At the beginning of the first volume of Selena Axelrod Winsnes' English translation of Danish sources on West African history, originally published from 1697 to 1822, there is a reproduction of the opening text from a slave ship captain's log. It records the commencing of a journey"In the Name of Jesus."

Drawing on the emotional and aesthetic qualities of words is essential for our growth and nourishment, says Jill Segger. But even the best loved texts are only pointers to the truth.We will be hearing a lot about the King James Bible in this year of its fourth centenary. The issues of its political provenance have been set out by Simon Barrow in his blogThe curious politics of the King James Biblehttp://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/13854, and this seems an opportune time to take a look at the way in which words and the written style may influence our spiritual lives.Cadences from the 1611 Bible linger somewhere in the mind's ear of most people over 40. In his New Year address, Rowan Williams spoke of it being “in the bloodstream of the people of this country” and of being the “long-lasting furniture of our minds”. However, that is probably true of a diminishing number of people. Like the man who, on seeing Hamlet for the first time, remarked that it was “full of quotations”, there is an increasing tendency in what is sometimes called an'unchurched'society, to dissociate familiar phrases from their context and thus to miss the meaning, perhaps failing even to understand that there is a whole from which the odd or striking phrase has been taken.The beauty - and generally the plainness - of the language of the King James Bible owes a good deal to it not being the way we speak and write today. There is no danger of it being confused with popular speech or with adspeak. The element of quaintness is both its strength and its potential weakness.If we have to work a little harder to get the full meaning of something, it is more likely to stay with us. That is one of the virtues of poetry. I will probably struggle with theWreck of the Deutschlandfor the next 30 years and not exhaust its riches nor fully master its'difficulty'. But this is the response of a certain level of education and of a mind and ear inclined that way – a product of the nature and nurture which is unique to each individual. But for many, oddness and unfamiliarity will present a barrier which acts only to reinforce the idea that religion is something old-fashioned and irrelevant to the lives they have to live in 2011. It would be profoundly ugly to ignore their needs in pursuit of beauty of expression.Others will bewail the pedestrian and unimaginative language of much contemporary liturgy and scriptural translation. It is true that some translators and editors appear to have cloth ears, but the aesthetic experience may easily take on too much importance and become an end in itself – a kind of idolatry with the added disfigurement of being a little precious and self-satisfied. The medium becomes the message.The words which we use in expressing, exploring and communicating our inner lives and outer action will be unique to each of us. We have different requirements at different stages of our lives and will look to different modes of expression according to whether we are seeking information, inspiration or transcendence.For myself, it is the sometimes odd phraseology of Quakerism which gives me an insight into these relationships and the pull which they may exert on our hearts and minds. There are the much loved quotations from George Fox and the early Quakers. “Walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in every one” is hard to beat as a general rule of life. In Margaret Fell's admonition of the Friends who became too rigid in their pursuit of'plainness'- “That we should all be in one dress and one colour? This is a silly poor gospel!” and Francis Howgill's reminder that it is in the everyday and the ordinary that we find God - “why gad you abroad?”, there is a solid Cumbrian common sense which delights me and brings an echo of the rhythms and inflections of the speech with which I grew up.Then there is the singularity of those phrases which sometime bemuse non-Quakers (in fact there is a tongue-in-cheek little guide to'Quakerspeak', designed to assist Attenders and Inquirers.) But the apparent oddness of these expressions has real value in stimulating understanding: we do not give up something but'lay it down'– a concept which offers potential, gift and continuity. We may'have a concern'– not the same thing as being concerned. Expressed as possession, the concern carries a responsibility for discernment and action which is personal, though it may be supported by the Meeting. We do not pray for someone but'hold them in the Light', thus seeking neither personal desires nor specific outcomes, but submitting both the subject of our thoughts and ourselves to the illumination of the divine. We do not speak of our conviction, rather of'convincement'– shifting the concept towards receiving truth rather than towards expressing dogmatic certainty.These, and many other turns of speech which are traditional among Friends, are not held on to in order to bemuse or obfuscate, nor are they evidence of nostalgia. They are living words which connect us with our faith history and remind us of whom we both are the heirs and the future messengers.Language is alive, and the only sign of life is alteration and growth. To draw on the emotional and aesthetic qualities of words is to nourish ourselves in our own changing and growing. We should cherish whatever connects us to our origins, but must not mistake it for our ends. Even the best loved texts, sayings and prayers, can be no more than pointers on the journey towards truth.-----©Jill Seggeris an Associate Director of Ekklesia with particular involvement in editorial issues. She is a freelance writer who contributes to the Church Times, Catholic Herald, Tribune, and The Friend, among other publications. Jill is an active Quaker. See:http://www.journalistdirectory.com/journalist/TQig/Jill-Segger

New Year celebrations in Ghana have a markedly different feel to those you will have experienced in Scotland, Wales and England.

Contact: Craig McDonald, Christian Freedom Internaional (CFI), 906-253-2336LAHORE, Pakistan, Jan. 4, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- The governor of Pakistan's Punjab's province was murdered today by his own security guard, angered by the governor's support of a Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy. According to CFI coworkers in Pakistan,"Governor Salman Taseer was murdered because of the blasphemy law as he tried to support Asia Bibi's case. The guard surrendered himself and Source: Christian Freedom International

The number of people dying in prison in unexplained, ‘unclassified’ circumstances has tripled in one year, the Howard League for Penal Reform has revealed.The number of people dying in prison in unexplained, ‘unclassified’ circumstances has tripled in one year, the Howard League for Penal Reform has revealed.Twenty-four people died in prisons during 2010 whose deaths were categorised as unclassified, which means the cause was homicide, accidental death, or sudden unexplained death.Women were disproportionately represented, with five unclassified deaths in 2010, despite women making up just five per cent of the prison population. More than a third of all unclassified deaths were aged 40 or under.Three prisons had two or more unclassified deaths: Albany, Brixton and Wandsworth.Frances Crook, director of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said the unexplained deaths in prison custody raised numerous questions: “In recent years the prison service has focused its attention on reducing the number of self-inflicted deaths in prison, and has had commendable success in limiting the number of deaths by suicide in recent years.“Yet questions must be asked as to why the number of unexplained deaths has risen so sharply in 2010. In particular, whilst the symptoms of mental health that can lead to suicide and self-injury are being monitored more closely, is the same attention being paid to the physical health of prisoners?“When relatively young adult men and women apparently drop dead in their cells, are staff missing symptoms that if recognised, might lead to those deaths being prevented? Or are prisons simply failing properly to record the detail of these deaths in custody?"Frances Crook added: “It is particularly disturbing that a disproportionate amount of women are represented in these figures. I will be raising this at the next Ministerial Board on Deaths in Custody to seek answers.”[Ekk/4]

Resolution Revolution launches a new website to encourage'social resolutions'"How can you make 2011 a happier year for yourself? By thinking of others."This may not be the main reason for'doing good', but Professor Susan Blackmore, psychologist and writer, says there are benefits for everyone from resolving to think more socially at the New Year.She was responding to the launch of Resolution Revolution, a project launched in December to encourage'Revolutionaries'to resolve to do something for someone else in 2011.A'social resolution'may be a small thing like joining the organ donor register or clearing a neighbour's icy path. It may be a bigger commitment such as volunteering with a local charity or tackling an important local issue.There are several ideas at the Resolution Revolution sitehttp://www.resolution-revolution.org.uk/register/which offers information on making effective resolutions, resources for schools and the option to sign up for reminders to assist in staying on track and achieving resolutions made for 2011."It's about more than donating money or'liking'something on Facebook,"Susan Blackmore said."Resolution Revolution is about getting involved and doing things."What would you like your New Year's resolution to do?"she continued."Make you thinner, healthier, happier? That's great in principle - but we all know how hard it is to keep New Year resolutions, especially if they're all based around not really feeling all that good about yourself. Joining Resolution Revolution means you turn your efforts out to others instead of in. You may even find this is the way to a happier 2011 for you too, making it easier to stick to your own personal resolutions."As research shows, getting involved and helping others helps the helper too. So make this year's resolution one that really works."The British Humanist Association (BHA) is supporting Resolution Revolution and hopes outward looking,"social"resolutions will become a new tradition. The BHA president, Guardian journalist Polly Toynbee, described Resolution Revolution as a means of"turning good intentions outwards to others."She added"The more people that get involved, even in a small way, the bigger the impact is. Spending cuts don't make a cohesive society but generous actions do."[Ekk/4]

Contact: Bill Bray, Christian Aid Mission, 434-227-0811CAIRO, Egypt, Jan. 3, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- Christian Aid Mission has called for more relief to be sent to survivors after a terror bomb killed 21 worshippers on the steps of an Alexandria church after New Year's Eve worship services Saturday night.Africa Director Rae Burnett is receiving more pleas for help from indigenous leaders as Al Qaeda threatens more violence on the traditional celebration day of Christmas January 6 Source: Christian Aid

Contact: John Couretas, Acton Institute, 616-454-3080GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Jan. 3, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Acton Institute for the Study of Religion&Liberty is joining forces with Refo500, a project that aims to bring international attention to the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Leading up to the anniversary in 2017 of Martin Luther's posting of his"Ninety-Five Theses,"Refo500 is engaging with a variety of partner organizations to promote the importance of the Reformat Source: Acton Institute

The World Council of Churches has condemned an attack on worshippers at the Saints Church in Alexandria, Egypt.The World Council of Churches (WCC) has condemned the attack on worshippers at the Saints Church in Alexandria, Egypt where a bomb was detonated at the conclusion of the celebration of a New Year’s midnight mass. As a result, at least 21 people have been killed and more than 80 injured.The WCC General Secretary, the Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, on behalf of the fellowship of WCC member churches and the entire ecumenical family, expressed profound sorrow as well as condolences and prayers for the families of the victims, for the wounded and for all the people of Egypt. He encouraged Egyptians to stand firm and united through the many trials and tribulations that continue to threaten. The events of 1 January 2011 are a reminder of other tragedies in the region, including an attack on Coptic worshippers in Nag Hammadi, Egypt on 7 January 2010 and the lethal assault on the Church of Our Lady of Salvation (Sayidat al-Nejat) in Baghdad, Iraq on 31 October 2010Tveit recalled that the Baghdad attack took place at the time of a significant Muslim-Christian dialogue in Geneva and that the Muslim and Christian leaders who were present issued a joint denunciation of the act.The World Council of Churches has appealed to President Mubarak of Egypt, to religious leaders and to governments across the region to act swiftly and boldly to safeguard the fundamental religious rights of worshippers of all faiths, to ensure security in the face of violence and to guarantee justice for all people.Places of worship representing many different faith traditions have been targets of violence by extremists. Tveit said, “Government action must be matched by solidarity among Muslims, Christians and people of all faiths as they interact at the local level and together denounce any violent attack. We expect leaders to join once again in condemning such acts.”Tveit referred to a message from the WCC Executive Committee to the churches in Egypt in 2010. At that time, he said, “the WCC expressed once again its deep concern and solidarity while affirming its unequivocal support to the churches of Egypt in these troubled times during which Coptic Christians continue to provide living examples of true Christian witness, to the point of martyrdom.”In these difficult and challenging times, Tveit added, the WCC calls particularly on religious and national leaders to support the people in Egypt as they affirm life and engage in countering negative trends through peaceful means, such as proactive engagement in dialogue and partnership between Christians and Muslims in Egypt and throughout the world.[Ekk/4]

The current ills of the Western church are more to be found in sickness within than in threats without, suggests Simon Barrow, echoing a recent landmark comment from the Pope. Likewise the way forward is through radical reformation not fearful reaction."The greatest persecution of the church does not come from enemies on  the outside but is born from the sin within the church.

The New Year Honours list has sparked renewed attacks on the honours system, with particular criticism of a knighthood for business boss Roger Carr.The publication of the New Year Honours list has sparked renewed attacks on the honours system as well as criticism of particular awards. Critics say that most of the top awards have again gone to rich and powerful people who have already received significant public recognition.The human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell described the New Year Honours list as “rotten” and the honours system itself as a “medieval farce”. He insisted that, “Most honours are the result of the rich and powerful giving honours to the rich and powerful”.There has been particular anger over the knighthood awarded to Roger Carr, who chairs Centrica, the parent company of British Gas.British Gas recently came under fire for introducing a seven per cent rise in gas prices, despite raising their full year profit forecast to more than £2.2bn. Critics say the price hike will harm the most vulnerable in difficult economic times.Carr also attracted hostility as the former chairman of Cadbury, who agreed a deal to sell the company to the US-based multinational food company Kraft. Fears continue over the loss of thousands of UK jobs in the company.While Carr said that he was never keen on selling Cadbury to Kraft, he considered that his job was “to get as much value as I could” for shareholders.Peter Tatchell insisted it was a “disgrace” that Carr had received “a British honour for an anti-British economic decision”.The Prime Minister, David Cameron, is said to have wanted the New Year Honours list to represent the “Big Society”, illustrating the local and community work done by unrecognised heroes.In contrast, Tatchell said, “Local heroes get the low order honours, such as MBEs. Establishment toadies receive the highest rewards, knighthoods. Most of the top honours go to business, military, diplomatic and civil service big-wigs – not selfless, unpaid charity workers.”Several charities are nonetheless keen to welcome the awards that their workers have received. The Amos Trust said they were pleased to see an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for Tom Hewitt, the founder of Umthombo Street Children, whose charitable and campaigning work in South Africa has been widely praised by NGOs.The left-wing, anti-war fashion designer Katharine Hamnett received an honour for her work on ethical practices in the fashion industry. She has been made a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire).Hamnett said, “I kind of tend to pooh-pooh these kind of things but at the same time it's frightening how nice it is”. She admitted, “It's seductive”.The singer Annie Lennox, also seen as an anti-establishment figure in the past, has received an OBE (Office of the Order of the British Empire) for her work tackling poverty and AIDS in Africa. She said, “As somewhat of a renegade, it either means I've done something terribly right or they've done something terribly wrong”.The acceptance of a CBE by the Quaker actor and director Sheila Hancock is likely to spark unease amongst Quakers, who maintain a testimony against titles. Quakers generally refuse even to use terms such as “Mr” and “Miss”, referring to each other by name only.Hancock's award has already triggered disagreement amongst Quakers on Twitter, with some expressing disappointment while others distinguish honours from titles or emphasise the need to respect individual conscience.[Ekk/1]

For some activists, resisting the government's cuts means abandoning other campaigns, such as the struggle for queer rights and same-sex marriage. But they are making a false distinction. Issues of marriage and sexuality are closely linked to questions of power and money.“Aren't there more important things to campaign for?” It's a question I've been asked since enthusiastically backing the Equal Love campaign's efforts to secure marriage equality in the UK.Resistance to the government's vicious cuts must be a campaigning priority for 2011. But it would be a mistake to think that campaigns for queer freedom should therefore be put on the back-burner. Issues of marriage and sexuality are closely linked to questions of power and money.Marriage has gone through a wide variety of forms in the millennia of its existence. Differences of polygamy, arranged marriage, temporary marriage, forced marriage and other variations have existed across times and cultures. Money and love have been frequent themes across these variations. Conflicting interpretations of marriage have at times arisen over which of these two themes is emphasised.For many people, marriage has largely been a property contract. It has been a financial deal between the husband and his wife's father by which the bride is passed on as a possession. But even in times and places in which this has been the dominant understanding of marriage, it has competed with notions of love and female independence.The abhorrent notion of marriage as a property contract is no longer prevalent in most British weddings, although it lives on in the shocking practice of the bride being “given away”. Despite this, commercial concerns dominate marriage as much as they ever did. TheObserverreports that the average cost of a wedding in the UK is now a staggering £21,000 – higher than the average annual income.Nothing illustrates the wastefulness of capitalism more than the vastly profitable wedding industry. Many couples put off marriage not because of a lack of love and commitment because they'can't afford'it.As a Christian, I am painfully aware that Christians have a history of abandoning approaches to relationships based on love for those based on power and commercial values.Jesus broke the sexual conventions of his time by allowing women to make physical contact with him. Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, insisted that “there is no longer male and female because you are all one in Christ Jesus”. But the later parts of the New Testament show a shift towards acceptance of dominant social norms. The letter to the Ephesians (which is attributed to Paul, although nearly all scholars believe he did not write it) urges wives to submit to their husbands and slaves to submit to their masters.Similarly, Christians today are on the whole failing to challenge the commercialisation of sexuality and relationships.'Family values'campaigners are generally focused on opposing same-sex relationships and have little if anything to say about the consumerism that undermines marriage. To be fair to the Evangelical Alliance, they have begun to speak of the need to focus on marriages rather than weddings, but the more extreme groups do not seem to mention the issue at all.True, they criticise the use of sexual imagery in advertising, particularly when aimed at children and teenagers. But rather than recognise this as an aspect of commercialised sexuality, they instead encourage panic about young people's sexuality in itself. As the feminist journalist Laurie Penny points out, the problem is not “that young women are'growing up too fast'– rather it is that they are growing up to understand that they are erotic commodities”.The failure of the'family values'lobby to challenge commercialised sexuality gives them more in common than they might like to think with a sizeable wing of the LGBT rights movement.Many LGBT group are uncritical of capitalism. The rights they seek amount to little more than the right to be exploited on an equal basis to straight people. Nothing illustrates this more thanTickled Pink, Britain's “first gay wedding magazine”, which predictably perpetuates the same consumerist values as its straight equivalents.As Christians, we follow a radical messiah who constantly challenged the values and power relationships of his society. We are not called to perpetuate exploitative social norms in the name of a dangerously narrow understanding of either family values or LGBT rights. We need to be speaking about both family and rights at a much deeper level.As the theologian and ethicist Stanley Hauerwas puts it, “Any sex ethic is a political ethic”. Our attitudes to sexual, romantic and marital relationships depend on our understanding of what it means for people to relate to each other in fair and ethical ways. Upholding ethics in'personal'relationships involves recognising the social and political relationships that can both support and undermine them.This is why economic issues are so important to questions of sexuality and marriage. We cannot defeat the ConDem cuts by tinkering at the edges while accepting the logic of capitalism and its idolatry of the market. A society that rejects capitalism will seek to build human relations based not on economic power but on love, care and mutuality.Grassroots Christians are already campaigning against the cuts, with institutional denominations following more slowly behind. While a minority of Christians are campaigning for queer freedom, others are leading the backlash against it and the majority are stuck somewhere in the middle. The vision of relationships based on fundamentally different values should spur us on to resist both capitalism and the twisted, commercialised distortion of marriage and sexuality that it brings in its wake.---------©Symon Hillis associate director of Ekklesia and a signatory to the Common Wealth statement of Christians opposed to the government's cuts. Seehttp://commonwealthnetwork2010.blogspot.com.In June 2011, Symon will walk from Birmingham to London as a pilgrimage of repentance for his former homophobia. He will urge churches to repent of homophobia and think differently about sexuality. Seehttp://www.repenting.wordpress.com.

Ten years after the killing of 21 people on a bus in Burundi, Amnesty and victims'families are demanding justice for those killed in the country's civil war.Ten years after the killing of 21 people on a bus in Burundi, Amnesty International and victims'families are urging the Burundian government to provide justice for those killed in the country's civil war.The 21 people murdered on a bus called the Titanic Express included 27-year-old British aid worker Charlotte Wilson. Her brother Richard has spent a decade seeking to expose the facts behind the case, as well as campaigning more widely on issues of human rights and the arms trade.The Titanic Express was attacked on its way from the Rwandan capital, Kigali, to Burundi’s capital city on 28 December 2000. Those on board were separated, with Hutus released, while Tutsi passengers and Charlotte Wilson were killed.The Burundian authorities and other organisations have attributed responsibility to the armed opposition group Palipehutu-National Liberation Forces (Palipehutu-FNL). The FNL denies involvement. Ten years on, no-one has been charged. Recently the Wilsons wrote to UK Foreign Secretary William Hague urging him to press the Burundian government to fulfil its obligations to the families of victims who were caught up in the conflict. “Despite repeated promises from Burundi’s government, no serious effort has been made to deliver justice for the 21 victims of the Titanic Express massacre,” said Richard Wilson last week, “Tragically, those responsible for Charlotte’s murder have killed many more innocent people over the last ten years, while countless others have died in reprisal attacks”.He added, ““In solidarity with all those who have lost loved ones in this brutal conflict, my family calls on President Nkurunziza to honour the memory of the victims, and move swiftly”.On the tenth anniversary of the incident last week, Wilson mounted a 24-hour “Twitter-a-thon” to highlight the ongoing abuses in Burundi and to call for action for justice.The Titanic Express massacre was only one in a series of mass killings during the Burundian civil war, which started in 1993. Thousands were killed during the conflict, in which all sides said to be responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen accused the Burundian government of “dragging its feet”.“The government must set up a Special Tribunal and a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate and prosecute those responsible for these crimes,” said Allen, “Both mechanisms are necessary to bring to account those responsible for the violations which occurred before and during this war.” Amnesty say that there is widespread support for these mechanisms in Burundi.[Ekk/1]

The European Union's ratification of a major treaty on disability rights is a significant milestone, says Human Rights Watch.The European Union's ratification of the major international treaty on disability rights is a significant milestone in the global effort to promote the rights of people with disabilities, Human Rights Watch said yesterday (30 December). The EU officially joined the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on December 23, 2010, becoming the first intergovernmental organisation to sign on to any human rights treaty and take on its binding obligations."The EU ratification of the Disability Rights Convention sends a clear message that disability rights are a priority in the region and worldwide,"said Shantha Rau Barriga, disability rights researcher and advocate at Human Rights Watch."All EU members and future members should now ratify the treaty and align their laws and practices with its standards."The Disability Rights Convention, which entered into force in May 2008, is the first international human rights treaty specifically related to the rights of people with disabilities. By ratifying the treaty, countries pledge to uphold non-discrimination and other protections and to provide people with disabilities services they need to participate fully in society. The convention has been ratified by 96 countries as well as the European Union.In addition to joining the Disability Rights Convention, the EU is in the process of joining the European Convention on Human Rights, administered by a separate intergovernmental organisation, the Council of Europe.Joining the Disability Rights Convention obliges EU institutions, including the European Commission, Parliament, Council, and Court of Justice, to uphold disability rights. But it does not automatically make the convention binding in individual EU member states. That requires separate ratification by each country.Eleven of the 27 EU members have yet to ratify the convention, including Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, and Romania, although all have signed. Among European countries seeking EU membership, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Turkey have ratified the convention, while Albania, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iceland, and Kosovo have not.Joining the convention is only one step towards securing the rights of persons with disabilities. Research by Human Rights Watch and European disability rights organisations has shown that people with disabilities throughout Europe, including those in countries that have joined the treaty, face a number of barriers to full realisation of their rights."The EU should ensure that all member states join and implement the convention and set an example by fully respecting the rights of people with disabilities,"Barriga said."In its discussions with other countries, the EU needs to push for stronger legislation, better policies, and more inclusive programs."The EU first committed to joining the Disability Rights Convention by signing the treaty in March 2007. On December 2, 2010, the Council of the European Union, a body composed of representatives from each member state, removed the last legal barrier to joining the treaty by agreeing on a code of conduct that will regulate member state interaction with the European Commission concerning the Disability Rights Convention.[Ekk/4]

With its many natural harbours and gold deposits, 58 of the 60 colonial forts built on the Guinea Coast of West Africa are situated in what is modern Ghana - the first former European (latterly British) colony to gain independence, in 1957.