Kony 2012: Beating the WAR-Drums

An incredible phenomenon has been sweeping the web recently.  If you haven't seen it, you eventually will.  The short documentary: KONY 2012 in a nutshell is a piece put together by InvisibleChildren, a non profit advocacy group out of San Diego, CA that has pushed toward ending child slavery, human trafficking, and by the use of military force via the ending of the life one its  leaders, an African war-lord of Uganda named Kony.

Wait? A call for assassination? Military intervention?

Yes, and top it off with 100 million views on Youtube and 1million people pledging their support.

The major push of this film is to get America's youth on board and in the name of justice, to take out an evil mini-dictator in Africa.


Who is Kony?  From Wikipedia:

Joseph Kony (pronounced IPA: [koɲ];^[6] born c. 1961)^[1] is a Ugandan guerrilla group leader, head of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). While initially enjoying strong public support, the LRA turned brutally on its own supporters, supposedly to "purify" the Acholi people and turn Uganda into a theocracy.^[2]He ordered the abduction of children to become child-sex slaves and child soldiers.^[20] An estimated 66,000 children became soldiers and two million people have been internally displaced since 1986.^[21

Evil:  Mentality & Ignorance:

"This movie is being shown in middle schools, in grade schools.  I've got kids calling me and saying, we need to kill him, he's hurting children!"

Evil abounds in this world.  Right now in this world, consider this: 

1. Syria:  
• Civil War has broken out.  The UN estimates up to 10,000 civilians have died just over the last few months alone.  An evil dictator is killing his own people.
2. Afghanistan:
• America's war on terror is in its' 10th year in this country.  When will it end?  This war has already surpassed the war in Vietnam as the longest war in America's history.  3,000 American troops have died thus far, upwards of 40-50,000 Taliban fighters as well.  100,000 troops are still stationed in this country
3. Iraq:
•  Estimated war deaths exceed 100,000 including civilians.  Upon a majority of US forces leaving, a civil war between the Suni and Shiite may soon happen.  Bombings, like this one leaving 16 dead innocent men, women and children dead and 26 scarred for life , continue with a never ending frequency.
4. Libya:  
• Civil War has ended the life of Muammar Gaddafi and 20-30,000 soldiers and citizens. 
5. Congo:
• The deadliest war in modern African history was recently 'ended' and directly involved eight African nations, as well as about 25 armed groups. After beginning in 2003, by 2008, the war and its aftermath had killed 5.4 million people, mostly from disease and starvation.  This war was engineered and ran by multiple African kings.
6. Palestine:  
• Terrorist group Hezbollah has been targeting Israel ever since its existence in 1948.  Hezbollah, which started with only a small militia, has grown to an organization with seats in the Lebanese government.  This terrorist group has been democratically elected! Their sole purpose is to destroy Israel.
  
7. Iran:
• Protesters were shot and killed in in 2009 in protesting the tyranny of the Iranian government over their lives.  The country is an Islamic republic ruled by the Ayatollahs and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has professed that he will 'wipe Israel off the map' once he has atomic weapons.  He is building them as we speak.
8. Rwanda:  
• Government sanctioned genocide just recently 'ended.'  Here's a summary:  The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days (from the assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira on April 6) through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate.^[1]
9. Nigeria
• A war between Muslim and Christian factions have split the country in two.  Another suicide bomb killing 'just' 10.  Thousands, perhaps 10+ thousand have died just in the past few months in the name of violence.  
10. Mexican Drug War:  The war the never ends and has left thousands dead

America has been the defender of liberty since it's founding out of tyranny in 1776.  George Washington led the initial revolution, but upon stepping down as president in his farewell address he stressed the need to stay out of foreign wars in Europe.  The founders understood what war was all about, why? Because they experienced it first hand.  They saw the evil in this world and understood that in order to stay independent and free, we could not afford to lose millions of our young men and women on the battlefield.  Some could argue, we have become a great country in no small part because we have stayed out of wars longer than other rival economic super powers.

We've seen carnage in WWI, WWII, the Korean War, Vietnam, the Holocaust, Russian Stalin Communism, Pol-Pot's slaying of millions in the Khmer Rouge, and so many other bloody events.  Some would say that this is the history of mankind, a long period of war interrupted by brief periods of peace.

Evil exists.  Yes, the land of the free and the brave has done much to take out that evil and in effect saving the world not once, but twice from tyranny.  But, we fought in WWI and II not because we wanted to grab land or gain power, but rather to free citizens from the shackles of tyranny and by doing so protect our lands from those chains ever coming upon us.

We are fighting for freedom right now in the longest lasting war in America's history, Afghanistan, surpassing even Vietnam's long length.  We have troops in over 100 countries around the world.  We could be at any moment engaged in yet another conflict in Iran.

Fighting for freedom is a noble cause, and when wrapping it in a nice 27 minute video full of passionate appeals from the children, it appears even nobler.  But to fight a war comes at a cost, a cost that can not be so easily explained in 27 minute sound bites.

Why is it that the same anti-war and anti-bush celebrities are now joining in on this call to end this rebel's power and now advocating assassination?  and why Kony of all people?  Where is the Ugandan government in all this, don't they have an interest in ending this evil in their own country?

 

Should we always be eliminating evil in the world with war? Why is it that America is seemingly all alone when we go to war? Why are we the last ones to leave? Why is our defense budget greater than the rest of the world combined? Too many questions to explain to the children.  Rather, should we kill a bad guy? Ah, that's better. I can understand that.

Perhaps we should have a campaign with little kids waving signs saying: "Communism has claimed over 100 Million lives over the last generation, Kill the Chinese Dictator"  or "Military draft for the restoration of freedom all over the world!"

But then, that war may be too expensive, or difficult to do, or ruffle too many feathers--that's right, we just want to live in peace.  We can't do anything militarily with China, that might cause a real war where millions would die.  Oh.

We are blinded in America by our greed, our pride, our arrogance.  We think that we can take evil out of the world while it is still lodged in our own heart. Abortion anyone? How many millions around the world, even now with China's one-child policy have been silenced this way?   When God is forgotten, evil manifests itself.  We have moved away from Him in America.  Evil will only increase without his hand on our society.  War is not the answer, God is.  Yes, we need to protect the innocent and stand for freedom around the globe, but we need to consider the costs and consider the motives for these actions.

Perhaps we should get our house in order.  Perhaps we should get the log out of our own eye first.

The Jungle: GK Chesterton

“THE modern city is ugly not because it is a city but because it is not enough of a city, because it is a jungle, because it is confused and anarchic, and surging with selfish and materialistic energies.” 

~GK Chesterton: 'Lunacy and Letters.'

We live in an age where being busy represents accomplishment.  We fail to even slow down to consider our own destiny.  How easy we fill our minds with vanity, how easy we get distracted from time to time.  I wonder what God will say when we get to Heaven if we act surprised, like I think many will be.  Our lives are all interconnected in one way for eternity.  Make the most of your time and invest in things that matter for not just this world, but the next.  CS Lewis I believe once said it best, that 'those who did the most for this world where precisely those who were most focused on the next.'

Truth: Matthew 10 The Call to Action

This world is a battlefield.  If you're not receiving flak, you're not over the target.  We are reminded in Matthew 10:

   ³⁴ “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to turn

   “‘a man against his father,
   a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
   ³⁶ a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’^[c]

Matthew 10 in context is Jesus' commission to sending out the 12 disciples as sheep among wolves, to preach the gospel to anyone that will receive.  Notice in verse 1 first how Jesus sent them out.

¹ Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

Jesus commissioned the disciples with power to heal disease, not kill people supernaturally.  In context, Jesus is referring the 'two-edged sword' that Hebrew 12 mentions that pierces or divides between soul and spirit, joint and marrow, a discerner of the thought and intentions of the hearts.  The gospel has POWER.  This power, when spoken, will divide.  The Truth will offend many, revealing sin and unearthing evil.

I read a quote from the British philosopher GK Chesterton in Romance of Orthodoxy which ran: "It is as true of democratic fraternity as a divine love; sham love ends in compromise and common philosophy; but real love has always ended in bloodshed." On the same line, action implies in its nature that one thing is preferable to one another.  Truth by definition is exclusive--that is proven, as the moment you challenge that statement, you are saying not what I say is right, but what you say is right.

And that is the ultimate reality of the world.  We far too often sit back in our lazy-boy and imagine that all is ok in the world, and that those around us have our best interests at heart--or so we say in America where modern man has not known tyranny but from a distance.  This call to action, found here in the words of Christ, is what is needed most in America these days.

This call to action cannot be found in eastern way of thought as pantheistic thought implies that one thing is as good as another.  Ethical and social reform cannot happen without action.  The western theology, found in Christianity that says "I am I, and Thou art Thou" is directly the type of belief that has overthrown tyrants and dictators.

"If we, like the eastern saint want to merely contemplate how right things are, of course we shall only say that they must go right.  But if we particularly want to make them go right, we must insist that they may go wrong." GK 

Truth divides.  If your words fail to even move the comatose patient, perhaps you aren't speaking it.

Mosques Double in America; Pastor Grahams Apologizes & our Need for Courage

Read these two articles.  Compare them and then ask:  Would Reverend Graham apologize for saying that Christianity and Islam are different? That all paths do not lead to the same God? That Christianity teaches that those who do not accept Christ's blood as remission for sin are in danger of God's wrath?  

While one religion spurs its believers to multiply, the other can't even question the beliefs of those around them.  There is dedication and strong belief in one of these religions.  Their leaders consistently espouse what they believe and this faith requires continued devotion, devotion to the point of death for many.  


Does that sound like Christianity in America in the 21st century?  


Instead of denouncing the President for forcing Catholic charities and hospitals to offer contraceptives against their religious beliefs and calling out the President's pastor's outrageous statements on orthodox Christianity, he apologizes for even 'calling into question' the belief of another self proclaimed Christian.


Want to see courage?  Perhaps we should learn a less from Sophie Scholl, who fearlessly stood firm in Nazi Germany, and went to her death before compromising her conscience.  





Mosques in America nearly double since 9/11

Mosques in the United States have doubled in number since the September 11 attacks, with urban and suburban centers seeing an uptick in mosque construction over the last decade, according to a new report.

"This is a growing, healthy Muslim community that is well integrated into America," Ihsan Bagby, who headed the research project -- which was sponsored by the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, among other groups -- told The Washington Post. "Researchers conducting the national count found a total of 2,106 Islamic centers, compared to 1,209 in 2000 and 962 in 1994," The Washington Post reported.

The Washington Post offers the statistic as a sign of the Muslim-American community triumphing over the anti-Muslim "backlash" supposed to be demonstrated by the opposition to the so-called Ground Zero mosque in New York City. But maybe the data vindicates those critics of the mosque who claimed to oppose the Ground Zero mosque construction not out of bigotry, but a very particular sensitivity regarding that mosque's proximity to Ground Zero of the World Trade Center attacks.

"When I look over there and see a mosque, it’s going to hurt," the New York Times quoted C. Lee Hanson, who lost a son in the September 11 attacks, as saying in 2010 about the Ground Zero mosque. "Build it someplace else."

Apparently, Muslim-Americans have been doing just that for the last decade.

Rev. Franklin Graham Apologizes For Refusing to Say Obama Is a Christian

It’s been a week since the Rev. Franklin Graham set off media mayhem over his refusal to admit that President Barack Obama is a Christian. As you may recall, he declined to say that Obama is, in his view, a believer during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

But now, only one week later, the prominent faith leader has issued an apology over the incident saying that he regrets “any comments I have ever made which may have cast any doubt on the personal faith of our president, Mr. Obama.”

Re-writing the Marriage Laws

Maryland become #8 on the list of states to officially recognize same sex marriage couples.  This follows a recent ruling almost one month ago where the the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decided to overturn California's Proposition 8, which had previously been voted in favor of by California voters.

An Interactive map can be found on National Journal:

The battle rages on.   Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) has already been shelved by the Attorney General Eric Holder, as he pledged not to defend it in court.  It's now 8 v. 30.  30 other states have voted to legalize traditional marriage.  Yes, I said that right.  A vote for gay marriage is a vote against traditional marriage. From The Harvard study on marriage comes the following:

Once the judiciary or legislature adopts “the union of any two persons” as the legal definition of civil marriage, that conception becomes the sole definitional basis for the only law-sanctioned marriage that any couple can enter, whether same-sex or man-woman. Therefore, legally sanctioned genderless marriage, rather than peacefully coexisting with the contemporary man-woman marriage institution, actu ally displaces and replaces it.

Why does this matter?  Let gay marriage take place, what's really the ramifications perhaps you ask.  We could ask it the other way, if gay marriage doesn't matter, why don't just let traditional marriage stand? 

Read the underlined paragraph again.  Genderless marriage.  That's what this is all about.  Once gay marriage, when does it end? Man and dog, husband and child?  Without a reference point, you drift into never never land. 

Scripture

In Christian and Islamic traditions, Sodom and Gomorrah have become synonymous with impenitent sin, and their fall with a proverbial manifestation of God's wrath.  The only instance in scripture of God reigning fire down upon society is found in Genesis 19.  God does not take this issue lightly.  It matters A LOT  (no pun intended).


From ProtectMarriage.com:

Traditional marriage is the foundation of society and has served our state well for centuries. California’s constitutional marriage amendment exists to strengthen society, encourage monogamous and loving marriages and to provide the optimal environment to ensure the well being of children. Thirty-one other states, including California have voted on this issue and every single one decided against legalizing same-sex marriage and instead upheld traditional marriage. California has voted on the issue twice and the people’s voice has been resounding: marriage is between one man and one woman.

 From CNN:

(CNN) -- Maryland became the eighth U.S. state to allow same-sex marriage Thursday as Gov. Martin O'Malley signed legislation he said secures the "human dignity" of all residents, including gay and lesbian couples.

A standing-room crowd in the Maryland State House cheered O'Malley as he emerged from his office to sign the legislation, flanked by state Senate President Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael Busch.

"The way forward is always found through greater respect for the equal rights of all," the governor said.

Six states and the District of Columbia already issue same-sex marriage licenses -- Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont. Five states -- Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey and Rhode Island -- allow civil unions that provide rights similar to marriage.
The Maryland House of Delegates approved the measure O'Malley signed Thursday less than two weeks after Washington state legislators voted to legalize same-sex marriage. That measure will take effect in the summer if it survives a likely court challenge.

New Jersey lawmakers approved same-sex marriage this month, but Gov. Chris Christie vetoed the legislation. He has said voters should decide the issue in a statewide referendum.

Maryland passes same-sex marriage bill

Voters in Minnesota and North Carolina, meanwhile, will consider proposals in November to ban gay marriage in those states. New Hampshire lawmakers may also consider a repeal of its same-sex marriage law, according to the National Organization for Marriage, which opposes same-sex marriage. Lawsuits seeking to expand civil unions or turn back laws banning same-sex marriages are working through the courts in at least 12 states, including Hawaii, Minnesota and California, the organization said.

Same-sex marriage became a national issue in 1993, after the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that a ban on such unions violated the state constitution.

Legislation was introduced recently to allow same-sex marriages in Illinois, and bills from 2011 remain technically active in Hawaii and Minnesota, said Jack Tweedie of the National Council of State Legislatures. It's unclear whether any will see significant action, he said.

An effort is also under way to put a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage on the November ballot in Maine, where voters previously overturned a 2009 state law authorizing it.

In California, meanwhile, a federal appeals court recently ruled against a voter-passed referendum that outlawed same-sex marriage. It said such a ban was unconstitutional and singled out gays and lesbians for discrimination. The case appears to be eventually headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.