Where vaccinations come from - Really

Vaccination is definitely the one and only way we can get out of this mess. We cannot continue in this lockdown and social distancing, which though it served its purpose as a stopgap measure was never going to be sustainable in the long run. Vaccinations have been the solution to end epidemics such as polio and smallpox, but how did this miracle in a bottle come about. Many would mention the physician Edward Jenner, and you would be right as he was the first to give this technique of fighting viral infection the name vaccination, but Edward Jenner is not where it started. A process called "ingrafting" was carried out by women in Turkey, in which the pus of an infected small pox pustule was "ingrafted" into blood system of a person making them slightly ill but after recovery, apparently immune from the disease. Now, how did this practice make its way to England you might ask. It did so by a very interesting brave and brilliant woman called Lady Mary Wortley Montague. 

The daughter of an earl, she nevertheless being female was not provided with a great education. She had a governess for whom she had little good to say, but she somehow through her own diligence taught herself to read and write and learnt Greek and Latin to a very good level. Sadly, she contracted small pox and suffered greatly with it. Her face was scarred as a result of her illness, but she survived. 

She met and corresponded with her future husband but him being not as wealthy as another suitor for Lady Mary, was not the preferred option by Earl Pirrepoint, her father. Lady Mary did not like the man who the earl had set his sights on as his future son in law, and so she eloped with Mr Wortley Montague. As it would happen her husband was appointed as ambassador to Constantinople and Lady Mary insisted on going with him (this was not usual in those days) and she wrote about her travels - also unusual for her time. She discovered this practice of ingrafting and secretly and very bravely had her little boy ingrafted. He was about 3 years old and thankfully survived. She wrote about this process and when she returned to England had her daughter publically ingrafted and people observed and saw it worked. Among her friends by this stage was Princess of Wales, daughter in law to King George I . She sought permission to have her children to "have the operation" 

This thing had lots going against it. Firstly it was foreign - what could "Mohamedans" teach Christians. 

Secondly - it was something done by women and being promoted by a woman. What can women teach men. 

Thirdly, the medical establishment had a lot to lose from this process as they made a lot of money from the supposed small-pox cures. 

King George however thought it would be a good thing to investigate and they agreed that they would test it on 6 prisoners from Newgate Prison. He probably thought they would all die of the smallpox and he could put the "silly notion" to bed. But of course they all survivedand so the idea of innoculation gained traction. Ultimately he gave permission for his granddaughters to be innoculated, but not his grandsons.

At some point Edward Jenner made his observation about the milkmaid and realised that instead of using smallpox pus he could use the pus of cow pox instead - this is where the word vaccination came into being - vacca is cow in Latin. The rest h

Is history. 

Maybe we can give brave Lady Mary. Wortley Montague and the Turkish women credit where credit is due.  Like many other scientists, as Isaac Newton said, Edward Jenner stood on the shoulders of giants, only those shoulders were female. 

Lady Mary was a poet and I came across this poem that she wrote: 

For would'st thou fix Dishonour on my Name,

And give me up to Penitence and Shame!

Or gild my Ruin with the Name of Wife,

And make me a poor Virtuous Wretch for Life?

   Could'st thou submit to wear the Marriage-Chain,

(Too sure a Cure for all thy present pain)....

Tho' ev'ry softer Wish were amply crown'd,

Love soon would cease to smile, when Fortune frown'd.

Lady Mary Wortley Montague

Visiting in prison

 (No Title)

John C. Fairlamb

Humility 3

In the previous blog, we looked at the 'parable' of the sheep and the goats. Jesus said, among other things, "

I was in prison and you visited me

". We tend to forget this aspect of the story. You see it is easier to identify with those who were sick, or who were poor, or were homeless but when it comes to people in prison we tend to become uncomfortable. 

I think that for many Christian men and woman, the thought of people in prison being regarded in any positive light is practically an anathema. 

Didn't they deserve to be in prison, hadn't they committed some crime that meant that they should be there and not in society at large? 

Aren't they despicable creatures who deserve our contempt?

I would simply ask would Jesus have that attitude. 

Firstly, NOT everyone who is in prison is truly guilty of what they have been accused of. Even in our modern, scientifically advanced world, miscarriages of justice happen all the time. 

Occasionally, but very seldom, do the rich members of society, actually fall prey to the system, and serve time behind bars. They use their ill-gotten gain – to employ the services of slick lawyers – who manage to get their clients off scot free. On the other side of the coin, a poor person, who may be genuinely innocent, can find themselves in a mess, and the defence lawyer assigned to them, to plead their case may or may not believe them, but who will make a half-hearted attempt but not be too bothered if they lose the case and the person is sent down. (I realise that I am generalising and that there are probably many very dedicated defence counsels who work tirelessly to see justice done for their client even if that client cannot afford to pay the legal fees. ) However the big picture is that people are not all equal before the law – except in the constitutions – and that justice is dispensed differently depending on one's status in life. 

Secondly, many are kept in prison, who have not had their day in court, or their opportunity to 'face justice'. According to the Human Rights Charter, ap erson is to be considered innocent until proven guilty. Unfortunately for many who are imprisoned, the presumption of innocence is easily forgotten by those who read the newspapers.

SO, who are we to judge those people in prison? Jesus is calling us to show compassion. Can we look the other way, when reports come out of over-crowded prison cells, people living in inhumane conditions. 

Some would say, Prison is supposed to be hard – its supposed to send a message that “If you do the crime – you must do the time.” and all other such harsh statements. We forget that amongst those who are thrown into prison are those who are prisoners of conscience – that is, they are there because of their faith. 

In many communist countries, people are jailed because of their faith. That may not be the case, at the moment in the UK, or the USA, but the time is coming when to mention the name of Jesus will be a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment or death. Already we see signs of this in that people can lose their jobs because they offer to pray for a patient whom they are treating, or they wearing a cross on a chain around their neck. I was listening to the radio one night and the presenter was going off the deep-end because somebody dared to preach the Gospel on the tube, in his hearing. He was so offended. 

It is easy to stand in judgement over people without slightest understanding of what brought them to that place. I am not advocating that we stop putting people in prison, and that because justice is unequal it should not be exercised. On the contrary, a vast number of cases that are brought to court are dealt with justly and the perpetrators of crime dealt with appropriately. But just because someone is in prison, does not mean that we ought to despise them or view ourselves as superior. Jesus, the one who committed no crime, was unjustly accused, and found guilty in an illegal court. When he was taken to the 'legitimate' court of Pontius Pilate – Pilate admitted that he found no fault in Jesus, and yet he buckled under public pressure and granted the wish of the 'people' to have Him crucified. There was no justice in the case of Jesus trial and sentencing – but there was justice because Jesus took our place on that cross that day. 

On that same night that Jesus washed the disciples feet he said to them: “

A new commandment I give – that you LOVE one another as I have loved you. People will know that you are my disciples because of your love for one another

.” 

I look on Facebook and I see lots of big “I am a CHRISTIAN kind of banners and groups, etc. People have bumper stickers for their cars, and the one of course is the famous fish. But Jesus said, “

They shall know you are my disciples by your love

." I am not saying that we have to go to the other extreme and be all secretive about it. I am not even condemning the group, the banners, or the stickers, I'm just saying that if it is all about an external show – then perhaps we have missed the point of this command. How does that kind of love show itself in our communities? Jesus said to the sheep you saw me as a stranger, and you welcomed me in. 

I was talking to a man the other day, and he told me of a church that dealt very uncharitably with a friend of his – he said she had special needs and that someone in the Church told her not to come back because she 'stank to high heaven.' The attitude of that person stank to high heavens, and no doubt caused a stench in the nose of our Lord. The poor person came out of the church devastated.

I don't become a police officer by merely putting on the uniform – I have to actually do the work of a police officer. Not all police wear uniforms – and definitely police do not wear the uniform all the time. However, even when a police officer is off duty – they never cease to be police – and in an emergency – they are ready to pick up their role at a moment's notice. They may be out and, happen to notice or become aware a crime being committed. They may not show their true colours but will act to bring the situation under control. 

In a similar way, a Christian does not cease being a Christian when they are at work, or just at home relaxing. They may not be 'in Church' or some religious rally. They may not be doing religious stuff, but Jesus didn't say “they shall know you are my disciples by your religious activity. “ No a Christian is a Christian all the time and even when he/she 'is not on duty' he keeps an eye open for opportunities to SERVE his fellow human and show love to them, for it is by that that the world may know we are Jesus disciples.

Sadly, how often do you hear a person say words to the effect of “I won't become a Christian, Christians are hypocrites.” Instead of being drawn in by our love for one another, people are repelled by the hypocrisy that they see in the Church. 

Pride is at root of hypocrisy

. 

Humility on the other hand is the essence of reality.

I am sure that ther si a lot more that can be said on this subject, but for now - I leave it there. I hope however, that you don't. I hope that you take this word, and apply it to your life in whatever way is necessary. 

John C. Fairlamb

Wrote this ages ago. It was interesting to read what I wrote.

One thing I didn't say, but maybe should have: when Jesus said "I was in prison and you visited me" he was not asking us to evaluate the cause of his predicament, whether his being hungry/naked/homeless/or in prison and in the case of in prison it says "you visited me" not "you set me free". The point is we are being to do what we can do and nothing more. Be the person guilty or innocent visiting them helps them know that they are not alone and not forgotten.

Just nowLikeReplyMore

Write a comment...

Pentecost 2021: Language

 I try to write a poem to coincide with the Feast of Pentecost each year, I don't always make it. Quite often I make it, but a bit late. This year I started early and so I am putting down here what I have got. 

At the first Pentecost, the disciples who were already following Jesus started speaking many languages and people from many different places heard their own languages spoken by "these simple folk from Galilee" So this year I decided to treat LANGUAGE as the theme. 

I will admit that though some bits are poetic, it is not all poetry. These are my various thoughts about language. 

To begin with, did we all speak the same across the board - one universal language with universal understanding? That would have been paradise, no? An ideal perhaps to which it's natural we should aspire to return? 

It is portrayed that way in the book of Genesis that from Adam and Eve, for many generations the people spoke the same language, and then came along a huntsman by the name of Nimrod, and he was obviously a very charismatic man with a very ambitious spirit, who wanted to build a very high tower, that would "reach the heavens" - something God would not stand for. And so God miraculously "confused their languages" resulting in the downfall of the team through the inability to communicate and with that confusion came the downfall of Nimrod's mighty tower. 

Was language then like a precious beautiful ornate vase, that all of a sudden is knocked down and falls and shatters to smithereens, tiny shards of pottery take flight across the room. Not one tiny piece of the lovely vase resembling another but each one unique. Every piece representing a language, some pieces bigger spoken by many and other pieces tiny spoken by just a few. 

I don't think the shattered vase analogy is that useful really, for a few reasons: We know that languages were not completely formed at their genesis, and that they were not all formed in one moment in time. No, like the humans that made languages, languages have evolved, and different languages have come into being over the millennia that humans have been around. We know for a fact that some languages gave birth to others - for example The Dutch community that went to live in South Africa formed a language called Afrikaans. Many of the words used by their forefathers would be understood by Afrikaners today, but there have been enough changes to the vocabulary, and even the grammar, to make it distinct. 

We also know that some languages have spread not just generationally, from parent to child, but also because of politics and power. The language of the powerful imposed upon the people with no regard for the languages of the oppressed. This is why Spanish and Portuguese became the dominant languages spoken in South America, and many of the languages that were spoken there are now extinct, and why the official language of so many countries of the world is English. 

The powerful have used language as a means of oppression and control. They have barred indigenous people from communicating in their mother tongue, and insisted they only use the "official language" They have taken babies from their parents and placed them with families who do not speak the babies' languages, depriving them of so much more than just their language. 

It doesn't only happen at the level of government, but still to this day we hear too often of people facing racist abuse because they are overheard speaking in a language that is not English (in the USA and in the UK). People making the assumption that someone not speaking English or speaking with a non English/American accent means that they are foreigners, and then using that assumption whether accurate or imagined to be xenophobic towards them. 

Language is more than the words we speak or write. 

Language is that look, that shrug, that chuckle or sigh - 

language is the tear that fall from the eye. 

Language is the silence that follows a threat, a clenched jaw, a clenched fist, an intense stare, just standing there! 

Language is a handshake, a high-five or hug - 

Language is the gesture that gives heartstrings a tug! 

Words are important - should be measured and true - 

Not too many and not too few.

I think my little poem makes the point that not all language is verbal - that is consisting of words. Much of what we say to one another whether on purpose or not, we say without words. 

The saying "Actions speak louder than words", comes to mind. I think we should be very aware of what we are communicating when we aren't talking. Is what we are communicating what we really want to communicate or is it possible that our meaning can be lost in translation? 

On the Day of Pentecost that came 50 days after Jesus rose from the grave, 10 days after He had Ascended from the Earth, we read that a group of about 120 followers of Jesus were gathered together in a room, and they heard a mighty wind within the room, and what looked like little flames appeared above each person's head and they all began speaking in different languages, just like the people building Nimrod's tower, only this time, instead of this causing confusion, it actually lead to understanding as many people from the surrounding districts heard the message in their own native language. 

We should not feel threatened by a diversity of languages and diversity within languages. Our language is a part of who we are. 

I am a lover of languages. I have learnt other languages just for fun. I definitely think that people should take a pride in their own languages but they should see the beauty in other languages too. 

Some people are gifted in the area of languages being able to speak more than one, some even quite a few. Other people, for many different reasons may struggle even to manage their own language and may need a lot of help. We need to make room for all of these. 

My final thought: It has often been joked that God is an Englishman - of course that is preposterous nonsense - the truth is that God speaks YOUR language, whatever that language might be, and God understands and knows you completely. He knows and never misunderstands like humans, even your nearest and dearest, might do.