A Question of Belief

I thought the piece below on life for a M convert, makes for interesting reading, and something for us to think about as we evangelise.

One convert told me in an interview that when he was subjected to torture in a Middle Eastern country, his torturer told him he could scream as loud as he wanted, but no one would hear or save him. When he realised this was true, he broke down and has never really recovered from the damage caused by his detention. For too long the experiences of men and women like him to go unnoticed. The Muslim world and the international community must not allow these cries for help to be swept under the carpet any more.

The Guardian

… Love is Manly …

“Love is an excellent thing, a very great blessing, indeed. It makes every difficulty easy, and bears all wrongs with equanimity. For it bears a burden without being weighted and renders sweet all that is bitter. The noble love of Jesus spurs to great deeds and excites longing for that which is more perfect. Love tends upward; it will not be held down by anything low. Love wishes to be free and estranged from all worldly affections, lest its inward sight be obstructed, lest it be entangled in any temporal interest and overcome by adversity.
Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing stronger or higher or wider; nothing is more pleasant, nothing fuller, and nothing better in heaven or on earth, for love is born of God and cannot rest except in God, Who is above all created things.
One who is in love flies, runs, and rejoices; he is free, not bound. He gives all for all and possesses all in all, because he rests in the one sovereign Good, Who is above all things, and from Whom every good flows and proceeds. He does not look to the gift but turns himself above all gifts to the Giver.
Love often knows no limits but overflows all bounds. Love feels no burden, thinks nothing of troubles, attempts more than it is able, and does not plead impossibility, because it believes that it may and can do all things. For this reason, it is able to do all, performing and effecting much where he who does not love fails and falls.
Love is watchful. Sleeping, it does not slumber. Wearied, it is not tired. Pressed, it is not straitened. Alarmed, it is not confused, but like a living flame, a burning torch, it forces its way upward and passes unharmed through every obstacle.
If a man loves, he will know the sound of this voice. For this warm affection of soul is a loud voice crying in the ears of God, and it says: "My God, my love, You are all mine and I am all Yours. Give me an increase of love, that I may learn to taste with the inward lips of my heart how sweet it is to love, how sweet to be dissolved in love and bathe in it. Let me be rapt in love. Let me rise above self in great fervor and wonder. Let me sing the hymn of love, and let me follow You, my Love, to the heights. Let my soul exhaust itself in praising You, rejoicing out of love. Let me love You more than myself, and let me not love myself except for Your sake. In You let me love all those who truly love You, as the law of love, which shines forth from You, commands."
Love is swift, sincere, kind, pleasant, and delightful. Love is strong, patient and faithful, prudent, long-suffering, and manly. Love is never self-seeking, for in whatever a person seeks himself there he falls from love. Love is circumspect, humble, and upright. It is neither soft nor light, nor intent upon vain things. It is sober and chaste, firm and quiet, guarded in all the senses. Love is subject and obedient to superiors. It is mean and contemptible in its own eyes, devoted and thankful to God; always trusting and hoping in Him even when He is distasteful to it, for there is no living in love without sorrow. He who is not ready to suffer all things and to stand resigned to the will of the Beloved is not worthy to be called a lover. A lover must embrace willingly all that is difficult and bitter for the sake of the Beloved, and he should not turn away from Him because of adversities.”

Thomas à Kempis. The Imitation of Christ (via The Point)

The Draw…

If you’re saw the highlights of the AFL of the past two weeks, you would have seen players celebrate victory without realising the game was in fact tied (there's an article which asks, do the players realise the score on the field). There’s another great piece about why we should keep the draw (in the regular season games), rather than go to extra-time as Rugby League does.

I'm definitely a fan of keeping the draw and splitting the points rather that forcing a winner // loser.

ANZAC Day

A few more links on ANZAC Day. 

:: The SMH Editorial: on Australia's military heritage; its meaning and how best to remember it, sentiments echoed in the editorial from The Age.

:: The Prime Minister’s ANZAC Day address (also one of my shared items).

:: This piece, which argues that ANZAC day sends the wrong message in glorifying war. A piece that is worth a read, even though I am not sure I agree entirely with its sentiments, I didn’t see this, when I read the Prime Minister’s address, or when I watched the service from ANZAC Cove. What resonates to me the cost of war, and its impact, but with that I also recalled Bob Hawke saying that sometimes tragically we need to fight for peace; perhaps echoed in Rudd’s speech ‘that freedom is almost always bought by sacrifice’.

:: Online Opinion also has an interesting piece about ANZAC Day as a ‘faith event’.

~~ ~~ ~~

Missing travelling … or home

I looked over the SMH’s travellers blog today, and the topic was on missing travel (what he calls road-sickness), and for it certainly rang true for me. There's just something about airports that I love, particularly the departure boards; they are also great places to people watch (the opening and closing montages from Love Actually are fantastic). I also like to go to a place like Coogee or Brighton and watch the planes land (thinking about stories the passengers have to tell).

But at the same time I’d imagine there’s something about the distance that hits you too while you are away; lives moving on, and the various e-communications that provides the outline without the detail, the story without the characters, which kind of enhance your desire to be around, here’s a post about home-sickness.

It's not just Bono...

Malaria is both preventable and treatable, and deaths in Africa could be ended by 2010.

It costs less than $10 to purchase and distribute insecticide-treated bednets that last for up to five years. With that simple investment, governments provide a five-year shield. Recipients can go to school, work and contribute productively to society.

~~~~

On the young ...

I read a couple of interesting pieces about young people, and growing up today, mostly sourced from the US and the UK, but I'm sure they speak to similar trends here.

:: The modern sense of self, and the 'networking sites':

Every advance in technology has raised yellow caution flags waved by old fogies like me. Autos changed the sex life of youth and made the Roaring Twenties roar, and, when I was a lad, rock and roll music eroded moral restraint while fomenting communism, acne and juvenile delinquency. But the social networking sites and cellphone culture aren't just changing habits or style; they are changing the nature of identity.

via International Herald Tribune.

:: Growing up on Anti-depressants

Antidepressants are among the most widely prescribed drugs for teenagers in the US, the below links (the first two via NPR), and the NYT article, make for interesting, albeit a saddening read.

• Growing up
• Comfortably Numb
• Coming of Age, on depressant [via NYT]

:: a wounded generation [related to a report mentioning that 1/3 of girls, and 1/5 of boys may be resorting to self harm]

This means several things. It means listening to young people and asking what support they need to put down their blades. It means working to create a culture that makes young people feel more comfortable with emotional expression, be that at home or in school. Our society tends to think there is strength in controlling and suppressing our emotions, rather than listening and working through them with others. This is something that needs to change.

~~~~

ANZAC Day

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables at home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain,
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.

Laurence Binyon (1869–1943)

~~~~

I actually may have linked to this before, but this is a great speech, delivered by the then Prime Minister the Hon. Paul Keating.

Africa ...

I quite often post about what is going on in the Sudan. So I thought that it would be worth sharing the African Success website.

The aim of the website is to let the world know that there are many heroic, inspiring Africans making a contribution to the uplifting of their countries and continent, and to the general advancement of humanity.

Read more about the site, and its purpose here.

On Race for the Democratic nomination

[But] A 10 per cent win for Clinton was a result directed by Steven Spielberg from a Tom Clancy novel. It's a cliffhanger moment in a cliffhanger narrative. Clinton's case is plausible. She wins all the big states which Democrats must win if they are to win the presidency. She wins the centrist votes. Obama can't close the deal. He can't carry working-class whites or churchgoers or seniors or gun owners.

Democracy is inherently and wonderfully unpredictable. There were times during the Democratic primary process in 1992 when it looked impossible that Bill Clinton could win the nomination. He didn't wrap the nomination up until June 2 of that year, and at that time he was running third in the polls behind then president George H.W. Bush and Ross Perot.

Obama has two of the best friends you can have in politics: vast amounts of money and unstinting media support. They may not be enough.

[Sheridan - The Australian]

Though for me, I'm still hoping that Obama, not only wins the nomination, but also the Presidency. It might not be until September (and the convention) that the nomination is settled.

Sunday shorts...

:: I am quite intrigued by the 2020 summit being held this week, not by what will necessarily come out of it, but rather by the opportunity it presents to listen to each other, and hear ideas about the direction Australia should take.

:: We went and saw Billy Elliot yesterday. I thought that it was beautifully done, and it reminded me in some ways, of Brassed Off: another very real and human story from that period in Britain.

:: I caught this piece from my Google-Reader, the premise is simple - turn off the technology for one day a week, (as the article says - ironically its blogged on here). Might be worth giving a go~!

~~~~

Killer Whales…

I can’t remember, which program I first saw this on (I think it was Life in the Freezer?), but I reckon its one of the more amazing sights in nature. The SMH ran a story about these Killer whales (at Punta Norte), in the travel section today. There’s some more amazing photo’s and a movie here.

On song writing …

The New York Times recently started this great new blog, Measure for Measure (How to write a song and other mysteries). Today, Darrell Brown wrote a great piece about (song)writers being emotional spies, here’s an excerpt..

While I was finding my way as a songwriter, a colleague of mine, Ed Sanford, told me something I’ve since found to be very true. Songwriters, he said, are “emotional spies” — little creative crazies creeping around, sneaking in and out of our own emotions, watching, listening and remembering every bit of conversation with friends, family and every stranger we meet.

Yes, we are a funny, greedy group of people. If a song is cowering deep inside someone else’s divorce, engagement, seduction, innocence, sickness, recovery, treachery or resurrection, we long to see every crevice of it revealed in the light, all dressed up in grooves, chords and poetry [...]

In general, it doesn’t matter to me if a title is the first thing to come out or the chord progression or any part of the melody or lyrics. I just want anything to come out so I can start writing (or the song can start writing itself). And I don’t judge during the writing. It doesn’t even matter to me if it sounds like a commercial hit song or an art song. I just want the song to be true to itself. As both a songwriter and a human being, I try to keep myself open and give back as much as I take in. After all, I am surrounded by emotional spies of my own day in and day out. I need to be spied on as much as the next songwriter. It’s a win-win situation.

~~~~~~

Early morning April Four ….

"Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. [MLK]"

~~~~

Links to more of Martin Luther King’s speeches, and sermons, which make for great reading,

…Sleep, sleep tonight and may your dreams be realised… [MLK - U2]

Fiddling...

I was fiddling with Google reader recently (thanks mostly to my brother and sister) and I've been enjoying it too. So I updated my blog to have a little box with the shared items from my Google reader, and decided that a change of template was in order too. Anyway hope to at least share new bits and pieces in the feed from Google Reader, if not post a touch more frequently.

More on the Olympics

Another article on the Olympics and activism in the SMH today.

Bashing Beijing: the shame game Olympics.

Recently I've been reading ...

… a bit about the Olympics, and the ‘b’ word. (That’s ‘boycott’ by the way)

I have to admit that I am moving towards a position of advocating ‘some-sort-of- boycott’; not only because of the recent developments in Tibet but also the Chinese role in Darfur.

Also consider,
A number of the arguments often used against such a move, are actually arguments in favour of such a move. (see Greg Baum’s article in The Age, referencing this article by Anne Applebaum)

when China won the right to host the 2008 Olympic Games seven years ago, Liu Qi, president of the Beijing organising committee and the then Beijing city mayor, told the International Olympic Committee: 'If Beijing wins its bid to host the Olympic Games, it will be conducive to China's economic and social progress; at the same time, it will also make further progress on the promotion of human rights.'

Wang Wei secretary-general of the Beijing 2008 Olympic bid committee, backed him up: 'We will grant full freedom of the press to the journalists coming to China; they will be able to visit Beijing and other Chinese cities and cover any news event before and during the Olympic Games. We will also allow demonstrations.'

Four months before the Games begin, those promises look shattered. China's human-rights record remains poor. Environmental, trade union and human-rights activists suffer house arrest or imprisonment, only tried under the catch-all charge of 'subverting state power'. This so-called crime saw human-rights campaigner Yang Chunlin condemned to five years' imprisonment last week. China has seen little progress towards more freedom of expression; the country executes more people and arrests more journalists than the rest of the world combined. It routinely blocks foreign news to which the state objects and censors the internet. The conditions that existed in 2001 have not improved at all; in many ways, they have worsened. [The Guardian]

The below comment from Applebaum also intrigued me:
Perhaps, the question we should now be asking Is what would an boycott look like – some European leaders have already indicated that they will not attend the opening ceremony, and it would not be a stretch for athletes to do likewise.

the modern Olympics were set up with a political purpose: to promote international peace by encouraging healthy competition between nations. Hence the emphasis on national teams instead of individual competitors; hence the opening and closing ceremonies—since copied by other sporting events—as well as the national flags and national anthems.

The Germany water polo team is going to wear orange robes to show solidarity with the Tibetan monks. The New York Times has a piece about decisions some American athletes are making.

… another bit from Kristof in the New York Times,
His Wikipedia of hope article was just an inspiring read.

… a April fools prank
Maybe not the best, but I thought it was quite good

The Black Ballon

A few weeks ago we went and saw the new Australian film The Black Balloon. It often saddens me when I see films like this - made locally and perhaps revealing more about us and the world we live in than the typical box-office fare, struggle for attention.

The Black Balloon reveals to us how many families live; how they live with their son, how they live with their brother, who has autism and the stresses and strains it puts on the family, and how the wider community engages with them. The strength of the film is its humanity, you can relate to the experience, because we've all heard the jokes made at their expense. The film puts faces on experiences not many of us have; and it is confronting for this reason.

There's no neat, tidy ending, because there are no neat and tidy endings in life.

+++

To answer a question I had about the title initially, the writer/director Elissa Down said that 'The Black Balloon is a metaphor for a different childhood filled with moments of chaos, joy and sadness for what could have been'.