Month: September 2009

Categories
Past

Destruction of Jerusalem

marching-on-the-templeOn this day 1939 years ago, the Roman forces led by Titus seized control of Jerusalem after a siege lasting several months. The temple and the city were subsequently destroyed after the Roman soldiers set fire to an apartment next to the Temple. According to the historian Josephus, more than 1 million people were killed and 97,000 were enslaved. This fulfilled the prediction of Jesus made some 40 years previously:

41As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

Titus was the son of Vespasian who had become the Roman Emperor in 69AD, and Titus was appointed commander of the Praetorian Guard. Vespasian died in 79AD and Titus succeeded him as Emperor. Titus became a popular and effective emperor, abolishing the network of informers who had terrorised Rome’s political system, and completing the construction of the Colosseum. He died of a fever at the age of 41, after reigning for just two years, and he was succeeded as emperor by his brother Domitian.

Categories
Faith

Assessing whether claims are true

the-council-debatingIf someone comes up with new ideas and starts making claims about a new philosophy, how do you assess whether those claims are true? History shows that there are three major ways of dealing with this sort of situation: 1. Accept the claims; 2. Resist the claims and try to repress them; or 3. Ignore the claims and see what happens. The option of resisting and repressing has its advantages, but the result can be counterproductive. The people who subscribe to the claims can see themselves as martyrs, and the persecution which they suffer can elicit sympathy from others which supports their cause. So the best approach to take is often the wait-and-see approach.

This was the approach advocated by the Rabbi Gamaliel in Acts chapter 5. When the council was debating what they should do with the followers of Jesus, he said, “I advise you to stay away from these men, and leave them alone. If this mission or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail. But if it comes from God, you will not be able to stop it, and you will even find yourselves fighting against God!”

Depending on where you stand, history either proved him right or wrong. From that point onwards, Christianity grew and spread like wildfire. What had started out with just twelve untrained men grew until it became the dominant religion in the Roman world. While in recent years Christianity seems to have been receding in Europe and much of the Western world, the number of Christians has been increasing very rapidly in Africa and China.

Categories
Books

Extraordinary African Insights

big-manMany different perspectives of Africa are captured in Richard Dowden’s remarkable book Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles. Dowden first arrived in Africa in 1971, when he moved to Uganda as a school teacher, near the start of Idi Amin’s reign. Uganda was just descending into the chaos and civil war which was to last for 15 years, and by the end of 1972 it was no longer safe for Dowden to remain. When he returned to Africa some years later, it was in a new role as a journalist.

The book discusses a broad range of Africa’s “Big Men” who have treated their countries as a vehicle for personal enrichment on a massive scale, including Mobutu Sese Seko, who was Zaire’s dictator for more than 30 years, Daniel arap Moi, who was Kenya’s president for 24 years, Robert Mugabe, who has presided over Zimbabwe’s economic decline over the past 20 years, and Nigeria’s Sani Abacha and Olusegun Obasanjo, whose administrations have set new standards for absolute corruption.

The book covers the differing issues faced by numerous different African countries including Sudan, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, Angola, Burundi and Rwanda. Dowden’s writing shows a deep understanding of African attitudes to AIDS, the causes of poverty, reasons for failure of foreign aid, the opportunities and pitfalls of African engagement with China, and a host of other issues. This is perhaps the best book on Africa I have ever read.

Categories
Poverty

Efficiency brings wealth

producing-efficiencyThis post continues the weekly series discussing themes from Gregory Clark’s book A Farewell to Alms. In chapter 15, Clark observes that world capital markets were reasonably well integrated by 1913, so that capital returns were roughly equal for all countries. Thus differing rates of capital return does not provide an explanation for the great divergence between countries which have become wealthy and those which have not.

Clark also asserts that, as a result of transportation improvements in the 19th Century, most economies had access to the resources needed for industrialisation by 1900. Most of the countries which did not possess the necessary natural resources were at no significant disadvantage relative to other countries. Clark therefore concludes that the divergence in the wealth of countries is attributable overwhelmingly to differences in efficiency.

In other words, wealthier countries are those which, at the end of the day, manage to produce more useful stuff per person than do other countries. This is achieved by having citizens who work hard, by adopting efficient work practices, and by encouraging the creation and efficient deployment of technology which enhances productivity, enabling each individual to produce ever-increasing amounts of stuff. Somehow, poorer countries miss out on this virtuous cycle.

Categories
Future

Corruption for the foreseeable future?

corrupt-futurePresident Kibaki has just re-appointed Aaron Ringera for a further five years as chief executive of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission. The appointment is controversial because according to news reports the KACC has failed to prevent wholesale looting of the public coffers by members of the ruling elite during Mr Ringera’s current term. The position of KACC CEO is one of the highest paid positions in Kenya, reflecting the importance of stamping out corruption.

It is widely thought that cases of major corruption involving influential and powerful people are regarded as too difficult by the KACC, so the KACC ignores them and concentrates on minor cases. As one humorist has put it, “To enhance the war on chicken thieves and pickpockets, Government is extending Aaron Ringera tenure at the KACC.” The KACC currently has power to investigate corruption, but not to prosecute suspects.

However, the KACC’s track record is not the only reason why his re-appointment is controversial. According to the Law Society of Kenya, the president does not have the power to appoint Mr Ringera. The correct appointment procedure involves a recommendation being made by the advisory board of the KACC. The recommendation should thereafter be taken to Parliament for approval. The irregular reappointment of an unsuccessful head of the country’s major anti-corruption authority does not bode well for the future of Kenya’s anti-corruption efforts.

Categories
Present

Kenyan by-elections

splashing-the-cashAccording to observers from the US Embassy, the recent by-elections in the Bomachoge and Shinyalu districts of Kenya have been marred by extensive vote-buying and bribery. Agents from each of the main parties – Orange Democratic Movement, Party of National Unity and Kenya African Democratic Development Union – have been seen engaging in bribery and buying voting cards.

A statement from the US Embassy said, “The electoral process was marred by improper and illegal ‘old school’ political activities aimed at unduly influencing the electoral outcome. Some of these improper and illegal activities took place in close proximity of polling stations.” Numerous people who had recently enrolled to vote were unable to do so because their names were missing from the register, and around 1000 people were barred from voting because they were found to be engaging in electoral malpractices.

On the other hand, the Interim Independent Electoral Commission succeeded in conducting the elections in a credible and transparent manner, an encouraging sign given the abysmal failure of the previous Electoral Commission. Vote buying persists because of the view of some that the purpose of electing politicians to positions of power is so that they can get at the money, not so that they can govern the country with integrity for the benefit of all citizens.