Is Russia Right?

I just watched feed from the U.N. on CNN. Russia's U.N. ambassador to the Security Council argued that it had no obligation, under its agreement with France and Georgia, to "immediate withdrawal." Instead, he argues they will withdraw as the international community can ensure the Georgian army stands down and its weapons and bases are secured. He also asserts the Russian army entered the disputed territories to protect the people from the Georgian army and that it only entered Georgia's soverign area, including the cities it now occupies, when Georgians fired upon them.

When our nation has worked to interject its will into other nations using force, we have justified these actions. The U.S. has preturbed the international community by acting on its own. These actions have usually resulted in little more than strong disapproval. Latin America, Middle East, Southeast Asia have all seen American involvement at the detriment of "national integrity." In light of such a history, American censure ring hypocritical.

Americans are critical of the media in its coverage of Iraq and Afghanistan, whether we charge them as biased against the administration or acting as puppets of the same. Surely coverage of items across the globe deserve similar scrutiny. Perhaps we are too complacent as our daily comforts are in jeopardy or we just have short memories for this nation's own indiscretions abroad. Either way, we should hear both sides before falling lock in step with rhetoric and propaganda.

The China Boycott Bandwagon

This morning I watched a story on the folks boycotting the Chinese Olympics. People have voiced tremendous outrage regarding China's "occupation" of Tibet. As a nation, China has its differences with many of us in the West. It is the last great communist nation and a super power. But China is also a sovereign nation and was chosen fairly as host of these games.

Nations, interest groups and world leaders are hopping on the bandwagon to protest the games and influence China to release it hold on Tibet. These groups have held the pre-game celebrations in their grip by disrupting violently the running of the celebrated Olympic torch.

What has long been a tradition of international cooperation, despite several differences, to promote healthy competition, rewarding hard work, and helping build infrastructure in host countries in being manipulated. Those who cause physical harm a threaten to disrupt and interfere in public celebrations are using terror as their tool: they are terrorists.

An effective way to protest Chinese policies is o boycott their products, to write your political representatives, and to petition their government. Holding others who simply want to enjoy this truly international celebration in fear.

It is amazing that certain people condemn folks who "judge others" are so adamant in something they oppose. But now is not that time. Now is a time for international cooperation and a little healthy rivalry. Now, let's celebrate! Let's enjoy! Lay down the gloves, stop bickering over political differences.

Are You Sure about That?

Recently I'm learning a little more about my own theological interpretations. Raised in the Bible belt of the U.S., some things were taught as certainties. The Scripture was open to extremely strict interpretation and those who didn't agree with our interpretation had gone off into a divergent faith. From the method of baptism to the way churches did fundraisers, the answers were in the Bible, plain as day, for everyone to see.

Fast-forward to my post-high school years. An impressionable (but grounded) young adult, I entered college. Faced with secular history that starts somewhere before the Genesis account and tracing human history with Judeo-Christian history thrown in the middle I realized the real, valid challenges to my faith. Looking through the eyes of others, I was able to acknowledge the seeming discrepancies and realize absurdities I had embraced when I was younger.

Thanks to my secular education and the challenges of listening to different views, I have learned to look at the Scriptures as more than a strict instruction manual. Don't get me wrong, the Bible is to me God's word and the foundation of my faith, but it's now more than it was.

Take Genesis as a sart (afterall, that is where the story begins). Some are adamant to argue that everything in Genesis happened just as it was written, even arguing that if this is not the case, we could dismiss the whole Bible. A secular viewpoint -- which it's taken me a long time to understand -- looks at the account as allegory: a way for a nomad named Moses* to get his mind around how this world and his people came to be. Before you dismiss me as a heretic, please consider this: Almighty God could have inspired Moses to communicate this history to his people to illustrate important truths and build a way to relate to mankind.

With a less-literal viewpoint, I can see creation and the fall as a beatuiful allegory of how God Almighty values humanity and the tragedy of every person's self-will that carries us away from His perfect will, tarnishing everything, and the need for a redeemer. God becomes our benevolent provider in a way that anyone can acknowledge. All of this communicates the same creation story beautifully, opening the door to the gospel, without ostracizing someone who doesn't interpret the scripture literally.

This begs the question: when you feel lead to defend your faith, or perhaps the way you've been taught to view that faith, are you sure about that? Is your viewpoint the only valid way to look at it? Does your translation get in the way of you communicating the essence of the message, leading to arguements about viewpoint and semantics, not about the gospel message? Can you learn something of another's interpretation that enriches your own faith?

As John admonishes, "Test the spirits"(1 John 4). Perhaps by listening and pondering others' viewpoints of Scripture and faith you can strengthen your own and better communicate your faith with others.

*Some would argue that these stories are accumulations of years of oral history compiled post-Moses. This acknowledged, the mystery is the same.