VIDEO AND ANALYSIS – 33 Pastors Defy IRS Ban on Political Endorsement
Some analysis by Michael Peabody –
These pastors are deliberately challenging the IRS law prohibiting political endorsement from the pulpit. This shadows a story from a few years back when a pastor at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena endorsed Kerry. These pastors, however, have mostly endorsed John McCain as having the divine right of leadership and aren’t waiting for the IRS to come to them – they are sending the IRS copies of their sermons.
Thus, it will be made not a matter of fact – i.e. whether there was actually an endorsement – but a matter of law – about the constitutionality of the IRS prohibition.
Of course, they do have the right to say what they want from the pulpit – the IRS will not take this away from them. But the IRS may take away their tax-exempt status. For the near term, at least until the law changes, parishioners can continue to support these political messages from their pastors, but they may find that their donations are not tax-deductible, just like movie tickets, or a night at the opera is not tax deductible. Even giving money directly to a candidate is not tax deductible.
The main reason for the IRS rule is that it prevents political candidates from gaining additional donations by laundering donations through tax-deductible charities. For instance, if I give $100 to Barack Obama, I cannot deduct it even though this money will be used to make campaign commercials, etc.
If I give the money to a pastor and then he or she makes a political speech in church, that should not be deductible either. If pastors want to play the political game, they need to abide by the campaign rules.
INDIA – 27 Seventh-day Adventists Die in Religious Violence
On September 19, 2008, we were alerted by a reader in India to a story about the violence between Christians and Hindus in India. Click here to read the story.
India: Aftermath of violence leaves scars on Orissa
Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders in India have reported at least 27 Adventists dead from anti-Christian brutality that developed in the eastern India region of Orissa in late August. Church leaders said there are still violent outbreaks in the area despite India’s Central Reserve Police forces patrolling the state.
Choudampalli John, president of the Adventist Church in east India, reported that he was not allowed to enter the areas where extremist violence occurred. John also said some Adventists are still hiding in the jungles because they fear retribution from other refugees at government-run aid camps.
Other church leaders commented on the severity of the situation.
Paka Jesurathnam, Adventist church leader for Orissa, reported thousands of houses and three dozen Adventist churches were likely destroyed and looted.
“To evaluate the actual loss of lives, property, people … dwelling places and worship centers is impossible right now,” said Jesurathnam. “To hear … personal stories [makes] our nerves ache and blood dry.”
“To hear … personal stories [makes] our nerves ache and blood dry.”
The Prime Minister of India has condemned the violence, calling it a “national disgrace,” according to published reports.
Possibly as many as 50,000 Christians from the Kandhamal region of Orissa are scattered throughout the seven government-run refugee camps and the surrounding jungle, Ecumenical News International reported.
Hindu extremists are blamed for beheading an Adventist pastor in August. Samuel Naik, pastor of the Phulwani Adventist Church, and his mother were killed during anti-Christian violence sweeping the region of India. Church leaders reported that Naik’s wife, who was previously reported to have committed suicide, is still alive.
The outbreak came after unidentified attackers killed a Hindu religious leader and four other individuals. Hindus are blaming Christians for the deaths, while the Indian government cited Maoist rebels.
Source: Adventist News Network – http://news.adventist.org/data/2008/1222720930/index.html.en
Controlling Freedom of Conscience
by Robert Moon, Ph.D.
September 21, 2008
Historically, most governments required citizens/subjects to have the same religion or belief-system (e.a. Fascism and communism ) as the ruler(s). Exceptions were seldom tolerated. Those who publicly practiced an alternate belief system to the ruler(s) were often intimidated, persecuted, imprisoned, tortured, and martyred. In the discussion that follows paradigms typically used by governments attempting to control freedom of conscience are referred to as: the Gold Rule Paradigm (GRP), the Gatekeeper Paradigm (GP), and the Over Stimulation – Fantasy Paradigm (OS-FP).
The founding fathers of the United States had first-hand experience with totalitarian systems which attempted to control every aspect of life including personal beliefs. They recognize that without accountability, human nature could not be trusted. This significantly influences the structure of the Bill of Rights and Constitution. These documents have helped protect inalienable rights, including freedom of conscience in a way that creatively balances individual and community needs. This was accomplished by requiring accountability of those in charge via a balance of powers between the executive, the legislative, and the judiciary.
The historical problem of unaccountable human power is eloquently articulated in the following quote.
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men . . . There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it. (Lord Acton (1834-1902) British historian. . .’. Letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton, 5 Apr 1887)
Increased knowledge with increased technology has brought mechanisms for control that would be the envy of every historical despot. Understanding the Gold Rule, Gatekeeper, and Over Stimulation – Fantasy paradigms can help one recognize how sophisticated political systems are attempting to control freedom of conscience.
Gold Rule Paradigm (GRP)
There are numerous historical examples demonstrating that usually “he who has the gold rules.” The general meaning of this saying is that he who has/controls that which is of value to a community, rules. The type of assets that make it possible to rule depends upon circumstances. For example, during a famine important assets of control include food and water rights. Assets also can fund sophisticated police and military systems to carry out the ruler(s) ambitions.
Before there were nations a patriarch or chief controlled/owned the assets of the clan or tribe. Being a member of the small community depended upon accepting the authority of the one, who owned/controlled the assets. Failure to accept the directives of the leader could result in exile from the community or death. Other historical examples of the GRP include: slave owners and slaves; landowners and sharecroppers; industrial magnets who control workers “who owned their souls to the company store”; medieval rulers and surfs, kings and subjects, party leader(s) and common people; etc..
Communism’s philosophy places party leaders (the rulers and controllers of assets) and common people on economic equality. The communistic ideal “from each according to their ability and to each according to their need” has never become a reality. What has been exhibited with ruthless brutality is Lord Acton’s observation that “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Tyrannical leaders/rulers are not limited to communism. Ruthless control of citizens has been observed in fascist dictators, Pharaohs, Eastern emperors with various titles, medieval feudal monarchs and landowners, Moslem mullahs, etc..
The Gold Rule Paradigm does have a people-control flaw. The flaw is that some people are willing to risk life because of their strong convictions to live by freedom of conscience and follow what they believe to be truth. Their actions are often supported by firm beliefs in both NATURAL RIGHTS and an afterlife. Rulers most often attempt to remedy this flaw by combining the Gold Rule Paradigm with the Gatekeeper Paradigm.
The Gatekeeper Paradigm (GP)
The Gatekeeper Paradigm occurs when people believe that other, specially endowed, individuals hold the keys that determined whether someone’s afterlife will be a heaven or hell. When the controllers/owners of assets, the rulers, are perceived to hold the keys to an afterlife of heaven and eternal bliss or hell and eternal suffering their ability to control others is greatly magnified.
The dual role of the asset controller/owner and gatekeepers to heaven and hell has been declared by many ruthless rulers. Such despots intimidate freedom of conscience through the fear of what will happen both in this life and the afterlife. Pharaohs, emperors by various titles, medieval ruler-bishop, Moslem mullahs etc. conveyed that they were closely connected to the God(s) with divine authority to rule civilly and spiritually. The pharaohs, various kings and some Roman emperors attempted to convey that they were part human and part God.
Who could dare argue if they believed in a divinely appointed this-life/after-life ruler combo? Only those with strong spiritual convictions based on a belief system where there is/are no human gatekeeper(s) between them and God. Such is the case with Protestant Christians who believe that scripture teaches the priesthood of all believers. This doctrine declares that a Christian approaches God only through their heavenly high priest, Jesus the Christ, without going through an earthly priest or other types of gatekeepers.
The Over Stimulation – Fantasy Paradigm (OS-FP)
A third paradigm historically used to help control “the common people” is the Over Stimulation – Fantasy Paradigm (OS-FP). Ostentatious exhibits of grandeur combined with fantasy have historically been used as control mechanisms. Exotic dances with loud powerful rhythms have been used in combination with fantasies about demons and gods to help induce altered mental states. The use of war dances in combination with mind-altering drugs has been used to enhance fantasies of invincibility. Some ancient religions had exotic ceremonies involving sexual promiscuity including temple prostitutes. Others promoted fantasy that children must be sacrificed to appease the gods. Walking on red hot coals, laying on beds nails, or carrying objects with hooks attached in various parts of the body with little or no pain occur in various religious ceremonies today.
Many citizens of our country are diverted from clear perceptions and insights by the Over Stimulation – Fantasy Paradigm. This paradigm is implemented via digital media: television, music, TV computer games, and the Internet. It is supported by devices that make digital media instantaneously available to a person anywhere at any time. The devices include iPods, enhanced cell phones with Internet and media display capabilities, small DVD players, various gaming devices etc..
A review of the materials that occupy most of the digital media shows a predominance of very stimulating violence, sex, and magic coupled with unrealistic fantasies. Statistics imply that the average child, adolescent, or adult spend more time with digital media than a person working a full-time job. The highest instances of violence pre viewing time occur in children’s cartoons which often promote toys where children can use play to reinforce violent mythical fantasies of the cartoons. Pornography is rampant on the Internet and in other forms of media.
The result of being bombarded with over stimulating and unrealistic fantasies is a mind-numbing-mental-state that:
(1) impairs critical thinking, vigilance, and attitudes of sacrifice so important to preserving our fundamental freedoms
(2) increases susceptibility to irresponsible and false, product or political advertising
(3) rationalizes unnecessary debt by making wants seem like needs
(4) helps individuals justify self-centered me-always-first (narcissistic) priorities even when these are detrimental to family and community
(5) motivates meeting unrealistic pleasure fantasies through unhealthy eating, thrill-seeking, and excessive and/or perverse sexual behaviors.
Individuals functioning with such impaired behaviors are very susceptible to losing fundamental freedoms to those seeking unrestricted power and control. They’ll do almost anything, including giving up fundamental freedoms, if they perceive it will help them achieve their fantasy driven desires. For some their obsessive-compulsive behaviors are so extreme that it resembles those with diagnosed pathological addictions.
Preserving Freedom of Conscience for Future Generations
The GRP, GP, and OS-FP paradigms have been used throughout the ages to control people by inhibiting the exercise of conscientious convictions. This triad continues to be used in our contemporary world as means of control, including attempts to legislate uniform morality. One fantasy perpetuated by the triad is the myth of trading freedom for security. An examination of history demonstrates when people accept this trade they lose both personal security and freedoms.
The founding fathers of America had keen historical perspectives which included a general distrust of human nature, especially of rulers. Their response included a unique constitution based upon the concept of inalienable human rights. The Constitution was intended to create a balance of powers between the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. The hope was that this would bring accountability to leaders via the checks and balances included in the balance of powers and the rule of law. The strength of this approach was demonstrated in circumstances surrounding the resignation of President Richard Nixon.
America’s approach of a balance of powers and rule by law is currently being tested again and again. Will habeas corpus continue to be protected? A recent, five to four, Supreme Court decision (Boumediene v. Bush 553 U.S.___(2008)) gives us hope. However, a change in aging justices could jeopardize similar future outcomes.
What will be the outcome of the financial bailouts that appear to put government into the ownership of billions of dollars of questionable mortgages? If the legislation is passed as proposed it will prevent intervention through the courts. This will circumvent the traditional “balance of powers” accountability! Could this lead to new ways for politicians/rulers to control citizens? Will this contribute to citizens giving up freedoms with the hope of security that comes from the belief that government will do whatever is necessary to meet their needs (wants)? Will it contribute to a trend toward Unitarianism where citizens will be expected think and act the way that those in control believe they should? What is happening to “We the People?” — “We the People” are in danger of losing fundamental freedoms and inalienable human rights!
America needs to develop many more responsible citizens with strong ethical priorities – People who think critically, People who are vigilant, People who will risk and sacrifice to maintain our fundamental freedoms. This needs to be a national priority if “We the People” are to maintain our inalienable human rights and precious historical freedoms. Copyright by Robert Moon - September 21, 2008
U.S. State Department Releases 2008 Report on International Religious Liberty
The US State Department (United States Council on International Religious Freedom – USCIRF) released the 10th Annual Report on International Religious Freedom. In his remarks at a press conference, Ambassador John V. Hanford III expressed concern about persecution in North Korea, Eritrea, India, China, Myanmar, and several Muslim nations while applauding recent Muslim initiatives on behalf of inter-religious dialogue.
For more information:
Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.
- 2008 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom (US Department of State)
- Remarks: Secretary Condoleezza Rice (US Department of State)
- Remarks: John V. Hanford III, Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom (US Department of State)
VIDEO ROUNDUP – ECONOMIC CRISIS – “The Sky is Falling, $700 Billion Should Fix It”
The economic landscape of the United States is facing a crisis of epic proportions. We are told that we are facing an economic depression if Congress does not sign a contract that will essentially admit liability for this crisis and that will form a new branch of government with no oversight.
Here are some video thoughts on this issue that will affect the economic underpinning of our liberties.
1. Congressman Ron Paul lectures Bernanke on the flaws of the bailout plan and the hazard of the attempt to fix prices versus letting them correct naturally in the free market at the Congressional Hearing today (9/24/08). Ron also questions Bernanke’s authority and constitutionality of using the printing press to generate all this extra money needed for the bailout.
2. “The Sky Is Falling $ 700 Billion Should Fix It” – Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur expresses concerns about the bailout plan and how it is being addressed in Congress. (MUST SEE)
3. How the Bailout Will Affect You
4. Bailout Cartoon – A Good Explanation
5. Senator Sam Brownback questioning the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on the federal government’s proposed bank bailout at the Joint Economic Committee Hearing on 9-24
6. Democracy Now reports on Legality of Bailout Plan
7. The Trillion Dollar Bailout – Rachel Maddow Show – “Will the new government be a shell of its former self? How much has our country changed in the past week?” (MUST SEE)
VIDEO UPDATE: Troy Anthony Davis Granted Temporary Reprieve
Less than 2 hours before Troy was to die by lethal injection, the U.S. Supreme Court , the highest court in the United States, granted a stay of execution. They will be reviewing the petitions and will make their ruling early next week.
The Troy David Film blog, at http://www.troydavisfilm.blogspot.com/ reports that producer Terry Benedict spent the day with Troy as he prepared to die. Troy remained in good spirits. Unfortunately, cameras are not permitted on death row, “but I can imagine what they would have recorded when Troy learned the news that his life was spared for another week.”
The AP video is provided below:
Troy Davis and Terry Benedict
For more information about how to support a film project on Mr. Davis by award-winning producer Terry L. Benedict, visit http://www.troydavisfilm.org
SHOCK! Popular UK Magazine Promotes Sterilization for Women in their 20s
“I’m relieved kids won’t be a part of my future” says Jacquelyn, 30.
A popular women’s magazine in the UK recently featured an article entitled, Young, Single and Sterilized, in which women in their 20’s discussed why they had undergone an operation to prevent them from ever having children. The article is little more than PR for a “women’s charity” called Marie Stopes International, an organization that carries out abortions and sterilizations and was founded by a Nazi eugenicist who advocated compulsory sterilization of non-whites and “those of bad character”.
“By the time I was 18, I knew I was never going to change. I couldn’t imagine letting something take over my body and then my whole life.”
“I couldn’t even look at a baby without feeling uncomfortable.”
Chloe, sterilized at age 20
In a pamphlet promoting sterilization, linked to below, Marie Stopes International states “Female sterilisation is the most popular form of contraception in the world. . . . The procedure was first described in 1834 and it is estimated that more than 150 million women throughout the world are protected by sterilisation.”
The Wikipedia entry on Marie Stopes gives some fascinating information:
In 1935 Stopes attended the International Congress for Population Science in Berlin, held under the Nazi regime. She also campaigned for selective breeding to achieve racial purity, a passion she shared with Adolf Hitler in letters and poems that she sent the leader of the Third Reich, and was more than once accused of being anti-Semitic by other pioneers of the birth control movement such as Havelock Ellis
Stopes even cut her son Harry out of her will after he married a near-sighted woman - Mary Eyre Wallis, later Mary Stopes-Roe, the daughter of the noted engineer Barnes Wallis. Stopes wrote: “She has an inherited disease of the eyes which not only makes her wear hideous glasses so that it is horrid to look at her, but the awful curse will carry on and I have the horror of our line being so contaminated and little children with the misery of glasses … Mary and Harry are quite callous about both the wrong to their children, the wrong to my family and the eugenic crime.”
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Supporters of Stopes generally concede that she made such remarks, but argue that they should be read in their historical context. For example the author Virginia Woolf once wrote in her diary “On the tow path we met and had to pass a long line of imbeciles…They should certainly be killed.” Following Stopes’ death in 1958, a large part of her personal fortune went to the Eugenics Society. (Wikipedia)
Is this the next frontier?
LINKS:
See a PDF of the Love It magazine article at http://freespeech.vo.llnwd.net/o25/pub/pp/images/september2008/sterilise.pdf
Read the Marie Stopes pamphlet on female sterilization at http://www.mariestopes.org.uk/documents/Female%20sterlisation%20-%20your%20questions%20answered.pdf
More information is available at Alex Jones’ Infowars: http://www.infowars.com/?p=4793
More information on Marie Stopes is available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Stopes
ECONOMY: Chinese government paper urges new world order for economy…
China is heavily invested in the United States, and is nervous about what has been happening on Wall Street. Here are some excerpts from: http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSPEK4365020080917?sp=true
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BEIJING (Reuters) – Threatened by a “financial tsunami,” the world must consider building a financial order no longer dependent on the United States, a leading Chinese state newspaper said on Wednesday.
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Its pronouncements do not necessarily directly reflect leadership views, but this commentary by a professor at Shanghai’s Tongji University suggested considerable official alarm at the strains buckling world financial markets.
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“The world urgently needs to create a diversified currency and financial system and fair and just financial order that is not dependent on the United States.”
But Vice Premier Wang Qishan, on a visit to the United States, told U.S. trade officials in a meeting on Tuesday that China and the United States needed to maintain close economic ties with global markets going through such turbulence.
“The Chinese government is well aware of the fact that the United States, which is the world’s largest developed country, and China, which is the world’s largest developing country, should have constructive and cooperative economic and trade relations,” he said.
China is a major buyer of U.S. Treasury bonds, and through its sovereign wealth fund it has taken stakes in two large U.S. financial institutions.
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Read more at http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSPEK4365020080917?sp=true
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CANADA: Symposium to be held on Conscientious Objection
For the North American Division, and other interested parties.
The PARL Department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada is sponsoring a Symposium on Conscientious Objection in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The Symposium is planned for November 6 ñ 9, 2008 in Oshawa, Ontario.
Given the militarism of Western Society, it is thought that this type of symposium would be of benefit to assist Adventist young people, in understanding what the Seventh-day Adventist Church teaches regarding Conscientious Objection.
Presentations will be on subjects concerning Conscientious Objection – from historical, theological, sociological, and religious perspectives.
To register, visit http://www.shouldifight.ca
Location:
Oshawa, Ontario L1K 2H4
Presentations include:
Just War Theory & the Role of Christians
Allison Bryan, Memorial University, St. John’s, Newfoundland
Can war be justified? What is the role of a Christian in armed conflict?In the current global climate war is not justifiable and Christians need to tailor their actions accordingly. Christians are called to be particular, set apart in the world to honour and glorify God. To be a Christian means putting God’s will first, following the example of Jesus and bringing others to God’s truth. Meanwhile, war and armed conflict have been active throughout the history of the world usually with devastating impacts. In a time when God’s will is used as a propaganda tool to advance social and political interests, Christians need to examine the motives behind wars and the implications of being involved in them.
For Conscience Sake
Barry W. Bussey, General Counsel & Director of PARL, Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada
Very little has been written about the experiences of Seventh-day Adventist WWII conscripts in Canada. This paper seeks to address that void. The Canadian government’s controversial conscription policy did not allow for non-combatant service of conscientious objectors at the beginning of the war. Instead “Alternative Service” work camps were established in numerous places throughout the Canadian wilderness where the young men worked on road building with pick and shovel; logging with axes and handsaws. This paper will review the evolving policy of the Canadian government as it sought to meet the increasing demand for more men in the European war effort.
Documentary: For Conscience Sake
Barry W. Bussey, General Counsel & Director of PARL, Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada
Signing Your Life Away: A Recruiter’s Story
Olaf P. Clausen, Pastor of Lethbridge SDA Church, Alberta
- Why We Join, The G.I. Joe myth
- Basic Training: Your body is no longer your own
- In the Fleet: Moral and ethical costs
- Military Intelligence: Our Government’s secrets and methods
- Recruiting: Quotas and the Combat Arms
- Prophetic Implications of Military Service: Sabbath accommodation and the Image to the Beast
- Conclusion: An army to join with a nobler mission and eternal benefits
The Spirit of War is the Spirit of Satan
Jeff Crocombe, Helderberg College, South Africa
Military conscription in apartheid South Africa was an issue that dominated the lives of generations of white South African young men—including Seventh-day Adventists. From 1952 a system of compulsory military service existed in South Africa, first through a selective service system where men were chosen by ballot, and then from 1967 onwards all medically fit white males were legally required to perform military service for the state upon leaving school. This remained the reality until the last intake for compulsory military service in South Africa took place in July 1992.As early as 1924, Seventh-day Adventist could be exempted from peace-time service in the South African Defence Rifle Association, and in wartime would be exempted from service in a combat capacity. This exemption was reiterated in 1979, when Seventh-day Adventist conscripts were granted particular privileges including being excused from handling a weapon, and were where possible, excused from Sabbath duty.The issue of Seventh-day Adventists and military service in South Africa becomes more complex—as does the issue of military service generally in South Africa—during the 1980s when the South African Defence Force (SADF) was deployed in cross-border conflicts in Angola and South-west Africa (now Namibia); and in the Black township areas to quell Black anti-Apartheid resistance.
My paper will examine the South African Seventh-day Adventist Church’s attitude towards military service within the context of Apartheid; and will discuss the ethical implications of the Church’s stance of non-combatancy within such a political context.
Did Christ Give you Permission to Beat Your Plowshares into Swords?
Dr. Ginger Hanks Harwood, La Sierra University, California
During the 19th Century, the Seventh-day Adventists took a clear and unambiguous stand against Christians bearing arms. The Adventist recognition of the tension between being followers of Christ and picking up a weapon with the intent to kill another combined with a depth critique of national military campaigns emerged before the fledgling church was organized and faced the question of a national conscription act. This paper traces the pacifist roots of Adventism and outlines the arguments articulated in the statements prepared by the church to be presented to obtain peace church status and later be entered into church records as official church position on the role of a faithful Christian during times of armed conflict and war. It demonstrates that despite the efforts of some scholars to diminish the stand to simply an unwillingness to break the Sabbath (legalism), the noted Adventist leaders who arbitrated the discussion of the issues rooted the question in Jesus’ commandment to “love one another” and “resist not evil.”
Adventists, Military Service, and War
Dr. Ronald Lawson, Queens College, New York City
I am both a historian and a sociologist. I will review the history of Adventists and Military Service as it developed from our experience during the American Civil War, when all Adventists were located within one nation, as we spread internationally and developed our relationships with different kinds of governments. I will draw on sociology to help interpret the patterns found.
The Beginnings of a Peace Church
Dr. Douglas Morgan, Columbia Union College, Maryland
The American Civil War prompted the Seventh-day Adventist church to establish a position on participation in warfare during its earliest years as a formally organized denomination. In an unambiguous and forceful manner, the new church declared “acts of war and bloodshed” to be incompatible with its central commitment to “keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” This stand fully identified the Adventists with the Quakers in what became known as the “historic peace churches.” Attempts to differentiate the Adventist position on military combat from that of the peace churches are products of the twentieth century. Historical accounts since World War II, misconstruing the early Adventist debates over how and when to express their commitment to the government, have tended to obscure the fact that the Seventh-day Adventist Church began as a peace church. Thus, a distorted understanding of the past has contributed to the relatively easy acceptance of voluntary enlistment for armed military service that has become apparent in American Adventism during the past two decades.
The Christ of the Fifth Way: Recovering the Politics of Jesus
Ronald E. Osborn, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
Many Christians throughout history have tried to separate the Gospel as a matter of spiritual truth from the realm of earthly politics, yet there is little in what Christ said and did that does not have profound political implications for his followers. The more we understand about the world of first-century Palestine and the Roman empire into which Jesus was born, the more clear it becomes , in fact, that the New Testament was written as a subversive alternative political grammar for God’s people. This paper explores Jesus’ words and actions in social and political context in order to begin to recover a biblically grounded political ethic for believers confronted with pressing dilemmas of inequality, economic injustice, and violence.
Where is Your Citizenship?
Karen R. Scott, Walla Walla, Washington State
Paul’s admonition is that our citizenship should be in heaven. What constitutes the Kingdom of Heaven? What role does liberty of conscience and the Gospel have to do with the issue of non-combatancy?
War and Rumors of War
Lincoln E. Steed, Editor – Liberty Magazine
How just war thinking is making war seem more acceptable and more likely. Why is it that Adventists in North America, once committed to non-combatancy, are untroubled by their sons and daughters signing up for wars of choice in which they have no option for Sabbath-keeping or non-combancy? Looks at war from the perspective of history and the Adventist imperative.
Peacemakers at War
Joel Willett, University of Kentucky, Louisville
Willett will outline his conversion while bearing arms in the U.S. Army as war began in Iraq and his ensuing struggle with the question of conscientious objection. This question will be examined in light of his experiences as an Adventist soldier and most recently as an Adventist ‘diplomat’ with the U.S. Department of State.
What is one to do when witnessing injustice and harm being done to another when it is in one’s power to stop it? A Christian would not hesitate to use force to repel an assailant if witnessing a rape or other horrid act. Surely it is not sinful to use force in this instance. What, then, goes wrong when this impulse to stop injustice when we are able is applied on a national scale regarding the use of armies? Are we hypocritical in calling the police ( a profession of arms) to respond when we are victimized if we believe that bearing arms is sinful?How can the church effectively communicate to young people on this issue – and what do youth need to know about the armed services and armed professions in general before making their choice? There are grey areas to this question. In the end, young people joining an armed force sacrifice the choice on when to employ that force and therefore these decisions need to be made with the utmost consideration.
THIS WEEK: Christian-Hindu Unrest leads to Violence in India
A reader in India has alerted us to contemporary conflict between Hinduism and Christianity in India. Here are several news stories about this:
7 prayer halls in DK, Udupi & Chikmagalur face wrath
Thousands of Christians staged road blockades in several parts of the city on Sunday, after suspected Bajrang Dal activists carried out a series of attacks on prayer halls in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Chikmagalur districts, alleging conversion…
Police resorted to caning to disperse the protesters, including nuns and women, in the evening near Milagres Hall complex, while a few people threw stones at the police. In the melee, some were hurt and a few vehicles damaged.
The district administration has clamped ban orders in these areas for three days, starting Sunday.
The places of worship which were attacked in Dakshina Kannada include Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration Monastery in Mangalore city, Christ Church at Kodikal near Mangalore, Believers Church of India at Puttur, Mahima Prathanalaya and Indian Pentecostal (both at Madanthyar in Belthangady taluk) and Bethesda Aradanalaya at Sullia.
The modus operandi of all the attacks was similar: a group of 20-25 persons barged into the prayer halls between 10 am and 10.30 am, damaged the furniture and desecrated the statues of Jesus Christ.
As news spread, Christians in Mangalore came onto the streets in large numbers and blocked roads till night. Union Minister Oscar Fernandes visited the protesters near Milagres in the evening.
Read more from the Deccan Herald – DH News Service Mangalore
Mangalore: Citizens’ Delegation Blames Home Ministry for Collapse of Law and Order
Mangalore, Sep 16: The state home minister is responsible for the total collapse of law and order in coastal Karnataka, and the failure of the state intelligence to warn of such a tragedy. Action must be taken against the district authorities while Christians, who are the victims of this tragedy, must not be targeted and the persons who were arrested on false charges should be released immediately, said Mahesh Bhat, head of the Citizens’ Delegation and noted bollywood director.
Read more and see pictures at Daijiworld
Orissa Govt Acquiesces Plot To Wipe Out Christianity In State
By John Dayal
NEW DELHI, SEPT. 18, 2008, 10.00 Hrs (SAR News):
Late Sunday night I had two very disturbing calls interrupting the unceasing messages and rings from Orissa on my two mobile phones. The first was of two separate gunbattles between police and armed mobs. One was a Sangh Parivar posse attacking a church in Tumuliband and apparently two of the attackers were killed by the police. The second was reportedly a Maoist attack on two villages in the Raikia region.
The second message confirmed something I had been told some days ago – that Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader and surgeon Dr. Praveen Togadia (he is still registered, apparently, with the Medical Council of India) had given a call, almost a contract, to his cadres in Orissa that three prominent Christian leaders, two of them living in Bhubaneswar, had to be “eliminated”.
Already, these three have been named in the Oriya language press, and pamphlets while their names have been distributed in villages in Kandhamal and neighbouring districts.
Read more at Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI)
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UPDATE:
Mangalore: Hindus and Catholics Agree for Amicable Settlement
Mangalore, Sep 18: The leaders of Catholic Christian and Hindu community have decided to burry the hatchet and resolve differences, if any between two communities with amicable settlement in the future to maintain peaceful atmosphere in the district. They also assured not to hurt religious sentiments of each other. The leaders of both the communities agreed to resolve all differences at the peace meeting led by district in-charge-minister J Krishna Palemar held on Wednesday September 17 in the presence of district commissioner M Maheshwar Rao…
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Fr Francis Serrao said that Catholic Christian institutions never played any kind of discriminatory role among students. The New Life Society has no connection with Catholic Christian community. It is not under the jurisdiction of any Catholic Bishop.
“Baseless allegations against Catholic community and attack on churches either owing to mistaken identity or well-planned strategy have hurt our sentiments. We should respect and encourage the culture of every community. Such incidents should not occur again. Nobody is above the law. Hereafter nobody should take law and order into their hands,” he added.
When he was asked as why other sections of the Christian community had not been invited during the peace meeting, Fr Serrao replied that they also to be invited during next peace meetings.
Puranik clarified that attacks on churches in other parts of the state have no connection with Sangh Parivar. It is a well-planned political conspiracy, fishing in troubled waters. “Being a RSS member, I can say that Hindutva is a nationality. According to RSS, all religions of our country are Hindu only. Hindu community is a peaceful community. We never want to hurt anybody,” he opined.
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