Safeguarding reprise

With the news story about the Liverpool suicide bomber still unfolding, I've been pondering on what led a young asylum seeking convert to Christianity to commit such an act of apostasy in the eyes of all three Abrahamic faiths which incorporate the Ten Commandments. Clearly frustration and despair at having his life on kept hold for so long due to the slowness of his asylum request process generates such desperation. 

He's reported as suffering from poor mental health. He seems to have acted alone, deliberate in planning his attack over the previous six months. None of this says anything about his spiritual state. Three years ago he was baptized and confirmed, leaving aside his identity as an Iraqui muslim to become a member ot the Church of England. Was his religious conversion a lying pretence? Did estrangement from his native culture leave him lonely a stranger in a strange land, despite the welcome and fellowship he received. 

The power of evil to insinuate itself into the lives of the strongest and weakest people alike. Few apart from the most conservative thinking religious people are at ease with talking about 'the Devil' these days, perhaps because such talk has been linked to abusive behaviour in times past. Good though we are at analysing and interpreting human thought and action, we don't have adequate language for thinking about the 'mystery of iniquity' unless we can speak about wickedness at a spiritual level.   

After breakfast today, I had my second two hour Safeguarding Zoom session. It was comprehensive and through, and demanding of attention. Interestingly enough, he session over-ran by ten minutes due to an unscheduled but worthwhile discussion about 'spiritual abuse', a phenomenon not unknown among zealous well meaning Christians, who fail to respect the personal boundaries of others. 

I was quite tired by the end, and could have done with fresh air to clear my head, but there was lunch to cook in time for Clare's return from town. When we'd eaten I went and collected the weekly veggie bag, and then the grocery order from Beanfreaks. 

The plasterer turned up to finish repairing the kitchen wall as I was going out by car on a third excursion to the main Post Office to collect a small parcel which the postman failed to deliver when we were out. Traffic was slow moving, and as I was crawling along, the fuel warning light came on, so before returning home I drove to Tesco's filling station to get petrol. By the time I got back, the plasterer had finished and left. Now we have to wait for the patch to dry out before painting it and the rest of the kitchen walls.

Rufus sent me the document to review he's been working on, which we discussed when we met yesterday. With his agreement I did some editing and revision to make the outreach project it describes presentable. It was only after supper that I got around to a proper walk for the day, in the dark. I've made an effort to optimise daylight hours outdoors and avoid walking in the dark. It's frustrating to run out of hours, but sometimes inevitable.