On January 17 I saw this somewhere on the Web:
🙄
(It is kinda funny, though!)
PS: I do like math, though.
An Open Letter to Talkers and Writers
To quote from a letter to me posted on January 13, 2011 at 06:07 PM EST:
We can teach them the value of tolerance – the practice of assuming the best, rather than the worst, about those around us. We can teach them to give others the benefit of the doubt, particularly those with whom they disagree.
That sounds like charity to me.
Are charity and tolerance synonymous, if not similar?
No. Way.
Nevertheless, I think the above statements present a standard which most folks calling for tolerance….
Oh, never mind. I think that paragraph may have been headed for not giving others the benefit of the doubt nor assuming the best about others.
Besides, it was teetering precariously on the edge of offering itself to political interpretation.
Can’t have that.
PS: I forgot to say: Talkers and writers, beware what you say and write. It creates a handy means by which to measure your life.
Persecution: Why the West Won’t Hear
Hundreds of millions of Christians have suffered discrimination or even persecution in lands as diverse as China and India, but mostly in countries where Islam is the top religion.
Despite this, persecution of Christians is one topic the American public doesn’t hear much about. One possible reason: an anti-Christian bias among Western elites.
You could watch the video. Actually, go ahead, if you wish.
But I have a question for you:
What difference would it make if the American public did hear much about persecution against Christians?
I suspect not much.
How Can I Fear?
Harold Dean was one of Ruby’s instructors at Calvary Bible School (Arkansas) way back in 1978.
And he was here at Hopewell Mennonite Church (Hubbard, Oregon) for a series of music meetings in the late 90s.
Anyway, we sell their CD (from which the above song was taken) at Anabaptist Bookstore: I Love You, Jesus.
Southwest Airlines Pilot Holds Plane
The pilot responded with, “They can’t go anywhere without me and I wasn’t going anywhere without you. Now relax. We’ll get you there. And again, I’m so sorry.”
I’m speechless. Twelve minutes many not sound like a lot to you or me, but every second counts when you’re an airline. Southwest can turn an entire plane around in about 20 minutes, so 12 minutes is half an eternity.
I shared Nancy’s story with Southwest, and a representative said the airline was “proud” of the way the pilot had held the flight. Again, most airlines would punish an employee who holds up the line for any reason.
This a trip that was saved amid tragic circumstances by a compassionate pilot and an airline that supported his decision to hold a flight.
Source: Southwest Airlines pilot holds plane for murder victim’s family
I have a much, much smaller Southwest-favor to report: They gave me heart-topped straws (or toothpicks or coffee-stirrers or whatever they were!) to “plant” at our son’s wedding.
Fly on, Southwest!
(And thanks again.)
Persecution 2011
Start praying: 2011 is ramping up to be a year of heavy persecution.
Many are hoping that the first 12 days are not an omen for what the rest of 2011 will look like for believers, especially in the Middle East. Many Christian leaders, however, may find it difficult to remain optimistic.
[…]
Already, Christian and secular news sources alike have reported a rise in the persecution of Christians worldwide. The arrests of 70 converted Christians in Iran, the assassination of anti-blasphemy law governor in Pakistan, and the bombing of a church in Egypt is a lot for just 12 days. And just yesterday, six Coptic Christians were shot by Muslim extremists on a train in Egypt, killing one and wounding the other five.
Whose Is Jerusalem?
I have a bias.
Is it wrong to be biased?
Well, here’s part of the story referenced in the title:
The demolition of an east Jerusalem hotel to make way for Jewish homes in a predominantly Palestinian neighborhood is sparking concerns from Europe to Egypt, which suggests a new intifada could break out as a result.
The Shepherd Hotel project will bring only 20 Jewish homes to Sheikh Jarrah, but it is at the forefront of a broader, intensely controversial Jewish campaign to establish a foothold in Arab neighborhoods circling the heart of Jerusalem.
Proponents see the efforts as a way to secure Jews’ rightful claims to the city as their “undivided and eternal capital.” Opponents, including much of the international community, say such efforts will preclude the possibility of creating a Palestinian state with a capital in east Jerusalem, thus rendering the two-state solution null and void.
“If current trends are not stopped as a matter of urgency, the prospect of east Jerusalem as the future capital of a Palestinian state becomes increasingly unlikely and unworkable,” wrote 25 consuls-general from European Union member states in Jerusalem in a new confidential report obtained by the Independent. “This, in turn, seriously endangers the chances of a sustainable peace on the basis of two states, with Jerusalem as their future capital.”
[…]
After the 1967 war and its annexation of east Jerusalem, Israel took possession of the hotel under its absentee property laws, which apply to buildings whose owners are absent or considered members of an enemy state.
Source: Shrewd development deal likely to preclude possibility of creating Palestinian state
Regarding Jerusalem and the “West Bank” (How much more time must pass before it becomes the “East Bank”?!) and the 1967 war, surely there’s a parallel to this not-so-long-ago perspective in American domestic politics:
“Elections have consequences.”
“I won.”
But I don’t expect anything I say to make a difference, so I’ll just not say more.
I’ll just quote somebody else, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”