Channelview's Views

Benevolent Providence

2008-07-19T05:07:00.000-07:00

Prior to receiving communion with the Orthodox Church, a parishioner must confess. The process is different than with the Catholic Church; with the Orthodox Church, confession is done every time one is preparing to receive communion, and is done in small groups with the priest. One reads a standard yet comprehensive list of sins to confess; if anyone has something out of the ordinary to confess, there is an opportunity to do that, and, of course, if there is something serious to discuss with the priest privately, that can be done, as well.

One phrase from confession that has been on my mind in recent weeks is the part showing appreciation for God's "benevolent providence over me, a sinner."

I think even believers often fail to understand the significance of this; or, if they do understand, they fail to realize the ramifications.

We all make mistakes and do things we shouldn't do. God has given us instructions as to what we should and should not do, God has told us what is right and wise, and what is wrong and foolish. Like a child that perhaps doesn't understand the significance of a hot stove until he gets burned, we don't always pay attention to the Lord's instructions, and we do things we shouldn't, things we have been warned about. We then get hurt, we then hurt others, we then make a mess of things – this is "sin."

God understands this, and is still watching over us for our own good. When we are believers, when we are Christians, we recognize that we need His help in our lives, and we ask Him to guide us. He "rules" our lives, although, since this is with our consent (the consent of us, the "governed"), this is proper even to our limited understanding of ruling over people.

God's rule over our lives is for our own good. Perhaps the closest we can come to understanding this is when we look at good, loving parents trying to raise their children, although, as humans, such parents are still imperfect (and, of course, there are bad parents who abuse their children…); God is beyond being a "good parent," as He is the Best, a Perfect Parent. Since His dominion in our lives is for our own good, His is a Benevolent Providence in the lives of us sinners.

What does all this mean?

Despite our efforts (which sometimes are greater than at other times), we are sinners and continue to do things we shouldn't do; and, as believers, we freely seek God's help and give Him dominion over our lives. What we need to do is acknowledge our mistakes, errors, and the wrongs we do. There can be no growth if we do not acknowledge our shortcomings and try to do better, and there can be no justice if we do not acknowledge the wrongs we do. Once we acknowledge this, we invite Him, again and again (perhaps more as a reminder to ourselves than as a reminder to Him) to intervene in our lives, not only for our own good, for the good of those around us.

There is no mistake too great for Him to fix; there is no one who is so lost that He does not know where that lost person is and how to lead that lost person back to where he should be. But, we do need to actively seek His input and guidance. It is a tiny thing indeed, to admit a mistake and ask for help, then He will do the rest; however, this tiny thing is a very great thing, as we must set aside our pride, which gets us into trouble and separates us not only from Him but from those around us. For too many people, setting aside pride is an act that seems out of reach.

If you can, however, acknowledge your mistakes before Him (and before others) and ask for help, you will find that God is ready, willing and able to intervene in your life for the benefit not only of you but of society around you – this is what it means that God has "Benevolent Providence over me, a sinner."

(Cross-posted at Gangstyle.com.)

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T10:00:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Don't get so freaked out about presents and shopping and business that you forget the reason for the season.

Yes, I think it is important to be with family during Christmas, but neither should you let family freak you out. Some people, especially those I encounter on-line, have families that do just that.

God is peace and love. If you are sensing something other than peace and love, then that means someone else is there stirring the pot.

Who Can Be Saved?

2007-12-25T09:31:00.000-08:00

We heard a homily in mass on the following passages of the Gospel:

19:23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
19:24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
19:25 When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”
(from the Gospel according to Matthew)
(Compare to Mark 10:24-26 and Luke 18:24-26)

The explanation we heard was centered on the gates in the wall around Jerusalem. One gate was supposedly called the Eye of the Needle, and was a low gate through which sheep could pass easily, but which a camel would have to be on its knees to pass through. Similarly, a loaded camel (or any kind of an animal, really) would need to be unloaded first, as it would not be able to pass through the gate fully loaded with whatever it was carrying.

It makes for a nice story.

The image we have of a needle, used for sewing, is that it has an eye that is obviously too small for hardly anything to pass through it, much less a camel. Thus, it is impossible for a camel to go through it, so it is similarly impossible for a rich man to be saved. This goes over big with poor people in church: while they don't have a great deal in this life, at least things will be evened out some in the afterlife.

Of course, God has given some people riches. This in no way means that God does not intend these people to be saved. Here, of course, I disagree with many Christian groups who believe that some people were not intended to be saved. It's funny how people who say that always seem to have a smile on their faces, since they consider themselves part of the group that was intended to be saved.

Anyway, as the homily went, it is not impossible for a rich man to be saved, just difficult, as it would be for a camel to go through this gate. And, just as the camel has to lose its burden, so does the rich man have to unburden himself some, and worry about heavenly things, and not earthly riches. It is important for the rich man to realize where his wealth (and his very existence) comes from, and be generous not just toward the Lord, but doing the Lord's work. Finally, it is nice to realize the need to humble oneself before God, and this is of course symbolized by the camel on its knees going through this gate for sheep.

Intrigued, I looked up this gate on the internet, and found no website that explained where the gate was or anything like that. There are sites that map out the ancient gates of Jerusalem, but no such "Eye of the Needle" gate was to be found. I did find several sites where this story is repeated, for homilies, and some sites that claimed that it is only in Sunday School that such a gate exists. Apparently, this story crept into Christian teachings in recent centuries, but is not based in fact.

Okay, so what?

Well, let's think about this: imagine a camel, a big animal, going through the eye of the kind of a needle we sew with. Impossible! But, all things are possible with God.

God did not intend that anyone be lost, but rather that all be saved.

Impossible?

So, was there really such a gate in the wall around Jerusalem? It is an interesting question, and important to historians and archeologists, but does it really matter?

Our concern is the gate to Heaven. We need to understand that Jesus is about screening us in, not screening us out, but we need to do what He wants for that to happen, and that certainly may mean unloading some of our burdens, and relying more on our Creator than on earthly riches.

Russian Orthodox Church Reunification

2007-07-21T08:20:00.000-07:00

The Russian Orthodox Church is reunified, as of May 17.

I've been planning post on this, but I just haven't had time. More background on what this means will follow. Meanwhile, here is the belated news.

Russian Orthodox Church reunification in Moscow

Metropolitan Laurus, leader of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, arrived in Moscow Tuesday on a mission that will reunify the Church that split in 1921,following the Bolshevik revolution.

Hundreds of thousands of Orthodox priests, monks, nuns and laity were jailed, banished and murdered by the Communist regime in Russia. The exiled branch of the Church left in 1921 after accusing the clergy in Soviet Russia of collaborating with the Communist regime.

The two prelates are scheduled to sign a document establishing canonical ties on Thursday, May 17, 2007. The signing of the reunification document will be held at Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow. A meeting in advance of the formal act of reunification between Metropolitan Laurus and Russian Patriach Alexy II is underway at the Danilov Monastery in Moscow.

Metropolitan Kirill, Chairman of the Department for External Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, and & Archbishop Mark of Germany are, also, taking part in the discussions.

The Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate will meet May 16th at the patriarch's residence. The Synod will focus on matters related to the solemn service at Christ the Savior's Cathedral.

Hundreds of pilgrims from the United States and Western Europe traveled to Moscow to witness the reunification of the Church.

News sources: Interfax, United Press International and Radio Free Europe

A glimpse from last winter looking forward at this event is here:

"On the Joint Divine Services Scheduled for May 2007 for the Signing of the Act of Canonical Communion"

Seeking the Lord vs. Hiding from the Lord

2007-05-17T16:31:00.000-07:00

An email came in from a young lady who has had many problems in her life, and who has made many mistakes.... Now she is seeking the Lord's help in her life.

The key part of my response:

The Lord created you unique, He loves you, and He wants to help you.

Turn to the Lord, just as you are, and let Him take it from there.

For details, read on...

3:1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?"
3:2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;
3:3 "but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' "
3:4 Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die.
3:5 "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
3:7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
3:8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
3:9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?"
3:10 So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself."
(from the Book of Genesis)

This is an interesting passage. Adam does something he knows he's not supposed to do, and then God walks through the garden, so Adam hides. Then God asks "Where are you?"

Wait a minute! Don't You know? Aren't You God?

Of course He knows where Adam is. He knows where Adam is and what Adam has done. The question was not for God's sake, but for Adam's sake, so Adam would admit what he had done. Once Adam acknowledges his mistake, God begins the healing process. But, the first step is that we need to admit that we have a problem. And, if we don't know that we have a problem, or don't want to admit it, God can help us there, too.

To not admit that there is a problem is to "stick your head in the sand", or to hide behind a tree from God, like Adam did. Adam's real problem wasn't that he had sinned; his real problem was that, by hiding himself from God, by distancing himself from his Creator, he was in real danger of getting into far more serious trouble. (Keep in mind, that serpent was still out there!)

Contrast that to Zacchaeus:

19:1 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.
19:2 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.
19:3 And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature.
19:4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way.
19:5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house."
19:6 So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully.
19:7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner."
19:8 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold."
19:9 And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham;
19:10 "for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
(from the Gospel according to Luke)

Zacchaeus was a tax collector. Tax collectors in those days in that part of the world were corrupt; they were extortioners. Yet, rather than hide his sinful self behind a tree as Adam had done (and as I always want to do), Zacchaeus climbed a tree to see Jesus. Of course, Jesus already knew all about Zacchaeus, including Zacchaeus' sinful life; but, because Zacchaeus did not hide from Him, but rather made himself very visible so Jesus could enter his life, salvation came to Zacchaeus' house that day.

And in the same way, by seeking God's help, salvation has come to your house today.

God is God --

Rev 1:8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "Who is and Who was and Who is to come, the Almighty."

There is nothing that He can't do!

Don't think for a moment that you have done something so bad, or that you are so far gone, or whatever, that your Creator can't save you -- after all, it was He Who created the Earth and everything on it, Who created the Heavens and everything in them, Who created the Sea and everything in it. There is nothing He can't do. The only danger is that you might try to hide yourself from Him, in which case you would be in danger, because that serpent is still out there. In admitting your problems and inviting Him into your life, you've already done the part that is hardest for you. Now He will take it from here -- just make sure that you keep inviting Him in, again and again, and thanking Him for everything.

Don't wait until you do this or achieve that -- don't put it off. Turn to Him now, just as you are. He does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called.

John 15:16 "You did not choose Me, but I chose you..."

There is nothing He can't fix, and Jesus, Who hung on that cross for you, will not abandon you now. He didn't abandon you then when He was being tortured and hung out to die, He will not abandon you now.

Just keep inviting Him in and thanking Him, and before you know it, your life will be a miracle.

Lady Mocha: Following Up

2007-05-14T14:15:00.000-07:00

Posted over at Gangstyle.com, Lady Mocha has a follow-up to her story:

Hey ladies =D

For those of you who dont know me, HI! my names Shanna : )

I thought id share a little bit about my Gang Rape experience, feelings, thoughts and self worth in hope that it will speak of ECOURAGEMENT and HOPE to you all =D

2 months and 3 weeks before turning 13 i was gang raped. It was the last thing i ever expected to happen that evening on my way home...

The attack involved 12 strong, aggressive males violently throwing and pinning me to the ground... I was in so much shock and disbelief i started finding it hard to breathe... Everything was mute... A thousand thoughts running through my head... Numbed by what was taking place i layed there totally helpless and powerless and endured 4 hours of being violently raped.

After the attack I was no longer that confident happy go lucky chick... No longer cracking jokes and laughing with my friends and family... I secluded myself from everyone and everything... Fear, doubt and negativity flooded my mind, heart, soul and spirit...

Ladies, for 3 years, i suffered in silence and slowly, i found myself sinking further into that dark and lonely hole where nothing else exists except hurt, anger, fear, pain, loneliness and depression.

When i finally built up the courage to tell someone, and work with them in helping me move on and moving forward, you wont believe the amount of weight that was lifted off my shoulders... Ladies, i could breathe again... and it felt so good...

You have got so much to live for... so much to look forward too... Dont let Fear and Doubt stop you from living a good healthy happy and prosperous life =D

So here are my little words of enouragement and hope to you =D

My Dear Friend

Find the courage within yourself to reach out to someone for help... There are so many loving and patient caring people with open arms that are willing to help heal and mend your broken heart and your emotionally wounded soul... And as you take their hand, watch as your life starts to transform... Take shape...You have so much to live for =D Dont let fear and doubt rule your life... Step out in faith and believe with all your heart that your healing and miracle is just around the Corner... and Ladies?

"LET NO ONES THOUGHTS,WORDS OR JUDGEMENT DEFINE WHO YOU ARE!!!"

You are unique and special in your own way... there is only one of you... So show the world what you can do =D

i'd like to end my piece with the last four lines i want to quote from a poem i wrote about my gang rape experience... It Reads:

"the G members think
they stripped me of eveything
HUH,they only stripped me of my clothes
I STILL HAVE MY DIGNITY!!!"

I believe in you Ladies! God IS always with you...

Come on Ladies =D

~ YOU CAN DO IT ~ =D

God bless you, Shanna! I'm proud of you!

By the way -- it seems to me the original post that she left at Gangstyle.com on the message boards about two years ago had the title "My Gang Rape", and that's kind of how she's addressing it here, not as otherwise entitled, "My Date Rape".

Adult Child Going Astray

2007-05-06T18:21:00.000-07:00

Over at Gangstyle.com:

he is 23 doing everything I dont want him to be doing, he has disowned me, because I said it is not good, how do I handle it, how do parents handle it thank you Cathie

My thoughts:

Prayer.

Under those circumstances, you can sure understand what the Lord goes through. Starting in the Garden of Eden, and especially today, so many people have disowned Him and do everything the He knows is not good, everything that He knows leads only trouble, everything that He has warned us not to do.

He understands that there comes a time when the kids need to go make their own mistakes, so that the mess that they get themselves into humbles them a little, so that they are then open to hearing a little wisdom. Short of that, many kids think they know something about everything, and don't have time for learning from experiences of people who have made the mistakes already, or who know where some roads take a person. Often times, even making those mistakes themselves doesn't seem to do it for our kids.

In the following passage from Isaiah, we can easily envision an angry God striking at the inhabitants of the earth:

65:2 I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people,
Who walk in a way that is not good,
According to their own thoughts;
65:3 A people who provoke Me to anger continually to My face;...

65:11 "But you are those who forsake the Lord,
Who forget My holy mountain,
Who prepare a table for Gad,
And who furnish a drink offering for Meni.
65:12 Therefore I will number you for the sword,
And you shall all bow down to the slaughter;
Because, when I called, you did not answer;
When I spoke, you did not hear,
But did evil before My eyes,
And chose that in which I do not delight."

Yet, the Lord is not about "getting" us for what we do. Quite the opposite, He does a great deal to show us the right way, and to convince us to be on it. But, ultimately, He will respect our choice. And our choices to walk in ways that are not good lead to consequences that are not good.

Put another way, the Lord doesn't have to take vengeance on us; we take vengeance on ourselves. He tries to convince us not to. But, it may only be when we goof things up enough that we finally make ourselves ready to listen to His wisdom.

Similarly, it may only be after your son has goofed some things up that he appreciates that his mom, while not perfect (no one is), does love him and does try her best to keep him from making mistakes which are obvious to her.

"he is 23" "he has disowned me"

He's an adult, and you need to face the possibility that there is nothing you can do, other than prayer. And, like the Lord, Who is there for us waiting for us to return, no matter how far astray we go, you can do your son a service by being there for him to take him back when he returns, no matter how far astray he goes.

"how do parents handle it"

That's my take on how our Father handles it, and a suggestion for you.

It's not easy.

Imagine how He felt, watching His Son on the cross.... And that was not His Son's doing, that was our doing!

Interviewing to Join a Gang

2007-05-05T16:34:00.000-07:00

Here's one. A wannabe is asking:

I need to know some of the qeastions to join a gang called folk. Can you give them to me?

Huh?

Here's my answer:

Yeah, I'm not sure about that particular gang. The questions I'm familiar with are these:

1) Do you have a good attorney? Because you'll need one to get you out of all the trouble the gang will get you into.

2) Do you have a nice suit to wear? Because you'll need one to attend the funerals of innocent family members and friends that get killed by members of rival gangs who are shooting at you, but are too doped up and scared to shoot or even see straight.

3) Do you have a good doctor that can treat you for everything from venereal disease to drug overdose to gunshot and knife wounds? Because you'll need one.

4) Do have a nice funeral for yourself planned out and paid for? Because you'll need one -- sooner than you think!

5) Do you have anyone to visit you in jail and prison? Maybe someone to bring you some books or something? Because you'll really be wanting someone to do that, and your homies from the "set" sure won't do it.

6) Are you ready to get gang-banged by the big, hairy felons that have been in prison for the past five or ten years, there 1) with no women, and 2) lifting weights? Because when they see you, they're going to think "fresh meat!" That's assuming you don't get killed on the streets, of course.

Don't worry about getting bummed out while being a gangmember. With all the pain and sorrow and suffering, it will seem like that lifestyle just lasts forever sometimes, but don't worry -- your gang life will actually be alot shorter than you think.

If there's anything more I can help you with, don't hesitate to contact me. If you can't get me, you can contact a Friend of mine, a Guy named Jesus. He's pretty reliable, and He's always alot closer than you think if you decide you need Him.

It's not a job interview you're going on. Think it through...

Mark aka Channelview

Abortion by the Month (by Mal Herida)

2007-05-03T04:11:00.000-07:00

Posted over at Gangstyle.com by Mal Herida:

ABORTION

Month one

MOMMY
I am only 4 inches long
but I have all my organs.
I love the sound of your voice.
The sound of your heart beat
is my favorite lullaby.

Month Two

Mommy
today I learned how to suck my thumb.
If you could see me
you could definitely tell that I am a baby.
I'm not big enough to survive outside my home though.
It is so nice and warm in here.

Month Three

You know what Mommy
I'm a boy!!
I hope that makes you happy.
I always want you to be happy.
I don't like it when you cry.
You sound so sad.
It makes me sad too
and I cry with you even though
you can't hear me.

Month Four

Mommy
my hair is starting to grow.
It is very short and fine
but I will have a lot of it.
I spend a lot of my time exercising.
I can turn my head and curl my fingers and toes
and stretch my arms and legs.
I am becoming quite good at it too.

Month Five

You went to the doctor today.
Mommy, he lied to you.
He said that I'm not a baby.
I am a baby Mommy, your baby.
I think and feel.
Mommy, what's abortion?

Month Six

I can hear that doctor again.
I don't like him.
He seems cold and heartless.
Something is intruding my home.
The doctor called it a needle.
Mommy what is it? It burns!
Please make him stop!
I can't get away from it!
Mommy! HELP me!

Month Seven

Mommy
I am okay.
I am in Jesus's arms.
He is holding me.
He told me about abortion.
Why didn't you want me Mommy?

Every Abortion Is Just . . .

One more heart that was stopped.
Two more eyes that will never see.
Two more hands that will never touch.
Two more legs that will never run.
One more mouth that will never speak.

If you're against abortion, show this to someone it will hep belive me so do it ...
I dont care how many friends i lose over this....the only way id be okay with someone having a abortion was if it was forced/rape.otherwise if u can lay there and spread ur legs then u can take responsblity for the actions too

I understand but disagree with the comment about abortion after sexual assault. Read "A 'Choice'" to get some idea why.

Good post, Mal Herida!

Acquaintance Rape

2007-04-30T15:28:00.000-07:00

So, here's the scene:

A girl in high school meets a guy. She "really cares" about him. He wants to have sex with her, but she says no because she's not ready. She "tried keepin [her] clothes on" but finally gave in because she didn't think she'd win. After they have sex, she reports that he started treating her really badly. Specifically, he threatens to beat up her ex-boyfriend and tell her parents what happened if she leaves him. So, she stays and whenever they are alone, he always gets his way and has sex with her, even though she doesn't want to.

He blames her, telling her that it is her fault because she drives him crazy by wanting to leave him, and that he needs her. So, after a little arguing, he always gets to have sex with her. Some of her friends tell her it's date rape, some say it isn't because she put herself in a bad situation. Meanwhile, she would leave, except that she's afraid for her ex-boyfriend, and she's worried about his threats to have friends from his gang go after her.

"im still confused to whether or not if i went through date rape or not bc he had done it to me more than once."

Just because he is committing the crime more than once, that certainly doesn't mean it's not a crime. In my humble opinion, this is fairly classic.

First, even if she had done it with him willingly many times -- not the situation here -- the first time he has sex with her against her will after she has said "no" it is a rape. It used to be that a defense against rape in the US was that the two people involved were married. That is no longer the case in America. If a husband forces his wife to have sex against her will, that is illegal. That is why many jurisdictions have gotten away from the crime of "rape" and now address "sexual assault" -- it is more inclusive of a broader range of criminal conduct.

It should be noted, though, that often times the perpetrator justifies his conduct to himself, to his victim, and to others, either explicitly or implicitly, by the fact that the two have had sex before. Amazingly, even if the previous incidents themselves were sexual assaults, somehow in the twisted logic that gives birth to acquaintance rape, that "makes it okay" somehow.

Second, this threat of violence -- again, whether explicit or implicit -- against people the victim cares about or against the victim herself just reinforces the fact that he is forcing her repeatedly to do something against her will. It is rape, pure and simple.

Third, the fact that he excuses himself by blaming the victim facilitates his criminal conduct in his own mind, and confuses her enough that she doesn't put an end to it, but rather allows it to continue. Furthermore, blaming the victim for being raped is, in my opinion, another kind of rape. It is a mental rape, over and above the physical rape of forcing her to commit a sexual act against her will. It is a violation of her humanity.

If it has already happened before, there is a very real danger that it will happen again. If this guy isn't doing this to the same girl, he might be doing it to someone else. If he doesn't have someone else to do it to, then she is definitely in danger of being victimized again. This guy is thinking with his penis, and his brain only enters in to justify and excuse him and consider how to get away with it.

This is NOT HER FAULT. She may very well have made some bad decisions and put herself into bad situations, but that in no way excuses or justifies the crime that this rapist is committing repeatedly.

In a situation like this, the victim might want to tell her parents. Certainly it is worth considering how the person's parents will react. In many cases though, although the parents may initially react with anger, and may fall into the trap of blaming the victim, eventually they will (hopefully) come around and be supportive of their daughter.

A good place to seek help is the school guidance counselor, who (presumably) is trained enough in these matters to put the victim in touch with appropriate help. Regardless, the school administration needs to know what kind of a problem there is in the school so they can ensure the safety not only of this victim but of other girls as well. Hopefully, the school administration will do its job here, and not just cover this all up to keep the school from looking bad -- such kinds of things have been known to occur.

Local law enforcement may be of help. Aside from law enforcement, there are crisis counselors available -- I link to a couple, and there might be some in the victim's local community, depending on where the victim lives. In some cases, if the victim is in a rural area, it may be a long way to appropriate help. Local clergy may be of help, too -- that just depends.

A parting comment to you guys that are thinking you would do this if you "knew" you could get away with it....

You can't. You might escape justice on this earth, but the Lord will get you sooner or later. The only way out is to turn to your Creator, acknowledge the bad things you have done, and make a sincere effort to change and do better. Anything short of that, and you will, in the hereafter, find yourself in special place, with a special guy, who will teach you all there is to know about rape....

Hell exists for a reason.

"All over a colored flag and a few dollars."

2007-04-29T06:34:00.000-07:00

Here's another story I heard recently. I took out the names and did other minor editing:

"I only had one real uncle.... He took care of everybody in my family, making sure we were always safe. Now he's gone, dead, one bullet to the head. All over a colored flag and a few dollars. [He] knew a lot of people, he touched a lot of lives. He will be greatly missed...."

Yeah, isn't gang life cool?

Alcohol, Sex and Date Rape

2007-04-29T05:35:00.000-07:00

I recently got a story from someone explaining how she went to a friend's house and "got really drunk." While she was drunk she had sex with a guy. She said yes, but, she points out, she was drunk. Now she feels terrible, and is wondering if this is rape.

In many jurisdictions in the United States, the influence of drugs or alcohol is considered when determining whether or not a person "consented" to having sex. The effects of the drugs or alcohol can negate the consent, and the act can be considered a sexual assault or a rape. Another factor that generally negates consent is age; a person who is too young, even though the person eagerly says "yes", is considered to not be able to give consent: hence terms like "age of consent" and "statutory rape".

No matter how much alcohol a person consumes, it does not entitle others to take advantage of that person. People have a right to consume alcohol without being raped; people even have a right to make the mistake of having a "few too many" without being victimized by rapists or robbers or others. Even if the person is under the legal drinking age, and thus violating the law by consuming, that still does not give others the right to violate the law by sexually assaulting that person.

The reality is, however, that there are too many people out there who are completely unscrupulous and will take advantage of any situation.

What this story seems to be, though, is one of those stories where the people under the influence of alcohol did some things that they later regretted and felt bad about. If you look through the websites linked to in the panel to the right dealing with rape and sexual assault, you will discover that one indicator that a sexual assault or "date rape" may have occurred is when one (or both) of the people just feels bad about what happened and the way it happened. If someone has that kind of a feeling afterwards, it may have been a sexual assault. It also may have been just two people who made a bad decision in the heat of the moment. It's a fine line between a crime and bad judgment -- a fine line blurred by drugs and alcohol. That's part of why these kinds of assaults have at times been difficult to prosecute, and that's part of why authorities sometimes don't pursue the case.

Just because you are drunk, that does not give others the right to victimize you. The reality is, however, that consuming alcohol impacts your judgment and your ability to react to the situations around you and makes you an easier target for those who would victimize you. Even if you're with a good crowd of people who are sincerely watching out for you, consuming alcohol can increase the likelihood of something happening that people will later regret.

The World of Su Xiao-Zhen

2007-04-16T16:22:00.000-07:00

Para los que hablan español, con mucho gusto puedo recomendarles este blog: El Mundo de Su Xiao-Zhen.

Es el blog de una española; se llama Su Xiao-Zhen y vive en Kuala Lumpur, Malasia, que se encuentra por la orilla del Océano Pacífico. Parece que anda de viajes por su trabajo, y siempre maneja un momento para disfrutar de los lugares exóticos que visita y toma una fotos. Luego regresa y pone en su blog sus fotos con mapas y una descripción del lugar que ha visitado. Es muy interesante; ella obviamente es una blogger de bastante preparación.

También es interesante para mí, un gringo, que ella es española y escribe en español castellano. Por ejemplo, arriba yo escribí "recomendarles" (a ustedes), con mi accento mexicano, pero ella escribiría "recomendaros" (a vosotros), de manera castellana. Sale que ella escribe en español muy correcto, no como yo, cuando típicamente escribo vocales sin accentos -- ¡en este post estoy poniendo atención!

Actualmente ella tiene allí La Belleza de Sabah y Un Mundo aparte llamado Brunei. Vale la pena leerlos y lo demás.

For those of you who don't understand Spanish, Su Xiao-Zhen, a young lady from Barcelona who lives in Kuala Lampur, has the blog referenced above. Even if you can't enjoy the wonderful information in the very correct Castilian Spanish that she writes, there are still beautiful photos and nice maps, and I saw a post in English there, too.

Her blogs (she also has Tres Cosas Hermosas) are worth a visit.

Alright -- let me practice a little: á ó é í ú ñ ¡ ¿

Ripples in a Pond

2007-04-14T18:45:00.000-07:00

Greta over at Musings has some thoughts about blogging: Echoes in a Vacuum. It's worth a read.

Personally, instead of echoes in a vacuum, I think of it as ripples in a pond. My comment to her post was this:

The pond is big; we don't know how big, neither can we see its edges. When we toss in a pebble, who knows where the ripples will reach?

But it's the same idea.

Cosmic thoughts....

A "Choice"

2007-04-14T16:41:00.000-07:00

Abortion is murder of an innocent person.

Often times, even people who are "pro-life" will permit an exception for abortion in cases of rape or incest.

Consider this, from Pam Stenzel Dot Com: Pam's Biography:

Seven years ago Pam Stenzel grew weary of hearing the phrase, NOBODY TOLD ME!! After years of counseling young girls who found themselves in crisis pregnancies, Pam began to realize that so many were completely unaware of the risks involved with sexual activity, and that many had never been told about all the consequences of their choices. That was the inception of Pam's life as a speaker, but Pam Stenzel's story started years earlier.

In 1964 a fifteen-year-old girl was raped, became pregnant, and decided to carry her unborn child to term. Five months after the baby girl was born, in an act of courage and love the young mother provided her child a better environment by giving her to an adoptive family. That child was Pam Stenzel. She is the oldest of 8 children… 7 adopted…1 biological, and her extended family includes 38 adopted children in all.

From Pam Stenzel Dot Com: About Pam:

What People are saying about Pam Stenzel

"In 27 years of education I have never heard a more clear and direct message to young people. Pam effectively delivered a very important and powerful message to our young people."
Educator

"I got tears in my eyes when you told me and the others who chose to abstain that you thought we had character and you were proud. No one has ever told me that before."
Student

"Pam Stenzel is a dynamic speaker whose message is one that saves young people from a lifetime of tragic consequences. Pam believes in young people’s ability and willingness to make good choices, if given appropriate information, and are really challenged to save sex for marriage."
Dan Ziedler
President
Family Life Council, Inc.

"Pam connects and is a powerful voice on the side of responsibility and morality in a culture war that offers kids all too many voices on the other side. She delivers a shocking message to kids - you are not out of control sex maniacs. Waiting has some nice rewards, and avoids some terrible price tags."
Sean Hannity Radio & TV Host
Fox News, WABC Radio

Although conceived when her mother was raped, Pam Stenzel now tries to solve some of our world's problems by educating young people on the responsibilities and consequences of sexual activity. Had Pam's mother taken her innocent baby and made that baby into a "choice", Pam's contribution to our society would not have been possible.

You don't know how God intends to use a situation or a set of circumstances. You don't know what plans God has for your unborn child.

When you're considering your "choices", consider the life that God has placed inside you, and make a choice that both you and God can be eternally pleased with.

"Living in a Nightmare"

2007-04-14T14:34:00.000-07:00

Living In A Nightmare

After burying my own brother, I have seen the world in a different light. I spent some time in jail, and I spent some time living in pain, The pain that you are thinking of is a mental pain that would drive a man to kill himself. Everyday I have to live this pain. I have to live with the fact that I hurt many people and I hurt myself, I even thought a gunshot or a few would make me a real man. I am partially crippled due to my foolish decisions.

I was once in Los Angeles, on the block with helicopters 50 feet off the ground searching at night for drive-by suspects. Holding a cup filled with thunderbird wine, a wine so strong we called it "gangsta juice". I would have that big joint in my left hand with my eyes bloodshot scanning back and forth looking for enemies, and the police who would run up on us. packing a loaded gun at age 10 to standing in front of a burnt out liquor store with my homies. You know I thought that was the world and the people who was really down for me.

Every gangster story is unique because it's coming from a unique person, just like we all got unique fingerprints. The nightmare that I live everyday is from my past. I'm scarred mentally. You know I am sitting here writing about the pain I feel but how did I get this way? Why is it this way I used to carry dope for my big homies, and do anything they ask to earn what I thought was respect. Who is respecting me? Everybody? Hell no. Just from my close circle of friends who were down to kill for me? No. You know they straight turn on me snitch. I trusted them and got stabbed in the back. I was down for years and lived right here in South Central LA. Things ain't the way they used to be. Everybody is out for themselves. It's always been that way though.

I just remember the bodies dropping, the cries of screaming mothers, screaming to God and I can't even say it. You know I heard this song "Theres a dead man walking in the hood". There is a dead man walking in every hood. It's not right to blame anybody for the problems we have created for ourselves. My brother who I loved was murdered. It wasn't my fault and I can't really be mad at the world. Sometimes I thought taking a gun to my head was the only way to get out of this world of misery. I have a lot of questions that I can't answer or get answered. People treat me like I am a threat often. It's like they can see in my eyes the pain, the misery, the evil deeds I done. It hurts everyday that I have to carry an old soul. I've lived a lifetime over and over.

The gang is a group and can a gang can't be stopped. People don't understand that gang members are tight knit groups of friends. When we live in surroundings of hopelessness then we turn to violence to get respect. Does the working man in the business suit going to respect us? No. They look at us as if we are stupid thugs who are not smart enough to know any better. But you know, we choose to live this gang life and we do know it. That's where hopelessness comes in. The greatest human desire to be appreciated, to be looked at as if we were great. To be loved. The greatest desire isn't money. It's bigger then that. I have seen countless dead bodies, people brains blown out on the streets of Los Angeles. A war zone.

The police ride around in armored vehicles raiding houses, flying helicopters, and harassing innocent people. We are the people who just want to work, we just want to live. And I am telling everybody right now that Peace can be real, but force is necessary to get it. We can't let the LAPD continue to step on us. And let me tell you that in no way am I trying to encourage violence. I am only saying that regardless of the gang, there are bad peoples out there. There are some straight killers that will kill and not care. Sociopaths. I know some. I had one homie who would murder people every week. Mostly people of his own racial makeup, black. He was murder kids, parents, and other gang members of rival sets. See the nightmare I have to live? Pieces of shit like this who I was friends with?

Because like I said there are bad people out there. Don't think twice about that. I acknowledge that I have and feel bad about the pain I inflicted on others. The point of these writings is the madness I have to live with, the pain I am in everyday. It develops over the years. I banged for 12 years and I am so scarred mentally I can't even think straight. Read this and I want you to say to yourself "damn, I don't want to end up like this guy". I still try to pull through everyday and have faith in God. But changing is not as easy as it seems. It is a process. I never really had anybody there for me except my family. I was lonely when I had to quit my criminal career. Who else can I fit in with? I banged since I was 11 years old.

I had to catch up with the real world. I see even in the real world everybody bangs, they bang to get that job, they bang to get that new car, that lady friend. Little would we know we bang on other daily, aside from being in a real gang. I called my homie the other day, he's been in his house with a bracelet that beeps whenever he leaves his front yard. It's called house arrest. Imagine that shit. Once it was on my ankle. I am tired and don't want anybody to live my personal pain.

Have hope, have big dreams, think to yourself that you can be somebody and not end up a deadbeat, not end up a mental cripple.

This is no game, this is foreal. Don't hurt anybody to get to the top. The traditional business technique. I want people to start loving one another, care about your peoples. I want you to help a disadvantaged person. It will make you feel better to give back rather then take like the gang members mentality is based on, taking and not giving back. These words are real and come from my heart.

O.G. RK

When you start trying to act "cool", thinking you need to experience this to "be a man",...

"I have to live with the fact that I hurt many people and I hurt myself, I even thought a gunshot or a few would make me a real man. I am partially crippled due to my foolish decisions."

...or do that to "get respect",...

"Why is it this way I used to carry dope for my big homies, and do anything they ask to earn what I thought was respect. Who is respecting me? Everybody? Hell no. Just from my close circle of friends who were down to kill for me? No. You know they straight turn on me snitch. I trusted them and got stabbed in the back. I was down for years and lived right here in South Central LA. Things ain't the way they used to be. Everybody is out for themselves. It's always been that way though."

...you never know where it's going to end.

Maybe you just dress like a banger and hang out, thinking people won't mess with you because they think you're a banger. Maybe you think that since you're not really a banger, you won't get in the trouble. Think again. Even something like that can lead to some gangmembers seeing you, thinking you're from a rival set, and taking a shot.

"And I am telling everybody right now that Peace can be real, but force is necessary to get it. [...] There are some straight killers that will kill and not care. Sociopaths. I know some. I had one homie who would murder people every week. Mostly people of his own racial makeup, black. He was murder kids, parents, and other gang members of rival sets. See the nightmare I have to live? Pieces of shit like this who I was friends with?"

In my opinion, and I think this is what RK is trying to say here, it is because of killers like this guy he describes that the threat of force, from law enforcement (LE) for example, is necessary to intimidate and deter them. In that same paragraph, though, he hints at problems in relations between LE and the civilian community, problems that need to be addressed:

"The police ride around in armored vehicles raiding houses, flying helicopters, and harassing innocent people. We are the people who just want to work, we just want to live. [...] We can't let the LAPD continue to step on us."

"Ganglyfe" is really gangdeath. It's hell-on-earth, homes:

"Sometimes I thought taking a gun to my head was the only way to get out of this world of misery."

Jesus is the way out this world of misery. The nightmare ends when you wake up and come to Jesus.

"This is no game, this is foreal. Don't hurt anybody to get to the top. The traditional business technique. I want people to start loving one another, care about your peoples. I want you to help a disadvantaged person. It will make you feel better to give back rather then take like the gang members mentality is based on, taking and not giving back. These words are real and come from my heart.

O.G. RK"

Knowledge and Wisdom

2007-04-12T16:04:00.000-07:00

An interesting article:
Final tearful plea as embryo fight fails.

A WOMAN left infertile after cancer therapy yesterday made a final plea to her ex-partner for permission to use frozen embryos, after her five-year legal fight ended in failure.

Natallie Evans broke down in tears as she spoke of her anguish at the prospect of never becoming a mother using her own embryos.

The 35-year-old appealed to her former partner, Howard Johnston, to change his mind and allow her to use the eggs he fertilised in 2001. The embryos are due to be destroyed within 28 days, after the European Court of Human Rights yesterday ruled against her.

She said: "I am distraught at the court's decision. It is very hard for me to accept the embryos will now be destroyed and I will never become a mother.

"Whilst a lot has been said about the rights of Mr Johnston, I was fighting for my right to be a mother and the rights of the embryos.

"I would ask Howard to consider whether he could permit me to have the children I long for, and which he was happy to consent to when the procedure took place to create these embryos."

Asked if she would make a last-ditch appeal to Mr Johnston, she said: "I have pleaded with him before and it has not worked; now there is nothing I can say to him.

"Last time I pleaded with him and asked him, 'Please rethink', and he didn't. He said nothing is going to change his mind."

Mr Johnston, 30, said he and Ms Evans had discussed other ways she might become a mother when the couple were undergoing IVF.

He said: "Being a mother is still an option to [Ms Evans] that does not involve me.

"I had hoped that commonsense and the legal framework would hold up. I'm grateful and relieved that it has done so."

Mr Johnston added:

"I don't think I have acted selfishly. If you turn this on its head and if I was infertile with a new partner, I wouldn't expect Natallie consenting to me using them."

He said he had not spoken to Ms Evans, but acknowledged she had been through an "emotional rollercoaster".

He added: "I've had every sympathy with Natallie from the first moment I knew I didn't want to have children with her, and it's the same now.

"I don't regret meeting her. At one point in our relationship, she was Miss Right."

The human rights judges said the central dilemma was an "entirely irreconcilable" conflict between Natallie and her former boyfriend. The issues raised by the case were "undoubtedly of a morally and ethically delicate nature", said the judgment.

There is currently no standard European approach to questions in the field of IVF.

The UK is not alone in permitting the storage of embryos and giving both partners the right to withdraw consent up to the moment of implantation, but different rules and practices are applied elsewhere in Europe.

There is no European consensus about the stage in IVF treatment when the sperm donor's consent becomes irrevocable.

LAST HOPE OF MOTHERHOOD
Q: Why did Natallie Evans have the embryos frozen?

A: In 2001, her ovaries were removed after pre-cancerous cells were found. The treatment would leave her infertile, so she first underwent in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) with then partner Howard Johnston. His sperm fertilised her eggs and six embryos were frozen - her only chance of having her own children.

Q: What is the process for IVF from frozen embryos?

A: Embryos are frozen in liquid nitrogen. They can be stored for up to five years.

There's a great deal here. Let me boil it down for you.

First, human life begins at conception. If that is not the starting point, then what is? Birth?

Births occur naturally after pregnancies of different lengths of time; for example, nine months and one week vs. eight months and three weeks. Additionally, the labor can be induced medically, and operational procedures can result in a birth without labor. No matter how it happens, the baby can be expected to come out alive and living. That means the baby was alive and living inside "Mom". Consequently, to suggest that "birth" is when human life begins is quite arbitrary; it just doesn't pass the idiot test.

Even more foolishly has it been argued that humal life begins when a person is sentient, conscious, self-aware. This is extremely sinister, since self-awareness is hard to prove. A computer could be programmed to appear to be self-aware. Conversely, a person who, for whatever reason, has difficulty sensing surroundings or communicating about them, could appear to be not self-aware.

For that matter, how do I know that you are self-aware?

If sentience is the yardstick by which human life is measured, then there is no such thing as murder, and the door is wide open for a madman to decide that no one exists besides himself, and decide to abort all of humanity.

Human life begins at conception. That is when our Creator establishes the connection between an other-worldly spirit or soul and the this-worldly biological entity of a fertilized egg.

Once that is understood, then it logically and obviously follows that abortion is murder. So is the destruction of these "fertilized embryos".

When Mr. Johnston agreed to fertilize Ms. Evans' eggs, he became a father to her offspring. Those children are now held in limbo under what appears to be a death sentence.

It's amazing what science can do.

2:1 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you,
2:2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.
2:3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
2:4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
[...]
2:9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,
2:10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2:11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,
2:12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

(from the Second Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians)

Humanity has eaten of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Now, that knowledge is advancing far, far beyond our "wisdom" to deal with it, and, instead of serving us, we have come to serve it.

It is time to eat of the Tree of Wisdom, Which is God.

26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."
26:27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you.
26:28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
26:29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom."
(From the Gospel according to Matthew)

The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is the Tree of Death. The Tree of Wisdom, the Tree of Knowledge of the Lord, is the Tree of Life, Which stands in the middle of the Garden of Eden.

23:39 Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us."
23:40 But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?
23:41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong."
23:42 Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom."
23:43 And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."
(From the Gospel according to Luke)

Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
Psalm 46:10

"Lord, remember when You come into Your Kingdom."

Gangs: "...dont join in da first place!!!"

2007-04-07T09:19:00.000-07:00

I got this in an email:

yo im in a gang now dogg and both of my parents are cuz of gang its just bad im in one cuz of that im in da crips z did a drive by and killed em both but the only way to get out a gang is they kill u or beat u so dont join in da first place!!!

You can get out. I've known many people who have gotten out and gotten their lives together and are now quite happy.

It is hard, though, and it's scary. Many gangs do threaten to kill you or at least beat the stuffings out of you if you try to leave.

But, many gangmembers do respect Jesus Christ, and they often will respect a sincere desire on the part of a gangmember to leave gangdeath (notice how I write "gangdeath" instead of "ganglife") behind and come to Jesus. I think part of the reason is that most of the gangmembers are just as scared and want out just as much as the member who is leaving.

People don't understand words like "sin" and "salvation" -- they don't understand when you tell them that they commit sin and Jesus is here for their salvation.

So, let's use words like "mistakes" and "fixing them" instead.

We all make mistakes, and Jesus is here to fix them for us. Joining a gang is a mistake -- a very big one!

God knows more than we do. He gives us advice on what to do and what not to do. We do things our way, though, instead of His way -- those are mistakes, and they carry consequences. God has mercy on us, and has sent His Son Jesus Christ to fix our mistakes and save us from their consequences.

Get with Jesus and stay there.

Especially those of you who think you already are with Jesus -- get closer.

Help from the Government

2007-04-05T15:30:00.000-07:00

There are many good people who work for the government, but as an institution, the government can be pretty useless. While the people who work for the government often go to extraordinary lengths to do their jobs, often times the "system" is just plain against them.

I recently had two emails that kind of illustrate the point.

One is from someone who works in a state penal system. This person is a counselor, and is looking for help in the form of someone who can come and talk to inmates who are about to be released to help motivate them to avoid gang affiliation and criminal activities once they get released, and to give them some ideas how to do so.

I applaud this individual. I wish we had more like this person. While many government employees are simply bureaucrats and sit around doing their job, no more no less, this person is taking initiative to find out how to do the job better, more competently, more thoroughly. This person is trying to serve the community by helping keep people who have committed crimes and are finishing their prison time from returning to a life of crime upon release. This is also a tremendous service to the prisoners who are about to be released. The effort here is to create a true win-win situation, helping all parties involved. God bless you for trying!

What's irritating, though, is that the government's penal system -- in this person's state and in every other -- should already have such a proactive program in place. Instead, they so often just release the prisoner back into the same system from which that prisoner came. Often times, the only change is that the individual's attitude has been hardened by the prison time, and the individual has learned more about crime by exchanging stories with other prisoners.

This brings me to the other email I got.

A mother is looking for help for her son, who wants to change, is trying to change, but finds life outside prison very challenging. She asked if there are any government programs that can help.

Of course, there probably are some government programs that could be of help.

The point is, though, that they shouldn't have to be asking. There should be proactive involvement on the part of the government-run penal system with a list of support organizations that people can contact upon their release. Those support organizations could be, and probably would be, private-sector and faith-based. The government doesn't have to recommend them (and shouldn't -- First Amendment); they can merely make the information available for those who want it.

True change in a person's life is a spiritual matter. In general terms, even if a person is not religious, the person needs to want to change and try hard to do so. Of course, as a Christian, I believe we all need to change, and that is why God sent His Son to us: to help us to change and to show us how.

There are certain things the government can do for us and should do for us. Defend the nation on the federal level (national defense), and defend society on all levels (policing), are two functions that come to mind. It is inappropriate to privatize these functions as they entail power that is too easy to abuse. For a similar reason, I am against privatizing prisons.

Beyond certain functions, though, the government can be pretty useless.

In New Orleans, for example, there were people who had spent so many years receiving government checks and living in government housing -- checks and housing that were intended to be temporary -- that they forgot how to take care of themselves. What was supposed to be a safety net became a hammock. The government's programs were counterproductive, creating a culture of helplessness and dependence on the government. People were taught a culture of victimization; they became addicted to government assistance. When Hurricane Katrina hit, the government showed how worthless it can be in a crisis, and these people were left in a devastated place that was suddenly and to a great extent temporarily ruled by criminals.

I think it's time we take a good, hard look at what little it is that government can actually do for us, and then pay government accordingly -- a low, flat tax.

Eliminate all the useless or counterproductive government programs -- the pork -- and we could have a whopping tax cut, which would mean more money in our pockets. That money would be invested and spent, spurring economic growth. The private sector would have more funding for the faith-based and charitable programs that really work, eliminating, through increased economic opportunity and a better-funded private sector safety net, much of the need for government programs. And, the government, taking a smaller piece of a bigger economic pie, would have more tax dollars to spend -- enough to give people like that counselor I mentioned above a well-deserved raise!

The biggest help the government can give us is to cut our taxes as much as possible and leave us alone as much as possible.

In The Beginning was Vegetarianism

2007-04-05T05:14:00.000-07:00

1:26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
1:27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
1:28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
1:29 And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.
1:30 "Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food"; and it was so.
1:31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
(from the Book of Genesis)

It's fun debating with people about what God intended us to eat. I tell some Christians that I'm a vegetarian, and mention Christianity as one reason why, and many of them during the discussion wind up pointing out the Mosaic provision where Moses, giving the law to the ancient Hebrews in the desert, gave the children of Israel a big, long list of animals that they can eat.

So, I ask, is a man allowed to divorce his wife for just any reason? Of course, I am leading them to this passage:

19:3 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"
19:4 And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,'
19:5 "and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?
19:6 "So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."
19:7 They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"
19:8 He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so."
(from the Gospel according to Matthew)

Moses permitted divorce, but that came about after The Fall, after Original Sin -- after we were booted out of the Garden of Eden. In The Beginning it was not so.

So, then, I ask them if man is permitted to eat just any animals. Of course there is the Mosaic list of what animals can and cannot be eaten. It's a fairly long list.

People then typically point to the passage in Chapter 7 of Mark or Chapter 15 of Matthew (the account in Mark is a little better for our purposes) where our Lord explains that it is not what goes into a person that defiles, but rather what comes out -- the evil thoughts and evil actions. Of course, the explanation is intended to draw attention away from the ceremonies of the Pharisees (handwashing) and towards the intent behind the law; that is, after all, what Jesus had been doing all along. Many people understand that passage to abrogate Mosaic Law regarding foods.

I, however, disagree with that understanding.

5:17 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
5:18 "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled."
(from the Gospel according to Matthew)

My question then follows: was it so in The Beginning? I usually get blank looks in response.

God gave us the plants as food. We have dominion over the animals. God also gave the plants as food for the animals. We were not intended to eat animals, neither were animals intended to eat each other. We were intended to have dominion over animals -- they would be our companions, friends, "pets" -- but we, and they, were intended to eat plants.

People eating animals (and animals eating each other) came later, after The Fall.

As we approach Easter, we are in Great Lent. Check the Orthodox links in the sidebar and learn about the lenten fast. Pay particular attention to what one may and may not consume, and when. One of the main things we are to avoid is animal-based products. Many of the rules deal with which animal-based products can be eaten, and when.

For me, it's easier. I avoid animal-based products all the time -- just like we were supposed to do all along.

Gen 1:31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.

Lady Mocha's Story

2007-03-29T15:38:00.000-07:00

Posted about a year and half ago over at Gangstyle.com:

My Date Rape by Lady Mocha

12 of them
1 of me
raped for 4 hours straight
raped viciously
couldnt fend for myself
i was barely 13
the youngest G member 21
the leader,43
they pushed me down a hill
so no one could see
it was there that
whatever they wanted to pursue
would be done successfuly
2 G members pinned my arms
up over my head
another 2 G members
stripped me and parted my legs
the leader went first
then one of the G members said
" ayo homie your hogging all the pussy
that shit aint fair"
bout 20 mins past then the leader declared
" look homie,theres enough to go around
you're gon get your share"
i felt like a prisoner
with a life sentence without bail
the shock of the attack was choking me
making it hard for me to breathe
i was paralysed i couldnt even
inhale or exhale
not 1 of them quit
without cumming inside
i remember saying to myself
if i end up pregnant
ima commit suicide
they were all over me
licking me,kissing me
saying they aint never seen
a girl as beautiful as me
4 hours passed
and the G members were satisfied
you'd think they'd atleast have a speck
of sympathy or remorse inside
but you could just tell
they're hearts were cold
stone cold infact
it was all in thier eyes
the G members think
they stripped me of eveything
HUH,they only stripped me of my clothes
I STILL HAVE MY DIGNITY!!!

xoxMochaxox

For those of you who don't know Mocha (I know her some from online), she's a wonderful person. God has set aside a special place for people like her, where she'll get to meet more wonderful people, including our Savior and His Mom, and where she will get to spend quality time with them....

3:8 "I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.
3:9 "Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie -- indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.
3:10 "Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
3:11 "Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown."
(from the Revelation of St. John the Divine)

God has also set aside a special place for the people who did that to her. They will get to meet all kinds of interesting people -- people just like themselves -- and they will get to interact with those people, and spend quality time with them... a great deal of quality time....

1:2 God is jealous, and the Lord avenges;
The Lord avenges and is furious.
The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries,
And He reserves wrath for His enemies;
1:3 The Lord is slow to anger and great in power,
And will not at all acquit the wicked.
(from the Book of the Prophet Nahum)

66:4 "So will I choose their delusions,
And bring their fears on them;
Because, when I called, no one answered,
When I spoke they did not hear;
But they did evil before My eyes,
And chose that in which I do not delight."
(from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah)

Sorghum Pancakes

2007-03-29T03:54:00.000-07:00

One new post, three new labels!

Yesterday the family was preparing sorghum. (Do a little research and learn about it.) Sorghum is a tropical grain that grows on a grass-like plant. Except for the tropical part, it is not very different from barley, or even from wheat for that matter.

We bought the grains for my wife. She prepared the dried grain by boiling it. Once we had a big pot full of the stuff, I suggested to our older daughter that she might want to make hotcakes with some of it.

Normally for hotcakes the ingredients are flour, soymilk or coconut milk, banana or applesauce, baking powder and baking soda. If you insist on eating animal-based products like most Americans do, you are perhaps more familiar with using cow's milk and eggs in place of the soy- or coconut milk and banana or applesauce.

Anyway, I suggested to our older daughter that she put the stew-like cooked grains in a blender with the other usual ingredients, adding in only enough flour to thicken the mixture sufficiently. Seldom are the occasions that she takes my advice. Consequently, she did not blend the mixture, but just mixed in flour, soymilk and other ingredients in a bowl, and cooked the pancakes like that.

Since she didn't blend it, the sorghum was not broken up. As the flapjacks came off the griddle, I tried a couple. The chewy sorghum inside of them gave them a surprising texture. They were pretty good, actually. We fed them to the little munchkins. They were a little apprehensive of the texture, but ate their pancakes as well.

You can get sorghum dried in bags. You may want to try it. Also, by using banana (when most of America uses egg) and by using coconut milk (when most of America uses cow's milk), our griddlecakes typically have a somewhat tropical flavor to them. It's just barely noticeable, but quite pleasant, and makes for a really nice change from what is too often a boring routine in our country. And, eliminating the animal-based products is much healthier!

Beware: If you question the "healthier" remark in a comment, I probably will only acknowledge your comment, and not answer it right away. I plan many posts on explaining why eliminating the animal-based products from your diet is better for your health, and typically cheaper, too!

When I Grow Up...

2007-03-27T13:45:00.000-07:00

In an email from Minister Maurice over at Living Water Ministry (see sidebar), God'z Man wrote to me that the Lord had asked him one time what a Baptist is when he matures. When God'z Man replied that he didn't know, the Lord told him, "A Christian." When next asked what a Pentecostal is when he matures, God'z Man again replied that he didn't know, so the Lord again said "A Christian."

Some of the wisdom that he communicates sounds very inspired. The Lord must be doing something in Minister Maurice's life!

Anyway, we ask our kids what they want to be when they grow up, that is, when they mature physically, trying to get them to think about (and maybe even prepare for) their future.

How much more so should we think about (and maybe even prepare for) eternity?

2 Cor 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

When you get there, do you want to have been part of His problems, or part of His solutions?

Or, put another way: When you get to eternity, when you have matured spiritually, what do you want to be?

St. Mary of Egypt

2007-03-25T15:32:00.000-07:00

(Originally posted at Gangstyle.com; this reposting is dedicated to Fr. George & family and the parish of St. Elias Orthodox Church.)

St. Mary of Egypt

Mary left her parents when she was twelve years old; she went to Alexandria. For the next seventeen years, she lived as one addicted to sex. Some call her a prostitute, but she often refused payment for sex, and made a living at times working with flax or begging.

Eager for new adventures, when she met some men traveling to Jerusalem, she asked to go there with them, hoping to find, among other things, new sexual partners in the Holy City. Since she had no money, she offered herself as payment to the pilgrims, and they accepted.

When she got to Jerusalem, she spent a few days in her usual way of life, until she felt a desire to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to attend the celebration. While others entered the church, she felt something invisible barring her from entry; she couldn’t get in! Seeing an image of the Blessed Mother, she repented and asked the Virgin Mary for help. After that, she tried again to enter the church, and this time got right in. She venerated the Life-Giving Cross, and, leaving, stopped by the icon of the Blessed Mother to give thanks. There she heard a mysterious voice telling her to go into the desert, where she would find true peace. On her way, she acquired three loaves of bread, and there in the desert she lived for 47 years alone, praying to God.

At that time, an angel appeared to a devout monk, Father Zosimas, and instructed him to go into the desert. Fr. Zosimas understood he would find someone more spiritually advanced than he, but expected to find this person in a monastery. Wandering into the desert, he saw in the distance a blackened person with white hair. Knowing that the desert was reputed to be a place where demons wandered, he apprehensively approached the person.

The person, Mary, called to Fr. Zosimas by name, and asked him for his cloak, since she was without clothes. Curious about her, Fr. Zosimas knew he was in the presence of a living saint, although she asked for his blessing, since she was “only a woman and a sinner” and he was a priest. As they talked, Mary, an illiterate woman, quoted the scriptures, which she had never seen and in any case could never have read. They agreed to meet the next year, on Holy Thursday on the bank of the Jordan, where Fr. Zosimas was to bring her holy communion, but was not to cross the river.

That next year, as Fr. Zosimas sat and watched, night fell and a full moon began to rise. Suddenly he saw Mary standing on the opposite bank. She made the sign of the cross, and walked across the Jordan River as if on dry land. After receiving Holy Communion, Mary asked Fr. Zosimas to meet her again one year later, again on Holy Thursday, but this time where they had originally met, twenty days’ journey into the desert.

As requested, Fr. Zosimas went the next year, and found Mary’s dead body next to a message she had written in the sand, where she explained that she had died on the very day in which she took part of the immaculate Mysteries (Holy Communion), and asked him to pray for her. Fr. Zosimas was amazed that she had made that twenty-day journey into the desert in one night. Fr. Zosimas was an old man, and had no strength to dig her grave; suddenly, a lion appeared, and dug furiously until there was a hole big enough for Mary’s body. After Fr. Zosimas buried her, the lion bowed to him, and they parted ways.

As the Lord glorified St. Mary of Egypt, so does the Lord glorify those who repent of their sins.

18:21 "But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
18:22 "None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live.
18:23 "Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?" says the Lord God, "and not that he should turn from his ways and live?"
(From the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel)

Wikipedia: Mary of Egypt

Monachos.net: Mary of Egypt, Complete Life by Patriarch Sophronius of Jerusalem"

Greek Orthodox Archdioces of Australia: St. Mary of Egypt

Father Alexander: Lives of Saints, March and April

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America: Mary of Egypt

Some Lessons from Naaman

2007-03-24T19:45:00.000-07:00

The story of Naaman, from the Second Book of Kings, NKJV (Fourth Book of Kings in Orthodox Translations):

5:1 Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper.
5:2 And the Syrians had gone out on raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman's wife.
5:3 Then she said to her mistress, "If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy."
5:4 And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, "Thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel."
5:5 Then the king of Syria said, "Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel." So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing.
5:6 Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said, Now be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy.
5:7 And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me."
5:8 So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, "Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel."
5:9 Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha's house.
5:10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean."
5:11 But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, "Indeed, I said to myself, 'He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.'
5:12 "Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage.
5:13 And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, 'Wash, and be clean'?"
5:14 So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

Here is Naaman, a great warrior and military leader. He answers directly to his (earthly) king, and represents his king before other kings. He is an important man in his time and place. Yet, notice how God works in his life through a slave girl, through Naaman's own servants, and through something quite ordinary for the time: a bath in a river.

Often God works in our lives in ways that we don't notice. If God were more theatrical, constantly working big, showy miracles (like what Naaman expected to see), miracles that obviously could come only from Him, more people would obey Him -- out of fear! (Or would they? -- more on that in a moment!) That does not seem to be what He wants. Instead, He wants people to seek Him out of faith.

Originally, He gave humanity instructions on what to do to be happy in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve rebelled, and now we have thousands of years of human history, much of which is misery.

He also gave humanity advice through His prophets and through His Son. Many people don't pay much attention to His advice, and the misery continues. Even "good Christians" goof things up every day.

So, despite how bad we have goofed things up in this world, we insist on not following His advice and on doing things our own way. Rather than beating us over the head with the fact that He is God (and we're not!), He allows us to make our mistakes. At some point, if nothing else out of desperation, we start looking for something more than what we have here, which is woefully inadequate, and then we begin to seek Him.

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

So, God works in our lives in ways that are often low-key, through ways that we might not notice, and through people that we often would not pay attention to. In the case of this story of the mighty warrior Naaman, He worked in his life first through a slave girl.

Later, the prophet Elisha sends Naaman to wash in the Jordan River, which is hardly an impressive place to bathe; even in Biblical times, it was rather polluted. Expecting some great miracle, Naaman, who wasn't even greeted by the prophet himself, was offended, thinking that he had been "had" and played for a fool. After all, if a mere bath could cleanse him, would not a bath in water that was actually clean be more useful?

Angry, Naaman was leaving, but those accompanying him saved the day. Again, the focus may have been on the prophet here, but in many ways it was the ordinary people in Naaman's life that convinced him to give this bath in the Jordan a try, rather than just calling it a wasted trip at that point. So, having traveled to see this prophet, Naaman went ahead and bathed in the Jordan River, as instructed, and...

It worked! He was cleansed of his leprosy!

What's the point of all this?

If someone were standing in front of you parting the Red Sea and sending plagues on your hometown, you would pay attention to him, right? After all, those miracles are pretty impressive. Seeing is believing, right?

Maybe you wouldn't pay a whole lot of attention. After a while, parting the Red Sea wouldn't be so impressive any more, and you might be tempted to say, "Hey, if God is really working here, let's see the Atlantic Ocean get parted!" Our threshhold for the miraculous would just keep climbing.

Instead of playing that game, God does it His way. He has given us instructions and advice, which we typically don't heed. So, He works in our lives in subtle ways and through people who, to us, seem relatively inconsequential. He asks us to do ordinary things, but to do them in faith, and to do these things with Him.

It is usually only after we turn to Him in faith and start doing things with Him that we begin to notice all the little things in our world that He is setting in place for us.

Who was it who said that some things have to be believed to be seen?

Believe in Him, believe that He is a Rewarder of those who seek Him, and begin to see the miracles all around you!

Date Rape: Blame vs. Judgment

2007-03-22T15:52:00.000-07:00

In the last two decades or so, American society has become aware of a phenomenon now known popularly as date rape, but perhaps more accurately as acquaintance rape or acquaintance sexual assault.

It is a crime wherein the victim is forced, coerced or somehow compelled to play a role in sex-related acts against the victim's will and, at times, without the victim's knowledge.

A common scenario is for the victim, typically a woman, to be at some kind of social event with the perpetrator, typically a man that she knows, but one that she perhaps does not know very well. The perpetrator or assailant somehow gets the victim to perform sex acts. Sometimes this is violently, but very often this is done through intimidation or some means that falls short of physical violence, although often the threat of physical violence, though perhaps not explicit, is present.

Another common scenario is for the victim to be drugged, such that the victim is unable to make sound decisions. At times the victim is incoherent and perhaps only semi-conscious. Under such circumstances, the victim may have agreed to the act, and it is not uncommon for more than one assailant to assault the victim.

There are many variations on this theme. The key element is that as the assault begins, the assailant and the victim are not total strangers; they may have met a few hours previously, they may have known each other for years, but they have some acquaintance, hence the term acquaintance rape. Since a common scenario is for the victim to be assaulted while on a date with the assailant, the crime is commonly known as date rape.

It is not my intention to go into the legalities and illegalities surrounding this crime; for further information, I have added a new panel in the sidebar with a great many links. My intention for this post is to focus in on the issue of judgment.

For perhaps as long as there have been men and women, there has been the crime of rape. While American society only now has a name for it, I'm confident acquaintance rape has been around just as long.

One phenomenon typical to sexual assaults of any kind, as long as they have been occurring, is the effort to justify the crime. This typically involves blaming the victim. In the case of date rape, the crime often gets brushed aside by excuses like:

1) Things just got a little out of control.

2) She said 'no', but she meant 'yes'.

3) If she didn't want to do it, why did she accompany him to [wherever the crime occurred]?

4) If she wasn't looking for that kind of action, why was she dressed like that? Why was she hanging out at that place or with that person?

Etc.

Again, such comments are efforts to justify an act that should not have happened. They are efforts to blame the victim for the crime.

Make no mistake about it: a sexual assault is a sexual assault. For a sexual act to not be a sexual assault, there must be consent, and for there to be consent, it is implicitly understood that the one consenting be able to give consent.

Legally, this is not the case with people under a certain age, the "age of consent" -- although the person may have said "yes", it is accepted by society that the person is too young for that decision to be an informed one. There are similar laws regarding people who have some kind of mental handicap. There are also similar laws regarding people who have ingested drugs or alcohol; although the person may have consented, the effects of the drugs or alcohol cast doubts on the legitimacy of the consent, and so the sex act is a crime in many jurisdictions.

The victim is not the one to blame.

Typically, however, in addition to anger (which is legitimate and understandable), the victim also feels a sense of guilt. It is this that I wish to address.

Although the victim is not to blame, that does not mean that the victim made no mistakes; that does not mean that there is nothing that the victim could have done differently to avoid the attack. This may be more often the case in acquaintance rape situations than in situations where the assailant and the victims are total strangers.

Let me explain this by making an analogy.

You are driving your car down the highway. The speed limit is 60 MPH. It is daytime, the weather is excellent, you are well-rested, your vehicle is free of mechanical errors, and there are few other cars on the road. You are driving at 58 MPH.

Are you breaking the law?

An oncoming car, which has been staying in its lane, at the last moment crosses the road into your lane and there is a collision. Later it is determined the other driver was intoxicated.

The other driver is to blame. That driver should not have been driving while intoxicated. Since there was no indication to you of a problem until the last moment, is there anything you could have done better?

In short, were you using good judgment?

Now we consider a different set of circumstances. It is now late at night, after midnight. You are very tired. Since it is nighttime, visibility is not what it is in the daytime. There has been a slight intermittent drizzle, which has left the road slippery. Furthermore, the drizzle worsens visibility. You are driving a little slower, at 50 MPH.

Are you breaking the law?

Ahead of you there is an oncoming vehicle. Because visibility is bad, and because you are tired, you don't notice that it is swerving around the road. As it approaches you, it crosses the road and collides with you in your lane. Later it is determined the other driver was intoxicated.

The other driver here broke the law by driving while intoxicated. As a result of that, the other driver crossed into your lane -- another violation of the law -- and collided with you. The accident is that other driver's fault.

Were you using good judgment? Or, had you made some decisions that limited your ability to avoid or react to the drunk driver?

In many rape trials, the victim is on trial as much as the accused. In defending her (or his) reputation, the victim is essentially raped again by the judicial system.

Many accusations against the victim in such circumstances center not around whether the victim broke any laws, but rather around whether the victim was using good judgment. I suspect that it is often the case that the victim looks back on the event and realizes that good judgment was not used; I further suspect that this may at times be a source of the "guilt" that the victim feels.

In the links on the sidebar there can be found information on how to prevent date rape. Many of the suggestions there are simply what I call using good judgment.

Again, make no mistake about it: the perpetrator who is committing the assault is the one breaking the law; the perpetrator is to blame.

My point is this: let's not make the perpetrator's crime any easier to commit than we have to; let's not limit our abilities to either avoid or at least react to the assault.

Let's use good judgment.

(Many thanks to a friend of mine, a former Wisconsin State Trooper and former judge, who originally explained this phenomenon to me years ago with a similar analogy.)

Powerful People

2007-03-21T15:41:00.000-07:00

This is an interesting headline from two weeks ago: Twice-assaulted teacher calls it quits

BALTIMORE - A Baltimore middle school teacher who resigned two weeks ago after twice being physically assaulted by students learned Friday that the city school system is now moving to pull her state certification.

“Teaching in a city school is the job I signed up for, and it’s not my intention to skip out before the end of the year,” said Waverly Elementary/Middle School art teacher Julia Gumminger. “But I got into this to teach, not to fear for my safety.”

Gumminger said she’s been thrown against walls by eighth-grade boys four times since November and threatened with further bodily harm. She said she’s received little support from school or administration officials.

The 26-year-old earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and a master’s degree from the Maryland Institute College of Art. She started teaching through Baltimore City’s residency program last year, and in December completed her certification coursework at Johns Hopkins. In November, she said she was thrown against a wall by a student she told to report to the principal’s office. After a two-day suspension, the student was right back in her class — a source of continual frustration for city teachers.

So, here's a teacher trying to enforce the rules, and she gets physically assaulted by one of her students.

What do you suppose the school "management" does? Essentially, nothing. The kid should have been escorted out of that school by the police, never to return; expulsion and prosecution.

At a Feb. 27 school board meeting, Baltimore Teachers Union president Marietta English testified to school commissioners that “the 8,000 teachers and paraprofessionals in the system have faced numerous assaults, only to have the student return back to class.”

Apparently, the problem is widespread in that school district.

Teachers have said principals and administrators limit the number of suspensions to prevent schools from being listed as “persistently dangerous,” but students begin to feel they can get away with anything.

What does it mean if the school gets listed as "persistently dangerous"...? Well, it means the administrators aren't doing their job, and that reflects badly on them. So, what do the administrators do? They cover up the fact that they aren't doing their job by limiting the number of suspensions.

The administrators are concerned not about the safety of the teachers and other students, but about the safety of their own careers and reputations. Of course, the kids, who are not dummies, pick up on what is going on -- they may not know the details, and they may not know why it is happening, but they know enough to exploit the situation.

In January, after sending another student to the principal’s office for cutting class, Gumminger said she was thrown against a wall three times by the boy after the principal released him from her office at dismissal. That student was suspended for 45 days, Gumminger said. After initially seeking a transfer to another school, which she was told was impossible, she decided to look for other employment.

So, this is not the first time this teacher has tried to enforce the school's rules and then be attacked by a student for doing so. Out of legitimate concern for her own safety, seeing the school administration is going to do nothing to ensure safety in the school, she resigns. The school's response? Punish the teacher!

The school told her they are asking the state Department of Education to suspend her certification because she is breaking her contract.

Doesn't the school administration have some kind of rules that apply to them, or are they above the law? Isn't there a contract that the administrators have broken? Like one that says they get paid to do a job, and they're not doing it, so they are fired? How's about revoking their license to be involved in public schools in any capacity in that state?

Gumminger will be notified of an opportunity to appeal the suspension of her certification at a school board meeting, union spokesman David Barney said.

“I lived in this neighborhood for a year before I started teaching and I wanted to be here,” Gumminger said. “... But [now] I’m too afraid. I have students wait by my car and threaten to hurt me.”

No kidding.

But, there's more....

More assaulted teachers come forward:

BALTIMORE - After Waverly Middle School art teacher Julia Gumminger, who quit Monday after twice being assaulted by students, came forward with her story in Wednesday’s Examiner, she heard from Mayor Sheila Dixon’s office, the Baltimore Teachers Union, several media outlets and one college classmate.

She is pleased that the crisis of student-on-teacher assaults in Baltimore schools is coming to light and that other teachers are speaking out, but she’s also disappointed in the focus of the attention.

“A lot of people are concentrating on that fact that the city is trying to pull my teaching certificate for breaking my contract,” Gumminger said Thursday, “but that’s not why I came forward. I thought standing up and talking about what I went through was the best thing I can to do for the kids. It’s a small percentage of students dragging schools down and the whole system is crumbling underneath the strain. Ninety-five percent of the kids are bright, creative, insightful and talented in art.”

I guarantee you these bureaucrats will try to smear this teacher in order to save their own pathetic careers. They already sacrificed her safety, as well as the safety of the other faculty and the students, with their decision to cover up the problems they have.

But, this young lady is not trying to get something out of this for herself. Just like when she was enforcing the rules, she's doing her duty now by trying to call attention to the situation.

Another teacher, a classmate of hers from the University of Maryland, had her back injured in a similar situation:

One call Gumminger didn’t expect was from Stephanie Rawlings, her classmate at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and a cohort at Johns Hopkins in the Baltimore teaching residency program.

Rawlings, a Canton Middle language arts teacher, has been out of work since Jan. 28 following an assault and a later fight in her classroom in which her back was injured.

While that situation was treated a little more seriously, it still was not treated adueqately:

When the student who assaulted her came back into her classroom four times after returning from a 45-day suspension (she said she was told he would be expelled), Rawlings suffered her first “panic attack.”

And,

Melissa McCallister, a teacher at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary/Middle, said she’s been assaulted four times since December by students. McCallister has been hit in the head with a textbook, pushed against a wall, and grabbed twice — once in what her husband described as an “inappropriate manner.”

[. . .]

Both teachers, like Gumminger, indicated they are being pushed into a corner because their transfer requests to other schools have been denied.

Their choice is either returning to an unsafe school or having the city request the state department of education pull their teaching certificate.

“I’m basically in the same situation as Julia,” Rawlings said. “I can’t return to that building — I have to quit.”

The administration should have expelled and prosecuted these students. They didn't. Instead, they tried to cover it up so as to get good reviews about their schools, thereby helping their own careers.

Now the school board needs to deal with these administrators: fire them, and prosecute them as appropriate.

If the school board refuses to deal with the situation, the voters need to deal with the school board: fire them. When is the next election there?

One indexing for this article is The Pit (see previous post by that title). The reason for that is simple. There are those who will try to get people out of The Pit. There are also those who will stand near The Pit and merely look inside it -- they themselves aren't in The Pit, what do they care, it's entertaining.

Here, we have an example of people -- these administrators -- who push people down into The Pit and then won't let them out, all to save their own sorry asses:

Powerful people prevent proper procedures; prefer pushing into pit.

Here's a newsflash for that group of administrators, and others like them:

There's a pit out there somewhere for you, too.

The Pit

2007-03-21T08:55:00.001-07:00

From Godzman: Street Prophet Called For The Streets

Some time later God spoke to me the words, TEN FINGER MINISTRY. As strange as that sounded, God explained it to me. I saw in my mind a pit full of people, desiring desperately to get out, but could not. God explained, "There Are Some Folks That Would Stand At The Edge Of The Pit, Trying To Pull people Out. But There Are Some That Would Forsake Themselves, Jump Down Into The Pit And Give Them Ten Fingers To Stand On , And Push Them Out." God should know, He made Himself man, (JESUS), and jumped down in to this worldly pit, Suffered, died, and was resurrected, so that we which were captive, would be set free, and free indeed. This was my FIRST PIT, the pit of the streets, where Gangs, Drugs and Death rains. But God has created a people to invade this darkness, and with the Light of His Spirit God has saved many lives to this day.

Go to Street Prophet Called For The Streets and read the rest!

I like this so much that it is now going to be a label to index other posts by.

A Fraction of a Second

2007-03-21T03:39:00.000-07:00

So I'm checking some things out on Google. I try using the advanced search. I get search results in less than half a second.

In addition to that, Google advises me that I can save time by hitting "ENTER" on my keyboard, instead of clicking "Search" with my mouse.

But, I need further information from Google, and I don't know who to ask!

1) How much time will be shaved off from this fraction of a second? Is it a significant amount? Like, a tenth of a second or so?

2) How much time does it take to move my hand from my mouse to the ENTER key on my keyboard? Is that more or less time than I will save by hitting ENTER?

3) How could I best use this time that I will be saving? Could I, like, save it up, and go on vacation, or perhaps retire early?

Enquiring minds want to know....

"You 'can't hear' me...."

2007-03-20T03:18:00.000-07:00

[An opening scene from the movie Kelly's Heroes. It's France, late summer 1944. Standing in a barn at night, sheltering from the rain and from an ongoing but inaccurate mortar barrage, Big Joe (played by Telly Savalas), a sergeant leading a reconnaissance platoon, is talking on the radio to a guy named Mulligan.]

"You 'can't hear' me. The reason you 'can't hear' me is because you're firing your mortars at your end, and they're dropping here, at our end."

Who's a Gangmember?

2007-03-20T03:03:00.000-07:00

From the City of Madison, WI, Police Department's DANE COUNTY NARCOTICS AND GANG TASK FORCE -- GANGS - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

"STREET GANG MEMBER":

An individual shall be considered a "Street Gang Member" when that person meets any one of the following criteria:

1. When the individual admits membership in a gang.

2. When a law enforcement agency or reliable informant identifies an individual as a gang member.

3. When an informant of previously untested reliability identifies an individual as a gang member, and it is corroborated by independent information.

4. When the individual resides in or frequents a particular gang's area and affects their style of dress, use of hand signs, symbols or tattoos, and/or maintains ongoing relationships with known gang members; or has been arrested several times in the company of identified gang members for offenses which are consistent with usual gang activity; and where the law enforcement officer believes there is reasonable suspicion that the individual is involved in gang-related criminal activity or enterprise.

"STREET GANG AFFILIATE":

An individual who does not meet the criteria for a "Street Gang Member," but is known to affiliate with active gang members, and law enforcement personnel have established a reasonable suspicion that the individual is involved in criminal activity or enterprise, or promotes the criminal activity of a gang.

What jumps out to me is No. 4 under the definitions of a Street Gang Member.

Even if a young person is just hanging around with gang members, that young person runs a very serious risk of suffering in the same fate as the gangmembers.

If you dress like a banger, if you act like a banger, if you hang around with bangers, you are considered a banger.

Not only will the Madison, WI, Police Department treat you like a banger, but rival gangs will, too. When they do a drive-by shooting, they are not going to stop and ask you technicalities about whether you have been properly initiated into your set; they're just going to open fire, then beat it.

This is why acquaintances and family members of gangbangers have an alarming tendency to die violently.

And that is part of the reason ganglife is so painful. Bangers watch even the relatively innocent people in their lives get gunned down in the crossfire.

Then, they want to take revenge, so they go and shoot at the people that they believe are their enemies (they're not checking ID's either), and more people die.

Then someone avenges that, and the violence continues....

Isn't that kewel...?

Getting Out of a Gang

2007-03-19T15:56:00.000-07:00

Institute for Governmental Research: FAQs about Gangs. (See original for hyperlinks to sources.)

Are youth gangs involved in organized crime?

The “gang” characterization is sometimes broadly extended to mean terrorist gang, prison gang, or criminal gang as in organized crime, and “in each of these instances, the word ‘gang’ implies a level of structure and organization for criminal conspiracy that is simply beyond the capacity of most street gangs” (Klein, 2004: 57). To remain in business, organized crime groups such as drug cartels must have strong leadership, codes of loyalty, severe sanctions for failure to abide by these codes, and a level of entrepreneurial expertise that enables them to accumulate and invest proceeds from drug sales (p. 58). In contrast, “most street gangs are only loosely structured, with transient leadership and membership, easily transcended codes of loyalty, and informal rather than formal roles for the members” (p. 59). Very few youth gangs meet the essential criteria for classification as “organized crime” (see also Decker, Bynum, and Weisel, 1998; Weisel, 2002).

The loose structure discussed above helps explain why, despite threats that a member is in a gang for life and will be killed if he or she tries to leave, many street gang members who try to leave are able to do so successfully.

But, read on....

How do youths become involved in and leave a gang?

[...] research has documented that former gang members, especially marginal and short-term ones, typically left the gang without complication or facing any serious consequences (Decker and Lauritsen, 2002; Decker and Van Winkle, 1996). However, for the more long-term and/or core members, the process of leaving the gang is likely to be more gradual and met with greater difficulty—particularly for youths in more highly organized gangs that have a firmer foothold in a community or neighborhood. Other situational factors that make leaving the gang more difficult include greater dependence on or personal status in the group, continuing perceptions by others (e.g., rivals) that the person is a bona fide member of the gang, and the lack of viable lifestyle alternatives (that is, conventional pursuits such as employment opportunities). Further, more hierarchically structured gangs may threaten or enact certain sanctions for those wishing to leave the gang.

Organization, habit, criminal record and associations are significant factors. Younger kids in loosely affiliated street gangs have an easier time getting out than experienced gangmembers who are involved in more organized criminal endeavors. Still, it is possible even for "hardened criminals" to change their lives.

Younger gangmembers: get out now, while you still can!

More experienced gangmembers: get out now, because you still can!

Eze 18:20-23 "The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live. Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?" says the Lord God, "and not that he should turn from his ways and live?"

God does not judge you the way people judge you.

To Him, you are a hardened criminal only as long as you harden your heart and refuse to change. The moment you turn to Him and seek help and healing, you are like a new-born child ("born again"), and He will be happy to work with you.

When you continue to do what is wrong, when you continue to do what hurts yourself and others, this saddens Him; but He is very happy when you decide to change your ways. He loves you, and is very pleased when you turn to Him and give Him the chance to help you. He knows you need it -- and you know it, too.

Eze 18:27-28 "Again, when a wicked man turns away from the wickedness which he committed, and does what is lawful and right, he preserves himself alive. Because he considers and turns away from all the transgressions which he committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die."

Getting Started in Gangs

2007-03-19T13:55:00.001-07:00

Institute for Governmental Research: FAQs about Gangs. (See original for hyperlinks to sources.)

Are today's youth gangs different from gangs in the past?

Some of the gangs that have emerged in the past decade are noticeably different from those that emerged before the mid-1980s (Howell, Egley, and Gleason, 2002; Howell, Moore, and Egley, 2002). These gangs are commonly described as having a “hybrid gang culture,” meaning they do not follow the same rules or methods of operation, making documentation and categorization difficult (Starbuck et al., 2001). They may have several of the following characteristics: a mixture of racial/ethnic groups, a mixture of symbols and graffiti associated with different gangs, wearing colors traditionally associated with a rival gang, less concern over turf or territory, and members who sometimes switch from one gang to another. Members of contemporary gangs often “cut and paste” bits of Hollywood images and big-city gang lore into their local versions of gangs. Small town and rural gangs also differ from urban gangs in other important respects (Howell, Egley, and Gleason, 2002), hence urban models of gang development and response do not necessarily apply in rural areas (Weisheit and Wells, 2004).

To me, what this one above indicates is the possibility for a group of wannabes to become a gang by trying to imitate behavior they see in the movies or become aware of through music or videogames. When it comes to taking kids down the wrong path, every little bit can hurt.

What are the major risk factors for gang membership?

Risk factors that predispose many youths to gang membership are also linked to a variety of adolescent problem behaviors, including serious violence and delinquency. The major risk factor domains are individual characteristics, family conditions, school experiences and performance, peer group influences, and the community context. Risk factors predictive of gang membership include prior and/or early involvement in delinquency, especially violence and alcohol/drug use; poor family management and problematic parent-child relations; low school attachment and achievement and negative labeling by teachers; association with aggressive peers and peers who engage in delinquency; and neighborhoods in which large numbers of youth are in trouble and in which drugs and firearms are readily available (Howell and Egley, 2005; see also Esbensen, 2000; Hill, Lui, and Hawkins, 2001; Thornberry, 1998; Wyrick and Howell, 2004). The accumulation of risk factors greatly increases the likelihood of gang involvement, just as it does for other problem behaviors. The presence of risk factors in multiple risk-factor domains appears to increase the likelihood of gang involvement even more (Thornberry et al., 2003). A complete enumeration of risk factors for juvenile delinquency and gang involvement and data indicators can be accessed at the National Youth Gang Center Web site (http://www.iir.com/nygc/tool/).

"Risk factors predictive of gang membership include [...] negative labeling by teachers[.]"

In my short time teaching in the public schools, I saw enough of that. I tried not to do it, but it takes constant vigilance. I can only imagine a young kid teacher (No offense intended to you young kid teachers!), fresh out of college and overwhelmed with "bad" kids (There! I just labeled them!), or a teacher who has been dealing with "thugs" (I did it again!) for many years.

We are very blessed that God doesn't write us off, the way I so often have written others off, but rather, that He insists on saving us, and sent His Son to do so.

Denominations

2007-03-19T13:30:00.001-07:00

I love it when evangelical Christian groups tell me that I should be in a "Bible-based" church. They seem to have an aversion to traditions in "The Church" -- even as they establish their own traditions.

Who was instrumental in producing The Bible as we know it?

"The Church."

For the first couple of centuries of Christianity, there was no Bible, and there were many counterfeit "gospels" that kept cropping up like weeds ("The Gospel according to Judas" and trash like that). Finally, "The Church" got together and decided what scriptures should be recognized as genuine, and "The Bible" was born.

How did "The Church" decide what was genuine and authentic, and what was counterfeit? In part, the decision was made based on which scriptures were keeping with the traditions handed down from Christ Himself.

Traditions

2 Thes 2:15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.

2 Thes 3:6 But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us.

1 Cor 11:2 Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you.

Christ's Apostles established five patriarchates. Little by little the one in Rome changed its traditions and "evolved" away from the other four, until, finally, after roughly one millenium of Christianity, there was a decisive split of the Western Church (which became the Catholic Church) from the Eastern Church.

Roughly half a millenium later, a group of Christians in the West, reading their Bible (which had been translated, finally, into a language they could understand) decided that the Roman Church had gotten away from the Scriptures, and the Protestant Reformation was born.

Just as Martin Luther accused the Catholic Church of getting too far from the Holy Scriptures, so did others then accuse Luther's movement of doing the same; and, now we have a whole plethora of denominations, thousands of them. Pandora's box is wide open; the genie is out of the bottle.

So, how should you answer someone who tells you that you need to be in a Bible-based church?

The Church should not be founded on the Bible! The Church should be based in Christ Jesus!

1 Cor 3:11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Am I saying that you will not get into the Kingdom of God unless you are Orthodox Christian? Absolutely not!

What I am saying is this:

1) Don't tell me I have to believe what you believe or I'm going to Hell, because that is so wrong as to be quite foolish!

2) And don't arrogantly tell me that you stand closer to the Cross than I do, because that is more foolishness!

It is up to Jesus Christ to decide who "stands closer to the cross" -- and I imagine He will consider who is keeping His commandment:

John 13:34-35 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

And don't ask me if I have been saved, and when, or tell me that you were saved on thus-and-such a date, as if it were some event, when salvation is, in fact, a process. Rather,

Php 2:12 ... work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;

and, if someone tries to pin you down to a specific moment when you were saved, you would be wise to reply that, like the rest of humanity, you were saved in that moment when our Lord and Savior was crucified for our sins.

God bless you, my friends, and I will see you in the Kingdom of God, if not before!

A Teacher with a Student Who is Trying to Leave a Gang

2007-03-18T16:25:00.001-07:00

I recently had an email from a teacher who expressed concern about a student she had in his early teens who was involved with gangs. I offered her my thoughts regarding the situation, and she answered me very positively: "It's good to have someone to talk to about the hard stuff."

It was very rewarding and humbling that what I had to offer seemed to be so genuinely appreciated. I post the key elements of the situation and of my response here, with the hope that they will be of use to others, as well. The information has been sanitized to eliminate references to any specifics.

The basics of the problem is that a male gangmember in his early teens was in trouble with law enforcement for a drug-related issue, which, in turn, was gang-related. The gangmember expressed an interest to this teacher to leave the gang, and she wanted to know what to do to help him. My response was:

In circumstances like this, a coordinated approach, involving law enforcement, school staff, parents and clergy has often worked.

It goes like this: the gangmember decides he wants to get away from the gang. Of course, the gangs always say you can't leave. However, nearly all gangs usually respect a sincere desire to leave the gang and turn to God. So, the now-soon-to-be-former gangmember gets the cops, school, the family and clergy involved, and tells them he (or she) just wants to leave the gang -- not tell on them, just walk away -- and turn to God.

With this support network in place, the gang has nothing to lose by letting him go, since the member is not telling anyone, especially the cops, details about the gang. However, the gang does have something to lose by messing with the former member, since everybody knows that the person is leaving the gang, and anything bad that happens the gang will be investigated first. If the member has difficulties, the school, family and clergy can work together to help steer him on the right track.

[ ... ]

To me, the key is to get Jesus involved in his life to open doors for him. As a teacher, presumably in a public school, First Amendment considerations may prevent you from evangelizing. However, nothing prevents you from reporting what you were told is an effective strategy. If the student asks your personal opinion on it, you would then be free to offer your opinion.

Another key feature is attitude.

Please relay to him from me the following advice:

Change your life. Change the way you dress, so you don't look like a banger. Change the way you act -- you may not realize it, but to some extent you act, and react, like a banger. In short, change everything that might make someone think you are a banger. They will stop associating you with gangs, and the gang problems will leave you alone.

Many people think that just by moving somewhere different, they can get away. But, without realizing it, they take with themselves the same attitude, dress and mannerisms that let others know they are gang-affiliated. So, even though they are trying to avoid trouble, trouble finds them.

A friend of mine was a banger on the northwest side of [a major American city]. He moved to the south side, deep in a rival gang's country. Nobody knew him in the new hood, and his homies from the old hood wouldn't go to that part of town. He changed the way he dressed, talked, acted. He started going to church, got married. Today, he's a devout Christian, happily married with kids, his wife has a nice job, he's going to college, and his job as a security guard allows him to study on the clock. Now he can kind of joke about his past.

Get with Jesus, and ask Jesus to show you the way. Jesus will be happy to show you how to get out of trouble, because He hung on a cross exactly to get you out of trouble.

In her response, the teacher expressed concern about involving herself in the situation, due to possible ramifications for her family. She also commented about how other faculty members were already working with this student, including some who were more specifically detailed to deal with these types of problems. Consequently, she was allowing the other faculty to take the lead in this situation.

The basis for concern seemed to be that she felt she knew very little about gang-related issues.

My comments were as follows:

For some kids, the "fond" memories of what they did with their gang buddies are overpoweringly tempting, and they backslide. Some kids aren't very sincere to begin with; they're just hoping to get out of trouble with the authorities that they are currently in. But, it is important that the kids have somewhere other than the gang to turn to.

If there is that much concern about a gang problem in your community, then, as a teacher, I suggest you visit our website. Reading the message boards could be especially enlightening: http://www.streetgangstyle.com/gs/board/listboards.php

After spending two to three hours a week over the course of several months, you'll be much better prepared to identify gang-related issues and you'll have a better handle on how to deal with them.

One of the best things you can do is just be there for the kids. They have parents who often don't understand them, or who have problems themselves; they have teachers who are so often too inundated with workload and bureaucracy to help them. They have friends, who are just as lost as they are. What they really need are authority figures who will take the time to get to know them and help them out.

What I'm recommending here is legitimate professional concern. Let some of the kids come in and sit with you before or after school for a little while. Help them with their homework, and maybe they can help you decorate the classroom. Solicit their input in preparing class activities and assignments. And, be ready to listen to them. Learn about what kind of resources are available in your community for drug-related, gang-related and rape-related issues. When you come across a particularly bad problem, steer the little gal or guy in the appropriate direction for the help needed.

You can be a real light for them in a world that is usually dark and scary. And, they will love you for it. Your Creator will appreciate it, too.

Seek the Lord's help with all the issues you face in life. Nothing is too small or too trivial for Him. He created you, He knows all about you; nothing should be too embarassing to bring to Him.

On the contrary, if you think that a matter is too unimportant or embarassing to address with God, then that matter and its associated concerns become a small barrier between you and Him, and that is not good: what you want is for Him to show you how to solve your problems.

The Views

2007-03-18T15:18:00.000-07:00

For over two years now, I've been fairly active online with "Internet evangelism" especially at Gangstyle.com, currently Streetgangstyle.com and found at that address.

The work has been very satisfying and enjoyable, as I have made not just new acquaintances, but have become part of the "Gangstyle Family," a group of people that I am very close to, yet, at the same time, from whom we all maintain ourselves in a relative degree of anonymity.

While I intend to continue my interaction at Gangstyle, I would also like a forum for other topics that I wish to address. A blog is the most appropriate format for now, so this blog will be that forum.

One of the initial themes will be helping people who are involved in street gangs. As such, much of the work here on that theme will be cross-posted over at Gangstyle.

This is a Christian blog, so another theme will be addressing issues related to Christianity.

Other themes will be addressed as they arise. Since God is the Creator of all, and His Son, Jesus Christ, is the Lord of all, Christianity is a way of life. Therefore, all topics will be addressed within a Christian context, since that is the only true context for them.

As our Lord and Savior said (John 13:34-35), "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

I would like all to be welcome here. For those who behave here as our Lord and Savior has commanded, that will be the case. If you disagree with me, you are free to do so here politely. If you wish to disagree rudely and use excessive profanity, find some other place to do it, and come back here when you are ready to behave as you would before our Lord.

Channelview