[Helloheshess]

The following news item from an RSS feed might be of interest to Monachos readers:

Adam Gilchrist scores the second fastest Test century as Australia take complete control of the third Test.
This news item is from the BBC UK News service.

Click here for fuller text...

[Trikaduliana]

I was thinking this was some shock comment by Fr Peter about the moral disintegration of the UK.

Apparently not! But still important to many folk. :-)

Peter

[Stengapsept]

I was thinking this was some shock comment by Fr Peter about the moral disintegration of the UK.

Apparently not! But still important to many folk. :-)

Peter

Dear Peter,

Just shows either the danger of these internet filters - or a malign desire to rub it in!

In Christ,

John

[Trikaduliana]

I'd be interested to know why the computer thought this headline was relevant to an Orthodox forum?

Is there some message in the news item that we are meant to pick up on?

Peter

[Seiblybiozy]

Perhaps God likes Cricket?

[Trikaduliana]

Well since He is an Englishman that would make sense?

The Holy Bible is in English after all.

Peter

[electmobile]

My Anglican priest friend is actually Welsh and his first tongue is Welsh. He told me the story of a Welsh lady whose first language was not Welsh and so she set about learning it. 'Why are you learning Welsh?', she was asked. 'So I will understand what they will be saying in heaven', she replied. 'What if you go to hell?', came the reply. 'Oh', she said, 'I already know English!'
My friend's wife is Australian (and Orthodox) and says that there the job of captain of the cricket team is far more important than that of prime minister! (Any message, Irene?)

Andreas.

[Trikaduliana]

Lol!

I wonder how many pairs of countries have stories like that?

Of course it is only a minority community that comes up with tales like that to make themselves feel better.

I can't imagine that the language of heaven is other than English. Indeed the very name of our beautiful nation is Angle-land which derives from Land of the Angels. And our language is truly Angel-ish.

I read recently some scholarly studies which showed that there were constructs in the Hebrew of the Old Testament which had come from the English language and showed that it was in fact the original language that the Pentateuch at least had been written in.

The original tongue of the whole world was English, and this is clearly shown by the fact that the names of all of the animals like sheep and cows and chickens are in English and have to be translated into other languages. And of course at Babel the rest of the world fell into linguistic confusion and were given other languages, but Angel-ish was preserved and is still used here in England. This is clearly proved by the fact that English people are unable to learn to speak other languages.

Peter

[bUqLfXRI]

I'd be interested to know why the computer thought this headline was relevant to an Orthodox forum?

Is there some message in the news item that we are meant to pick up on?

Peter

As you suggested above I think it's supposed to refer to one of the world's newer 'religions'.

A number of years ago I was blessed by my bishop to try to begin a mission in a small Canadian city.

We rented a room in a city arena that had a hockey rink attached. Once a month on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings we would do our services.

We thought we were showing real promise when one Sunday morning we had between 20 to 30 people show up for the service.

But upon leaving the arena we couldn't help but notice that there were enough cars in the arena parking lot & enough parents bringing their kids to hockey practice to fill the largest cathedrals we have two or three times over.

And that in a smallish Canadian city!

Keep the Faith!

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Stengapsept]

Dear Peter,

It occurs to me that the scanner might have picked this up because it knows that only a miracle can save England's chances of retaining the Ashes!



John

[biannaruh]

Perhaps the RSS feeder picked it up knowing that cricket (and the Ashes series in particular) counts as a religious observance for a fair chunk of the Australian population. I'm no cricket fan myself, though I can quite understand the fervour of feeling in this country when the English get walloped!

[Seiblybiozy]

Adam Gilchrist I was just re-reading the headlines again. That's one sensitive server.

[redDoodia]

... the fervour of feeling in this country when the English get walloped!

Well, that's just not cricket. Ax

[electmobile]

Australia have the Ashes - no miracle, John! Oh, the conundrum of unanswered prayer!

Andreas (wingeing Pom).

[Stengapsept]

Perhaps the RSS feeder picked it up knowing that cricket (and the Ashes series in particular) counts as a religious observance for a fair chunk of the Australian population. I'm no cricket fan myself, though I can quite understand the fervour of feeling in this country when the English get walloped!

On the ground that it is cruel to mock the afflicted, I would like to request a few moments of silence for the England cricket team! And, when that is over, an even longer one!

In Christ,

John

[JessiPollo]

Dear friends,

As I'm in the midst of travels I've not scanned the messages here for some days; and what a good laugh I had from this thread. It's nice to see that the ineptitude of internet news-scanning software can spark such amusing conversation!

INXC, Matthew
(Temporarily back in the American Colonies)

[Seiblybiozy]

I too am very glad to see the levity of the usual posters. I have difficulty keeping up and trying to figure out where you guys and gals get your information. You all must have doctorates. Many of the posts get very "deep". I am enheartened to know the softer side of you. It makes for the less enlightened (me) to feel more welcome.

Paul

[electmobile]

Paul, you must have noticed that can't give much to the theology threads, and I certainly don't have a PhD! I once said to Bishop Eirenaios that I couldn't get interested in theology. 'Don't worry', he said, 'all the great heresiarchs were great theologians!'

Andreas.

[biannaruh]

Hello Paul

A look at the countries of origin of the contributors to this thread will show that they are from the UK, or, in my case, Australia, where cricket is the national summer sport, as popular in these countries as baseball is in yours. Even a non-fan like me can't escape knowing something about the game!

The Ashes series held every two years commemorates the first victory of an Australian team on English soil over England at Test level in 1882. Australia was then still a collection of British colonies (Federation and national self-government came in 1901), and the cultural cringe was such that a group of toffy English fans had a mock obituary published in a sporting newspaper, mourning "the death of English cricket", and announcing the "body will be cremated and the ashes sent to Australia". The following year, the English side toured Australia, the tour was described as "the quest to regain the ashes". Not surprisingly, a group of Melbourne women with a sense of humour duly presented the English captain with a small clay "urn" (possibly originally a perfume bottle), containing the ashes from a burnt wooden cricket stump. This urn made its way to England with the victorious team. The urn is now the trophy of the tournament, though it is in permanent residence at the Marylebone Cricket Club, the spiritual home of English cricket. As far as I know, the urn has only left England once (owing to the fragility of the little treasure, according to the MCC ), where it went on display in various museums and cultural institutions all over Australia during this year's Ashes series.

I might add that the game of cricket can be truly incomprehensible to those not familiar with it (much the same as the inscrutability of American football to the average Aussie). Mad dogs and Englishmen and all that .... I might be accused of "heresy" here from the forum's cricket fans , but one of the main reasons I was turned off the sport as a youngster was the sheer, aching boredom of waiting for Geoffrey Boycott (and others of his ilk) to score a run!

[Seiblybiozy]

Olga:
THANK YOU!

Yes us Yanks are a little too caught up in baseball and football american to even consider there might be another civilized game in the world.

I must confess, I thought cricket was just baseball with a big paddle. I ask forgivness for my ignorance. At least now I know where to send any ashes when I die. I just hope the die hard players don't come looking for them prematurely.

Paul