From BreakingViews archives: Barend Vlaardingerbroek - Contextualising the persecution of Christians

Freedom of religious belief is a fundamental human right. It stems from the freedom to hold and express one’s own opinions. This principle is one that all of us – religious and non-religious alike – should be able to agree upon.

It is worrisome, therefore, to come across reports of the persecution of people for reasons of religious identity. Whether Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Pagan or whatever, nobody should be persecuted because of religious belief. The Bishop of Truro’s Independent Review for the Foreign Secretary of FCO Support for Persecuted Christians (full report due later this year – see “Christian persecution 'at near genocide levels'”, BBC News, 3 May 2019), which warns that Christianity may be “wiped out” in parts of the world, including the Middle East, should accordingly set the alarm bells ringing.

Barend Vlaardingerbroek: An army on a vegetarian diet offering tourists helicopter rides

Since leaving Lebanon I have been following developments there with bated breath.

The continuing economic and fiscal meltdown and the ensuing riots I was expecting, but reading about the Lebanese Army putting its personnel on a vegetarian diet because of escalating meat prices I was not.

Meat-eating has long been associated with the military way of life. Musketeers in the early 19^th  century were allocated one pound of bread and one pound of meat daily. For many, this was such a rich diet that they made a few bob on the side selling some of the meat – there were chronic shortages at the time. And of course the term ‘Beefeaters’ is associated with the royal guard. To many of us, a vegetarian army strikes the same cord as an illiterate teaching force.

Barend Vlaardingerbroek: Did Trump ‘incite’ that crowd?

"You can’t incite what was already going to happen" - Trump defence attorney at the second impeachment trial

Q: Did Trump ‘incite’ the mob that trashed the Capitol on 6 January?

A: No or yes, depending on what you read into that word.

Turning to my computer thesaurus, ‘incite’ can mean, amongst other things, ‘stir up’ and ‘rouse’, or ‘bring about’ and ‘cause’. The first two of these distance Trump’s words that day from the specific outcome of the rally, viz the sacking of the Capitol; therefore, ‘no’. The second two forge a direct, causal connection between the words and that specific outcome; therefore, ‘yes’.

Barend Vlaardingerbroek: The demise of the middle path in Western democracies

The Buddha called it the ‘middle path’, the ancient Greeks called it ‘the golden mean’: a way of life and accompanying mindset that avoids extremes – neither self-denial nor self-indulgence leads to fulfilment.

In politics and social issues, the middle path seeks to establish a middle ground between opposite  extremes such as, to name just two of many, pacifism versus militarism, and abortion on demand versus a ban on abortion altogether, respectively.

Barend Vlaardingerbroek: Is postal voting compatible with the democratic ideal of the secret ballot?

Election time in early to mid-Victorian England used to be a barrel of fun – quite literally, as candidates plied their potential constituents with liquor to gain their favour.

Deals were struck (usually accompanied by the tinkle of gold) with local personages who would see to it that the favour would be returned by all members of that constituency under their influence (bearing in mind that numbers of electors were much smaller in the days when only men who owned property could vote).

Barend Vlaardingerbroek: Coronavirus –musings from Beirut

Invercargillites would have been delighted to hear Boris Johnson publicly thanking a nurse called Jenny who is from their city for keeping a watchful eye on him while he was in intensive care – indeed at the juncture where, in his words, “things could have gone either way”. 

The nightmare continues, but pressure is mounting on governments to start easing the lockdown restrictions. Austria is allowing some cafés to reopen. France is likely to follow suit in mid-May. The pressures are social and economic but these decisions should be based on robust statistical data.

Barend Vlaardingerbroek: The bibliolatrous religious political right

The religious right is not the formidable political force in NZ that it is in the US, but it’s there lurking in the shadows and occasionally rears its head, such as when an election is coming up. 

We had the Christian Coalition in the 1990s and, more recently, the Destiny Party. I don’t know about you, but I found the latter positively scary – theocracies and me don’t get on. I gather they’re now back as Vision NZ. Not that they would ever gain a majority, but imagine a party like that holding the balance of power in parliament.

Barend Vlaardingerbroek: Those who play with fire

The old saying about people playing with fire burning their fingers comes down to the commonsense observation that if you knowingly and willingly expose yourself to danger, you should not be surprised when adverse consequences arise – and by implication, you have only yourself to blame.

Let me tell you a really daft story. One night, as a dare, I walk on my lonesome down dimly-lit streets in a seedy part of town with $50 and $100 banknotes protruding from gaps in my clothing. Surprise, surprise, I get mugged and robbed. I go to the police, where, instead of sympathy, I get a flea in my ear about my grossly irresponsible behaviour. “You were asking for it,” the officer on duty says sternly. “But I had a right to be there!” I protest. “And I didn’t go there wanting to be robbed! Those muggers didn’t have the right to rob me!” I leave the cop shop mumbling about ‘victim blaming’.

Barend Vlaardingerbroek: What’s been up in Lebanon?

Last semester (September to December, ending just before Xmas after being extended) was not an easy one for yours truly.

The students stopped attending classes halfway through October to attend mass demonstrations. Many academic staff staged a brief strike in support. Foreign students packed their bags and went home, as did numerous Lebanese students with families outside Beirut. The rest of the semester was on-and-off as the place vacillated between being a functioning university and a drop-in-when-you-feel-like-it venue for students bothering to grace us with their presence. Academics were exhorted by the senior administration to be ‘flexible’ with regard to course delivery and assessment.

Barend Vlaardingerbroek: In memory of Christopher Hitchens

If someone tells me that I’ve hurt their feelings, I’d say, “I’m still waiting to hear what your point is.” I’m very depressed about how in this country you can be told, “That’s offensive!” as though those two words constitute an argument or a comment. Not to me they don’t. - CH

(NB: All quotes in this article have been transcribed verbatim from YouTube video sources. Hitchens spoke more than once on these various themes so the words you hear if you watch a clip may be different.)

Christopher Hitchens would have turned 70 this year had he not been taken by cancer 8 years ago.

Barend Vlaardingerbroek: Vaccination and parental rights – choosing the lesser evil

When I have a major decision to make about my life, I cast a horoscope.

I am perfectly within my rights to do this whatever the nature of the decision, including whether to submit myself for medical treatment. Unless I can be shown to lack mental competence, I can refuse even life-saving treatment, and the medics would have to go along with it – I don’t actually have to give reasons at all.

And of course I can use the same approach to decision-making when it comes to my kids. After all, they are an extension of me. It’s my parental right, right?

Um, no, not quite.

Barend Vlaardingerbroek: When guns become part of popular culture

Mass shootings are becoming alarmingly common news fare. The USA leads the way in terms of sheer numbers but they have been on the increase elsewhere as well.

There are complicating factors when looking at this phenomenon. For one thing, a mass shooting is only one form of mass killing. Bombs, knives, axes and motor vehicles outshine guns as the preferred means of bumping off people in various countries, and comparisons based purely on incidents of mass shootings may be misleading.

Barend Vlaardingerbroek: To what extent am I “my brother’s keeper”?

And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? - Genesis 4:9

You must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which you can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure your neighbour. – Lord Atkin on the duty of care, 1932

This picture of the bodies of a man and his little daughter after drowning in the Rio Grande en route to the US swept across the globe.

Barend Vlaardingerbroek: Climate change is not a ‘left versus right’ political issue

The BBC reported “a swing to the left” in the Danish elections of last month, but noted that the resultant governing bloc would be “voting with the right on immigration”.

The two main issues for voters were climate change and immigration. Danes on the whole are concerned about climate change and want something to be done about it. They are also concerned about immigration and want something to be done about that – cleaning up migrant ghettoes and dispersing their inhabitants is a big issue in Denmark right now. 

Barend Vlaardingerbroek: Contextualising the persecution of Christians

Freedom of religious belief is a fundamental human right. It stems from the freedom to hold and express one’s own opinions. This principle is one that all of us – religious and non-religious alike – should be able to agree upon.

It is worrisome, therefore, to come across reports of the persecution of people for reasons of religious identity. Whether Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Pagan or whatever, nobody should be persecuted because of religious belief. The Bishop of Truro’s Independent Review for the Foreign Secretary of FCO Support for Persecuted Christians (full report due later this year – see “Christian persecution 'at near genocide levels'”, BBC News, 3 May 2019), which warns that  Christianity may be “wiped out” in parts of the world, including the Middle East, should accordingly set the alarm bells ringing.

Barend Vlaardingerbroek: The Cathedral of Notre Dame – part of humankind’s common heritage

I was aghast to see the Cathedral of Notre Dame going up in flames a couple of weeks back. When we (that is to say, self and good lady wife) visited Paris in 1981 as part of our tour of Europe, it was one of the first places on our itinerary.

We also visited the ancient capital of Spain, Toledo, and spent time admiring its mediaeval cathedral. Afterwards, a friend of a rather cynical inclination chastised me for paying homage to those “monuments to Christianity” and asked me whether I didn’t think that was rather hypocritical on my part.

Barend Vlaardingerbroek: What the ‘yellow vests’ tell us about today’s Western liberal democracies

Mostly ‘ordinary’ people on ‘ordinary’ incomes who can’t make ends meet. Their problem is that they’re too ‘ordinary’ to matter to today’s socioeconomic elite who are preoccupied with trendy social causes like getting more women and fashionable ethnics into high-salaried positions.

The ‘yellow vest’ movement caught many by surprise. They were even more surprised when it became clear that this spontaneous uprising was no flash in the pan – despite lacking any central control and coordination, it went on and on.

Barend Vlaardingerbroek: I cancelled my birthday

Yes, you read that right – I cancelled my birthday. There wasn’t one. There was nothing to either celebrate or commiserate on the 11^th of December.

“Hey, you can’t do that,” I hear someone saying incredulously.

Oh, can’t I now!

We live in a time when what you are is entirely up to you. Get thee behind me, biological determinism!

Barend Vlaardingerbroek: Of missionaries past and present

One of Arthur Conan Doyle’s more memorable minor characters was an Andaman Islander named Tonga in ‘The Sign of the Four’, whose countenance he described in the following unflattering terms:

Never have I seen features so deeply marked with all bestiality and cruelty. His small eyes glowed and burned with a sombre light, and his thick lips were writhed back from his teeth ….

It’s definitely not 21^st-century protocol, and yet I can’t help thinking that the impression left on the mind of the helicopter pilot who was being shot at by Andaman men with bows and arrows was not dissimilar, especially when he considered his fate should his craft be downed.

Barend Vlaardingerbroek: ‘Innocent until proven guilty’ – except when a woman accuses a man of sexual misconduct

A prominent theme of the ‘Me Too’ movement is the need to ‘believe’ a woman who accuses a man of sexual misconduct – the man should be presumed to be guilty, thereby turning the presumption of innocence, one of the pillars of civilised law, on its head.

The principle of the presumption of innocence has its origins in the writings of Western European (French, Spanish and Italian) jurists but flourished mainly in the English system of law where it manifests itself in the need for the prosecutor in a criminal case to prove the charge beyond reasonable doubt. The expression ‘innocent until proven guilty’ was coined by the Victorian jurist William Garrow. Lord Sankey in 1935 referred to it as the ‘golden thread’ that runs through English justice (readers may recall this as being one of Rumpole of the Bailey’s favourite quotations).