"Israel has no better friends throughout the world." As I wrote this article, news came in of 2 Palestinian teenagers shot by Israeli IDF soldiers. From what I gathered, two teenage Arabs wielding knives and clubs broke into a settlement home in Eli and started beating and eventually stabbed an Israeli man in his house. The man fought back, protecting his wife and children and managed to get them out the house. The family called emergency services and when the soldiers arrived the two teenagers, who’d been hiding, then attacked the soldiers. – On first reading I must question why these two weren’t arrested by police, as happens in regular communities? it seems odd (to outsiders) with the use of excessive force… But on the other hand; what were the teenagers doing there (apart from attacking people)? What did they hope to achieve? Also, what did they think would happen after attacking soldiers? Then there's the imbalance: guns and bullets versus bats and knives… though in 2011 there was similar story when two Arab teenagers (similarly armed) broke into a house (in Samaria), murdering an entire family. As a rule though, tensions are always high. Since the beginning, Israeli soldiers have taken the stance of no compromise. But we still live with the fact that 2 more teenagers are dead. The result of stories like the one above, is that Israel is often painted as the bad guys, and they’re not innocent, so why is it that Christianity always takes the side of the Israelis, even when the nation’s actions are hard to comprehend, let alone explain reasonably? We all know the story that Israel is God’s chosen people, but in a world (modern society) increasingly dismissing God and the Bible (or Torah) as irrelevant, can the “chosen people” still be justified? Does that stance even apply anymore? History [Biblical] The Bible contains some of the oldest historical records known to man, much older than the Qur'an. Foundations of Israeli culture (founded in the wisdom of the law of Moses) is divinely inspired and linked/integral to the religious beliefs of over half the world’s population (55% in 2010), and that’s only counting the big ones (Christianity – a third of the world’s population, Islam – quarter, and then the much smaller Judaism)… and that 'religious' population is increasing fast. In other words, Israel is the most devout state in exercising God’s early inspired practices, due to the fact that Israel as a nation has a direct covenant with God (Deut 5:2). “Although other ancient communities saw a divine presence in history, this was taken up in its most consequent fashion within the ancient Israelite community and has remained, through many developments, the focus of its descendants' religious affirmations” --- [http://history-world.org/history_of_judaism.htm] God's favourite, or chosen nation; what does that mean? Firstly; what kind of God has “chosen people”, i.e. favourites, what about the rest of us unlucky enough to be born in another country… and furthermore, regarding said favourites, why Israel? No one knows why God chose Israel because no one knows the mind of God. The second part though is quite interesting, looking at the nation itself – if one were to petition the world, Israel would definitely not be the most popular country insofar as topics of human rights and politics are concerned. In fact many would see the nation as (and they've been labelled as such) supremacists. Seeing themselves (in some ways) as higher than the rest of the world, kind of like the way other school kids look at the teacher’s pet. Moreover, what does it mean for the rest of the world knowing that God has chosen one nation? At a glance, in terms of Biblical practice/law etc… Israel has drifted far from God. It’s a tough sell; how does one reconcile “Love thy neighbour” with protecting oneself from terrorism and being the only tiny Jewish State in a hostile (Anti-Semitic) Arab world (with leaders openly proclaiming their will for Israel's destruction)? But then again, God has this habit or pattern of redemption… the Bible is full of it, it’s literally the central message of the Bible: Salvation, redemption of humanity through his son Jesus Christ (a Jew). And if we look throughout history, Israel has constantly failed God, failed to obey him. Yet the message is that despite (our) failings, God still loves us. So in reality, as Jesus said, let he who is without sin cast the first stone… no one is without sin, so no one can really judge. Israel is an allegory for all of us. "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8
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Staying with aliens, let’s recall the fictional tales of alien invasions. Many times it takes the form of some kind of infection, using humans as hosts. C.S. Lewis calls Christianity the ‘good infection’. The thing is that when we decide upon this path, we come to realise something: With the original fall of man, we were removed from God’s Grace. So right now, where we are, is actually in opposition to God. Think of it as a sovereign state, a King ruling his kingdom, and then one of his subjects’ defaults, and chooses to oppose him, his authority – disobeying the King – and as a result, the King banished him from his presence since the man chose to oppose the King’s law. This is what man did with God. Man was exiled (supernaturally from God’s presence, and physically from Eden). We are the enemy. Following Christ is effectively reverting (back) to the other side – to the side we were made to be on when God first made Adam. So all Christians here on Earth are ‘behind enemy lines’, because we started life as the ‘enemy’ – created by God, but choosing our own way, as opposed to God’s way. Following Christ is choosing to engage in war… Yes there is the spiritual warfare, and open societal persecution, but the real war, is within. We are at war with ourselves. We who were once the enemy (before being saved) are engaged with a struggle between our spiritual and natural selves as God teaches/guides us to be more like himself (specifically, like his son Jesus). In this process of inward transformation, we succumb to putting God in a box… As a wise man once said, (okay he’s a young minister is the USA, but still wise), “We think this is our party and we’re inviting God into our [life] party. But the reality is that this is God’s party, and he has invited us.” God created everything, so when we commit our lives to him, we are only choosing to give him what was already his to begin with. God cannot make us love him – that’s not real love. True love involves an act of choice… Free will. We have too much pride to admit and submit to God, what is already his. And we have too many affinities with this world and the distractions of things within it, yet when life is over what will we keep? We need to invest our time and energy into things not of this world, to be preoccupied by our relationship with God.
Let me start with Aliens and outer space... We start with the abstract, the obscure, the ambiguous… we shall start with the unknown, or the unknowable. When allowing our imagination to conceptualize an Alien life form, specifically a more intelligent and advanced alien life form, we assume a number of things… one of which is: That they are superior to us, or possess superior skills/capabilities/technology/intellect. We secede from our absolute (superlative) thinking. Conceding that we are not the be all and end all of the universe, and certainly evidence more than suggests, by observing our placement within said universe, that we are not the proverbial ‘biggest dog in the yard’. In fact our ‘yard’ (solar system/galaxy) is kind of average. We willingly accept the fact that there are things beyond our understanding (in so far as it applies to aliens) – that these would-be aliens would possess things beyond our comprehension. As famed Astrophysicist and cosmologist Neil Degrasse Tyson proposed; to an advanced alien race that had ‘evolved’ by a simple 1 percent (in the same evolutionary direction that we are more advanced than Apes on Earth), that the most intelligent human being would be on a similar intelligence level as an alien toddler. And to think; if God (the supernatural appearing Alien to the natural world), a Creator that created all life as we know it - how much more intelligent is he (who actually invented our intelligence)? Of course, logic follows that he would do things, act in ways beyond our understanding (hence the coined term - mysterious ways). Just like certain elements of a huge plan will not make sense to an individual who hasn't seen the entire picture. So we're willing to entertain the idea of a superior intelligence, but only so far as it is convenient for us. Why is this concept so difficult to grasp? Because of our free will. In the first instance of alien encounters, we as a human race were not subject to them, we were still free to rebel against them and retain our proverbial independence, because their interaction with us was limited (and subjective/proposed/imagined). But in the case of God, we are all suddenly confronted and accountable, we are faced with ultimatums, with consequences and our own mortality… the interaction with a would-be creator is naturally more personal and divisive. You cannot hide behind the collective. You cannot hide at all. The truth is exclusive (hence: specified, unique, absolute - not admitting of other things... so it the truth is by it nature: DIVISIVE). We as people don’t like to be governed. And to acknowledge God or a God-like Creator figure, leads us directly to that dynamic – meaning we are to submit to such a figure… and that usually means making some changes in our lives. So that’s where the line in the sand is, in making the decision: to be or not to be… To acknowledge God, or not. And in our (sometimes) desperation to absolve ourselves from this issue we’ve gone to inordinate lengths to justify ourselves, trying (unsuccessfully) to discredit any and all forms of evidence that would inform our choice, preferring to construct elaborate alternatives to avoid the “God issues” altogether… Simply because it suits our agenda, our yearning for absolute freedom, because in many minds, submitting to God means forfeiting freedom. The truth is though, that you cannot have true freedom without rules. Because no rules, implies no boundaries, no division between good or bad, no restrictions, no accountability, no consequences… because absolute freedom is clinically the definition of chaos. And this is Man’s ultimate goal, to have dominion over himself, to call God a human construct and place him neatly into an imaginary “box” of our own making, and to live in a world where… anything goes. Or at the very least to live in a world abiding by only his own rules. The irony is: we are not so much putting God in a ‘box’, but rather ourselves, attempting to insulate ourselves from any Godly notions. I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it ……………………………… It’s a trap an illusion It taunts me clutches me like quicksand, or what we imagine quicksand to be, the fictional kind. It’s a trick, a confidence trick, a lie that changes every so often, like you’re figuring out the path and then suddenly the environment changes up on you, suddenly your senses are failing you, deceiving, the world is tapping incessantly on the dome of your mind, And then they say “no, that’s normal, writers are supposed to feel like that, writers are supposed to be a little MAD, a little cu coo.” And that’s like saying “yes, you’re meant to drown, that’s kind of your job, to sink in the sand, be covered, embrace the submergence, You chose this didn’t you?” But then they say we don’t get to choose, “we are chosen” Writing is a gift, and the writer is merely the recipient, fulfilling his role, obligated to use that gift, obligated to sink. To be taunted by confidence one moment And then the rug pulled out the next, as we slip into self doubt ... again Sooo, that’s the idea then, to just walk this imaginary line traced along the edge of an imaginary cliff; confidence on one side, and doubt down below on the other. With sympathizers isolated in their own world, offering small consolation, all they can do really, a simple frown, a shrug, palms up… “what can you do?” Maybe you can try to not be a writer, maybe that will solve it? Maybe I could try that, try, try to not be it, try and pretend for a while, being stuck somewhere else. I hate it I hate it because this is simultaneously exactly where I’m meant to be and it is exactly… nowhere. Forever nowhere Because the truth is, if writer’s are the observer’s of the world, and this world isn’t or wasn’t good enough so we decided to make their own worlds, to invent or reinvent stories to explore deeper meanings of pure truths that are hard to comprehend on just the physical plain, then what does that mean? The reality is that if we’re in this world just observing then we’re not technically part of it, we’re just stuck here, dreaming of some other places. There we are Back on the edge of the cliff again Confidence in the imaginary Doubt in reality Pitiful. I hate it So that’s it then, to struggle in quicksand and fight your way out… some of us never do Some of us will always be trapped … I don’t like it. There are only 26 letters, more in other languages, but 26 in this one. That's it. we are not reinventing the language, all stories have been told, we only look for ways to tell the same tales in a different way. Every new generation comes along discovering life and the world anew, because they’ve never seen it before, or heard the stories before, so those same old stories get told, get read, get heard and live again in the minds of a new crowd. That’s the cycle. That’s the trap, the confinement of letters and words, because words are what we have, but they are not enough, even though they have immense power, to inspire, create, reconcile, heal, secure and define... Scribbling to paint some vague picture, just an image of what is actually going on here. So we’re trapped, in between letters and words, in between realities… and the imaginary. I’m not stuck. I just haven’t moved much, not in this world anyway. I don’t like it, because those who I want to see me, do not. And what started as a lament on the war with words, a war with time and being, and seeing and feeling, is all of a sudden put in its place... given new context and meaning the root of this struggle... - “We have so many different and conflicting selves within us that you never know which one will prevail, even when we don’t want certain of them to win" "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us..." The original Greek for "Word" used in John 1, is Logos... LOGOS (noun) the Word of God, or principle of divine reason and creative order, identified in the Gospel of John with the second person of the Trinity incarnate in Jesus Christ. This methodology then proceeds ‘downward’ to the Incarnation, to the event in which the Word or Logos became man in Jesus Christ. (noun) a symbol or other design adopted by an organization to identify its products, uniform, vehicles, etc.. the Olympic logo was emblazoned across their jackets synonyms: emblem, trademark, brand, device, figure, symbol, design, sign, mark, insignia “We are not made for the mountains, for sunrises, or for the other beautiful attractions in life - those are simply intended to be moments of inspiration. We are made for the valley and the ordinary things of life and that is where we have to prove our stamina and strength.” Photographer - artist feature. Rediscovering someone’s work who was a master of their field, Is like discovering buried treasure, only for me to veil it again for the next person. Ernst Haas’ work can be appreciated by anyone, but it is even more poignant when viewed in context as he was one of the chief pioneers in using colour… it’s then that you truly grasp why he’s one of the most celebrated and influential photographers of the 20th century.
"Photography is a bridge between science and art. "... in visions we are alone, in taste we can be together. 295 - Terrorist attacks worldwide thus far for 2015, averaging 27 per month… however November alone currently stands at 33 so far, and with the Paris attacks inspiring the trending hashtag “#PrayforParis”, I take it many people are wondering (yet again, as it is with most atrocities or disasters throughout history) where was God during this time, or why did it happen, or the greater question of ‘why is there evil in the world’? It sets off another flurry of questions: If God created everything, then did he create evil, and thus, doesn’t that make God evil…? A political satire show jokingly presented an overlapping issue by belittling a politician’s belief in God, along the lines of “he believing that the world is around 6000 years old, and he believing in a God that is powerful enough to create the universe in 6 days but not powerful enough to NOT make paedophiles”. Many sceptics hearing these sorts of comments on an otherwise mainstream news show would gleefully laugh at said man with his seemingly, by modern standards, conservative beliefs, the insinuation being: how can we (citizens) allow such a man with such (ridiculous) beliefs to govern a state or country. The bigotry here is pretty palpable and intentional. What so often frustrates me, is when intelligent people fail to really think. This ultimately comes down to choice, and what we choose to believe based on the evidence at hand. As we know, good lawyers are very capable of getting guilty men off the hook, and it happens more often than we care to admit. The evidence for or against God’s existence is the same for all. To myself, the evidence is overwhelmingly convincing (For), but I acknowledge that there is just enough of an element of doubt to fuel the ‘un-believer’. As to why this doubt exists, well I encourage you to read another article I wrote exploring this very issue. [Why do you need faith to believe in God?] I must also add that much of the bias against God is fueled by man’s own ignorance and pride, and that other thing listed among the notorious 7 deadly sins, that of ‘Sloth’ (or laziness/apathy/indifference). Many are content to live without truly knowing, because to know or to seek to know would mean disturbing their status quo. It means (via their misguided perception) perhaps living a devout life of celibacy and going to church every Sunday and helping thy neighbor, and generally being accountable, and gasp, reading the Bible - that outdated and thick book of many tiny words written in some ancient languages that’s mostly confusing and filled with parables… and who knows what to take literally and what not, and how is something that apparently contravenes modern scientific theory going to help me today? Not to mention all the “fairytales” with talking animals and bushes… So, instead of going through all that hullabaloo, why not skip it and just go on with my life, “as you were” minding my own business, and being generally (by the world’s standards) a good and law abiding citizen, because if being a good person isn’t good enough for whatever god may or may not exist, then maybe he/she isn’t a god worth knowing. The issue arises: Are you earnestly seeking the truth? If not, then don’t bother continuing with this read. *** If you are, then you must face a very real truth: that if God exists, then he most likely does not conform to our rules or the standards you or I set – we, being the creation, and God, the Creator. So when we say that being a good person should be good enough for God for us to get into heaven or paradise or whatever, we are doing 2 things here:
So that means that we have to relinquish power or concede that we do not (and will never) know everything. At the heart of this, is submission… to submit to a greater power than ourselves, an entity that knows better than we do and that has the ability to, and has, outlined a particular way in which we should live our lives… But we don’t want to be told how to live our lives. This is essentially crux of the matter, like a rebellious teenager not wanting a parent to interfere and tell them what to do… so we choose our own way, and in a world where we’re free to exercise our own free will, evil will exist.
There are many more issues and questions that this raises, but essentially, we need to confront or entertain the issue of ourselves and our relation toward (a potential) God. Once we accept the simple dynamics of this relationship, then the state of play is made more apparent, and the consequences we live with are put into a little more context… this is also when the answers become more complicated and even messy, and we must first be prepared for answers we don't like, or are uncomfortable, before we even earnestly ask the hard questions. “My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?” [Image credits: unless otherwise stated - tumblr.com, warphotographer.org, Facebook.] ******* Short: The Blood trail - {non fiction} - by Steven Benjamin - the trail of blood ran from the dungeons, starting as several sporadic drops, And continued in spots and marks, to the court... only noticeable if your were looking for it. From there down the alleyway Up the narrow street and into the courtyard. Here it was no longer a few drops, It was a pool of blood staining the stone slabs With spatter on the stone walls and marble columns of the fortress, on the table and chairs. The bloodied footprints had trampled the stone slabs red The blood that led away from the courtyard was more of a smear than a trail, where legs had been dragged until he found his feet. More bloodied footsteps, staggered at first, downhill, where he stumbled. And still the blood trickled like a steadily leaking tap. It kept going still, Down the road - a bloodied hand print on a wall at the gates - and out of town to the barren west side. The dark red soaked the stone steps And thence up the gravel track winding the short way to the top of the hill called skull. At the top the blood drops had become patched and smears once more again where bloodied flesh met the earth. There was a squared hole in the ground, for a wooden beam. the ground around the hole was stained. Here was where the bloody trail ended, In a jagged dark pool around this hole. The wooden beam that had stood in that hole was stained too, where the red had streamed down. The streaming blood soaked the wooden post for six hours. For six hours the man hung there… For six hours he hung nailed to that post. an innocent man *** [Image credits: jerusalem-insiders-guide.com, artflakes.com] |
[Banner illustration by Joel Kanar]
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