One year on the Spanish protestors are celebrating. A poster reads: “Mum, this is what you taught me to do. Thanks!” With a scrawled addition from an anonymous mother: “I always knew you were listening, but I am so happy to hear you say it.”

Temple is Jesus in John, but followers of Jesus in Mark. See: Kirk.

This article suggests that the far right is forcing an agenda in Europe. In France – playing on Islamophobia for example; in Germany member of Social Democratic Party suggesting Turkish immigrants are genetically inferior.

Dyfed writes about Irenaeus’ much more optimistic view of humanity and an alternative to ‘original sin’ in the Augustinian sense.

So Spain is now in the eurozone spotlight and Andalucia in particular. No great surprise there.

Pope Benedict writing prophetically: “The church will become small and will have to start afresh more or less from the beginning….”

Spain: 24% unemployment… a bail-out this year? Tremlett: Guardian.

So a tough budget yesterday. Will hurt. Is it enough? Amazingly Spain ran a balanced budget on average – every year until the eve of the 2008 financial crisis.

After 44 years a baby that had ‘died’ is reunited with her mother.

Spain with 24% unemployment is looking at €40bn (£33.45bn) in spending cuts and taxes in a budget on 30 March, the day after a general strike. “It’s really moved to the wrong side of the spectrum and is now at greater risk of sovereign restructuring than ever before,” (Willem Buiter, Citibank).

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So we discover today that our landlady has not paid the electricity bill, saying she had transferred to our name. However, no payment and not in our name so unless we get a payment in tomorrow we are cut off. Found out today at 18.00h. Ah well I know what we are doing tomorrow!!!

Diane Coyle OBE, economist and author lecture at University of York. (Thanks Joanna for sending the link.) Incisive and provocative.

Here are a couple of great meaty posts: NextReformation on the Atonement, and Mike Morrell on evolution, development of humanity, the fall, his new book and…

Paul Preston has just published ‘The Spanish Holocaust’: a look at Franco’s legacy, suggesting that the victor prolonged his revenge, liquidating 20,000 opponents after the war, and condemning hundreds of thousands to prison, exile, ostracism or poverty as Franco made a calculated investment in terror. ‘Sociological Francoism’ living “on in the democratic Spain of today”.

Been a big month in Spain. Garzón an amazing judge in the land has been acquitted on one count – he opened up the hidden history of the deaths in the Civil War and much more. Acquitted but guilty on other charges. Political trials to silence him. Here are a couple of articles:
Tremlett: Guardian and BBC.

Here is an awesome project to give fresh water through desalination. moerkwater.com. We are in touch with people involved. Do you know a need for this?

Two excellent posts by Daniel Kirk on Narrative theology. Maybe the most provocative is “Narrative theology, instead, recognizes change in the people’s expectations and even in the nature of the fulfillment of God’s promises.” Here are the links (I think there will be more to follow): link 1 and link 2.

This article seems to give a fair report of the current state of play in Valencia. February and crisis in the Peninsula?

Not sure what is being covered outside Spain, but in excess of 1m people on the streets, objecting to the austerity measures of the new government. ‘We are living in 2012, supposed to be a time of freedom…’ ‘The epoch of Franco has returned’ were two quotes on the TV tonight.