John Newton: Once A Slaver, Then A Broken-Hearted Christian

Andrea Bocelli's Amazing Grace

In Response to COVID-19

Standing alone, the imposing facade of the 640 year old cathedral behind him, the 60-year-old tenor delivered a haunting, melancholy rendition of the traditional "Great Awakening" hymn (in the clip below it begins at about 18:40).

The clip is intercut with images of empty streets from the three major cities from around the most closely associated with Milan: London, New York and Paris 

ANDREA BOCELLI/YOUTUBE

The mayor of Milan requested Bocelli's performance. The city has been the epicentre of Italy's fight against Covid-19.

Milan, the financial capital of Italy's Lombardy region, has been the epicentre of Italy's fight against Covid-19.  The region has reported more than 10,000 Covid-19 related deaths since February - more than half of all Covid-19 related deaths in Italy.

ANDREA BOCELLI/YOUTUBE

Andrea Bocelli's performance is intercut with images of empty streets from Italy and around the world.

Bocelli was asked to perform in Milan at Easter by the city's mayor Giuseppe Sala who anticipated a "very different" Easter in the devoutly Catholic country. 

"I am sure that the extraordinary voice of Bocelli will be the embrace we are missing these days, a strong, special hug, capable of warming the heart of Milan, Italy and the world," Sala said in a statement. 

In the introduction to the performance Bocelli said he believed in the "strength of praying together".

CATHEDRAL ORGANIST EMANUELE VIANELLI

Andre Bocelli and Cathedral organist Emanuele Vianelli perform from inside the empty cathedral.

"I believe in the Christian Easter, a universal symbol of rebirth that everyone, whether they are believers or not, truly needs right now," Bocelli's introduction said.

"Thanks to music, streamed live, bringing together millions of clasped hands everywhere in the world, we will hug the wounded world's pulsing heart."

The Andrea Bocelli Foundation has an emergency GoFundMe campaign to help hospitals purchase equipment for Italian medical staff.

ANDREA BOCELLI/YOUTUBE

Andrea Bocelli delivers a haunting rendition of Amazing Grace from the steps of Milan's Duomo cathedral.

A Second Great Awakening?

The Coming of the Lord

Most are familiar with the historical Great Awakening.  It was a remarkable revival of true Christianity that occurred in the eighteenth century, primarily in the United Kingdom and in the eastern United States.

Now there is talk of the United States being on the verge of another awakening, another Christian revival.  Of course, it's too early to tell.  Moreover, as one church historian observed, such broad and deep movements of the Spirit of God are often difficult to discern at the time.  They are more clearly seen in hindsight.  For example, Western Europe was totally unaware of the thunderstorm which cracked overhead whilst a solitary lawyer trembled in fright in the early sixteenth century.  Yet it was that prosaic weather event which set in train the conversion of one Martin Luther whose subsequent preaching and teaching shook the foundations of a rotting church.  Out of this came the Reformation, one of the greatest revivals of true, biblical religion since the time of the apostles.

Some are claiming to see signs of a genuine revival in the United States.  Once again, it's probably too early to be definitive on such things.  So, we should take the following with a sprinkling of caution.  Nevertheless, there is room for encouragement here.

A Couple of Notes From the Travel Diary

This is the Way The World Ends . . . 

To use Willie Nelson's line, we've "been on the road again" taking a trip through the Bay of Plenty.  Oftentimes it is the unusual and unexpected encounters that stand out.  Here is one which our readers may find provocative and thought provoking.  

We had occasion to meet with a front-line cop and the course of conversation turned to "front-line" issues in one of the larger Bay of Plenty towns.  He described what policing is like these days.  The government benefit gets paid out fortnightly.  Then, within two to three days afterwards the incidence of burglaries and thefts sky-rockets.  Anything which can be carried is targeted.  It may be theft from shops, businesses, homes, community facilities.  Anything not bolted down and which can be converted into cash or traded for meth is the ticket.

When the offenders are apprehended and the conversation begins over "what" has the perp done, and "why", a pattern emerges.  Within a couple of days the offender's government benefit has all been spent on methamphetamine and the addict is craving the next fix.  In desperation they steal to survive the next ten or so days.  Hence the rise of theft and burglaries all over town for ten days, until the next welfare payment.  Whereupon, the cycle and its pattern begins all over again.

Just think about this for a bit.

NZ's War on Poverty Worse Failure Than LBJ's

What Have You Done?

Last week we marked the utter failure of Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty.  Nearly fifty years on  poverty is worse in the United States than when the "war" began.  

Lest some get the impression that this blogsite is anti-American, and since the War on Poverty is on our minds, it's worthwhile reflecting on how New Zealand's own little War on Poverty has been going.  It's been as ineffectual, wasteful, and useless--if not worse--than LBJ's now infamous War.

Bob McCroskrie has kindly filled in the New Zealand scorecard:

The current focus by the Prime Minister and other politicians and lobby groups on tackling child “poverty” is warranted, but “focus” and “targets” will simply be hot air and rhetoric until the elephant in the room is acknowledged – that is, the role of family structure.

Family malformation and breakdown is contributing significantly to increasing income inequality and child poverty, and must be confronted before we will see any significant improvements.