robby's stuff

Monday, September 22, 2025

Yet further revision of the front cover for Pepe

If you're viewing this on your computer screen, take a glance to the right and scroll just a little bit down the column. You'll see the newest version of the cover of Pepe.

Here's a thumbnail sized version. On the web view, or on my website or on the Amazon kindle page, You'll see it full size.

After looking at what I had, I decided it needed some more sprucing up. I needed it to shout, Cyberpunk, and Street Kid a little bit more loudly.

I hope this does the trick...

Monday, September 15, 2025

Christian vs Nationalism

It saddens me very much to see Christianity associated with nationalism, both in US and here in UK.

I realise it's been in the traditional Christian DNA since the time of Emporer Constantine, but according to Jesus, it was never supposed to be that way.

Here's my take on how Jesus dealt with it. It's a quote from a couple of my books and a Quora response I did recently:

The following quote from Jesus himself goes a long way to drawing the line between politics and Christian religious belief: Render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God (Mark 12:17).

Not all Christians will agree with the following interpretation, but I believe it needs to be heard...

This wasn’t just a convenient reply to the question he had just been asked - regarding paying taxes to Caesar. Jesus gave us a profound truth: there is a fundamental difference between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Caesar – or any human government. We see that difference in Jesus’ reply to Pontius Pilate: My Kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would be fighting… (John18:36)

Depending on how it came to power, a human government is answerable to its own hierarchy, or to those who put them in power, be it the people who voted them in, or their representatives (MPs, senators and congressmen), or oligarchs, or their military, or the monarchy, or popular revolution. Whether they are tough on things like immigration or border controls, or are very lax, depends on the concerns or interests of those within the hierarchy, or on the constituents that voted them into office. Murder and theft are generally outlawed, but what other activities are criminalised would likewise depend on the conditions of rule. They may allow slavery or abolish it – or child labour, or domestic abuse. They may restrict religious freedom or freedom of expression if those go against their interests.

It’s nice when the State takes care of the poor, provides education, social services, and covers medical costs from public funds, but that hasn’t always been the case, and the time for that could cease.

All the above is what human government does – what belongs to Caesar - and the servants of Jesus aren’t called to fight to change it.

As for what belongs to God… the Kingdom of God has its own rules that may or may not be compatible with human government. Their interests may overlap like a Venn diagram. The Parameters of that overlap are Romans 13:1-5 on one side, and Acts 5:29 on the other; between where it says we must obey those in authority, and the other that says we must obey God rather than man.

Where the mandate of the Kingdom of God has come into conflict with human government, believers have faced incarceration and even death for their allegiance to the Kingdom of God. Christians were thrown to the lions in Rome, and even today, believing in Messiah carries a harsh sentence in some radical states. Under regimes like ISIS and even in Saudi Arabia, believers are beheaded. In times that slavery was sanctioned, groups like the Quakers and other conscientious believers assisted slaves who were escaping from their masters, following Deut 23:16 and 17 (which forbids returning escaped slaves to their masters even where slavery is allowed). Some believers in Europe risked their lives to save Jewish people from being taken away by the Nazis. Sadly, others understood only one of the above parameters and thought their duty to the state meant handing the Jews over. So, our role as citizens of the Kingdom of God may come into conflict with the expectations of any of the kingdoms of this world.

Nowhere does the New Testament criticise secular governments for doing what they do. Forcing human government to bow to the Kingdom of God, has never been our mandate. Of course, where the system allows it, such as in a democracy, we can vote and even run for office. Paul even pleaded his rights as a Roman citizen on occasion. Citizens of the Kingdom of God may interact with world politics – just don’t let our involvement blind people to the message of the Kingdom of God, as has happened in the West. Always leave scope for “friendship evangelism”.

Also, we can be thankful for good things that have been accomplished by the kingdoms of this world, such as the ending of legal slave trade, abolition of slavery, the defeat of Naziism, and various civil rights acts, guaranteeing various freedoms, and even social services – just as Paul and others were thankful for Pax Romana. All the while, keep in mind that the kingdoms of this world will not be part of the Kingdom of our God until the time stated in Revelation 11:15, when that proclamation is made.

In the meantime, the pendulum could very well swing in the other direction. If that happens, again, take joy, as that would be a trial to make us stronger

... end quote.

The fact is, making the world safe for our kind wasn't the mandate Jesus gave us, rather, to spread the Kingdom of God, which is distinct from any of the kingdoms of this world.

Friday, September 12, 2025

Death of a public figure

When a person with a highly controversial career or reputation dies, whether by assassination, commando raid, bombing, or by natural circumstances, old age, etc, we tend to hear of all sorts of reactions. When Margaret Thatcher passed on, while many mourned, some held parties to celebrate. When Osama bin Laden was killed, Facebook resounded with comments like, "Ding doing the witch is dead..."

Now, it's for Charlie Kirk that the bell tolls. From where I sit, I'm hearing and reading the usual spectrum of responses.

If, God forbid, the current US president were to be assassinated, I'm sure there would be a national day of mourning, but for some, a day of celebration (when I say "God forbid," I do mean, "God forbid," but that in no way indicates where I stand politically). We tend to forget that such a death doesn't only end a political career, but a life as well. And behind each public face, there is a life.

I remember watching old Hong Kong police films that featured shoot-outs between police and mobsters where both police and gang members were dropping like flies. It happens in some western films as well. They were exciting scenes, to be sure, but they made me wonder, what's the average life expectancy of a Hong Kong policeman? - or of an average gangster? Are people really so dedicated to their work if there's such a high risk of it all coming to an end? - Never seeing their kids grow up; never again spending time with their spouse; never taking walks in the countryside; drawing pictures... etc etc...?

Life is a gift from God, and I believe we don't take it seriously enough.

The rabbis say, when someone dies, a world comes to an end. The "world", in this case, is the entire network of relationships, people loved and hated, people whose lives are enriched or otherwise affected, bosses, colleagues, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, pals down at the pub, next door neighbours, people whose view of their daily landscape includes that person's figure - it's gone from all of those, leaving a hole in each landscape.

In my novels, when a character dies, I always try to express all of that feeling. In fact, in one of the scenes, a rabbi makes the above quote.

Of course we know death isn't the end. As believers in Messiah, we believe in an afterlife. We often say one has gone to "a better place." But if we look closer to our theology, we'll note that those who have gone on are, for the time being, incomplete. They are souls separated from their bodies waiting for the resurrection of the dead, when they will once again be reunited with their resurrected body. We tend to forget that.

Apart from what we profess, we have no idea what it's actually like. Peter Pan said that death must be the greatest adventure. Maybe so, but we don't know what it looks like.

That's as it should be, as our business right now is this life.

This life is the gift from God, ours to make whatever we will of it. It's the only chance we have to improve this world - our world that includes everyone that has anything to do with us, which includes parts of other people's worlds like a Venn diagram - God's gift to each of us, and our gift to those others.

That is why untimely death is so ugly, and why murder is so evil.

While some, right now, are saying, "I'm sorry he's gone, his arguments resonated with me," others are saying, "I'm glad he's dead, I hated his politics."

What about the cardigan his aunt was knitting for his next birthday*? What of the hopes of ever taking his two young kids to Disneyland when they're older**?

If anyone feels inclined to sing, "Ding doing, the witch is dead," please add the line, "The witch will never again smell the flowers or see a rainbow."

* supposing she was. I don't even know if he had any aunts.

** I did a google search to see if he had kids