4.20.2003
The Pope, on this day of celebrating the resurrection of the Prince of Peace, the renewal of our sense of His Spirit among us, clearly spoke out : "May God grant that we be free from the peril of a tragic clash between cultures and religions,'' John Paul said.
He also touched upon other conflicts, including Israeli-Palestinian fighting that is now in its 30th month.
"(May there be) peace in other parts of the world, where forgotten wars and protracted hostilities are causing deaths and injuries amid silence and neglect on the part of considerable sectors of public opinion,'' he said.
"With profound grief I think of the wake of violence and bloodshed, with no sign of ceasing, in the Holy Land,'' the pontiff said.
The parents of slain peace activist Rachel Corrie spoke at a memorial service for their daughter; a mixture of grief and steadfast hope:"Rachel was taken from us by the kind of violence that she was working to stop in the Gaza Strip," Craig Corrie said.
And further on:Cindy Corrie said her daughter did not die in vain.
"We will do whatever we can to work for the world you envisioned," she said.
The passion we have for life, our philosophy of being, our core beliefs are demonstrated by our actions. What is being truly human if it is not in part an affirmation of the value of the life, a celebration of hope and love manifest as being in the face of utter meaninglessness. What we are is clearly demonstrated in the sum total of what we do, of our way in the world. Today people are celebrating the life of Christ if they claim Christianity as their religion. But being Christian is much larger than going to Church. Take a moment, ask yourself this: Who would Jesus bomb?
Captain Glenn Palmer, Chaplain for the Army 2nd Battalion 70th Armor unit is heading home from Iraq. He has left no explanation. It is said he will face no disciplinary action.
You don't need to be a theologian to know that the attack on Iraq was wrong and wrapping the illegal aggression in Christian terms reprehensible.
"Put your faith in Jesus Christ above your loyalty to your nation, because faith demands a higher loyalty, and patriotism today means dissent."
And further down:
It is a sin of the highest order," he said. "Every death in this war is an unnecessary death, because the war is an unnecessary war. Every death in this war is unjustified, because the war is unjustified. Most troubling of all, every death in this war is criminal, because the war is a crime of aggression."
Hunsinger choked up as he referred to the deaths of several Iraqi civilians in recent days and said more than half the Iraqi population is under the age of 15.
"After Iraq, who is next?" he asked. "We are already hearing the drums of war getting noisier and louder. Do they mean Iran? Is the world once more entering into a series of permanent wars? Do we, as Christians, care about the social destruction and the loss of dear human life, which is always the expensive price of war?"
Sherman Alexie calls Mr Bush to task as a man who claims to act as a Christian:
So, my brother and sister Christians, what would Jesus do in a time of war? Be careful with your answer. It was Shakespeare, the public Protestant and private Catholic, who warned, "The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose."
If the Scriptures are true in saying that "The love of money is the root of all evil" then we obviously have a government from Hell.
Read this if you think I'm over-reacting. Follow the links offered.
Read "Spoils to the Victor".
Halliburton- Cheney, Bechtel -Rumsfeld. Both companies big Republican donors. Read from this post up to todays at Arms and the Man.
Working towards a world where Jesus wouldn't weep if he stopped back by.
And all this coming from a panentheist dreaming a better world, just and sweet- just what our forefathers claimed for America.
We need to reclaim it; the dream, nuture it and further it.
Like the Shakers say "Many hands make work light".
4/20/2003
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Comment box provider is down; I'm going to hold for a bit before installing a different one. Drop an e-mail line, say "Hello"...
4/20/2003
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"A sincere prayer is more powerful than an atomic bomb" --Harry Bird
However you be at one with the ground of our being, whatever your faith, know that our openess and goodwill are of paramount importance. Harry Bird is a hero of mine. A regular person that like all of us had to negotiate the beauty and travails of life. And when we honor our dead in thought and deed they live on, as part of us.
Life is gift. Share it.
4/20/2003
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