Somalia is a mess, overrun by evil people with no shred of human decency --or so it seems. They stoned that girl 2 months ago now. According to Joel Brinkley's article in the Blade on January 1, 2008, this girl was buried up to her neck by armed militia of their town of Kismayu in a pit in a stadium. And 50 men stoned her to death in front of a thousand people --for the crime of adultery. She was 13. They said they thought she was older. She was raped and when her family reported it to the "authorities" of their region, they blamed her --and killed her. She had been enroute to her grandmother's house.
Joel is saying the UN should be sending troops --that the WORLD should rise up and go after these and other rogue nations who are torturing their citizens. (That's what Geo. Bush did, BTW, in Iraq and Afghanistan. Those are the kinds of people he jailed at abu Graib and GITMO.) Somalia's pirates are also holding 14 stolen boats and their people? still. A dozen ships from around the world are going to apprehend these pirates --hopefully, but Joel felt it was a drop in the bucket of action needed. The UN secretary-general said, "Not one nation has volunteered to lead," to restore order in Somalia.
Other evidence of evil: Egyptian rich folks living lavishly in California were finally convicted of slavery --forcing a 9 year old into slavery for years, housing her in their garage. She couldn't use their laundry facility but had to wash her clothes in a bucket in the garage. She wore oversized t-shirts as her "uniform." She worked for everyone in the family and had enormous responsibilities for every detail of household cleanliness and order. The children in the family called her "stupid." She was treated as less than human. Her parents had sold her to this family in Egypt. Since then, she has been adopted, graduated from high school in the U.S., and is estranged from her parents. Her captors served a few years in jail and were deported. Reports are that the family once again has another girl who looks to be the same age serving them in Egypt--where there is no law against it??? At least no enforcement against such an arrangement.
We need to look hard at our immigration policies. We need to look at the crime rates and see if we are admitting people who are as bad as or worse than Irish Travelers and the Italian Mafia! The Mexican drug-pushers and so on. People who believe in honor killings. WE HAVE TO REALIZE THAT SOME IMMIGRANTS DO NOT HAVE OUR NICE VALUES OF HUMAN RIGHTS LIKE THE RIGHT TO LIFE AND PROPERTY --AND THE TEN C'S AND THE GOLDEN RULE! And we had better start to teach those Judeo-christian values in all our schools --once again! Because those are the values that even make a Mudrake believe in tolerance, justice, human rights, freedom, equality and so on. Without that Judeo-christian base, you have a culture that can stone a girl to death, imprison a child, exploit kids for internet porn --and so on. Without Judeo-Christian values cherished in the minds of the masses, taught to them by parents and schools, you get a Somalia.
Thirdly, pornography is evil. Mona Charen wrote an excellent piece on this recently, telling of the addictive aspect --and the fact that Hugh Hefner can't even make it with 7 women in his bed. He requires porn to get excited enough to perform as a man --and I'm not sure that's with a woman instead of just the pictures and himself! I gathered it was the porn alone with whom he had his most intense sexual activity. (He is really old.) This can't be good for marriage, parenting, etc. Mona was telling of a collegiate conference where the effects of porn were reported as harmful like drugs, with a brain-changing effect.
Finally, they showed murderers and murder victims in Toledo in 2008 in the Blade this week. Almost all of them are African -american. Why? I know it's not race --but what about the black community makes it more volatile and vulnerable than the larger white community--though granted, murderers and their victims certainly come in all colors.
I think parenting is key. Teen mothers are ill equipped. Kids need fathers AND mothers who aren't druggies, drunks, thieves and prisoners. WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP SHORE UP THE CRUMBLING AMERICAN FAMILY!?? And help these children?
I say, we need military-like --but loving-- Christian schools where kids know they HAVE to behave respectfully or fear the paddle --and we need GODLY, loving, talented leadership for such schools --and preaching that the Holy Spirit inspires and uses to change hearts --so that kids grow up having self-control and wanting to please Jesus Christ who died for their souls.
We need a national revival if we are going to help our own nation and the larger world. We need to marry and raise children for the future. We need to find time not just for our own families but for the children of others. Men need to form healthy relationships with the fatherless.
God, help us!
"God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and have eternal life."--the Bible
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I backtracked from one of your comments on another blog. After reading your front page, I have to admit that you scare me. Having never met you, I am more scared of you than potential terrorists or anyone else who might do me harm by breaking the law.(notice I don't know "them" either)
I would hope you might take the time to think about why a complete stranger, who, having just read some of the things you wrote, would be scared of you. My gut tells me that you won't. You will dismiss this comment, turn a blind eye, and move forward, convinced that you are right and infallible.
I weep inside for what our country is becoming but take solace in the fact that I will probably be dead before the Idea of America is dead.
Good luck to you and yours. May you find peace in heart and mind one day.(I know you think you have it now, you do not)
I bet you are scared of the Bible and anyone who would think that the Bible is responsible for our nation's history of respect for civil rights, life and liberty, compassion, etc. Anyone who would recommend that we once again teach The Golden Rule --even though Jesus said it. anyone who would recommend Sunday School (voluntary) and church attendance as a good influence on any culture --anyone who would say a good old-fashioned Christian revival in America would be a good thing -as it was in the great religious movements of the past which brought social reform through the changed hearts of people.
There is nothing in this post to make you more frightened of me than terrorists. I would never let anyone bury you up to the chin and stone you to death --nor bomb you as you go about your daily business --nor murder you for any reason, political, philosophical, religious or revenge.
I bet you already had these misplaced fears about a particular group of people of whom you find me representative.
Now be brave and own your identity. I do, despite haters and the troll who come here just to malign --not to discuss.
What would it be to turn a blind eye to your comment? to disagree with you? Is that a blind eye?
What is YOUR solution for terrorism? for people who would stone a girl to death for being raped by 3 men? Let's hear something constructive and useful from your "gut" to which you alluded as your source of inspiration and insight.
Who I am is unimportant. My name, background or socio-economic status should not add or subtract from the substance of my words. And before I address your points, let me say that the use of the word "scared" was more in general terms and the totality of your position. Poetic license, if you will.
The Bible causes me no concern. If some people find comfort from it, then I am happy for them. And if you believe the Bible is responsible for our nations history, that is fine too. You are wrong. But you are free to believe or think whatever you want.
If I were to meet you in person, and you were agreeable, I would try to help you. You seem so afraid of "something". Life is too short to be afraid and in my heart I don't think your God would find solace within your fear.
In the end, the only thing that matters is that we show love and tolerance for everyone; not just the people who show the same to us.
I do wish you a long and happy life filled with more love than fear.
Who you are as a blogger has nothing to do with your status or background and will not add or detract from substance of your words --but bloggers have identities as bloggers, and it is brave for bloggers to own their words as particular bloggers keeping one identity --even though their REAL identities are hidden. We like to know when we are talking to the same person, where that person stands on the issues, what blog communities they belong to with or without us, etc. --rather than dealing with a whole litter of "anony-mouses." Or having one person take multiple identities in order to spread his influence. Knowing who each other is as bloggers may also keep us from repeating ourselves to the same people. Though I'm willing to repeat when people keep saying the same mistaken things --about me or Bible-believers.
So, what is scaring you about "the totality" of my position? I had just read the editorial about the evils in Somalia --and the writer was feeling as I --that there IS something awfully wrong in a nation that can gather to see a stoning of a young rape victim --of anyone --in this modern age. On the same day, I read the account of the rich, successful Egyptians taking a slave girl at 9 and treating her horribly. I'm outraged -- we all should be!
I have always offered to meet local folks for coffee any time, with bloggers who don't agree with me --not alone, of course, since there are dangerous folks to meet on the internet.
But my life isn't consumed with fear and misery as you seem to think. You'd know that if you did really know me. You are absolutely right about love for those who do not love us. It is a fruit of the Spirit, a command of the Lord's that we would even love enemies.
Maybe you should read some other of my posts. They aren't all about evil in the world, you know. But I am interested in discussing the issues of the day, including the hot topics. I have a fairly normal, Bible-believing, Christian worldview on those issues.
I certainly do think Christian heritage of America has been her greatest strength --and Alexis de Toqueville said as much himself --the French philosopher of the early 19th C. He observed then what I'm alleging today about the value of the church, Christianity, and the Bible in the American psyche.
"America is great because she is good; the secret of her goodness lies in her churches with pulpits aflame with righteousness; if she ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great."
In America, a majority of us still BELIEVE in honesty, justice, fairness, equality, freedom, kindness, generosity, mercy. In middle-eastern countries, and Communist No. Korea, Somalia, etc. SOMETHING IS WRONG!!! very wrong. I KNOW that immigrant cultures do NOT share our values as much--and it will affect our culture if we don't continue to PROMOTE our values through media and education.
I said we should have put the GITMO Taliban prisoners through a Western cultural values class --using American movies with subtitles in their language. And try to tenderize the hearts of men who think it was right to oppress women and kill rape victims and adulterers. And yesirree, I would have shown them the Jesus movie distributed by Campus Crusade all over the world. So they would at least know the story in its original version instead of Mohammad's changed version.
Be Pollyanna if you wish and ignore the reality of the world's evil --it won't help to oppose those who are calling a spade a spade and alerting America to the need to preserve our cultural heritage with its Christian roots.
I wish you a long and happy life too --whoever you are. You DO need a name!
Yes, evil abounds. It's not new and it's been a worry for a very long time....“Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?” Ezekiel 18:23
I did get some very good news today from one of our mission, (this one is in Honduras), today. Maybe that'll put a smile on your face.
From my letter: "World Vision has helped for the installation of watering systems and educates them on adequate crop practices thus improving their food supplies and the caring of the environment. This is indispensable for us since in our area there are sever drought times and it is very vulnerable to the climatic phenomenon."
I was so happy to get this letter. 2009 will be a much better year in San Matias.
So while evil abounds - God's people are hard at work :-)
And you know, in the end, we win.
Yup, Kateb, we have to spread the good news too!
Are you out there, Jeanette? (heh heh, we'll see if she's reading!)
I'm here, Barb, but I had an aunt die last Sunday and was out of the loop for the week.
Isn't Somalia a Muslim country? The Sharia law reminds me of a story my aunt told me years ago about when she was in Japan.
If one hired a taxi to take him or her someplace and the taxi had an accident the taxi driver would put the blame on the passenger who hired the taxi.
The reasoning was if they hadn't been hired to go to that particular place no accident would have occurred.
Muslims are practicing what was done in the Old Testament to an extent, but not really. Killing the girl for being raped and calling her an adulteress is what they do. If she hadn't been where she was she wouldn't have been raped, so it was her fault.
For a thousand people to stand and watch is inconceivable to me. How could anyone watch this and not be sickened by the sight and the sounds of her crying last moments?
Remember what Jesus did in a similar situation? He told the people that whoever had never committed a sin should cast the first stone. Only He fit that description and He had the right to stone her but didn't. He forgave her and sent her on her way. Many people believe she was Mary Magdalene. I don't know, but I know it was His grace that saved her and not just bodily but spiritually too.
Barb, you and I are about the same age, although you are a few months my senior :), but if our schools today operated the way they did when I at least was in public school we would have the kind of society you speak of.
Not everyone can afford the tuition to a Christian school, and not all Christian schools are fully accredited.
We do have Christian teachers in the public school system at least here in SC and in your area. I know this because you and I have daughters who teach and they tend to hang out with their Christian friends and teach their children Christian ways such as Sunday School, church attendance and church extra-curricular activities.
I graduated high school in 1965 and I believe I had a better education than most students in their sophomore year of college do today.
It was based on the 3 R's and the yardstick. Now if you give a light paddle to a kid you go to jail. I never got the paddle, but from what I heard, it was administered with a witness and was not a hard hit. This was from the students, but the fear of it kept most of them straight.
Slavery is wrong, no matter who practices it or what their society allows.
And Anonymous can make up a name and email address. I don't think Blogger allows you access to their email addresses anyway.
Is there a way you can remove the anonymous option from your comments section?
To clear up any misunderstanding I may have left in my first comment, I was referring to my daughter raising her own children to go to Sunday School, church and participate in extra-curricular church activities where the children do community service.
I'm very sorry for your loss Jeanette. My condolences.
Thank you, Kateb, for your expression of compassion.
Barb, though he sounds too intelligent your anonymous person may be SS. He pulled partial quotes from what I wrote here and made it sound as though I were comparing Japan and Somalia as though they were in the same area and both Muslim countries.
I pulled the entire quote that applied and put it on the PP blog so people could see the context in which I was talking.
How hateful for someone to willingly do that and for what purpose? To try to make me look stupid? It only shows he has the intellect of a three year old.
Condolences from me, too, Jeanette. Is this the aunt who stayed with you awhile within the last year? who had a son --in Fla? She followed the blogs with you abit.
I trust you had the hope of a saving faith for her..
This was not the same aunt. This was my father's sister and a wonderful woman. I believe she is in heaven right now.
Thank you for your condolences.
So, um, what do you plan to do on Inauguration day?
I won't be able to watch any of the activities as that's the day I plan to rearrange my sock and underwear drawer and it will take the entire day from noon until four or eight years from now.
Therefore, I will be unable to watch any hard news shows. I'll have to TiVo everything and skip through the parts with the new King of the United States. I just hope they don't do away with term limits on presidents.
I'll watch the swearing in, I usually do - but I won't watch the expensive party.
I think it's in very poor taste to throw such an extravagant party when the community food banks are begging for donations to keep up with the hungry families.
I've always felt that way though - in all things. Excesses bother me when people are going hungry.
(And if you're just figuring out the this sites trolls behave like three year olds - you're a little late to the game :-) Best thing to do with somebody else's badly behaved toddler is to put some distance between thee and me and thank God for it.
Beautiful here today, isn't it Kateb?
I've been posting on Religion Clause and mike (my blogroll) (in Rome, he says) Gollum--I mean Mudrake --has been slithering around over at Mike's behind me --just squishing in his muck to tell that blog, "aHH, SHE DISAGREES WITH OUR Presssshusss VIEWS! I'm obshessehed with her! I hates her --You must hates her, too when you find out, She's a bigot! I tell ye, she's a bigot--a HOMOPHOBE! aIEEEEEE!" As he wrings his squishy paws together...and flip flops to the next thread.
HAd big choir party for about 60 Sat. --9 Sunday --and 4 guests Sunday night (7 total counting us) --we had excess, Kate --this weekend --and have leftovers to share with some neighbor ladies tonight so I have to get going.
I plan to do some blogging after a few more projects...
Stay in touch, ladies. I still hope to listen to those tapes you sent, Jeanette--and especially want to backtrack to hear your church choir and put my videod cantata on line. I don't know how but will get someone to do it for me!!!
I'm a different anonymous and I agree with the first , you come across as a scary person who really doesn't lay out a good case for their point of view but rather prefers emotive arguments.
on point:
And we had better start to teach those Judeo-christian values in all our schools --once again!
Most jews that I know will gladly tell you that their religion and it's views are very different from our Christian views.
'Without that Judeo-christian base, you have a culture that can stone a girl to death, imprison a child, exploit kids for internet porn --and so on. Without Judeo-Christian values cherished in the minds of the masses, taught to them by parents and schools, you get a Somalia. '
Right that's how they do it in Europe, Japan, India, etc. And of course the USA is totally crime free. Every major poll and study shows the samething, religious training influences behaviour very little.
'Thirdly, pornography is evil.'
Saying it doesn't make it so. It's pictures of naked people that to millions are no big deal.
'--and the fact that Hugh Hefner can't even make it with 7 women in his bed.'
One man does not make a case. Untold millions view this material and very few are Hugh Hefner.
' This can't be good for marriage, parenting, etc. Mona was telling of a collegiate conference where the effects of porn were reported as harmful like drugs, with a brain-changing effect.'
All major studies have shown porn in moderation does nothing at all to an individual. Sitting around for 10 hours a day doing anything nonproductive will make ones life suffer. It is simply the truth.
'Finally, they showed murderers and murder victims in Toledo in 2008 in the Blade this week. Almost all of them are African -american. Why? I know it's not race --but what about the black community makes it more volatile and vulnerable than the larger white community--though granted, murderers and their victims certainly come in all colors.'
Whites commit far more murders each year, and crime in general than any other race.
'I think parenting is key. Teen mothers are ill equipped. Kids need fathers AND mothers who aren't druggies, drunks, thieves and prisoners. WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP SHORE UP THE CRUMBLING AMERICAN FAMILY!?? And help these children?'
White females have more teenage babies than any other race. There are more whites in prison than any other race. Itshould also be mentioned than teen pregnancy was long the norm and thatonly western culture artificially pushing back adulthood has made this a 'bad' thing.
' Christian schools where kids know they HAVE to behave respectfully or fear the paddle --'
Thats it just beat them. Worked so well before after all people where so much better of in the 50''s. Sarcasm here.
'and we need GODLY, loving, talented leadership for such schools --and preaching that the Holy Spirit inspires and uses to change hearts --so that kids grow up having self-control and wanting to please Jesus Christ who died for their souls.'
Thats what Jesus wants , children beaten with paddles.
It occurs to me that you haven't the foggiest notion of what Jesus wants or what his message really is about. You prefer to spew some halftruths and incorrect facts rather than actually taking the time to research something. As a Christian brother I implore you to actually read your words as someone who doesn't know you would read them.
They sound uninformed and angry and frankly not a reflection of Jesus who I think you try to follow. Ithinkyour heart is in the rightplace(sometimes) but your message sounds uninformed to those that know better.
In Christian love,
BB
Anonymous BB, if whites do most of the murder, why is it that there are so many more blacks and Hispanics in our jails? That's what is always said about our prisons-- more ethnic minority folks in jail than whites. (And again, it's not race; it's parenting.)
So you think the opposite on what basis? And don't say we don't put the white murderers in jail, because we do. And don't compare to the rest of the world where I doubt we can even get accurate stats.
However, you are half right about white single moms --a growing number of those --Didn't used to be so in the U.S. it was 1 out of 40 pregnant out of wedlock --white girls. It was 1 out of 5 black girls at the time. Before Roe vs. Wade. After Roe, the single white mothers increased 800 per cent and blacks increased 400 percent. to one out of 8 white girls and 8 out of 10 black girls --pregnant and unmarried. And you probably can see an increase in whites in prison to correlate as we've seen an increase of single white mothers on welfare in my lifetime among the girls my daughters' age. Yes, even in the church. Just as the culture affects the shacking up rate and the pre-marital sex rate.
Every nation and every culture has its sinners --for all have sinned. But those with a Judeo-Christian Biblical base --the Ten C's from the Jews and the golden Rule and love, forgiveness, compassion and morals teachings from Christ --do share in a sense of right and wrong that not all the world seems to share.
Granted, the Biblical foundation has been eroding in Europe and USA--but those nations still have a liberty, democracy, sense of human rights --influenced by Biblical principles. But they've lost the family and sexual morals.
Granted the great failures when Germany and Russia abandoned faith principles for atheism. Which scares me for the future of the U.S. As our faith erodes, will our oppressive factions rise to persecute the Christians? They sure are mean in Blogosphere.
Contrary to your opinion, every major poll and study does not prove that ALL religious training does little. If you want to include the non-Christian religions, you are no doubt right that being atheist is no worse than being Islamic, when it comes to the results in people's lives. But compare biblical Christianity (not nominal Christianity as with cultural Catholics and other nominal Christians) and see how they live --Catholics and protestants who REALLY believe in Christ and His teachings. They will live better --not because of anything innate about them --but because Jesus Christ is Lord --and when he is Lord of a life, you get a better result, like my grandparents --like M/M Billy Graham, like AW Tozer, like Chuck Colson, Bill Bright, Bell, the missionary to China, like that runner in Chariots of Fire ( also a missionary to China,) like Al Snyder, MD, missionary to India, like so many pastors, missionaries and laymen who humbly serve Christ.
My daughter taught in inner city elem. schools for awhile and the kids were wild, way out of control. had they taken the most incorrigible and given him one whack with the paddle, it would've transformed the classroom. but the kids knew no one could or would control them and silliness ruled the day. In their immaturity they saw no reason to behave. Time out? Who could make them stay in it? so you had to remove kids from the room but that didn't hurt -and didn't seem so bad. Suspension and expulsion?--worthless!
A paddling --one whack --or a spanking --is not "beating."
People were at least somewhat better in the 50's -in that they had fathers in their homes, less divorce, fewer single moms struggling by themselves to raise kids, MUCH less abortion, no strip clubs, porn only available at sleazy joints, less of a drug problem before the 60's when Tim Leary popularized drug experimentation and the hippie generation.
but of course, we've always had sin in our culture --but the balance of good and evil in American culture has been tipping toward the evil side since the sexual revolution that started with the Pill and Roe vs. Wade and LBJ's Great Society which advantaged homes without fathers living in them and rewarded unwed mothering --paying more for each baby. AT that time came Herpes, AIDS, encouragement of homosexual activity, rampant promiscuity, Playboy clubs, escalation of porn prevalence --and the internet and its porn in every home.
Don't kid yourself about porn being benign. There was a recent secular uni conference on the effects of porn and the comparison to drug addiction. As with addiction, the craving for "harder" material to get an effect escalates. The local police authorities here published the fact that porn was always an addiction of sex offenders, starting with the juveniles.
I may sound uninformed to you, but you ARe uninformed.
As for Jesus and His message, I know Him --I know His message. Do you?
The crime comment is a difficult one to address but the stats are here:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/cvus0602.pdf
Sadly, I'd say from looking at these numbers that there is plenty of blame to go around for everybody.
Yes the weather has been just beautiful here Barb. It was a little disheartening to see the snow this morning, but it will soon be gone for good and God's grand design will begin to bloom again.
It's amazing to me, the intricacies of his designs. The symmetry and the plethora of beauty. How much he thinks of us to have gone to such trouble to make such a beautiful place for us.
I'm going to think on things like that. God is good!
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