Confessions of a Recovering Pharisee

[Alternet]

The revelation this month in GQ Magazine that Donald Rumsfeld as Defense Secretary embellished top-secret wartime memos with quotations from the Bible prompts a question. Why did he believe he could influence President Bush by that means?

The answer may lie in an alarming story about George Bush’s Christian millenarian beliefs that has yet to come to light.

In 2003 while lobbying leaders to put together the Coalition of the Willing, President Bush spoke to France’s President Jacques Chirac. Bush wove a story about how the Biblical creatures Gog and Magog were at work in the Middle East and how they must be defeated.

In Genesis and Ezekiel Gog and Magog are forces of the Apocalypse who are prophesied to come out of the north and destroy Israel unless stopped. The Book of Revelation took up the Old Testament prophesy:

“And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.”

Bush believed the time had now come for that battle, telling Chirac:

“This confrontation is willed by God, who wants to use this conflict to erase his people’s enemies before a New Age begins”.

The story of the conversation emerged only because the Elyse Palace, baffled by Bush’s words, sought advice from Thomas Romer, a professor of theology at the University of Lausanne. Four years later, Romer gave an account in the September 2007 issue of the university’s review, Allez savoir.The article apparently went unnoticed, although it was referred to in a French newspaper.

The story has now been confirmed by Chirac himself in a new book, published in France in March, by journalist Jean Claude Maurice.Chirac is said to have been stupefied and disturbed by Bush’s invocation of Biblical prophesy to justify the war in Iraq and “wondered how someone could be so superficial and fanatical in their beliefs”.

Read more here.

[From me]

I’m not sure if President Bush really said those things to President Chirac.  But if he did, I think there are some scary things with this.

I do believe that Jesus is coming again. I know it will happen, I just don’t know when. I’m a Pan-Millennialist–it is all going to “PAN-out” in the end. Jesus is coming….But He doesn’t need our help.

My problem with the Zionist theology is that people believe they change History. My understanding of Biblical Prophecy is it is going to happen without our help. Doesn’t Jesus say we won’t know the day? It isn’t our job to make sure Jesus comes again? No, it is His job. What happens in Revelation is going to happen when God decides not by our forcing it to happen. 

Shouldn’t we as believers try to change the world for good? Shouldn’t we be trying to share our faith and lead people to personal relationships with God rather than killing people? We need a strong military to protect us from evil. But I don’t think it should be used to support our theological view.  What if our theology is wrong?  I think we should let God decide when He comes because He is going to do it when He wants to anyway.

What do you think?

[CBS 4]

A teacher at a South Florida Catholic School is accused of having sex with a 15-year-old boy. Police say she admitted to the relationship, saying she and the student had been sexually active since March 2009.

Maria Guzman Hernandez, 32, is a sixth-grade teacher at Our Lady of Charity in Hialeah. She was charged with sexual battery on a teenager just hours after she and the boy returned from a trip to Disney World over the weekend.  

The boy’s mother reportedly told police investigators and the Department of Children and Families that she knew about the relationship and approved of it.  The mother said she thought Hernandez was a ‘nice person’ and was a good influence on her son.  Police say the teen’s mother is also now under investigation and could face charges.

Read story here.

[From me]

What a twisted world we live in.  It is bad enough when teachers prey upon children but when parents approve–how sad.  Then there is Mary Kay Letourneau the woman who made headlines years ago for having an affair with a student and later marrying him.  She and her now husband had a Hot for Teacher party at a local bar in Seattle. If an adult wants to ruin their lives living in sin that is one thing.  But it is a tragedy when they bring down children.

What do you think?

[Guardian]

Hundreds of Christians in the Indian state of Orissa have been forced to renounce their religion and become Hindus after lynch mobs issued them with a stark ultimatum: convert or die.

The wave of forced conversions marks a dramatic escalation in a two-month orgy of sectarian violence which has left at least 59 people dead, 50,000 homeless and thousands of houses and churches burnt to the ground. As neighbour has turned on neighbour, thousands more Christians have sought sanctuary in refugee camps, unable to return to the wreckage of their homes unless they, too, agree to abandon their faith.

Last week, in the worst-affected Kandhamal district, The Observer encountered compelling evidence of the scale of the violence employed in a conversion programme apparently sanctioned by members of one of the most powerful Hindu groups in India, the 6.8-million member Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) – the World Hindu Council.

Read more here.

[From me]

Sounds like a tolerant group of people huh?  What would make anyone want to kill another person over their religion?  Why would someone want to be part of a religion that would force themselves on others and encourage murder for conversion?  Can you imagine if Christians tried this?  Thankfully all we have to put up with is guys in white shirts and bicycles and Prince walking door to door.  

Seriously, we have nothing to complain about here in the US. We have people whining about persecution over words and such.  But Christians around the world are literally dying for their faith.  Sobering.

What do you think? 

[WSB]

Officials said some metro Atlanta drivers are calling 911 to find out which gasoline stations have fuel.

“911 is for emergencies, and gasoline shortages — as important as they may be to some people — are not emergencies,” said Well Tallon, Douglas County director of communications and community relations.

Tallon said 911 operators have no way of knowing which stations are open and which stations are not, and do not know when deliveries are scheduled.

“Most of the gasoline stations themselves do not know when their next gasoline delivery will arrive,” said Tallon.

Officials said the gasoline calls could interfere with life-and-death emergency calls that need the immediate attention of 911 operator.

Read more here.

[From me]

I wouldn’t call 911 but I can see why people are panicking.  I told you that I filled up last Thursday @ $3.99. I was extremely tired from a draining week that I will share more about this week. I would have loved to have slept in on Saturday but I had to take my son to his football game all the way across town.  It was raining but not lightning and thunder so we knew they game would still be on, right?  Ha, he plays in the the “Keystone Cops” league.  Usually games start 2-4 hours late.  So I brought a book with me and drove him to the game.  No one was there!  I called the coach and he said, “you didn’t get the phone call?  And told me to check the website next time.  You don’t call football games for drizzle!  So I wasted gas and sleep driving to a game that wasn’t.

Last night Cassandra said her tank was empty and we couldn’t find gas anywhere. So after Fusion last night I drove up to to Denver, NC then Huntersville  with a 5 gallon can looking for gas.  When I finally found some in Huntersville, it was scary.  People were rude and ugly.  I was really concerned for my safety as one man ripped into the gas station attendant for closing the station while he was waiting in line.

I don’t understand what is going on.  I’ve heard in the Midwest people are paying $3.09 a gallon and our gas when you find it is $4.09.  I think it is high time America get off it’s dependence on foreign oil.  We need to find alternatives that are reasonable.  Why not make a law that by 2020 every vehicle must run off of _______ alternative fuel. That way the oil companies know it is coming and can invest in alternative fuels.  

I honestly believe that we could have a revolt in this country over gas.  The last time I felt this helpless was living on the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina. People were acting much the same way as we are seeing here in NC.  Crazy times!

What do you think? 

[SCSU Collegian & NPR] Youth Radio’s Pendarvis Harshaw says that among his friends, the transition from condoms to no-condoms signifies a lasting commitment.

It shows trust, commitment, and the prospect of a shared future,” he adds.

As bold as the statement may be, it is a part of Harshaw’s essay, “Sex Without Condoms Is the New Engagement Ring,” where he explores the way today’s youth approach monogamy in relationships. 

The essay was submitted as a part of Youth Radio’s “What’s the New What?” series, which highlights new trends in youth culture.  In the on-air essay, Harshaw acknowledges the dangers of contracting STDs and the risk of unexpected pregnancies. He emphasized that while youth may ditch condoms in their sexual activities, other forms of birth control are still widely used.  After conducting an informal survey, Harshaw said he came up with the leading argument for his essay.

“[I spoke with] everybody from friends, to co-workers, to residents about relationships-how to approach getting into a monogamous relationship, and I saw a consistent trend,” says Harshaw. “A lot of people were talking about the most major step is the step toward unprotected sex.”

The controversial issue tackled in Harshaw’s essay has definitely raised eyebrows among the NPR audience and has received harsh criticisms and empathetic remarks alike.

“I believe the feedback was mixed because older folks just plain do not want to hear the truth about young people encountering heavy sexual situations at younger ages. These situations are definitely adult, and used to be taboo to even talk about, but children have been bombarded with so much sexual imagery by the media, that the situations themselves have become common,” says senior Matt Cody, film production major and founder of HowHood University Records.

Harshaw, who set out to shed light on youth perspective of monogamy with this essay, has been surprised and pleased with the feedback surrounding his argument.

Read more here and here.

[From me]

I admit, I don’t understand this.  I come from a Christian perspective in which sex is intended for people who married.  I don’t care what the divorce rates are, that is no excuse for skirting God’s design.  What is sad is when followers of Jesus don’t even follow his plans.  It breaks my heart when I hear about former students who made purity commitments don’t follow through on their promise to God and their future mates.  Now I realize there are those who make mistakes and God does forgive. But to say that the practice mentioned in the essay above is the new engagement is sad.

What do you think?