Watch Commercials, Unleash the Oppressed

This letter was sent to the members of a group called "Dream for Darfur", who hope to raise world awareness and influence the People's Republic of China to use their political power for the good of the Darfurian people. It is a good opportunity to creatively impact your world.

Dear Friends,

Terror continues for the people of Darfur. Despite our efforts and yours, China has not used its unique influence with Sudan and its role as Olympic host to try to address the Darfur conflict.

China has ignored the people of Darfur. Tomorrow at www.DarfurOlympics.org you can send Beijing a message by refusing to watch Chinese propaganda during the Olympics.

Every time China touts itself as a responsible world power during the Games, tune into our alternative Olympic programming on the web. Watch the Alternative Opening Ceremony with artists including Talib Kweli and R.E.M. and then watch Mia Farrow's daily webcast from a Darfurian refugee camp from August 8 to 15 at www.darfurolympics.org.

We hope that you will join us in helping to bring peace to the people of Darfur.

In Peace,
Dream for Darfur

May the Lord's Will Be Done

Don't Get Sick!?: Healthcare and it's costs

I had to laugh a little late one night I Carol and I were on the interstate coming home from a wedding in Knoxville. We passed a car whose bumper sticker read, "Republican Healthcare Plan: Don't Get Sick". It made me chuckle a little, but the bumper sticker is a little unfair to those who truly believe that the private sector and innovation eventually will pay off in the long run. However, the bumber sticker revealed an existing belief that some in our society hold about the private sector -- its a phrase that people hide behind so they don't have to do anything about injustice (again not fair or entirely true).

Whether believe that healthcare should be left to unrestricted free market or if you are of the opinon that government should become increasingly involved (about 20% of healthcare costs are subsidized), the real cost of healthcare is this: we get sick. However, many if not most of the diseases that cost us the most are preventable.

Heart disease, diabetes, lung and mouth cancer, and high blood pressure are all very costly conditions that can be avoided by simply taking care of oneself. Its pretty simple really: eat healthy, don't use tabacco, and get moderate exercise. Save yourself and everyone some green.

"Don't get sick" is a wise plan reducing the costs of healthcare, and how those reduced costs are paid is another debate entirely. I'd rather pay the same or a little higher for my healthcare and allow for those 7 - 12% who don't have insurance and couldn't pay the bills if they did be taken care of too. I'm still hopefully for the private sector to get creative and make progress, but its hard not to be jaded.

Gay Rights and Moral Non-Contradictions

George Barna:
"I have met a number of born again Christians who believe in "gay rights" -- i.e. that gays
should have the same rights as everyone else -- even while they
believe that homosexuality is un-biblical and a sin. To most people
reading this, that will seem a huge contradiction -- can you shed any
light on what Christians like that are thinking".
...
I am a "Christian like this". Barna does a good job at explaining my thoughts.
...
Still Barna:
While it is true that you can legislate morality - after all, what laws do is define what is right and wrong, which is the essence of morality - a growing number of born again people are not staking their entire realm of influence on the legal and political systems. Instead, they desire to offer a theologically honest but emotionally compassionate reaction to proponents of homosexuality. In other words, they cannot ignore the fact that homosexuality is a sin from a biblical perspective, but also realize that Jesus' primary exhortation was to love other people into a different way of understanding and living their lives
...
Dear Gay People, We love you. You know we disagree, but we love you.

Jesus Votes on His Face

    I have heard the joke made about how certain groups do everything on one side or the other.  Two examples would be that 1)Episcopalians eat, drink, lecture about tolerance, serve soup, and sleep on their left side,  and 2) that most Southern Baptists eat, drink(well...scratch that one), preach about personal sin, hand out tracts, and boycott Disney on their right side.

      Jesus didn't do much sleeping when He was here.  

I am starting to realize that getting comfortable either on the left or the right is a bad move.  St. Paul  taught the early followers of Christ that they should take on His attitude of humility.  Philippians 2 sums up in this:  Jesus gave up being God to be a man who died.  He humbled Himself.

Jesus Christ had one agenda, THE WILL OF THE FATHER.  And since it involved redeeming all things, had to involve the political. He chose to be one His face in loving obedience to the Father instead of laying on one side or the other.

The prayer of St. Francis leads us closer to that:

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love;

for it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.