Some U.S. Christians are not reconciled to McCain's candidacy but instead regard the prospective presidency of Barack Obama in the nature of a biblical plague visited upon a sinful people.

Now obviously, the interpretation they want is that the Obama Plague is God's retribution on America for not picking Huckabee.

Well, he's a plague all right.  He's a plague on Republicans and conservatives for the sin of electing Bush twice.  :P

The point of his essay is not, as one might fear, that human beings lack an inherent dignity or moral importance. It's that the term "dignity" has been so constantly abused that it has become almost worthless in moral debates. It's incoherently defined, capable of having nearly any property, even contradictory ones. And it's all too often used simply as a proxy for the philosopher's or theologian's subjective dislike of some behavior or idea.

Here's the key point of the article:

The problem is that "dignity" is a squishy, subjective notion, hardly up to the heavyweight moral demands assigned to it. The bioethicist Ruth Macklin, who had been fed up with loose talk about dignity intended to squelch research and therapy, threw down the gauntlet in a 2003 editorial, "Dignity Is a Useless Concept." Macklin argued that bioethics has done just fine with the principle of personal autonomy--the idea that, because all humans have the same minimum capacity to suffer, prosper, reason, and choose, no human has the right to impinge on the life, body, or freedom of another. This is why informed consent serves as the bedrock of ethical research and practice, and it clearly rules out the kinds of abuses that led to the birth of bioethics in the first place, such as Mengele's sadistic pseudoexperiments in Nazi Germany and the withholding of treatment to indigent black patients in the infamous Tuskegee syphilis study. Once you recognize the principle of autonomy, Macklin argued, "dignity" adds nothing.

The rest of Pinker's article basically argues that despite an entire volume full of responses to Macklin's challenge, the mostly conservative and religious Presidential Council on Bioethics have failed to answer it. In some cases, as with the notorious Leon Kass, they did worse than fail, exposing bizarre theocratic preoccupations that celebrate death and bemoan liberty in life.

A tour de force. Anyone know of any good responses to, or critiques of, this piece from conservative critics?

Today: Wednesday, May 13, 2008, marks the 39th anniversary of a black day in Malaysia's young history as a sovereign nation.

Have we come a long way to distance ourselves from the bloody nightmare of 1969? I believe that we have. Why? Because on March 8, Malaysians took a bold step away from the status quo.

Reverberations from what local pundits love to to call a political tsunami are still being heard. The full compendium of effects is yet, i'm sure, to be seen.

The balance of political power is rather precarious right now. However, this has not translated into the angst among a certain race or another.

Malaysians are gradually stepping beyond racial and religious demarcation and towards common ground. I see this a lot. The only ones who are left behind are the race-based political parties and the petri dish of segregation that the civil service (with its largely Malay population).

Lessons learnt? We have to embrace each other as Malaysians. We have to learn about each other's norms and sensitivities. Learn to respect these differences. It is usually the minorities that learn these things in order to assimilate and survive.

Maybe it is time that the majority learnt to, as well.

Last night I talked to my Malay housemate B about respecting another's sensitivities. I told her that my other housemate AL and me made a point of not having pork or other non halal stuff in the house so that she (B) can cook and eat with us.

I said she could return the understanding by not cooking beef in the house, which I don't touch. She didn't know these stuff. I told her and she took it very well.

Maybe our eventual cohesion as Bangsa Malaysia may not come as easily....but it will have to start with mutual understanding and respect.

But I have great hopes.

And for those who gave their lives in the May 13 bloodbath, may their souls rest in peace.

Words above and video below posted by VOTERSTHINKdotORG

Within the past week we have lost  over 100,000 lives in Myarnmar and now 10,000 in China.   Let us not forget we are all connected - with the web of one soul - brother to brother, sister to sister  under the light of one Moon.

One Planet, One People, One World Soul --- United Under One Creator ---

Let us be the Light in a World that too often reflects on the Darkness ---

Words above and video below posted by VOTERSTHINKdotORG

The dude on the right, he looks like kind of a dick. But the guy on the left? Yeah, I'd party with him.

From a series of things straight outta Hell on Monster Brains.

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It is clear that Christ's message was one of repentance and his disciples were faithful to retain Jesus' pattern of preaching as their teaching prominently features repentance as well.  For example, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7:10, "godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death."  Thus Paul clearly believed that repentance is intricately tied to salvation.[1]  Peter's second epistle also clearly ties repentance to the fulfillment of God's promises in salvation:  "the Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should reach repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).  It is extremely difficult to make sense of these passages if repentance is understood to be something that takes place after conversion.  Faith and repentance, if rightly understood, should be placed together as the biblically commanded human response to the gospel call.  Repentance is a work of God and man-sinners must repent to receive salvation, yet God enables them to do so (Acts 11:18; 2 Tim 2:25).  The Gospels, Acts, and the New Testament epistles clearly tie repentance to conversion-a great deal must be read into these texts in order to see repentance as applying only to sanctification.

 In my next post, I will discuss the Greek words used for repentance and how both lordship and non-lordship propents understand them.  I will argue that non-lordship teaching incorrectly defines "repentance" to the detriment of the church.

[1]  Other key Pauline texts on repentance include 2 Timothy 2:24-26 and Romans 2:3-4.    

By the Brahma Kumaris, a spiritual organization committed to self transformation through meditation and positive thinking.

During and after the end of WW II, as the founding fathers of the United Nations formulated a blueprint for a world peace, security and justice, the founding members of the Brahma Kumaris were researching core values which they considered necessary to restore individual worth and human dignity.
In 1980, the relationship between the United Nations was formulated.

“To a truly contented and enlightened soul, everything in the world, which means the way the world is right now, is just fine. To the unenlightened and discontented soul, this will sound like a massive avoidance. But think about it. Does the masterful actor go to the theatre for their evening performance, and on entering the stage start shifting the backdrop, altering the scenery and moving the props around? Of course not, they are totally concentrated on the role they need to create and play to the best of their ability. And so it is with the world... The backdrop of our life is the way things are at this moment in time. The props are exactly where they are meant to be at this moment in time. Many people spend their whole lives trying to change the backdrop and move the props around, little realising the futility of the exercise... Yes, they may succeed in altering an angle here, a minute part of the picture there; but all at the cost of the focus and the energy needed to put on their best performance and achieve their own highest standards of excellence, not only will those around them be changed automatically as the invitation rolls in to perform their life elsewhere. Excellence is a much more powerful influence in the world than discontent. So everything is fine out there. No one says it is perfect; but it is exactly the way it should be...at this moment. So, here is the paradox of effective change - if you want to influence change for the better, then the more effective way to begin is with contentment with the way things are. The way things are, are the way they are meant to be.”

--Brahma Kumaris

Come Daughter of Arabia
Come To Yiddisha Momma
LooK , I brinK You sometinK to drinK
Come Daughter Of the Prophet
Rid the scarf and veil
And let the .. Goyim wail
Come drink, eat and look at nice pictures
See Goy Boy, Look and see the fun
Look how PRETTY ,And take one...
Take one , Daughter of Islam , TAKE one.
Come to Yiddisha Momma
Come Daughter Of Arabia
COME.

a knight's tale, originally uploaded by earthpages.

Acts 2:1-21; Psalm 104:24-34, 35b; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13; John 20:19-23

Meet With Me; You Are the One; Light the Fire; Meet Us

Acts 2 [sermon follows]

A Sound Like a Strong Wind

1-4 When the Feast of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force-no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them.

5-11There were many Jews staying in Jerusalem just then, devout pilgrims from all over the world. When they heard the sound, they came on the run. Then when they heard, one after another, their own mother tongues being spoken, they were thunderstruck. They couldn't for the life of them figure out what was going on, and kept saying, "Aren't these all Galileans? How come we're hearing them talk in our various mother tongues?

Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; Visitors from Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene; Immigrants from Rome, both Jews and proselytes; Even Cretans and Arabs! "They're speaking our languages, describing God's mighty works!"

12Their heads were spinning; they couldn't make head or tail of any of it. They talked back and forth, confused: "What's going on here?" 13Others joked, "They're drunk on cheap wine."

Peter Speaks Up

14-21That's when Peter stood up and, backed by the other eleven, spoke out with bold urgency: "Fellow Jews, all of you who are visiting Jerusalem, listen carefully and get this story straight. These people aren't drunk as some of you suspect. They haven't had time to get drunk-it's only nine o'clock in the morning. This is what the prophet Joel announced would happen:

"In the Last Days," God says, "I will pour out my Spirit on every kind of people: Your sons will prophesy, also your daughters; Your young men will see visions, your old men dream dreams. When the time comes, I'll pour out my Spirit On those who serve me, men and women both, and they'll prophesy. I'll set wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth below, Blood and fire and billowing smoke, the sun turning black and the moon blood-red, Before the Day of the Lord arrives, the Day tremendous and marvelous; And whoever calls out for help to me, God, will be saved."

The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

What's on my mind is how much God cares for the whole world, and how much I want my own heart to be that way. His story is always so "go-ey." Here, the guests in the city understand - in their own language. See? God causes people to go communicate with other people.

This kept coming up this week. Human culture isn't often that way.

A friend blogged about a Muslim boy who fell under the spell of some extremists, was going to be a suicide bomber, got caught, probably went to prison. My much-valued friend is an agnostic, and she saw the fault of religion in it—especially given the fact the the books of our faiths (my own included) seem to advocate violence sometimes. She ends:

Reality-based morality is the only way humanity is going to make it to a peaceful future. To see the oneness of our species shows the violence for what it is: brother killing brother, an abomination.

[At that sentence I saw a glimmer of familiarity in the eyes of my friends in church. They liked it!]

I found that moving. So I wrote back:

I think your description of reality-based morality - "brother killing brother, an abomination" - is close to the essence of what I believe, and close to the essence of Jesus. Though I come at it from a different direction - that all people are inestimably precious because they are created in the image of God (and therefore brothers) - I am convinced that "seeing the oneness of our species" well describes the ache in my heart for those who suffer. They are me. Sometimes I wish, for brief moments, that I didn't feel that. But I wouldn't want to live without it.

In fact, now that I think about it, I was just speaking on this last Sunday, and included comments from a genocide expert named Amartya Sen. I almost called the sermon Everyone has a name. And I think it expresses some of what is in my heart that is also in yours. ...

One more thought - at the very core of Christianity is a "one-ness" so profound that God sets aside all the privileges of "God-ness" to experience this oneness with humans. He leaves his "culture" of privilege and enters theirs as a low-status human, for the purpose of understanding their world and their pain, and spends most of thirty years in anonymity, mostly waiting, listening, and learning from them. What an example it is for cross-cultural understanding - I go, I wait, I listen and learn, I will not force. His passion is their well-being. And in the end, he calls them "no longer friends, but brothers," and pleads with them to go and do the same. I'm still amazed by it.

The go-ey ness of God!

And then I read of Liberia. In bloody war until not long ago; then—suddenly, to my eyes— there was a woman who was President (Ellen Johnson Sirleaf) and it appeared to be a new day (whenever a woman becomes a president, it appears to be a new day). What had happened? -

The following is an interview with Abigail Disney (as printed on the God's Politics blog), producer of the documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell, which recently won the award for best documentary feature at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.

What sparked your interest in wanting to make a documentary about Liberia?

The fact that the newly elected president of Liberia was a woman was notable, especially since the continent had had so few women in leadership, and that women had been so peculiarly and sadistically targeted during their war. I knew there had to be a backstory. She hadn't just arisen spontaneously.

How were Christian and Muslim women able to come together for a common cause?

They were all so completely fed up with war that they were willing to overcome their reluctance. There was some mistrust at first, but the longer they spent time together in prayer and fasting the more they came to understand and empathize with each other. Friendships were forged on the field that will exist for a long time-it is quite possible that the nature of the relationship between Christian and Muslim was forever changed in Liberia. ...

How did prayer inform these women's social justice actions?

All of the women in this film were deeply, deeply religious and believed with all of their hearts and minds in the power of prayer to influence events and people. This was a critical aspect of their plan, and a big part of what made them so tenacious and persistent in their protests. But more than this, prayer was a source of personal strength to each of the women. They gained strength through their individual practice of prayer, but also the communal practice of prayer was an extraordinary glue that held the group together in spite of all kinds of pressures to pull them apart. ...

What can we do to enable this change to continue without imposing our Western values on this culture?

I think you are precisely right here. Why do we insist on imposing "solutions" that are always at best temporary, and at worst impractical and even disrespectful to indigenous cultures? I think at heart we are sometimes deeply mistrustful of the competence of indigenous cultures to find their own answers. And when we impose programs, very often we do so in such a manner as to set them hunting for external money that is scarce, inadequate, and hard to get. The answer is to do some better listening. As people coming in from the global North we need to arrive in places with a little less confidence in our "answers" and a little more confidence in the people we are there to serve. People aren't poor because they don't have values, don't have smarts, don't have gumption-people are poor because they don't have money. We need to recognize that most of the "resources" needed to fight the world's problems are also the victims of those problems.

What's been the response when you've shown this film?

The response has been overwhelmingly emotional, connected, and positive. And this is not just from people in the U.S. We have already shown the film in many countries to women's groups and the response has been so moving. Women in Iraq wept when they saw it, and immediately asked how many copies they could make so as to make sure that it is shown in people's homes all over the country. Women from Sudan e-mailed us to say that they felt sure that lives were being changed by the dialogues the film had sparked. In Tblisi, Georgia, women sat down immediately after the film and wrote up a Peace Agenda that is now making its way around the country for women's signatures. What is remarkable is the way that so many women were already poised to work together for peace-all the film does is remind them how powerful they are when they work together. It is a spark of faith in dark times.

God is go-ey, building up other cultures.

And then, after some put-downs of people who don't have money on a ClipMarks post, another friend of mine, called dmegivern, began to tell of her remarkable (and heroic, I think) experience:

Dmegivern: What haunts me the most in terms of my social responsibilities was experiences like my 10th grade school year. My mom almost successfully committed suicide and I was trying to manage a house of five younger siblings alone. I remember so clearly how Uncle Social Darwin left me alone to handle the whole thing. He left me to handle everything at my mother's hospital bed while she was unconscious and all hooked up to tubes. I never want to abandon another human being when they most need reassurance, support, and help.

I was rescued from a life a poverty by government educational programs like Head Start and Upward Bound. I was fed by school lunch and government cheese. No conservatives rushed in to help me as a parentified child caring for two mentally ill parents and five younger siblings almost alone until Upward Bound stepped in. Our LDS church brought us a rin of three types of popcorn every Christmas.

Through a government-funded program, I give 150% to getting my students [she's a teacher now] caught up enough educationally to graduate from college and get out of poverty. My survival and ultimately my middle class status is entirely attributable to government intervention. This allowed me to rescue my yongest brother and sister. I wish it could have been enough to prevent my brother from committing suicide at age 23, but no.

I defy you to find a single "bad" choice have made with my life. Poor people can't afford to make any mistakes at all or they do not escape. No youthful indescretions are allowed whatsoever. Cough, Bush.

I want to add that all of my debt was incurred paying for food, shelter, clothing etc. for my younger siblings after I was given court custody when I was 24 years old and in graduate school. My pay ranged from $12,000 to a high of $24,000. A lot of poor people I know have extreme challenges of a similar nature.

What if we realized this about people who didn't have much, instead of running them down? Why aren't we cheerleading for those who work so hard, instead of buying into ridiculous and slanderous (and, since this is church, sinful and wicked ) stereotyping?

Now, one for us. CBS' coverage of Myanmar, and the recent cyclone:

Here's a way you can help with that problem. Amnesty International USA has set up an email form so you can dash off a letter to the Myanmar Ambassador. One name may not mean much, but a thousand names might mean a whole lot - and the only way you get a thousand names is one at a time.

				AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA
			A cyclone devastated the lives of over a million Myanmar residents. However, the government of Myanmar is slow to help pick up the pieces. Urge the government of Myanmar to cooperate with the international community in the distribution of humanitarian aid.

And then, check out this letter I got from Nazarene Compassionate Ministries:

Cyclone Nargis slammed through a 30,000 square kilometer area of the coast of Myanmar over the weekend, leaving destruction and death in its wake. The Myanmar government radio has confirmed 22,464 dead and as many as 41,000 missing in the hardest hit areas of the low-lying Irrawaddy delta region and Yangon. Tidal waves, some up to 12 feet high, are reported to have killed most of the victims in that region. The UN also reports that up to one million people have been left homeless.

South-east Asia (SEA) Field and mission personnel have made contact with Nazarene leaders in the area. They are shaken but safe. They were relieved to hear about the love, concern, and support of their Nazarene family. Several of the 21 Nazarene churches in Myanmar [whoa, wait a minute - we have 21 churches in Myanmar?] are located in areas hit by Nargis.

NCM and Field personnel hope to travel into Myanmar later this week to survey the situation and distribute relief supplies such as basic food items, water, and emergency shelter. NCM is coordinating with other international relief and aid agencies in an endeavor to collaborate in an effective response to this disaster.

See, those people - pastors, churches - they are already there. We can help them get on their feet, and they can help the others around them. There's an address at the NCM website if you want to give to it. It's a way you can go.

So, everywhere I looked this week, I was reminded of this Pentecost message: God goes. He builds bridges. He learns the language. He respects and loves and listens.

May you and I be enough like him to find a way to go, too.

Woman killed in rocket strike on Negev as son watches; Grads hit Ashkelon
Haaretz

By Fadi Eyadat and Yuval Azoulay

A 70-year-old woman was killed as her son watched when a rocket fired by militants from the Gaza Strip struck a meter from where she was standing yesterday.

The rocket hit a house in Moshav Yesha, 15 kilometers east of Gaza. This rocket struck farther from Gaza than most fired from the Strip. No one else was hurt.

The woman, Shuli Katz, and her son were on their way to visit her sister-in-law on Moshav Yesha.

A neighbor said that Katz's sister-in-law, who is visiting from the United States, was afraid to visit Katz at her home, on Kibbutz Gvaram near Ashkelon, because of the two rockets that struck Ashkelon earlier yesterday.

Instead, she asked Katz to visit her at Moshav Yesha.

At close to 7 P.M., Katz and her son arrived at the home on the moshav where her sister-in-law was staying.

"They drove up to the back entrance with their car. The son got out of the car to make sure they had come to the right house, while his mother stayed near the car.

The rocket alert siren sounded and the mother didn't have time to find shelter. The rocket fell a meter from her," said Haim Yelin, head of the Eshkol Regional Council.

The moshav's security officer Eli Avital, who was among the first to reach the site, said that Katz was already dead when he arrived.

"She was hit by shrapnel. The son was standing under the house in shock, crying. He knew his mother was dead. She didn't have a chance," Avital said.

The paramedics tried to resuscitate Katz, but were forced to pronounce her death.

The attack came as the Egyptian intelligence chief wrapped up talks with Israel over a truce with Hamas that would end rocket attacks and Israeli reprisals.

Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the deadly rocket. Islamic Jihad is responsible for most of the rockets fired by Gaza militant groups at Israeli towns.

Israel has accused Islamic Jihad of receiving its rockets from Iran.

Government spokesman Mark Regev denounced the attack but did not say it would halt the truce talks. "The rocket fire into Israel will end, it will end either because calm will be achieved, or Israel will act to protect its people," he said.

'Terrible bad luck'

The head of the moshav's emergency team, Shosh Moshe, said that Katz had spoken to her sister-in-law that morning.

"Her sister-in-law and the family were afraid to drive to Gvaram because of the rockets that fell this morning in Ashkelon and asked her to come to the moshav in the evening. It's terrible bad luck," she said.

Gvaram secretariat chairman, Shauli Rabid, said Katz was born and raised on the kibbutz and had four children, including two daughters who are married and living in England.

Her two sons are in Israel. Ravid said that Katz's husband died of cancer in December 2003.

"She worked as a nurse in the kibbutz until she retired. She was well known and loved because of her long public service. She and her husband grew a lovely garden around her house, she loved flowers and art," Ravid said.

Katz was the first person to be killed in Moshav Yesha. Over the past seven years, seven rockets landed in the moshav.

"I'm leaving today," said Zehava Atias, who moved to Yesha seven years ago. "I have an 18-year-old son. We are not protected here and have nowhere to hide. Nobody has a safe room and I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to my boy."

Earlier yesterday, two Grad rockets hit Ashkelon.

One of the rockets struck an area crowded with many schools and kindergartens at 7 A.M., only minutes before children normally flood the area. The second rocket struck the Ashkelon National Park.

One woman was treated for shock and some homes sustained damage

The House of Commons will vote next week on several amendments to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, which call for the abortion limit to be cut to between 12 and 22 weeks. Supporters argue that improving survival rates among babies below 24 weeks makes the present threshold unethical.

Read entire story here.

Advancement in the treatment of pre-term babies has lead to this decrease on the assumption that viability can be possible as early as 22 weeks. Opponents of the bill, however, say that the reduction could provide false hope to parents of the unborn children.

A reduction in the legal limit for abortion from 24 weeks would give false hope to the parents of severely premature infants, the minister responsible has told The Times.

Speaking before the first Commons vote on the issue in 18 years, Dawn Primarolo, the Health Minister, said that claims by antiabortion MPs that foetuses are commonly viable at 22 and 23 weeks could mislead parents. Such statements suggest that premature babies have a better chance of survival than is really the case, she said.

The new study, led by Professor David Field of the University of Leicester, found that, while survival rates had improved significantly at 24 and 25 weeks of gestation, there had been no change at 22 and 23 weeks.

No babies born in the Trent region at 22 weeks survived at all during the study. At 23 weeks, 18 per cent of those admitted to intensive care survived to leave hospital, but this rate had not changed in 10 years.

Additional amendments to the bill would make abortions easier to obtain despite the time constraints imposed by reducing the number of doctors required for the procedure from two to one.

Additional concerns regarding the complications present in such early gestational deliveries also produces other considerations.

Gail Johnson, of the Royal College of Midwives, said: “In theory a reduction in the legal limit to 20 weeks could lead to increased use of neonatal units and more pressure on specialist care units.”

Claire Curtis-Thomas, a Labour MP and deputy chairwoman of the All-Party Parliamentary Pro-Life Group, said that it was beyond dispute that some babies survived at gestational ages below 24 weeks. “We all know that the viability of life at a very young age is very, very limited,” she said.

“But it is possible to survive at ages below the abortion limit. By reducing the limit we would at least take it below the lowest threshhold of viability.”

In addition to the change in the time window for abortion, other controversial issues are included in the bill.

The others will cover the creation of hybrid embryos containing human and animal material, the use of embryo-screening to produce “saviour siblings” suitable to donate umbilical cord blood to sick children, and the need for fertility clinics to consider children’s need for a father before starting treatment.

The Archbishop of Canterbury yesterday described the saviour siblings issue as “one of the most poignantly difficult areas in the whole discussion”.

Other provisions in the Bill include a ban on sex-selection for social reasons and the closure of loopholes that have left some fertility treatments unregulated, such as fresh sperm sold over the internet. It also permits wider use of IVF records in medical research and allows surplus embryos to be used in medical training.

Prime Minister Brown is allowing this bill to be fast-tracked through the House of Commons despite strong objections from even some of his own party. The bill, however, is expected to win approval from a coalition of both Conservative and Liberal Democrats.

Whatever the outcome of the legislation, it is certain that science and ethics will continue to pull at these issues. The continual advancement of gestational viability, genetic research, and non-traditional conception to push the limits of man's understanding and limitations of the creation of life.

Problemas en el matrimonio. Como detectarlos, analizarlos y solucionarlos

En casi todos los matrimonios hay problemas grandes o pequeños, producidos por acciones u omisiones. Algunas veces pequeños, pero agrandados. Provienen de las diferencias entre los esposos, con los hijos, con las respectivas familias, del trabajo, de la sociedad, etc. proceden de cualquier parte. Los problemas, como las brujas, es posible que no existan, pero haberlos, ahílos.

Los problemas matrimoniales hay que detectarlos, comentarlos, eliminarlos y poner los medios para que no vuelvan a ocurrir, para el buen futuro de la pareja y el de sus hijos, presentes o venideros.

Para analizar los problemas, es necesario hacer un examen profundo del comportamiento de ambos, como conjunto y por separado, en todas las áreas de la convivencia. Es necesario que ambos cónyuges, con mucha sinceridad, tranquilidad, honestidad, ganas de cambiar y dejando a un lado el orgullo, se sienten a rellenar estas simples preguntas, expresando claramente y por escrito, cuales son sus puntos fuertes y débiles. Si alguno de los dos, no quiere hacerlo, no importa, el otro debe hacerlo y posteriormente comentar los resultados.

La humildad, la sinceridad y el perdón, son las virtudes humanas que tienen que salir a relucir en esos momentos. Se hacen un gran favor, si consiguen poner sus pensamientos en un papel, para poderlos comentar y posteriormente encontrar soluciones. Verán como encuentran, muchas más luces que sombras y cantidad de cosas buenas que tienen en común, que posiblemente estaban ocultas, pero que saldrán de este ejercicio de sinceridad.

Es como un examen de conciencia, con propósito de enmienda, pero uno frente a otro, ambos con el  deseo de mejorar la relación matrimonial y solucionar los posibles problemas, presentes y futuros. No tienen que tener ningún apuro de ser sinceros, el uno con el otro, porque esa sinceridad, unida al deseo de mejorar o mantener sus relaciones, les será una preciosa herramienta para conseguirlo. Siéntense tranquilamente los dos, para comentarlas e intentar llegar a acuerdos y  seleccionar conjuntamente, los medios a emplear para conseguirlos.

¿Conseguirá sentarse el matrimonio, con el cuestionario relleno y a negociarlo con toda sinceridad? Sepan que una de las mejores soluciones que tiene, para que su matrimonio vaya bien, es la de ser muy sinceros, para que por esa sinceridad entre o continúe el amor. Los resultados les servirán para ayudarse uno al otro a sumar, en lugar de restar, en esa vida en común que Vds. voluntariamente, han elegido. No se preocupen por lo que pudiera pasar, preocúpese de lo que inexorablemente pasa, cuando no se corrigen las cosas.

Les sugerimos que lean los otros artículos relacionados con el matrimonio, principalmente el titulado “Como conseguir matrimonios duraderos y felices”

10 Conceptos a analizar, para considerar las acciones u omisiones, que realiza cada uno y como conjunto familiar. Por orden alfabético, no por la importancia que le de cada persona.

1. Amistades. Cómo se fomentan, mantienen o eliminan, los amigos de los cónyuges, para que ayuden a llevar una vida mejor a la pareja, en los aspectos sociales, familiares, religiosos y culturales.
2. Económicos. Posibilidades de esforzarse, para conseguir mayores o mejores ingresos, buena administración en los gastos personales y familiares, planes de ahorro, seguro de salud, de vida, proyectos financieras, manejo de la austeridad, el derroche y el despilfarro.
3. Carácter. Dominio y mejora del carácter, en las relaciones familiares. No mantenerse en posición pasiva ante los acontecimientos, esperando que la pareja, todo lo solucione.
4. Familiares. Buscar la buena armonía, entre todos los miembros de la familia. Formación de un hogar alegre y bien avenido, la entrega de cariño y dedicación total a la pareja e hijos. Dedicación del máximo tiempo posible y el de mejor calidad. Tener bien claras las prioridades, sobre la familia y otras actividades, aunque sean religiosas, civiles o sociales, etc.
5. Hijos. Considerar si se han casado, solamente, para convivir con la otra persona o si se han casado, para formar una familia. En este caso, si evitan tener hijos por cuestiones económicas, de salud, de perdida de imagen, de responsabilidad, de comodidad, etc.
6. Parientes. Cómo se fomentan y mantienen las relaciones, con todos los miembros de las respectivas familias políticas, para que ambos cónyuges, se sientan contentos y tratados en igualdad de afectos.
7. Personales. Mantenerse en el peso correcto, ser cuidados con la salud, mejorar la imagen, ser paciente en las pequeñas adversidades, educar el carácter, etc.
8. Profesionales. Mejora profesional a través de estudios o lecturas. Terminación o comienzo de una carrera profesional. Ganas y acciones para prosperar en el trabajo diario, etc.
9. Religiosos. Prácticas religiosas externas, vida interior, formación religiosa continua, enseñanza con el ejemplo a los hijos y a la pareja, enseñanza de las virtudes y valores humanos, etc.  (Así oramos, así nos va).
10. Sociales. Mantener una vida social, provechosa para el disfrute y enriquecimiento humano de la familia y el futuro de los hijos.

PREGUNTAS PARA LA ESPOSA

• Cuáles son las cosas que debe hacer, como esposa y como madre. Haga un listado de las promesas, externas o mentales que Vd. ofreció a su novio y después marido. Analice cuáles de ellas está cumpliendo con generosidad, cuáles no cumple, por olvido o dejadez y cuáles no quiere cumplir. Recorra todos los aspectos de su vida en común. Recuerde si se comprometió a cumplir algún objetivo. Cada uno sabe, cuales fueron sus personales promesas matrimoniales, pero no confunda los buenos deseos que tuvo, con la realidad actual. Analice también lo que debe hacer, en relación con la crianza y educación de sus hijos, si es que los tiene.
• Cuáles son las cosas, que como esposa y como madre está haciendo bien. Es muy importante la sinceridad y no dejar oculta ninguna cosa positiva, pues le servirá para elevar su autoestima, además que ambas partes deben conocer, todos los aspectos positivos que tiene su pareja. También considere las cosas que Vd. cree que hace bien, cuáles son las que debe y puede mejorar y cuáles son las acciones, que están tomando para hacerlo. Cuáles son las que corresponden, a las promesas realizadas y cuáles son, las nuevas que Vd. ha ido introduciendo, con el pasar del tiempo. Cuáles son las cosas buenas, que hacia cuando se casó y cuáles son, de aquellas, las que ya no hace y cuáles son los motivos, por los que no las hace.
• Cuáles son las cosas, que como esposa y como madre está haciendo mal. La conciencia le determinará, las cosas que no está haciendo bien. A la conciencia no le puede engañar. Recorra todos los aspectos de su vida, como esposa y madre, que ya hemos comentado anteriormente. Analice profundamente, para detectar en lo que está fallando y los motivos, conscientes o inconscientes, que le llevan a no hacer esas cosas bien. Vea las cosas mal hechas, que deban ser corregidas y busque los procedimientos o medidas, que va a realizar para eliminar las cosas que está haciendo mal. ¿Cuáles son las cosas, que a su pareja le gustaría que mejorara y qué puede hacer, para conseguirlo?

PREGUNTAS PARA EL ESPOSO. Las preguntas son similares, para el esposo, como para la esposa. Ambos se comprometieron externa o mentalmente con su pareja, a cumplir una serie de promesas. Ahora es el tiempo de analizar si las han cumplido, porqué no las han cumplido y los medios que pueden poner para cumplirlas.

Por lo tanto el esposo debe rellenar también las respuestas a estas preguntas.

• Cuáles son las cosas, que como esposo y como padre debe hacer.
• Cuáles son las cosas, que como esposo y como padre está haciendo bien.
• Cuáles son las cosas, que como esposo y como padre está haciendo mal

PREGUNTAS PARA LA FAMILIA.

• Cuáles son las cosas, que como familia deben hacer. Deben ayudarse a mejorar los dos, cada uno en las actividades externas que hayan elegido o en las tareas domesticas, que les hayan correspondido y en los problemas que se les presentan. Deben hacer una familia fuerte, unida, sana y bien cimentada, con las virtudes y valores humanos.
• Cuáles son las cosas, que como familia están haciendo bien. Deben abarcar el análisis y las soluciones, para todos los aspectos comentados anteriormente, pero bajo el prisma de la familia en su conjunto, cuando está en la intimidad o en público. Cómo mantienen las relaciones, con otras familias cercanas o con los amigos. Cómo maneja la formación y unidad del grupo familiar. De estas actividades cuáles son, las que deben y pueden mejorar y cuáles son, las acciones que están tomando para hacerlo.
• Cuáles son las cosas, que como familia están haciendo mal. Deben abarcar sin limitación, todos los comentarios sobre los puntos anteriores, más los que no estando relacionados y que Vds. consideren, que deben ser mejorados. O corregidos y cuales son las medidas, que van a realizar, para eliminar las cosas que están haciendo mal.

Con las respuestas a estas preguntas, ya pueden comentarlas en profundidad y diseñar un plan, por escrito, para corregir los problemas que hayan detectado y evitar que les lleguen otros, además de una hoja de ruta, que les permita revisar, como mínimo una vez al año, las conclusiones y acuerdos realizados.

Si ambos se ponen la tarea, de revisión periódica de su participación en la vida personal, de pareja y familiar, para poner remedio a las desviaciones, que vayan encontrando para cumplir sus objetivos, la solución la tienen en sus manos.

Con las respuestas obtenidas y los objetivos acordados, ya pueden empezar a buscar libros especializados, en cada una de esas materias y pedir consejo a los profesionales, que más entienden de situaciones matrimoniales, que son los sacerdotes, pastores, rabinos o personas que hayan demostrado, una buena experiencia matrimonial, calidad humana y una gran formación profesional en temas familiares.

Si tiene algún comentario, por favor escriba a francisco@micumbre.com

Si quiere leer otros artículos complementarios, visite www.micumbre.com

• Loved the response song B & B played, not sure of name yet, but powerful lyrics
• probably need to figure a way of showing song titles and artist so that others don't feel like me when they really liked a song but can't find it on itunes
• Big Papa Lamar stepped up and into ICK, WOW! not sure if that means we need more volunteers or if we should tranisition him out of the catalytic role into ICK permently
• Loveing the overview of Joseph's story, Tommy connected well!
• Gave all the lady's in the house a gift! that was cool for a 9mo old church plant to do!
• Attendance was down, kinda expected it due to M-day and most of our peeps hanging out with their families.
• Cadence stayed somewhat quiet throughout the service, which was a nice blessing!
• Found out who made the awesome pork-chops dropped by our house--thanks Ian and D. Anytime you're grilling, I'm coming!

 A man of sexual immorality Israeli PM, pressured to  

 Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert  is facing mounting calls to resign over a criminal probe into allegations he took bribes from a millionaire US financier. Olmert has vehemently denied any wrongdoing but has said he would quit if he is charged in a case that threatens to shake the political landscape at a crucial moment in Middle East peacemaking. Pressure on the 62-year-old premier mounted after a gag order over the case was lifted on Thursday. The timing was particularly embarrassing for Olmert, coming as Israel celebrated its 60th anniversary and a week before a scheduled visit by US President George W. Bush.

Gideon Star, who heads the parliamentary group of the conservative opposition party Likud, said that "considering the seriousness of the suspicions that surround Olmert, he is no longer in a position to carry out his duties". Olmert has been dogged by scandals since he took office in 2006 and even his coalition partners are now getting edgy.

"It's the straw that broke the camel's back, considering all the previous investigations," said Eytan Cabel, secretary general of the Labour party said on Friday.

Meanwhile, Palestinian officials expressed fears the affair could affect the peace process, particularly if early elections are called.

"In the immediate future, we fear this crisis could have an impact on talks led through Egypt's mediation for a truce (in the Gaza Strip)," said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat. "In case of early elections, the peace process will be put on hold," Erakat told AFP. White House Spokesman Gordon Johndroe stressed that Bush will go to Israel as planned and will meet with Olmert.

The president is pushing for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal to be reached before he leaves office in January even though little progress has been made since long-dormant negotiations were restarted in November. The justice ministry said on Thursday that Olmert was being investigated over suspicions he unlawfully received payments from a foreign businessman during his time as mayor of Jerusalem and as industry minister. "Citizens of Israel, I look you in the eye and I say to you, in no uncertain terms, I have never taken a bribe, nor have I unlawfully pocketed money," Olmert said at a hastily convened press conference on Thursday. "If the attorney general decides to file an indictment against me I shall resign immediately, even though I am not required to do so by law." Olmert acknowledged that he had received financial contributions for various election campaigns from Jewish-American businessman Morris Talansky, 75, but insisted they were not illegal. Anti-fraud investigators had grilled Olmert for an hour on Friday, while his former office manager, Shula Zaken, has been questioned four times.

Olmert took office after his predecessor Ariel Sharon collapsed into a coma in January 2006 and then led his centrist Kadima party to election victory in March of that year. He has weathered a string of corruption scandals, massive unpopularity, accusations of failings in the 2006 war against Hezbollah and a cancer scare. Before the latest case came to light, Olmert was already the subject of three police inquiries into suspected corruption involving potential conflicts of interest, fraudulent property transactions and abuse of power in connection with political appointments. Another case against him was dismissed.

When a premier resigns it is up to the president, currently Shimon Peres, to pick a successor who can try to form a government. Failing that, early elections must be held. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, a member of Kadima, has been tipped as the most likely candidate to succeed Olmert if he goes. Former prime ministers Ariel Sharon, Ehud Barak and Benjamin Netanyahu also faced corruption investigations, none of which ever led to indictments. Then Israeli president Moshe Katsav last year became the country's most senior official to step down over wrongdoing after he was found guilty of sexual harassment.

Hell has been shaken! This move of the Lord has so shaken the pits of hell that the enemies of God are in great fear and in a great rage.

Never before in my entire life have I felt this kind of urgency to pray and intercede. I have a simple word. Every ministry, every church, every family, every person that is moving in the Holy Spirit, now is the time to pray.

Now is the time to release the intercessors to do what they were made to do, namely to cry out under the unction and power of the Holy Spirit, to intercede and to prophesy.

There are attacks coming. The Cyclone of Myanmar and the earthquake today in China are two examples on the grand scale. But I see attempted attacks coming from all sides from a position of hiddenness. Now the Holy Spirit will shed light on this darkness if we will take the time to hear and then pray. We do not fear. We are not involved in man-made works. But we must pray, now.

In as much as we allow the enemy of God to traffic in darkness is how much we stand the chance of being blindsided by it.

All the spiritual bells and whistles are going off in my spirit. Now is the time to intercede!

Please send this out! I could care less about being heard! Send it out to whoever has ears to hear!

Be blessed,

Scott Morton

I also was raised in a very spiritually abusive church, where the pastor was the authority on all things spiritual and theological questioning was discouraged. My transition from spiritually-abusive-church to spiritually-abusive-ministry was very smooth, in fact, in the first 10 years or so of YWAM involvement, I saw YWAM as 'saving' me from an abusive church.

In the January of 1999, at the age of 18, I headed to Hong Kong to attend a Discipleship Training School with YWAM. Immediately, I felt much more accepted than I had at my home church; my fellow DTS students and I bonded quickly and formed long-lasting friendships.

The first week of DTS was about "breaking down strongholds" and we had a session of "repentance" with all YWAM staff and DTS students present. We were told to list all of the big sins in our lives, no matter how personal. To be honest, I had no 'big' sins to confess, so the leaders prodded my insecurity to find the hidden sins I harbored. They finally decided that I was guilty of the sin of pride because I had insecurity issues with my physical appearance. (What teenage girl doesn't?) A male leader went on to tell me that I was not pretty, but God thought I was....gee, that helped my self-esteem.

Within a few weeks, it became apparent that the leaders of my DTS were hyper-vigilant against sexual sins of every kind. It was a very bizarre situation, they were practically gnostic in their beliefs on marriage and sex. The base directors constantly told us not to 'be distracted' from our calling by entering into marriage; according to them, marriage was evil and unholy.

Another issue was a prevalent teaching throughout YWAM on spiritual warfare. There was a teaching that satan was everywhere and had his hands in everything not deemed holy; any bad occurance was due to satan attacking the saints. Or there was another popular thought that there was 'sin in the camp' if some bad times came upon the base. At times, it seemed like there was a medieval witch hunt searching for the one who brought demonic attacks.

By the end of the DTS, the base directors approached me about joining their staff, but I declined. They warned me again about being distracted from a calling. I left my DTS with mixed feelings. God had worked in my life, but the ywam leaders had a strange brand of theology. -I second-guessed myself, believing that maybe I just misunderstood their teachings. I could not truly bring myself to believe that ywam was flawed. I felt maybe I just needed to study more.

Fast-forward to 2007.

My husband, Orion was laid off from his job, my mother committed suicide, and my family felt we needed to get out of our hometown to re-evaluate our lives. My husband had been wanting to attend a DTS, and the timing seemed perfect. In January of 2007, our family, including our 2 young children, traveled to Hong Kong for him to attend the DTS.

I was expecting to be welcomed back to the base with open arms, but I found a very cold and callous reception. I was treated very badly by one leader in particular who had been a leader during my DTS. Eventually it became clear as to why I was being treated badly. -Marriage was not holy and I was a 'sinner' for being distracted from my call.

My husband is highly educated (MBA) and an intellectual and he had an especially hard time during the DTS.

The lecture phase of my husband's DTS went fairly smoothly, except when Orion voiced concern over teachings that were in direct contradiction to the Bible. Orion was tactful, be he was quickly marked a "trouble-maker" and was chastised by the DTS leader. In fact, the leader was perfectly ok with incorrect theology being taught. From then on, it was downhill for our family, including my two children, ages 2 & 5. Our family was shunned and gossip was rampant. We were unliked because we wanted the base to teach sound doctrine.

The time came for outreach and it was decided that our family would only travel with the team for 2 weeks, then we were to go to another city on our own. Simply, the leadership didn't want us near the younger team members because we believed in questioning troublesome theology.

We flew to a large southwestern city in China where we were met by our missionary sponsor. For his security, I will call him "Mark". I knew Mark from my DTS, as he and his wife were leaders at the Hong Kong base. Orion and I felt that we would have a productive and positive experience during our outreach, but unfortunately, that was not the case.

Mark thought of himself as a bold evangelist living in China, and he thought nothing of teaching Christianity in his college English classes. Orion was mortified when Mark told the students that Orion was the same as Mark. Spouting religion is a good way of a one-way ticket out of China, so we felt Mark was very foolish. The only "ministry" Orion took part in was grading and teaching for Mark's English class, along with the occasional visit to a Bible study.

Unfortunately, Orion felt at one time comfortable in sharing with Mark some issues he had with his DTS lecture phase, such as the screwy theology and the gossip. This came back to haunt us later.

Orion and our family arrived back in Hong Kong at the conclusion of our outreach and found that the mood was even more hostile towards us. Our DTS ended with a 'love feast' in which we report back, give testimonies, awards are given, etc. Our family was segregated to the back of the room & none of the fellow DTSers or staff would even talk to us. I tried not to be too sensitive, but it was a very humiliating experience.

After the 'love feast', it was time for the debriefing with the base directors and the DTS leader. Orion thought everything would go well because he had learned and grown and had improved himself during the time in Asia. Wham! The female base director screamed at Orion and told him he had no value, and no personal character. She continued on a hateful tirade for 30 mins. and would not allow Orion to even defend himself. It takes a lot for Orion to cry and this woman had reduced him to hysterics. As it turned out, Mark had told all that Orion had told him in confidence to the base directors.

Basically, we were "evil" because we believed in questioning the leadership who acted inappropriately. The base leaders said we were in rebellion because we did not obey their every command and did not revere them.

After the completion of the DTS, we asked if we could stay for a week or two while we searched for an apartment in Hong Kong. We paid the rent and fees completely and Orion was required to do heavy, physical labor at the base during the day. Orion had a gout attack and asked to do less physical work, but he was not allowed any break from the physical work. He worked on in terrible pain and eventually the leaders came to him saying that they did not want him near the base anymore because he was too "negative". We were also told we had just a few days to vacate the apartment we were renting from the base. We had no where to go. It was Hong Kong's 10 year anniversary of the return to China, so all hotels were full. In effect, we were going to be homeless and on the streets of Hong Kong with our children.

Thankfully, we had met two other couples who had also left the YWAM base (under similar circumstances) and these wonderful people were able to help us find a translator to find us an apartment. We found an apartment in the very same village that the YWAM base was in & the landlady allowed us to move in right away, 3 days for free, so that we would not be homeless. During the negotiations with our translator and our new landlady, the landlady asked if we were "with the other foreigners" - meaning the YWAM base. We came to find that the YWAM base had a very bad reputation in the village.

The people of Hong Kong, particularly in the rural New Territories where we lived, speak Cantonese; however, the base leadership would never be bothered to learn any Cantonese. They always would speak in Mandarin to the villagers. There was absolutely no outreach to the village the base inhabited. The base is locked away behind a big, black gate and the villagers do not trust those who work with YWAM there.

Our landlady would not have rented to us if we had been with YWAM...we see now how well God took care of us when the situation was "impossible". Despite the base leaders' best efforts to discredit and harm us, the Lord gave us a home and a good reputation in the village.

One night, seeing a fire before the house, I thought the time had come, but it proved to be only a bonfire. The Judge sallied out with his pistolm telling me that if he were not at home in five minutes to call up the servants. This mob seems to have a curious sense of justice. They attacked and destroyed many disreputable houses and did not always spare secessionists. On Saturday (the fifth day) we went up to see Judge Hilton, who thought me very courageous, but I felt sorry for Mrs. Hilton upon hearing that she had been so terribly frightened. She gave me such details that I came home too nervous to sleep. In Lexington Avenue, houses were destroyed. One lady before whose house the mob paused with the intention of sacking it, saved her house by raising her window, smiling, and waving her handkerchief. Mr. Bosie's brother was seized by a rioter who asked him if he had $300.

"No," said he.

"Then come along with us," said the rioter, and they kept him two hours. Mrs. Hilton said she never saw such creatures, such gaunt-looking savage men and women and even little children armed with brickbats, stones, pokers, shovels and tongs, coal-scuttles, and even tin pans and bits of iron. They passed her house about four o'clock on Monday morning and continued on in a constant stream until nine o'clock. They looked to her, she said, like Germans, and her first thought was that it was some German festival. Whilst we sat there, we heard occasional pistol shots, and I was very glad that I had ordered a carriage to take us home. The carriage, it seems, was very unwillingly sent since the livery-stable keeper was so much afraid.

Every evening the Judge would go out near eleven o'clock to my great distress. But he threatened to send me into the country If I objected (which I dreaded still more), so I kept quiet. James Leonard, the Superintendent of Police in our neighborhood, said the draft could not be enforced; the firemen are against it, as well as all the working classes.

Among those killed or wounded have been found men with delicate hands and feet, and under their outward laborers'clothes were fine cambric shirts and costly underclothing. A dressmakes says she saw from her window a gentleman whom she knows and has seen with young ladies, but whose name she could not remember, disguised in this way in the mob on Sixth Avenue.

On Sunway we went to see Mrs. Nathaniel Jarvis and Mr. James T. Brady, who had just arrived from Washington. I saw Susanna Brady, who talked in the most villent manner against the Irish and in favor of the blacks. I feel quite differently, altough very sorry and much outraged at the cruelties inflicted. I hope it will give the Negroes a lesson, for since the war commenced, they have been so insolent as to be unbearable. I cannot endure free blacks. They are immoral, with all their piety.

The principal actors in this mob were boys, and I think they were Americans. Catherine, my seamstress, telles me that the plundering was done by the people in the neighborhood who were looking on and who, as the mob broke the houses open, went in to steal. The police this morning found beds, bedding, and furniture in the house of a Scotch Presbyterian who was well off and owned two cows and two horses. The Catholic priests have done their duty as Christian ministers in denouncing these riotous proceedings. One of them remonstrated with a woman in the crowd who wanted to cut off the ears of a Negro who was hung. The priest told her that Negroes had souls. "Sure, your reverence," said she, "I thought they only had gizzards."

On Sunday evening, Mr. Dykes came in. He had seen Judge Pierrepont, who had gone to Washington with others to see what can be done. Mr. Dykes thinks that New York, being a Democratic city, may expect little indulgence from the Administration. The Judge went up to see General Dix, now in command here, who says that the government is determined to carry the draft measure through at all costs. Yesterday we went to the wedding of Lydia Watson in Westchester County. Mr. James Adie told the Judge that there was a secessionist plot to burn all the houses in the neighborhood on Thursday night, that he had heard that his had been exempted by vote, and that the principal instigator and mover in it was one of the richest and most influential men in the neighborhood. The purpose of the plot was to intimidate the government and prevent conscription. Mrs. Harry Morris, who I hear has been very violent in her invectives against the North, wished to know if the soldiers could be relied upon. I told her entirely so, that they declared they would rather fight these traitos at home who made this fine in their real whilst they were risking their life to preserve order and the laws than the rebels. For her comfort, I told that the mob had destroyed the houses of secessionsist. I frightened her, I think, not a little.