Anarchy in the UK

In the Old Testament the book of Kings tells the history of the different kings that ruled the nation of Israel (beginning from Saul, who was the first king, and ending several hundred years later with Zechariah, who was the last king).

The introduction of a king ended up dividing Israel into two kingdoms.  There was the kingdom of Judah in the south (2 tribes) and the kingdom of Israel in the north (10 tribes).

This division of the Kingdom demonstrates that worldly kings are not able to unite a nation.  On the contrary they cause division.

None of these kings were perfect.  Some were better than others, but they all had flaws.

It was not really God's will for the nation of Israel to have a king.

Moses was not a king, he was a prophet, the mouth-piece of God.  But on reaching the Promised Land, some 40 years after Moses had led them out of Egypt where they had been enslaved for 400 years, Israel envied the other nations around them that had kings, and they asked God for a king.

Saul was the first king.  David succeeded Saul.  Then followed Solomon, and then his son, Rehoboam.  It was at this point that the kingdom divided in two.

David was a flawed individual.  For example, he committed adultery with Bathsheba and arranged for her husband, Uriah, to be placed at the front of a very fierce battle so that he would likely get killed, and he did.

Despite his flaws, David is considered to be the best king of them all, and ever since King David, Israel looked back at his reign as the Golden Age, and looked forward to a new Golden Age when another king like David will reign, a son of David.

Christians believe this person eventually arrives several hundred year later.  His name is Jesus Christ.

But Jesus was not the kind of king that Jewish Israel was expecting.  Jewish Israel was expecting a worldly king, but Jesus said 'my kingdom is not of this world'.

As the story goes, Jesus was not flawed like all the other kings.  He was a perfect person, there was no sin in him.  His sword was not a physical weapon.  His goal was unity.

So the message for me from this is that all kings and political leaders are flawed people, sinful individuals.

'All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God' (Romans 6:23).

A nation may put up a monument to remember their political leaders, because they were significant movers of history.  

"The Anarchists are right in everything; in the negation of the existing order and in the assertion that, without Authority there could not be worse violence than that of Authority under existing conditions. They are mistaken only in thinking that anarchy can be instituted by a violent revolution. But it will be instituted only by there being more and more people who do not require the protection of governmental power and by there being more and more people who will be ashamed of applying this power." - Tolstoy

There is nothing new under the sun

"The works of the contemporary historians of Baghdad in the early tenth century are still available. They deeply deplored the degeneracy of the times in which they lived, emphasising particularly the indifference to religion, the increasing materialism and the laxity of sexual morals. They lamented also the corruption of the officials of the government and the fact that politicians always seemed to amass large fortunes while they were in office.

The historians commented bitterly on the extraordinary influence acquired by popular singers over young people, resulting in a decline in sexual morality. The ‘pop’ singers of Baghdad accompanied their erotic songs on the lute, an instrument resembling the modern guitar. In the second half of the tenth century, as a result, much obscene sexual language came increasingly into use, such as would not have been tolerated in an earlier age. Several khalifs issued orders banning ‘pop’ singers from the capital, but within a few years they always returned.

An increase in the influence of women in public life has often been associated with national decline. The later Romans complained that, although Rome ruled the world, women ruled Rome. In the tenth century, a similar tendency was observable in the Arab Empire, the women demanding admission to the professions hitherto monopolised by men... Soon after this period, government and public order collapsed, and foreign invaders overran the country. The resulting increase in confusion and violence made it unsafe for women to move unescorted in the streets, with the result that this feminist movement collapsed."

from page 15, The Fate of Empires, by Sir John Glubb:

http://people.uncw.edu/kozloffm/glubb.pdf

'There is nothing new under the sun' - Ecclesiastes 1:9

Hospitals

As far as I understand hospitals were founded by the Christian church.

https://biblemesh.com/blog/the-christian-origins-of-hospitals/

Therefore they were part of the mission to serve God, not money or mammon:

http://www.godsmoneymatters.com/gods-money-matters-articles/you-cannot-serve-god-and-mammon-so-what-is-mammon

The current pandemic brings to the fore the conflict between serving God and serving Mammon.

Hospitals are not there to make a profit, they are there to serve people, and from a Christian point of view, people are made in the image of God.  So serving people is serving God.  Jesus says to love God and love your neighbour.  You cannot love God if you do not love your neighbour.

But capitalism is opposed to love, it is all about profit.  It actually brings out the worst in people, the sinful part of human nature, greed, selfishness, covetousness, fear etc... and these are all justified by the capitalist system.

For example, you have the popular mantra: be greedy when others are fearful, and fearful when others are greedy.

But from a Biblical point of view, greed is a sin.  It cannot be justified.

The root of the problem is sin, but I think this is compounded by the Limited Liability Act which some argue encourages moral irresponsibility, and encourages people to behave badly in order to profit financially.  Those that succeed in the capitalist world are not those that love their neighbour.  And therefore it is completely opposed to the ethos of hospitals which are about behaving well and loving your neighbour.

I could be wrong, but I think we are seeing this conflict playing out today and I don't think there is any resolution except in people turning and embracing the truths pronounced in Holy scripture.

https://www.jubilee-centre.org/cambridge-papers/risk-reward-and-responsibility-limited-liability-and-company-reform-by-michael-schluter

The Lord is my refuge.

Psalm 91

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.

If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”

The benefits of fresh air, sunlight, nasal breathing and prayer.

"As with the current Covid-19 outbreak, most of the victims of so-called `Spanish flu’ did not die from influenza: they died of pneumonia and other complications...

...medics found that severely ill flu patients nursed outdoors recovered better than those treated indoors. A combination of fresh air and sunlight seems to have prevented deaths among patients; and infections among medical staff. There is scientific support for this. Research shows that outdoor air is a natural disinfectant. Fresh air can kill the flu virus and other harmful germs. Equally, sunlight is germicidal and there is now evidence it can kill the flu virus."

Source:

https://backyardbend.com/coronavirus-and-the-sun-a-lesson-from-the-1918-influenza-pandemic/

Pneumonia & Walking Pneumonia are an infection of the lungs that can cause mild to severe symptoms depending on the cause, your age, and overall health.

"Records from an “open-air” hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, suggest that some patients and staff were spared the worst of the outbreak. A combination of fresh air, sunlight, scrupulous standards of hygiene, and reusable face masks appears to have substantially reduced deaths among some patients and infections among medical staff."

Source:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/04/04/opinion/revisiting-an-old-treatment-infectious-disease-fresh-air/?fbclid=IwAR3qGCAVmJlQM9OHnhVQhYLUltlcee1Bb8Dvk6AKiSkPgvym9aqbFcMJlE4

"The application of cold pure air to the interior surface of the lungs is the most powerful sedative that can be applied, and does more to promote the healing of cavities and ulcers of the lungs than any other means that can be employed...

...By the 1850s, Florence Nightingale (1820–1910) was writing about the importance of sunlight and copious amounts of fresh air in the recovery of hospital patients, but her ideas were slow to gain acceptance....

...In 1919, Hill wrote in the British Medical Journal that the best way to combat influenza infection was deep breathing of cool air and sleeping in the open."

Source:

https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.2008.134627?fbclid=IwAR3zocOeN4ZoOgqyrGd13UtOwrtqH3DNci1LBjGu1vENBPIdQtosHWb_wHM

"Breathing through nose is a healthy habit approved by researchers and it is also helpful in cure of flu. Because normal nose breathing help us to use nitric oxide generated in our sinuses. And research told us that nitric oxide has confirmed function of destruction of viruses, parasitic organisms, and malignant cells in the airways and lungs by inactivating their respiratory chain enzymes."

Source:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311509644_Evidence_for_the_cure_of_flu_through_nose_breathing?fbclid=IwAR22swwv-HxBSUX3aM9jI5ohUAa5IrLDP8psW39x5UrSpNvB73RTa7C1Z7k

"For centuries, families and individuals facing medical crises have made prayer the bedrock of their experience. What is new is that certain segments in the medical community are beginning scientifically to study the effects of prayer on illnesses and injuries. And they are discovering that there is a growing body of evidence that suggests prayer can be an effective tool for combating illness and ..."

Source:
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/1997/january6/7t120a.html?fbclid=IwAR2HzDeZ-ubus1cSLrM_NLeRsUqbYBjGAvYWYrxFAn_gMlI1C9bgYrirQkk

"Being in the ICU (intensive care unit) raises your risk of pneumonia. Your risk increases if you are using a ventilator to help you breathe. Ventilators make it hard for you to cough and can trap germs that cause infection in your lungs."

Source:
https://familydoctor.org/condition/pneumonia/?fbclid=IwAR0LK-u7pO9DnWdR7sswUMFsqcTMko_4ZqLuBOt1kpRXHxV1V65GA_6zMj0

"Arterial oxygenation (PaO2) increases and pulmonary vascular resistance may decrease by adding Nitric Oxide-containing air, derived from the patient's own nose, to the inspired air [for patients on a ventilator]."

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8971255


"Combination of high-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy and inhaled nitric oxide in a paediatric patient with respiratory distress"

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24967770

"Facilitates inhalation of nitric oxide – a vasodilator and bronchodilator that increases oxygen transport throughout the body"

Source:
https://www.lenus.ie/bitstream/handle/10147/559021/JAN15Art7.pdf;jsessionid=899E397158B6D206DAFF1D66A45C5C40?sequence=1

"Lying flat on your back for a long time can increase your risk of developing pneumonia. So find out when it's safe for you to start sitting up and walking around.

Do breathing exercises. Try taking 10-15 big, deep breaths each hour. You may also use an incentive spirometer to check your lung function."

Source:

https://www.webmd.com/lung/pneumonia-reducing-your-risk?fbclid=IwAR2l838mzGrgWe4CZxsJZFlmLXQRp3QSSytLaQhbxDd-LKU7m2tXi7X92Bc


Breathing Exercises:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiwrtgWQeDc&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR10YPKVLKB574DDdHTtkn_GPU493E4pI2L9oSVQfvd9Q5hSC9Z_F5FUdyI


"According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), 6% of hospital patients get an infection while staying at the hospital,"

Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190328102652.htm


"Respiratory infections are the most common occupational disease among the health care staff.... Respiratory infections are the most common occupational diseases" 

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4629429/


"Going outdoors is what stops every respiratory disease" - Prof Knut Wittkowski

Source:
https://off-guardian.org/2020/04/17/8-more-experts-questioning-the-coronavirus-panic/


"...hospitals are the worse place to fight the war with Covid-19..." - Dr John Ioannidis
Source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwPqmLoZA4s&t=2235s

"If you do become ill, DO NOT feed the virus or the Candida with sugar. Yes, you need to drink a lot of fluids, but don’t drink sodas and sugary juices at this time."

Source: https://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com/how-viruses-work-and-how-to-prevent-and-eliminate-them-naturally


https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7141546/


https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/publications/natural_ventilation.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2eVke7h-TfR068jh5BcTT6vb8dj0ED7uR5Pdhh5hQxYRdw4Erw4nban58