A new 'sanctity of life' challenge

It began with Tony Bland, who suffered brain damage in the 1989 Hillsborough football disaster. He was diagnosed as being in what has come to be known as persistent vegetative state.

Doctors said he was unaware, but not in pain. He was not dying. He was not on life support. Cared for, he could have lived for 30 years. But in 1993 the law lords decided - though not in a unanimous decision, you may remember - that doctors could withhold food and water from him, thus causing him to die.

It was the first time in history English courts sanctioned causing the death of an innocent man who was not already dying.

Since then, it has been possible to apply to the courts for permission to withdraw food and water from patients in so-called persistent vegetative state, and numbers of patients have died in this way.

I am opposed to nutrition and hydration being withdrawn in these circumstances. I do not believe it is possible to prove total lack of awareness. I do not know how it can be said there is no possibility of improvement (some patients diagnosed as being in persistent vegetative state have recovered). And whatever you think of those two points, we are still taking innocent human life.

Now there has come another sinister development. A mother is applying to the courts for permission to withdraw nutrition and hydration from a patient said to be minimally conscious. The case comes before a court in the next few weeks.

If permission to withdraw food and water is granted here, we will have crossed another rubicon; taken another important step down the slippery slope.

109 years old - with a new nose

Human life is precious.

Human life deserves care and respect, whether the person is newly conceived, nine or 90. Because this is a particular concern of mine, this blog carries stories about things like assisted suicide, which can be depressing. So here's a story to try to restore the balance.

Meir Korner lives in Haifa, in northern Israel. There's one thing you should know about him before we go any farther. He was born in December 1901. That makes him 109 years old.

He still has good health, a clear mind and a great sense of humour. His recipe for old age, he says, is simple: do what makes you happy.

His daily routine includes sleeping well, reading, resting, regular talks with the Almighty and going to the beach. For 60 years he didn't miss his walk on the shore, where he meets friends and enjoys the sunshine.

A few months ago, Meir discovered what turned out to be a tumour on his nose. Eventually it covered some 50 per cent of his nose. A few weeks ago, he had an operation to remove the tumour and reconstruct his nose, using a flap of skin from his forehead (forehead flap rhinoplasty, for the professionals among my readership).

Meir's nose healed in a very short space of time, IsraelNationalNews.com reports. "We are extremely satisfied with the results," said Yitzchak Ramon, the doctor who operated. "Nose reconstruction is a real challenge, yet just days after the operation, it looked like nothing happened."

Meir waits to return to the beach. "The doctors say this happened because of the sun, but I don't think I have to stop going to the beach," he said.

"I look and feel good because of the doctors and because I do what I love. The Almighty promised me many years on this earth, and the moment I can, I will return to the sea - with sunscreen."

So where are we going here?

President Obama is being described as the most anti-Israel president in US history.

Hamas has been listed by the US as a terrorist organisation. It refuses to accept Israel's right to exist and is sworn to Israel's destruction.

Just a month ago, President Obama said Israel could not be expected to negotiate with Hamas until Hamas gave up its goal to destroy Israel. He told the annual meeting of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee: "We will continue to demand that Hamas accept the basic responsibilities of peace, including recognising Israel's right to exist and rejecting violence and adhering to all existing agreements."

Despite the fact that Hamas has not changed its position, Obama now says that Israel must start peace negotiations with Hamas, now a partner with Fatah in Palestinian government, based on Israel's pre-1967 borders. This, it is suggested, would prevent the Palestinians' unilaterial declaration of a Palestinian state in September - a move which the US could prevent anyway if it had a mind.

Israel says it will not negotiate with Hamas so long as Hamas refuses to accept Israel's right to exist.

Iran, whose fanatical leadership has promised to wipe Israel off the map, has stockpiles of enriched uranium and is now said to be able to produce enough weapons-grade uranium for a nuclear bomb in about two months.

Hezbollah and Hamas are still backed by Iran. In Egypt, the radical Muslim Brotherhood is consolidating its position ahead of elections in September. The hand of al Qaeda is becoming increasingly evident in countries like Yemen. Muslims are talking about a Muslim caliphate with the former land of Israel at its centre.

When we talk about Israel, we are dealing not only with a geopolitical issue, but with an intensely theological and spiritual issue. The Bible speaks a great deal about Israel's history, Israel's present and Israel's future. There is not room here to quote large portions of the Bible, but consider, for instance, Ezek 28:25, 26:

"'Thus says the Lord God: "When I have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to my servant Jacob.

"'And they will dwell safely there, build houses, and plant vineyards; yes, they will dwell securely, when I execute judgments on all those around them who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God."'"

And Amos 9:14, 15:

"'I will bring back the captives of my people Israel;
They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them;
They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them;
They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them.

"I will plant them in their land,
And no longer shall they be pulled up
From the land I have given them,'
Says the Lord your God."

It's your choice

When I saw the film version of C. S. Lewis' classic tale The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe I was interested, but not tremendously impressed. Perhaps I had heard so much about it, actually seeing it was something of an anti-climax. On the other hand, when I heard the dramatised version of the story on the radio, I was almost in tears.

Why the difference? Perhaps because radio offers better opportunity for the imagination to function. A powerful thing, the imagination.

Someone said that the Bible doesn't tell us everything about heaven, but enough to allow us to imagine it. And look forward to it.

When God has finished what's He's doing down here, He's going to create a new heaven and a new earth. The new heaven isn't going to be up there; it's going to be down here. God Himself is going to come down to dwell among His people.

"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God'" (Rev 21:1 - 3).

Words can't describe what a wonderful place it will be. There will be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain. We will have fellowship there with some wonderful people, and with God Himself.

It's amazing how people imagine that everyone is going to heaven (except Hitler perhaps, and Saddam Hussein). Jesus said only a few people are going there.

And it's surprising how people believe we can get to heaven by being good. Or if the good we do outweighs the evil we do. Or if we belong to this church, or that church or the other church. Heaven is perfect; there'll be no sin in heaven. And we're all sinners, which is why we all need a Saviour. God's Son, born into human flesh, lived a perfect life and died in my place, so that He could take away my sin and give me His righteousness. He's the Saviour of the world.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

The reason so many people don't go to heaven is not because they aren't invited, but because they fail to take advantage of God's offer of forgiveness and a new life in Christ.

God's done everything He can to make it possible. The choice now is yours.

An appalling example of propaganda

In a one-hour TV programme called Choosing to Die, the BBC last night showed a British man taking his own life at the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland.

The programme was presented by Sir Terry Pratchett, a patron of Dignity in Dying (formerly the Voluntary Euthanasia Society) and a campaigner for the legalisation of assisted suicide in the UK. It was totally biased: little more than propaganda for the campaign. It is likely to encourage others to commit suicide. The decision to show the programme was appalling.

Dr Peter Saunders, of Care Not Killing, wrote on his blog last week:

By putting their extensive public resources behind this campaign and by giving Terry Pratchett, who is both a patron on DID and key funder of the controversial Falconer Commission, a platform to propagate his views, the BBC is actively fuelling this move to impose assisted suicide on this country and runs the risk of pushing vulnerable people over the edge into taking their lives. It is also flouting both its own guidelines on suicide portrayal and impartiality.

The portrayal of suicide by the BBC, along with Pratchett's celebrity endorsement, breaches both international and BBC guidelines on suicide portrayal and risks encouraging further suicides amongst those who are sick, elderly or disabled. It is both a recipe for elder abuse and also a threat to vulnerable people, many of whom already feel under pressure at a time of financial crisis and threatened health cuts to end their lives for fear of being a burden on others. The dangers of portraying suicide on the media (Werther effect, suicide contagion, or copycat suicide) are well recognised in the medical literature.

The BBC's own editorial guidelines on portrayal of suicide are very clear and call for 'great sensitivity': 'Factual reporting and fictional portrayal of suicide, attempted suicide and self-harm have the potential to make such actions appear possible, and even appropriate, to the vulnerable.'

The WHO guidance on the media coverage of suicide is equally unambiguous: 'Don't publish photographs or suicide notes. Don't report specific details of the method used. Don't give simplistic reasons. Don't glorify or sensationalize suicide.'

The latest move by the BBC is a disgraceful use of licence-payers' money and further evidence of a blatant campaigning stance. The corporation has now produced five documentaries or docudramas since 2008 portraying assisted suicide in a positive light.

Where are the balancing programmes showing the benefits of palliative care, promoting investment on social support for vulnerable people or highlighting the great dangers of legalisation which have convinced parliaments in Australia, France, Canada, Scotland and the US to resist any change in the law in the last twelve months alone? One will not it seems, hear any of this from the BBC.

The BBC is in flagrant breach of both its own guidelines on suicide portrayal and also its public duty to remain impartial. This will inevitably lead to further criticism of bias and will only serve to place the lives of more vulnerable people at risk.

In a blog post published yesterday before the programme was shown, Peter Saunders prophesied that there were 20 things that would not be mentioned on the programme. He went on to list the 20 things. He was right on every one.

His full comments can be seen here and here.

A health service in crisis

The National Health Service appears to be in crisis.

Despite billions of pounds having been thrown at it, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley says without urgent reform the NHS faces a £20 billion-a-year black hole in funding and a potential doubling of health spending.

Almost 4,500 patients are said to have been discharged from hospital severely malnourished last year, some having illnesses more commonly seen in famines in Africa.

Dehydration is said to contribute to the death of more than 800 hospital patients each year. A report by the Care Quality Commission said some doctors were having to prescribe drinking water for patients to ensure they were given enough to drink.

One, if not two giant care home companies are said to be facing financial meltdown, with the possibility of the Government having to provide a rescue package to save thousands of care home residents from being made homeless. Meanwhile there are reports of "barbaric" abuse of patients at a privately run care home, and a review of the Care Quality Commission itself following an apparent failure to act.

While all this is going on - and not necessarily in direct connection with the above - the Royal College of General Practitioners has drawn up a charter for the care of patients nearing the end of life.

GPs are to assist such patients to make a written record of their wishes, which will be kept on the NHS database of medical records now being developed. Ambulance staff and emergency doctors will then be able to know, for instance, as well as the GP, whether or not the patient wishes to be resuscitated. The patient's wishes will be binding.

The charter may have been formulated with good intentions, but I have serious questions about its implementation. What if the information is put on the computer database incorrectly? What if it is mixed up with another patient's records?

Patients are already able to sign an advance directive (also known as a living will) stating how they wish to be treated, including whether or not they wish to be resuscitated in a life or death situation. Doctors are obliged to follow such directives.

The whole idea of living wills is flawed. An incapacitated patient who has signed a living will is not able to change his mind. How he feels when illness strikes may be very different from what he said when he was fit and well.

I recently heard of a case where doctors dealing with a life and death situation were told there was a living will and allowed the patient to die. It was later found that what was in the patient's medical records was a blank living will form that had not been filled in.

My position regarding future treatment is clear: I do not wish to be allowed to die with dignity; I want to be allowed to live with dignity until death finally and naturally intervenes. Some people who feel as I do have made living wills saying they do want to be resuscitated. I would be most reluctant to do that. Suppose my instructions were misinterpreted or misunderstood?

A doctor's calling is to save life. Unfortunately, a patient's autonomy has become the be-all and end-all.

Number of abortions up - but with a ray of hope?

The number of abortions in the UK is up again.

Government figures published last week show there were 196,109 abortions in England and Wales in 2010, compared with 195,743 the previous year - 189,574 of them on England and Wales residents, compared with 189,100 on England and Wales residents in 2009.

Figures for Scotland, published today, show 12,826 abortions in 2010, compared with 13,108 in 2009. That's a total of 208,935 abortions in England, Wales and Scotland, compared with 208,851 the year before.

Of the abortions on England and Wales residents, 96 per cent were funded by the NHS, and 59 per cent took place in private clinics, paid for by the NHS. A third of women having an abortion had had an abortion previously; 85 women had had seven previous abortions or more.

Ann Furedi, of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, described as the country's largest abortion provider, was quoted as saying what a splendid thing an abortion service was.

A spokesperson for the ProLife Alliance said sexual health education was clearly not impacting significantly on unplanned pregnancies. "Any abortion at whatever stage in pregnancy and for whatever reason represents the ending of the life of a developing pre-born child."

Indeed.

One blogger said what he always found astounding when the annual figures came out was the fact that they have ceased to shock us.

The Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health, which advised the Government on things like abortion, teenage sexuality and sex education and comprised organisations in favour of abortion and sex education for children as young as five, was disbanded last year.

Life, a pro-life organisation, has been invited to join the Sex Education Forum, which will replace it. Although it will be the single opposing voice on a panel dominated by pro-abortion groups, its inclusion has caused outrage.

Dr Evan Harris, former MP and a humanist, even suggested its presence may prevent the forum from functioning properly by preventing the forum from being given confidential information and preventing it from having frank and open discussions. What nonsense.

Could the inclusion of a pro-life group on the forum be an indication that the Government, having thrown millions of pounds at sex education, free contraception and abortion, is at last realising that the "do whatever you like, but do take precautions" approach has done nothing to reduce abortions and the sexual infection epidemic and a new approach is needed?

Losing the one you love

Jessica Council was a beautiful redheaded American girl. She was 30 years old, with a husband and a two-year-old son. She and her husband Clint worked for a Christian charity, mentoring children.

She was always extremely healthy, took care about what she ate and exercised regularly.

Last August, she developed a sore throat. When it was still sore two weeks later, she saw a doctor. He had a test done, and said it was nothing to worry about. He had misread the results of the test.

In November, Jessica was having trouble breathing, and wound up in accident and emergency. The following day her throat closed up so tightly she couldn't breathe. Doctors managed to get a tube down her throat and put her on a ventilator.

The following day, they told her she had cancer. By then, she knew for certain that she was pregnant. Two days later, the hospital's obstetrician offered her an abortion. Jessica refused. For her, that was not an option.

Surgery for the cancer was not possible. The oncologist said chemotherapy would likely kill the baby. The obstetrician said the baby would probably survive, but would probably have brain damage. Radiotherapy carried similar risks. Jessica thought for a few seconds, then declined treatment.

One night in February, Jessica went to sleep and didn't wake up. Clint gave permission for a caesarean section.

The doctors thought Jessica was 25 weeks into pregnancy. When little Jessi was born, they realised she had been only about 23 weeks, the very limit of viability for the baby. Jessi weighed 1lb 3oz.

"Jessica knew she was going to die anyway," said Clint. "She didn't share that with me until almost when she died. . . But I think she knew, and she was going to give this baby every chance she could.

"I did struggle," said Clint, "because in the Bible the one person that we're commanded to love more than myself, this was her. Sometimes it's easier to be selfless as far as whatever happens to you, but when it comes down to losing the one you love more than anything else, it's very difficult."

For about a month after Jessica died, says Clint, "I could not - and I mean that as a literal inability - I could not read my Bible, I could not pray.

"I knew cognitively that the relationship was there, I knew [God] loved me. I accepted all these things from a mental standpoint. . . but the delight in God was gone for about a month. I was functioning solely on what I knew to be true from a mental standpoint."

Now he's busy working, caring for his two children - the doctors say the baby, though still in hospital, is doing well - and praying once more.

Less than two weeks after Jessica died, Clint wrote: "God is to be praised, my friends. Do not doubt God; do not be angry with Him for me.

"I am privileged to have had a wife who was so full of the love of the Father. Rejoice with me. . . God has blessed Jessica in taking her to a place of perfect peace and no pain. I must be thankful for the time that I had with her rather than ungrateful for all the things we never got to do together. We must give thanks in all things for this is the will of God in Jesus Christ.

"Grace and peace to all."

You can read the full story at LifeSiteNews.

A plan for genocide?

So President Obama has suggested a Palestinian state based on 1967 lines, thus going back on what America had previously promised Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rather bravely and quite rightly told him it won't happen. And President Obama is now in London reportedly seeking a joint Middle East agreement with Prime Minister David Cameron based on those same 1967 lines.

Says Archbishop Cranmer:

While Israel remains surrounded by enemies - having ceded Gaza to Arab control from whence rain thousands of Katyusha rockets - David Cameron is now being asked to support the Obama plan to revert to the very partition which posed an existential threat to the only democracy in the region. The 'Arab spring' has not yet quite sprung enough to persuade Israel that a glorious summer lies ahead: Syria openly supports Hezbollah; Egypt now has the Muslim Brotherhood; Gaza has spawned Hamas; Lebanon hosts a plethora of anti-Israel terrorist groups and Iran is pledged to wipe Israel 'off the map': the whole of Arabia is intent on her destruction. And President Obama is here to persuade David Cameron to support a policy which will inevitably result in yet another attempt to drive the Jews into the Mediterranean Sea. This is not a peace process: it is a plan for genocide on a scale not seen since Auschwitz.

There will be those who consider that I spend too much time on this blog talking about Israel.

But God calls Himself the God of Israel, God calls that small sliver of territory in the Middle East "my land", and the Bible says (specifically in Zech 14:2 - 4) that the Lord Jesus Christ will return to this earth precisely when Israel is finally overcome.

Think about it.

British Christian antisemitism?

The Methodist Church in Britain overwhelmingly agreed at its last annual conference to call for a boycott of goods from "illegal" Israeli West Bank settlements, blaming Israeli occupation as the key hindrance to Middle East peace.

On her blog, Daphne Anson has published a letter sent to the Methodist Church leadership as a consequence by a Dr Gerald Oberman, who I believe lives in Brighton:

Dear Sir,

In your annual conference you have passed a policy calling for a boycott of goods from "illegal" Israeli West Bank settlements. You claim this is not anti-Semitic. But how else do you explain this strange obsession with Israel? What about the Chinese occupation of Tibet, or the Sudanese slaughter in Darfur, persecution in Zimbabwe and elsewhere? Politically, one could probably compile a case for a boycott against just about every country on the planet, but the only country in the world being subjected to a call for a boycott is Israel.

The so-called West Bank has been Jewish for more than 3000 years. A large part was known as Judea. Jesus, a Jew, was born there. Who do you imagine lived in Judea, if not the Jews? Who lived in Hebron but the Hebrews? The name Bethlehem is Hebrew. Only the Jews, of all the people in the world, living in their own land, are besmirched by being called illegal settlers.

Israel is monstrously depicted as Apartheid, notwithstanding the fact that one fifth of her population is Israeli Arab with full rights. The Palestinians claim the West Bank as theirs and require the land to be Juden Frei.

And just who are the "Palestinians"? Palestine has never existed as an autonomous entity. There is no language known as Palestinian. There is no distinct Palestinian culture. There has never been a land known as Palestine governed by Palestinians. There has never been a King of Palestine. Palestinians are Arabs, indistinguishable from Jordanians, Syrians, Lebanese, Iraqis, etc. The "Palestinian" leader Yasser Arafat was an Egyptian. They have no claim on the West Bank. Israel is not wrongfully "occupying" or "settling" anything.

Israel is currently the subject of a demonisation and misinformation campaign put out by Arab sources and propelled with a strong anti-Semitic undercurrent. The Arab world is spewing out anti-Semitism unequalled since the Hitler era. It is so pervasive, many Jews are being infected. Israel is portrayed as the most evil state on the planet. . .

Your boycott of Israeli "settlements" is, of course, the prelude to a boycott of all Israel. I trust you are preparing a complete boycott of everything coming out of Israel. . .

An Israeli company has developed a simple blood test that distinguishes between mild and severe cases of Multiple Sclerosis. . .

An Israeli-made device helps restore the use of paralysed hands. . . Your children with breathing problems will soon be sleeping more soundly, thanks to a new Israeli device called the Child Hood. This innovation replaces the inhalation mask with an improved drug delivery system that provides relief for child and parent. . .

A new research centre in Israel hopes to throw light on brain disorders such as depression and Alzheimer's disease. The Joseph Sangol Neuroscience Center in the Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer Hospital aims to bring thousands of scientists and doctors to focus on brain research. A researcher at Israel's Ben Gurion University has succeeded in creating human monoclonal antibodies which can neutralize the highly contagious smallpox virus without inducing the dangerous side effects of the existing vaccine. . .

Doctors Ciechanover and Hershko's research and discovery of one of the human cell's most important cyclical processes will lead the way to DNA repair, control of newly produced proteins and immune defence systems.

The Movement Disorder Surgery program at Israel's Hadassah Medical Centre has successfully eliminated the physical manifestations of Parkinson's disease in a select group of patients with a deep brain stimulation technique.

For women who undergo hysterectomies each year for the treatment of uterine fibroids, the development in Israel of the Ex Ablate 2000 System is a welcome breakthrough, offering a non-invasive alternative to surgery.

Israel is developing a nose drop that will provide a five year flu vaccine. . .

Most of Windows operating systems were developed by Microsoft-Israel. . . The Pentium NMX Chip technology was designed at Intel in Israel. Both the Pentium 4 microprocessor and the Centrum processor were entirely designed, developed and produced in Israel. Voice mail technology was developed in Israel. . . Most of the latest technology in your mobile phone was developed by Israeli scientists. . .

Israel has the highest concentration of high-tech companies outside of Silicon Valley. Israel has more museums per capita. Israel has the second highest publication of new books per capita. . . Israel is making a massive contribution to the world, including the Palestinians - and to you - in science, medicine, communications and security. Pro rata for population, Israel is making a greater contribution than any other nation on earth.

And what is the Arab world doing? Buying rockets and missiles and threatening to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. The call by your church to boycott Israel, which is the intention, reeks of the stench of anti-Semitism. You should all hang your heads in shame.

Interesting.

A story of hope

Kate Allatt's husband had never known her to be ill. She used to go to the gym. At weekends she went fell-running.

She developed a constant headache. A doctor said it was a migraine. Then she collapsed. Doctors said she had a blood clot in her brain stem and put her into an induced coma.

When she came out of the coma she had tubes everywhere, including a big one in her mouth helping her breathe. She could see, she could hear, but she couldn't speak. She was suffering from locked-in syndrome.

Kate wasn't able to move, not even her eyeballs. All she could move was her eyelids. Her husband and children talked to her, but she couldn't respond.

Doctors said she was brain dead.

Then her husband noticed she opened her eyes when there was an interesting programme on TV, and closed them when there wasn't.

"Kate," he said, "can you understand? Blink if you can." She blinked. "Do it again." She did it again. They had established a means of communication.

Even so, doctors believed she would never walk or talk again.

Within weeks, she moved her thumb. Within months, she managed to sit up. She spent a weekend practising mouth exercises given her by a therapist. When her favourite nurse arrived, she said "Morning!" The nurse burst into tears.

She began to use crutches. Three months ago, a year to the day after her collapse, she got on to a running track and ran 20 metres. It was only 20 metres, but she ran.

The Daily Mail recently told her story. As I read it, I had tears in my eyes.

Why? Some people said to be brain dead are having food and water withdrawn from them until they die. As funds become tighter and the number of patients increases, that sort of thing is likely to become more common.

Human life is inestimably precious. Human beings are not here to be disposed of. Taking innocent human life is wrong.

More difficult days ahead

For Israel, the clouds continue to gather.

According to a poll, 54 per cent of Egyptians want to scrap Egypt's peace agreement with Israel.

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad promised "a new Middle East" in the near future without the presence of Israel and its allies.

The Palestinian Authority, dominated by Fatah - which is refusing to negotiate with Israel - has signed a peace pact with Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist organisation which refuses to recognise the right of Israel to exist, refuses to renounce terrorism and is sworn to Israel's destruction. The aim is evidently to declare an independent Palestinian state without agreement with Israel and ask the United Nations in September to recognise it.

Says American commentator Joel Rosenberg: "In reality it is a shotgun wedding, at best. Fatah and Hamas leaders have historically not only hated each other but gunned each other down in broad daylight. When Hamas took over Gaza in 2005 and 2006, it set into motion a bloodbath, killing scores of Fatah officials and party members, even throwing some off of high rise buildings."

The United Nations has declared that the Palestine Authority is capable and ready to function as an independent state and is only being held back by the "Israeli occupation," and a sizeable number of nations have suggested that they will support a unilateral declaration of independence.

Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal said last week that if Israel fails to recognise an independent Palestinian state, which must include 100 per cent of Judea, Samaria and the entire eastern half of Jerusalem, Hamas will "add new cards to the resistance."

As Mashaal, who insists on the right of return for large numbers of "Palestinian refugees" while at the same time insisting that any Palestinian state should be Jew-free, continues to insist that he will not negotiate with the Jewish state, this would have to come about by Israel's unilateral surrender to Arab demands.

US President Barack Obama in a speech yesterday proposed a Palestinian state based on 1967 lines. Israel, as America well knows, is unable to accept a Palestinian state on 1967 lines because it would leave an Israel that was indefensible - which means that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be having a difficult visit to Washington today.

Whatever happens, Israel is likely to be blamed - by the increasing number of people like Tom Friedman, of the New York Times. He suggests Israel is an enemy of democracy because it does not "feel the joy of freedom being rung in across the Arab Middle East" - despite the fact that Israel is the only true democracy in the Middle East and the prospect of democracy resulting from the present turmoil in Arab countries is slim indeed. Strange that nobody calls for democracy among the Palestinians.

The stage is surely being set for the next military incursion into Israel. When that happens, those who invade will find, as others have found before them, that they have attempted something more difficult than they expected.

When you know that you know that you know

Talking with a man one day about spiritual things, I mentioned the Bible. "Well, the Bible," he said, "is a book, just like any other book." He was mistaken.

On the night before He died, Jesus prayed for His disciples: not only for His disciples at that time, but also for all those that were to come. In His prayer, he told His Father "Your word is truth" (John 17:17).

In his Institutes of the Christian Religion, reformer John Calvin tells how the Scriptures, although written by men, come to us with authority from God; he says, what's more, that every true believer will come to the certainty that they are in fact the word of God. This conscious realisation, he says, comes by what he calls "the inward testimony of the Spirit."

Says John Piper: "[The Holy Spirit] awakens us, as from the dead, to see and taste the divine reality of God in Scripture, which authenticates it as God's own Word. . . the witness of God to Scripture is the immediate, unassailable, life-giving revelation to the mind of the majesty of God manifest in the Scriptures. . .

"God witnesses to us of his reality and the reality of his Son and his Word by giving us life from the dead so that we come alive to his majesty and see him for who he is in his Word."

Theologian J. I. Packer explains it this way: "Calvin affirms Scripture to be self-authenticating through the inner witness of the Holy Spirit. What is this 'inner witness'? Not a special quality of experience, nor a new, private revelation, nor an existential 'decision,' but a work of enlightenment. . .

"The internal witness of the Spirit in John Calvin is a work of enlightenment whereby, through the medium of verbal testimony, the blind eyes of the spirit are opened, and divine realities come to be recognised and embraced for what they are. This recognition Calvin says, is as immediate and unanalyzable as the perceiving of a color, or a taste, by physical sense - an event about which no more can be said than that when appropriate stimuli were present it happened, and when it happened we know it had happened."(1)

A few weeks before I was converted to Christ I moved to an area where I had not previously lived, but not far from the home of a committed Christian family I knew. I remember one evening I went out looking for a pub. I had difficulty finding one, and when I did, the beer tasted awful.

Almost without intending it, I ended up at the home of these Christians. The conversation quickly turned to spiritual matters. I started asking questions about eight o'clock, and I continued asking questions until midnight. That night I was given answers to my questions straight from the Bible. I clearly remember walking home in the early hours of the morning, saying to myself "Well, either the Bible is true or it isn't: one or the other."

I can't remember exactly at what moment I came to an incontrovertible conviction that the Bible is true, but one thing is sure: the revelation changed my life.

How about you?

(1) J. I. Packer. John Calvin: A collection of essays. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1966, p166

Truth, lies and safe sex

Dr Miriam Grossman, a paediatrician with years of experience, has been invited to speak at a number of meetings in London on the subject of sex education in schools.

Says Andrea Williams, reporting on her blog at Christian Concern on Dr Grossman's meeting in the Houses of Parliament:

Dr Grossman emphasised how sex educators usually claim to provide "non-judgmental" and "comprehensive, medically accurate information" in order to help children make their own informed choices and delay sexual activity - but this is all, in fact, a lie.

In reality, Dr Grossman emphasised, the priority of much sex education in the UK is to promote morality-free sexual "licence." Sex education programmes normalise premature sex and promote the idea that children have a "right" to make their own decisions. Abstinence from sex is not usually presented as an option and the health risks of early sexual activity are downplayed.

Both the general public and school children in particular are often misinformed about the effectiveness of contraception in preventing disease and pregnancy. . .

Young people are often told that using a condom reduces the risks of sexually transmitted diseases and reduces the risks of conception by 98%. However, the truth is that:

* The 98% figure only refers to the risk of pregnancy - not infection. Furthermore, it only applies to circumstances where condom use is "perfect." "Typical use" is more common, where condoms are worn correctly most of the time but are occasionally used incorrectly. In such cases, the risk of pregnancy is reduced by only 85%!

* Even perfect condom use only reduces the risk of herpes by 25 - 50%, chlamydia by 26% and gonorrhoea by 62%. That's little protection at all!

* Condoms have close to 0% effectiveness in preventing the transmission of HPV.

* A girl's immature cervix increases her vulnerability to genital infections. HIV aside, girls and women carry 80% of the burden of negative consequences from early sexual behaviour and multiple partners. . .

Dr Grossman warned that if sex educators continue to deny biological truths and encourage "exploration" (read promiscuity), then the health and well-being of our children will continue to suffer. The "safe sex" message endorsed by schools is offering children a false sense of security. This must stop. There is no such thing as safe sex, other than between two people who have saved themselves for marriage.

Christians everywhere should be teaching children that each one of them is a beautiful, unique creation made in the image of God. The way that our children can be safe and free is to truly know this and to keep themselves for marriage.

Let's do all we can to promote God's truth for the sake of our children. Let's claim back our education system; let's expose bad sex education, especially in the forthcoming national curriculum review. Let's bring to society the message of purity, faithfulness, love, truth and hope that is found in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

And a comment on Andrea's piece from a police officer:

We teach our kids not to play with matches, and don't claim "they will do it anyway," and we don't say "we teach them the dangers and let them decide." Sex is like fire, the context can determine if it is safe or destructive. Marriage is the only safe context for sex. Outside of marriage the dangers are there. . . but. . . educators and others refuse to tell the truth about it.

Can anyone say these things aren't true?

And the band played on

Colne, a former mill town in Lancashire, is a rum place. As a rum place, it has form. On his several visits there, John Wesley always met opposition, sometimes violent. On one of his visits, one of his helpers was thrown to his death from a bridge.

But Methodism prevailed. At one time the town boasted the best part of a dozen Methodist chapels.

Wallace Hartley, born in 1878, went to the Methodist day school and sang in the choir at Bethel Independent Methodist Chapel, where his father, Albion Hartley, was choirmaster and Sunday school superintendent. Albion is said to have introduced the hymn Nearer My God to Thee to the congregation. Young Wallace learned the violin from a member of the congregation.

When the Titanic sailed from Liverpool on its ill-fated voyage 99 years ago this year, Wallace was leader of the ship's eight-piece orchestra.

When the Titanic was holed shortly before midnight, the orchestra, who would already have finished for the night, made their way to the first-class lounge. A survivor said one of them told her they were "going to give them a tune to cheer things up a bit."

It was commonly believed that the orchestra played until the ship went down, and that their last piece was Nearer My God to Thee.

Wallace Hartley's was one of only three musicians' bodies to be identified, and the only one to be returned home. A crowd of 40,000 - almost twice Colne's population - turned out for his funeral procession.

A recent book, The Band that Played On, by Steve Turner, speculates that it was Hartley's faith - and that of cellist John Wesley Woodward, a fellow Methodist from Hill Top Methodist Chapel in West Bromwich - that encouraged them to play to the last.

"My feeling is that he was a person of great moral authority as well as a born leader," says the author. "One of the most convincing accounts I read, by one of the sailors, was that at the end there was a lone violinist playing Nearer My God to Thee. I suspect that was Wallace Hartley."

Death of an icon

David Wilkerson, a young pastor in rural Pennsylvania, used to watch television in the evenings to see what young people were watching. One day God led him to stop watching TV and dedicate his two hours' TV time to prayer.

That was how it all began.

One night he was sitting in his study reading Life magazine. "I merely turned a page, and at first glance, it seemed there was nothing to interest me. The page showed a pen drawing of a trial taking place in New York. . .

"I started to flip the page over. But as I did, something caught my eye. It was the eyes of a figure in the drawing - a boy. He was one of seven boys on trial for murder. I held the magazine closer to get a better look. The artist had captured a look of bewilderment, hatred and despair in the young boy's features. Suddenly, I began to cry."

Wilkerson drove 350 miles to New York, met violent youngsters on the streets and started Teen Challenge, a ministry for teenagers, including teenage drug addicts. His book describing his experiences, The Cross and the Switchblade, sold 50 million copies in over 30 languages.

In 1971, he founded World Challenge, which eventually covered ministry outreach, literature and video publishing, evangelism, feeding programmes, drug and alcohol rehabilitation centres and an 8,000-member church in Times Square, New York.

On Wednesday last week he was driving in Texas when his car veered into the opposite lane and collided head on with a lorry travelling in the opposite direction. Wilkerson, who was 79, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The last blog post he wrote said this: "To those going through the valley and shadow of death, hear this word: Weeping will last through some dark, awful nights, and in that darkness you will hear the Father whisper, 'I am with you. I cannot tell you why right now, but one day it will all make sense. You will see it was all part of my plan. It was no accident.'"

Wilkerson's wife Gwen, who several times in her lifetime has beaten cancer, was with him in the car. She was taken to hospital critically injured. A report that she had died the following morning was incorrect. She is in hospital, and expected to recover.

Words to remember

The royal wedding is over. Prince William and Catherine Middleton, now Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, are man and wife. The rain stayed away. The dress was beautiful. Everything went well.

On reflection, one of the day's most evocative moments was the Bishop of London's advice to the couple, in the words of Catherine of Siena:

"Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire."

Could there be better advice to the newly-married pair than that?

Your part in the story

A dear Christian lady named Ruth Wood writes a blog called Comfort Cafe.

In one blog post she remembers hearing Billy Graham say that history is really His story - and she recalls how God writes people into that story.

She considers one or two Bible characters - seemingly ordinary people whose influence did not become altogether apparent until after they were gone. And then one or two more modern examples. . .

"Oswald Chambers travelled and lectured, never famous during his lifetime. After his death, his wife spent the rest of her life publishing her husband's spoken words which she had recorded verbatim in shorthand. My Utmost for His Highest was published ten years after her husband died. During his lifetime, Chambers remained unaware that he had authored a classic that God would use in countless lives.

"Ever heard of Christian Wolfkes? This godly Rumanian cherished a fervent love for Jews and prayed for years that he might win one for Christ even though there were none in his village and he was too ill to travel. Around 1937 a young Jewish man and his wife arrived. The old carpenter prayed many hours for their salvation, gave them a New Testament and eventually won Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand to Christ.

"This couple later stood up to the communist government, and after suffering many years in prison for their faith, Richard wrote the well-known book, Tortured for Christ, and founded Voice of the Martyrs.

"Christian Wolfkes only saw himself as a carpenter who wanted to win a Jew to Christ. He never learned the impact his investment in the Wurmbrands had around the world."

Leaving God to decide where He fits us into the divine narrative, she suggests, gives us freedom from the stress of trying to be spiritually productive. And if we're stressed about how our life is turning out, it might be an idea to wait for the last page of the book.

So. Would you want to live a selfish life, taking every decision with an eye to your own benefit? Or would you prefer to yield your life to the Master Storyteller, allowing Him to fit you into the divine narrative in a way that will bring blessing to others and glory to Him?

It's the Biased Broadcasting Corporation

As a publicly-funded public service broadcaster, the BBC is supposed to be impartial. The BBC claims it is impartial. How it manages to do that in view of the fact that its bias is so obvious is a little difficult to understand.

The corporation is notorious for its bias against Israel. It commissioned a study on its coverage of the Middle East conflict which resulted in the Balen Report. After chiefs read the report, the BBC refused to make its contents public, and is reported to have spent £200,000 in legal costs so far defying an order to make its contents public under the Freedom of Information Act. It is hard to imagine why it would do that unless it were that its contents condemn the corporation for its bias.

On another front the BBC has recently been accused of acting as cheerleader in the campaign to legalise assisted suicide.

On his website, Dr Peter Saunders, of Care Not Killing, gives the background to the charge. The BBC has recently filmed a man killing himself at the Dignitas suicide clinic in Switzerland for a documentary to be screened this summer. The programme will be presented by author Terry Pratchett, a patron of Dignity in Dying (formerly the Voluntary Euthanasia Society) and a campaigner for legalised assisted suicide.

The programme will be the fifth produced by the BBC in three years, says Dr Saunders, presented by a pro-euthanasia campaigner or sympathiser and specifically designed to portray taking one's own life in a positive light.

A BBC Panorama documentary fronted by Margo MacDonald MSP in the lead-up to tabling her euthanasia bill in the Scottish Parliament was screened four times. A 90-minute docudrama starring Julie Walters, telling the story of the death of Bath GP Anne Turner at Dignitas was screened seven times.

The 34th Richard Dimbleby Lecture featured Terry Pratchett making the case for assisted suicide for patients, like himself, with Alzheimer's disease. A hand-picked audience in the Royal College of Physicians signalled their approval as he described himself ending his life by nonchalantly sipping poisoned champagne in his back garden.

BBC East Midlands featured a confession by producer Ray Gosling to smothering a homosexual lover with AIDS. The story turned out to be pure fantasy - "but not until after the BBC machinery had blown it up into a massive international news story just prior to the Director of Public Prosecutions reporting on his assisted suicide prosecution criteria.

"I am also aware of a sixth 'documentary' currently being put together, again presented by a keen advocate of legalising assisted suicide, news of which has not yet entered the public domain.

"During this three year period there has not been one BBC programme presenting the opposite point of view. This is in spite of the fact that all three parliamentary bills attempting to legalise the practice in the last five years have been heavily defeated and despite the continuing robust opposition to legalisation from disability rights groups, medical professionals and faith groups. . .

"What is somewhat ironic about this whole process is the fact that there are strict codes about media coverage of suicide, not only from bodies like the World Health Organisation, but also from the BBC itself (on covering both suicide and criminal acts), which are constantly and repeatedly flouted . . .

"Concerns about the well-documented phenomenon of suicide contagion, especially following suicides carried out by celebrities. . . are simply not part of the narrative when the BBC covers these issues. Instead it has adopted almost a campaigning stance.

"No one is denying that the debate about assisted suicide is crucially important. This is a free democratic society and those who wish to see a change in the law are fully entitled to express their views in the public square. Furthermore it is to be expected that private media outlets will want to pursue a specific editorial line.

"But with an issue as important as this one, campaigners should not have the added advantage of being able to spread their propaganda by using the publicly funded national broadcasting corporation effectively as a private public relations company and press office."

The BBC spends an almost incredible amount of money. In these days of economic difficulty, perhaps something needs to be done about that too.

Just one word made the difference

When Mary Magdalene went to the tomb on the morning of Christ's resurrection and found it empty, she was distraught. Rough hands had taken Him and killed Him; now someone had even taken His body.

Mary stood in the garden, weeping. Through her tears, she saw a man she supposed was the gardener. "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." The man spoke just one word: "Mary." That one word changed everything.

First, Christ's resurrection is not just a fairy tale. It's one of the best attested facts in history. The Jewish leaders would have loved to have disproved His resurrection. All they had to do to disprove it was to produce His body. They didn't, because they couldn't.

Jesus appeared to His disciples numerous times after his resurrection. On one occasion He appeared to more than 500 people at once. His disciples travelled the world preaching His resurrection, and lost their lives because of their preaching. You don't give your lives for something you know isn't true.

Second, Jesus isn't alive in a general sense. He's alive personally. He knows you by name. If you don't know Him - personally - make His acquaintance. Invite Him into your life.

You may have a problem. Grief, disappointment, rejection. Perhaps more than one. Just remember. One word from Him can make all the difference.

His death and subsequent resurrection is the ultimate proof that God cares.

"If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation" (Rom 10:9, 10).

"As many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name" (John 1:12).

"Come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt 11:28).

A question of days

Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday. It's interesting that every one of the four Gospels makes the point that it was early on the first day of the week that the women came to the tomb and found it empty. The first day of the week, of course, is Sunday.

Jesus had to rise from the dead on a Sunday. He couldn't have risen on a Monday, or a Tuesday. In the beginning, God created the universe in seven days. He worked six days in creation, and rested on the seventh. Jesus rose from the dead on the eighth day: the first day of a new creation.

It is pretty certain though that Jesus was not crucified on a Friday. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that He was crucified on a Friday. People assume that it was Friday. The Bible says it was the day before the sabbath: His body had to be taken from the cross and buried hurriedly because the sabbath was approaching. But there were two sabbaths that week. It was Passover.

Passover always began on the even of the 14th of the Jewish month Nisan, irrespective of what day of the week that date fell. The following day was always a sabbath, in which work was forbidden (Ex 12:16; Lev 23:5 - 8; Num 28:16 - 18). John 19:31 makes it clear that the day following Christ's crucifixion was a high sabbath: the sabbath in connection with Passover.

We could perhaps work out on what day the 14th of Nisan fell in that year - but we don't know for sure in which year Jesus died.

The Old Testament contains many prophecies about the death of the Messiah. They were all fulfilled in exact detail. Jesus Himself prophesied of His death. He told the scribes and Pharisees: "As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matt 12:40). If you count the first day and the last day, you can call Friday to Sunday three days. But there is no way you can fit three nights in between Friday and Sunday.

Some Bible scholars believe Jesus was crucified on a Wednesday. The women rested on the Passover sabbath on Thursday, bought spices and ointments to anoint Christ's body on Friday (Mark 16:1; Luke 23:56), rested on the weekly sabbath on Saturday, and went to the tomb early on Sunday.

Others prefer to believe that Jesus was crucified on Thursday, with the Passover sabbath on Friday and the weekly sabbath on Saturday. That way, Christ's body would be in the tomb for three days - from Thursday to Sunday - and three nights - Thursday night, Friday night and Saturday night.

Although the Passover lamb was not killed until the 14th of Nisan, it had to be chosen on the 10th of Nisan and examined to see that it was without blemish (Ex 12:3 - 6). Jesus, our Passover lamb, was presented to the people as He rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. After examination by the Jews, Herod and Pilate, he was crucified four days later.

So what day of the week did Jesus die? I don't know. The Bible doesn't say. It isn't important. If it were important, the Bible would say. What is important is the fact that He died.

We were all sinners. We had all fallen short of God's standard. We were separated from God. God needed someone who would live a life without sin and give that life in our place, that God's righteousness and God's justice might be satisfied as well as His love. That need was met in Jesus.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

"Scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love towards us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom 5:7, 8).

There's love for you. When I didn't know Him and didn't want Him, He died in my place.

Giving in to tyranny

Last year a Florida pastor named Terry Jones planned to hold a burn-a-Koran day on the anniversary of 9/11. After leaders the world over condemned the idea, he agreed he would not burn copies of the Koran, then or later.

Not so long ago, however, he supervised the burning of a Koran by another pastor, one Wayne Sapp. Afghan president Hamid Karzai denounced the incident and called for the pastor to be brought to justice. Following Karzai's announcement, riots erupted all over Afghanistan.

In Mazar-i-Sharif, a mob of 3,000 protestors overran the United Nations compound, killing Gurkha guards and shooting dead and slitting the throats of UN staff. As a result, the Florida pastor faced widespread condemnation.

I do not agree with burning copies of the Koran. Before joining in the condemnation, however, there are a couple of things to be borne in mind. First of all, the people murdered were not only innocent of burning a Koran, they were not even Americans. "For radical Islamists," said the New York Daily News, "anyone will do. The randomness of the crime underscores the utter irrationality of those who committed it, not to mention the masses that tacitly lend them support. . .

"It is one thing to say that Jones' Koran-burning was a stupid and offensive thing to do. . . It is another thing entirely, however, to move to the accusation that Jones is culpable for the murderous acts of people half way around the world. People who riot and murder at the burning of a book do not need a pretext to act like savages. That's exactly what they already are."

Enraged over the burning of a Koran in Florida, wrote Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch, Muslims have murdered about 20 people in Afghanistan and five in Pakistan - none of whom ever burned a Koran or had any acquaintance with the men who did.

These killers are monstrous. They have assassinated innocent people for something they couldn't conceivably have had anything to do with. And yet instead of calling them monstrous and demanding that Islamic leaders stop inciting and approving of such behavior, Western government and media elites are blaming not the murderers and rioters, but the man behind the Koran-burning. . .

Thus Guardian editor Matt Seaton explained that Jones was to blame because his Koran-burning was "done knowingly involving reckless endangerment, and quite possibly wishing for this kind of bad result." This assumed that the Muslims who were rioting and killing over the burning of a book half a world away had no control over their reactions, and thus could not be held accountable for them. . .

Barack Obama reacted the same way when Jones threatened to burn a Koran last year. He said "this stunt that he is talking about pulling could greatly endanger our young men and women who are in uniform. Look, this is a recruitment bonanza for al-Qaeda. You could have serious violence in places like Pakistan and Afghanistan". . .

Obama could have said "While I disapprove of this Koran-burning, in America we believe that freedom of expression is a fundamental bulwark against tyranny and the hallmark of a truly free society, and it requires us to put up with things we don't like without responding with violence". . .

He could, in short, have used Jones' barbecued Koran as a teaching tool to demonstrate why free societies are preferable to sharia states. But instead, Obama and the media are effectively reinforcing the principle that violent intimidation works. . .

Those who censor themselves today to keep from offending Muslims may wish in the not-too-distant future that they had stood up more robustly for the freedom of speech when it was threatened. But by then, there might be no chance to get that word out.

Giving in to tyrants never was a good idea.

So will the NHS survive?

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley wants a revolution in the way the National Health Service is run - and he is meeting opposition. Left unreformed, one newspaper says this morning, it is impossible to see how the NHS could survive. But would a change in the way it is run alter the disasters routinely occurring throughout the service?

According to the Nursing and Midwifery Council, serious complaints about nurses have doubled in two years. The eighth annual staff survey of some 165,000 employees showed widespread concern about standards of care.

A Daily Mail review of a book shortly to be published - How We Treat the Sick, by Michael Mandelstam, said to be an expert on the NHS - provides a litany of neglect and abuse in hospitals.

A 17-year-old with meningitis was moved to two different wards by bed managers until the doctors treating her couldn't find her. She died. One woman died after being treated for six days with drugs meant for another patient. Twelve doctors failed to pick up the error.

Once upon a time patients didn't have bedsores. Now they are endemic. Between four and 10 per cent of patients develop at least one; with elderly patients with mobility problems, the figure can be as high as 70 per cent. An 86-year-old ex-serviceman was left screaming in agony in a Leeds hospital with multiple bedsores, one the size of a fist. His hip bone was exposed.

At least 400, possibly 1,200 patients at the mid-Staffordshire Foundation Trust died through lack of care.

Matrons have been abolished; ward sisters, whose word once was law, have lost their authority. The problem, suggests the reviewer - himself a doctor - is not doctors and nurses, but chief executives carrying out Department of Health orders about finance.

Would someone please come along and save our NHS?

Better dead than old?

Nan Maitland travelled from Britain to Switzerland, it transpired this week, to avail herself of the services of a suicide clinic. She was 84. She was not terminally ill. She suffered from arthritis, but was active. She decided to kill herself to escape the "horrors" of old age.

She was one of the founding members of an organisation called the Society for Old Age Rational Suicide.

Accompanying her to the abortion clinic was Dr Michael Irwin, another founder of the society. He was struck off the medical register six years ago for attempting to help someone commit suicide. He is said to have helped nine people kill themselves, and appears to have done everything he can to push the limits of current legislation.

Campaigners would have us believe they want assisted suicide to be legalised in Britain to help people with terminal illness who are in intractable pain. Not so. They want assisted suicide for whoever wants it, whenever they want it.

It's not too long since America's Washington state legalised assisted suicide. BioEdge reports the results of the first year under the state's Death with Dignity Act - and some concerns that the law is not operating with the safety and true voluntary choice that were promised.

Of those who died in the first 12 months, serious pain did not seem to be a great concern. Ninety per cent were concerned about lack of autonomy, 64 per cent about lack of dignity and 87 per cent about losing the ability to participate in activities that made life enjoyable.

No doubt the number of people taking advantage of the law and the reasons they are permitted to do so will both increase, because that's what happens.

Which is why - as well as the fact that vulnerable old and sick people would feel pressured to opt for their lives to be ended - that the legalisation of assisted suicide must not happen here.

Death of a lovely lady

In my last post I mentioned a Scottish evangelical Christian who was killed by a terrorist bomb last week in Jerusalem. Let me tell you a little more about her.

Mary Jean Gardner, born in Kenya, moved to Scotland in her teens. She studied at St Andrews University and the Bible Training Institute in Glasgow.

A quiet, gentle woman, she had worked for Wycliffe Bible Translators for 20 years in Togo, translating the New Testament into a local language. She arrived in Israel in January to take a Hebrew course at the Hebrew University before returning to Togo to translate the Old Testament.

One day last week was a day off. Mary travelled by bus into Jerusalem to meet a friend who was visiting Israel. Late at night, she had not returned to the place where she was staying.

Halvor Ronning, director of the Home for Bible Translators, telephoned the hospitals to see if her name was on the list of people wounded in the bomb blast. It was not. Police took him to identify the dead woman. It was Mary.

"Her face was untouched and natural," he said. "She had absorbed much of the impact and protected the others who were hurt but not killed.

"All major newspapers in Israel carried Mary's story, also on their websites. Israeli radio and television mentioned Mary as well. Suddenly Bible translation was world news.

"It has been amazing what an impact Mary's death is having here in Israel on the Hebrew University students and personnel, the media, even the usually cynical reporters as they consider Mary's dedication to the translation of the Bible.

"Several of the teachers came to be with the students for a number of hours. One of them came for the scheduled Hebrew class but only to read psalms together with them in Mary's memory.

"One of the lecturers said 'I have never sensed a stronger witness to the power of the Scriptures to influence lives than by Mary Gardner's attitude to the Bible and her commitment to the translation work.'"

Wycliffe executive director Eddie Arthur, who described Mary as "a lovely lady," said "I cannot tell you how highly regarded she was. She was an extremely gutsy person, highly intelligent, with huge drive and the ability to stick with the project for 20 years in far from comfortable conditions."

Mary, who was in her fifties, was unmarried. Her parents Tony, aged 82, and Jean, aged 81, still living in Scotland, said they were devastated by the loss of their daughter in such a tragic and unexpected way.

"Mary was a very special person and we thought the world of her. She was devoted to her work and was well liked wherever she went. We are proud of her and all that she has achieved in her life and feel truly blessed to have had her in our lives."