Persecution

I have been trying to blog everyday, and my time to do that is usually late night. But we have a parish council meeting (who knows how long it may go on) tonight and I have bootcamp early tomorrow, so I probably won't be on later today. This is a good article on persecution of non-Muslim minorities in Muslim countries. I had not heard that about Ezekiel's tomb and will try to find more.

Senator-Elect

We had an exciting election yesterday here in Massachusetts. Scott Brown became the first Republican to hold this particular Senate seat since Henry Cabot Lodge who, incidentally, was close with Fr. Dean's dad and was in attendance at Father's baptism. The seat was held for many years by Sen. Ted Kennedy, who was no stranger to our biennial Grecian Festival and Cathedral community. I met Scott Brown briefly in Worcester Sunday afternoon (handshake and very brief chat). Here is a picture I snapped of him with my phone in the rain. We pray in our service for our government leaders regardless of party, and I wish him Kali Dynami in the Senate.

The Latest

Fr. Peter has the latest on aid to Haiti, and as always it is a good read. Sunday we will be passing a collection tray, and our HOPE group will be putting together emergency kits when it meets next week. We should also be engaged in prayer for all of those who have been displaced; this is at the same time the most immediate and easy way for us to affect events as well as the most meaningful.

Charity Scams, Haiti, And The FBI

I have noticed something peculiar everytime I go to one of the federal government's websites - I can never find what I am looking for, even though it may be the most timely and in-the-news thing. I have come across a bunch of articles and reports, such as this one that talk about how the FBI is warning people to be circumspect as to whom they donate during this crisis in Haiti. And of course there is nothing on the FBI site, nor when Haiti or charity is typed into the search engine does anything relevant come up. Our tax dollars at work! In any case, always be prudent and investigate charities before you give. Whenever a disaster strikes, scammers set up fake charities. Even if you are donating to a well-established and reputable charity such as IOCC, United Way, Red Cross, whatever, make sure that it is the real thing and not a pretender.

More Haiti

IOCC, International Orthodox Christian Charities, has a page up on relief to Haiti here. Earthquakes are never good, but Haiti is about the worst place for one to happen.

Help For Haiti

Avatar And Theology

Ross Douthat talks about the new movie Avatar here in the context of pantheism. I have yet to see it and probably won't - it is just not my thing - but the article jibes with what friends who have watched it have told me - great special effects with a story ranging from hokey to offensive. Another interesting take is here.

The Uganda Bill

This story is absolutely frightening. There is a movement afoot in Uganda to legalize execution of homosexuals who are living with HIV. There are other provisions for capital punishment as well as life imprisonment and other sentences for "related offenses". Huw rounds up some recent reaction from various Christian bloggers and organizations. According to the AP article the bill was influenced by some American evangelical groups.
What is really scary about this situation is that whether the bill passes or not, the sentiment is obviously there to some degree.
One of the great lessons of history is that if someone says they want to kill you, they are probably very, very serious. And these very same people will dehumanize their enemies to justify what they want to do. Slaves counted as 3/5 of a person for census purposes in the slave era in America (Admittedly this was a compromise; the slaveowners themselves did want them counted as a full person. Regardless, slaves were considered property not people). The Nazis considered the Jews to be "sub-human" and the Slavs to be slaves. In abortion discussions you will almost always hear the word "fetus" but rarely the word "baby". Dehumanization makes it easier to justify slavery or killing.

Christmas Drama

Fr. Peter hammers the Town of North Andover (my mother's hometown) here for bowing to real or imagined pressure about Christmas and Hanukkah stuff. It seems that the drama is over for now though and common sense has prevailed.
I guess my question is...do people really get offended by cheerful, "merry Christmas" type messages? Good grief.

Religious Minorities In Iran

There is an excellent article here on the status of religious minorities in Iran. The Mandaeans are mentioned in several places; Worcester has welcomed a good number of Mandaean families who are refugees from Iraq, so if you are in the area you may well meet a member of this ancient faith sometime.