10 Months Ago

These words must be re-heard by us all. In time of greater hardship, the nation must remember - particularly, a nation that professes to be a Christian nation - the plight of the poor during this very trying times.

Cornel West is much more of a fundamentalist than most of the so-called Christian fundamentalists. He knows that the truth of God's judgment befalls a nation when its wealthiest citizens treat our most vulnerable citizens as charity work and not as God's children. If God is on the side of the poor, then who can stand to be against the poor. And if nation stands against the poor, then will God not stand against that nation? We have protect and favor our wealthiest citizens. We have ignored our poor sisters and brothers who have fallen on harder time because of the greed that consumed the wealthiest citizens in our nation. How long can a nation stand when the nation stand against the poor who is favored by God? The wrath of God befalls on a nation because of their immorality against the poor. God's judgment befalls on a nation because of the nation injustice against the poor. This is what immorality is when a nation loses its sense of social-justice.

George Carlin on Pro Life, Abortion, & the Sanctity of Life

O Texans, Where Art Thou?

Last year, a story broke out in the Texas Monthly blog, the story was very scary, but like most story of great importance, most Texans simply ignored the reality of corruption and cronyism that has been present throughout Perry's time as Governor of Texas. Last year, Perry removed Linus Wright, a former Dallas school superintendent, as chair of the board that oversees the $88 billion Teacher Retirement System and has replaced him with R. David Kelly, a Dallas real estate investor, who is also a member of Perry’s campaign finance team. Now there are some evidences that Perry's campaign has been using some of the fund in the Teacher Retirement System. None of these behaviors are out of character for Perry, remember when the Governor's mansion was burn down by an arsonist, Perry used taxpayer money to pay for his lavish temporary residence in one of the most exclusive area in Austin. Also, a Perry legislative aide worked for a Spanish highway company that won a state contract to build a vast network of toll roads across the state. Furthermore, Bo Pilgrim, who is the king of chicken in Texas, donated $125,000 to Perry's GOP interests after the governor requested a waiver from the EPA's ethanol rules that Pilgrim wanted. In 2007, Perry's executive order mandating teenage girls to be vaccinated against the sexually transmitted HPV virus was done after the pharmaceutical giant Merck donated to Perry's campaign. Finally, there will be further ethical concerns that will be raised as the campaign progress. So, the question will remain, particularly for teachers, will Rick Perry be reelected for a third term?

Is Sunday Still Segregated?

The answer to that question is "yes" and the "yes" is much more resounding "yes" when the church is Lutheran or more specifically the ELCA. The church needs to be less "gringo" -- okay, a lot less gringo in the case of the ELCA. The issue of integration is not only an issue in the ELCA for it is an issue that plagues the Christian church in America. Perhaps, the issue is more acute in the ELCA for we are the most segregated mainline denomination in this country -- the ELCA is 96% white. This is particularly more troubling when we are to consider the simple fact that the ELCA is the fourth or fifth largest denomination in this country. Our numbers show that we aren't integrated enough and we aren't very diverse either. Rev. Whitlock is right to challenge our churches in their lack of integration. The article from CNN, which interviews Rev. Whitlock, raises the right issue and question: "If Heaven is integrated, why not churches?" Yes, why not churches? And more especially, why not the ELCA? But, as the other report from CNN indicates most churchgoers prefer their church to be segregated. And that is an issue, an issue that churches aren't addressing enough. This is something the ELCA must address much more seriously because integration does hit at the heart of the matter on both evangelism and human sexuality -- particularly, on the issue of human sexuality, as we move forward in our acceptance and openness of our homosexual brothers and lesbian sisters. We can no longer accept our own status quo of 96% white. We, the members of the ELCA, and the leadership must challenge and push for more integration and diversity - more churches need more minorities in their leadership position. Too few people of colors are in leadership positions, particularly pastors, in the ELCA. We must get over our race issue at our churches. As Bishop Hanson said we can no longer have the heart of timidness in ministry and mission. I hope that also means that we can no longer be so segregated in our churches.

The Wrong Way vs The Right Way

The Wrong Way To Do It!

The Right Way To Do It!

As you can see it, there is no middle ground. Either you got it or you don't. And the Cowboys got nothing. O Cowboys, where art thou?

George Carlin on the American Dream

Speaking Out

Of late, all of us have been hearing lots of advice on morality from all political-ideological-theological spectrums, from both the Right and the Left camps. There is nothing wrong about “preaching” on morality or virtue. It is important that we, as a society, teach our children the value of being a morally conscientious human being, who is also gracious and forgiving. But only teaching our children will not do, because adults also need to be taught and reminded again and again on the importance of living a virtuous life. At times, adults need to hear more about the importance of living a morally-conscientious life. They need daily reminders that living a conscientious moral life is to live for the well-being of others. This means that there is a cost and the cost means that at times we must confront the evil befalling on our “neighbors.” We must speak against injustice because ultimately the judgment of our actions will be on how we treat the least among us (cf. Matthew 25:31-46).

The act of speaking out against immorality is essential if we are to confront the injustice befalling onto our weakest and voiceless “neighbors.” But, before we put our two pennies worth, it would be wise to reflect on our own past, present, and future. It is easy to forget our own propensity toward evil in thoughts and actions. We all have the potential for both evil and good. It is a constant reality that manifest itself out in our decisions, which each of us make daily, regardless of whether those decisions were made in full cognizance or not. True that most of us cannot imagine the unfathomable evil, e.g., the Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide, the Rwanda Genocide, Pol Pot, the Japanese Imperial Armies rape camps, as part of who we are. We cannot fathom seeing ourselves as orchestrating or assisting the demise of human beings because of their ethnical and religious background. But, at the same time, we must be completely sincere to ask the most fundamental question of “What would I have done if I was there?” That is, are we in all honesty really able to say that if we had been born white and living around the early part of the 1900s that we would protest and speak against lynching and racism? Can we say that we would have marched against Jim Crow if we were born as a White-Southerner man? Most likely not, and if we do believe that we would have protested and marched against the lynching of black bodies, then we are not being truly honest with ourselves because the question remains: what are we doing against the ugly state of affairs against our gay brothers and sisters currently plaguing our nation? Also, what are we doing against the dehumanization of illegal immigrants in this country? What actions are we taking to fight against the big-powerful financial companies exploiting the most financial vulnerable people in our country? Most of us are merely watching from the comfort of our living room. And we may raise a few voices of concern here and there, but in the end we are doing from a safe place where no ultimate consequence would befall us.

We are all product of our particular time and place. Thus, it is easier to speak out against lynching because many of us find such practice beastly horrifying. It is always easy to make a stand and speak out against evil when it is safe to stand and speak out against evil. We can all speak out against racism because we know that in large society sees racism as evil. But, can we be sincerely honest with ourselves so as to say that we could and would fight for interracial marriage during the 1920s? Could we have stand and fight against the mob as they prepare to lynch a black person? Could we have stand and fight against the genocide of Native Americans during the 19th century? It is easier to speak out and protest against immorality and evil when we are confident that there is no real cost in standing against injustice. The cost of standing against injustice has a tremendous price tag because there is no such thing as free justice. This may give us reason to stay quiet or to stay on the side line, but such stance is much more costly because it robs us of our humanity and it also shackles us to the chain of fear. By doing nothing, we become nothing – that is, we become less than human or no longer human. We also become slave, bound to fear and to merely living life. True freedom is the empowerment to live for life and not merely living life. Our silence in times of injustice silences our humanity, thus we become a bit less human by becoming enslaved and not free. And, in the end, we become no different from those who are pushing for inhumane, unfair, and injustice policies in this country and in the world. When we are silent against injustice, we speak for injustice.