Complaints About Mandatory Evacuations

This should come as no surprise to you. There are many sarcastic and unreasonable people on the internet.  This was evidenced by the people who were sarcastically  complaining about the mandatory evacuations ordered in the United States by the governors of the Atlantic Coast states last week in the face of the arrival of Hurricane Matthew. The complaint was that “nothing happened!”

Actually Matthew caused massive damage in Haiti and the eastern coast of the United States. Over 800 persons were killed in Haiti, followed by five in the State of Florida and at least seventeen in the Carolinas. (Update: 12 October 2106. The United States death toll has risen to 27.) Matthew brought millions of dollars of damage in its path bringing major flooding and spinning off several tornados. People are reporting nails, screws, pieces of shredded metal, and large shards of glass all along Matthew’s path. The number of people left without electricity numbered close to two million in Florida and at lest four hundred and fifty thousand in the states North and South Carolina which suffered a direct hit instead of glancing blows along their coastlines. Only the fact that Matthew mainly stayed along the United States coastline kept the death toll as low as it was.

The mandatory evacuations ordered by the governors were proper and necessary. The governors were fulfilling one of the God- ordained functions of government: to protect the people. I say God-ordained because the Bible is quite clear that governments are in power only because God wills it and allows it. He is sovereign. Read Romans 13 and 14.

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Some of those listed may surprise you.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Vaclav Klaus: (b. 1941, Bohemia) Prime Minister of the Czech Republic 1992-1197, President of the Czech Republic, elected 2003. Czechoslovak Hussite Church.

Jiri Paoubek: (b. 1952, Czechoslovakia) Prime Minister of the Czech Republic  2005-2006. Czechoslovak Hussite Church.

Martha Bedell Alexander: (b. 1939, Florida (USA)) Librarian, chaplain, North Carolina House of Representatives  1993-2013. Episcopal.

Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard: (b. 1938, Netherlands; Beatrix of the Netherlands) Wife of Claus van Amsberg.  Queen of the Netherlands (1980-2013) Protestant Church of the Netherlands.

Claus George Willem Otto Frederik Geert van Amsberg: (b. 1926 – d. 2002) Husnad of Beatrix of the Netherlands, diplomat.  Dutch Reformed Church.

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Some of those listed may surprise you.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Abraham Johannes Muste: (b. 1885, Netherlands – d. 1967; A.J. Muste) American Clergyman, civil rights activist, pacifist.  Muste was a proponent of the Social Gospel.  He was a Dutch Reformed Socialist who became a Quaker Christian pacifist.

Honorio Hermeto Carneiro Leao, Marquis of Parana: (b. 1801, Brazil –d. 1856) Judge, politician, diplomat, and monarchist.  Roman Catholic.

Howard Thurman: (b. 1899, Florida (USA) – d. 1981) Baptist minister, educator, author, philosopher, theologian, civil rights leader.  Thurman was a mentor to Martin Luther King, Jr.

James Leonard Farmer, Jr.: (b. 1920, Texas (USA) – d. 1999) Civil rights activist who organized the 1961 Freedom Ride and was a cofounder of the Congress of Racial Equality.  Son of James Leonard Farmer, Sr. Methodist.

James Leonard Farmer, Sr.: (b. 1886 – d. 1961) Author, theologian, educator, university professor.  Father of James Leonard Farmer, Jr.  Methodist.

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Jeremy Shu-How Lin: (b.1988, California, USA) Professional NBA basketball player.  Lin is the first American-born player of Chinese or Taiwanese dexcent in the history of the National Basketball Association.

Mahalia Jacson: (b. 1911, Louisiana, USA – d. 1972; aka: Mahala Jackson; Halie Jackson; “the Queen of Gospel”) Gospel Music singer, civil rights activist.  Louisiana Music Hall of Fasme (2008), Gospe; Music Hall of Fame (1978), Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1997), Grammy Hall of Fame (1973).  Baptist.

John Ambrose Fleming: (b. 1849, England – d. 1945) Electrical engineer, physicist, photographer, philanthropist, anti-evolutionist.  Fleming invented the first vacuum tube.  Congregationalist.

Catherine of Aragon: (b. 1485, Spain – d. 1536) Youngest daughter of King Ferdinand and his wife, Queen Isabella.  Bethrothed at age three to Arthur, the Prince of Wales (aged two), a son of King Henry VII of England.  After Arthur and Catherine were married in 1501, he died six months later.  She was then betrothed to marry Arthur’s brother, the future King Henry VIII.  She became the first of his six wives.  Roman Catholic.

Pam Bondi: (b. 1965, Florida, USA) In 2010, Pam Bondi was elected as the Attorney General of the State of Florida (USA).

What They Think of Us: Someone Finally Said It Out Loud

Someone finally said it out loud.  So, they think we are bigots.

As I have said repeatedly, this is not, never has been, and never will be a political blog but sometimes my comments may be about subjects which touch on politics.  Recently Leonard Pitts , a columnist for the Miami Herald newspaper, insulted every Christian who opposes same-sex marriage on scriptural grounds.  In criticizing presidential candidate Rick Santorum, Pitts calls Santorum a bigot because of his opposition to same-sex marriage based on "lame arguments built of straw and fear."  In effect, Pitts has said that to hold the position makes one a bigot.  I don't believe that Pitts actually intended to insult such a large group of people although his statements could be viewed as part of the obviously growing secular hostility toward historical Christianity.

Unusual Christian Places: Daytona Beach Drive In Christian Church

"We like to worship outdoors by the seashore like Jesus did!" Pastor Larry Deitch.
Daytona Beach Drive In Christian Church  in Florida is an open-air church in which everyone can simply drive up to the front of the church building and sit in their automobiles for the worship service.  This means that worshippers can dress in any way they like.

The church is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and invites attendees to join them before and after the worship service for hot coffee and Krispy Kreme doughnuts.  This is so very, very "southern"!  In the American South, we are known for our hospitality and our love for food.  The very thought of Krispy Kreme doughnuts sends many of us into a rhapsody!

Krispy Kremes are yeast-raised doughnuts traditionally glazed and served while still warm, usually accompanied by a cup of coffee.  Some of the older restaurants had glass windows which let diners watch the automated production of the doughnuts from start to finish.  Trays of the finished pastries were then immediately brought out for sale.

http://www.driveinchurch.net/

A Choctaw Hymn

The Choctaw (alternatively spelt as Chahta, Chactas, Chato, Tchakta, Chocktaw, and Chactaw) are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States (Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana). The Choctaw language belongs to the Muskogean linguistic group.  There are about 160,000 Choctaws today. The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians are the two primary Choctaw associations today, although smaller Choctaw groups are located in Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas. In World War I, they served in the U.S. military as the first Native American codetalkers, using the Choctaw language as a natural code.

The most notable Choctaw from history is Pushmataha (ca, 1764, Mississippi – d. 1824) Actual Choctaw name: Apushamatahahubi.

Download the Bible to Your Mobile Device

To download the Bible to your mobile device go to www.YouVersion.com/download .  The application has been downloaded over 12,000,000 times.  The download is free from Pastor Craig Groeschel and his congregation at Life Church.  They have fourteen church campuses (in Florida, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas) and online church services.

He burned a Quran and twelve died.

In response to plans to build a mosque two blocks from the site of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attack on New York City, Pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, set off an international incident when he declared "International Burn a Koran Day" for September 11, 2011.  He planned to burn multiple copies of the Quran.  Christian church leaders quickly called on him not to do this, followed by calls from political leaders from around the world.  Jones said he might not burn the Qurans if U.S. President called him.

After traveling to New York and speaking with President Obama, Jones said "there's no longer a need to actually set fire to anything."  He declared that his church would not burn the books, "Not today, not ever."

On 20 March 2011, Jones and another pastor put the Quran on trial (International Judge the Quran Day) and burned it in front of thirty people in Gainesville.  He denied breaking his earlier pledge, saying the the pledge was about International Burn a Koran Day.

On 1 April 2011, Islamic protesters in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan attacked a United nations office. Three foreign United Nations workers, five Nepalese United Nations guards, and four of the protesters died.  Two of those killed were beheaded.  Eight-one other persons were injured in the attack.

The Quran burning was also cited as the cause of an attack at a Catholic Church in Pakistan in March, 2011.

A Pakistani Islamic court has declared a fatwa against Pastor Jones, offering $2,200,000 for his head for desecrating the Quran.

Many are blaming Pastor Jones for the violence, injuries, and deaths and he bears a large part of the blame.  The response to his action seems irrational and disproportionate to many.   U.S. President Barack OBama responded to the incident:

"The desecration of any holy text, including the Koran, is an act of extreme intolerance and bigotry.  However, to attack and kill innocent people in response is outrageous, and an affront to human decency and dignity. No religion tolerates the slaughter and beheading of innocent people, and there is no justification for such a dishonorable and deplorable act.”

The entire incident could have been avoided if Pastor Jones had iust read and obeyed Romans 12:18.

"If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men."