Many aid workers and diplomats suffered a panic attack when the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court sought an arrest warrant this week for the president of Sudan, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, for committing genocide. They feared that Mr. Bashir would retaliate by attacking peacekeepers and humanitarian workers.
But instead of wringing our hands, we should be applauding. The prosecution for genocide is a historic step that also creates an opportunity in Sudan, particularly if China can now be induced and shamed into suspending the transfer of weapons used to slaughter civilians in Darfur.
If China continues — it is the main supplier of arms used in the genocide — then it may itself be in violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention. Article III of the convention declares that one of the punishable crimes is “complicity in genocide”; that’s the crime that China may be committing if it goes on supplying arms used for genocide, even after the I.C.C. has begun criminal proceedings against the purchaser of those weapons.
1. People of the Second Chance are individuals who are fast to forgive. In a culture that believes in revenge and payback, we rebel with grace.
2. People of the Second Chance receive second chances in their own life. When we have experienced personal, professional, or relational failure, we refuse to be defined by our mistakes. We learn, we grow, and we have the courage to move on.
3. People of the Second Chance serve in places where people need second chances. We advocate for the vulnerable and fight for equality for the poor, the prisoner, and the voiceless.
Hopefully whether you live in Nashville, Brentwood, or Franklin this will be a helpful resource to find fun and exciting things to do on the weekend in the greater metropolitan area.
Those of you that care probably already know that tomorrow is the launch of the new iPhone. We are hopeful that our YouVersion iPhone application will make it in the new app store in the morning so that you can have access to the Bible via your new (or old) iPhone. I’ll post all about the new app on swerve as soon we can confirm it is available.
Having a Bible on your mobile device seems to make life easier.
Your stance on the overabundance of sex on television is commendable and we can agree that this is anti-family and particularly anti-compassion for the youngest members of society. It would certainly be nice if Fox Reality and the Rupert Murdock actually followed at all through on these principles. If Rupert and the rest of the Fox family could put his money where their mouth is–it might actually help make ours a more family and compassionate oriented society.
My second concern deals with the fundamentals of Biblical interpretation. I’m sorry you misguided interpretation of the bible (see below). Even though it must be interesting to fundamentally re-write it on the air of Fox News.
Its further saddens me that you profit off rhetorical vitriol, the anger, and misapplication of Biblical principles. Is that all much different from John Hagee and Creflo Dollar?
Hugs and kisses,
Me
My Criticism of Laura Ingraham and Fox News:
Laura Ingraham said it was “Christianity 101″ that Leviticus and the Sermon on the Mount apply equally. Apparently, its lost on Laura that the New Testament represented a new covenant and that the old law was dead. Otherwise words like grace aren’t particularly meaningful in the Christian lexicon and the entire delineation between old and new is pretty meaningless. Not to mention the fact that the Sermon on the Mount represents words from the very mouth of Jesus.
Political Spin Games: Why the Focus on the Family Should be a Real “No Spin Zone”
I generally have a great deal of respect for James Dobson and his efforts at Focus on the Family. From most all accounts he and his organization seem to be committed to Christian principles even if I don’t always agree with particular policies they endorse or pursue.
However, when James Dobson and those like him become so emeshed in the political dogfight and the actual spinning of political rhetoric–his mission has perhaps gone awry. The Associated Press points out:
He said Obama, who supports abortion rights, is trying to govern by the “lowest common denominator of morality,” labeling it ``a fruitcake interpretation of the Constitution.”
I worry that such mud flinging and name calling is hardly constructive or Christian. Moreover, in doing so he ceases to be an independently minded Christian and becomes a virtual mouthpiece of Fox News broadcasts. Instead of being the voice of God in the world, he becomes a more of a political huckster and much more Rovian in nature.
Erasing and Ignoring Minorities = Not Factual, Not Statistical, and Anti-Christian
The broadcast went further, suggesting that we were only a Christian nation, even by its own statistics it pointed out that were 2% other. The implication seemed to be one in which any all Christian morality could be imperialistically installed into law, without reference to the first amendment guarantee of the separation of church and state. Second, these stats seem radically misapplied–on face I doubt their scientific and statisical validity–even in the most conservative places on the planet like Nashville, TN. (perhaps they polled in Utah or rural Colorado) Also, I fail to see how this is constructive to say we shouldn’t respect and take into account this supposed other 2%–which I would argue is far closer to 20-40% (they claimed self-proclaiming Christians made up about 70% of the American populous) . It also begs the whole “self-identify” as Christian vs. “live” as Christian distinction–which is a distinction I’m quite sure Mr. Dobson applies in the opposite ways consistently on other broadcasts. The story of the Samaritan–is anything if not the story of respecting minorities, be they white, black, brown, yellow, or purple. Tactics aimed to power charge the will of the majority at the price of legitimate minority rights (ie freedom of religion, excluding harm to another) has warped the Sermon on the Mount along with the rest of the mission of Jesus.
Dobson Should Speak, Just Not Spin and Encourage Theocratic Control:
I’m not saying that Christian leaders can’t have political views or can’t voice them–but when the unsaid premises they rely on suggest (and even encourage) unChristian values and their actions contradict Christian values when they lower themselves into the political quicksand of spin politics, something has gone dramatically, dramatically wrong. Coerced faith on the part of non-believers isn’t faith at all. Conversation and bridge building seems to be the solution to these types of disagreements in most cases. In these cases arguments can compellingly be made in the name of rights, responsibilities, and communities which create a civic language that respects others and nurtures a civic community that is the basis of any hope of constructive change at home and abroad.
If Christian values represent truth, and I firmly believe they do, there is positively no need to resort to manipulation and name calling and political spin, rather than logical and compelling discourse.
I think the Church is coming to see what happens when you hop in bed with political parties and fail to acknowledge that each have good and bad, and that neither are a more Christian party. Let us repent of our allegiances that we have prostituted out in exchange for political power. Let us always seek a third way.
Endnote: I can’t find a transcript of Dobson’s speech, I’m my humble opinion he should have released in an easy to access location on his website. Without it, it makes it hard to fully develop the above insights.
My summary of the The Associated Press exchange:
“Even if we did have only Christians in our midst, if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America, whose Christianity would we teach in the schools?” Obama said. “Would we go with James Dobson’s or Al Sharpton’s?” referring to the civil rights leader.
Dobson took aim at examples Obama cited in asking which Biblical passages should guide public policy - chapters like Leviticus, which Obama said suggests slavery is OK and eating shellfish is an abomination, or Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, “a passage that is so radical that it’s doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application.”
As a sidenote, I don’t think Obama probably should have instigated when happened, don’t get me wrong. His larger point about Leviticus and gays (may) be correct–its certainly open to interpretation. In such a gray and muddy water, its misguided to name call with such impunity.
HBO just aired a fantastic documentary on high school debate. The film narrative follows two story lines: one from an elite white school in Texas and an inner city african american school in California.
The documentary discusses issues of race, class, and priviledge by juxtaposing two distinct core story-lines. As a former debater of 6.5 years and debate coach of 5 years it made me reflect deeper on issues of race not only in debate but in society at large. The back story explanation of debate, the contrast between the two worlds, and the cinema- tography are all quite interesting. The documentary airs again on Sunday, June 29 2008.
Through the stories of two debate teams, the fascinating intricacies of high school debate give way to a portrait of the equally complex racial and class divide in American education in Resolved. As Matt and Sam, gifted debaters from an affluent Texas suburb, rise to the semifinals in their bid to win the national Tournament of Champions, Richard and Louis, talented inner-city debaters from Long Beach, CA, mount a successful challenge to modern debate by refocusing on personal experience and dialogue in their own quest for the championship. This 90-minute film offers a verité, behind-the-scenes look at the stresses and pressures of this highly competitive pursuit, while serving as a primer on the idiosyncratic techniques that have evolved over the years in high-school policy debate. Inspiring and enlightening, Resolved reveals a constantly shifting sport that is as much philosophy as it is a competition.
You can check out info on Paulo Freire and his banking model of education, who the African-American debaters reference.
12 years ago my daughter Amy graduated from afternoon Kindergarten and started first grade which meant going to school all-day. That was when we started going out to breakfast together once a week.
Dave continues:
I don’t remember a single early morning trip where the conversation was so important that it permanently changed either of our lives. But I do remember lots of talk about school, friends, the future, God, family, favorite music, lacrosse, coffee-snobbery, doubts, church, colleges, dating, the poor, how to make a difference, her “junior high girls”, Mexico and Rwanda trips, jobs, money, family, owning your “stuff”, saving for college, grades, graduating early and more.
And then Dave brings it all home
On second thought, maybe the culmination of all those conversations did change our lives. And maybe that is how love, community and a father-daughter relationship grow - one conversation at a time. I am so grateful for those early morning conversations and each of those breakfast trips with Amy. It’s one of those things I know I will never regret.
It makes you think how you can be more conversationally available….
From Technology to Saving Souls Across the Atlantic:
I met Aaron Marshall through his blog Church Social Media Optimization (Church SMO for short) and we hung out with some Kentucky tech/social media/blogging folks at the first Podcamp Nashville. It was great to finally meet, chat, and share stories.
About a six weeks ago Aaron called me up and told me he had stepped down from his position with the internet strategy company he was working for and was going on a mission with his wife Nicole to Africa. A mission to Africa? (You’re into technology–isn’t going to Africa pretty much the opposite thing you’re doing now?)
If you want to learn about the crazy and amazing Africa missions trip Aaron and his wife Nicole are about to embark upon, check out their mission blog.
Jesus and His New Testament followers lived passionate, radical, sold out lives of service for the Gospel, and we see NO better way to live.
“Unless we take the time to learn what is sacred to the tribe we’re trying to reach, and until we learn to honor them and respect that thing and find a way to honor God and bridge that gap, it will take more years than necessary to communicate the greatest message that tribe will ever come to hear: In writing eternity into the hearts of all the tribes on earth God created a fragile spider web that connects all peoples to the heart of the Father God. If we are careful not to come in with bulldozer and heavy machinery of doctrines and agendas, we may be able to find that silvery strand.”
Gordon Mitchell and Kelly Congdon in the Richmond Times highlight:
It is worthwhile to recover the debate spirit of 1963. As George Faras shows in his compelling book, No Debate, the current presidential debate system is broken and needs overhaul. The problem is that the authority in charge, the Commission on Presidential Debates, is beholden to the political parties and mainstream commercial television interests. This skewed situation where the
sly foxes of corporate and political power guard the deliberative henhouse has a track record of producing dueling monologue formats, vapid exchanges, and circumscribed citizen involvement. Indeed, the McCain letter decries the “empty sound bites and media-filtered exchanges that dominate our elections.”
We could not agree more. While this form of sportified debate lends itself to sensationalized media coverage and horse-race handicapping, it does little to resupply the nation¹s precious reservoir of creative public debate energy. Luckily, this type of energy is a renewable resource that can be re-stocked by public-driven approaches to debates in this upcoming presidential election and beyond.
If nothing else, the McCain debate letter awakens us to the possibility. Citizens need not settle for a scripted and stale form of presidential debating.
(ps. I think they totally made up that word “sportified”…)
If the basic rules of chemistry are any guide, life should not exist. Scientists showed in the 1950s that shooting an electric spark through a soup of chemicals — thus simulating lightning strikes on the primordial planet earth — could produce simple organic compounds. But complex, self-reproducing chemicals like dna? They shouldn’t have arisen in a trillion years. At an even deeper level, the second law of thermodynamics dictates that the universe should inexorably move toward disorganization. Cups of tea always cool off; they never spontaneously get hotter. Iron rusts, but rust never turns into iron.
Excess consumption is practically an American religion. But as anyone with a filled-to-the-gills closet knows, the things we accumulate can become oppressive. With all this stuff piling up and never quite getting put away, we’re no longer huddled masses yearning to breathe free; we’re huddled masses yearning to free up space on a countertop. Which is why people are so intrigued by the 100 Thing Challenge, a grass-roots movement in which otherwise seemingly normal folks are pledging to whittle down their possessions to a mere 100 items.
What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? Search Engine Optimization or SEO is a strategy for increasing your rank in the search results in Google for particular search phrases related to your organizations purpose and mission.
Why is Search Engine Optimization So Important ?
Well, search optimization can help you reach more clients, customers, and funding sources. It can also help you become a larger community hub online.
Your website is pretty dead in the water without search engine optimization, which means that $2,500 to $5,000 you spent on website design is going to waste. You are easily missing 50% of your traffic without search engine optimization.
Without search engine optimization, finding you may be like finding a needle in a haystack.
Search Engine Optimization is FAR More than Just Keywords and Meta-tags.
Meta-tag based SEO is soooo very 2002. With the rise of Google and gradual development of more accurate search algorithms, meta-tags are far, far less important. Meta-tags represent only about 5-10% of SEO, neglecting the other 90-95% of smart seo strategy.
In fact, if meta-tags were enough, your clients and customers would probably already be finding you by the masses.
How Much is All this Search Engine Optimization Worth?
What is the ROI on SEO? I thought you’d never ask. Aaron Wall explains what a First Page Ranking on Google is Worth.
How can your Non-profit, Philanthropy, or Faith Based Organization Increase its Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
1) Take the first step: start a blog for your non-profit or small business. Blogs are pretty search engine friendly. They help deliver relevant, updated content to users. They are personal expression engines…the digital equivalent of Gutenberg’s printing press on a global scale.
2) Keyword Targeting. Decide which keywords to target for your seo strategy.
3) A Smart Blog Content Strategy. Create interesting and engaging content around those keywords that speaks to the felt needs and search phrased of your target audiences.
4) Create an Online Network. Create relationships with other bloggers in your community and subject niche.
5) Pursue Strategic Link building. Create a link building strategy to complement your blog content strategy. Link building is the difference between the success and failure of most blog marketing and seo strategies.
Bonus Tip One: Pay attention to prioritization of SEO factors. Bonus Tip Two: The Joys of Social Media Optimization (SMO) With Web 2.0. You can also get involved in Web 2.0 Communities. The rise of 2-way communication with social media platforms has given rise to the ability to create a strategic search engine optimization strategy in-part with web 2.0 tools.
What to Look For When Outsourcing Your Search Engine Optimization to an SEO Firm or Freelance SEO Service?
1) Ethical and White Hat SEO. Find out what tactics, strategies, and methods your freelance search engine optimization strategist will be using. You want to make sure they do ethical seo.
2) A Record of SEO Success. Find out how effective at link building your search engine optimizer has been in the past.
3) Search Engine Optimization Training.In order to make search engine optimization strategy sustainable and cost effective, training is imperative.
4) Cost Effective Search Engine Optimization. You want to make sure you get a good cost effective return on investment (roi) for your Christian or non-profit venture. Thats less money you have to fundraise.
With media swirling around us and instant gratification at our fingertips, what do we do? What should be our response? An interesting and sobering reflection. What do you think? What do you think of her analysis of youth culture? Is there an alternative out there? Can we wake up? How?
