Tag Archives: slavery

Dec 20 2012

this went thru my mind

 

Christians, faith, gun control & idolatry: * A New American Idol – The Second Amendment by Paul Smith [required reading]; * Christianity & Guns 1; * Pray and Put Up a (Nonviolent) Fight by Rachel Stone

* “Ever since the massacre of the school children in Newtown, CT, I have been bombarded with evidence that America has fallen completely in love with another idol, and this one will destroy us just as surely as the golden calves caused the destruction of Northern Israel. The idol is the United States Constitution, and nowhere is it more directly visible than in our repulsive adoration of the second amendment. …

“The murders in Newtown changed me forever. … The cataracts over my eyes were ripped off in horrific fashion. …

“I really do not think you can be a follower of Jesus the Christ and still support the 2nd Amendment as it is so devoutly defended by the NRA. And I truly do not think your Christianity amounts to a thimble of water if you are a member of the NRA – if you defend their most diabolical pronouncements. …

“I want the freedom that is in Christ – the freedom that comes from surrendering my rights – and that means my so called 2nd Amendment right to own a gun designed to kill another human being.”

* “It is not God’s will that 82 to 84 people die every day as a result of gun violence. The nonsense of the Gun Empire is that guns don’t kill people and that the answer to gun violence is more guns.”

* “Ever since Constantine had his soldiers put a cross on their shields, Christians have been divided on something that Jesus was shockingly unambiguous about: violence perpetuates violence perpetuates violence perpetuates violence perpetually–and you don’t get to wield or excuse or perpetuate violence in Jesus’ name. That’s blasphemy.

“But in many quarters, it seems, to break ranks with conservative American values and say ‘enough with the guns that have no purpose except to kill people’ is a greater blasphemy.

“If the name of Jesus is on you–and if you call yourself Christian, it is–then for someone to perpetuate violence in your name is blasphemy. And so I say to lawmakers who won’t stand up to the NRA, who won’t require insurance companies to provide adequate coverage for mental health care, who wage undeclared wars, who criminalize those who should be hospitalized: not in my name.

“Yes, this is a time to pray. To pray, and to put up a (nonviolent) fight.”

Evil, heart & murder: Murder: This is a Heart Issue by John T. Willis

“All of us are deeply disturbed by the 28 murders recently committed at a grade school in Newtown, Connecticut. The murderer was identified as Adam Lanza, age 20. He murdered his mother, six teachers, and 20 small students. In all cases, people want to know, WHY did this happen? And out of this come numerous questions which face all of us. Why didn’t God intervene and prevent this from happening? Why didn’t Adam’s mother raise him as a good citizen? Why didn’t counselors detect Adam’s problems? People pounce on this kind of issue, and declare that Adam had psychological problems or suffered from paternal abuse or was wired as an evil person at birth, and the theories go on an on. Let’s be honest. The REAL issue is the HEART. “

Human trafficking & slavery: Slavery’s Global Comeback by J.J. Gould

“There are now twice as many people enslaved in the world as there were in the 350 years of the transatlantic slave trade. … The leading demographic accounts of contemporary slavery project a global slave population of between 20 million and 30 million people.”

Dec 1 2012

this went thru mind

 

Israel/Palestine: Challenges in Defining an Israeli-Palestinian Border

“… explore some of the contentious issues that negotiators will face in drawing borders between Israel and a future Palestinian state.”

Kingdom of heaven: Patheos Interview: Heaven on Earth (required reading; Q & A with Josh Graves)

“…  this is about a wedding of all the things of heaven with all the things in earth.”

Non-violence & self-defense: Video Q&A: What if Violence is Necessary to Protect a Loved One? [required viewing; 4 min. video clip of an interview of Greg Boyd]

“… there’s all sorts of things you can do.”

U.S history: * Everything You Know About the 1960s is Wrong by James T. Patterson; The Monster of Monticello by Paul Finkelman

* “As late as 1964, the decade looked like the ’50s.”

* “… while many of his contemporaries, including George Washington, freed their slaves during and after the revolution — inspired, perhaps, by the words of the Declaration — Jefferson did not. Over the subsequent 50 years, a period of extraordinary public service, Jefferson remained the master of Monticello, and a buyer and seller of human beings. Rather than encouraging his countrymen to liberate their slaves, he opposed both private manumission and public emancipation. Even at his death, Jefferson failed to fulfill the promise of his rhetoric: his will emancipated only five slaves, all relatives of his mistress Sally Hemings, and condemned nearly 200 others to the auction block. Even Hemings remained a slave, though her children by Jefferson went free.”

Will of God: What is God’s Will for My Life? by Patrick Mead

“Ready? God’s story is not about plot. It is about character development.”

Nov 30 2012

this went thru my mind

 

Archaeology: The Cyrus Cylinder Travels to Five Major Museum Venues in the United States in 2013

“This will be the first time this object has been seen in the US … Tour Dates … Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 3rd May – 14th June 2013.”

Civil War, Lincoln, secession, slavery, & United States history: Some Notes on “Seven Notes from ‘Lincoln’” A Response to M. David Sills by Kenneth Pierce

“Southern leaders and secession documents both state that the war was indeed over slavery.”

Culture & the United States: Is America Becoming What It Has Always Been? by Paul Smith

“It has been my pleasure to know some of the sweetest, kindest, most gentle ‘seniors’ on the face of the earth. And I have known some of the most bitter, hateful old crows that you can possibly imagine. What is interesting about some (although not all) of the bitter, hateful group is that people who have known them for many years cannot understand the change that has supposedly changed the person. ‘Old weird John was such a nice person’ they often say. ‘I just can’t imagine what has come over him to make him this way.’

“I have another theory. Based on my now half-century plus experience in watching people age, and doing a fair amount of it myself, I am convinced that the “change” is not so surprising at all. There has been a change, to be sure, but the change is not in attitude or personality. What has changed is the person’s ability to mask that attitude or personality.”

Cyber-warefare: US Cyber-Weapons Exempt From “Human Judgment” Requirement

“‘Just what do you think you’re doing, Dave?’ … Remember how Stuxnet managed to spread beyond Iranian nuclear research facilities? Such scenarios will likely become more common—soon.”

God: An Imperfect God by Yoram Hazony [required reading]

“Is God perfect? You often hear philosophers describe “theism” as the belief in a perfect being — a being whose attributes are said to include being all-powerful, all-knowing, immutable, perfectly good, perfectly simple, and necessarily existent (among others). And today, something like this view is common among lay people as well. … There are two famous problems with this view of God. The first is that it appears to be impossible to make it coherent. … The second problem is that while this ‘theist’ view of God is supposed to be a description of the God of the Bible, it’s hard to find any evidence that the prophets and scholars who wrote the Hebrew Bible (or ‘Old Testament’) thought of God in this way at all.”

Just for fun: Bond: License to Drive [the cars driven by James Bond]

“Everyone has a favorite Bond … but what’s your favorite Bond car?”

Nov 24 2012

this went thru my mind

 

Baptism, discipleship, evangelism & salvation: Saving Souls is More Than Counting Baptisms by Terry Rush

“Be about soul winning this week.  If any should be at the waters of baptism, praise God.  But, too, if any happen to be over a cup of coffee or in a waiting room and you seek to inspire someone back to greatness….this too would be winning of the soul.”

Bible interpretation: My Take: The Danger of Calling Behavior ‘Biblical’ by Rachel Held Evans

“… the Bible is not a position paper. The Bible is an ancient collection of letters, laws, poetry, proverbs, histories, prophecies, philosophy and stories spanning multiple genres and assembled over thousands of years in cultures very different from our own. When we turn the Bible into an adjective and stick it in front of another loaded word, we tend to ignore or downplay the parts of the Bible that don’t quite fit our preferences and presuppositions. In an attempt to simplify, we force the Bible’s cacophony of voices into a single tone and turn a complicated, beautiful, and diverse holy text into a list of bullet points we can put in a manifesto or creed. More often than not, we end up more committed to what we want the Bible to say than what it actually says.”

Military service, pacifism & the early church: What Can We Learn From the Early Church? – Living Like the First Christians

“There can be no question but that Christians of the earliest period were overwhelmingly pacifist. I would say, until the year 200 pacifism was the norm for Christians. That began to change slightly from 200 to the Constantinian Edict in 313. Tertullian (160-225) was very strong in arguing that Christians could not participate in war, and he went so far as to say that those who were already soldiers must quit the military when they became followers of Jesus.  There are cases during this early period where Christians chose to be martyred rather than to serve in the military.”

Movies & politics: Why We Love Politics by David Brooks

“… ‘Lincoln,’ directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Tony Kushner. … portrays the nobility of politics in exactly the right way.”

Reading: Four Reasons Men Don’t Read Books (with a Practical Suggestion) by Tony Reinke

“… many Christian men do struggle with reading. Here are four reasons why: Men don’t read books because they don’t know where to begin. … Men don’t read books because visual allurements are more appealing. … Men don’t read books because they think it’s a waste of time. … Men don’t read because they lack literary discipline.”

Special needs: 4 Ways the Church Can Support Families with Special Needs Children by Chad Nall

“A parent of a special-needs child shared with several of us in a seminar four things the church can do to support families. They include …”