Scary World!

This has been a week of scary media stories!

Some of our food is contaminated with a dye called Sudan 1, which is believed to cause cancer in laboratory animals. The substance is banned in food preparation, but it was discovered in chilli powder used in one brand of Worcester sauce, which in turn has been added to many prepared foods commonly available in our supermarkets. It has also been used in food preparation in hospitals, schools and the catering industry. Apparently, this colorant has been present in our food for about sixteen months. Unless we only eat freshly prepared food, never eat a meal out, have not been hospitalised or had a school lunch, we are more than likely to have eaten foods containing Sudan 1.

We are being warned that bird flu could cause the biggest pandemic the world has ever seen, killing millions of people!

Deaths from MRSA, the hospital super bug, have doubled, due to the filthy state of some hospital wards.

Then just to top off the gloom and depression, Tony Blair has defended the new anti-terror legislation by saying that it is believed terrorists are planning a ‘spectacular’ in the run up to the general election!

With a week of bad news stories like those, one cannot be blamed for feeling a little down in the dumps! However, throughout the years, we have been regaled with equally headline grabbing, media hyped, alarming stories. Very few have caused the devastation that was claimed at the time. SARS caused panic a couple of years ago, but has long since dropped out of the news! It is quite possible that this week’s alarming scare stories will be forgotten, and replaced by equally frightening ones in a month or two!

Whilst faith in God does not protect us from the perils of life, at least it helps us to face them with more serenity; we are not alone as we struggle with our doubts and fears.