The Virtual Vicar

Many police officers are "absolutely baffled" by the new COVID 19 regulation and they I think speak for all of us. What is going on? The lockdowns and other measures need to be done consistently to work but they are difficult to follow. Some might want to rebel but they are hampered by not really knowing what they are rebelling against. Mark and Pete have the answers.

If cash is on the way out, we are all in trouble - from all sides. Listen on to find out more and keep safe. Physical money has been with us for thousands of years for a reason. Cash is essentially untraceable, it’s easy to carry, it’s widely accepted and it’s reliable. If the power goes out, or there’s a blip in the electronic systems that make the online commerce world go round, cash is there. If someone wants to buy something without anybody tracing it back to her, cash is the way to do it. If someone wants to be certain that their form of payment will be accepted, cash is the best bet. Even with advances in technology, some of the aspects of cash simply aren’t reproducible with bits just yet. And yet there is a seeminglingly inevitable move, increased by fears over spreading the coronavirus that produces CoViD-19. Why is this? And what are the dangers of just using online backing as an alternative?

Mark and Pete come from different perspectives to give solutions to the worlds problems. And make fun of them. Here Pete breaks it down and invites you to subscribe.

Novak Djokovic has apologised for hitting a line judge with a ball at the US Open, saying he is "extremely sorry for creating her such stress". The world number one was disqualified from his fourth-round match against Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta. The Serb, 33, who had just had his serve broken, took a ball out of his pocket and hit it behind him, striking the woman in her throat. "This whole situation has left me really sad and empty," said Djokovic. Has the famous tennis player celebrity identified his dark nasty side? Do we all have one? What are other celebrities hiding? Mark and Pete have the answers.

Nancy Pelosi will never live this one down. The Democratic House speaker was captured on security footage -- leaked to Fox News -- inside a San Francisco hair salon not wearing a mask, even though the city's Covid-19 restrictions only allow service outside. Cue a gleeful eruption from conservative media and from President Donald Trump himself, who slammed her for not wearing a mask "despite constantly lecturing everyone else." Pelosi comes across as a hypocrite, since she has frequently rebuked Trump for undermining government advice on masks.

Elon Musk has unveiled a pig called Gertrude with a coin-sized computer chip in her brain to demonstrate his ambitious plans to create a working brain-to-machine interface. "It's kind of like a Fitbit in your skull with tiny wires," said Musk. What does this mean for the future if our brains have chip in them? Can we be hacked? Is it a sign of the End Times or the Mark of the Beast? Or something worse?

In an amazing PR success, singer Taylor Swift has donated £23,000 to a London-based student struggling to raise the funds to take up a maths course at the University of Warwick. Vitoria Mario's online fundraising page details how she has lived in the UK for four years after moving from Portugal.But she is not eligible for maintenance loans or grants.Vitoria said: "I was worrying too much about the money, what I have to do and if I have to look for a job. She actually made my dream come true." How ethical was this? Mark and Pete weigh in. The American singer,whose 16 top 10 British chart hits include the aptly titled Wildest Dreams, wrote a message on Vitoria's fundraising page as she confirmed her donation. At that stage, Vitoria had collected nearly half of her £40,000 fundraising target, and Swift wrote: "Vitoria, I came across your story online and am so inspired by your drive and dedication to turning your dreams into reality. "I want to gift you the rest of your goal amount. Good luck with everything you do! Love, Taylor."

What a mess. Gavin Williamson and other ministers are under immense pressure over the botched handling of English A-level results after Scotland announced a dramatic U-turn and major research showed that high-achieving pupils from poorer backgrounds are likely to be hardest hit. The universities minister was writing urgently to vice-chancellors, asking them to be lenient with their offers and keep places open for pupils pursuing appeals amid fears that this year’s results will not truly reflect pupils’ abilities. Mark and Pete have the answers.

It’s no secret that life can be easier for beautiful people. Studies have shown being good looking has benefits for your health, intelligence and helps with making friends. Being physically attractive can also literally pay off, as many people believe it can mean you make more money. In short, beautiful people are more confident, have more social skills and are seen as more able by employers, which translates to higher wages. So what's wrong with us, why are we biased, bigoted, showing microaggressions and unconscious bias towards ugly plain people and favouring beautiful attractive people? And what's to be done about it? Mark and Pete have the answers.

In 1976, a professor of economic history at the University of California, Berkeley published an essay outlining the fundamental laws of a force he perceived as humanity’s greatest existential threat: Idiocy. We see strange decisions abounding - is it because there are just so many many stupid stupid idiots? Mark and Pete have the answers. Buy the idiot by Fy A MARK AND PETE PODCAST EPISODE: markandpete.com

A special edition of Daily Devotional Preaching: this is an extract from "Pint of #Praise", full episodes available on the Virtual Vicar Facebook Page and Youtube Channel. #Positivethinking is not enough: we need hope in order to never give up. Visualisation is a technique used in sport. Compare the mens 1972 Olympic 800m final with Jesus' resurrection and you will see what I mean - and watch this video. Bible verse quoted:Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in #heaven for you. (1 Peter 1:3, the #Bible)

Is the stock market gambling? Should people consider trading in the stock market to be a form of gambling? The answers to these questions are an unequivocal. Investing in the stock market is not gambling, and novice investors should not think of it in that way claim creators of new easy to use apps designed to get you into stocks and shares. Mark and Pete have the answers.

There's an old Yiddish witticism "To make God laugh, tell him your plans." Perhaps we’re accustomed to thinking of Jesus only as “a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief” (Isa 53:3). His crucifixion is certainly no laughing matter. Or maybe the image of a laughing Jesus offends simply because it makes him too human. Yet Hebrews 4:15 tells us that Jesus is able to sympathize with us because he is exactly like us (minus the sinning). God has gifted us with a sense of humour; it stands to reason that Jesus had one, too. Mark and Pete look at the Bible and find plenty of laughs. And as Christians we also find lots to laugh about within Christianity today. What about religion makes you laugh?

Maggie and Pete discuss why we need to get up and go on world mission. We need to reach out the world in evangelistic mission because God has promised to bless all nations (or people groups) on the earth. What better motivation and encouragement can we have than the understanding that missions (blessing the nations with the Gospel) is in the sure purposes of God. Because Jesus has already purchased people from every tribe and nation with His blood. Like the Moravians motivated by this purchase we should repeat what two Moravians missionaries said as they set sail for India, “May the Lamb receive the reward of His suffering!” In other words, He has already purchased them, our job is only to gather in what is His.

In a recent disclosure by the Information Rights Unit we find that neck and choke holds are specifically taught by the Metropolitan Police as not to be used because of the inherent danger to the suspect. However they are used and sometimes people get hurt or killed unnecessarily. We expect to be kept safe by the police, but do they go too far - or is it the case that the police are simply doing an impossibly tough job. This song satirises that situation. The song from Mark and Pete's podcast is meant to be funny to highlight that the issue is not in the slightest funny. For more by Mark and Pete: markandpete.com