betrayed - internet service providers and platforms such as Google and social media must be challenged to be responsible and provide the best and most effective protection.

Online pornography is creating a public health crisis in our young people, whilst children are being driven to mental breakdown and even suicide by harassment on social media. The effect of consumption of pornography and violent material is a time-bomb waiting to go off. Our children are at risk.

Please consider emailing your MP – and/or a member of the House of Lords – today.

Olave Snelling & Pippa Smith
Working Party on the Family
Lords & Commons Family & Child Protection Group

References

1 YouGov’s SMIX Kids Report, February 2014.

2 DfE Research, 2016.

3 Ofcom, 2014.

4 Ofcom: Communications Market, 2016.

5 Action for Children, January 2016.

6 NSPCC Report, 2016.

7 Ibid.

8 1 in 6 reported to police for indecent images are under 18. NSPCC, 1 September 2016.

9 IWF Research UK. See also their 2015 report on this issue.

A timebomb of corruption is set to explode across the nation.

This was the warning given at a meeting of the Family and Child Protection Group in the House of Commons on Wednesday this week. The Group was considering the Digital Economy Bill which is at present at the Committee Stage in the House of Lords.

The Digital Economy Bill covers a complex set of regulations surrounding the provision and use of the internet. One of its objectives is to increase the protection of children from exposure to scenes of extreme violence and sexual activity on pornographic sites, but this may be the very thing that is not achieved!

Proposed Derestriction of Prohibited Material

These regulations providing protection are being opposed by a group of Lib Dem and Labour peers who are against all restrictions on public liberty.

The Government has intimated to Peers this week that because of pressure from the Labour and Lib Dem front benches, it will table an amendment next week which means that ‘prohibited material’ (i.e. pornography that is currently beyond age classification, such as violent or child pornography) will no longer be blocked forcibly by the age verification regulator, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).

The amendment will mean that so long as prohibited material is behind age verification checks so that children theoretically cannot see it, it will become available legally to adults, unless it meets the much tighter definition of ‘Extreme Pornography’.

The Digital Economy Bill should increase the protection of children online – but this may be the very thing it fails to achieve!

If the amendment is approved in the Lords, the Bill will go back to the Commons where there will be further pressure from MPs who share the desire for full freedom of public access to explicit material. If passed, it will remove regulations that were set in the Video Recordings Act of 1985 that forced all films to be classified according to their content (i.e. for family viewing, age 15, or 18+). Films containing scenes of an explicit sexual nature and extreme violence were banned from public display and could only be viewed in clubs or licensed premises.

Currently, prohibited pornographic material is subject to this same law – but the proposed amendment would change that in the domain of the internet, liberalising the law and increasing the likelihood of children gaining access to such material.

The Impacts of Pornography on Children

I was involved with the Parliamentary Group that campaigned for the 1985 Act that produced evidence showing that anything that is available for the public will be seen by children of all ages. In those days there was no internet, but video films could be purchased or hired and were freely available in most homes. The evidence we produced showed that if these films were available in the home they would likely be seen by children.

Secondly, we produced evidence showing the harm done to children by watching scenes of extreme violence and explicit sex. We showed that anything seen on the small screen affects behaviour which, of course, is the whole basis of advertising. Advertisers would not spend millions of pounds promoting their goods if what is seen on the screen does not affect human behaviour.

One example we presented to Parliament was the witness of a police officer who said that a six-year-old girl had been gang-raped by a group of 10-year-old boys who had been going to the home of one boy at lunchtime to watch pornographic films.

Explicit films available in the home are likely to be seen by children – and watching that kind of material does affect them adversely.

Despite all the evidence, we faced massive opposition from the film industry which, since the dawn of the internet, has grown even bigger and more powerful. Billions of dollars are made in the pornographic industry, which has its supporters in both Houses of Parliament.

Today, research has shown that 47% of 11-16 year olds have accessed some kind of pornographic site, and that one in five 11-17 year olds have seen pornographic images that have upset them.¹

Towards Social Disintegration

If the Digital Economy Bill is changed in accordance with the Government’s proposed amendment, important regulations protecting children from harmful scenes will be removed. A timebomb of pornography and violence would be set to explode which will do untold harm among young people. It will make Sodom and Gomorrah seem like a Sunday School party!

Age verification checks are not enough to protect children from accessing pornographic material. Even if parents install protections on their children’s computers, young people soon find ways of circumventing them. It will mean that even the youngest of children could have access – not only on their computers but also on their phones.

Age verification checks are not enough to protect children from accessing pornographic material.

The ultra-libertarians among our lawmakers in both Houses of Parliament seek to remove all regulations out of a misplaced desire for full individual freedom. They have already succeeded in breaking down traditional family life to an extent that endangers the health and well-being of millions of children living in re-constituted families. Unless there is a reversal of current trends that are undermining the value system of the nation, we will experience social disintegration on a scale that is impossible to contain.

Lynda Rose, CEO of Voice for Justice UK, responds: “The adverse effects of pornography are so clearly established by research, that it is difficult even to conceive anyone today calling for liberalisation of current provisions and easier access."

“That a Labour/Lib Dem coalition in the House of Lords should, therefore, be pushing for amendments to restrict application of the proposed age verification provisions contained in the Digital Economy Bill seems recklessly perverse. Children will inevitably be put at increased risk - and inevitably they will suffer.”

Reaping the Whirlwind

Sadly, already we are beginning to see the harmful effects of these trends. We have children as young as 6 and 7 self-harming and becoming suicidal, with social media and other online content playing a central role in worsening this trend.

We have mental health problems at epidemic levels among adults. We have teachers on long-term sickness with mental health problems generated by the misbehaviour they have to contend with daily in the classroom and the playground.

All this stems from the deliberate abandonment of our Judaeo-Christian heritage and the biblical values that historically kept society stable and healthy.

The current trends are undermining our national value system, and if left unchecked will lead to untold social disintegration.

It is surely time for Christians who love this nation to speak fearlessly about the problems facing us. We have to speak about the ‘justice’ of God as well as his love. God is calling his Church to be a prophet to the nation. That means warning of impending judgment in the same way as the biblical prophets did when they saw danger. The Prophet Joel was told to “Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming” (Joel 2:1).

Jeremiah was told to stand at the crossroads and declare the word of the Lord, “I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their schemes, because they have not listened to my words and have rejected my law” (Jer 5:19). The same could be said of Britain and other nations in the Western world. We have had the truth for centuries and we have turned our backs upon it. We have sown the wind and now we are reaping the whirlwind!

What You Can Do

There are two things Christians can do right now. First, tell other Christians and mobilise prayer. Pray that the Government’s amendment will not succeed; pray anyway the Lord tells you – even if it’s to pray confusion into the House of Lords. Secondly, on a practical note, send an email to any member of the House of Lords you know (or even pick some from the list on the internet) asking them to vote against the amendment.

Above all – pray! Pray for the Lord to protect the nation from the clouds of darkness that are gathering to overwhelm us, even if you believe that the nation does not deserve God’s protection. Pray that he does not ‘hand us over’ to the forces of evil, as Paul foresaw the consequences of “the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness” (Rom 1:18-32).

References

1 New blocking powers to protect children online. Department for Culture, Media & Sport.

Whilst violent chaos is let loose, most continue to live in unreality.

The recent fatal knife attack in London's Russell Square was, for me, not only a reminder of what Israel has been facing on an almost daily basis over much of the past year, but also a flashback to the 7/7 bombings that struck the city's transport system.

On that July day in 2005, Islamic fanatics murdered over 50 commuters and injured hundreds more, including my younger brother David. The first I knew of last week's attack was the all-too-familiar image on my internet news feed of Russell Square where, 11 years ago, a blown-up double-decker bus came to represent the awful carnage of London's nightmare.

Despite sitting only three feet from the man behind the plot as the Edgware Road tube blast was detonated, David miraculously survived (minus a leg) thanks to prayers, paramedics and doctors. But I am still left wondering what it will take for people in general to wake up and realise that all hell is being let loose, and that they need to do something about it, or they will become part of the problem.

All hell is being let loose – if people don't wake up, they will become part of the problem.

Living in Unreality

The disturbing result of a new survey only confirmed my fears – that 59% of Brits admit to being 'hooked' on the internet.¹ They are almost constantly attached to their phone, tablet or computer; one adult explained that, for him, it amounted to a fear of 'missing out'.²

The good news is that, as a result of the far-reaching impacts technology is having on our lives, many are now committing to 'digital detoxing'. But most continue to live in such an unreal world that it seems even terror is not enough to rouse them from their soulless slumber.

This unreality has even infiltrated the world's apparent powerbase – Washington's White House – where President Obama told a summit on global development that "we are living in the most peaceful" era in human history and that "the world has never been less violent"³ – rhetoric no doubt designed to contrast with that of the Republican Presidential nominee's camp.

Most people live in such an unreal world that even terror is not enough to rouse them from their soulless slumber.

His Secretary of State John Kerry, meanwhile, has said that air conditioners and refrigerators are as much of a threat to life as terror groups like ISIS.⁴

But in radical Islam we are facing the most serious threat to civilisation since the murky shadow of Nazism lengthened over Europe. As I write, Israel is preparing for a worst-case scenario as a peace deal looks possible in the Syrian civil war along its northern border. It's a widely understood reality in the region that, when the jihadists have ironed out their differences and stop fighting each other, they will turn their fire on their common enemy – Israel.

Our Fate Intertwined with Israel's

And Christians must continue to pray for Israel's protection. Not only are they in dire need of Divine covering, but it's a biblical command to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Ps 122:6). It's also in our interests to do so because, as former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar points out, "if it [Israel] goes down, we all go down."⁵

He argues that the Jewish state is at the cutting edge in the battle between militant Islam and the West and, in a Times article, concludes, "Israel is a fundamental part of the West which is what it is thanks to its Judeo-Christian roots. If the Jewish element of those roots is upturned and Israel lost, then we are lost too. Whether we like it or not our fate is inextricably intertwined."⁶

When the jihadists in the Middle East stop fighting each other, they will turn on their common enemy – Israel.

Jihad On Our Doorstep

We can no longer ignore Middle Eastern terrorism because we are now forced to contend with it on our own doorstep. And for UK residents there's another reason: Palestinians are threatening to take Britain to court for helping the Jews to re-settle their ancient land! Yes, a lawsuit is being prepared against the British Government for issuing the so-called Balfour Declaration of 1917 through which it committed itself to this goal.⁷

And though Britain subsequently reneged on some of its promises, there is no doubt that she played a major role in Jewish restoration. This is something for which we should all be proud, of course, but our brave new politically-correct world is more likely to see it as shameful colonial practice.

It's worth noting, however, that those committing jihad against Israel are not holding back on bringing the same terror to our streets too. And if Palestinian Authority terror is politically correct, what's so different about the terror we have witnessed in London, New York, Paris, Brussels, Madrid, Munich and Nice? Jihadists everywhere are using the same tactics, and the same excuses (the god of Islam).

It's time to come off the fence and take sides – and all the more so in light of the shock news of a leading Christian charity being accused of siphoning off millions of dollars in support of terror group Hamas. The big question is: are you on the Lord's side?

References

1 Wakefield, J. Net overload 'sparks digital detox for millions of Britons'. BBC News, 4 August 2016.

2 Ibid.

3 Chasmar, J. Obama: We're living in 'most peaceful' era in human history. Washington Times, 26 April 2016.

4 Kerry was in Vienna on 22 July 2016 to amend the 1987 Montreal Protocol that would phase out hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) from basic household and commercial appliances like air conditioners, refrigerators and inhalers.

5 Aznar, JM. Support Israel: if it goes down, we all go down. The Times, 17 June 2010. Quoted in Gardner, C, Peace in Jerusalem. Olivepresspublisher.com.

6 Ibid.

7 Posselt, I. Palestinians Threaten to Sue UK over Century-Old Balfour Declaration. Bridges for Peace, 26 July 2016.

Clifford Hill discusses the recent hacking of Ashley Madison, the renowned adultery website.

Older readers will remember the saying "cheats never prosper". Perhaps the 39 million people who signed up to the Canada-based Ashley Madison website should have thought about this before putting their emails and their personal details onto the site that guaranteed them privacy. That privacy has now been brutally torn asunder and a generation of adulterers is facing the reality of their secret sexual encounters being exposed, not only to their partners but also to the world.

Untold Consequences

The Ashley Madison website, with its strapline "Life is short. Have an affair", guaranteed complete secrecy to its clients until hackers succeeded in breaking through the site's security. After failing to persuade the owners of Ashley Madison to close down their operation, they first made the hacked information available on the dark internet, but it very quickly went viral. The consequences of this may be serious not only in endangering many marriages, but even putting lives at risk in countries where adultery and homosexuality are capital offences, such as Saudi Arabia.

The Ashley Madison scandal will not only endanger marriages, but could cause further oppression via blackmail and even put lives at risk.

The exposure of the infidelity site is not only threatening to break up marriages and other relationships of trust; the information could be used by blackmailers and others who wish to cause harm to rivals and competitors. A number of the emails that have been published are said to have Government addresses, which could mean that civil servants or MPs are at risk of public exposure of their infidelities.

Unprecedented Scale

Of course, adulterous affairs are not new to this generation and history is full of them, but what makes this latest exposure unique is the sheer scale of those who responded to the opportunity for a clandestine sexual relationship, in the belief that there was complete confidentiality. As a result they not only gave personal details including names, credit card numbers, sexual fantasies and preferences, but some even included nude photographs.

The development of internet dating sites has created the opportunity for unlimited infidelity, plus the offer of casual sex with the promise of availability, anonymity and affordability. This has clearly proved a temptation that millions of people have been unable to resist. In the 14 years that Ashley Madison has been in existence, it has garnered a staggering 39 million clients willing to risk the trust of those who are closest to them (1 million of these clients are said to be based in Britain).

The internet has created the opportunity for unlimited infidelity - clearly a temptation that millions have been unable to resist.

The first step was internet sites that simply offered introductions and dating opportunities, but this soon progressed to more carnal activities with sites such as Grindr offering gay and bisexual relationships. But this has been dwarfed by the massive response of heterosexuals seeking adulterous affairs.

Cross-sector Exposure

The exposure of cheating is not confined to adultery; sport is another recent activity to come under the spotlight, with first cycling and now athletics facing widespread charges of medals having been won by the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Lord Coe, the newly-elected head of world athletics (International Association of Athletics Federations) has vowed to clean up the sport, but it may take a long time to root out all the cheats.

Similar soul-searching is running through the banking sector, revealing cheating on a massive scale in the rigging of the Libor rate. Banks are facing heavy fines for the actions of their dishonest employees who made millions of dollars and pounds for themselves and their shareholders.

As the searchlight of truth is turned onto one institution after another, the sheer scale of cheating being exposed is breathtaking. It is only a generation ago that cheating was considered to be one of the most heinous of sins in sport, in exams, in business and especially in marriage and family life. Cheating sportsmen were drummed out of their sport: cheating students were expelled from school or university: cheating businessmen were thrown out of their employment and cheating in marriage was universally condemned.

The sheer scale of cheating being exposed is breathtaking. Only a generation ago, cheating was considered to be one of the most heinous of sins – whether in sport, education, business or family life.

Crumbled Foundations

So what's gone wrong with Western society today? Surely there can only be one reason why this should happen in nations with a long-standing Judaeo-Christian heritage, where biblical standards of honesty have been the cornerstone of business life and personal behaviour for centuries. The answer has to be that we have abandoned the Bible as the foundation stone of Western civilisation. The result, ultimately, is moral anarchy – everyone making up their own personal ethics, with little care for the lives of those closest to them and no care at all for the good of wider society.

The sad truth is that most children and young people under the age of 30 have little or no knowledge of biblical principles of right and wrong, truth and falsehood, so they have no plumb-line of truth for judging personal or social behaviour. Unless there is a moral and spiritual revival and a re-discovery of the Christian faith and its values, things can only get worse. At the present rate of secularisation we face a virtual collapse of family life, which will be followed by the inevitable breakdown of social order.

Grace and Truth

In light of this drastic outlook, how can we respond to the Ashley Madison scandal? It's easy to point the finger at others while ignoring our own faults. The teaching of the New Testament is that "no immoral, impure or greedy person has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God" (Eph 5:5). So our first reaction ought to be to examine ourselves to ensure that we live as children of the light, which means not only exposing deeds of darkness but also being those who uphold righteousness and truth in every situation. If we truly live as followers of Jesus we should be radiating love and goodness to those around us.

Our first reaction ought to be to examine ourselves to ensure that we live as children of the light, which means not only exposing deeds of darkness but also being those who uphold righteousness and truth in every situation.

We ought also to be praying for those whose lives are being shattered by the exposure of their names on the Ashley Madison website. Pray for forgiveness in their marriages and the healing of relationships so that good comes out of evil. Especially pray for the children caught up in broken family relationships. Only God can bring healing, love, forgiveness and true repentance out of our human tragedies. Let's ask the Father to reach out to those in need and transform their lives.