The Poster

That’s the title of Andrée Seu’s latest piece over at WorldMagBlog:

There is an area in my house that, if you had a handheld radioactivity detector for spiritual intensity, would start ticking wildly as you approached. It is my daughter’s bedroom, and ground zero is a poster on her wall.

One day I had decided to go through all six rooms and dedicate them to God, asking Him to remove any defilement. (This is either madness or the creativity of the Holy Spirit.) I was inspired in part by shame over a wooden key rack in the kitchen that reads, “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” It has been a lie.

As I lifted my head from a prostrate position, I spotted the poster, a darkly beautiful woodland scene that seems to call to ancient legends and distant flute sounds, and whose colors and mood blend seamlessly into the forest décor of the bedroom. One hardly notices at first the two mythical female faces locked in a kiss, and then, if you look closer still, a trickle of blood leaking from the corner of their mouths.

You really ought to read the rest of it (the above excerpt is more than half of the entire article).

As a husband and father, I am challenged by her thoughts.

What music do I allow in my home?

What literature?

What radio stations?

What Web sites?

What language?

What “stuff”?

And why or why not?

And how shall I teach about it?

Many questions; few answers. 🙁

Taking on the Network

The Good Ole Boys network, that is:

Jaime Nared, the 12-year-old Beaverton-area basketball sensation who was banned from a boys team in spring, earned a big win Thursday afternoon after a lawyer threatened to take her case to another kind of court.

She’s still banned from any boys’ team.

But she’s been allowed on the new coed team.

After all, no court of law and no suer and no lawyer and no threats can change this reality: A boys’ team is comprised of boys only.

Or to frame it up another way, if one or more girls are part of a team that includes boys, it is not a boys’ team.

Remember…

Our World Has Changed

Our World Has Changed

We used to read about terrorism in other countries. We encountered suicide bombers and germ warfare only in the newspapers. We could hardly have imagined hijacked jets smashing into buildings or deadly anthrax spreading through the U.S. mail.

Our world has changed. We have heard the sirens. We have turned horrified eyes to the burning skies. The flaming towers are etched forever on our memories. Every day the altered skyline reminds us of the tragedy.

Our world has changed. We watch in dismay as HAZMAT teams examine post offices. We grieve the loss of friends and loved ones. We know fear.

The unbelievable has happened. And our world has changed.

One thing has not changed.

Terrorist Attack!

September 11, 2001 — a day that will live in history and in the memories of those old enough to remember that day. On that day, well-trained terrorists hijacked airliners and used them as missiles of mass destruction in New York and Washington. Millions in the United States and beyond now live in fear of more attacks from a foe that is determined, elusive, and exceedingly difficult to confront. Even if guns and warplanes could destroy hundreds of terrorists and their strongholds, who is to say that more of them are not hiding out somewhere else?

The world begs for solutions to the terrorist menace, but solutions are hard to come by.

As I thought about the terrorist menace, I began to contemplate another more serious terrorist operation.

Living by Faith

Whether he’s a master terrorist or a stellar citizen, the faith of Jesus is what he needs for redemption. Whether she’s the best or the worst humanity has to offer, the faith of Jesus is what she needs for redemption. Whether they grew up in a rock-solid Christian home or in demon-worshiping home, only the faith of Jesus will bring them redemption. Thankfully, no matter who or how anyone is, Jesus makes His redemption available to them.

When Terror Strikes Home

Terrorists strike and our world erupts in dust, fire, and chaos. As we look around with shell-shocked gaze, suffering and insecurity leap at us from the rubble. Pain tears across the faces of the injured. Specters of suffering rise from the rubble to grip our heart the specters of stark terror, crushing bereavement, helpless fury, and mind-numbing bewilderment and shock. The scene burns indelibly into our very soul.

We begin to ask questions. “Why!? Where are You, God? Don’t You care about us anymore? Why do You permit such suffering and chaos?”

Is God responsible for it all? Is He still in control? What does the Bible say?

September 10

Seven years ago today, it was still assumed to be acceptable to have a September 10 mentality.

Will tomorrow be the last day we’ll still be judged sensible for having a September 11 mentality?

I don’t know. (But neither do you.)

So what else happened on September 10?

1846 — Elias Howe receives a patent for his sewing machine.

1963 — Twenty black students enter Alabama public schools following a standoff between federal authorities and Gov. George C. Wallace.

1981 — Pablo Picasso’s painting “Guernica” is returned to Spain and put in Madrid’s Prado Museum. Picasso’s will said that the painting was not to return to Spain until the Fascists lost power and democracy restored.

1998 — President Clinton meets with members of his Cabinet to apologize, ask forgiveness, and promise to improve as a person in the wake of the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

2002 — Switzerland becomes the 190th member of the United Nations.

2008 — The world’s greatest atom-smasher starts operations in Geneva, Switzerland. So far, no Big Bang has been reported, but it’s still early in the day.

A Limit to Religious Freedom

Christian group blamed for mumps outbreak

Conservative Christians who refuse vaccinations have been linked to an outbreak of mumps in British Columbia. The controversy has raised ethical issues, and sparked debate over the limits of religious rights.

Douglas Todd, religion writer for The Vancouver Sun, has covered the story extensively.

Todd cited medical ethicists who questioned the Christian group’s position. Alister Browne, director of ethics and law at the University of British Columbia medical school, said, “I don’t think this issue is a small matter.” He added that the ethical importance of a society protecting the health of children and others against infectious disease must be weighed against a person’s right to religious freedom, and the level of risk to others when immunizations are refused.

Michael McDonald, a professor in the Maurice Young Centre for Applied Ethics at the University of British Columbia, went further. He argued that adults in the Chilliwack community may be ethically required to accept vaccinations to protect their children and members of the larger society, since the health and safety of others — particularly children — is a justified “limit to religious freedom.”

Do you agree?

And another less PC question: If these were Muslims, would Mr. McDonald say the same thing?

I’m sure you don’t know the answer to the second question. But surely you know the answer to the first.

Private
Above all, love God!

since November 9, 2005