Hey Z-Dub, interesting post you make about the cartoons. I was almost with you until your last few statements:
"Could or would Christians do such things over offensive cartoons of Jesus? I think many U.S. Christians would immediatly answer, "No way!", just as many U.S. Muslims (Living in a free, weathly, educated, and info rich society) would as well. But just switch the environments and place the Christians in a society where they are truly oppressed, living in poverty, with poor education, and few resources of quality information, and the same thing would happen."
Have you not read any history books? Do you not know who Emperor Nero is? This 'environment' you're talking about was lived by Christians and is still being lived by Christians. Of course, 'life and death persecution,' is not lived here in the U.S., but there is still this kind of persecution going on today in other parts of the world. Christians have been oppressed for years - from the time of Jesus' death till now. I can't think of a better example of this environment you're talking about than the environment that was created under Emperor Nero. He fed people to lions, crucified them, and did all other terrible things to them that would make the Holocaust look like a walk in the park (and we know it wasn't).
Let me also put forth a bold statement: The idea of 'you insult my religion, and I will kill you' will never exist in the religion of Christianity. And here's why: Christianity is about following Jesus. I've poured over the New Testament and have yet to find anywhere in it where Jesus says, "if they don't believe like us, kill them." This 'eye for an eye' mentality does not exist in Christianity. Christianity says the exact opposite. If you're really interested, read chapter 5 in Matthew, read any of the Gospels and see what Jesus said to the men driving stakes into his hands and feet, and uttering insults at him, read Luke chapter 6 verses 27-36. This 'off with the infidels heads' doesn't exist in Christianity.
And before you bring up the Crusades or anything like that, let me ask you to first read the Gospels on Jesus Christ and tell me if the people killing 'in God's name' were really Christians.
Christianity has never been and never will be a religion of hate.
"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
-Matthew 5:11,12
Blessings,
Joe
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Thursday, February 16, 2006
A thought on "The Cartoons"
A quick thought about the worldwide fuss over the "offensive" Mohammed cartoons and the violence that has ensued in the Muslim world since the release of them. I get the sense that some people are looking at the riots and destruction that is taking place over these cartoons and are some how blaming it (Some in a passive aggressive way) on the Religion of Islam. I've heard some people, members of the media and public, says things like, "Wow, those Muslims are so violent." or, "Why are Muslims getting so upset and destructive over a cartoon." The conversations in which these things are uttered often also have very "PC" conscious participants who don't want to offend any Muslims who may be within earshot but they also are very blatantly speaking as if they are talking down to the Muslim faithful. (They are not as good as us.) I should also mention that these people I hear on TV, the radio, and in public, are all of faiths other than Islam.
But I must ask this; is the violence that is taking place over this issue a product of a specific faith or a specific environment? I believe it's more the environment than any sort of faith system. That environment being one of poverty, oppression, poor education, and restricted information. And many of the areas where the violence is happening, also happens to fill the criteria for the type of environment in which I believe this type of overreaction is most likely to occur. Could or would Christians do such things over offensive cartoons of Jesus? I think many U.S. Christians would immediatly answer, "No way!", just as many U.S. Muslims (Living in a free, weathly, educated, and info rich society) would as well. But just switch the environments and place the Christians in a society where they are truly oppressed, living in poverty, with poor education, and few resources of quality information, and the same thing would happen.
But I must ask this; is the violence that is taking place over this issue a product of a specific faith or a specific environment? I believe it's more the environment than any sort of faith system. That environment being one of poverty, oppression, poor education, and restricted information. And many of the areas where the violence is happening, also happens to fill the criteria for the type of environment in which I believe this type of overreaction is most likely to occur. Could or would Christians do such things over offensive cartoons of Jesus? I think many U.S. Christians would immediatly answer, "No way!", just as many U.S. Muslims (Living in a free, weathly, educated, and info rich society) would as well. But just switch the environments and place the Christians in a society where they are truly oppressed, living in poverty, with poor education, and few resources of quality information, and the same thing would happen.
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Mark 10:46-52
Last Sunday we had a young man named Saul come to our church from the Republic of Sudan to preach. Being from Sudan, Saul saw first hand how vicious Muslims can be to 'infidels.' When he was just 12 years old he witnessed both his parents get tied up and cut to pieces because they were practicing Christians. When he and his brother were then brought to a refugee camp and tried to escape, he saw his brother get gunned down. Growing up in this type of atmospher, I can only wonder what kind of mental, physical, and spiritual anquish he's been through.
Nevertheless, Saul spoke on Mark 10:46-52. He spoke as someone who had so many blessings! Before he began to preach on the passage, one of the sayings he kept saying was, "Just give me Jesus." In Mark chapter 10 we hear about Bartimeaus, a blind beggar who positions himself by the entrance gates to Jericho. When he hears that Jesus is coming by, he cries out, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" The crowds try to quiet him and repress his desire to meet Jesus. When Jesus hears Bartimeaus cry out once more, He says, "Call him here." As Bartimeaus throws off his cloak, the same people that were trying to quiet him are now clearing a path for him to meet Jesus.
The real kicker in the passage comes when Jesus askes Bartimeaus, "What do you want me to do for you?" in verse 51. WOW! God Himself is asking him what He can do for him. Take a minute to think about that question. If God asked you what He can do for you, what would you say?
I think this passage alone says so much:
1. We have to position ourselves to meet God.
2. We have to cry out loud and often to God in our times of need.
3. Prayer-if Bartimaeus never cried out and asked God for help, he would have never been healed. This is why we need to pray. God does already know what we need and Jesus knew what Bartimeaus needed, but when Bartimeaus got up in trust and faith in Jesus, God heard him. Bartimeaus understood he needed Jesus and this is what God wants - He wants us to depend on Him, because in Him we find everlasting healing, peace, and joy.
4. Who are we to hinder someone's path to God? The crowds tried to hush Bartimeaus up so he couldn't meet Jesus. Who knows what their motives were and who knows what our motives are for hindering someone's path to God. We should always be clearing a path for people to come to Jesus.
Just give me Jesus. I almost wonder if Saul saw a lot of himself in Bartimeaus. There's not many places that are 'lower' in life than where Saul and Bartimeaus were; to lose your whole family and be orphaned out on the streets with no where to go or to be a blind outcast out on the streets with no where to go. This is the type of God I want to worship. One who meets us in our worst moments, rolls up his sleeves, and says, "Take my hand."
Just give me Jesus.
Joe
Nevertheless, Saul spoke on Mark 10:46-52. He spoke as someone who had so many blessings! Before he began to preach on the passage, one of the sayings he kept saying was, "Just give me Jesus." In Mark chapter 10 we hear about Bartimeaus, a blind beggar who positions himself by the entrance gates to Jericho. When he hears that Jesus is coming by, he cries out, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" The crowds try to quiet him and repress his desire to meet Jesus. When Jesus hears Bartimeaus cry out once more, He says, "Call him here." As Bartimeaus throws off his cloak, the same people that were trying to quiet him are now clearing a path for him to meet Jesus.
The real kicker in the passage comes when Jesus askes Bartimeaus, "What do you want me to do for you?" in verse 51. WOW! God Himself is asking him what He can do for him. Take a minute to think about that question. If God asked you what He can do for you, what would you say?
I think this passage alone says so much:
1. We have to position ourselves to meet God.
2. We have to cry out loud and often to God in our times of need.
3. Prayer-if Bartimaeus never cried out and asked God for help, he would have never been healed. This is why we need to pray. God does already know what we need and Jesus knew what Bartimeaus needed, but when Bartimeaus got up in trust and faith in Jesus, God heard him. Bartimeaus understood he needed Jesus and this is what God wants - He wants us to depend on Him, because in Him we find everlasting healing, peace, and joy.
4. Who are we to hinder someone's path to God? The crowds tried to hush Bartimeaus up so he couldn't meet Jesus. Who knows what their motives were and who knows what our motives are for hindering someone's path to God. We should always be clearing a path for people to come to Jesus.
Just give me Jesus. I almost wonder if Saul saw a lot of himself in Bartimeaus. There's not many places that are 'lower' in life than where Saul and Bartimeaus were; to lose your whole family and be orphaned out on the streets with no where to go or to be a blind outcast out on the streets with no where to go. This is the type of God I want to worship. One who meets us in our worst moments, rolls up his sleeves, and says, "Take my hand."
Just give me Jesus.
Joe
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
10 Thoughts
I’ve been listening to talk radio a lot lately, mostly right-leaning programs such as Rush, The Factor, and several Christian programs, and my mind has become increasingly stuffed with thoughts and ideas for which I have no one to chat with about. So here are ten topics that I have been pondering, in no particular order.
According to Neal Boortz (1340 AM) there was a study conducted which showed that both democrats and republicans tend to ignore negative facts or statements about their own party or favored politicians. The study included a brain scan which showed that when one of the people studied was given a negative piece of information about a political figure that they liked, their brain activity revealed that the area in which the brain deals with “rewards” had the most activity. So, in essence the person would compute the negative information and their brain would respond as if the information was positive, therefore causing that person to either ignore or irrationally discredit the information without really thinking it through and without even considering whether the information was true or false. I have a strong feeling that many people’s brains are wired in such a way and I hope that more of us can understand that and attempt to keep our biases from clouding our vision.
After hearing about that study I started to wonder about a segment I heard on Relevant Radio (930 AM), a Catholic talk station, in which the host was describing how difficult it was for him to install laminate flooring in his home over the weekend. According to the host he was having a very hard time putting down the floor, which was supposed to be easy to install, and he was becoming frustrated to the point of almost uttering some expletives, which would be very un-Catholic of him. So he stopped what he was doing and decided to pray for a saint (I forget which one) that may be able to “help” him complete his task. The host went on to say that after he stopped and prayed he had a much easier time with the floor and he thanked the saint for helping him. After the host finished his story I could not help but think, “Wait a minute, this guy was frustrated and angry so he stopped and took a breather, which would calm most people down and allow them to refocus and clear their head, therefore allowing them to accomplish tasks more easily. But instead of perceiving the situation that way, his faith (bias toward religious beliefs) led him to credit his new found focus to a supernatural being.” So now I wonder, is it the hosts’ brain that is causing him to ignore the facts, or maybe, is it my brain?
Speaking of clearing ones brain, is it really possible to be a freethinker? By "freethinker" of course I mean someone who is able to think and comprehend thoughts and ideas without having a preconceived notion about those thoughts and ideas or any biases one way or another. I think in general the answer is no, or at least it is extremely difficult to be a true freethinker. I think this because it would be nearly impossible for an adult to put aside his or her life experiences in order to approach an idea/argument/situation and set all things equal in an attempt to have a truly unbiased view. With that said, being a Judge must be an extremely difficult job.
Listening to Christian radio programs and listening to Christians themselves I've begun to see a trend that Christians as a group have a lot of complaints about how their religion and morals are treated and viewed in our society. Before I go further let me just say that I in no way believe that only Christians complain, I agree that everyone has complaints. The complaints range from not teaching intelligent design in public schools to how the "Yu-Gi-Oh" card game is disrupting American youth. One of the major complaints that I hear is how public schools keep our children from practicing their faith, which is totally not the case since any student can pray or wear religious clothing in school as long as they are not disruptive. According to www.religioustolerance.org, "...the same First Amendment guarantees that students may engage in many forms of non-disruptive personal religious expression, including the wearing of religious clothing and jewelry. They can pray (individually or in student-led groups) on the school bus, at the flagpole, before lunch, in the corridors, in the classroom before and after lessons, at sports events, etc. They can talk freely about religion to other students outside of class. They can distribute religious literature. If there are any student-led clubs in the school, they have the right to organize student-led Bible prayer clubs." It just seems to me that the Christian-right just will never be satisfied. They can pray in school but now they want the commandments posted on walls; they can view whatever media they wish but they still want to censor anything they don't find morally sound and etc. I have a strong feeling that no matter what concessions the government may give to Christians, be it outlawing abortion and gay marriage or making Bible study mandatory in public schools, they will not be content unless the U.S. goes from being a democracy to a theocracy.
So, let's assume for a moment that the U.S. becomes a Christian run nation and all laws are created with the Bible as the main inspiriation, would that solve the problem of religious strife in America? I think not, for once a "Christian-state" is created it is only a matter of time before various versions of the faith are fighting for power. Will the Catholics win, or the Lutherens, or the Protestants, or the Baptists, or the Evangelicals????? Let me just say this, for as peaceful as Christians are most of the time, this hypothetical battle would most definately turn bloody. For proof, just see Northern Ireland.
Random thought: Why is it that religion will trust and rely on science only when it can coinced with the religious beliefs themselves but when the science doesn't go along with what the religion teaches it is discredited by the religious leaders and the faithfull. That logic seems a quite nonsensical to me. On one hand religion will trust the science behind bullet-proof materials to protect their leaders and they will trust and rely on medical science to aid those in their missions but once science says, "Hey, we may have found evidence that appears to contradict your religious texts/beliefs." then all of sciences credability is lost on the religious faithful, yet they still ask for those antibiotics that medical science dishes out.
Speaking of science, when did it become offensive? The other day my girlfriend and I went to a bookstore with one of my friends (a Christian) and his girlfriend (Hmmm, wonder who they were...) and we just looked at books/magazines and talked about stuff. Afterword my girlfriend asked me if I had chosen to read the science magazine and book on purpose in order to offend my Christian buddy. I was stunned. For one thing, I'm not the type of person who is going to try and purposely offend a friend, at least not covertly. Believe me, if I want to offend you, you'll know. But that definately wasn't the case in this instance. I just like science! I like to read about science and learn about science! Is that offensive to Christians? It shouldn't be. And why is it that my girlfriend or anyone for that matter, would think that science material would be offensive to a religious person, yet I was never asked if I was offended by the religious material that my friend was looking through????? (Btw, I was not offended)
Well, as usual I always think I can keep a post short and then fail miserably. So, to wrap this all up here are my final three thoughts summed up in one sentence each.
The "right" often talks about the "Moral fabric" of America as if it were one uniform color like a bedsheet, but I tend to think it's more like a patchwork quilt with varying shades, colors, and designs, which is fine by me.
Is is just me or are preists who are accused of child molestation treated much differently and significantly more lightly than say public school teachers who are accused of the same crime?
And Finally, to me all of this fuss in the Muslim world about these Mohamed cartoons means only one thing; with so many people throughout the world believing that their religion or their version of a religion is the correct and undeniably "true" one we as a society are headed for one hell of a train wreck. (That is of course unless we are already there.)
And that is what I've been pondering.
P.S. - I appologize for any spelling/grammar errors. The computer I'm on doesn't have Word (no spellcheck) and I don't have enough time to reread everything. Sorry.
According to Neal Boortz (1340 AM) there was a study conducted which showed that both democrats and republicans tend to ignore negative facts or statements about their own party or favored politicians. The study included a brain scan which showed that when one of the people studied was given a negative piece of information about a political figure that they liked, their brain activity revealed that the area in which the brain deals with “rewards” had the most activity. So, in essence the person would compute the negative information and their brain would respond as if the information was positive, therefore causing that person to either ignore or irrationally discredit the information without really thinking it through and without even considering whether the information was true or false. I have a strong feeling that many people’s brains are wired in such a way and I hope that more of us can understand that and attempt to keep our biases from clouding our vision.
After hearing about that study I started to wonder about a segment I heard on Relevant Radio (930 AM), a Catholic talk station, in which the host was describing how difficult it was for him to install laminate flooring in his home over the weekend. According to the host he was having a very hard time putting down the floor, which was supposed to be easy to install, and he was becoming frustrated to the point of almost uttering some expletives, which would be very un-Catholic of him. So he stopped what he was doing and decided to pray for a saint (I forget which one) that may be able to “help” him complete his task. The host went on to say that after he stopped and prayed he had a much easier time with the floor and he thanked the saint for helping him. After the host finished his story I could not help but think, “Wait a minute, this guy was frustrated and angry so he stopped and took a breather, which would calm most people down and allow them to refocus and clear their head, therefore allowing them to accomplish tasks more easily. But instead of perceiving the situation that way, his faith (bias toward religious beliefs) led him to credit his new found focus to a supernatural being.” So now I wonder, is it the hosts’ brain that is causing him to ignore the facts, or maybe, is it my brain?
Speaking of clearing ones brain, is it really possible to be a freethinker? By "freethinker" of course I mean someone who is able to think and comprehend thoughts and ideas without having a preconceived notion about those thoughts and ideas or any biases one way or another. I think in general the answer is no, or at least it is extremely difficult to be a true freethinker. I think this because it would be nearly impossible for an adult to put aside his or her life experiences in order to approach an idea/argument/situation and set all things equal in an attempt to have a truly unbiased view. With that said, being a Judge must be an extremely difficult job.
Listening to Christian radio programs and listening to Christians themselves I've begun to see a trend that Christians as a group have a lot of complaints about how their religion and morals are treated and viewed in our society. Before I go further let me just say that I in no way believe that only Christians complain, I agree that everyone has complaints. The complaints range from not teaching intelligent design in public schools to how the "Yu-Gi-Oh" card game is disrupting American youth. One of the major complaints that I hear is how public schools keep our children from practicing their faith, which is totally not the case since any student can pray or wear religious clothing in school as long as they are not disruptive. According to www.religioustolerance.org, "...the same First Amendment guarantees that students may engage in many forms of non-disruptive personal religious expression, including the wearing of religious clothing and jewelry. They can pray (individually or in student-led groups) on the school bus, at the flagpole, before lunch, in the corridors, in the classroom before and after lessons, at sports events, etc. They can talk freely about religion to other students outside of class. They can distribute religious literature. If there are any student-led clubs in the school, they have the right to organize student-led Bible prayer clubs." It just seems to me that the Christian-right just will never be satisfied. They can pray in school but now they want the commandments posted on walls; they can view whatever media they wish but they still want to censor anything they don't find morally sound and etc. I have a strong feeling that no matter what concessions the government may give to Christians, be it outlawing abortion and gay marriage or making Bible study mandatory in public schools, they will not be content unless the U.S. goes from being a democracy to a theocracy.
So, let's assume for a moment that the U.S. becomes a Christian run nation and all laws are created with the Bible as the main inspiriation, would that solve the problem of religious strife in America? I think not, for once a "Christian-state" is created it is only a matter of time before various versions of the faith are fighting for power. Will the Catholics win, or the Lutherens, or the Protestants, or the Baptists, or the Evangelicals????? Let me just say this, for as peaceful as Christians are most of the time, this hypothetical battle would most definately turn bloody. For proof, just see Northern Ireland.
Random thought: Why is it that religion will trust and rely on science only when it can coinced with the religious beliefs themselves but when the science doesn't go along with what the religion teaches it is discredited by the religious leaders and the faithfull. That logic seems a quite nonsensical to me. On one hand religion will trust the science behind bullet-proof materials to protect their leaders and they will trust and rely on medical science to aid those in their missions but once science says, "Hey, we may have found evidence that appears to contradict your religious texts/beliefs." then all of sciences credability is lost on the religious faithful, yet they still ask for those antibiotics that medical science dishes out.
Speaking of science, when did it become offensive? The other day my girlfriend and I went to a bookstore with one of my friends (a Christian) and his girlfriend (Hmmm, wonder who they were...) and we just looked at books/magazines and talked about stuff. Afterword my girlfriend asked me if I had chosen to read the science magazine and book on purpose in order to offend my Christian buddy. I was stunned. For one thing, I'm not the type of person who is going to try and purposely offend a friend, at least not covertly. Believe me, if I want to offend you, you'll know. But that definately wasn't the case in this instance. I just like science! I like to read about science and learn about science! Is that offensive to Christians? It shouldn't be. And why is it that my girlfriend or anyone for that matter, would think that science material would be offensive to a religious person, yet I was never asked if I was offended by the religious material that my friend was looking through????? (Btw, I was not offended)
Well, as usual I always think I can keep a post short and then fail miserably. So, to wrap this all up here are my final three thoughts summed up in one sentence each.
The "right" often talks about the "Moral fabric" of America as if it were one uniform color like a bedsheet, but I tend to think it's more like a patchwork quilt with varying shades, colors, and designs, which is fine by me.
Is is just me or are preists who are accused of child molestation treated much differently and significantly more lightly than say public school teachers who are accused of the same crime?
And Finally, to me all of this fuss in the Muslim world about these Mohamed cartoons means only one thing; with so many people throughout the world believing that their religion or their version of a religion is the correct and undeniably "true" one we as a society are headed for one hell of a train wreck. (That is of course unless we are already there.)
And that is what I've been pondering.
P.S. - I appologize for any spelling/grammar errors. The computer I'm on doesn't have Word (no spellcheck) and I don't have enough time to reread everything. Sorry.
Have you ever wondered?
Have you ever wondered why God sent His son Jesus to earth the way He did? Why didn't God send a great conquerer to lead a conquest over the whole world? After all, that's what the Jews were waiting for after years of oppresion from the Roman government. Furthermore, if Jesus really was God, why didn't He just use the Holy Spirit to force people to love Him?
After reading in Matthew and studying Haley's Bible Handbook, I've realized Jesus' mission was to change people's hearts, not compel or force them to obey. Our hearts cannot lie, they tell the whole story. From our hearts do we express our true feelings. Jesus was after Man's heart. God wants us to love Him, because after all, He is a selfish God. If we are coerced or forced to love God, it's only temporary and superficial.
However, when God sent Jesus, He knew exactly what to do to change Man's heart. A man with compassion that could heal people, forgive people, pray for people, and die for people is a great man to follow. Jesus became the conquerer of our hearts and it makes sense why we would have to accept Jesus into our hearts to be saved.
Blessings,
Joe
After reading in Matthew and studying Haley's Bible Handbook, I've realized Jesus' mission was to change people's hearts, not compel or force them to obey. Our hearts cannot lie, they tell the whole story. From our hearts do we express our true feelings. Jesus was after Man's heart. God wants us to love Him, because after all, He is a selfish God. If we are coerced or forced to love God, it's only temporary and superficial.
However, when God sent Jesus, He knew exactly what to do to change Man's heart. A man with compassion that could heal people, forgive people, pray for people, and die for people is a great man to follow. Jesus became the conquerer of our hearts and it makes sense why we would have to accept Jesus into our hearts to be saved.
Blessings,
Joe
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