I have questions -- I'd like some feedback

I was reading a new article on the execution of Saddam Hussein, and it mentioned a Muslim priest giving a sermon:

“In his Friday sermon, a mosque preacher in the Shiite holy city of Najaf called Saddam's execution "God's gift to Iraqis."

"Oh, God, you know what Saddam has done! He killed millions of Iraqis in prisons, in wars with neighboring countries and he is responsible for mass graves. Oh God, we ask you to take revenge on Saddam," said Sheik Sadralddin al-Qubanji, a member of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, known as SCIRI, the dominant party in al-Maliki's coalition.”


What’s your take on this? What’s your understanding of the Biblical stance on capital punishment?

Through the “renewing of our minds” (Romans 12:1), and the assumed enlightenment that should occur in the process, what does God say about capital punishment?

How do you feel?

I’m not sure, myself. I’m still trying to work it out.

What are your thoughts?

Dale

The definition of compassion

The text reads:

Air Force Chief Master Sgt. John Gebhardt, of the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group at Balad, Iraq, cradles a young girl as they both sleep in the hospital. The girl's entire family was executed by insurgents; the killers shot her in the head as well. The girl received treatment at the U.S. military hospital in Balad, but cries and moans often. According to the nurses at the facility, Gebhardt is the only one who can calm down the girl, so he has spent the last several nights holding her while they both sleep in a chair.

Makes me proud to be an American.

Dale

So what went wrong?

Man sets self aflame in Calif. protest
Sat Dec 23, 10:48 AM ET

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - A man used flammable liquid to light himself on fire, apparently to protest a San Joaquin Valley school district's decision to change the names of winter and spring breaks to Christmas and Easter vacation.

The man, who was not immediately identified, on Friday also set fire to a Christmas tree, an American flag and a revolutionary flag replica, said Fire Captain Garth Milam.

Seeing the flames, Sheriff's Deputy Lance Ferguson grabbed a fire extinguisher and ran to the man. Flames were devouring a Christmas tree next to the Liberty Bell, where public events and demonstrations are common.

Beside the tree the man stood with an American flag draped around his shoulders and a red gas can over his head.

Seeing the deputy, the man poured the liquid over his head. He quickly burst into flames when the fumes from the gas met the flames from the tree.

The deputy ordered the man to drop to the ground as he and a parole agent sprayed him with fire extinguishers.

"The man stood there like this," the deputy said with his arms across his chest and his head bent down, "Saying no, no, no."

The man suffered first degree burns on his shoulders and arms, Milam said.

Kern County Sheriff's Deputy John Leyendecker said the man had a sign that read: "(expletive) the religious establishment and KHSD."

On Thursday, the Kern High School Board of Trustees voted to use the names Christmas and Easter instead of winter and spring breaks.



So, what went wrong? Something as simple as the designation “Christmas and Easter breaks” causes a man to set himself on fire?

Is he just insane? Do we dismiss this as just another senseless act of violence and aggression?

Or is it something deeper? Has the name of Jesus become so charged with erroneous thinking and misunderstood dogma that the mere mention of it causes people to set themselves on fire?

Has the ‘religious establishment’ barricaded themselves so well in the ivory towers that the piety and the hypocrisy are all people can see?

Has our message to the world transformed from one of love to one of judgment?

I think this news story paints an image that is far deeper than what the surface holds.

And I don’t know why this one makes me more sad than angry like the last one a few weeks ago.

Dale

Look at Stephen Baldwin bringing the HEAT!

I'm REALLY happy about this ..

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=2672236

For some strange reason, this is very encouraging to me.

We need to play with Stephen some day at one of his outreaches ..

That would (sing it with my like opera) RAH-HA-HA-HA-HOCK ..

I'm proud of Stephen .. bringing the juice ..

I'm very happy with Un-Blue'd

We had our second concert last night. We played for U-Turn for Christ, a Christian drug-rehab in Camino, CA, right outside of Placerville.

What a great time of worship and praise! What a great sounding band! What a great example of excellent musicians and friends getting together to bless people's lives!

First of all, let me just say that I am VERY happy with my new gear. The tone was SICK! The new amp and effects came through with FLYING colors. I didn’t know what I was missing until now.

We played about 12 songs, and had 3 dramas. Everyone did a GREAT job with the dramas. Keith Baldwin knocked my lights out in his role as Keenan in ‘Almost Gone.’ As he walked to the front of the room, he carried with him a quiet power. Like an iceberg, what I was seeing of Keith playing this character was only the slightest bit of his real depth, a shadow of what he showed us as the play progressed.

It was my favorite part of the night. Bravo, brother.

I had a great time with my Christian family. I’m glad I get to call you friends, both those I know well and those I am getting to know. I’m glad we are together in this venture. I look forward to what God does with us in the future. I love being able to talk and laugh and share and love with you guys.

See you soon!

Dale

Dude, Lucado rips ..

The Meek Were Kneeling
by Max Lucado

“Blessed are the meek,” Jesus explained. Blessed are the available.

That’s why the announcement went first to the shepherds. They didn’t ask God if he was sure he knew what he was doing.

Had the angel gone to the theologians, they would have first consulted their commentaries. Had he gone to the elite, they would have looked around to see if anyone was watching. Had he gone to the successful, they would have first looked at their calendars.

So he went to the shepherds. Men who didn’t have a reputation to protect or an ax to grind or a ladder to climb. Men who didn’t know enough to tell God that angels don’t sing to sheep and that messiahs aren’t found wrapped in rags and sleeping in a feed trough.

A small cathedral outside Bethlehem marks the supposed birthplace of Jesus. Behind a high altar in the church is a cave, a little cavern lit by silver lamps.

You can enter the main edifice and admire the ancient church. You can also enter the quiet cave where a star embedded in the floor recognizes the birth of the King. There is one stipulation, however. You have to stoop. The door is so low you can’t go in standing up.

The same is true of the Christ. You can see the world standing tall, but to witness the Savior, you have to get on your knees.
So …

while the theologians were sleeping

and the elite were dreaming

and the successful were snoring,

the meek were kneeling.

They were kneeling before the One only the meek will see.

They were kneeling in front of Jesus.


I love Lucado's brevity and focus. Excellent writer.

This is something that I have to work on all the time. Kneeling. Trying to do everything myself. Not trusting enough in Jesus and His people to delegate anything -- prayer, worry, strife. Jesus says that his "yolk is easy" and sometimes I don't believe Him. I try to pull with my own strength, when the real strength comes in just letting go.

In faith.

Dale