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Monday, November 30, 2009
China-Brazil Link
 It is
not well-known in the West that China has a naval history dating as far back as 600 BC. Only five and a half centuries ago
it had the largest navy in the world, led by its famed Admiral Zheng He (photo).
Between the years 1405 and 1433 Zheng He, a Chinese Muslim by birth, led seven naval expeditions to Siam, Indonesia, India,
Arabia, and East Africa. A typical armada included 300 ships with a total of 28,000 crew members.
Although the USA has long been the dominant naval power in East Asia, China has renewed its naval ambitions, and has
embarked on building a number of new aircraft carriers. The problem is, China needs an already operational carrier to train
its sailors on. So it has persuade the largest Latin American country, Brazil, to let Chinese officers train aboard
the Brazilian carrier, the Sao Paulo. The Brazilian defense minister, Nelson Jobim, says he hopes this might lead
to further military cooperation.
I draw no particular moral or
warning from this report -- one of the "missing stories" of 2009 newspaper reporting written up in the year-end
issue of Foreign Policy magazine. But I note how well it demonstrates, for weal or woe, the interconnectedness
of our world today.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Northwest Passage
 With President
Obama and Chinese Prime Minister Wen both headed for Copenhagen, the global climate change debate continues. Some of
my friends don't believe in the reality of climate change. Perhaps they missed one of the "missing stories
of 2009," the passage of two German ships through the Northwest Passage a few months ago.
The Northwest Passage from East Asia to Western Europe has been blocked by ice as long as anyone can remember. But this
year, thanks to global warming, "there was virtually no ice on most of the route," according to Valeriy
Durov, captain of one of the ships that made the trip.
Joshua
Keating, an editor at Foreign Policy magazine, suggests that the new thaw may be a sign that climate change has reached
a dangerous tipping point. (It will also give commercial shipping a big boost as a shorter route from Asia to Europe
and vice versa. and it will open a new avenue for geopolitical competition, particularly between Russia and Canada/USA.)
Most of us don't have enough accurate information to pass judgment
on the reality of global climate change. But this Northwest Passage phenomenon should cause us to think or
re-think. The Bible assigns to the human race responsibility for the stewardship of Earth, so the
Copenhagen conference cannnot be easily brushed aside.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
No God? No Problem!
 Newsweek magazine and The Washington Post
together publish a weekly column On Faith. This week they draw attention to the American Humanist Association's new
"Godless Holiday" campaign, which displays ads on transit systems in five major U. S. cities. The ads proclaim,
"No God?...No Problem! Be good for goodness' sake. Humanism holds that you can be good without a belief in God."
On Faith asked a panel of 50 notables whether the ad campaign is just another front on
the secular "war on Christmas" or, rather, another example of the pluralistic strength of America. All of the responses
were interesting, but of the 50, the one I resonated with best was that of Susan Brooks Thistlewaite, a professor at Chicago
Theological Seminary:
The humanists are pointing out the obvious.
American public holidays are about consumption, not God. Even worse, the Christian faith has internalized this message of
cultural Christmas. Christians themselves often forget what Christmas is really about. The humanists really can't do any more
harm to Christians about Christmas than we've already done to ourselves.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Brain Drain
I’m an alumnus of the American University of
Beirut (AUB), graduating back before the Lebanese civil war nearly wiped out the school and the city. But over the past 20
years AUB has made a remarkable comeback.
Unfortunately, only half of the class of ’09 will
actually land a job in Lebanon. Every year 50 percent of Lebanon’s educated workforce emigrates. The percentage of female
graduates working abroad has tripled in the last seven years. And half of any given generation will have left the country
by age 59.
Obviously this “brain drain,” the subject
of a recent AUB report on Higher Education and Labor, is of great concern to the country. But this is nothing new. For more
than a century before the civil war Lebanon has been an avid exporter of manpower. Travel anywhere in the Middle East, Latin
America and Africa and you will find enterprises run or led by Lebanese.
The web site www.habeeb.com lists 300-plus Lebanese-American scientists, physicians, diplomats, politicians, academics, industrialists, generals, clergy,
entertainers, and athletes who are prominent in American life today.
According to Main Gate, AUB’s alumni
publication, the ability of Lebanese universities to produce highly skilled graduates is not in question. But if Lebanon is
to prosper, both its universities and its government must do more to keep these young people in Lebanon.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Full Plate
 Copenhagen
I have great sympathy for President Obama these days (as I had for former President Bush after 9/11) for his plate
is not only full, but replete with indigestibles.
Unemployment remains the biggest unresolved issue as far as the ordinary American is concerned. Health care reforms
moves forward, but it is clear that the end compromises will satisfy few. The Afghanistan war is a quagmire and will get worse
before it gets better – if it does.
One moderately bright spot is the Mr. Obama’s trip
to Copenhagen this week to participate in U.N.-sponsored talks on climate change before proceeding to Oslo to accept the Nobel
Peace Prize.
The Copenhagen stop-over is significant. Obama will outline
specific targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Up to this point the United States has refused to do so.
From a Christian perspective, this is a positive development. According to the Judeo-Christian tradition, God created
the human race to be prudent stewards of the environment. For millennia this stewardship has been casual, with few adverse
consequences.
But with the dramatic increase in the world’s population
during the past two centuries, and the unpredictable ability of humans to exploit the earth’s resources through science
and technology – often with adverse consequences – the situation has changed. Mr. Obama’s initiative
is a step in the right direction.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Thoughts from The Upanishads
 Pandurang Shastri Athavale (see below)
The Upanishads are part of the Hindu treasury of sacred
scripture. The Upanishads propose that the highest stage of spirituality is the stage at which God is not merely within
each individual, but the point at which there is no difference between God and the individual.
The Upanishads detail three stages of spiritual development. There is Tana Ivam Asi (I exist because of Him),
Tasya Ivam Asi (I belong to Him), and Tat Ivam Asi (I am Him). In this third and highest stage God does
not reside in a temple or church, but within you and me and every living creature. We understand that we are all related,
part of a world community, connected to each other and to nature.
According to Pramila Jayapal, a writer on things Indian,
the respect that develops out of this perspective is the essential underpinning of a healthy society. The everyday work that
people do in taking care of each other and the environment manifests bhakti, devotion to God.
In India today there is a movement called Swadhyaya that is trying to translate this perspective into modern
life. The movement was founded by a certain Panduran Shastri Athavale (photo) who died just a few years ago at the age of
83. You can find more about Shastri and Swadhyaya on the Internet.
My point in bringing this up is to point out the obvious: there are a number of commonalities between the concepts
embedded in The Upanishads and those in the New Testament. Think of Jesus’ words, “I and the Father are one,”
or St. Paul’s assertion that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, or again, that all the work we
do is to be done as an expression of devotion to God.
We need to be aware of the differences between Christianity
and the various world religions. But during my lifetime the process of globalization has brought Christians and Hindus and
Muslims and Buddhist face to face in increasingly close encounters. I think the time has arrived when we must be much more
conscious of what we have in common, and use our commonalities as a basis for friendship and dialogue.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Land for Sale or Lease
 Writing from
Bako, Ethiopia, Stephanie McCrummen reports that the Ethiopian government has begun marketing abroad one of the hottest commodities
in an increasingly crowded and hungry world: farmland.
Relatively
rich countries and investment firms are securing up to 99-year contracts on vast tracts of land in Ethiopia and other underdeveloped
countries. In Africa alone (and the transactions are being carried out in Latin America and Southeast Asia as well) experts
estimate that acreage the size of Nebraska (where I was raised) has been leased in the past two years.
Two motives are at work: need, and greed. Some countries, like India and Saudi Arabia, are facing food crises. They are intent
on shoring up their food supplies by growing food abroad. By contrast, purely profit-seeking companies are calculating that
since the world's population is steadily increasing, land and food supplies will be constant short supply, with demand and
prices correspondingly increasing.
Critics conjure images of poor
Africans starving as food is hauled away to rich countries. They also warn that industrial farming will leave good land spoiled
even as local populations surge. But other experts are "cautiously hopeful." They believe large-scale agribusiness
will feed millions in the underdeveloped countries. In Ethiopia, 80 percent of the population are farmers, but only one-fourth
of the country's acres are being farmed.
Monday, November 23, 2009
God's Justice, continued
[continued from yesterday]
Evening comes. The landowner pays the laborers “what
is right.” He starts with the last hired and moves on the first hired. Each one received a denarius.
Those who were hired early in the day complain bitterly. “We began work at six a.m.; these others began at five
p.m. – yet they have been given the same as we who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.
Invariably,
when I share this story with someone, including Christians, as ask, “Do they have a point?” there is immediate
agreement. “Yes, they have a point. It’s not just to treat those who work an hour the same as those who have worked
twelve hours.”
Yet Jesus disagrees. In his parable the landowner clearly
symbolizes God. And God says, “Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to the wage? Don’t
I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?”
Clearly we have an apparent conflict here between justice and generosity. Yet God claims there is no conflict.
God says he has a “right” to be generous. In other words, God’s generosity is his justice. We, on
the other hand, insist that our courts mete out justice according to what the offender deserves.
But what if Jesus is mistaken about the character of God? Perhaps the truth is that God is not as generous
as Jesus makes God out to be. All this bears on why, in my old age, I have become what may be called an evangelical universalist.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
God's Justice
Since 1980 I have been writing intermittently about
the great biblical theme of justice, which I call “rectification” – becoming right, or being made right,
with a) God, b) our inner selves, c) our neighbors in society, and d) nature, or our environment.
In the intervening years I have found that there are many misconceptions, even among Christians, about God’s
justice. Although we pay lip service to the doctrine of sola gracia (grace alone), we continue to believe and behave
as if becoming right with God is a matter of desert.
Jesus struggled mightily to reveal the true nature of
God’s justice. For example, Jesus shared a parable which, when I share it with others, I find that it almost always
arouses opposition, followed by mystification.
The parable I refer to is recorded in Matthew’s
Gospel, Chapter 20. A wealthy landowner goes to the town marketplace early in the morning to hire some casual laborers to
work in his vineyard. (You will find such laborers here in America each morning, mostly newly arrived Latino immigrants, legal
and illegal, grouped in the parking lot outside Home Depot or Lowe’s).
The landowner bargains with a group and agrees to pay one denarius to each laborer for a day’s work.
Later in the day, perhaps feeling compassion for so many unemployed, the landowner returns and finds another group. He agrees
to “pay whatever is right.” He repeats this process several times during the course of the day.
Very late in the day he approaches another group. “Why have you been standing here all day doing nothing?”
he asks. “Because no one has hired us,” they answer. “All right, you also go and work in my vineyard,”
the landowner responds.
[to be continued tomorrow…]
Saturday, November 21, 2009
WPA: a Great Depression
Yesterday’s front-page headline from The Washington
Post :
Angry Congress lashes out at Obama…
The lead paragraph reads: Growing discontent over the economy and frustration with efforts to speed its recovery boiled
over Thursday on Capitol Hill in a wave of criticism and outright anger directed at the Obama administration.
By “recovery” most critics are referring to new job creation and the reemployment of millions of workers
who have lost their jobs during the past year or two.
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, this was accomplished
by the enactment, by executive order, of the WPA: the Works Progress Administration (later changed to Works Projects Administration.
By March 1936 the WPA rolls had reached a total of more than 3,400,000 workers. By June 1943, when it was officially teminated,
the WPA had employed more than 8,500,000 different persons on 1,4010,000 individual projects.
During its eight-year history the WPA built 651,087
miles of highways, roads, and streets; and constructed, repaired, or improved 124,031 bridges, 125,110 public buildings, 8,192
parks, and 853 airport landing fields (http:/
It is worth noting that the WPA was not instituted until 1936, three full years into Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first
term. It may be a bit premature to be “lashing out” at President Obama. Nevertheless, many of us would like to
see TARP money being spent on WPA-style projects rather than on bailing out Wall Street.
Friday, November 20, 2009
You CAN Take Them With You
 When the
Chinese emperor Qin Shihuangdi died in 210 B.C. he took to his grave everything he needed in life -- including a 7,000 (yes,
seven thousand) man terra cotta army to protect him in the afterlife.
Each life-size figure weighed between 300 and 400 pounds, the cavalry horses 750 pounds. Each figure is unique; no two alike.
All this was buried in four great pits, each the size of two football fields, near his own grave.
Long after the emperor's death the roofs of the pits caved in, the terra cotta figures fell over and were buried
-- not to be discovered until 1974 when some farmers, digging a well, found them.
If
you're traveling in China you can see the entire panoram at the original archeological dig. But if you happen to be visiting
Washington, DC sometime before next March you can see a partial display of them mounted at the National Geographic Museum
there.
Immortality takes many forms within the various
world religions. We're all familiar with the concept of reincarnation. Some modern Chinese in Singapore believe that the ghosts
of ancestors return for one month each year to haunt the neighborhood. The Jews of Jesus' day believed in a two-compartment
Hades. Similarly, most Christians today believe in Heaven and Hell, though we are hard put to describe Heaven, and the traditional
Hell seems incompatible with the character of the God whom Jesus revealed.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
The Measure of God
 Judge Adam Gifford (1820-1887) From the Victorian era to the present the Gifford Lectures in natural theology
have been a prestigious forum for conversations about faith and science. The lectures have been given annually at four different
universities in Scotland by some of the most outstanding thinkers of the 19th, 20th, and now the 21st
century.
These include some my own favorite authors in the field:
Albert Schweitzer, Emil Brunner, Michael Polyani, John Eccles, Freeman Dyson, Jürgen Moltmann, John Hick, and John Polkinghorne,
to name a few.
If you have any interest in the integration of faith and
science, you will want to pick up a copy of The Measure of God, by Larry Witham. He
is an award-winning journalist, so his writing reads more easily than that of some of the writers mentioned
above. What he has given us in his book is a colorful, dramatic historical narrative in four parts of the central ideas and
controversies in science and religion over the past 13 decades. It will broaden your horizons.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Pacific Nation
For those of us who live on the East Coast, it's easy to forget that the USA is a Pacific Nation, as President Obama reminded
us a few days ago. But of course it is, and has been since the mid-19th century when our westward expansion reached California.
I lived in Malaysia and traveled the entire "Orient"
extensively during the late 1960s and through the '70s and early '80s, so I followed Mr. Obama's recent trip with interest.
I note that he started in Japan, but instead of proceeding directly to South Korea or China, he detoured a couple of
thousand miles south to Singapore.
This was not only to participate
in the East Asia economic summit, a regular annual meeting, but primarily, I suspect, to overcome the considerable
jet lag entailed in a Washington, DC to Tokyo flight. Traveling north to south, and vice versa, is the answer to jet lag.
By the time he reached the main focus of his trip -- China -- he had overcome jet lag.
As nearly as I can tell, President Obama accomplished little substantively on this trip, so far as policy matters are concerned.
On the other hand, he continued his program of presenting the "new face" of America -- exchanging the arrogant,
high-handed, imperial face of recent years for one expressing modesty, openness, and partnership.
This seems to be the main point of most of his foreign travels in his first year of office. For a USA already enmeshed in
two wars, this is a worthy effort in the direction of a truly "pacific" nation.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Robertson Redux
Rev. Pat Robertson has had an enviable career. In the religious dimension he developed the Christian Broadcasting Network
and The 700 Club. In the educational dimension he founded the well-regarded Regent University. In the political dimension
he founded the Christian Coalition and once made a credible run for the presidency of the United States.
I knew Robertson’s father (a former U. S. Senator from Virginia, now deceased) better than I know Robertson himself. Robertson
is obviously an intelligent, accomplished and charismatic figure. Nevertheless, at more or less regular intervals he makes
dramatic, incendiary statements that cause one to wonder.
Recently, in response to the shootings at Ft. Hood, Texas, Robertson bluntly asserted that "Islam is a violent
– I was going to say religion – but it’s not a religion. It’s a political system. It’s a political
system bent on the overthrow of the governments of the world and world domination.”
This statement is dangerous nonsense, though like most such nonsense it contains a mixture of true and false, though
mostly false.
False: “Islam is not a religion.” On the contrary,
it is a genuine religion, founded by a recognized prophet and rooted in a sacred book, the Qur’an.
True: Sometimes (like Christianity in the past, e.g., the Crusades and the Inquisition) Islam has been violent.
True: “It’s a political system.” Like Christianity in the past (e.g., the Holy Roman Empire) but
unlike contemporary Christianity, Islam does not make a sharp distinction between church and state. Robertson betrays a sad
misunderstanding of Islam by failing to recognize this. In Islam, it’s not a matter of either-or, but of both-and.
False: :"Islam is a political system bent on the overthrow of the governments of the world and world domination.”
On the contrary, this is the religious/political agenda of a minority of jihadists who do not represent Islam at
large.
Christian leaders who do not understand the facts should
restrain themselves from pontificating, especially when such pontificating wrongly stereotypes, misleads the public, and promotes
distrust and hatred.
Monday, November 16, 2009
The Neumann Case
 Leilani and Dale Neumann on their way to court
Professor Jonathan Turley writes that in most cases, when a minor dies from lack of parental care, the parents are charged
with criminal neglect and often tried for murder, with heavy sentences resulting.
However, when parents say that the neglect was due to their faith in God's healing power without human intervention apart
from prayer, courts convict -- for the law requires it (1944 Supreme Court decision in Prince vs. Massachusetts) -- but hand
out surprisingly lenient sentences.
Such was the case with the
Neumanns (photo above) who allowed their 11-month-old daughter to die from an undiagnosed but treatable form of diabetes.
Trusting God to heal, they were praying while their child died. At their trial they were unrepentant. "I do not regret
trusting truly in the Lord for my child's health," Dale Neumann said, "I am guilty of obeying my God."
The Neumanns were sentenced to six months in jail (to be served one month per year) and ten years' probation. By contrast
the parents of 22-month-old Elizabeth, who hit his head on the corner of a table, but whose parents did not seek medical help
and offered no religious excuse, were sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.
Some readers who have been following recent blogs of mine will recognize that the case of the Neumanns is another
instance of the Christian/Jewish/Muslim conviction that "we must obey God rather than man" and fwill agree with
the light sentence imposed. Others will object vehemently that two unequal standards are in play here and that the parents
of the boy who hit his head were treated unfairly.
In defense
of the latter, it is argued that the U. S. Constitution provides for a strict separation of church and state; therefore no
distinction should be made between the two similar yet different cases. Those defending the lenient sentence given to
the Neumanns argue that because of the separation of church and state, courts must allow parents the freedom to follow
their religion irrespective of the consequences to innocent victims.
My intent here is not to pass judgment on either set of parents. Instead, I am pointing out the ambiguities and
uncertainties that arise when parties (lawyers and judges, in this instance; Americans and Muslims in the earlier blog)
understand
the meaning of "separation of church and state" and "obeying God rather than man" differently.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Propaganda
 Khalid Sheikh
Muhammad (photo), the mastermind of 9/11, and four other conspirators, will be tried publicly in a New York State courthouse,
not by a military tribunal. The decision was made by the U. S. Attorney General without consulting President Obama, and this
has raised questions, since 9/11 was not only a crime but a breach of national security. It was no run of the mill criminal
act, but an act of war.
Some American leaders oppose the
public trial on the straightforward basis that they believe war terrorists should not be awarded the same democratic
rights of court of law that American criminals have. This is a nationalist sentiment that I have little sympathy for.
Others fear, reasonably enough, that al-Qa'eda will exploit the trial to make jihadist propaganda. I have no doubt
that that is true. This trial, and the one of Major Nidal Hasan, soon to come, are sure to result in guilty verdicts.
They will produce a new crop of jihadist martyrs and recruit tens of thousands new recruits to the al-Qa'eda
cause.
The other side of the coin is this: The trials can
be exploited by America as well. The trials -- if they are truly democratic trials, and not mere "show" trials
-- afford the opportunity to demonstrate to the world at large some of the primary values of a democratic society.
Many people in our world today -- including many who live in Muslim countries, and many whose crimes are trivial --
do not have the luxury of fair trials with the right to confront one's accusers, the right to "disclosure,"
the right to a defense attorney, the right not to incriminate oneself, the right to cross-examine, etc.
It remains to be seen which of these propaganda endeavors will prevail.
Friday, November 13, 2009
The Lion's Den
 The Roman
Catholic Church and the Washington, DC city council are headed for a showdown -- one, however, that illuminates certain
aspects of the Major Nidal Hasan case, and also presents a conundrum for Protestants and other devout Christians.
The District of Columbia city council is about to pass legislation that will prohit discriminaition of any kind toward
same-sex marriages. This would force the Church to provide employee benefits to same-sex married couples and also allow them
to adopt children. Both of these are against the faith tenets of the Church.
So the Church is theatening to end its contracts with the city if the legislation passes. This is no small matter, for the
Church is one of the largest providers of social services in DCk, as it is in many cities across the nation. A spokesperson
for the DC archdiocese says, "The city is saying, 'If you want to continue partnering with the city, then you cannot
follow your faith teachings.'"
Now this is the same argument
Major Hasan was making, long before his nefarious act. He argued that an American Muslim's first loyalty was not to America
but to God. This strikes most Americans as unacceptable.
But wait
a minute. Christians have often in our history made the same argument. In situations where the State demands ultimate loyalty,
no less than the apostles Peter and John proclaimed early on, "We must obey God, not man" (Acts 5:29). Thus, where
the rubber hits the road, even Protestants will on occasion be forced to act out our loyalty to God before the State.
So in the final analysis, what is the difference between Major Hasan's decision as a devout Muslim and the Catholic archbishop's
impending decision as a devout Christian, or some future decision of mine as a Protestant when faced between loyalty to the
State vs. loyalty to God?
Of course, many American Christains
will assert that there is a big difference, in that Hasan's notion of the will of God is vastly different that our notion.
And that is surely true. But even if the content of faith is different the fact still remains that the underlying principle
is identical: God has priority over the State.
So the Church
may have to opt out of providing social services in DC, even though many unfortunate people will be hurt in the process, and
even though many Catholic believers themselves will doubt the rightness of the decision. And so Major Hasan will undoubtedly
be executed or receive a life without parole sentence. And so at some point in the future I, too, may have to accept the consequence
of giving my first loyalty to God rather than America.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Worrisome
 Our president
has lost weight over the past few weeks. And this should come as no surprise. It's not his health care reform that has caused
the loss; that project seems to be progressing slowly but surely. It's not the economy -- though perhaps it should be. Hundreds
are losing their jobs daily. Here in Lynchburg a major foundry has just closed, leaving its long-time workers to stand in
the unemployment benefits line. It's not the war in Iraq, which seems to be winding down, though not as quickly as some
of us had hoped.
No, it's the war in Afghanistan.
His advisors have put four options on the table but none of them is satisfactory. There is no clear exit strategy in place.
And the government we are supporting in Afghanistan is so corrupt that even the U. S. ambassador is advising against sending
more troops in. The case of Major Hasan at Ft. Hood only dramatizes the president's dilemma.
Of course, Mr. Obama could cut the Gordian knot and decide to withdraw from Afghanistan altogether. But while that act would
be greeted by applause by many U. S. citizens, the truth is that no one can predict the "unintended consequences"
of such bold action. It is no wonder that "Obama's War" has begun to sap his energy.
Saint Paul's counsel remains ever relevant: "I urge then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and
thanksgiving [an interesting addition, no?] be made for everyone -- for kings and all those in authority, that we may
live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people
to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth."
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The Eighth Amendment
The Supreme Court is currently considering two cases, similar in nature, that revolve around the constitutionality
of forever locking up juveniles who have committed crimes short of murder, but nevertheless awful.
In one case the 17-year-old defendant was found guilty of armed robbery and home invasion. In the other case a 13-year-old
was convicted of raping an elderly woman. Both juveniles were sentenced to life without possibility of parole.
The main argument in
favor of declaring life-without-parole for juveniles to be unconstitutional (the Eighth Amendment prohibits “cruel
and unusual punishment”) is that juveniles are not fully developed physiologically and therefore are less culpable for
their actions and more likely to be rehabilitated over time.
The main arguments against any change are two. Strict
constitutionalists such as Chief Justice Roberts say, as Roberts said yesterday, “There is certainly nothing in the
Eighth Amendment that suggests there is a difference between 16 and 17 [years of age].”
The other main argument has to do with retribution. Justice Alito said that retribution is also part of the equation,
and that society has a right to punish severely for heinous crimes, even those by juveniles. Justice Scalia agreed.
I’m
not sure that the Bible speaks to the point about the physical (mental) development of youth, although it clearly holds out
the hope of repentance and redemption for every person, including juveniles. But I’m sure that Jesus has something to
say about the institutional folly of retribution.
For the State to intentionally inflict pain on a person
simply because that person has inflicted pain (or death) on another person, is to pepetuate ad infinitum the cycle of
violence. It needs to be stopped. For serious readers I recommend Beyond Retribution, by Christopher Marshall.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Major Hasan
It's still a bit premature to try to comment in depth on the Fort Hood tragedy, but there is one aspect of it that I would
venture a few observations.
It appears that as part of his psychiatric
residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center he made a Power Point presentation to fellow physicians in which he
noted that "Fighting to establish an Islamic State to please God, even by force, is condoned by Islam." That note,
while not being relevant to the Iraqi invasion, is certainly relevant to the situation in Afghanistan where the Taliban are
clearly intent on establishing an Islamic State, and where Major Hasan was about to be posted.
The concept of a State where religion has the final word in shaping culture is virtually inconceivable to modern Western minds
-- and this in spite of the fact that Christian Europe from the time of Constantine's conversion to the Enlightenment shared
much of the same mentality.
Western Christians today think nothing
about warring against other Christians. It does not bother us unduly when American Christians kill German or Italian Christians.
That was in World War II; since then America's wars have not been against nominally Christian socieities, except for our invasions
of small Latin American countries (Genada, Panama, Haiti) and our covert operations against Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala).
But for committed Muslims this is a genuine moral problem. As Major
Hasan also noted in his presentation, "Muslim soldiers should not serve in any capacity that renders them at risk of
hurting/killing believers [i.e., Muslims] unjustly..."
Major Hasan went on to recommend that the Department of Defense
should allow Muslim soldiers the opeion of being released as "conscientous objectors."
This recommendation seems reasonable to me. The Department of Defense already allows this option for Quakers and other American
citizens who oppose war on moral grounds. It probably would not affect very many soldiers, for perhaps a majority of American
Muslims have already bought into Western secular mentality. But it would help defuse tensions such as those that led Major
Hasan to perform his terrorist act.
Monday, November 9, 2009
START
 Photo: inside a nuclear missile silo
The United States and Russion together control more than 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons. This year the Strategic
Arms Reduction Treaty (START) that the first President Bush signed with the Russians back in 1991 comes up for renewal. Of
course, there are no lack of hawks who advocate not renewing it. But it appears President Obama is well on his way to signing
a new version of the treaty that will continue the process of nuclear arms reduction. The result will a modest reduction in
nuclear warheads (down to 1,500 - 1.650 for each side) -- hardly comforting numbers; nevertheless they represent a substantial
reduction from the situation as it existed back in 1991. Mr. Obama has begun to earn his Nobel Prize and I applaud the
effort.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Turkish Creationism
 Modern
Turkey was founded in the mid-1920s by Kemal Ataturk as a secular state. As such it considers itself a European state and
is poised to enter the European Union in the near future.
But
its people are Muslim, and have been for 800 years. In recent years a Muslim-grounded political party has gained power in
Turkey. And with its ascension a strong anti-evolution movement as emerged. Its best-known critic, is Adnan Ortak (photo)
who says he is merely "following the path of Allah."
Ortak has his own daily two-hour TV show and, according to Marc Kaufman, reporting from Istanbul, he and an associated group
of young writers and scientists have produced and distributred more than 200 books and videos attacking evolution as equivalent
to atheism and communism.
Ortak admits he has been supported financially
and otherwise by American creationists and advocates of "intelligent design." But he has had much greater success
than they. Fewer than 25% of Turks accept evolution as an adequate explanation of how modern life came to be. This is
the lowest percentage of any developed nation.
On the other hand,
Salman Hameed, a professor of science and humanities at Hampshire College in the U.S., and the author of a Science magazine
article entitled "Bracing for Islamic Creationism," believes that secular forces remain strong in Turkey. "I
think it will five to ten years before Turks as a whole make up their mind" on this matter, he says.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Revive the Draft?
 Photo: young army draftees of my generation
I’m still not quite ready to comment at any length on the
Ft. Hood tragedy, though I have a couple of marginal thoughts on it today.. One is
that while we are learning a great deal about Major Nidal Malik Hasan, but we as yet know little or nothing about the dozen
soldiers and one civilian that lost their lives in the rampage. (Photos of seven of the dead appeared in the NY Times this
morning, but few details.)Yet each life was precious and full of promise, for these victims were young people – lovers,
sons and daughters, husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, and brothers and sisters of people who loved them dearly and
who will perhaps never get over their loss. I hope we will learn more about them in the days to come.
The other thought is really a question: Is it time to reinstate the Draft – the forcible induction of men and
women into the service of the nation? Americans have, for the past 30 years or so, been relying on a volunteer army (and navy
and air force). This volunteer force was intended for short, sharp engagements, not wars that drag on for years and even decades.
But now these troops are bearing the entire burden of fighting two wars at one time, wars that seem to never end. They have
become our modern mercenaries. As a result, they are being deployed
three and four, even five times, with home recovery times growing ever shorter. No wonder their suicide rate is at an all-time
high, and that they suffer unheard of rates of post traumatic stress disorder.
Now President Obama is being asked to send 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan. That is the equivalent of an entire Ft.
Hood, the largest army base in the USA! This will require yet another deployment for many servicemen and women. If the USA
is intent (foolishly, in my opinion) on resolving global problems by war, perhaps the country should require greater sacrifice
by all its citizens, including the equalizer of a Draft.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Invading Somalia
 Americans
are still trying this morning to come to terms with the horrific killings at Ft. Hood yesterday. I don't have enough reliable
information at this point to express my thoughts on it. So let me continue with my previously planned posting:
I can’t believe it. Some Americans are actually advocating war against Somalia and Yemen because of
their potential for terroristic acts against the United States. As I asked in a recent blog, “Will we never learn?”
Leaving aside Yemen for the moment, Somalia is much like Afghanistan: not a modern State but a region of tribal factions.
For 20 years now Somalia has experienced civil war. Its present, Western-approved government is quiveringly weak and does
not even control the whole of Mogadishu, the capital city.
In the midst of this chaos a faction known as al-Shabab
constitutes the biggest threat to Somali’s nominal president, Sharif Ahmed. In addition, Al-Shabab provides facilities
to al-Qa’eda operatives who in turn are believed to be training some Somali-Americans for al-Qa’eda missions.
It is this that, for some, invading and occupying Somalia.
America has tried to intervene in Somali affairs more
than once in the past, and failed miserably each time. (Remember “Black Hawk Down!”?) It is
a huge policy mistake to believe that it is America’s duty to shape every foreign nation into its own image. If any
intervention is truly required, let it be the responsibility of the United Nations, not the U.S.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
A Green Patriarch
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, shown in the photo, in black, with Pope Benedict XIV, has been visiting in the U.
S. this past week. Ordinarily he is ensconced in Constantinople (Istanbul) as leader of the world’s 300 million Eastern
Orthodox Christians.
He was in the U. S. to preside over an international symposium on
the health of the Mississippi River. If that strikes you as odd, it shouldn’t, for Bartholomew is known as “the
green patriarch” and, for during the 18 years he has been in office, has tried to connect spiritual issues with public
policy issues.
This is something of an innovation for Orthodox Christians,
as least in the past few centuries. By and large they have not been overly concerned with social justice problems, focusing
instead on inner spiritual health and devotional practices. The Roman Catholic church, by contrast, has a long history of
thinking theologically about public policy.
These trends are cyclical. When I was growing up, my fundamentalist
Protestant community was as divorced from the public arena as the Orthodox. But now I live in a city known for the very
public and vocal “moral majority” led the fundamentalist preacher, the late Jerry Falwell.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
The Community Organizer
I
regard nationalism (as opposed to ordinary patriotism) as one of the great curses of our time. Where nationalism prevails,
nations seek their own interests to the exclusion of the interests of others. “My way or the highway,” as the
saying goes.
By contrast, St. Paul counselled,
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or with conceit [i.e. arrogance]. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,
not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."
Nationalism has motivated all the great wars of recent centuries. Occasionally it has dominated the American spirit,
the most notable periods being during the early 20th century (Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt)
and the early 21st century (President George W. Bush). During both periods America’s reputation among the
other nations of the world suffered greatly, and rightly so.
That’s why I support President Obama’s approach
to international relations. In sharp contrast to his predecessor, who focused on military strength and unilateral action,
Obama sees the world as a community of nations, with important shared interests: economic prosperity, national security, and
a healthy environment.
As he told an audience in Prague a few months ago, “When nations
and peoples allow themselves to be defined by their differences, the gulf between them widens.” The differences are
real, but where they exist they shouldn’t dominate us.
The world’s population is rapidly approaching seven billion. The inevitable alternative to relating to each other as community is bellicose and deadly warfare. Obama sees this clearly.
Whether his “community organizer” strategy will work in the international arena has yet to be seen. But it's refreshing,
and far more biblical than the usual alternatives.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
West Bank
The West Bank of Palestine (shown in white in the map) is that part of the Middle East which constitutes the future
home of the Palestinians, if ever the “two state” solution becomes a reality. Until recently I did not realize
that Israel still controls much of the Jordan Valley portion of the West Bank.
Logically enough, the Palestinians claim that the Jordan Valley sector, which constitutes about 25 percent of the West
Bank, is a core part of their projected state. But Israeli officials insist that the Jordan Valley remain in Israeli hands,
encircling any Palestinian state, and allowing Israel to control the international border with the nation of Jordan. At present
an Israeli-built electrical fence runs the length of the border with Jordan.
Today the city of Jericho is under Palestinian control; but permission for Palestinians to build homes, irrigate fields
or sink water wells elsewhere in the valley is tightly proscribed, according to a report by Howard Schneider in a recent issue
of The Washington Post. And since the Israelis withdrew from the Gaza Strip a couple of years ago, more Israel settlements
have appeared in the Jordan Valley, inhabited by Jews who formerly lived in the Gaza Strip. Altogether, some 300,000 Israelis
now live in the Palestinian West Bank.
All this increases the complexity of President Obama’s
initiative to get the two parties to resume peace negotiations. Some Christians believe Obama will surely fail, as he ought
to fail, for they believe that God has predestined Israel to rule the area as a prelude to the Second Coming of Christ. Christian
Arabs, on the other hand, as well as missionaries working in the West Bank, see things quite differently.
Monday, November 2, 2009
God Who? [continued from yesterday]
The earliest humans knew themselves to be
vulnerable to powerful forces beyond their control: floods, famines, fires, earthquakes, and storms -- not to mention fierce
and ravaging animals. Hence they focused on the awesome, unpredictable powers – the gods and goddesses – behind
these fatal phenomena. Religiously, they felt the need to placate and appease the deities and thereby assure the continuance
of the human race.
This focus on the power of Deity carried over into the
monotheism of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Each in its own way emphasizes the power of the Almighty and the vulnerability
of humanity. One corollary is the concept of hell. Since not every injustice is punished in one’s lifetime, God will
ensure justice by punishing sins in the afterlife. In Christianity, whether one confesses Jesus as Lord and Savior determines
whether his or her eternal destiny is heaven or hell. Some Christians believe that God’s power is such that God actually
determines in advance who will be eternally saved and who will be eternally damned.
But what if this preoccupation with the power of God is only a stage in the evolution of human spirituality? What if
an event has occurred in human history that is meant to shift our attention to a deeper dimension of God’s reality?
[I refer of course to the Jesus-event.] What if it is now clear through Jesus’ life and death and
resurrection that the world was created and is continually sustained by God’s love –that “God so
loved the world that he sent his only Son…” – and that God’s power, and every other aspect of God’s
character is qualified by God’s love?
Would that make a difference in our worldview?I believe it would, and does. And that is the thesis of my recently published
book, The Renewal of All Things. You may purchase it at a 20% discount by going to www.wipfandstock.com
Sunday, November 1, 2009
God Who?
For tens of thousands of years H. sapiens tried to figure out the mystery of the ultimate
reality behind the universe. Was it a multiplicity of gods and goddesses? How else to explain the perverse ambiguities of
life? Or perhaps there are not a plethora of gods and goddesses, but just two diametrically opposed deities? Duality is clearly
present in life and history. But maybe there is no deity at all: the universe itself is the ultimate reality. Why bother with
gods and goddesses?
A small sliver of population in the Middle East, less
than 5,000 years ago, concluded that a single God created the universe and providentially sustains it. Therein the Hebrew
religion was born. This insight was accepted by two subsequent religions, Christianity and Islam, and prevails throughout
much of the world today.
But the human quest continues, because the portion of
our world that embraces monotheism cannot agree on the character of the God who created and sustains the universe. Just what
kind of god is this God of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam?
Much of millennia-long debate centers around the concept of power, and how God exercises that power. The Hebrews
initially thought of God as the Warrior God who liberates the oppressed and powerless from the hands of their oppressors.
Early Christians believed God exercised his power to ransom humanity from Satan and all the other evil forces at work in the
universe. Islam today insists that God’s power is absolute and requires absolute submission to his will. T
The Christianity of the Middle Ages evolved another conviction about God’s power. It involves his honor. All sin is
an offence to God’s honor and requires some kind of “satisfaction” to atone for the offense. With few exceptions,
this concept of God’s character is accepted in Western Christianity by both Roman Catholics and Protestants.
But is it true? Does it truly reflect the essential character of God? I have my doubts.
[to be continued…]
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