Nec Tamen Consumebatur - Why I chose what I did for my blog title.

Hello Folks,

I'm on a roll, two posts in one day!

You may wonder why I chose the name 'Nec Tamen' for my blog.

Well, it goes back to the fact that I hail from a Scottish Presbyterian background. In 1691, the printer to the General Assembly (governing body) of the Church of Scotland added the image of a burning bush as a logo when the printed the Acts of the General Assembly. This was an allegory to when Moses met God in this form in Exodus. However, the printer also added three words that would come to define Scottish Christianity:

Nec Tamen Consumebatur

"Acts of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, 1638-1842"
Published under the authority of the Church Law Society,
Edinburgh, 1843

Three words that have come to mean so very much to myself. It is a reference to the fact that the bush Moses spoke to did not actually turn to ash, but stayed in it's original form. The NIV merely says 'It did not burn up'. However, the words that the printer used have so much more meaning to them. Consumebatur means the actual process of burning up, which the bush did not do. However it is the first two words that really stand out to me.

Cassels Latin Dictionary (published some time before 1916) translates Nec Tamen to 'And yet not'. To put it another way, nevertheless,

• The proscription act of 1746 banned Scottish culture. Nevertheless tourism is now one of Scotland's main industries, and in September 2014 the Scottish People will vote  on whether Scotland shall be a sovereign state for the first time since the country was 'bought and sold' in 1707
• During the Second World War, Britain was blockaded by the German U-Boats. Nevertheless Britain prevailed, with the help of the Americans.
• In 1982 the Argentinians stormed and took the British Falkland Islands. The British had no sizeable armed forces to protect the people. International pressure was for Britain to just accept defeat. Even the Americans, our closest ally, failed to support us. Nevertheless after a successful military intervention and at the sacrifice of many lives, the Falklands returned to Britain.
• In 2012, Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by the Taliban for going to school and supporting female education. Nevertheless, she survived, and continues to promote female education on an unprecedented scale for a girl of her age.
• Throughout the ages, people of certain groups have been persecuted. Nevertheless it is my firm belief that someday, more people in this world will be actively working against persecution than for it. For doing nothing only helps the bad people of the world. You can support them by act, or by omission. Will you support violence or work against it?