One of the lessons I’m going to teach my son one day is this: I have an apple and Mikey and Tommy both have an apple too, but they each want another apple. Joey has never had an apple and wants to try one, so I decide to give him mine. But Mikey and Tommy are big bullies, and Joey gets picked on, so if I give him an apple they’re just gonna take it away from him most likely. Tommy’s always been the bigger bully (at least that’s what Mikey always says), and so I might as well give my apple to Mikey instead of Joey because if I give it to Joey and Mikey and Tommy try to get it, Tommy might get it instead of Mikey.
What I’m going to teach my son is that it’s very important for me to give Joey my apple no matter what Mikey and Tommy say or do, even if I know they’ll take it away. Because there are four people who need to see it happen. What I will not teach my son is that giving an apple to Joey is the same as giving it to Tommy because he’s a big old bully.
I know some of you don’t care about people once they’re thrown in jail. Criminal is criminal, right? And the more of them there is in jail the better off society is. Something like that.
Well, God disagrees with you. I normally don’t adopt this tone when arguing, but if you’re the kind of person who has this attitude you can take such a mopping and it’s good for you.
So I want to encourage the rest of you to sign this petition because in Alabama the jail system is devouring the poor. Contrary to the belief of those who don’t know Jesus but claim to really know his hand of justice, captive-releasing, justice-doing, poor non-devouring, and prison-visiting are important elements to Christianity.
Sentences should be fair, not just jail sentences. An uncompassionate crime=jail sentence where you throw someone away and throw the key down the toilet does nothing to “fix” society.
Prevent extortion rackets in your local area. Or just build bigger prisons. I mean, whatever makes you feel better safer from all those criminals who aren’t worth troubling over except to lock up. People putting you in danger by not paying their speeding tickets and all.
[I’ll tell you when the spoilers come. You’re good for now.]
I’ve been incredibly impressed with these Batman movies. I wasn’t a real avid comic reader as a kid, but they were part of my literacy experience. Comics aren’t just stuff for kids and nerds, but the hieroglyphics of our age. They’re fantastic stories with words and images that speak of the human condition. Maybe a thousand years from now people will think Comic Con was a pilgrimage to worship American gods. Ironically, though no sane adult would claim to believe these worlds are real, we do let them affect them as reality too often. Fiction and fantasy. Fun and fear. It can inspire. It can also reflect some of the worst in us.
The film is about revolution, about the livelihood of a city, a community, about the investments people make in a community, about the consequences of our decisions, or our lack of decisions. It’s about what happens when we hide the truth, when we hide behind masks, hide underground, hide in our money, our castles. It’s about punishment. It’s about redemption. About rising.
Maybe you heard the story about the preacher who got arrested for preaching in Arizona. And maybe you heard the version that Glenn Beck told. Or anyone else at Fox News told.
No, that’s not what happened. And no, Christianity is not becoming illegal in America. This is Arizona. You’re not going to find a town that puts a man in jail for “operating a church”. It’s a matter of complying with city ordinances about safety.
I like fireworks. I kind of have a knack for them. 1812 is one of my favorite pieces of music. Some people call them trashy, and maybe they are, a little. When I was a kid we couldn’t let off fireworks in our yard. I was angry. Our neighbor was a Viet Nam vet. I didn’t understand when I was little why the fireworks upset him. I just thought he was cranky.
Later I learned a few things about what war is like. I learned about PTSD, about how horrors follow you and don’t disappear overnight. In Roanoke, there’s a huge firework display near where Victory Stadium used to be (where Andrew Lewis played T.C. Williams, you know, from “Remember the Titans”), which is also right next to the memorial hospital. I wonder sometimes how the fireworks sound to the vets. It’s a strange juxtaposition, celebrating freedom with these flash bang works of fire, which also mimic the sounds and sparks and repercussions of battle.
I love this land and it’s people and it’s places. As a foreigner, I appreciate your empire letting Christians like us live in your land without molestation. You have been very kind to us. We appreciate you consulting our Holy text among the other sources you looked to in fashioning the principles of the country you created. I am sometimes worried by reports of how you seem to be restricting the space we have to spread our message, but I confess I would expect that from any country who feels threatened by a transformative faith that appears so upside-down to you.
Your country is strange to me. A little trashy. Cheap at times. Loud. Dangerous. Colorful. Enormous. Fun. A grand spectacle. Like a firework show. I too will mourn when it is over if I live to see that day, whether it end with a whimper or a bang. When it is over, we pack up our chairs, roll up our blankets, and move on. Sigh.
Sometimes I wonder if fireworks are the best choice for celebrating this day. Well, at least they’re not fired on Memorial Day. I came across this video message from a vet who shares with American Christians the perspective he finds when applying the word of God to the deeds of this land in which we Christians are travelling through as foreigners.
Like Wilson-Hartgrove, I do love this place, this land, the blessings it brings. What if one year we stopped the fireworks, and instead let vets stand up and tell their stories? Like what Forrest Gump did after Nam, except without the radical guy with the Fro “always sayin’ that ‘F’ word”.
I know a lot of people like to bring up the price that soldiers pay for our freedoms. But if we are going to take this day to celebrate our freedom, maybe we should hear the tales of what kind of things went on in the name of freedom. Let the vets have a voice. And respect that voice. Stand and hear them. Let them tell us what they witnessed. This could also open up conversations about what we send them to do. Let the vets tell us what they think about the wars we send them to.
If you are a soldier or vet, I honor the courage you showed, as the mind for service that went along with it. I may not agree with the deeds you were asked to perform for this nation, nor the choices made by powerful men to send you to where you went. But I mean no disrespect to you, nor will I refuse to give you a warm welcome. In fact, I’d love to see more soldiers come home. With all the wars this nation inherited and are expanding in the name of freedom, I almost wonder if we should fast from fireworks for a year and instead listen only to the stories of those who endured the real booming battlefields which they echo. I had a dream last night I was a vet. I had seen and done things I couldn’t forget. When I came home I was tearful, and nobody cared to listen to me because I wasn’t celebratory. Maybe that’s why I wrote about this today.
Aw, what am I saying? Let’s break out the fireworks and have us a ball! May God bless this land, and may this land respond in kind with praise and awe-filled deeds of love and service! May the milk and honey flow and the sparklers wave from the hands of children!
I recommend a good dose of the Young Turks every once in a while.
A Republican Threatens with Armed Rebellion:
One of the most bogus claims is that an entire system is broken and ceased to exist because one thing didn’t go our way. That’s right. The Constitution died because of a single tax imposed on those without health care. Nobody had ever done it before. Up until President Obama, the Constitution was in perfectly healthy condition.
In other words, something like this bloatedly misleading piece of propaganda:
And so Matt David’s idea of rebellion seems totally legit to a lot of people. Why, not since the redcoats has anyone so trampled on the American people, and we had a solution to that, didn’t we?
As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. Violent rhetoric begets violence. You have to take responsibility for what you say. Freedom of Speech does not mean you can yell “Fire” in a theater. Matt David should be shamed publicly for his outrageous suggestions. Not arrested. Because if we arrest him the moronic militias will only get angrier and arm themselves for what they think is a just cause.
Do I think Republicans would be as outraged if Romney passed the bill? I think there are many who wouldn’t, and that race does have a part in it. But mostly it is because they cannot see how their own candidate would push the same kind of action, because he’s on “their side”. We have regressed into tribalism and barbarism. Well, not all of a sudden.
I’m glad they brought up Timothy McVeigh, because his story is parallel to what is happening now. People take up arms in reaction to both real and perceived injustices from the government, and eventually somebody snaps.
And then we’re introduced to thought experiment number 2: What if Matt Davis was a Muslim? If he implied armed warfare, even over Obamacare, Republicans would be all over these comments, suggesting he be bagged and brought to Guantanimo. They’re already spying on Muslims, even if they never spoke a word of violence in their lives. But this guy says “sure, I’d shoot people in government if I had to, and that may be very soon” and he’s still walking around.
You may be thinking that this is about the question of whether Obama is a tyrant, whether this is real oppression. But it’s not a real question, not for this situation. I think he’s made grave mistakes with perpetuating war, using bombing drones, and not making a move to limit the number of aborted children in the US. Whether you think that qualifies him as a tyrant is beyond this point:
Armed rebellion is not a justified response to oppression. It’s not that we’re not oppressed enough to warrant a rebellion, as if Matt Davis is just speaking too early. No, rather, it’s that armed rebellion against any government is an inherent rejection of the way of Christ. His followers were tortured brutally in the Roman regime, a far worse penalty than most Christians in America have yet to know. Had they thought armed rebellion justified, they would have acted on such thoughts. Considering how unified they seemed to be in the refusal to take up arms against oppressors, there must have been something there in their very beliefs that brought forth this unity of peaceful resistance.
Could it be the teachings of Christ? You mean the teachings of the man that most Republicans claim to follow? Like Matt Davis? For once, let’s have a real tea party. Where we sit down, have some cups of tea, especially with those we disagree with, and talk things out like men, not like beasts who beat their chests and grunt.
It’s time we take up arms in rebellion. Against our wicked selves. Kill the old regime in your heart. Establish the new.
[the following is a revisited look at observations and comments I made 2 years ago on the healthcare bill]
I’ll admit that I am not an expert on public health, government operations, or economics. So I’m not going to talk about what I don’t know. I’m not qualified to evaluate this bill. I invite others to do that. But if the extent of your knowledge about this new bill has come from chain emails or infotainment personalities with an axe to grind, think again before mimicking what you only assume is trustworthy. And I will say that this here article is in no way a defense of the new H.C. bill. It’s a treatise on how to better talk about it even though you know very little about it.
So before we begin, let’s consider a few things. The best place for Christians to begin is their Word of God. Continue reading →
Says Empire: “Doing something to Syria would be a big blow to Iran.” Except that Iran hasn’t threatened us. We are more of a threat to them.
Obama wants to invade Syria. The reasoning: it will weakin Iraq. Because killing people in one country to make another country weak when it’s already too weak to even think of attacking us is logical in any playing field. Ron Paul could talk him out of it, if he would just listen.
What ‘s happening in Syria is none of our business. What happened in Libya is none of our business. In fact, what happened in Iraq was none of our business.
I echo the video: this whole invade everybody who we think might get a nuke in the future or something is bad politics, bad policy, bad economy. Oh, and it’s morally corrupt.
You want to change things for the better in a country? Send in doctors. Send in teachers. Send in carries of gospel.
Missionaries, not missiles.
The prophets of Israel called for quietism abroad. That means you don’t go invade other places. Oh, and America’s founders also didn’t want to go “monster hunting” abroad, for those of you who claim to follow Jesus but care more about America. So, no matter how you cut it, this invasion would be wrong.
over the last 50-80 years America’s history of preemptive war, covert destabilization, foreign occupation, nation building, torture and assassination have accumulated a vast hatred of American presence in the Middle-East and other places in the world. It’s time for this to end.
Swords into ploughshares. Ron Paul is the only politician I know who seriously quotes it in his use of policy rhetoric. Start listening to him.
CALEB COY 