Thursday - Many new insights

Another lovely blue sky day in Jerusalem.  The hotel we are staying in is right across from the old city and has the conference centre and a school on the same grounds.   Last evening we went up to the wine and cheese bar with its beautiful view looking over Jerusalem there was a full moon and the sky was completely clear.  Beautiful!
First came worship with Jim and Jean including more singing including the sung version of the Mica text.
The first session this morning was titled "Does the Bible have a future". I was anticipating another intellectual session, but when the first speaker produced a slingshot, it was a good clue that we were in for an interesting session-which proved to be true.   The three panelists had some very interesting points on the validity and function of the bible in today's world.
The next session included a presentation by a Norwegian Surgeon who works in Gaza.  His account of the situation there was heart rendering.
The population there is incredibly young, with 58% of the population under the age of 18.
He showed pictures of the results of the bombing and the resilience of the population. The effects of the isolation by Israel has resulted in such things as a lack of the basics such as food and water, but also poor sanitation due to a lack of deisal fuel to run the septic system. He also had pictures of soldiers operating remote drones that can pick out targets in such detail that they can tell the age of individuals on the ground. The rest of the session dealt with the legalities of what is happening and the inability of the International community to step in and enforce legal sanctions for illegal acts. The session really focused on the difference between legal and justice issues. The later part of the afternoon was free time which allowed several of us time to go for a lovely walk through the shopping area, and also time to get lost in the old city. We did manage to find our way to the Jaffa Gate and back to our hotel in time for supper. The evening session was a public lecture on the legal aspects of acts, and aq little bit of good news in what we as individuals can do to bring about pressure on the international community.