Sunday, September 07, 2003

Well, I had a half-written post/rant saved, but it looks like it's gone, so you guys get what I remember from it. Shame, it was pretty good too.

On August 28, I watched this ABC special about Martin Luther King Jr., and his famous "I have a dream" speech. It was pretty cool, except I was annoyed that they didn't play the speech straight through. They kept interrupting it with commentary.

But one thing struck me about everything. The civil rights movement . . . it all began in the churches, with Christians. And after a while, they became a dynamic, world changing force. To nearly everyone, and especially Rev. King, it was all about Christ, and answering his call. It was humbling, to say the least. What has happened to the Christian church today? Not only are we so divided on things that we can't fight a concentrated battle, but we seem to lack faith and resilience. So many Christians would rather just sit back, hunker down in the churches, and think, "It's all going to go downhill anyhow, so why fight it?" "I can't help in any of this," "I'm not interested in these kinds of things." Oh, that God would light the churches on fire with the Spirit, not just for saving lost souls, but for restoring a lost society and culture. Really, the two rather go hand in hand. In large part, we'll change the culture and society one heart and mind at a time.

Well, that's about all I can remember of that post.

In other news, Miguel Estrada has withdrawn from becoming a federal judge. This really angers me. I did Model UN, and I hated with a passion the people who used the protocol to exert the will of the few on the many, rather than letting the will of the people speak. It's exactly what these Senators are doing. They're essentially saying, "Since we know you won't play the game by our rules, we won't even let you take the ball onto the field." It's sickening. You know what's rich? I forget who, but one of the "filibuster" senators said of all of this, essentially, "This is what happens when the White House won't work with the Congress." Excuse me?! Who isn't working with who here? Do your job and just let the people speak, either these people are wanted as judges or not! Don't let your minority views be shackles to the majority. (This is how I feel about a lot of stuff, like homosexuality or atheism).

But this brings me to an interesting point. Did you know it's illegal for religious groups to meet in homes in Switzerland? In fact, every non-mainline Protestant denomination has been labeled a cult by that State. Craziness. The church in Europe has almost reached the point of the church in the Middle East! We need to pray for the few, true Christians who remain Europe.

Well, there's more, but I'm tired. I hope this will do for now. Until next time, party people!

Hal