Truly at war

One of the strangest moments from my childhood involved a Christian concert I attended with my grandparents about America that ended with a video showing Russian atomic missiles pointed at our country, and a description of how we will be blown off the earth if Christians didn't pray hard enough. At the end of the presentation the audience was encouraged to kneel and pray, and I found myself scooting as far under my seat as possible in case the bombs fell then and there. Jessica Ahlquist (http://jessicaahlquist.com/) highlighted the fact that this concern did not die with the Soviet Union. As a teenager I watched a series of grainy VHS videos circulated by our homeschool group describing how the Clinton administration was secretly removing the freedom to practice Christianity in the US. I can see the case of Jessica Ahlquist increasing the sense that American Christians are under attack. For those not aware miss Ahlquist was surprised to find that her public high school had a Christian prayer banner posted on the wall. As prayers go it was pretty lame, but it bothered her to the point that she sued to have it taken down. This week she won and the banner is being removed, much to the consternation of Christians all over the country. The same week a suit involving another public school which invited a Christian rapper to preach in a required assembly went against the Christians involved. Of course the nonreligious in the US are pleased at the results, but the Christians complain that the war on Christianity in the US is intensifying. I hope my Christian friends see that this is not the case. A public school is supposed to be a designated safe place for all students whether we are in agreement with their beliefs, but when a nonchristian enters a school that displays hints of Christian bias the school ceases to be a safe place for that student. There truly is a war in the US, but it really is a war by certain Evangelical Christians against anything not Christian. In public this war is couched in terms that focus on promoting morality and character, but the goal is saving souls any way possible. This makes sense if one were to consider how real the Gospel message is to the Evangelical. They honestly believe that people are going to hell, and the best time to reach them is during youth years. If I honestly thought I could save someone from certain unspeakable suffering by breaking the law you bet I would break any law necessary to save them. My Christian friends ask how a subtle sign or single hour of preaching can hurt, but they fail to see how pervasive Chrstianity is in our country while there really is little tolerance of other ideas, especially nontheistic ones. This last fall an atheist group walked quietly in a parade with a banner simply identifying the group and parade-goers were angry that they carried the banner in front of children. In both the cases I mentioned above threats of violence were stated along with the online posting of the addresses of the parties involved with suggestions of the violence that could be done to those who oppose Christianity. Nontheists are acutely aware that they will be targeted for harrassment if they self-identify as nontheistic or express nontheistic sentiments. Even more disturbing is the increasingly public calls for war against Islam in the US. I received two unsolicited emails this week from a local group directly calling for a war at any cost against the tolerance for Muslim ideas in the US. It should not be a surprise that nonchristians in our nation are sensitive to hints of Christian bias in a public school because those hints point to the fact that certain religious bullying will be tolerated against them. So let Tebow do want he wants on the football field. I agree it seems strange, but he may end up being one of the few openly Christian guys who actually lives what he preaches. Let's leave school a religion-neutral place, and let Tebow and his friends fill our popular culture with their faith. There is plenty of room in the culture for all of us.

Time for battle?

ACT! for America sent me an e-mail today that exemplifies my worries for the US as I watch American Christians react in fear against perceived threats against them from the nonreligious and Muslims. The e-mail went right to the point of how Muslims want to evangelize the US in order to make our country fit their ideals. It struck me that if I rewrote the email to substitute "Christians" for "Islamists" the e-mail could reflect the worries of the other religions in countries where Christianity is making inroads. I have seen those who come out publicly as atheists or Muslims receive death threats from those self-identifying as Christians, and I wonder how many people that read these e-mails from ACT! for America or other groups asking for Christians to act for the nation's self-defense against Islam and atheism will lead to death threats being acted upon by Christians. It happened to abortionists to "protect the babies" why wouldn't Christians also take up arms to create fear in those who stand for other ideals? 

Gifts

I was asked by my nursing director to write a two paragraph note describing how Brookwood hospital supported me through nursing school, and as I set to write my paragraphs it occurred to me that I was given an opportunity that is not available anymore. Opportunity is a funny thing in that most opportunities that we encounter are creatures of our own making. It is only rare that we are given an opportunity for which we are totally unprepared.

I was a young, unemployed new father seeking any form of employment when one of my wife's friends suggested I apply for a "scrub" job at two local hospitals. One hospital ignored me completely, but the education nurse for Brookwood's Woman's operating room saw a kid willing to try and she gave me the opportunity to learn how to act as a scrub technician. I knew nothing about the OR and had no clue what a "scrub tech" was, but I jumped into the opportunity with gusto. Here was a chance to see cool things, make money for my young wife and child, and prepare for my future medical career. After six months I was good enough to be considered as an educator of other prospective scrubs, and I learned that one out of ten of my students could make it. Most hospitals have stopped on-the-job training for this type of work because of the high failure rate for trainees, and the new "scrubs" I now meet have completed vocational training at some college or training school. I could not have one of the coolest nursing jobs ever today had that gift been given to me, and, as I wrote to my director, I will ever be grateful for all the help they gave me at Brookwood.

Another gift of which I became aware recently is the security sound health. After fighting depression for twenty-eight years I thought I was accustomed to my body sabotaging me, but last Wednesday found me in an even more difficult situation as I basically lost the use of my body for a short time for no obvious reason. Over the period of about five minutes I went from standing and helping a friend to being unable to lift my head, open my eyes, or even speak. This is even more strange as I was fully awake and aware of everything happening around me. I heard the voices trying to get me to answer, and the hands moving me onto a stretcher. I heard the panicked breathing of my nursing friends as they rushed the vibrating stretcher down the hall of the hospital to the ER, and yet there was little I could do. I felt like I was tightly wrapped in a warm blanket that I eventually loosened and regained the strength to which I was accustomed. I had words like "stroke" or "seizure" floating around me for a while as I slowly regained my ability to speak, but my doctor is calling it an atypical migraine for now, though I had no headache. I am going to be seeking a second opinion since this was a pretty big event for me, but losing all my voluntary movement for thirty minutes made me realize how much I take for granted. Now every twinge is questioned as the start of another event. I don't know exactly what to think of what I experienced last week, but I do know this- I have been much more lucky than I ever realized!

Six reasons not to eat food you make in your own kitchen

A friend of mine posted a link to an article posted in May 2010 and titled "Six Reasons To Say No To Vaccination" It was a strange article which I will say is full of crazy ideas beginning with the statement at the beginning which comments inaccurately that vaccination is controversial. The six "reasons" turn out to be four reasons with one more slightly rephrased and another obvious statement of fact that is not much of an argument against vaccinations.  Here they are for a sense of insanity-
#1:   Pharmaceutical Companies Can’t Be Trusted
     This section focuses on the problems that have occurred with other pharmaceuticals focusing on unexpected complications and side effects. This would work if the alternative therapies they advocate do not have unexpected complications. We can always make medicines safer and so we test them. 
#2:   ALL Vaccines are Loaded with Chemicals and other Poisons
     This is true in a sense, but the "poisons" they are worried about are not really the problem. All of the things we eat contain chemicals and poisons. The fact is that quantity and concentration really matter. As far as "poisons" and chemicals in vaccines they have been found safe for their purpose- studies have been repeated to test this idea.
#3:   Fully Vaccinated Children are the Unhealthiest, Most Chronically Ill Children I Know
     She needs to meet some kids. Small sample size does not prove anything.
#4:   Other Countries Are Waking Up to the Dangers of Vaccines
     Other countries believe in elves. Belief and sincerity do not define truth.
#5:   A Number of Vaccines Have Already Had Problems/Been Removed from the Market
      Restating the first "reason" with a twist. Of course testing a vaccine removes it from the market. Test all your herbs the same way and many of them will be removed too.
#6   You Can Always Get Vaccinated, But You Can Never Undo a Vaccination
      This statement is a truism. I can say never kiss because you can never undo your first kiss. Sorry. 
Now for six reasons not to eat your own food-
#1 Your kitchen cannot be trusted. Many meals every year are unintentionally contaminated with dangerous organisms that sicken and kill people. Just because you know where food come from doesn't mean it is safe.
#2:   ALL Foods are Loaded with Chemicals and other Poisons. As you probably know, plants produce "pesticides" to protect themselves from insects and other organisms. In sufficient amounts these can hurt or kill you or your family yet you knowingly feed these and other chemicals to your family in the form of broccoli, carrots, and other vegetables.
#3:   Fed Children are the Unhealthiest, Most Chronically Ill Children I Know. The biggest pediatric health problem we have in the US is obese children. This problem would be solved by not feeding them any food from your kitchen or anyone else's. It may be uncomfortable, but, well that's not the point is it?

#4:   Other People Are Waking Up to the Dangers of Food. It might be a surprise to find that the necessity of food is not universally accepted. Breatharians believe that food and drink are unnecessary and impure. Since they are sincere I suppose we should believe them.
#5:   A Number of Foods Have Already Had Problems/Been Removed from the Market. We all know about the dangers off raw eggs and fat.
#6   You Can Always Eat, But You Can Never Fully Undo an Ingestion. As soon as you  put a food item in your mouth certain nutrients are absorbed and become part of your bloodstream. You can't undo that. Sad isn't it.

Flashbacks of the weird kind...

Ah, fun of seeing how far I have come! I watched all the parts of the above documentary by Louis Theroux on the Westboro Baptist Church Cult, and it is amazing how much of what they believe were my deeply held beliefs so many years ago. If you take away the vulgar language that marks so much of what the Family says you will hear what I was taught as a child and young adult. I had such a gut reaction to the statements of the members of The Family as the described the dangers of rebellion and thinking for oneself. I instantly identified with the kids who were so afraid that even speaking their hearts would send them to Hell because it would plant a seed of rebellion that would lead them down the wrong road. Even the sense of persecution and future exile that was to mark our transition into the end times was drummed into my head. I love how Louis Theroux let the members of the Family do all the talking so that we get a great view of their beliefs. Having come from a similar background I really believe that this was an accurate portrayal of the Family.

My message from this is that the Westboro Baptist Church Family is probably the best example of obedience to the Bible that I have seen in the USA, and a perfect example of how blind obedience to a book of faith can destroy lives and families. I like the fact that most evangelical Christians in the US actually live according to a more loving ethical standard than is presented in the Bible. I am glad I finally saw the light of Humanism.

When I die...

Last Wednesday night I was discussing with a friend how "kids nowadays" don't know how to write letters like they did "back then", and I told her of how many biographies of historical figures relied on the letters and diary entries of those people as sources of their ideas and opinions. Biographies of the future will need a glossary of codes for text messaging such as "brb" or "LOL". I have a few journals in which I occasionally pen notes to my wife and children, with each one having their own book with which we record our comments and questions to each other. Listening to the song "If I Die Young" by The Band Perry reminds me of the importance of the written word as the song insists that what we write means more when we are gone. Like we should never forget to say "I love you", we should leave plenty of evidence of our love and pride in those around us so that distance of miles or moments cannot erase what we have spoken.

The cost of Character

"I could do that!" My acquaintance was somewhat excited. I can't tell if he really would do it, knowing that the clinic I described would be a total sham, but I believe he just might be serious. "Josh, you can be our front guy because anyone would believe you, but we will do all the work." I shudder as I think of the horror that overtook me the last time I was involved in the endeavor he proposed. I thought that as a health care consultant I could really help people. I would gaze into their eyes or use the latest in muscle-testing methods to determine their health problems and give my clients solutions to their most pressing health problems while staving off future disasters. I am told I was very good.

One man came to me seeking a cure for his ulcerative colitis that had once again flared up with a vengeance. The guy was a good man and a doting father. He was tired of the cramping and diarrhea, and he hoped I could give him the solution he so earnestly desired. I looked at his iris, discussed his health weaknesses, and suggested some herbs he could take with some lifestyle and diet changes. His health seemed to improve until he was admitted to the hospital for a bowel obstruction. This time his supposed ulcerative colitis flare-up was actually symptoms of colon cancer that developed as a probable complication of his longstanding disease. Had he gone to his regular doctor instead of me my client would have probably found his colon cancer soon enough to remove it. Instead it was found after it was too far advanced, and my client's cancer spread to his liver where it killed him.

No one blamed me for my lack of knowledge, but I feel like I should have known this was a common complication of ulcerative colitis and insisted my client seek medical advice. I didn't know my limitations, and I really didn't help this guy. Temporarily undaunted I sought to expand my knowledge and experience, but as I studied I found that more science pointed to my practice as dangerous at worst and useless at best. I left it so that I would not give any more people false confidence.

Now this friend wants to play the game. He wants to knowingly give useless medicine to the sick and worried because it will provide gain. I shuddered at the thought. I just can't do it. As I lay in bed that night I suddenly realize that I could do it better than last time. I could use clearly safe, but useless treatment like homeopathic preparations as a gimmick and get patients into my clinic to get good diet and lifestyle advice. I could once again give those who felt lost in the medical landscape a welcome desk to sit at be reassured. I could bill myself as a health care coordinator and give those who see too many doctors a sense of order to their lives. But could I really lie to my clients to gain income and a sense of accomplishment? I could work half as hard to make the same income, but in the end I feel like I would lose more of myself than I would gain.

What did I get when I was raised to be honest, but a hard life? Maybe, at least, I could trust my own advice.

Discrimination

Snuggle up with my friend who recently attended my church in Homewood, Alabama and you will see just how friendly they are here in the South. She and her family were invited to several very respectable homes in our church well before the Pastor began his sermon and he even asked them over to his house after the sermon. I told her later that she would be more than welcome to join our church and her response that the welcome was a little much, almost desperate. Another dear friend attended recently, but he was ignored, almost shunned. Why this contradiction? The answer is complex, but the situation was highlighted by a recent request by a local mission to the poor to build a thrift store in an "upscale" suburb of Birmingham.
Click this link to see how the suburb responded.

Interestingly the debate played out through a series of e-mails that were sent to a few members of my church. I knew that the community at large would oppose the thrift store because they didn't want poor people spending too much time in our city, but I wondered if the more outspoken of our community would actually admit their reason. This e-mail exchange actually did well to outline the feelings of both sides. The original e-mail was a forward that basically said "we don't want their kind in our city" and it was responded to by another member of my church who stated that there was room in God's kingdom for the poor. The poor hapless soul that sent the first e-mail simply responded that he had nothing against the poor as long as they were not in his city painting graffiti and fighting amongst themselves.

This feeling is very raw and fresh, but what about my minority friend that attended my church and garnered such attention? She is a black woman married to a fine, upstanding black man. I have been told by many black friends that visit my church that they are quite disturbed with how aggressively they are courted by church members begging them to join our white, upper-class congregation. It doesn't really matter if you are a poor black single mother or a well-to-do black family you are going to be welcomed into my church because we want to appear non-discriminatory. The sad thing is when my dear friend who was a lower middle class, overweight white man from a rural town came to my church he was generally ignored.

Have we not learned? Discrimination is still alive and well here in the South. It doesn't matter if you are against someone that looks black or someone that looks poor we are still judging someone by the way they look rather than the way they are. My dear friend who was excluded by the wealthy of my church is a successful businessman who has also served as an Evengelical Christian pastor for more than thirty years. He may look lower class because he was raised by poor white farmers who built their fortune from the ground up and changed the moral standing of their community by living the most godly example I have ever seen anyone live without adopting the expensive clothes and habits of those in my church. This man who looks below your class will not bat an eye to meet your most basic need emotionally, spiritually, and physically, but the members of my church would rather edge him out of their church, and keep people that look like him from shopping in their city. I feel like my church and city has ignored Christ's call to reach out to "the least of these my brothers".

It is time to look ourselves honestly because we fail our Saviour so easily. I am going to have to do the same because right now I am seeing that I will easily discriminate against the guy driving by in the BMW with his nose in the air. Jesus loves you too, and I may have misjudged you. I hope I have.