Religion

Whose Actions?

Yesterday I learned of the four CPT people kidnapped by (Islamic?) terrorists in Iraq. My heart does indeed go out to these four and their families.

Last night I had to wonder what CPT’s reaction would have been had this happened in Israel (proper and/or “occupied”). If their (seemingly) anti-Israel track record bears here at all, they would be blaming Israel.

So what do I read just a few minutes ago on the CPT website?

We are angry because what has happened to our teammates is the result of the actions of the U.S. and U.K. governments due to the illegal attack on Iraq and the continuing occupation and oppression of its people.

They don’t seem to blame the terrorists.

And they certainly don’t seem to accept the reality that what happened is the result of CPT actions.

Their slogan is “Christian Peacemaker Teams: committed to reducing violence by ‘Getting in the way.'”

A word to the CPT organization: Getting in the way is your choice, your action.

Accept responsibility and quit blaming someone else for your choices and actions.

I am not insensitive to nor uncaring about the four CPT folks in terrorist care.

I am saying the CPT statement and obvious political agenda are very diminishing to the four.

May the four show God’s love and grace to their captors.

And may God’s grace be able to sustain them and their families.

An Ignored Humanitarian Crisis

Yesterday Mission Network News reported:

The United Nations is increasing its presence in Uganda to help over two million people displaced by the civil war.

UN reports say it’s one of the largest ignored humanitarian crises. Most of the refugees fleeing the 19-year war live in over 200 squalid and overcrowded camps and rely largely on international assistance to survive.

The tragedy, says World Vision’s Amy Parodi (par-AW-dee), is a whole generation of young adults know only war. “Rehabilitation, spiritual and psychological counseling and help are going to be absolutely vital, in addition to helping the displaced community and the unemployed community to find employment and to get themselves back on their feet. So they don’t feel like they have to resort to violence to make ends meet.”

Ignored by whom?

Me.

You?

Our churches?

UFO Cover-Up?

I don’t know if the post title fits the story or not!

I got this at Yahoo! News via Drudge:

A former Canadian Minister of Defence and Deputy Prime Minister under Pierre Trudeau has joined forces with three Non-governmental organizations to ask the Parliament of Canada to hold public hearings on Exopolitics — relations with “ETs.”

By “ETs,” Mr. Hellyer and these organizations mean ethical, advanced extraterrestrial civilizations that may now be visiting Earth.

On September 25, 2005, in a startling speech at the University of Toronto that caught the attention of mainstream newspapers and magazines, Paul Hellyer, Canada’s Defence Minister from 1963-67 under Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Prime Minister Lester Pearson, publicly stated: “UFOs, are as real as the airplanes that fly over your head.”

Mr. Hellyer went on to say, “I’m so concerned about what the consequences might be of starting an intergalactic war, that I just think I had to say something.”

Hellyer revealed, “The secrecy involved in all matters pertaining to the Roswell incident was unparalled. The classification was, from the outset, above top secret, so the vast majority of U.S. officials and politicians, let alone a mere allied minister of defence, were never in-the-loop.”

Hellyer warned, “The United States military are preparing weapons which could be used against the aliens, and they could get us into an intergalactic war without us ever having any warning. He stated, “The Bush administration has finally agreed to let the military build a forward base on the moon, which will put them in a better position to keep track of the goings and comings of the visitors from space, and to shoot at them, if they so decide.”

Hellyer’s speech ended with a standing ovation. He said, “The time has come to lift the veil of secrecy, and let the truth emerge, so there can be a real and informed debate, about one of the most important problems facing our planet today.”

OK.

I believe there are two categories of extraterrestrials: divine and angelic.

The divine category consists only of God.

In the angelic category I put God’s angels, Satan, and Satan’s demons.

So in what category do I put ETs and UFOs such as this fellow is talking about?

In the evil angels (Satan and/or demons) category.

Now I suppose I qualify as a kook in the minds of many.

Two Punches?

According to this news story, the preacher kept on preaching:

A pastor was standing in front of a group of people when one man rears back and punches him right in the eye. It happened over the weekend in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Victory Christian Center’s Pastor Billy Joe Daugherty continued his sermon with blood coming out of his eye.

The next sentence in the report states blandly:

Church members subdued his attacker.

Then we have this photo of the attacker:

To this “casual observer” it appears at least two punches landed during that service.

Tit for tat.

Ooooops.

State-Sponsored Church

I know this happened two days ago, but I’ve been wondering if I should say just a bit about it:

President George W. Bush visited a state-sponsored Christian church this morning to nudge China on religious freedom — the first stop on a whirlwind visit where he is likely to face difficulty getting his hosts to change their ways on fair trade or human rights.

A bit farther down in the article we have this:

The church itself is one of five officially recognized Protestant churches in Beijing. There are Catholic churches as well, although the Chinese bar them from having close ties to the Vatican.

What does it take to be a church officially recognized by the Communist government of China? What are the practical and theological implications of being state-sponsored? And how many unregistered (ie, underground and persecuted) churches are there?

I suppose I could Google for an answer, but I haven’t yet.

Got (God’s) Love?




Noordin Mohamad Top (maybe)

The Star (Malaysia) offers this AP story:

A video found in the hide-out of one of Asia’s most wanted militants shows a masked man threatening attacks against the United States, Britain and Australia.

Police suspect the man in the video could be Malaysian fugitive Noordin Mohamad Top, considered a key leader of the al-Qaida-linked Southeast Asian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah.

Noordin has been accused of direct involvement in at least four deadly bombings in Indonesia, including the 2002 and 2005 suicide attacks on the resort island of Bali that together killed 222 people, many of them foreign tourists.

OK, Christians. How do you pray for a man like this? Or would we even consider praying for him?

You could even right-click the image (in Windows XP anyway) and select to have it be your wallpaper. As a reminder, you know.

I’m sure this man has lots of hate directed toward him. What he needs is God’s love directed toward him.

Yeah, I know. Easier written than done.

It’s Against the Law in MA

General Laws of Massachusetts; Chapter 272, Section 36

Whoever wilfully blasphemes the holy name of God by denying, cursing or contumeliously reproaching God, his creation, government or final judging of the world, or by cursing or contumeliously reproaching Jesus Christ or the Holy Ghost, or by cursing or contumeliously reproaching or exposing to contempt and ridicule, the holy word of God contained in the holy scriptures shall be punished by imprisonment in jail for not more than one year or by a fine of not more than three hundred dollars, and may also be bound to good behavior.

That’s still on books there!

However, they have Senate Bill 938 to remedy that oversight and a few others as well — “SECTION 7. Section 36 of chapter 272 of the General Laws is hereby repealed.”

Above all, love God!
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