AI: why did Harold Wilson's attempt to control shopping prices fail so badly?

LEARN FROM PREVIOUS LABOUR FAILURES, Mr Burnham. Your 'New Plan' Isn't New AND It Doesn't Work!                                         

Harold Wilson’s attempts to control prices—pursued through the National Board for Prices and Incomes and statutory freezes—failed because they clashed with powerful trade unions, worsened underlying inflation, and lacked enforcement mechanisms that could withstand global economic pressures. [1, 2, 3]

Core Causes of Failure

Union Resistance: Trade unions fiercely rejected wage restraints that accompanied price freezes, rendering voluntary compliance unworkable. [1]
External Pressures: Devaluation of the pound in 1967 made imported goods significantly more expensive, undercutting any domestic attempt to keep shopping costs low. [1, 2]
Distorted Markets: Direct state interference failed to address root structural deficits in British industrial productivity, treating symptoms rather than causes. [1, 2]

Awesome.

 

Similarities.

 

A Starmer Clone Who Has Developed A Pretty Genuine Smile?

Andy Burnham insists Labour is restoring control of Britain's borders despite 2,000 illegal migrant crossings since he became Prime Minister.

The new Prime Minister promised to 'deal with it head on' as he attempts to regain Labour's credibility on illegal migration.

The AI/Christianity Mix?

3 warnings every Christian needs before asking AI spiritual questions.

By Michael Youssef, Op-ed contributor Saturday, August 01, 2026

My friends, imagine a child walking into a vast library at midnight.

There are millions of books. There are flashing screens. There are voices answering every question instantly. But no librarian. No pastor. No shepherd. No one to say, “This is truth,” and, “That is error.”

That is the world many Christians are entering when they bring spiritual questions to artificial intelligence.

And make no mistake: This is no longer a future issue. According to Barna’s July 21, 2026 report, New Barna Data: Practicing Christians are Adopting AI Rapidly, practicing Christians are using AI more often than most Americans. Forty-four percent say they use AI “very often” or “often” in their personal lives, compared with 31% of U.S. adults overall. At work, 39% of practicing Christians use AI often or very often, compared with 26% of U.S. adults nationally.

Nearly half of practicing Christians say they would trust AI with their own spiritual growth. About one-third say they have used AI for spiritual guidance or Bible-related questions in the past month. And one in three say they want guidance from their pastor on navigating AI — while only 12% of pastors feel ready to give it.

So the question is not, “Will Christians use AI?”

We already are.

The Church must use tools without bowing to them.

Christianity has never been afraid of tools. The printing press multiplied Bibles. Radio carried the Gospel into homes. Satellite television has beamed Biblical Truth into closed nations. By God’s grace, we have used every lawful means to proclaim Christ.

But tools must remain tools.

In my reflection on Davos and AI religion, I said this plainly: “We are using AI as a servant, not welcoming AI as a savior.” The final authority is still the Word of God, not the algorithm. The true Teacher is still The Holy Spirit, not the model. The faithful local pastor remains an under-shepherd of Christ, not a spiritual ornament to be replaced by a digital assistant.

Scripture commands us to “test the spirits” (1 John 4:1). It commands us to contend for “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). It warns us that we cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24).

So, let us be very clear. AI can help you search. AI can help you organize. AI can help you locate a sermon, summarize a topic, or find a passage.

But AI cannot save you. AI cannot sanctify you. AI cannot die on a cross. AI cannot rise from the dead.

A tool may point you toward truth, but it must never become the source of truth.

At Davos, Yuval Harari warned that “anything made of words will be taken over by AI” — including laws, books, and even religion. In God’s Final Call, I warned that an AI-designed religion, with an AI-written “Bible,” could include enough “reasonable-sounding Christianity” to deceive the unwary while removing the Cross and Resurrection — precisely the sort of seductive compromise that demands discernment in these last days.

My friends, that is not merely a technology question. That is a worship question.

Below are three warnings to help aid in your discernment.

Warning 1: Smooth answers can distort biblical truth

Now someone may ask, “But if the answer sounds Christian, why worry?”

My friends, hear this: The most dangerous error is not always the blatant lie. Often it is the partial truth. The sentence sounds right. The tone sounds gentle. The answer sounds balanced. But something essential is missing.

That is exactly what researchers have now quantified.

In Detecting Doctrinal Flattening in AI Generated Responses, published in AI and Ethics in 2026, Jason Owen examined how large language models respond to doctrinally sensitive Christian questions. The study built a doctrinal knowledge base from catechisms, confessions, creeds, and denominational statements. From these sources, the study extracted 576 doctrinal claims across eight facets: Authority, Trinity, Salvation, Sacraments, Eschatology, Anthropology, Ecclesiology, and Christian Ethics.

The findings are sobering. In plain language, when the models stated a doctrine, they were often accurate — but they regularly omitted major portions of what a doctrine actually teaches.

That is doctrinal flattening.

The study says the systems tend to attribute beliefs to “Christians” as a whole and “often reduce complex traditions to oversimplified or misleading summaries.” It found that sacramental and eschatological topics were especially vulnerable, and that salvation and sacraments showed heightened risk for doctrinal misrepresentation.

Do you see the danger?

If you ask a machine, “What do Christians believe?” it may give you the average of the internet. It may give you a smooth consensus. It may give you an answer that avoids offense, avoids precision, avoids conviction — and avoids the sharp edges of biblical truth.

But Christianity is not the average of religious content online.

Christianity is Christ crucified and risen. Christianity is the Word of God. Christianity is repentance, grace, salvation, holiness, judgment, and eternal life in the Kingdom of God.

As I have warned in “Look Up When Others Are Looking Down, Part 2,” no doctrinal error is harmless, because small deviations from God’s Truth can prepare people for great deception.

Speed is not wisdom. Information is not Truth.

Warning 2: AI can inform, but it cannot shepherd your soul

There is a shepherding distinction we must not blur.

AI can provide information. AI can simulate conversation. AI can locate passages, compare interpretations, and suggest study questions. But pastoral ministry is not merely the transfer of religious information.

A shepherd knows the sheep. A shepherd watches for wolves. A shepherd corrects with love, prays with tears, confronts sin, comforts the suffering, and stands accountable before God.

Paul charged the elders to “pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock” (Acts 20:28). Peter exhorted elders to “shepherd the flock of God” under the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:2-4). Hebrews says leaders “are keeping watch over your souls” (Hebrews 13:17).

No machine can do that.

A chatbot cannot discern your tears in the pew. It cannot exercise church discipline. It cannot baptize a new believer. It cannot serve the Lord’s Supper. It cannot sit beside a hospital bed and plead with a dying man to trust Christ. It cannot bear spiritual responsibility for your soul under Christ and His Word.

Church leaders must keep watch over themselves and others, because no one can adequately care for others while neglecting the cultivation of his own soul. That is shepherding. That is embodied. That is accountable. That is biblical.

Warning 3: Not every “Christian” app is built by shepherds

And brothers and sisters, listen: a random faith app cannot replace that.

Not every “Christian” app is built by shepherds. Not every spiritual tool is grounded in Scripture. Not every answer wearing religious language is accountable to biblical teaching. Some tools are built to monetize attention. Some are built to capture data. Some are built by developers who may have no commitment to the Gospel, no accountability to the Church, and no reverence for God’s Word.

When we are dealing with doctrinal and biblical matters, opinions do not count — The Word of God does. God is not confused or self-contradictory.

That principle applies in the pulpit. It applies in the classroom. It applies in the home. And now, my friends, it applies in the chat window.

Trusted tools must point back to Christ, Scripture, and the Church

Here is the positive word.

We do not need to run from technology. We need to redeem it for the Gospel. We need to keep it on a leash. We need to make it serve Christ, not compete with Him.

That is why a trusted source matters.

MY Faith Assistant was created with a clear ministry purpose: to help people move from spiritual questions to Biblical clarity.

It is not a general chatbot offering spiritual opinions from the internet. It is built to point people back to Scripture because that’s what it is trained on.

And just as important: It does not replace the Bible, the local church, personal prayer, or pastoral counsel. It is a digital bridge to help people take a faithful next step.

That distinction matters.

A bridge is not a destination. A map is not the meal. A servant is not the Savior.

So, use tools wisely. Ask questions. Search Scripture. Find sermons. Build a Bible study. But do not surrender your conscience to a machine. Do not outsource your discernment to the crowd. Do not trade the living fellowship of the Body of Christ for a private spiritual echo chamber.

Return to the Word daily. Stay rooted in the Church. Pray for wisdom. Test everything by Scripture. And when you sin, repent quickly and run to Christ.

And if you have been asking machines what only Christ can answer — “Who am I?” “Can I be forgiven?” “What is my purpose?” “What happens when I die?” — then hear this loving warning: no algorithm can redeem you.

Only One was crucified for your sin. Only One conquered the grave. Only One can give you eternal life. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).

Come to Him today. Repent of your sin. Trust Him as Savior and Lord. The Good Shepherd does not merely answer questions — He forgives sinners, gives eternal life, and receives all who call upon Him. And no technology — however powerful — can substitute Him.

Michael A. Youssef, PhD, is a cultural anthropologist, bestselling author, and internationally respected Bible teacher whose messages are broadcast more than 18,000 times per week across six continents.   CP.

What Could I Possibly Say?

Afghan arrested over death of British woman found in a suitcase says he was angry with her because she wanted him to become a Christian.

The body of Elisabeth Jane Ross, 38, was discovered inside the suitcase by a homeless man in an abandoned carpark in the Kypseli district of Athens on July 18. DM.

Biblical Warning Signs.

 https://www.christianpost.com/voices/10-biblical-warning-signs-a-nation-is-under-judgment.html

Living Proof?

 'Living proof that God exists': Hundreds of Samaritan's Purse volunteers aid Wisconsin tornado survivors

A Navy veteran whose house was damaged by a tornado in Wisconsin says the assistance from Samaritan’s Purse volunteers he received is “living proof that God exists” as hundreds of volunteers have participated in relief efforts in the hard-hit state, including coming alongside the family of a woman trapped in her basement for hours. CP.

Butterfly.

 

Glorifying The Father.

The Healer.

Jesus is the healer, bringing restoration and peace to the broken. Here is a sonnet dedicated to this theme:

The quiet steps upon the dusty road,
A gentle touch that calms the rising fear,
To lift from weary souls the heavy load,
And wipe away the bitter, falling tear.

The blind receive their sight, the lame stand free,
The silent tongue breaks forth in joyful song,
As mercy flows like an eternal sea,
To mend the hurt and right the ancient wrong.

No sickness stays before His healing grace,
No shadow hides the comfort of His hand;
He brings His light to every dark embrace,
And peace returns to heal the waiting land.

O loving Healer, near to all who cry,
Whose boundless love and power can never die.

The longest sentence in the Bible.

What we learn from the longest sentence in the Bible.

By Robin Schumacher, Exclusive Columnist Monday, July 27, 2026

If you do any kind of professional writing, you know to keep your sentences short and crisp. Don’t drag on with many words that need a sea of comments to separate phrases because, with today’s short attention spans, we’re told people will struggle to retain your train of thought.

Clearly, the apostle Paul didn’t follow that advice when he wrote the opening of his letter to the Ephesians, which contains the longest sentence in the entire Bible. Verses 3-14 of chapter one comprise one sentence containing 202 words in the original Greek. The only one that comes close to it is Paul’s letter to the Colossians, where, again in chapter 1, verses 9-20 are also one sentence, having somewhere between 190-195 words depending on the Greek text being used.

Although many translations chop up the Ephesians sentence to help readability, the Lexham English Bible (LEB) stays faithful to the original Greek and keeps it together. Let’s take a deep breath and read through it together:     

“Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love, having predestined us to adoption through Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace that he bestowed on us in the beloved, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace, that he caused to abound to us in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he purposed in him, for the administration of the fullness of times, to bring together all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in him in whom also we were chosen, having been predestined according to the purpose of the One who works all things according to the counsel of his will, that we who hoped beforehand in Christ should be for the praise of his glory, in whom also you, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also when you believed you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory.”

There’s a lot of profound doctrine and biblical truth to unpack there, which is why entire books have been written on it. Let me give you my favorite three key takeaways.

The reason God does anything

In one of Jonathan Edwards’ lesser-known works, The End for Which God Created the World, Edwards explores the question of why God decided to create something in the first place. In short, Edwards says God created the world for the display and enjoyment of His own glory. His aim in creation is to glorify Himself by communicating His glory to His creatures so that they know Him, delight in Him, and praise Him forever.

Paul agrees in this section of Scripture, saying that the highest purpose of our salvation is not our happiness, peace, or eternal life (even though those are wonderful realities), but that God's true aim in saving us is the display of His own glory. To emphasize this, Paul says three times: “To the praise of the glory of His grace” (v. 6), “...to the praise of His glory” (v. 12), “...to the praise of His glory” (v. 14).

That glory, Paul shows, is given to all three members of the Trinity. The Father planned our salvation (vv. 3–6), the Son accomplished it (vv. 7–12), and the Holy Spirit guaranteed it (vv. 13–14). Isaiah sums up what Paul is getting across when he writes: “The people whom I formed for Myself will declare My praise” (Is. 43:21).

Salvation is of the Lord

It’s fair to say all Christians acknowledge, in general, something the book of Jonah says: “Salvation is from the LORD” (Jonah 2:9). But some believe that means only the plan of salvation vs. God being the efficient cause and retainer of our salvation.

Paul makes it clear in this section that it’s the latter.

The Apostle tells us salvation is entirely God's work from beginning to end, emphasizing that every stage of salvation originates with Him, not us. He’s the one who chose us before the foundation of the world (v. 4), predestined us for adoption (v. 5), redeemed us through Christ (v. 7), forgave our sins (v. 7), revealed His will (vv. 8–9), gave us an inheritance (v. 11), and sealed us with the Holy Spirit (vv. 13–14).

The subject of nearly every major verb in the sentence is God, while we are the recipients. A rich commentary on what Paul wrote about how God works in our lives is found in the Canons of Dort III and IV. 11, 12, which are worth quoting in their entirety:

“Moreover, when God accomplishes this, his good pleasure, in the elect, or works in them true conversion, he not only provides that the Gospel should be outwardly preached to them, and powerfully illuminates their minds by the Holy Spirit, that they may rightly understand and discern what are the things of the Spirit of God, but he also, by the efficacy of the same regenerating Spirit, pervades the innermost recess of man, opens the closed, softens the hardened, and circumcises the uncircumcised heart, infuses new qualities into the will, and makes that will which had been dead alive, which was evil good, which had been unwilling willing, which had been refractory pliable, and actuates and strengthens it, that, as a good tree, it may be able to bring forth the fruit of good works … Whereupon the will, being now renewed, is not only actuated and moved by God, but being actuated by God, itself also becomes active. Wherefore man himself, by virtue of that grace received, is rightly said to believe and repent.”

The spotlight should always be on Jesus

If repetition means emphasis in Scripture (and it does), then Paul is trumpeting the fact 10 or so times in his sentence that all heavenly spotlights need to be on Jesus, and that He is the sphere in which every blessing exists.

We are chosen in Him, redeemed through Him, given an inheritance in Him, and sealed because we are in Him. Paul tells us that Christianity is primarily about being united to Christ from whom every blessing comes.

It’s worth pointing out one in particular, which is being sealed in Christ. With so many Christians today worried about whether they can lose their salvation, H. W. Hoehner provides relief for them in his Ephesians commentary when he writes, “The word “seal” indicates security (Matt. 27:66; Eph. 4:30), authentication and approval (John 6:27), certification of genuineness (John 3:33), and identification of ownership (2 Cor. 1:22; Rev. 7:2; 9:4).”

So, relax, your salvation is safe in God’s hands.

Summing up

My stab at shortening Paul’s long Ephesians sentence using the above three key learnings is this: All that God does is for the praise of His glory, including our salvation which the Father planned, the Son achieved, and the Holy Spirit secured, all provided entirely by His grace and accomplished through our union with Christ.

I can’t think of a better way to finish than to quote the cleric and hymn writer Augustus Toplady (the author of Rock of Ages), who sums up Paul’s fantastic truths this way in his hymn How Vast the Benefits Divine: 

To thee, O Lord, alone is due
All glory and renown;
Aught to ourselves we dare not take,
Or rob thee of thy crown.
Thou wast thyself our Surety
In God’s redemption plan;
In thee his grace was given us,
Long ere the world began.

Robin Schumacher is an accomplished software executive and Christian apologist who has written many articles, authored and contributed to several Christian books, appeared on nationally syndicated radio programs, and presented at apologetic events. He holds a BS in Business, Master's in Christian apologetics and a Ph.D. in New Testament. His latest book is, A Confident Faith: Winning people to Christ with the apologetics of the Apostle Paul.  CP.

Old Coin.

2,500-year-old coin from Cyprus found on Israeli beach offers clues to biblical-era history.

A 2,500-year-old coin minted in Cyprus that was recently discovered on an Israeli beach is giving researchers new evidence of trade and travel between the two lands during the biblical era.

CP.

Envy.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXFbVe_7Kt4

Before The Judgement Seat.

Butterfly.

 

An Unexpected New Group of Missionaries Has Emeged.

War-weary Ukrainians plant 160 churches across Europe.

Volunteer offering help at the Romania-Ukraine border. (Photo: Unsplash/Michel E)

European Christian Mission International (ECMI) reports that 160 churches have been planted across Europe by displaced Ukrainians in the four years since Russia invaded their country. 

In a report, ECMI said that what began as a devastating displacement through war is becoming an unexpected movement of gospel witness across Europe. 

“Ukrainian believers, carrying deep pain and loss, are also carrying the hope of Christ wherever they go,” said the ECMI report.  

Jim Memory, Strategic Partnerships Director for ECMI and Co-Regional Director for Lausanne Europe, attended a recent Ukrainian Baptist Churches in Europe Conference in Poland and came away deeply encouraged by what God is doing through Ukrainian Christians across the continent. 

Memory disclosed how inspiring it was to hear story after story of faithfulness under pressure. 

“It was a privilege to listen to their stories, make connections, and briefly speak,” he said.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, millions of Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes, said the report.  

“Yet in the midst of grief, separation, and uncertainty, God’s light is shining brighter. Among Baptists alone, around 160 Ukrainian churches have been planted across Europe during the past four years.”

The report added, “Increasingly, Ukrainian believers are refusing to see themselves only as refugees.

“Instead, many are embracing a different calling - missionaries sent by God into the nations of Europe.” 

CT.

The Laffer Curve - The Lesson Which Leftists Are Seemingly Incapable of Understanding.

 https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2026/07/31/laffer-curve-scotland-tax-hikes-backfire-as-revenue-declines-by-over-22-million/

What Are Migrants ‘Fleeing’ From?

 Sat 1 Aug at 08:03

Elizabeth Weibel

31 Jul 2026, 10:05 AM PDT3,070

The Situation in Morocco: What Are Migrants ‘Fleeing’ From?

The astonishing sight of thousands of Moroccan migrants overrunning the Spanish town of Ceuta raises questions about what they might be fleeing from. Are conditions in Morocco so horrific that 60,000 people felt it necessary to swim to Spain, leaving at least 34 of their number floating dead in the water?

John Hayward

31 Jul 2026, 9:41 AM PDT639

J John.

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gBDldMDe-nU?feature=share

So-Called 'Slavery Reparations' Are A Bad Joke.

Church of England's justification for slavery reparations is 'a complete joke', says MP.

 (Photo: Getty/iStock)

Katie Lam MP has challenged controversial plans in the Church of England to set up a £100m investment fund to address historic links to transatlantic slavery. 

She claimed that Project Spire, and its proposed Fund for Healing, Repair and Justice, is "illegal" and called the plans "disastrous", arguing that the money should instead be spent on struggling parishes. 

Project Spire was launched in 2023 after research commissioned by the Church concluded that the Queen Anne’s Bounty, a predecessor endowment fund of the Church Commissioners, had links to transatlantic chattel slavery through investments and benefactions.

Lam, the Conservative MP for Weald of Kent, said the justification for the project was "a complete joke" and that diverting funds away from struggling parishes was "absurd". 

"The Church of England is planning to give away £100m in slavery reparations and their justification is a complete joke," she said in a video posted on X.

"Apparently they're required to do so because a fund established by Queen Anne in 1704 had invested in a company involved in the West African slave trade. 

"The problem is that it turns out that the supposed link between the Church and slavery is fake. 

"The original report seems to have confused South Sea Securities, which would have been money invested in the slave trade, with South Sea Annuities, which is just money that was lent to the British government. 

"There is no evidence that the Church of England made any money at all from the slave trade in this way. And even so, this idea that we are uniquely guilty for historic slavery and therefore to pay reparations is totally wrong. 

"Almost every society in the world participated in slavery at some point in its history. The unique thing about Britain is the fact that we spent so much time and money on trying to end the slave trade.

"We were only the second country in the world to decide to do so and we spent a huge amount of money, political capital, and ultimately the lives of navy sailors doing it. 

"And if that weren't bad enough, to fund all of this, the Church is using a charitable fund that is supposed to be used on maintaining local parish churches. That is illegal." 

She added, "The idea that the Church of England should now, hundreds of years later, pay £100m in slavery reparations, while so many parish churches are literally crumbling is absurd."

Jamie Franklin, priest in charge at Holy Trinity Winchester and host of the Irreverend podcast, agreed with Lam, calling her comments "a very good, concise summary of the principal reasons why Project Spire is such a complete scandal".

"The Church Commissioners should be using far more of the £11.8 billion fund at their disposal to fund parish ministry, not engaging in illegal acts of virtue-signalling," he said. 

Lam was one of 24 Conservative MPs, together with four members of the House of Lords, who wrote to Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, late last year calling for a re-think. 

In the letter, they said the project was based "on highly contested interpretations of history” and that the Church Commissioners’ endowment must be used instead to support parish ministry and the maintenance of church buildings, as well as the Church’s historic records. 

"At a moment when churches across the country are struggling to keep their doors open - many even falling into disrepair - it’s wrong to try and justify diverting £100 million to a project entirely separate from those core obligations," the letter read.

The Church of England's July meeting of the General Synod confirmed that over £1.15m has already been spent on Project Spire. 

The Bishop of Norwich, Graham Usher, said the expense had come from "proportionate research into the Commissioners’ historical sources of funds and consideration of appropriate responses, including necessary legal advice and stakeholder engagement".

The Church of England has denied that the fund is illegal, with Bishop Usher saying, "The Commissioners ensure that expenditure is applied only within their charitable purposes and powers." 

He confirmed, though, that the project has been held up due to a legal challenge which has prevented the Church from being able to register the Fund for Healing, Repair and Justice with the Charity Commission. No details were given about the party taking legal action against it. 

Recent polling suggested strong opposition to Project Spire among churchgoers, with 81 per cent of respondents saying the fund should be used to support local parishes, and 61 per cent saying they may cease providing financial support to the Church of England altogether if the plans go ahead. 

The Church has doubled down on the project, with Bishop Usher insisting it has "not been abandoned". 

"We continue to be outraged by our historic links to African chattel enslavement and our part in the responsibility for the enduring legacies of this abhorrent past that continue to affect the lives of people today," he said in answers to Synod questions. CT.