theTable

Faithful America:
"In what may be the worst human rights tragedy of our time, nearly a half-million state-sanctioned murders have occurred and continue as you read this. New reports of armed officers gang raping and torturing children (some as young as four!) simply cannot be ignored. It is time for all of us as people of faith to lift our voices to demand that President Bush take firm and decisive leadership to stop the killing."

The ongoing violence is nothing less than a crime against humanity. In reference to the genocide in Rwanda, Pres. Bush once stated: "Not on my watch." But now it is happening, and after some early positive action the administration has backed off on the issue. We must press for relief for these people, the millions who are refugees, victims, and potential victims of direct violence. The link above offers more resources, information, and a way to get involved.

Trying the same thing as below, internally, to see if I can get the link right:
3 bombs in 45 minutes kill 16 in Iraq
Hmm...appears much easier!

I won't, by the way, be writing much here immediately. I happen to have
begun this little experiment just before a little vacation. So be
patient...

But let's take it a step further. And tackle a big one right off the start.
How do we begin (in the United States, anyway) to talk about things like
this:
"3 bombs in 45 minutes kill 16 in Iraq"
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/06/02/iraq.main/index.html
Which is to say, the War in Iraq, or, in the case of this article, the ugly
side effects.

Just testing out the features on this thing. Gotta learn to crawl before you walk and walk before you run, right? So let's see how this goes...

There is much to fill the news these days that should shock a reasonable person of faith. Whether or not these events are even making it into the news stream is another matter. I should note, too, that I hate that this is the piece with which I lead. Because my chief concern is with right living, which is to say, faithfulness. And spiritual matters and theological conviction ought at least to temper, if not put to rest, the hysteria surrounding certain events and the complete lack of attention paid to others. They ought to; but I am a firm believer that life itself, and each element of God's good creation, has intrinsic value. So it pains me to see the extent to which human beings will, in individual and collective efforts, deliberately and intentionally harm another, denying even their humanity and certain respective inalienable rights (as has been said), or wreak destruction upon creation. I long to offer a moderating voice that might bring together persons falsely polarized and build true community marked by honesty, trust, and respect. Yet I fear that I will often react against the most vocal, most grating pronouncements and be swept into one false dichotomy or another, one side of short-sighted and narrow-focused debates; God, forgive me when my passions over come me, and enrich my vision, my imagination, and my faith for what is possible. Because it will happen - I'm only human after all. No longer will that be an excuse, however, for silence or inaction. For too long, I have watched and listened as others tried to define me: even my faith has been stolen, repackaged, and sold at large in a form that I hardly recognize and cannot claim. To such sins of heresy and idolatry I have offered the sin of silence - but no more. It is time to find my voice and speak the word that God has placed within me. It is time to put away childish things; it is not yet time - no longer time, too - to be led where I do not wish to go by those who have no good purpose at heart. It is time to answer the call that God has presented me. It is time to find my voice.