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No Place for Anger and Bitterness in Christianity (and it's Ministers)

Posted by Lalackski on Friday, March 21, 2008 12:40:04 PM
 Ezra Klein says that anger is not the issue when writing about presidential candidate Obama's minister. I totally disagree. Any minister that claims to preach the Bible, and stand before a congregation as a representative of God who is as angry and bitter as Obama's pastor apparently is cannot claim to know the Christ he preaches. What happened to the example Jesus left us? While hanging on a cross He prays, "Father, forgive them." My Bible says that we are to let that same mindset be our mindset. My Bible says that if someone suffers for something that is not their fault, yet takes it patiently,  that is acceptable in God's sight. It also says to not render evil for evil. It also says to lay aside all bitterness, anger, wrath, malice (ill will - like damning America?). And here is another big one the fine minister is missing (as well as all his supporters that are "people of color"); the Bible says that we are to no longer view any other person on the basis of their flesh (whether male, female, Jew, Gentile, slave, free). So what Bible is the minister of Obama preaching from? Apparently not the same one as I read. Last time I checked, anger has no place in the life of a Christian because a root of bitterness springs up and becomes a toxin in the life of a believer that chokes out the gentleness, love, meekness, joy and all the things God blesses us with so that we can be a light to the world (not just your own community of people with the same skin color). My Bible says, "Do not be overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good". It seems that so much of our African-American population have fed the root of bitterness, and have been overcome by the evil that was done to them. I hope one day they will gain the victory over this evil because it is really hurting them. No one says that slavery was not an evil inflicted upon them. But it is time to step out of the darkness, and embrace the true gospel of grace that gives power to overcome adversity. Obviously what they have been doing has not worked for them. They have produced too many angry young men that hurt themselves, their families and friends and society as a whole. It is time to root out the weeds of anger and bitterness. By their fruit we will know them. The desire for vengeance (which God says belongs to Him only) is an evil the black community is inflicting upon themselves. As it is written, "He who hates his brother (fellow human being - not a reference to ethnicity), is in darkness. The love of God does not dwell in him." Anger is a big issue with God, and it should be to us too.  
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The Shooter Was a Psychopath

Posted by Lalackski on Thursday, April 19, 2007 6:12:44 PM
 
The Kibbutz
Thursday, April 19, 2007
  The Shooter was a Psychopath
Today I want to blog about the shootings at Virginia Tech. Events like this have a way of bringing up a lot of questions and it is interesting to watch the varying responses people have to tragedies like this. My heartfelt sympathy goes to every family that had a loved one killed. I cannot imagine what they must be going through, although my brother and niece must know because they also lost a family member through a senseless act of violence. It is, unfortunately, true that we live in a violent world.

While we live in this violent world, however, we can have hope. Hope for a better world to come.
I was really struck, though, by the speech of Nikki Giovanni, a professor and poet at Virginia Tech., as well as feeling dismayed by the Islamic speaker at the event. What a picture this is of our society today. Ms Giovanni began the chanting of . . ."We will prevail. . . We are Hokies!" She also declared, "We are innocent!" And the Islamic professor told everyone that, "We come from Allah, and to Allah we return."

I must say, this is the first time that I recall it being made evident that much of our society has truly lost our moral compass. Usually during tragedies, our nation has turned to God and the Holy Scriptures . . . not the Quran, and certainly not to our own selves!

I wondered when Ms Giovanni declared, "We are innocent!" - to whom was she speaking? Was she telling the parents that the school was innocent of any responsibility for what happened? Was she telling God that the school did not deserve this horrible event? Was she telling God that every person attending Virginia Tech is sinless? Now at first I took it to mean that each of those students that was killed did nothing to deserve what happened to them that day. I understand that and agree with that. What happened to them was not the result of some "personal sin". The shooter was a psychopath. Period.

However, I was hugely dismayed at her declaration of innocence, and her leading the audience to an attitude of defiance. "We are Hokies!" What?

These words are nearly blasphemous to me. She as much as said, We don't need God. We have ourselves! We will band together and find solace in our identification in this institution called Virginia Tech. What a sad, sad place to look for comfort in the face of death. Do you think the dead students care that they were "hokies"? Does being a hokie entitle you to anything at all? Seriously. Rather than humble herself and ask the God of heaven and earth to have mercy and grant His comfort, she declared their innocence and looked to the spirit of being a hokie to strengthen them. It is very similar to the funeral of Paul Wellstone when they turned it into a political rally!

When Israel sinned against God, and was taken into captivity, the prophet Daniel prayed and repented.

Daniel 4 9:"Please, Yahweh, great and fearsome God, who keeps his covenant and extends mercy to those who love Him and keeps His commandments; We have sinned, done wrong, acted wickedly, rebelled and turned away from your commandments and rulings. To You, Yahweh, belongs righteousness; but unto us confusion of faces."

America has turned away from God in many things, just as Israel did. Immorality is widespread. We cannot pretend that we, as a nation, are innocent! That is very presumptuous and prideful. God has been very merciful to us. The individual students are no more guilty and deserving of what happened to them then others. But let us look to how God can be glorified in this situation.

We are told to mourn with those that mourn. Turn to our compassionate God, who sent His Son Jesus to redeem us to Himself. There is no salvation in Allah! Allah is a false god. He cannot save. And there is no salvation in being a hokie! That is idolatry for sure. Our nation is not entirely innocent. . .we have plenty that we need to repent for. My prayer for America is, "Our Father in heaven, deliver us from evil. In many ways we have turned from You. Strengthen those who are fighting against abortion, pornography, homosexuality and all immorality. Give us a spirit of repentance in America. Help us to seek the truth that is found in You, and only You. Let us not depend upon ourselves, but upon You alone, in Whom is our hope and salvation."
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Spinning a Balance

Posted by Lalackski on Tuesday, February 20, 2007 9:53:36 PM
New York City has been known for a long time as, "the city that never sleeps".  Because of technology today, no city ever sleeps. News from across the globe is available with the flip of a switch 24 hours a day. Keeping up with events from around the world is enough to make a person's head spin. And if that wasn't enough, there is always the craziness of politics and social challenges on our home front that can make your head spin even more. In the course of one day, so many events can be brought to the attention of an ordinary blogger that it can be difficult to know which events to blog about. The lies that are told over and over until enough people believe them is astounding.There are the lies about how the sky is falling as a result of people driving cars and causing untold damage to our planet. There are the lies about how marriage is whatever we choose to make it. There is the lie telling us that America was founded to be a secular nation. And of course the lie that our dear President Bush lied in order to lead us into an unnecessary war.   Our world is moving at a dizzying speed.  Amidst all of the noise, however, it is important to maintain a healthy balance of perspective in order to maintain sanity. And even beyond sanity, it is important to maintain hope, love, peace and joy. Hope that good will ultimately triumph over evil if good men will only continue the fight. Love enough to keep you from becoming bitter and angry at others who manipulate for their own benefit. Peace between you and God. And joy in the blessings He gives each day.

When I was young I had no interest in studying history. As an adult, the benefits of studying it have become very clear. Of course history is important because if the mistakes of the past are not known and learned from, they will be repeated. But beyond that, studying history can put some perspective on our day and age. There have been some very dark periods of history in our world for sure. But time goes on and civilizations come and go. Judgment is meted out, sometimes in this world and sometimes in the next. But it does come. In the meantime, people with pure hearts desiring to see our nation act in righteousness rather than in selfishness need to keep speaking out. When good people stop hoping, stop speaking truth and stop fighting the good fight for uprightness, then the light will go out. That is not an option for us. Have mistakes been made in America's past? Sure. No nation on earth can claim to be without flaws. But we cannot give up our fight for righteousness. We cannot give up in our fight for change in the ideology of the people in the middle east. We cannot give up our uniquely American values and culture and give in to self loathing as the left would have us do. Let's continue on in our stand and belief that good overcomes evil. Our history depends on it.

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Moslem Violence and Alcoholism

Posted by Lalackski on Tuesday, September 19, 2006 1:23:39 PM
For any member of the civilized world to accept or make room for the pitiful statements of Moslems that excuse or defend the violence resulting from the Pope's statements in any manner, is no different than what happens when healthy family members make excuses for the ill behavior of an alcoholic or drug addicted family member. The McNeil Lehrer News Hour featured an interview of two experts on the topic of the Pope's recent statements that are causing such an uproar. The remarks of Nihad Awad of the Council on American-Islamic Relations were classic examples of an enabler (one who enables an alcoholic to continue his or her destructive behavior by making and accepting excuses for the alcoholic's actions). Just as in desperate situations a family "intervention" is called for in order to force the alcoholic to confront his or her own illness, this is exactly what is needed in the Islamic world today. As long as Islamic family members continue to excuse violence in any manner by shifting blame for it to others, the violence will indeed continue. Mr. Awad shifted the blame when he stated the, "The Vatican in the recent past used to have first-class Islamic scholars, who are Christians, on Islam, including Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, who was removed from his post and assigned to Egypt. Therefore, the Vatican is missing serious scholarship on Islam and, therefore, advice on how to approach Islam and Muslims based on knowledge, but not on historic stereotypes,Well, I think the reaction can be divided in three parts. Number one, you can understand that the Muslim sensitivities around the world in the post-9/11 world, where the cartoons took place defaming Prophet Muhammad and the desecration of the Koran, Muslims feel under siege, that their faith has been defamed and smeared by sometimes learned people, even President Bush when he equated Islam with fascism. He did not use that term in many of his speeches," and that there are "extremists on both sides". This is nothing less than outrageous excuse making. They always have an excuse. The problem is never themselves, just like an alcoholic. They believe others are persecuting them when the problem lies within themselves. The excuses are simply ways of not having to confront the real problems within themselves. Mr. Awad goes on to tell viewers what we have been told time and time again: that Jihad does not mean "holy war" and "there is no compulsion in religion". Do not try to convince other healthy members of the human race that what is evident in all the world is not really so. It would be much more profitable if Mr. Awad could convince the millions of violent Moslems throughout the world that it was so. But the problem is that those who are committing the violence are not listening and cannot hear a rational statement because of their love of power that terrorism grants. Mr. Awad and the terrorists actually share a common desire for Islam to rule the world. It is only the ways and means that the claim to disagree upon. Perhaps that is why Mr. Awad does not work too hard to stop the terrorists but rather spends his time trying to convince others that the problem lies in our own "understanding" of Muslim sensibilities. It is time for a crises intervention of the healthy family members to confront the unhealthy ones and stop being enablers.  And it is even time for journalists like Gwen Ifill to stop being enablers by asking questions that allow blame to be shifted, like the question she posed, " Well, let's assume that both Catholics and Islamists all believe that there is a right way here. Was this the right way for the pope to bring this subject up, at a time when tensions are so inflamed in Muslim communities around the world? Just like a dysfunctional family that blames themselves for upsetting the alcoholic and therefore causing him or her to get drunk, journalists need to stop and develop some backbone that will allow them to see the truth rather than close their eyes to it. Closing your eyes to the truth is not the definition of intelligence nor progressive thinking.  The entire interview can be read at:http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/religion/july-dec06/islam_09-18.html
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Path to Another 911?

Posted by Lalackski on Tuesday, September 12, 2006 6:14:09 PM
 Watching the ABC miniseries docudrama, "The Path to 911" was an eye opener.  Have we learned anything from 911? The news is reporting that record numbers of Muslim people are becoming American citizens. I simply can not believe it. Who can tell which of those people will become terrorists in our own streets? Haven't we learned from England that a Muslim's first loyalty is to Islam? You can go to any American city and see women wearing Muslim headresses and clothing. Gee! Aren't they assimilating yet? Hmmm. I wonder why. Could it be that they cannot identify with America and American values? They can only identify with Islam. While I could not believe how ignorant our government was before 911, and how we betrayed the Northern Alliance leader in Afganistan, and how decisions were made based on political correctness, it behooves me to think that much of that same mindset is still in place.  However, I thank God for our President and his unwillingnes to betray our allies in Iraq and leave them in the hands of the insurgents by pulling our troops out too soon. And I thank God for all the young men and women in the military who are doing a tremendous work. May God give them and their families strength and wisdom.  
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