Category Archives: Politics and sociology

A simple false positive update

Posted on 26/03/2021 by Jon Garvey

OK. The positive test rate for COVID in the UK has been flat all month, at around 6,400 daily. The rapid increase in test numbers has also more or less flattened off at around 1.8m daily, and COVID deaths are zero in many areas.

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Nature small, medium and large

Posted on 21/03/2021 by Jon Garvey

A BBC nature programme a couple of weeks ago showed the remarkable nest of Britain’s smallest bird (if you don’t count the tail) – the long-tailed tit. It’s a beautifully made globular structure (though still heavily predated) of lichen and feathers, designed to expand as the brood grows because it’s woven from spider’s silk.

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Implicit narcissism

Posted on 17/03/2021 by Jon Garvey

I’ve no idea why YouTube started assailing me with psychologists’ guides to narcissism some months ago. They do that sometimes, the algorithms suddenly deciding to deluge you with clips on “carpentry tips” maybe, or some obscure Australian band. But it has become very apposite, since a possibly narcissitic relationship at the very top of society has been in the headlines for the last week or two, suspected as such by many lay people as well as pundits.

Posted in Medicine, Politics and sociology, Theology | 2 Comments

Sharpley and son revisited

Posted on 15/03/2021 by Jon Garvey

“Better get a move on Paul – we’ll be late for church.” “Uhh… if you don’t mind, Dad, I’d rather stay home.” “Hmmm – hold on a second, Son… Grace! I’ve got an issue here – you go on with the girls and we’ll catch you up! Now, what’s the problem, Paul? You’ve never missed church before.”

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More on closed churches

Posted on 13/03/2021 by Jon Garvey

Looking at historical instances of mass-closure of churches, one thing is clear: it was taken very much more seriously by our brethren in the past.

Posted in Medicine, Politics and sociology, Science, Theology | 2 Comments

An old(?) normal for return to church

Posted on 10/03/2021 by Jon Garvey

If the last year has taught us anything about church, it is that at its core is “assembly” (ekklesia) and not “virtual contact.” Apart from the many psycho-social reasons I pointed to even before the first lockdown – a year less a week ago – one key realisation to many is the centrality of participation.

Posted in Politics and sociology, Theology | 2 Comments

Worshipping in spirit and production values

Posted on 03/03/2021 by Jon Garvey

I had an e-mail today (as the “chief musician” of my church) from the organisation that licences worship music, headed “Enhance Your Worship With MultiTracks.” Coming off the back of recent leadership discussions after nearly a year of online lockdown virtual services, that seems worthy of comment.

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Socialism, capitalism, globalism

Posted on 27/02/2021 by Jon Garvey

First, a notice that The Hump of the Camel is ten years old today! Our Birthday! Happy Birthday! Quite a good age for a blog, I think. You’d be welcome at my party if we weren’t still locked up for our own good. To business. Those of us Brits who lived before the Thatcher era remember the shortcomings of nationalised industry: underfunding, jobsworth mentality, lack of choice and innovation, uncompetitive pricing.

Posted in Politics and sociology | 3 Comments

It’s always the models

Posted on 23/02/2021 by Jon Garvey

I’m getting more and more convinced about the centrality of our animal physicality, in everything from benefiting from nature to worshiping God “in spirit and truth.” A rather saddening recent essay suggests that the greatest harm to children from “online education” in lockdown is going to come from “derealisation,” whereby they become increasingly undistinguishing between reality and the virtual world. Worse still they become less able to see that the difference matters. There seems to be a similar problem in the sciences.

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Meeting public expectations

Posted on 19/02/2021 by Jon Garvey

I came across a little-known story about the London Blitz yesterday, best summarised in this article by Londoner Simon Webb, or if you’re impatient of more reading, in his YouTube video on the subject.

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