GordonMoyes.com

In the early 1980’s I studied the archaeological discoveries at Qumran on the northwestern shores of the Dead Sea. Because I had been doing a proper academic study of the Essene community and the Dead Sea Scrolls, I was granted permission to film inside the caves where the scrolls were discovered in 1947. This was a privilege rarely granted and gave me, and our film crew, incredible access for the film I was making. The resulting film was ultimately seen in countries throughout the world.

Any archaeologist, whether a professional, academic or amateur like myself, must not take any ‘find’ they might make out of the country without permission. Every find must be catalogued, photographed, and retained in its country of origin. They will be made available for scholarly examination and placed upon display in a museum.

An Egyptian Coptic friend of many years, who attended Wesley Mission when I was preaching there, and a member of the Christian Democratic Party, Gamil Helmy, was telling me about Father Zakaria Botros, and his amazingly successful evangelistic ministry among Muslims via TV.

In 730 B.C., Piye became the first of what is known as “the Black Pharaohs” — who were a number of Nubian kings who invaded and ruled over all of Egypt for 75 years as its Twenty-fifth Dynasty. At this point in history the ancient Egyptian civilization that had built the great pyramids was being torn apart by continued fighting between warlords. For two decades Piye had ruled over his own kingdom in Nubia, part of Africa in what is mostly the Sudan, the country south of Egypt, and had the desire to expand his power.

In this new millennium, a worldwide prayer movement is moving the Church of Jesus Christ.

A profound spiritual insight is symbolised by the fact that the Jewish Temple’s curtain separating people from God, and hiding the repeated sacrifice for their sins was torn from the top-down on the first Good Friday! The tearing apart of the curtain revealed the Holy Place to the eyes of ordinary people. Religion is now not what humans do, but what God has already done. The way to God was open for all to see, not only for Jews, but for any one of any race at all. Open access for all!

A new Australian film has already been named Best Feature in the Generation14plus category at the Berlin International Film Festival in Germany. Because the NSW Government Film Office partially funded this film, members of Parliament and their staff were invited to the premiere and to meet the scriptwriters, producers and film stars.

No other issue so works up some Australians into a sweat than any suggestion that Muslims will gain some advantage in our country. Such was the case this week following the Archbishop of Canterbury’s suggestion that aspects of Sharia Law involving family disputes, property and financial matters would eventually be accepted in Britain. Instantly everybody was an expert and countless emails flew around the world claiming that all Christian countries would be forced into cutting off hands for thieves, beheading adulterers and stoning women to death.

In a potential blow to themed resorts from Las Vegas to Tokyo, Egypt is to pass a law requiring payment of royalties whenever its ancient monuments, from the pyramids to the Sphinx, are reproduced. This was reported earlier this month in The UK Telegraph, London. It was first reported by Agence France-Presse.

After weeks of pressure from Israel and the USA to resist the pent up anger of the Palestinians in Gaza, Egyptian Boarder police apparently did little to stop thousands of hungry Palestinians from surging into Egypt. The Egyptian authorities, increasingly embarrassed by their obligations under agreements with Israel and the US to participate in the siege of Gaza did little to stop the crowds when Palestinian gunmen blew up a section of the border wall between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, allowing thousands of Palestinians to cross into Egypt.