War Cry 10 Aug 2019 by The Salvation Army UK and Ireland

SINCE

1879

10 August 2019 20p/25c

S YEAARRCRY 140 W THE OF

CORRIE’S modern slavery storyline

Trafficked on the Street GAP YEAR LEADS TO A SKETCH INSIDE

ANCIENT HISTORY IN THE MAKING

Theatre company’s prison programme for students

What is in the Dead Sea Scrolls?

What is The Salvation Army?

2 COMMENT AND CONTENTS • WAR cry • 10 August 2019

The Salvation Army is a Christian church and registered charity providing services in the community, particularly to those who are vulnerable and marginalised. Motivated by our Christian faith, we offer practical support and services in over 700 centres throughout the UK to all who need them, regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation. To find your nearest centre visit salvationarmy.org.uk/find-a-church

From the editor’s desk FANS of Coronation Street, Britain’s favourite soap, have been drawn into the murky world of modern slavery. As we report in this week’s War Cry, nail bar worker Alina was trafficked into Weatherfield from eastern Europe, having been taken in by false promises of a better future. It is a story that is a living reality for thousands of real people in the United Kingdom who have been tricked by those same lies. To ensure the accuracy of their storyline, the programme-makers have worked with The Salvation Army, who every week of the year help victims of human trafficking. The church and charity holds the government contract to provide support for those who are rescued from modern slavery in England and Wales. As well as offering victims specialist services, including counselling, financial advice and housing support, volunteer drivers and chaperones transport them to safe houses. Earlier this summer, the War Cry spoke to Jean Metcalfe who, along with her husband, Frank, transports the victims as kindly, gently and lovingly as possible. She described how upsetting it can be to hear the victim’s shocking stories. But committed Christian Jean also explained how she copes. ‘I can only do my work by the grace of God,’ she said. ‘If he wants me to do the work, he will continue giving me the strength and ability to do it.’ It is not only Jean who experiences God’s help at times when it is difficult to do the right thing. Over the centuries millions of Christians have come to rely on God’s promise to give them strength, however challenging their situations. One Bible passage describes God as a ‘refuge and strength’ and ‘an ever-present help’ (Psalm 46:1 New International Version). Whatever situations we may be facing, God promises his help to each of us if we are willing to follow him. And that is a promise we can all rely on.

What is the War Cry? The Salvation Army first published a newspaper called the War Cry in London in December 1879, and we have continued to appear every week since then. Our name refers to our battle for people’s hearts and souls as we promote the positive impact of the Christian faith and The Salvation Army’s fight for greater social justice.

SINCE 1879

140 YEARS

OF THE WAR CRY Issue No 7435

Editor: Andrew Stone, Major Deputy Editor: Philip Halcrow Production Editor: Ivan Radford Assistant Editor: Claire Brine Assistant Editor: Sarah Olowofoyeku Staff Writer: Emily Bright Editorial Assistant: Linda McTurk Graphic Designer: Rodney Kingston Graphic Designer: Mark Knight War Cry office: 020 7367 4900 Email: warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk The Salvation Army UK Territory with the Republic of Ireland 101 Newington Causeway London SE1 6BN Tel: 0845 634 0101

Contents

Helpline: 020 7367 4888 Subscriptions: 01933 445445 (option 1, option 1) or email: subscriptions@satcol.org Founder: William Booth General: Brian Peddle Territorial Commander: Commissioner Anthony Cotterill Secretary for Communications: Lieut-Colonel Dean Pallant

Published weekly by The Salvation Army ©The Salvation Army United Kingdom Territory with the Republic of Ireland ISSN 0043-0226 The Salvation Army Trust is a registered charity. The charity number in England and Wales is 214779, in Scotland SC009359 and in the Republic of Ireland CHY6399. Printed by Walstead Roche Ltd, St Austell, on sustainably sourced paper

Your local Salvation Army centre

FEATURES 3

On the street where you live

Modern slavery on Corrie

Doing time on a gap year

Students take drama into prisons

Scroll write

Academics still learning from Dead Sea Scrolls

REGULARS 4

News and media

Browsing the Bible

TV Review and Quick Quiz

14 Puzzles 15

What’s cooking? Front-page picture: ITV

ITV

10 August 2019 • WAR cry • TELEVISION 3 Seb is determined to help Alina

BATTLING THE TRAFFIC NAIL-BITING Coronation Street storyline, written in collaboration with A Salvation Army specialists, has hooked Weatherfield watchers and given them a glimpse into the reality of modern slavery.

When troubled teenage misfit Seb (Harry Visinoni) fell for eastern European girl Alina (Ruxandra Porojnicu), who worked at a nail bar, he found that she began acting oddly towards him. Despite seeming to like him, she avoided him and lied about leaving her job. Seb watched as England and Wales, and has helped she became increasingly frightened of more than 7,000 victims of modern her boss. He realised that something slavery. was not right. To create an accurate storyline, After sneaking into the back of the Coronation Street script editors worked nail bar, he discovered her sitting on with Salvation Army specialists who a worn mattress and living in poor help victims of modern slavery. The conditions. Eventually Alina told him that she was smuggled into the UK as part of a human trafficking ring, and had to do what her boss, Rachel, told her so that she could send money back home. She begged Seb to stay out of her situation. But Seb would not remain silent. He confronted the traffickers and, despite church and charity is looking to boost being warned off, decided that he would awareness of the issue through the bring the perpetrators of modern slavery plot, and its helpline number has been to justice, risking everything to protect featured on the soap. the girl he cared about – with dramatic The Salvation Army is also launching consequences. a social media campaign to help the While events on Corrie’s cobbled public spot and report suspicions of streets are a work of fiction, modern slavery within their local communities. slavery is all too real, as Salvation Army Fake pop-up adverts will appear to personnel know. indicate cheap deals on the types Since July 2011, The Salvation Army of goods and services whose prices has been the government’s official are sometimes kept low through the provider of anti-trafficking services for trafficking and exploitation of workers.

Seb watched Alina become increasingly frightened of her boss

Salvation Army shapes soap’s modern slavery storyline, writes Emily Bright Users will click through to a landing page that features stories of real victims of modern slavery helped by The Salvation Army. Major Kathy Betteridge, director of anti-trafficking and modern slavery at the organisation, tells the War Cry about what motivates such work: ‘For more than 150 years The Salvation Army has been working with victims of slavery, and our commitment remains as strong now as it has been throughout our history. ‘Supporting modern slavery victims is exactly where we are called to be, and the issue is one of the most serious facing society. ‘Part of The Salvation Army’s mission is to serve suffering humanity and save souls, and we have always responded to the needs of the most vulnerable.’ The Salvation Army believes that God loves every individual and seeks justice for the oppressed. It won’t switch off until human trafficking is brought to an end.

4 NEWS AND MEDIA • WAR cry • 10 August 2019

Essentials distributed to help displaced Nigerians EMERGENCY food distribution is taking place in Nigeria as The Salvation Army tackles the effects of conflict in the northeastern region of the country. Approximately 4,000 internally displaced people in temporary camps in the Maiduguri area are receiving three months’ worth of food supplies, including rice, beans, wheat flour, cooking oil, spices and salt. Sleeping mats, blankets, cardigans and other items of clothing are also being provided, while soap and detergent are being handed out to prevent the spread of disease. The Salvation Army is working in collaboration with Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency, the Baptist Church and the Christian Council of Nigeria. More than 45,000 people are experiencing severe hunger as a result of food shortages caused by the conflict.

Supplies arrive at one of the temporary camps

ERITREAN authorities have closed all Christian-run health centres and nDuring hospitals across the country, campaign group Open Doors UK has revealed. the closures, soldiers were posted outside the health facilities, patients

MORE than 20 churches have teamed up to distribute some 500 Bibles to food banks across the UK, the Church Times reports. The self-funded programme, which was started and funded by the Black Country Mission in the West Midlands, encourages church members to source unused Bibles and to hand them out to people at food banks who have expressed an interest in finding out more about the Christian faith.

were sent home and health staff were threatened. Back in June, as the authorities ordered the seizure of health centres managed by the Roman Catholic Church, Daniela Kravetz, UN special rapporteur on human rights in Eritrea, said: ‘The seizure of these health facilities will negatively impact the right to health of the affected populations, in particular those in remote rural areas. ‘The Eritrean authorities are restricting the right of THE Salvation Army is taking steps their citizens to enjoy quality to restrict the spread of ebola in healthcare.’ the Democratic Republic of Congo She also expressed concerns through a hygiene promotion over the arrest and detention of Christians in Eritrea. campaign and the creation of handwashing facilities. Hygiene and handwashing kits along with educational resources offering public health advice have been made available at 380 schools and BEAR Grylls has 120 churches and mosques. described his Christian The Salvation Army has provided faith as a ‘powerful part’ of protective clothing including boots, his family’s life. glasses, face masks, gloves and While promoting his latest book, a Bible study guide biohazard suits for all staff at ten health called Soul Fuel, he shared centres, which now have triage clinics. his perspective on his faith Church and school leaders have in an interview with The received training in prevention Telegraph. techniques and have been equipped ‘Faith has been a quiet but with information and instructions on powerful part of our family,’ how to raise awareness and develop he said, adding: ‘The heart of preventative health measures within Christ’s message was about their communities. freedom and light and love The Salvation Army’s own facilities and forgiveness.’ in Goma also now have toilets and a He added that the book was clean water tank. about offering his ‘thoughts The World Health Organisation has on what will help you live declared the ebola outbreak a ‘public an empowered, light-filled health emergency of international Children use the existence’. concern’, which indicates the risk of hand-washing facilities infection to other countries.

Salvation Army takes action to combat ebola

10 August 2019 • WAR cry • INTERVIEW 5

‘Prison theatre is nerve-racking – you never know what’s going to happen’

Oddments Theatre

By next Thursday (15 August), students will have found out whether they have the A level or Scottish higher grades they need to go to university. For some, the immediate future holds something other than higher education – a gap year, perhaps with plans to travel the world. The gap year that GREG MAPLE took was very different. He tells Emily Bright about his decision to perform theatre in prisons

Greg Maple

ITH pulses racing, palms sweating and hands shaking, students are ripping open envelopes to see if their hard work has paid off. But when Greg Maple finished his performing arts course at college two summers ago, his most terrifying experience was yet to come. The teenager voluntarily entered HMP Parc in Bridgend to perform sketches for inmates. At the time, jetting off to a foreign destination on a gap year extravaganza probably seemed preferable. But he sensed God wanted him to go to then the worship session began and a specific place with which he was everything changed. Inmates broke into familiar. When he walked to the spot, he grins and belted out worship songs, saw some Oddments Theatre internship which Greg describes as a ‘beautiful recruitment literature lying on the floor. moment’. He remarks: ‘You have preconceptions Instantly, he knew it would be a good fit. ‘It was perfect,’ says Greg. ‘Now I about prison and what the inmates are could use my theatre skills and serve going to be like, but it felt incredible to God at the same time.’ He signed up for be there worshipping with them.’ the internship the next day. When Greg was nearing the end of Greg explains that Oddments his college course, he was uncertain Theatre’s ten-month placement allows what his next steps should be. As a Christian, he decided he should pray Turn to page 6 ➥ and ask God for guidance. One night,

6 INTERVIEW • WAR cry • 10 August 2019

From page 5 young people to learn a variety of skills spanning lighting, sound, office work, events management and acting.Interns can act out an adaptation of John Bunyan’s book The Pilgrim’s Progress in primary schools or take to the stage at festivals attended by 24,000 visitors. Oddments also has a prison theatre ministry. Greg chose the prisons. When he told his parents, they were supportive. ‘The funny thing is my parents were glad I was deciding to do that,’ says Greg. He is the third generation of prison evangelists in his family, following in the footsteps of his mum, who gave Christian-themed theatre performances in prisons, and his nan, who worked with prison

Greg performs in Oddments Theatre’s ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’

chaplaincy teams. Oddments Theatre visits about 20 prisons a year. Based in the southwest of England, the company primarily focuses on surrounding sites, but also tours prisons near London and in the Midlands and is looking to expand into

We quite often see a few men who get a bit teary the north of England. The performers present a series of sketches and worship songs, their set lasting anything from 40 minutes to an hour. The stories offer a modern twist on Jesus’ life, with the overriding theme of how he came to restore people’s lives. One particularly popular sketch among inmates is that of a football fan, which offers a modern twist on the parable of the good Samaritan. The skit follows an Arsenal fan who is mugged by a gang on a train on the way to London. Some vicars feel sorry for the man, but flee to the lavatory to say a prayer. Social workers care so much about the man’s situation that they drink to forget about it. Then, finally, a Spurs fan arrives. Despite the fierce rivalry between the two London clubs, he helps the Arsenal supporter to hospital and pays for a new coat and wallet for the man. Greg concedes that the choice of football shirt doesn’t go

unnoticed. ‘As soon as you come out wearing an Arsenal shirt, you never know what to expect,’ he says only half-jokingly. Although Oddments Theatre’s primary aim is to strengthen the existing faith of prisoners, it is also aware of the captive non-Christian audiences who simply want to escape the drudgery of their cells. ‘We often look for opportunities to perform to people who wouldn’t usually go to a service, so we can teach them about our faith and hopefully give them some sort of realisation about how their life could be changed for the better,’ Greg says. Greg enjoys performing worship songs that resonate with the inmates’ experiences and offer the hope of a fresh start with Jesus. ‘They love the songs and we quite often see a few men who get a bit teary during worship,’ he says. Oddments has also toured with a play called The Hiding Place. The story

10 August 2019 • WAR cry • INTERVIEW 7

Oddments Theatre

Greg at HMP Channings Wood with theatre company members and (right) onstage

is based on the real-life testimony of Dutch Christian Corrie ten Boom. Her family’s faith drove them to hide Jews during the German occupation of the Netherlands. Her nephews joined the resistance movement, her close family were arrested by the Gestapo, and Corrie was interned in a concentration camp. She later toured the world as a speaker, preaching reconciliation. The play focuses on courage, the power of faith in the darkest of times and love in action. Although The Hiding Place is usually performed in churches, Oddments tells the tale of reconciliation in prisons too. The play continues the redemptive theme of the theatre company’s Christian plays – the prisons team has previously performed Amazing Grace, the story of slave trader John Newton, whose life was transformed by God. ‘The most rewarding thing is seeing what we’re doing make a difference in people’s lives,’ Greg reflects. ‘We’re

What we’re doing makes a difference in people’s lives there to plant a seed, and sometimes you don’t know whether they’ve actually taken the message on board. But it might click a few months or a few years later.’ Oddments Theatre has transformed not just the lives of prisoners, but those of its interns and gap year students too. Alumni have gone on to varied careers, whether setting up their own theatre company or joining the leadership team of a shelter for people experiencing homelessness. Photos of smiling programme graduates hang in Oddments Theatre’s offices. Greg now heads up the company’s prison work, which involves arranging visits and generating new sketch ideas. Reflecting on his experiences, he

reveals that the placement wasn’t easy. There were difficulties in switching from studying at college to serving in prisons. ‘There are a lot of challenges to face within yourself,’ he says. ‘Things such as going into prisons to perform, having to learn lines so quickly and improvising when you’re onstage. ‘Prison theatre is nerve-racking and you never know what’s going to happen. There have also been quite a few moments where I’ve felt pretty low and that I didn’t know how much longer I could go on. ‘But I just remind myself why I’m doing this and that God is with me. He has given me a sense of peace and confidence, and that gets me through.’

8 INTERVIEW • WAR cry • 10 August 2019

Dead Sea discoveries are scrolling back the years

An area of caves near the Dead Sea where scrolls were found

10 August 2019 • WAR cry • INTERVIEW 9

PHILIP HALCROW

Seventy years after the first of them were uncovered, the Dead Sea Scrolls are still being analysed – and are still giving scholars insights into the development of the Bible, as Professor CHARLOTTE HEMPEL tells Philip Halcrow Professor Charlotte Hempel

‘I

T’S probably because of Dan Brown and all that stuff. And whenever people see something described as “esoteric”, they are immediately drawn to it.’ Sitting in her office at the University of Birmingham, Professor Charlotte Hempel is considering why some ancient scrolls found in the desert 70 years ago remain a hot topic. ‘They are intrinsically important,’ she says, ‘but it is interesting how they are so popular.’ The Dead Sea Scrolls make headlines. News outlets report when a fragment is deciphered or a forgery uncovered. Last year, when scholars reconstructed a text that contained a solar calendar in an esoteric script, Newsweek picked up an article written by Charlotte for academic media resource website The Conversation. Dan Brown may have mentioned the scrolls in The Da Vinci Code – where a character talks about them containing suppressed Christian writings – but long before that work of fiction became a bestseller, they were at the centre of controversies and conjecture about cover-ups. They have been surrounded by drama since they began to see the light of day in 1947, when, according to the story, a Bedouin stumbled across some scrolls in a cave

We have to work out where the pieces belong near Qumran while looking for an animal that had strayed from the flock he was tending. The initial find was followed by many others around the region. The story of their publication includes antiquities dealers, secret meetings and regional conflict. ‘We’re now talking about almost 1,000 fragmentary scrolls,’ says Charlotte. ‘The number keeps going up as scholars identify fragments and work out where they belong. There are only about 15 or so really big scrolls. Most of what we have are small pieces. But with some of those fragmentary scrolls, we’ve got enough readable material on them so that we can make out what they are about. ‘There are gaps. We’ll have some writing from one part of the text and then we’ll have a little bit of the text somewhere else, and we have to work out where the pieces belong. If it’s a biblical book which we know from

Turn to page 10

➥

10 INTERVIEW • WAR cry • 10 August 2019

From page 9 elsewhere, then we can work out what comes first and what probably comes next. But some of the texts are ones that we’ve never seen before, so we don’t really know what is the start and how it goes on. ‘Sometimes there’s quite a lot of technical reconstruction involved.’ The work has been painstaking – but also at times over the past 70 years, it seems, painfully slow. Charlotte describes how scholars have made slow progress with the material because of a number of factors. ‘You do need time to do these things properly,’ she says. But she

You can often see more on those images than on the original scrolls

adds that the team originally given the task of publishing the scrolls was quite small and could not cope with the volume of material – especially when the team members were not working full-time on the scrolls but ‘all had day jobs at Harvard or Oxford’. Initially scholars could also perhaps have been less backward in coming forward with what they were working on. Their reticence possibly contributed to claims of cover-ups and of the suppression of material that would shake the foundations of Christianity. ‘Access to the unpublished material was for some decades very restricted,’ says Charlotte, ‘but the reason for that wasn’t a Vatican conspiracy or the Israeli secret service or anything like that – it was a reluctance to share the load. The scholars working on the

Fragments of the scrolls in the Israel Antiquities Authority department at the Israel Museum

scrolls knew that if they revealed something new in whatever they published, they would be very well respected for it. Similarly, scholars without access might come up with an ingenious new theory only for someone else to refer to an unpublished text that would disprove it.’ Full sets of photographs of the scrolls were held at institutions in California and Oxfordshire, but even that was not always the key to access. Charlotte says that Geza Vermes – the renowned academic and author of The Dead Sea Scrolls in English – ‘couldn’t get access to the photos that were under his nose in Oxford. It’s quite unbelievable. ‘Then the Huntington Library in California got a new president, and he decided to make all the photos available. The editor-in-chief of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Israeli Antiquities Authority – who look after the material that is in Israel – threatened to sue, but they didn’t. So suddenly people had access to photos of everything. ‘Now we are in a different phase altogether, because we have digital photos of the scrolls.’ Technology is helping more people study the scrolls in more depth. Anyone can scroll through the big manuscripts online at the Digital Dead Sea Scrolls project, which is run with the Israel Museum. Another online resource, the Israel Antiquities Authority’s Leon Levy Digital Dead Sea Scrolls Library, includes different kinds of images made by technology developed with Nasa. Charlotte says: ‘The team working on the Leon Levy project has taken photographs of the scrolls so that when you explore one you can usually see infrared and multispectral colour versions. You can often see more on those images than you can on the original

scrolls, because you can zoom in. The infrared technology is helping scholars identify things that they couldn’t previously read.’ There are still puzzles to be solved about the content of the scrolls, but scholars have also long been trying to identify who composed and copied them. Some of the scrolls relate to the organisation of a community – often in the past they have been linked with a sect known from sources outside the scrolls, the Essenes – but Charlotte is cautious about identifying any particular group and attributing particular material to them. She does not talk about the Essenes, instead referring to ‘the movement for a time associated with Qumran’. But the scrolls contain more than esoteric calendars and rules for a community. ‘In the scrolls we have biblical texts, copied roughly between 250BCE and about 68CE when the site was destroyed by the Romans,’ says Charlotte. Among them is the oldest complete copy of the Book of Isaiah, dating from about 125CE. But, despite any suggestions by characters in Dan Brown novels, there is, says Charlotte, ‘nothing from the New Testament’ in the Dead Sea Scrolls. She points out: ‘There was a scholar who said some of the Greek papyri from one of the caves were New Testament, but the most complete word in all of them was “and”. They are very small, and most people now think they were part of a book known as 1 Enoch or the Old Testament in Greek.’ The Dead Sea Scrolls may not contain any New Testament writings, but they do give a glimpse into the world in which it was formed, at the same time offering scholars insights into the development of the Bible. ‘The scrolls contain many copies of ancient Jewish texts – such as 1 Enoch – that later did not become part of Judaism’s canon and that otherwise we knew about mainly because they

10 August 2019 • WAR cry • INTERVIEW 11

One of the Dead Sea Scrolls displayed in the Israel Museum were preserved by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church,’ says Charlotte. ‘Among the writings that are now in the Hebrew Bible, we have found every book, except Esther. The fact that Esther has not been found may be chance, because some of the books we count as being among the scrolls are in reality only little pieces. Or it could be because in the Hebrew version of Esther, God is never mentioned. ‘Most scholars don’t believe there is any New Testament among the Dead Sea Scrolls, but what’s interesting in connection with the New Testament is that, while we have in the scrolls almost all the Old Testament books, we haven’t got the same number of copies. Some books were more popular than others. We have what one of my colleagues has called a canon within a canon.

‘We can never be 100 per cent sure, but we can see that Genesis, Isaiah, Psalms and Deuteronomy are the frontrunners, so to speak, in the scrolls. When you look at the biblical citations in the New Testament, the list of the most popular books is exactly the same: Genesis, Isaiah, Psalms and Deuteronomy. ‘It could mean that across the whole of Judaism – out of which Christianity came – those books were more popular for everyone. Or it could mean that there were certain groups of Jews who focused on these books, and perhaps among them were some who became Christians.’ The Dead Sea Scrolls have also helped scholars assess the similarities and variations in the text that has come down through thousands of years and now sits on the pages of modern Bibles. ‘The oldest complete Hebrew Bible, the Leningrad Codex, dates from about the year 1000CE, but with the scrolls we now have

PHILIP HALCROW

There were various writings circulating and still being put together

Charlotte with a copy of one of the scrolls

manuscripts that are about 1,000 years older. ‘When scholars were writing translations or preparing editions of the Hebrew Bible, they would turn to the Leningrad Codex, which contains the standard text – the Masoretic text – or the Aleppo Codex, which is a bit older than the Leningrad Codex but not complete. There’s also a very ancient Greek translation, the Septuagint, which was started in the 3rd century BCE by Jews. It’s what the early Christians used too, because Greek was the lingua franca at the time. ‘Among the Dead Sea Scrolls we found Hebrew manuscripts that weren’t like what eventually became the Masoretic text. ‘Previously when scholars saw something in the Septuagint that was very different from the Hebrew, they would think that the translator had added something or left something out. But some of the Dead Sea Scrolls have proved that the Septuagint Greek is based on a different Hebrew text. We found Hebrew manuscripts that attest a Hebrew text which the Septuagint translated literally.’ The Dead Sea Scrolls demonstrate what Charlotte calls a ‘plurality’ of versions. Among the writings in Hebrew are the 151st Psalm in Hebrew, which was known from the Greek version of the Old Testament, and longer and shorter versions of the Book of Jeremiah. The plurality seemed to be replaced by unity after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70CE. ‘You can see clearly from the scrolls that there were various writings circulating and still being put together, and there was a little bit of fluidity in the finer points.’ The Dead Sea Scrolls are now influencing modern translations of the Bible, but the adjustments and alterations are mainly ‘in the detail’ of the text. ‘The biblical manuscripts in the Dead Sea Scrolls are pretty similar to the text of the Bible we’re used to,’ says Charlotte. ‘On the whole there’s an unusual and overwhelming harmony between them.’ She also believes the Dead Sea Scrolls to have an overwhelming significance. ‘For me, they’re more important than anything else we’ve got about one of the most important periods of history,’ she says. ‘They represent the world where both Judaism and Christianity started out.’

12 INNER LIFE • War Cry • 10 August 2019

Prayerlink YOUR prayers are requested for Lynn, who is facing cancer for the third time; and for Steven, who is in an induced coma and has pneumonia, and for his nan, who has supported him. The War Cry invites readers to send in requests for prayer, including the first names of individuals and details of their circumstances. Send your requests to Prayerlink, War Cry, 101 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BN. Mark your envelope ‘Confidential’.

Becoming a Christian There is no set formula to becoming a Christian, but many people have found saying this prayer to be a helpful first step to a relationship with God Lord Jesus Christ, I am truly sorry for the things I have done wrong in my life. Please forgive me. I now turn from everything that I know is wrong. Thank you that you died on the cross for me so that I could be forgiven and set free. Thank you that you offer me forgiveness and the gift of your Holy Spirit. Please come into my life by your Holy Spirit to be with me for ever. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Amen Extract from Why Jesus? by Nicky Gumbel published by Alpha International, 2011. Used by kind permission of Alpha International

Nigel Bovey gives chapter and verse on each book in the Scriptures

Amos MOS is prophesying to the northA ern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Jeroboam II, some 20 to

40 years before the country is invaded by the Assyrians. This is a time of great suffering for the people living in Israel (see 2 Kings 14:26). Neighbouring armies have destroyed their settlements (Amos 1:3), sold communities into slavery (1:6), killed men (1:11) and gutted pregnant women (1:13). But God will punish them. Within Israel, there is injustice, idolatry and immorality (2:6–8). The nation refuses to acknowledge its covenanted relationship with God and has ignored his warning shots of hunger, drought, failed crops and plagues (4:6–10). People would rather make money than make time for worship, with traders cheating their customers and trading in human misery (8:5 and 6). God issues an ultimatum: repent. He tells them to stop worshipping at altars to false gods (5:5) and instead ‘seek the Lord and live’ (5:6). Amos goes on to tell them that God wants them to stop oppressing the poor (5:12) and start living godly lives (5:24). The alternative, he says, is punishment. In a series of visions, Amos details the possible judgment. It could be as all-encompassing as a plague of locusts

(7:1–3). It could be as all-consuming as a fire (7:4–6). God measures Israel against a plumb line and declares it crooked (7:7–9). Divine retribution will come when the time is ripe (8:1–3).

People would rather make money than make time for worship The day of judgment will be characterised by natural disaster, darkness, famine, spiritual hunger and the destruction of the kingdom of Israel (8:8 to 9:10). However, after the punishment, God will restore the nation. People will return from captivity. Towns will be rebuilt and land cultivated once more. Never again will Israel be uprooted (9:11–15).

Key verse

‘Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!’ (Amos 5:24 New International Version)

Looking for help? Just complete this coupon and send it to War Cry 101 Newington Causeway London SE1 6BN Basic reading about Christianity Information about The Salvation Army Contact details of a Salvation Army minister

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10 August 2019 • WAR cry • EXPRESSIONS 13

TV REVIEW

Love Island ITV2 ITV2

The islanders perform a dance routine during the final

Summer lovin’

ORE than three million viewers watched the Love Island live final M on ITV2 last week. Fans of the dating reality show had spent the summer following a bunch of twentysomethings who were hoping to

Quick quiz 1. What name is given to a word that reads the same forwards and backwards? 2. Which band had a No 1 hit in 1967 with the song ‘I’m a Believer’? 3. What does the French word ‘salut’ mean? 4. How many inches are in a yard? 5. Who was the first Briton to win the Formula One World Championship? 6. Who directed the classic films Strangers on a Train and Vertigo?

ANSWERS 1. Palindrome. 2. The Monkees. 3. Hi. 4. Thirty-six. 5. Mike Hawthorn. 6. Alfred Hitchcock.

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find love in a villa on Majorca. Unexpectedly, Greg and Amber were crowned the winners of this year’s contest, beating favourites Tommy and Molly-Mae, who had been coupled up since week two and who had fallen in love. Amber, from Newcastle upon Tyne, had been on the island since day one and won the affection of the nation after being abandoned in a ‘recoupling’. She was also mistreated by former partner Michael but continued to keep her cool. Limerick lad Greg, the last contestant to enter the show, behaved like a true gentleman, giving Amber the kind treatment she deserved. Within days, Greg put a smile back on her face and the couple won viewers’ hearts. Having chosen to share the prize money, they walked away with £25,000 each. Over the show’s eight weeks, audiences have laughed, cried and held their breath as contestants fell out and forged friendships. Now that the dust has settled on the scorching summer of love, what was the point of it all? Reality TV is usually considered something to be avoided or a ‘guilty pleasure’. While some shows can be seen as exploitative or purposefully set up to humiliate contestants for our viewing pleasure, others are simply another way for those taking part to fulfil their dreams and have an amazing experience – which most of the islanders report to have had. This year, their mental health has been taken more seriously. Professionals have been on hand to provide counselling when needed and mandatory aftercare when they leave the villa. Looking for love can be stressful, especially in such an environment. But, romance aside, the most heart-warming thing about the show is that a group of strangers quickly opened up to each other and formed closeknit friendships. Amber walked away with the prize money but also with close and loyal friends. Any time a new islander walked in they were warmly welcomed with embraces and banter. Each contestant has had and has been a shoulder to cry on. They have shared clothes and have given each other advice. And previous years have shown that the friendships do last. Seeing the reality of virtues such as friendship, care and compassion on TV did not feel like a bad way to spend some of my summer nights.

Audiences have laughed, cried and held their breath

Sarah Olowofoyeku

14 PUZZLES • War Cry • 10 August 2019

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS 1. 5. 7. 8.

Ruin (7) Assess (5) Boat race (7) Implied, not stated (5) 10. Hunted animal (4) 11. No idea (8) 13. One of two (6) 14. Deceive (6)

17. Dreamt up (8) 19. Intelligent (4) 21. Punctured (5) 22. Disastrous (7) 23. Cringe (5) 24. Ship (7) DOWN 2. Fragment (7) 3. Appraise (4) 4. Annually (6)

5. Assembled (8) 6. Male relative (5) 7. Refill (9) 9. Flavourless (9) 12. Perplex (8) 15. Consistent (7) 16. Card suit (6) 18. Permit (5) 20. Bestow (4)

SUDOKU

Fill the grid so that every column, every row and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9

Each solution starts on the coloured cell and reads clockwise round the number

1. Charlie Brown’s dog 2. American biscuit 3. Cresent-shaped 4. Deliver a religious message 5. Fundraising sale 6. Distress signal

HONEYCOMB

Wordsearch

Answers

CAREFULNESS CIRCUMSPECTION COMMON SENSE DISCERNMENT ENLIGHTENMENT ERUDITION EXPERIENCE INSIGHT INTELLIGENCE JUDGMENT KNOWLEDGE LEARNING PRUDENCE REASON SAGACITY SENSIBLE SHREWDNESS UNDERSTANDING

Look up, down, forwards, backwards and diagonally on the grid to find these 3 7words 5 associated 9 1 2 with 8 wisdom 6 4

8 1 4 3 6 5 T P G Z 9 7 2 I R Y F V J X N P S P E V L M X Q K I U R S 6 2 9I A N F H P H E P D 7 8 4 1 5 3 E J D T J S D E A Z G G V R E Q C U 1 3 7 6 2 9 4 8 5 P Y B N E S N G B S I A U X J M R S 9 4 2 1 5 8 7 3 6 R T B E Z E K L M S D Z C Q H L T E U T U M R N T T N E R U D I T I O N 5 6 8 4 3 7 2 9 1 D Z Z N Y D E I P N N U F S T Y S S 7 9R E L G T 6 2 4 J Z K Y H 3 5 1 8 I E T S E D W I N O I T C E 4 P 5S M U C R 3 8 9 1I C M V M B 6 2 7 C Q L H U R R B C F G E P Z Z K I L 2 8 1 5 7 6 3 M O C E 4 9 E L Z G O H E S N E S N O M C E T I V S A Z T R R L I Q X D X F M Y P L V M S K I A C N X N E F B T B A F N J O O O Y C N Q M U R R N X F G W E I K N O W L E D G E F A B W Z T T S F B W E X P E R I E N C E Z F C G E C N E G I L L E T N I T A L F J G P X W P N Q G D P N J G N V O

HONEYCOMB 1 Snoopy. 2 Cookie. 3 Lunate. 4 Preach. 5 Bazaar. 6 Mayday. QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS: 1 Destroy. 5 Gauge. 7 Regatta. 8 Tacit. 10 Prey. 11 Clueless. 13 Either. 14 Delude. 17 Imagined. 19 Wise. 21 Holed. 22 Ruinous. 23 Cower. 24 Steamer. DOWN: 2 Segment. 3 Rate. 4 Yearly. 5 Gathered. 6 Uncle. 7 Replenish. 9 Tasteless. 12 Bewilder. 15 Uniform. 16 Hearts. 18 Allow. 20 Give.

1 3 6 8 2 7 9 4 5

5 8 2 4 1 6 7 3 9

7 9 4 3 5 2 8 6 1

6 1 3 7 8 9 4 5 2

3 6 5 2 7 4 1 9 8

4 2 1 9 3 8 5 7 6

9 7 8 1 6 5 3 2 4

SUDOKU SOLUTION

1 3

5 8

7 9

6 1

3 6

4 2

9 7

10 August 2019 • WAR cry • WHAT’S COOKING? 15

Chicken chow mein 2tsp Chinese five-spice Dash sunflower oil

2tsp reduced-salt soy sauce

1 onion, halved and thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 chicken breasts, shredded into 4cm strips 1 carrot, cut into matchsticks Serves

125g shiitake mushrooms 1 courgette, cut into sticks 100g frozen soya beans, defrosted

300g pack cooked egg noodles

Heat the sunflower oil in a large pan and cook the onion for 2 minutes. Add the chicken and stir constantly for 3 minutes, making sure the pieces don’t stick together.

Grilled Mediterranean peppers

Add the carrot, mushrooms and courgette. Cook for a further 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

450g mixed cherry tomatoes, halved

Stir in the soya beans, Chinese five-spice, soy sauce, garlic and noodles. Mix well for a further 3 minutes. Serve hot.

1 shallot, finely chopped 4 garlic cloves, finely sliced 2tbsp basil leaves, finely chopped, plus extra, to garnish 2tsp olive oil Freshly ground black pepper 3 large red peppers, cut in half and deseeded

Preheat the grill to hot. Place a wire rack on a rimmed baking tray. Place the tomatoes, shallot, garlic, basil and olive oil in a mixing bowl. Season to taste with black pepper. Divide the tomato salad between the pepper halves, and arrange them on the wire rack. Grill for 5 minutes until the peppers are lightly charred at the edges. Remove from the grill. Allow to cool. Garnish with the extra basil leaves and serve.

Serves

Recipes reprinted, with permission, from the Diabetes UK website diabetes.org.uk

C. S. Lewis