In the midst of such terribly depressing news on a daily basis, here is some good news:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12022144
Sorry to see that freedom of conscience is not available in Afghanistan. According to the Muslim Quaran, Christians are "People of the Book" and are to be respected, not murdered for their faith. This man was carrying a Bible, because he read it and believed what he found in it's pages. Is this a crime worthy of death?? I love my freedom! Despite it's many flaws, in my country people are free to worship however their conscience dictates. Does this lead some to lifestyle choices I disagree with? Absolutely! However, if I want the freedom to believe as I see fit, I cannot rob someone else of that right. Any Christian can convert to Islam here without being arrested or losing their job. Any Muslim can convert to Christianity without threat of losing their lives. Men are even free to believe there is no God if they wish. Living by conviction- this is the way it was meant to be. God does not FORCE people to believe in Him and neither should we ever threaten in order to convert or retain believers. God invites. He draws us to Him with love and tender mercy- NOT with vengeance, hatred & fear. Whether you call Him Allah, Yahweh or Abba- in the end, God alone will be the judge of ALL things. Who are any of us to think it our place to decide who deserves to live or die, or to dictate what another man believes in his heart? Let's say someone reads the Bible in Iraq and desires to be a follower of Christ, but by fear of death they remain Muslim in name & practice. Does this please Almighty God? To have someone going through the motions of a faith they no longer believe?? God wants our souls to connect with Him- not merely an outward conformity of certain prescribed behaviors. Remember, Abraham had two sons- we are all brothers. The hatred, violence and arrogance of Muslims, Christians and Jews alike must end! It is a shame to us all!!
About Me
- Trailady
- I'm just a lady on a journey. A passionate, creative, spiritually-minded soul of Scot-Irish descent. This mother of 4 often has more questions than answers. Friendly with a sense of humor. A moderate & independent thinker who believes in hope, healing & balance. I'm learning to live abundantly by loving ALL people. My blogs are active. Like to hear from people of all persuasions. Thanks for stopping by! :o)
14 comments:
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God
dear,
you are just judging without knowing; you only know what the medias are telling you; the same medias that tells nothing about 9/11 obscur parts and the US government involvment in it, the same medias that never tell that USA are the first producers and sellers of guns and other amunitions in the world and by the way the first preacher of war and, for the last five years, the first creator of wars.
so you just know what the lords of war wants you to know and nothing else...
THAT is what you are calling freedom.
clean america of its black sheep first and then you will be able to have a regard abroad; before that will happen, you don't have any right to say things like this post.
Amen to that, Roseuvsharon.
GMC, I hear what you are saying. Did you really understand what I was saying in this post?? True- I've not been to Afghanistan to see the culture for myself. I'd LOVE to visit the Middle East, but at this time, I might find myself kidnapped, tortured or beheaded for doing so. The only source I have to learn about these countries is through news from around the globe & from my Muslim friends in the blogosphere. (You'll be happy to know I don't only read US news sources- I am not that one-sided.) I suppose I should pose the same question to those who hate all Americans. What "unbiased" news sources do YOU read? Have you been to Afghanistan? Have you been to the US to see for yourself what the people here are like- or do you judge us only by what you see in the news or in Hollywood films?? The majority of people in the US seem to be opposed to the war in Iraq. The US Media is largely opposed to Bush and his policies. All US citizens are not drug users who carry guns and have no values. Many of us are simple people just trying to feed our families...
As I mentioned in this post, I'm the first to say there are MANY flaws in the US. I'm a non-violent person who desires fellowship with people of all persuasions. However, I think it is our duty as human beings to speak out against unjust cruelty in any form- whether in my home country or abroad. In this post I'm calling for ALL people to show more understanding & respect the rights of others... freedom of speech and religion are two of those rights.
trailady,
freedom does not exist, it never existed in human history (this world is only made with interdependancies - not sure if it's the good translation); freedom of speech is an occidental myth, nothing else (freedom of speech is only what the most powerful allows you to say).
religion means being simplified and united, it is supposed to be the only human job but as a man said: "there's plenty of roads which are going to the top of that hill but not a lot of pilgrims upon these roads. in fact, there's a lot of talkers on the basement of the hill,".
pretend to know what is good or bad is just called original sin in genesis.(and your post is including this media cliché which is another seed for anti-arab leagues or anti-muslim people; if you are taking this kind of example, don't take media stuff, or you will receive answers like mine)
I came to america some times in the past and I have nothing against any people in the world including american people (which are the same that french people or any human people);
nowadays, I only saw from here lords of war and oil, with no more communist ennemy, invented an utopic arab strength by arming and financing terrorist groups like al qaida, just to have the "right" to make wars and to spend money in security instead of social things.
actually when some arabic people are saying USA are evil, here we are quite forced to say yes to that; it is impossible to a normal human being to say that the abroad actions of USA (and things like 9/11)are something else than liberal fascism.
why, near 5 years later, do you have not all the clues and evidences of what really happened?
what do you want us to believe about that? we just can see that american people are considerated by their government as children or consumers, anything else, it's enough to give them entertainment and food and they're happy people, concerning only by that...how is it possible for us to believe something else?
nothing in that is concerning american people personnally but, from here, we just hear silence from the american citizens and medias (or just some isolated voices).
if we were in 1932 and if your country was named germany, how would you be called? because america is now doing the same, illegal wars in the name of greed and oil with arabs instead of jews..
is there still a democratic country in america?
I'm just asking
Hello Again GMC, I understand your questioning of the US and it's policies. I think it's very healthy to question. If you read my past writings, I'm really not anti-anybody. The main thing I stand against is hatred & cruelty.
There are SO many groups of people in the US who stand up very strongly for what they believe and for the rights of others. There are many protests here, though they may not make the news because nobody is put in prison or shot. I'm sorry there is such a negative view of our country as a whole.
I think perhaps it's suspicious paranoia to believe that our own government staged 9/11 just so they would have excuse to invade Iraq and "get oil". The event has been heavily investigated by several Federal and private entities. I'm not sure who facilitated such rumors? In my opinion, Michael Moore was just trying to make a name for himself with his movie revealing all of the supposed "conspiracies". Most Americans- even those who oppose the war think it's pretty far-fetched. Remember, we were here & lived through it. It wasn't the first terrorist attack on the US. Was the bombing of our embassy or the USS Cole also an American President staging things? (It was Bill Clinton at the time.)
The US President is moving our country away from oil. This was announced in one of his more recent State of the Union speeches. In fact, they are already starting to put ethanol into our fuel. We hope by the year 2020 to be completely independant of a need for foreign oil. How does this fit with the accusation that the war was all about oil? The ethanol will also help the environment. I think this is very wise for us all.
I did NOT agree with Bush going ahead with the war without the consent of the UN. To me, he should have waited before acting so hastily.
There are MANY good & bad points in every society- I'm sure you would agree this includes France as well. Understanding is one of the surest roads to peace...
Thanks for the commentary, I have a better picture of how the French view the US. This challenges me to continue to build friendships abroad in order to demonstrate that we are NOT all content with material things & entertainment. I enjoy exchanging perspectives! :o)
My family doesn't watch TV- not much on that interests us.
I'm simply an educated housewife who loves to read & do research. I don't have much influence in this world to make big changes. I blog about my worldview and raise my 4 children to be tolerant of differences and to live in peace. This is my contribution to a better world...
Be well! :o)
PS. Many Presidential staff members here in the US have resigned their posts during Bush's terms. Today, Mr. Card resigned. They don't agree with all that's going on either...
AND Your English seems to be coming along exceptionally well!
hi,
what was written is not your trial, don't worry; but these facts and somme others like the will of pollution -by not signing the Kyoto protocol- or not to be part of the International Justice Court in Den Haag (just to protect henry kissinger - assassination of allende with money from the CIA, killing repression in indonesia, bombing neutral countries like cambodia and laos- and to authorize this country to act unpunishably (not sure for this word)in this world) make some (not a few) people here think bad things about america.
I didn't see michael moore'movies, I'm not interested by TV programs or movies, I just saw "loose change" and my intellect is quite good for analysys and synthesis, that's all.
for 9/11, it's not exclusively for oil, but also for 160 billions $ in gold which "disappeared" that day and for all the official money spent in the weapons industry and also a certain kind of imperialism: look, after afghanistan and iraq, it's now time for iran....
if the US government did not organize 9/11, why are so many clues and evidences that are showing the opposite; why, after 5 years, is this story not clear (remember death of JFK...)?
but, don't worry, the only thing that are really interesting gmc are called awakening, enlightment or resurrection; anything else, I assure you
but that was a good opportunity to practice english. ;-)
You know as a general rule, I believe that wherever and everywhere there is much power, power corrupts. That's true for any human institution.
But I also believe that there is more good in the world than many of us are willing to see.
I'm thankful for the freedoms I can exercise even if they are only freedoms that I'm allowed to exercise.
I think also we sometimes enslave ourselves by only seeing and dwelling on the negative.
This is very true, Tim. We need to look for the good in life and count our many blessings. :o)
It is disturbing to know that other countries have such a negative view of us. I hope this will someday change- it begins in each of us doing the best we can in life, to contribute and not destroy...
dear,
other countries have this negative view of USA because of what USA are doing (remember "in greed we trust", everything seems to be permitted in The Holy Name of Profit) abroad, that's all.it's not in fact a negative view, it is almost a clear vision.
justice and freedom are only pretexts to force other countries to follow the profit ideology.
al qaida was armed and financially supported by the CIA, supposing to help the afghans to fight soviet union. if al qaida is responsible of 9/11 (which is not proved at this moment), it's a normal return, a kind of justice and anything else; as your country has created terrorist groups, your country receive what it seeds...
it is what buddhists called turning the wheel of dharma.
but, you are right when saying that everything begins in everybody's life, being a light around you will help more than another thing.
so when america will change, opinions about america abroad will change, that's all.
if america won't change, foreign opinions will increase in a bad way.
since I left commenting a posting on political blogs I ahve kept away from engrossing myself with daily load of disgust....
just wanted to visit you after a long time :-)
good to see ure doing well
Thanks for stopping by Brain! Nice to hear from you.
Trailady, you are more patient than I am. I would have told this gmc where to take that psychotic crap about our country. How obsurd and arrogant to come on the blog of an American and write that kind of nonsense! Seven of my relatives died defending france from the nazis invasion. I do not appreciate such badmouthing from them. Remember the old saying it takes one to know one? Ive never been to a more arrogant country than france and I will never go back. I did not enjoy my visit there at all. Funny how they think they have 9/11 and US motives all figured out. If there were any such conspiracy in this country we would know about it and bush would be impeached before you can even spell O-I-L. GMC's opinions make it seem like the US is all a bunch of greedy inbred idiots with no honesty, class or values. Dont put up with this kind of stuff!
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