This is an outrageous piece that deserves to be vigorously counteracted. Firstly, and foremost, because it jeopardizes Christian beliefs and grossly misrepresents them!
This individual is unfortunately simply attacking the very fabric of Christianity by claiming absurdities after absurdities! And I plan to tackle each one of these below. On Sun, 5 May 2002 12:39:42 kilopascal wrote: >THE CHRISTIAN AND COMPULSORY METRICATION > >By Tony Bennett > >At first sight, compulsory metrication may seem like a minor irritation which should >not particularly concern the Christian. Some may even regard the standardisation of >weights and measures worldwide as a blessing. > You've got that right, sir! It IS a blessing. No more confusions and wastage of time and resources. This actually can ONLY be a blessing, nothing else, "oder"?... >However, metrication has an interesting history which should at least give us pause >for thought. It was devised, of course, by the French revolutionaries (many of them >Freemasons), inspired as they were by their anti-Christian, humanist ideology. ? Who cares if this was indeed invented by anti-Christians (and there is a lot of room here to disagree with that statement!)??? What matters is why and what it brings to the table. There is a-b-s-o-l-u-t-e-l-y NO evidence WHATSOEVER that it was aimed at Christians, to destroy their faith, way of life with its noble moral principles of behavior. Alas, so what if the X-ray was invented by the French? Should the US or any other nation for that matter refrain from using it *because* it was not one of them who came up with the brilliant idea??? What absurdity! > They abolished the 7-day week and many other trappings of Christian civilisation, >quite apart from killing hundreds of thousands in their pursuit of 'liberty, equality >and fraternity'. > I'm not even convinced that the decree to decimalize the weekly cycle was ill-intentioned! True, it would wreak havoc with our way of worshipping the Lord on the Sabbath day, but *only IF* businesses and societies activities shifted to decimal cycles (which I very much doubt it would necessarily be the case!)! As for the 'killings' argument, that doesn't concern me, besides I feel that those would be completely unrelated to the metric system. >Whatever its advantages, the metric system is essentially an artificial system, with >major disadvantages compared with our system of inches and feet, yards and miles, >pints and gallons, ounces, pounds and stones and so on. 'Major disadvantages', eh?... HA! I wonder what those would be... :-( > These are all units easy for the human mind to conceive and nearly all of which can >conveniently be divided into halves, quarters, sixths, etc., which is difficult in >the metric system. 'Easy for the human mind to conceive'??? By golly, this guy must live in a different planet! What can possibly be easy to conceive with stupid feet, inches, yards and other nonsense??? I've spent my whole life trying to "relate" to such mediocre units without any success! And I believe I'm in the top 5% of people with regards to mental perception and mathematical abilities! Gee, he must indeed come from Mars or something! :-( And to say that halves, quarters and all this would be "convenient" is too much of a stretch and exaggeration! Granted, in some applications this *may* be the case, but these are much more the exception than the rule. Besides, we can use decimals to address those just as conveniently up to as far as it would also be convenient for them fractionwise (i.e. up to 1/16 - 3 digits)! > The British system of weights and measures has passed down from generation to >generation by oral tradition and cannot just be eliminated by law-making. Yes, it can, and hopefully it will, if politicians don't chicken out at the last moment! > Decades of compulsory metrication, including the removal of the teaching of British >weights and measures from the national curriculum, have not stopped us weighing >ourselves in stones and pounds, measuring our height in feet and inches, speaking of >our car's fuel consumption in miles per gallon, and so on. > That's because laws have been too lax in that regard. Suffice it to look at the Canadian example for proof of that. Where metrication was rendered compulsory people eventually switched (temperature, highway) and I don't know of many who would still regret having made such a change (I mean in terms of *majority* of people now!). >The system of weights and measures the Israelites used was a human, natural system, >like ours. A recent United Nations survey revealed an amazing 1,600-plus different >systems of weights and measures still in use - all of them 'natural' systems like >ours - and proof if it were needed that the metric system is by no means as widely >adopted as its supporters claim. > ? Where is the proof, sir? Where is such a study? Don't make blatant blank statements you cannot corroborate, sir! Even if these exist I doubt it they're *really* used to any significant extent. >The decision to impose the metric system on Britain was made by Harold Wilson when he >quietly met with leaders of the then European Economic Community in 1963, a year >before he was first elected Prime Minister. Decimalization of our currency followed, >garages were forced to sell petrol by the litre, hospitals ordered to discard their >lbs. and oz. scales in favour of metric scales and supermarkets forced to sell by the >kilogram and gram. The next notch on the ratchet was to make it a crime under British >law for loose goods to be sold in pounds and ounces. That is currently being >'flouted' (or rather, very sensibly being ignored) by thousands of small shopkeepers >and market traders. As I write, the law on this issue is about to be determined by >two High Court judges, who will have to decide if five 'metric martyrs' are indeed >criminals. The British public clearly don't think so, having overwhelmingly voted >Sunderland greengrocer Steve Thoburn as 'European Campaigner of the Year! ! ! ', much to the irritation of the European Commission, and as 'Man of the Year' in an ITV Teletext poll last month. > This was evidently written prior to our knowing that they have lost! Good for the UK! YOU should be celebrating, sir, not condemning such a judgement! >Despite all this, the government recently promulgated a Regulation which will make it >a crime even to mention pounds and ounces in British shops after 31 December 2009. On >1 January this year it became illegal for supermarkets in Britain to sell any >packaged items mentioning pounds and ounces. These attempts at outright obliteration >of our system of weights and measures bring to mind the notorious quotation from >former World Health Organisation Director Brock Chisholm when he addressed the United >Nations 1985: "To achieve one world government, it is necessary to remove from the >minds of men their individualism, their loyalty to family traditions, and their >national identification". > ? I don't think anyone is talking about ONE world government, sir! Since you're quoting Scriptures later on you should know that that will NOT take place, EVER, until our Lord comes back to earth as the Lord of Lords and King of Kings (please read Daniel 2!). So, what you're saying above is nonsense and NOT in the cards. In any case, as Europe is a crystal clear example, one does not need to lose his/her identity to make part of such a hypothetical government, BTW!!! >Against this background, compulsory metrication may be seen as one way of stripping >away our national identity. So many other examples could be given. > Brazilians, Costa-ricans, Germans, French, Canadians, we all use the metric system and NONE of us feel we have lost ANYTHING with regards to our distinctiveness. So, I guess you are indeed lacking of 'other examples'. I actually even doubt you'd be able to cite any of any meaningfulness! >The next major attempt to eliminate use of British weights and measures will be the >government's plan, recently admitted (see Daily Mail, 24.4.01), to destroy the three >million British road signs in miles, yards, feet and inches, and replace them with >signs in kilometres and metres. The pretext (for that is what it is) is that by 2006, >more than 50% of British drivers will have been 'metric educated'. Already a start >was made in 1994, when new Regulations allowed Councils to erect dual-unit bridge >height and road width signs with metric units more prominent than British units. > Chris, can you substantiate the above, please? If it's true, *it's about time, sir*!!! When can we expect this to finally happen? Is 2006 a realistic goal yearwise, Chris? Would you please share with us any thoughts on this? Thanks. >But apart from those two exceptions, all British road and pedestrian signs, even >those on private land to which the public have access, must be in British units only >- under the Road Traffic Regulations 1994. Yet this has been and is being routinely >flouted by dozens of local authorities who have stealthily been erecting metric road >and pedestrian signs whenever they can get away with it. This, of course, causes >confusion, a point conceded by John Prescott two years ago when he was Transport >Minister. So a campaign has developed to try and dam this creeping (and, it must be >remembered, unlawful) metrication of our road signs before the trickle of illegal >signs becomes a flood. When challenged, some authorities concede defeat and change >the signs; others are clearly reluctant to do so, and need many letters before they >give in. Still others refuse to deal with the illegality or claim they will alter the >signs 'in due course', but never do so. What does one do when a local auth! ! ! ority persistently refuses to remove or alter a metric sign which is clearly not permitted under British law? > Excellent question! So, according to you the answer is the kinds of action YOU personally took, eh??? I.e. to take the law into your own hands, sir? How shameful! And that you would be even conceiving to use Christ's sound doctrine to defend such a course of action... How disgraceful! I cannot allow you to tarnish my faith with such atrocious understanding of Scriptures as I plan to demonstrate below! >Some of us have, as a last resort, taken to direct action to stem the flow of >unlawful metric road signs by neatly painting over any illegal metric distances the >authorities fail to remove, carefully amending them into British units, or in >appropriate cases removing them from the roadside. In a handful of cases, this has >met with a swift and aggressive response from authorities unwilling to put their >signs back into British units. They have reported these incidents to the Police. I >have personally now been arrested three times in connection with such incidents. In >one case, the charges were dropped; in another, the Police have so far decided there >is insufficient evidence to proceed. The third case is proceeding in Maidstone >Magistrates Court on a charge of 'criminal damage', and concerns 56 illegal metric >road signs erected by Transco Pipelines - despite four years of campaigners having >warned them time and again that to use metric distances on their signs was illegal. >We pa! ! ! inted over the illegal distances. The likely trial date is March. > It would be a pity to see a fellow "believer" in prison, but I do sincerely hope you lose, sir, and are put in jail for your actions in accordance with you own laws (if that's how the law of your land would deal with breach cases like these), if only to set the example! Please remember that even when Peter made use of a sword to defend an innocent man (Jesus Himself!!!) the Lord said he should not resort to such violent means! Therefore, there can clearly be no justification for your taking the law into your own hands, sir! >What do the Scriptures say on using any form of 'direct action'? There is Christ's >warning that we should "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the >things that are God's" (Mark 12:17) - regarded as a general injunction to obey the >law of the land. Precisely! Therefore, do as HE says! And why would you be advocating otherwise is completely beyond me!... > By and large, the examples from the Scriptures of believers defying the authorities >centre on attempts to ban believers from giving due worship and acknowledgement to >God. The defiance of Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego in Daniel 3 is a shining example. Not 'by and large', sir, but practically *exclusively*!!! Your extension to civil disobedience therefore is a disgraceful distortion of sound Christian doctrine! > But I might mention the midwives (Exodus 1:17), who "feared God, and did not as the >king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive", and the Jericho >harlot Rahab, who defied the king's men hunting for the Israelite spies with words >she knew to be untrue: "There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they >were.whither the men went I wot not: pursue after then quickly; for ye shall overtake >them" (Joshua 2:4-5). > When it comes to a matter of either obeying God or men, sure, we shall obey God above all! But what on earth does THAT have to do with the metric system, sir??????? >I see compulsory metrication as one of many attempts our governments have been making >for decades to strip away our sense of national identity for some ulterior purpose. YOU see is right. No other country on earth that I know of has lost ANY of its distinctive identity because it has metricated! Show us ONE, just O-N-E proof of that, sir! And what 'ulterior purpose' would (or could) there be besides bringing some rationality and prosperity to peoples around the world??? > It disconnects us from our history and erodes an aspect of our distinctive culture, >contrary to the 'celebration of diversity' principle so often promoted in other >contexts e.g. the 'multicultural society'. > 'Disconnects... from our history'? Do you advocate that we continue to drive carriages and ride horses around, sir? Or go back to "good old medieval times"? Good grief! A system of units belongs in the Science classroom, sir. I'm sorry, but you totally wrong to associate it with culture! Besides, this is one kind of 'diversity' we can all live without! >A sense of national identity was of course something God Himself gave to human beings >- for the express purpose of restraining evil. In Genesis 11:9 we read how "the Lord >did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord >scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth". This was in response to God's >observation (Genesis 11:6) that "the people is one.now nothing will be restrained >from them, which they have imagined to do" - a clear warning of the likely explosion >of evil if we ever move to the one world government so many high-ranking people are >now working towards. ??? What a disgraceful distortion of history and God's intent for the human race! God actually NEVER intended for people to be so distinct as to organize themselves in clusters like we have lately (countries). God always intended us to be *ONE* people, the people of God!!! However, evil entered this planet and with it a new horrible dimension in human's intentions emerged. It's because of THAT that He saw fit to "scatter us across the earth", sir! NOT because His original intention was for us to have 'national identities'!!! Therefore, it's not that evil will 'explode', as you put it, but rather that evil HAS ALREADY EXPLODED, that He did what He did!!! Now, as for the world government business it's indeed true that if it ever took place humanity would indeed be in trouble, *but because of sin*, because abuses would happen. We already know how power can be abused. We're all too familiar with that. That's why the current assembly of countries is the best one can aspire for when it comes to "oneness" of governcy. But you can rest assured that nothing of the kind will emerge. A united Europe, possible NA, SA, Africa, Asia, etc, is the farthest that may ever happen. And it's debatable whether such unions would actually be bad for the peoples involved. > Taking direct action against illegal metric signs seems to those of us involved to >be a legitimate way of helping to prevent the loss of one significant part of our >national identity. But I am aware that many fellow-Christians may disagree. > I don't think so. If you don't like the laws as they stand now lobby your representative in government, get organized, etc, but do *everything by the book*, sir! But, good grief, leave this business of 'national identity' out, will ya??? And you bet you're right that 'many fellow-Christians may disagree' with you! And I happen to be one of them, sir! ;-) With Christian respect and regard, Marcus Is your boss reading your email? ....Probably Keep your messages private by using Lycos Mail. Sign up today at http://mail.lycos.com
