Landmines and Cluster Bombs

Mashal was six years old when he and his family returned home to Kabul, Afghanistan after the war in 2001. Like many children do, Mashal was playing outside of his home when his mother heard a loud explosion. He screamed once and then became quiet. His right leg had been completely blown off.1

Landmines kill nearly 20,000 people every year, 90% of them civilians, 8,000 of those are children. Over 70 million landmines litter the ground in 1/3 of the countries of the world, having been dropped there during military conflicts even decades ago.2 It took the concerted efforts of many human rights groups and political leaders to push forward a UN ban on landmines in Ottawa in 19973, but that did not bring an end to the perpetuation of destruction. With landmines banned, new military technologies have come into use, causing the same devastating impact to civilians that landmines had caused and still cause. Cluster bombs, used heavily by the USA in it’s invasion into Afghanistan, cause similar destruction, killing and maiming thousands of civilians long after the conflict has ended.

The issue of land mines and cluster bombs is not one about being for or against “The War.” Even the most staunch war supporter can see that the indiscriminate killing and maiming of children is wrong. Those against the war can begin to take specific steps to at least reduce the civilian casualties by addressing specific issues such as cluster bombs.

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
One of the early church leaders, James, emphasized the importance of declaring our faith by what we do, and specifically he gave this charge, to look after orphans and widows in their distress. Many, like Mashal and his mother, are trying to survive in war-torn lands, and we have the opportunity to help them.

There are several things you can do:

Inform: Tell your friends and family, neighbors and politicians about the effects of landmines and the stories of the families of those who’ve been killed. (you could start by emailing this post).

Act: You can take specific action right now to address this issue by donating financially https://secure3.ctsg.com/aam/donation/, signing a treaty http://www.icbl.org/action and ask others to take similar actions

Organize: If your compelled to do more, many of the organizations have opportunities to organize dinners, school groups, churches and more to take broader actions and campaigns to clean up landmines.

References:
Adopt-a-Minefield
Human Rights Watch
International Committee of the Red Cross

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1 http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/afghanistan-stories-231107
2 http://www.landmines.org/crisis/landmine_fact_sheet.cfm
3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottawa_Treaty

You Tell Me What I Should Read

This little activity was terribly unsuccessful last week, but I thought I’d try again anyways.
Also, I would have thought yesterdays post would have gathered more comments, but I guess not.

Here’s an enticing photo from our camera fun last weekend.

Okay, now to the point of the post. Below is a linking widget that allows you to post the URL of a website, blog post or article that you think I should read. It can definitely be your own post but it doesn’t have to be. The links are public so others can view them as well (think of it as free publicity for your amazing writing).

Wearing Mother Teresa’s Shoes

Shane Claiborne shares a beautiful picture of loving sacrifice by Mother Teresa in his book, Irresistible Revolution:

People often ask me what Mother Teresa was like. … She was short, wrinkled, and precious, maybe even a little ornery, like a beautiful, wise old granny. But there is one thing I will never forget – her feet. Her feet were deformed. Each morning in Mass, I would stare at them. I wondered if she had contracted leprosy. But I wasn’t going to ask, of course. “Hey Mother, what’s wrong with your feet? ” One day a sister said to us, “have you noticed her feet?” We nodded, curious. She said, “Her feet are deformed because we get just enough donated shoes for everyone, and Mother does not want anyone to get stuck with the worst pair, so she digs through and finds them. And years of doing that have deformed her feet.” Years of loving her neighbor as herself deformed her feet. -pg. 168

It’s an awe-inspiring story, certainly not something to scoff at. It speaks of sacrifice out of genuine love for others. Now, imagine for a moment that there was more to that story… You see, though Mother Teresa’s digging through the shoe bin for proper shoes is a noble act, she actually has many other pairs of shoes in her closet as well. The sandal’s that were being referred to in this story were her ‘charity shoes’ she wore them to appear more sacrificial and ‘like the people’ when she was doing charity work. However, when she attended fancy dinners she had a nice pair of high heels (she was a short lady you know). When she traveled around on speaking campaigns she had a good pair of running shoes and a pair of Birkenstocks. Oh, and meeting folks like the Queen or president’s required other shoes that matched her attire for the occasion. Does this diminish the awe you feel at Mother Teresa’s sacrifice? Before, you get to worried and shocked, I completely made up that addition!

Bear with me for a moment while I try to explain what that illustrated. But first, a picture of my shoes:
my shoes
I didn’t pull these out of the bottom of a bin of donated shoes, I actually purchased them new and have worn them since. I really enjoy my shoes, they’ve served me well and I hope they will continue to. Before you think I’m trying to be all self-righteous let me explain: These are not my only shoes. I like wearing these shoes, but on many occasions I do not. I don’t wear these shoes to work. I didn’t wear them at the wedding I was in this summer. I leave them at home when we are meeting new people or attending a ‘formal’ event. And I don’t just adjust for other people, I have a different pair of shoes to run and bike in, another pair for playing soccer and still another for hiking. Not that self-righteous anymore.

You see, I want to wear Mother Teresa’s shoes. Not literally, but in the sense of the sacrifice that she made by choosing to live a life in such a way that she only had enough for what she needed. Mother Teresa had one pair of shoes, and they seriously messed up her feet. I imagine those are the shoes she met the Queen in, and I don’t think the president scoffed at her when she chose to wear them. Why is it that we recognize and our touched by the sacrifice of Mother Teresa that we here about in a book, but we’d scoff or think it odd if I showed up for a formal dinner with holes in my sneakers? It wouldn’t be very long I think before someone, a co-worker, family member or friend offered me a pair of shoes to replace the ones I have. Few people look at the guy with holes in his shoes and think of it is awe inspiring sacrifice as we do Mother Teresa.

Hug A Friend And Tell Someone Their Loved

Go and hug a friend now. Hug your spouse and your kids. Hug your mother.

And then, find someone your not close friends with, and let them know their loved. Stop worrying about whether you’ll sound dorky, or aren’t cool enough to talk to that person. Life shouldn’t be about impressing people.

I care about you.

How Do These Apply To Us?

The wife and I were reading some Deutoronomy today and I was curious what your take might be on the following passages. To they say anything about our society today, or how we should be living?

In no particular order.

1 If you see your brother’s ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to him. 2 If the brother does not live near you or if you do not know who he is, take it home with you and keep it until he comes looking for it. Then give it back to him. 3 Do the same if you find your brother’s donkey or his cloak or anything he loses. Do not ignore it.

15 If a slave has taken refuge with you, do not hand him over to his master. 16 Let him live among you wherever he likes and in whatever town he chooses. Do not oppress him.

6 If you come across a bird’s nest beside the road, either in a tree or on the ground, and the mother is sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take the mother with the young. 7 You may take the young, but be sure to let the mother go, so that it may go well with you and you may have a long life.

(this is the same ‘promise’ that children receive for honoring their parents. Don’t know which is more difficult…)

19 Do not charge your brother interest, whether on money or food or anything else that may earn interest. 20 You may charge a foreigner interest, but not a brother Israelite, so that the LORD your God may bless you in everything you put your hand to in the land you are entering to possess.

and this last one was pretty interesting…

1 If a man is found slain, lying in a field in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him, 2 your elders and judges shall go out and measure the distance from the body to the neighboring towns. 3 Then the elders of the town nearest the body shall take a heifer that has never been worked and has never worn a yoke 4 and lead her down to a valley that has not been plowed or planted and where there is a flowing stream. There in the valley they are to break the heifer’s neck. 5 The priests, the sons of Levi, shall step forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister and to pronounce blessings in the name of the LORD and to decide all cases of dispute and assault. 6 Then all the elders of the town nearest the body shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley, 7 and they shall declare: “Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it done. 8 Accept this atonement for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, O LORD, and do not hold your people guilty of the blood of an innocent man.” And the bloodshed will be atoned for. 9 So you will purge from yourselves the guilt of shedding innocent blood, since you have done what is right in the eyes of the LORD.

Book Review: The Manga Bible

This will be a short review. I heard about The Manga Bible on a friend’s blog(also, also), and since my sister is into the manga and anime comic stuff I figured I’d check it out. I’m also a fan of contextualize versions of Biblical stories, as it always lends insight to the authors perspective and often gives you a new one.

I was never into comic books growing up (maybe a short stint in Batman or something, but I don’t recall), but I found reading this enjoyable. It was a very quick read, but I felt Siku (the author) summarized the stories throughout the Hebrew Bible quite succinctly. I also did feel like the New Testament stories gave proper space and awareness to the radical nature of Christ and the Early Church. It didn’t avoid stories about caring for the poor and sharing with those in need as it easily could have.

If you’ve never read any Manga style books before, but know someone who does, this might be worth recommending to them.

50 Issues Christians Should Know About

I’ve wanted to do a series of post like this for a while and I think now is the time to tackle it. The goal is to write a series of posts (every Friday) on social issues I believe Christians should be aware of. The posts will be brief, summarize the issue, present the facts, and then attempt to make a connection as to why Christians should be concerned about the topic.

I haven’t settled on the 50, but here is my current list from a brainstorm:

AIDS globally
AIDS in USA
conflict diamonds
consumerism
death row exoneration
divorce
domestic abuse
eating disorders
female genital mutilation
gentrification
history of the Native People (in the USA)
homelessness
immigrants
international debt
lack of clean drinking water
Lack of tithing in the USA
land mines
leprosy
malaria
marketing to children
military industrial complex/revolving door
multinational corporations (walmart, coke, nike, etc)
police brutality
pornography
self mutilation
sex exploitation in SE Asia
Sex trafficking
slavery
STDs
suicide
the cancer belt
unequal public education
voter discrimination
wage gap
sweatshops
orphans worldwide

If you have another topic to add please do so here or leave it in the comments. I’m also interested in your opinions of the above topics, are they important, overwhelming, outdated, unnecessary?

Waterboarding President Bush

Another thought provoking piece from Adbusters. This is a painting from one of the pages of the recent issues.
Waterboarding President Bush

Disclaimers from me: I in no way want to encourage or suggest that George Bush should be waterboarded. I think it is an inhumane and gruesome torture practice. Nor do I think Bush’s support of, involvement in or encouragement of torture in any way makes him deserving of equal treatment.

I simply think the painting is a profoundly thought-provoking piece.

Isn’t It The Churches Job? So, Why Do We Ask The Government?

I’ve been emailing with a friend concerning politics and this question came up:

“I have never understood why some people want the government to provide services that the Church is supposed to be doing. For example, isn’t is our job as Christians to take care of the poor?”

(below is part of my response)

“Here’s a story related to your question about Christians taking care of the poor.
When I lived in Nashville, I had opportunities to be involved with the homeless in the city. I did that primarily three different ways.
1) I worked with an incredible group of people called Food Not Bombs. It was a group of people who gathered together ever Sunday and prepared a large meal, went to the Veteran’s memorial in downtown Nashville and feed and ate lunch with about 40-50 homeless every week. The group of people where not Christian at all, but rather a rag-tag bunch of folks who shared an ‘anarchist’ philosophy (topic for another time, but trust me, it’s not bad). They were wonderful, caring, consistent and loving people.

2) The church we attended did not have any consistent ‘ministries’ during the time we were there. The general ‘ethos’ of the community was to go out to eat somewhere every Sunday afternoon after church. I encouraged, asked and pleaded with people to join me in hanging out and feeding the homeless in lieu of or in addition to eating out, no one ever came. No one. I encouraged and pleaded with the pastor to invite a homeless advocate to come and speak at sunday service or right after about the homeless, to educate and inform and help us learn what we could do to help, he never let us do that. And it’s not that our church was full of bad people. They where nice wonderful and caring people. Individually I think they probably did a lot of neat things to care for others. There was a homeless guy who started coming to our church for a while and they treated him with the utmost respect. But, if you asked me if the ‘church’ collectively did things to care for the poor I would say no.

3) I worked with a group called Nashville Homeless Power Project. They are an incredible organization of homeless and formerly homeless individuals advocating, mostly on a political level, for dignity, housing and human rights for the homeless. They practiced civil disobedience at times to make their voice heard, took mayoral candidates on an ‘urban plunge’ to experience a glimpse of what homelessness was like, they advocated for more humane laws to keep homeless out of prisons simply because they had no where to go, and a lot more. I loved working with them, but they where quite political, and though many were Christian and there was a spiritual (primarily Christian) element to many of the things they did, they were not exclusively ‘the church’ and much of what they did was to advocate for the government to do things the church by and large had failed to do. And they did a good job of it, they cared for the poor in our community.

I, just like you, only have a finite number of hours to work or help with any given organization, task, or need. That being the case, I had to split my time between those groups. If your goal is to care for the poor and the ‘least of these’ where would you commit your time to?