Tower Of London Prepares For Bird Flu
A commentary by Peter Hawkins
United Church of God pastor, London and Chelmsford, Essex, British Isles
The
British have a great love of birds, and animals in general. Recently
this concern for our feathered friends has been mixed with worry over
a long-held tradition that speaks of impending doom.
The Tower of London has decided to keep its famous ravens indoors to
protect them from bird flu. Yeoman Warder 'Ravenmaster' Derrick
Coyle has been forced to quarantine his six royal charges in specially
built aviaries within one of the towers of the Norman fortress on the
River Thames.
Legend has it the Tower of London will collapse and the kingdom will
fall when none of the birds are left. At one point during the bombing
blitz on London in World War II all but one of the ravens died.
The Tower ravens—named Branwen, Hugine, Munin, Gwyllum, Thor
and Baldrick—are said to be getting used to their new surroundings.
Derrick Coyle, said: "Although we don't like having to bring the
Tower ravens inside, we believe it is the safest thing to do for their
own protection, given the speed that the virus is moving across Europe."
Contrast with protecting our people
While we try to protect the ravens in the Tower of London from bird
flu, like many other Western nations we seem unwilling to tackle what
is far more likely to bring down our nation—the destruction of
the family and ignorance of God's moral code.
The Government will finance thousands of do-it-yourself kits to test
for sexually-transmitted diseases. The kits are to be given away to young
people in the United Kingdom. Chlamydia now affects one in ten people
aged between 16-25 years old. Syphilis cases in England have risen by
1,421% in the last ten years.
A government minister said that new technology should be used to help
remove the 'taboo' of testing for STDs. Valerie Riches of Family
and Youth Concern said "the focus should be on preventing
infections in the first place by encouraging chastity. The Government's
approach is the wrong way round."
Long ago the God who gave us the lands we enjoy remarked to a nation
similarly blessed as the British Isles: "My people are destroyed
for lack of knowledge: because you have rejected knowledge, I will also
reject you ... seeing you hast forgotten the law of your God, I will
also forget your children" (Hosea 4:6). Our children are without
doubt suffering because their parents prefer a libertine society with
an 'anything goes' mentality. It is a mentality excused,
we hasten to add, with the words "as long as it does not hurt anyone
else." The hard evidence, however, clearly reveals that a whole
generation of our children are reaping the both the physical and spiritual
consequences this point of view.
Underneath this denial of the harm our libertine perspective of life
brings on us and our children is a profound ignorance of what our Creator
expects of us. As Hosea the prophet explained to the libertine people
of his day: "Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel:
for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because
there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land" (Hosea
4:1).
Scripture tells us that the Creator God does not change (Malachi 3:6).
The same controversy He had with ancient Israel when they ignored His
instructions He has with us today.
How do we reverse the growing plague of STDs (sexually transmitted
deseases) among our children today? We explain the right solution in
a free booklet written specifically to help parents gain the moral strength
and direction they need to protect themselves and their children.
 Just
request, read online or download now our informative publication: Marriage & Family—the
Missing Dimension.
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