May 16, 2008
Quoting from Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis on marriage (p86)
“My own view is that the churches should frankly recognise that the majority of the British People are not Christians, and, therefore, cannot be expected to live Christian lives. There ought to be two distinct types of marriage; one governed by the state with rules enforced by all citizens, the other governed by the Church with rules enforced by her by her own members. The distinction ought to be quite sharp, so that a man knows which couples are married in a Christian sense and which are not.”
The easiest solution to the problem of whether homosexuals are allowed to marry is to distinguish religious marriage from the civil contract “marriage”. People have a right to make contracts with each other on how to live together, how to make important life decisions together, how to be happy together etc.
A Christian Marriage is something different from the civil contract part of marriage. It is an arrangement where you become one person, one organism, that is for life. Jesus called it “becoming one flesh” between one man and one woman. It is not the role of the government to be the church, but it is the role of government to give equal protection under the law.
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Posted by markcole
May 16, 2008
The stun gun is supposed to be a non-lethal way to stop people in their tracks, and are getting to be in common usage in the United States. Tasers do not only inflict severe pain with a push of a button without leaving a mark. They are killing people. Twenty year-old Jarrel Gray died on his second shock in Federick MD. on Nov 18, 2007.
Read about it here. The news video worth watching.
Police should be given a gun with a stun setting and a kill setting, and the stun setting should not be able to kill somebody. Like in Star Trek. The police should stop using these “non-lethal” taser weapons that have turned out to be lethal more than 150 times according to Amnesty International. They are being over-used.
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Posted by markcole
May 10, 2008
Yesterday, Friday, May9, Hezbollah frighters siezed control of much of western Beirut. My friends in Lebanon have told me that there is a big strike organized by the opposition party of the currently American backed government. Much of the transportation system,including the airport, and the telecommunication system has been shut down by this strike to protest rising fuel prices and the minimum wage. Schools and businesses remain open. Roads to Beirut are blocked.
Hezbollah Militants take over West Beirut from CNN
So please pray for an immediate cease fire and for peace in Lebanon!
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Posted by markcole
May 7, 2008
This is a NASA photograph of the Cyclone Nargis as it approaches Burma or Myanmar (the land mass on the upper right) last week. India is to the left. The cyclone takes up most of the Bay of Bengal which is 2170 km large.
The government of Myanmar told the United Nations it warned its population of the devastating cyclone that struck over the weekend, but it lacked a radar to predict the high tidal waves that caused most of the fatalities, the U.N. weather agency said Wednesday.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/05/07/news/UN-GEN-UN-Weather-Myanmar.php
They must have very, very, very, very bad weather equipment in Myanmar! The Cyclone was in the Bay of Bengal for at least two days.
The New York Times is now reporting that there may be over 100,000 people dead. There is no clean water. People are drinking coconut juice.
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Posted by markcole
May 7, 2008
Here is the URL to the Evangelical Manifesto that was just released today
http://www.anevangelicalmanifesto.com/
Some of the people on the steering committee are Os Guiness and Dallas Willard (authors of great books). Signees include Mark Bailey - President of Dallas Theological Seminary, Leith Anderson, President of the NEA, Ergun Caner, President of Liberty Theological Seminary and author, Dean Hirsch, President of World Vision International, Duane Litfin, president of Wheaton College, Max Lucado, and the list goes on and on! There are some names that are notably absent such as James Dobson. I also cannot find Billy Graham or Franklin Graham.
I just briefly skimmed over it and may update this with my opinions of it. There seems to be a variety of reasons for this document - but the main one is to declare that Evangelical is about sharing the good news of Jesus Christ and not about voting Republican (or Democrat). Here are some quotes:
The Evangelical soul is not for sale. It has already been bought at an infinite price.
The way of Jesus, not Constantine
The two-fold purpose of this declaration is first to address the confusions and corruptions that attend the term
Evangelical in the United States and much of the Western world today, and second to clarify where we stand on issues that have caused consternation over Evangelicals in public life.
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Posted by markcole
May 6, 2008
Jesus taught his disciples to love their enemies (Matt 5:38) and to kill no one (Luke 18:19).
Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a donkey rather than a war-horse (Luke 19:28-40)
Jesus rebuked Peter for taking up a sword when He is arrested (Luke 22:49-51)
36Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” John 18:36
39 But I tell you not to resist an evil person. Matt 5:39
Respond non-violently if someone takes you to court Matt 5:40
Respond non-violently if a Roman Soldier asks you to carry his stuff Matt 5:41
44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you Matt 5:44
Since Christians should not kill (as is taught in the Bible and by every Christian teacher for the first three centuries of Christianity) even to keep Jesus from being arrested and crucified, a nation that follows Christ’s principles should not go to war against its enemies. Non violent resistance against evil is a better strategy, and we see many cases where non-violent movements have proven highly successful in the 20th century - Gandhi’s non-violent protests conquered the powerful British Empire and Martin Luther King Jr. non-violent protests changed American history.
There are also other biblical cases that can be made - for the last 16 centuries most Christians have believed that sometimes war is necessary as a last resort - the just-war theory.
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Posted by markcole
May 5, 2008
Gretchen had larengitis this weekend so she couldn’t come to a party celebrating the Lisa and Ike Kirschner’s new farm! Ben and I went and had a great time - there was a lot of homemade food and drink and a band. The Kirschner’s sell fruits and vegetables at farmer’s markets - such as the West Chester Farmer Market that just re-opened last Saturday morning. The Kirschners have employed Gretchen and Sam and Josh at various times, and we joined their club where you pay them a lump sum in January and they provide their fantastic fruits and vegetables for you every week from June 1 to November! I am looking forward to that!
Lisa is also a talented writer and she wrote a My Turn column for Newsweek that you must read here - Farming as a Labor of Love. They also have a very organized son - Jay, who is a good friend of Ben’s. Jay and Ben used to be in a homeschool co-op together. He had the cleanest bedroom ever for a thirteen year old! Jay was the photographer for the party. Being on a farm reminded me of Kansas.
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Posted by markcole
