There's a strange convergence of aggression which is drawing both international conflict and personal hatred into the mainstream; social media bears considerable responsibility for this convergence, and Donald Trump's combination of his calls for peace while posting aggressive messages on Truth Social really don't help. There's a very straightforward instruction in the gospel of St. Matthew, to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, but little guidance or teaching from Church leaders on how to make this happen. Drawing inspiration from a variety of sources, here are some ideas which could work at both personal and international levels. Background music: 'Confliction & Catharsis' by Asher Fulero
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Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
Rather than seek global convergence, nation states are digging in deeper in all the three areas that conspire to drive them apart — conflict, threats and re-armament; climate change; and massive wealth differentials. The United Nations was designed to provide a route for resolving these differences, but it's not working. It's time to step forward and provide it with democratic legitimacy, so that the voices of people across the world can be properly heard. Background music: 'World's Sunrise' by Jimena Contreras
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Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
The Gordian Knot is an ancient Greek legend of an immensely complex knot ‘so tightly entangled that it was impossible to see how it was fastened’. Whoever succeeded in releasing it was destined to rule all of Asia: that task was achieved by Alexander the Great. Today’s Gordian Knots — conflict, climate change and the polarisation of wealth — are all critical to the future of humanity, but they all share a common origin: the motivations of fear and greed. We can see the solution, but do we have the determination to apply it? Background music: 'World's Sunrise' by Jimena Contreras
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Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
Herd mentality among humans is amply demonstrated in family, sport and business, but collective self-interest becomes more threatening in politics and particularly in international relations. Developing an individual perspective on life is central to freedom, but it needs to be accompanied by a generosity of spirit in order to respect the right of 'each to their own' among others. Background music: 'Freedom' by Dan Lebowitz
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Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
Male dominance has tracked humanity throughout our evolution from the animal world, but it's now presenting an existential danger as our ability to threaten the future escalates. Meanwhile society's call for gender equality without addressing the doctrine of male headship is delivering a generation of 'lost boys'. Men need to learn what comes naturally to women: 'servant leadership'. Jesus showed his disciples what it means two thousand years ago, but Christian churches still struggle to understand. It will enable us to care for others and to plan for a better future including bringing inspiration, as opposed to aggression, for young men. Background music: 'Leaders' by Text Me Records — Jorge Hernandez
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Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
Nigel Farage's stunning electoral success last Thursday exposed the chronic failure of state-centred socialism and the policy vacuum at the heart of the discredited Conservative party, following a decade of errors of judgement. Thomas Jefferson set out his 'self-evident truths' in 1776, that all are equal in deserving life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness: these, combined with constitutional acceptance of the need for inter-generational rebalancing, provide the real alternative to the narrow populism of the far right. Background music: 'The New Order' by Aaron Kenny
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Bonds can cement obligation, and the rising yields on long-dated U.S. Treasury bonds are currently closing down Donald Trump's options for bullying the world into submission. Other superpowers may be relishing the opportunity to wrest hegemony away from America, but would this change the world for the better? Bonds can also draw people together, using the example of servant leadership given by Jesus two thousand years ago when he washed his disciples' feet. Such unconditional love enables integration and definitely leading to a better world — surely a preferable way forward than superpower hegemony. Background music: 'Saving the World' by Aaron Kenny
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Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
Donald Trump may think he's a deal-maker, but he's more likely to turn out to be an economy-breaker, putting the U.S. dollar's role as the world's reserve currency at risk. Recession may be the least of our worries — this degree of instant aggression could well bring on a second Great Depression. So while few would disagree that U.S. needs to find a way out of its chronic trade imbalances, a transitional approach to tariffs with cross-party agreement designed to run over at least 2-3 presidential terms — thereby giving time to make the necessary changes — would have made far more sense. Background music: 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home' Cooper Cannell
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As the United States descends towards economic turmoil as a result of its new-found isolationism and unreliability, the BRICS group of nations (including Russia and China) will be looking forward to a new dawn for their mainly autocratic regimes and potentially an opportunity to replace the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency. If western democracies, particularly in Europe, are to turn that tide, they must discover long-term governance, a new approach to targeted welfare working in partnership with philanthropists as opposed to universality, and a significant increase in democratic legitimacy for global governance. Background music: 'India Fuse' by French Fuse
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The 2025 Doomsday Clock is set at just 89 seconds before midnight by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, but it's not just the potential for nuclear catastrophe that is rearing its head: climate change and biodiversity are causing deep concerns, and even if we can struggle through this difficult period, the legacy that we're leaving to future generations is awful. It's said that charity begins at home, but the treatment of our own young people is not encouraging in this respect: debts abound, both at the personal and public levels. With so many current-day challenges, the big question is how to encourage people — and our elected leaders — to take a longer-term perspective? Background music: 'Lost In Prayer' by Doug Maxwell The Doomsday Clock is created and managed by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
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