Is Anyone from Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, or Yemen Reading This?

If they are, I think I have something to say

A Contemporary Military Map of the battle of RI. Library of Congress ID g3772n.ar300400. Public Domain.

There's always a tendency to speak only of current examples, but the great democracies of the Western world had centuries of, often very bloody, legal and political history leading to their current status, a history that the Islamic world does not have. They also have a culture that held certain things as sacred, certain non-biblical things in fact, that the Islamic world did not hold to.

Instead, we see in the Islamic world a great desire to keep Islam in the government, even as separation of church and state is necessary, and a great desire for a morality and justice that Feudalism long ago hardened Europes heart against. We see in the Islamic world a desire at once for freedom and order, at once for individual and group dignity, and we see fights within society that must be resolved.

As such, I wanted to share the story of a former democracy, one that was absorbed in to America in 1776, its traditions and system destroyed in favor of the federal constitution. A democracy created by a pastor, a Puritan pastor, with freedom of conscience for all and a work ethic that made its small, rocky-soiled state an early center of industry and commerce in America. That democracy is Providence Plantations.

The pastors name was Roger Williams. He grew up the son of a wise and just merchant and trader, who gave to the poor in life and in his will. His home parish in London was the sight of great religious tumult, including the burning at stake of many puritan martyrs who died for nothing more then their belief in God. Graduating from Cambridge with a degree in theology and great life experience, Roger Williams headed across the seas.

He may well have been driven out, as he was already at that time quite controversial, and in 1630 he began his mission to the puritans of New England, only to find just as much controversy in America. Among the places he preached the longest and loudest was the town of Salem, which if it had fully received him, might have averted its horrendous infamy for burning withces at stake 60 years later. Salem denied him, and thus Salem carried its shame, and still does to this day.

Salem denied him so thoroughly that he was about to be deported back to England, at which time he fled southwest, to the lands of the Narragansett Indians. There he befriended many, and was given the gift of land. He named it Providence, in honor and thanks towards God. In later years, the colony would repay the kindness of the Narragansett by housing Quakers and Jews fleeing form their own persecution, thus demonstrating the true refuge, forgiveness, justice and charity of Christ.

In 1643 he headed back to England to acquire a charter for his colony. The toes he stepped on long ago forgotten, the English granted it to him, and he incorporated three towns, Providence the capital, Newport, and Portsmouth. He also, on the way there, wrote a book on the Indians he knew, titled "Key into the Languages of America," granting him respect on his authority for perhaps the first time in his life.

He was not unknown to commerce, starting afterwards a Indian trading post at Cocumscussoc, but when the needs of his colony called him, he gave it up, selling it likely at a loss in 1651 in order to head back to England to have his bastion of freedoms charter confirmed. Thus he showed, at once, a skill with Mammon, and a willingness to disregard it for what was more important. He actually failed, but his fellow John Clarke succeeded, gaining a full and correct charter by 1663, while he handled important family business that held him back until 1654.

Unfortunately King Phillips War (1675) did see his colony burned to the ground, but he also lived to see it rebuilt. He stayed a preacher always, and kept his colony a free refuge always, open to all religious beliefs, and all religious debate. The example he set and the sheep he led would become the tolerant, but comparatively pious, religious traditions of modern America, even though his democracy was later swallowed up.

Samuel Slater, in 1790, built the first successful cotton textile mill in America at Blackstone River. Manufacturing would grow more rapidly in Rhode Island then almost any other American colony. The people of Rhode Island kept that free spirit alive, striking against unfair merchants in 1783 and refusing to participate in the war of 1812, and did away with all slavery in its limits voluntarily under the State Emancipation Act of 1784. Thus they let their religion, true religion (Isaiah 51), guide them as their hearts and law were free!

Sources:

http://www.rogerwilliams.org/biography.htm

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rigenweb/history.html

Our Current Murder Laws

Farmland of Bentley, North Dakota. Image by Andrew Filer, license cc 2.0 generic

One of the most critical of all laws is trespassing. Without it, property means nothing, hard work means nothing, and no one has any security at all, not even in their own home. It also protects something deeper and more sacred, a kind of respect that only can come from such borders and barriers.

One of the most sacred human rituals is the funeral. Yet, there are people out there who would let silly politics get in the way of the most important events in anyones life, one of the few things that truly demonstrate how valuable an individual human being is. There are people out there who see it as a moment to talk, to intrude, to threaten, to intimidate, and to steal from families and loved ones their chance to say goodbye.

It has long been accepted that when you trespass on somebodies land, you have the right to kill them, so when you trespass on somebodies very life and soul, shouldn't you have the same right? It may not be your land permaneantly, but as you're laying the body to rest, its your land, and your time, your last time together, the time to say goodbye, and why should you allow such foul and awful beings to contaminate that hollowed ground? Should they not clean away their foul footsteps with their very blood?

Obviously, no one should harm these people now. They are now entitled to the same sacred protection they denied others, and even if the law is not changed, it has a value to itself, so do not let our nation become lawless for that is even worse then this, but if Westboro protesters showed up to my funeral, I would hope my family would have the right to tell them to leave at the point of a gun, and if they don't, kill them as the common crooks that they are.

It is a travesty of justice that our current legal system does not allow such. This must change, and if you feel angry, if you feel upset, I ask you to, along side me, campaign for good laws, better laws in any way you can. Honor the dead by making sure that future dead are honored, and then their name shall be hollowed alongside those you have protected from such defilement:

"Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have relieved me in my distress;
Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.

² How long, O you sons of men,
Will you turn my glory to shame?
How long will you love worthlessness
And seek falsehood? Selah
³ But know that the LORD has set apart for Himself him who is godly;
The LORD will hear when I call to Him.

⁴ Be angry, and do not sin.
Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah
⁵ Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,
And put your trust in the LORD." (Psalm 4, NKJV)

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12: 21)

Do not be a hypocrite. God calls us not only to be right, but to be at peace, and to be peaceful to his creation, especially at the level of America and all of its citizens. Therefore, do nothing worthless, and do nothing against the law which has a value in and of itself, but seek to work with the law to make it better. We have a democracy, use it!

What the world needs now is Love... On television!

Saitama TV tower, image by ebiebi2, permission: public domain.

I was thinking today about the value of PBS, CBC, BBC and other public television channels in bolstering innovation on television and bringing in programs of greater artistic value, including the great British comedies that BBC is known for, the laboratory of creative, quality journalism that CBC has become, and the great lifestyle and documentary programs that have been so influential throughout the world that PBS has created. There is exactly one downside to these stations: they are paid for with taxpayer money, meaning that people had no choice about whether to support them, making them the product of an illicit activity, state theft. What if such a station could be established by a large, worldwide body of people voluntarily?

Throughout time one of the greatest achievements of the church has been in preserving, inspiring and encouraging mans great intellectual and artistic endeavors. Whether it was preserving science, writing and philosophy during the Dark Ages in the monasteries of Europe, commissioning the great works of Michelangelo in the early Renascence, producing the Gutenburg Bible in the 1500's and thus bringing literacy to Europe, or bringing purpose and resolve to young Charles Darwins life in the 1800's, Christianity has always been at the forefront of the human quest for knowledge, understanding and enrichment both intellectually and spiritually. And they have also backed the ideas and spiritual development thus earned with conviction and the desire to make the evils found right, as in the case of a young, talented, baptist preacher from Montgomery, Alabama named Martin Luther King Junior. And in the bible, we see a very profound call from God himself to inspire and teach humanity:

"You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?" (Jonah 4: 10-11, NIV) The reason God sent Jonah, in the final examination, was not to control and brainwash and extract Hail Mary's, but to educate.

A really effective worldwide public television, as supposed to this regional sort, may reach the masses and teach them, educationally, poetically and spiritually, to not only embrace God and all his wonders, but think, and let their minds be ruled by truth and love. While we all understand the need to provide for mans material needs, and the church has fought valiantly for such, a man who is enriched mentally and spiritually can also provide for his own material needs, an educated man finds purpose, work ethic and direction, and maybe churches across the world should consider this as a portion of their mission, refilling the lamps of all of Gods virgins. Best of all, when the churches provide for it, preferably as a separate fund donated to by individuals outside of normal collections to prevent competition with other missions (we all know people put basically the same amount in the collection plate regardless of what their church is doing - 'Prayerbot reporting for duty!'), it is a voluntary donation, not one extracted, like PBS, CBC and BBC, from people without their consent.

Now it is true that a very minor Evangelical christian public television station does exist, called TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network), in the United States. However, it is totally governed by Evangelical Christians, and as a result has just a little too much "praise the lord and pass the collection plate" about it. In addition, on the rare occasions that it does do more artistic, film type programs, they tend to be sterile and preachy, another aspect of Evangelical Christians. Likewise, there would be problems if only Catholics, or only Lutherans contributed to this network as well, but when all threads weave together to form a sturdy rope, a truly balanced TV station can be formed. While evangelism should not be forgotten by this station, it should be balanced with art, with science, with news and with theological debate, and even some cutting edge comedy and tragedy of a unique, artistically valuable form, to provide a much more balanced intellectual and spiritual growth, for while the Bible is powerful and valuable, it is only one book, and there is far more to God and to all His creation then a single text could ever cover.

It also gives Christianity a great new tool for evangelism, as such an organization could boost the signal from towers on friendly land, so that it would penetrate any nation, no matter how much that nation engages in censorship, and spread the word of God and the truth to all of mankind, outside of arrogant governments insistence on controlling speech! Not only could the word of God be spread, but politically disliked news commentary, science, arts, and anything else that a government might choose to suppress or censor, would be broadcasted from sea to shining sea, and there would be no way to stop us short of the violence that shows these governments to be what they are. Now all we need is a really cheap television transmitter!

For regardless of what religious text, if any, you accept, God, whoever and whatever He is, regardless of what you say, created a world of freedom, where birds have their own claws and humans have their own families and land, and the forces of physics are consistent and exploitable 99.9% of the time, and governments that oppress their people eventually fall by the devices of their own cruelty, from the Roman Empires slave economy destroying itself, to the cruelty of the human sacrificing Aztecs bringing the wrath of all the neighboring peoples to destroy their great city. Included is even Ancient Isreals barbarism, human sacrifice and oppression weakening it to make it prey for neighboring states and the Medieval Catholic churches simony and oppression losing it its lands in Central Italy, and finally the oppression of Adam and his clothes and so called "knowledge of good and evil" bringing death and tragedy in to the world. "The wages of sin are death," (Romans 6: 23a, NIV) and it would seem thus that oppression is a sin punished by the grapes of wrath sown in to Gods people and the power entrusted in the mob. Thankfully for us sinners, "but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6: 23b, NIV)

Yes, free and peaceful (and peace is a kind of freedom) states are wealthy, prosperous, and strong, and the states that brought freedom and peace to some degree received much of the earth and much happiness and peace as reward in their time, from the United States of America in the 20th century to the early Roman Republic with its beginnings of federal democracy, from Persia with its first constitutional controls to the protestants with their freedom of knowledge, speech and assembly and the industrial revolution that accompanied them. From the Vikings with their respect for women and proper ways of resolving disputes to the Chinese with their consistent philosophy and relative freedom of speech. Freedom is never perfect, but even the good in the imperfect is not forgotten by God, so let freedom ring!

MLK and what being a Christian really means

Image by Andre Engels, cc 2.0 generic.

Did you know he was a Reverand?

He was brought up in a family of ministers, to be a minister. He graduated from high school when he was 15, then graduated from a prestigious black university, downtown Atlanta's own Morehouse College, from which he went to a white seminary in Representative Murtha's Rednecksylvania, Crozier, and became senior class president. It was now clear what God had made him for in this life, and he seemingly took note. Earning a fellowship, he enrolled in graduate studies at Boston College, and after becoming the Reverand of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in that hang out of the old Southern rich known as Montgomery, Alabama, he went on to become the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. More can be found on his life here.

The reason I'm thinking about this is yesterday I read a little on Nero Ceasar. Large sections of Rome burned down, and no one knew whether it was accident or arson. A group of Christians confessed to have committed arson, but this confession was likely extracted by torture. They were hated group in society, and they were rounded up, at first for the arson, and later just for some kind of hate. They were put in animal skins and torn to death by dogs, burned alive to keep the city illuminated at night, and, like their Lord and Savior, crucified. They were hated for the "abomination" of believing different in Rome, which historian Tacitus described, in Annals XV, as: "where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular."

Martin Luther King was killed, by a gunman, for the abomination of believing in human decency and respect, for "one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers." ("I have a dream" Speech) For merely asking, in his I Have a Dream Speech, for America to fulfill its own promise, its own principle. He wasn't asking even for an alteration of the nation, but merely for it to genuinely fulfill what it is, to not allow its soul to be devoured whole by the flames of hate!

This was not the first time he had been persecuted. In Birmingham, King had protested non-violently, in the greatest traditions of Apostolic (pre-Catholic) Christianity, just as Saint Paul and Saint Peter had so many years ago. He did not tear apart city and civilization, but even as the firehoses inflicted much pain and panic, and dehumaized him and his followers, they, in the model of his leadership, stood for love and decency that they would never receive. Likewise, the Christians, through their conduct in Rome, proved that they could not have possibly done what they were accused of, just as MLK proved, through his conduct, that he would not have destroyed the South.

In fact, I'd go so far as to suggest that his killer may have destroyed the South by doing away with the one person who seemed to know what he was doing. As such, I accept the hard ship that Georgia and Atlanta have been through, in crime, in poverty, in humiliation, with despair, but knowing that it is a righteous judgement by God for righteous blood, shed by the hands of hate. "'VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,' says the Lord. 'BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD.'" (Romans 12: 19-20, NASB) For it is often through the very consequences of our actions that the Lord judges.

Of course, for King, justice did not mean punishing the wicked, did not mean inflicting hate and pain in repayment or retribution, I'm not even sure Malcolm X believed in that, but the correction of behavior, the righting of wrongs, the establishment of good. Or as Paul puts it in the very line after the one I quoted: "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. " (Romans 12 : 21, NASB)

MLK was a Reverand, and used the church to advance an agenda of hope, faith, and love, as it was made to advance. The Southern Christians Leaders Conference helped organize every one of Kings rally's, and gave him a powerful platform from which to speak on humanity. He saw how powerful the wretched KKK was in the South, and he found the organization, the church, that footwashing Baptist southerners love far more. And through the church, love conquered hatred, civility conquered tyranny, and respect conquered fear.

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5: 43-48, NIV)

MLK was a true martyr of Christ, and it's too bad we don't have more extremists of this type, extremists of love, extremists of decency, extremists of faith. How extreme? Extreme enough to allow himself to be killed for people who didn't even deserve his company. Extreme enough to grant respect that would never be returned. That's the kind of extremism we need today in this world. The extremism to never let yourself be the darkness, no we're too extreme for that, but to be the light that overcomes it, speaking loud, speaking true, but above all, speaking with love.

Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, MLK's Church, in Montgomery, Alabama. Image Public Domain by Altairisfar (wikimedia user)

Update 2/11/09: Representative Murtha, of "Rednecksylvania," has passed away recently due to complications from a routine surgery. We hope God is with his family during this difficult time. I guess the good news about being responsible for the most infamous single quote of the 2008 election is I'm sure it was much easier to forgive and be at peace with the doctor who messed up, and for that, we both can be grateful.

Sex, Virginity and Raunchiness

Adam & Eve by Domenichino , Grenoble, Musee de Beaux Arts, courtesy wikimedia

Ah the good ole SVR! How thankful we are for thee. You break our hearts, intoxicate our minds, dominate our lives, give us wives and children and bequeath on us one of the greatest single pleasurable moments of existence. You are, in many ways, the essence of the flesh. We were born as a result of you and, for many of us, die inside through your obsession or are destroyed in horrific relationships seeking you. You are a humbler, a destroyer of dignity, something that sinks us to our lowest moments and we cannot open the door to let others see us in our horrific, grotesque perversions - but we're smiling anyways.

Some of the stupidest things people do as a result of sex. Walking the rails on cruiseships, crude indignified jokes, trouble with the law, pick-up lines, referring to genitalia by pet names, humiliating yourself in public places, submitting to strange satanic rituals, or, in some rare cases, even letting someone suck your blood or lock you in a cage. But sex can also be the center of true love, an almost mystic, magical experience between two people who truly love each other. It can be the deepest, most powerful relationship you ever have, something that builds you, strengthens you, defines you.

It can also be a cheap joke with the laugh on you, as denoted by the marker and pancake syrup on your face. I suppose lust can be an advertiser, something that forces you to get to know someone better and thus forge that true relationship, but it is a hard road, a painful road, one that I would not wish for anyone. Yes, there is a better way.

I know it is unfashionable to speak of monogamy in this day and age. Maybe that says something about this day and age. That close relationship can exist outside of marriage, but it is rare, and the fact that you have not been given to anyone else before does help in all ways. Marriage is about, more then anything, loyalty and sacrifice, and it is from great sacrifice that great commitment is forged. We live in a very superficial time where dignity is a non-issue, but a great joy comes from it, and I wish for those who read my blog a better way of life.

If you've already been engaged in raunchy behavior, and have lost your cherry, don't fear. Beyond the fact that it won't help, it is NOT impossible to find that deeper bond, it just becomes more difficult. For those who have not yet done such, I advise you to continue your current good behavior and look for love, not lust, in those you date.

Trash Trash Trash

Image courtesy Nick of Canberra (Wikipedia username dsfrg.msc)

I was walking down 68th Street from Alki Beach in Seattle, when I saw the most trash next to a sidewalk I'd ever witnessed. Coffee lids, napkins, beer bottles, various varieties of broken glass, very used straws, food and slightly decomposed food containers, all lined the street and in some cases were underneath the tires of cars. The worse part is that a public trash can was available, slightly under a block away.

So you literers out there, tell me, why must you deposit trash? Why must you leave your mark on every neighborhood like a little doggy? Why do your legs seem unable to carry you an extra 50 feet to that nearest trashcan? Is there any kind of service, like little kids on bicycles with a big trash bin on their front, that we could provide you with to make fulfilling the law slightly easier? Do you just plain hate the city? If so, are there any buildings, services or roads we could remove to make you hate the city less?

If so, please call the city police immediately, notify them you are a literer interested in changing the city, give them your address, your phone number, precisely when & where you littered last, and, just to prove it, the name of a few people who were with you and they'll handle the rest. Trust me, this kind of stuff makes their day!

Jesus has commandeered this blog! Hallelujah!

I know I have not always placed my priorities well in life. I've been worried, been working myself beyond prudence, have even occasionally missed the day of rest. That's why God inflicted me with an ulcer, a peptic ulcer, even though I'm only 20 years old.

See, in life, nervousness is a common decision, an understandable decision, and the worse decision we ever make. It makes us worse drivers, worse thinkers, worse performers of good works. But even more then that, focusing our lives on everyday concerns drains us away from what we should really be concerned about, what we do with our life!

Jesus wants us to lighten up, trust him a little, and be thankful for all the beauty, friendship, and bounty he surrounds us with. And if you don't believe in him, still, reconsider letting your life revolve around worry, and at least appreciate the glory of the mountains, the sun, and human love and heroism.

So next time your life seems to be running itself down the drain, ask yourself, what am I living for?

CARPE DIEM!

Heaven on Earth

Atheists, secularists, moslems, et al, wait for it. This blog post is most certainly religious, but religion is not all I'm talking about here.

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

For I have come to turn " 'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law-

a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.'

"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;

and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

-Matthew 10: 34-39, New International Version

These words from the Gospel of Matthew make clear exactly what our intentions should be in this world. We, if we our to follow Jesus, are not to make peace, but instead to make a war of words and ideas. It is made clear elsewhere, as when Jesus sows the gaurds ear back on his head, that the sword is not to be our weapon - the war reference is largely metaphor - but we are NOT to be peacemakers. We are here to unleash the fury of heaven in the hearts, minds, and souls of men.

We are to represent what is right, for "all that is required for evil to triumph in the world is for good men to do nothing." (Folk Saying) We are not to represent consensus, we are to create it. For peace, although desirable (he also says "blessed are the peacemakers..."), may be a luxury we cannot afford.

If those who know something say nothing, nothing can be heard. Even if they do say something, it may still not be heard, at least by many, but there is a certain piece of folk-wisdom, given to us by Abraham Lincoln, that goes "You can fool some of the people all the time, and all the people some of the time, but you can't fool all the people all the time," and if we keep on trying, keep on pushing, and we reach them at just the right moment, they WILL listen.

It doesn't matter what you know. It doesn't matter what you believe. It may not even really matter if you're right. Edison, when asked about his 1000 failed attempts to make his lightbulb, said "they're not failures. I now know of 1000 ways not to build a lightbulb." It may just be a phase we, and you, have to go through to find a higher truth and find it the right way at the right time. But keep on pushing. Know you will offend, but don't let that silence you. People will hate you, will be angry, may even attempt to destroy you, but if you have on your heart something that needs to be said, don't you dare keep it to yourself, for such is greater selfishness then the pick-pocket, who only steals money...