Weekly Web Clips

Week to Fri June 13, 2003

This week, I have continued to heavily engage the ICOC controversy online.
You may wish to follow the flow of argument (currently up to 178 posts) at:
http://forums.delphiforums.com/ICCdiscussion/messages?msg=6780.1
. I have done so, in the hope that by addressing the underlying biblical and
logical troubles that have set the stage for the abusive discipleship practices
discussed in the forum (and in my posted notes at http://members.christhost.com/kairosfocus/ICOC_response.htm
), I will be able to help contribute to the much needed reform in the ICC and
in many other "more respectable" churches with similar problems.

This week, I have therefore paid a bit less attention to the usual news items.
But, I have found first some interesting OFF-line clips in the Father's Day
issue of the Love Herald:

1) The ICC's Troubles are discussed in a Faith Stockman article in the June
13 - 19 Love herald, p. 3.

2) Linstead back to basics, p. 6 discusses how one of the first post-emancipation
areas of settlement is reaching back to the roots of Jamaica's post-slavery
culture: the gospel in the community.

3) P. 8: The Media Demon raises several troubling questions about general and
Christian media houses in the US, with relevance to our region. (Not sure the
logo really fits though, Madam Editor!)

4) P. 9 on VMBS Marriage & Family series raises serious questions about
family life and its reformation in the interests of our Children. (P. 14 follows
up with more.)

5) P 15: Fell Tab and other churches are in the midst of a call to repentance,
unity, truth and trust in the face of impending judgement on Jamaica.

6) P. 20: Dr Sangster gives yet another solid book review, of the Caners' Unveiling
Islam, a book by brothers raised as muslims who converted to evangelical faith,
and are Baptist Theologians. Sobering, but putting hope for the Islamic world:
Christ. (The same hope that the secular, neo-pagan West needs in the face of
impending judgement!)

7) P. 21: VERY RELEVANT TO THE CURRENT ROADMAP DIPLOMATIC ISSUES: What appears
to be the concluding article but one in the long-running "Crash
Course" in Jewish history. This one discusses trhe settlement of Israel,
the wars that resulted, and the TWO palestinian refugee populations: in 1948
or so 472 000 Arabs fled. Similarly "820 000 Jews were forced to flee Arab
lands such as Syria, Iraq . . . Most of the property of these Jews, many of
whom were wealthy people, was confiscated, never to be returned. (Of these Jews,
525 000 settled in Israel.) . . . . The Arab countries did not easily accept
their defeat in 1948 . . . the PLO was founded in January 1964 by Ahmed Shukeiry
. . . "Those [Jews] who survive will remain in Palestine. I estimate that
none of them will survive." The first and consistent aim of the PLO was
the elimination of the State of Israel and its replacement by the State of Palestine
. . . a State of Palestine had never existed in history. The Arab people
living in this land during the days of the Ottoman Empire were simply Arabs
with no national identity. After the Ottoman Empire collapsed, in the days of
the British Mandate, both Jews and Arabs were considered "Palestinians"
by the British . . . . As of this writing, the Palestinian Authority, headed
by [Egyptian-born: Cairo, August 24 1929] Yassir Arafat, is conducting a terrorist
war which began in September 2000. It is clear that Arafat and many other Arab
states have still not abandoned their dream of destroying Israel."

WEB CLIPS:

1) Jobless recovery:

Impacts of global competition in skilled professional work areas: http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/20030610-094627-8046r.htm
. Here, we see that if one can pay a programmer of radiologist in India to do
the job at half or less, why pay someone in the US to do it? (This of course
makes US programmers and radiologists worse off, but the people who buy cheaper
smart devices and the patients who get lower cost health care aren't complaining.)
Globalisation cuts many ways!

2) 9/11 21 Months on . . . and Mr Bush the Personal Evangelist to Kings
and Presidents

The ever eloquent and insightful peggy Noonan speaks: http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110003610
. A telling paragraph: "Mr. Bush speaking last week to Arab leaders when
he didn't know his remarks were being broadcast, speaking of what "Almighty
God" expects of them. That kind of fervor--a lot of that is traceable to 9/11.
In an interview two years ago, three months before 9/11, Mr. Bush told me of
his recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Their talk had turned
personal, and Mr. Bush spoke of his understanding of the nature of Christianity
and the meaning of the cross. Mr. Bush shows the impulses of the evangelist:
When something has saved your life and has the added benefit--you are certain--of
being true, you want to spread it around. But those impulses have come out more
publicly, less embarrassedly or self-protectively, after 9/11. "

3) Iraq Museum Looting Watch . . . Implications on the WMD Debate?

Have you seen any of our local pundits pulling back their intemperate remarks
based on preliminary, exaggerated claims of the Iraq museum looting? Here you
can find Krauthammer, hammering away on the point: http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/krauthammer.html
. Could a similar development be playing out on the WMD
issue? As we watch, let us not forget jefferson's definition of debate:
the art of making trhe worse appear to be the better case.

In the meanwhile, the Arab world is reeling in shock as the death toll from
Saddam's torture chambers and execution squads continues to mount, headed for
the MILLIONS: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=33042

4) Apostasy and Neopagan Agenda Watch

Sorry in advance to those who are squeamish.

Episcopalians (Anglicans) in New Hampshire have appointed as Bishop an openly
practising homosexual who reportedly abandoned his family when his daughters
were young children to go live with another man. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=33023
. Cf. Rom 1:16 - 32 and 1 Cor 6:9 - 11.

Homosexuality is now being strongly pushed as "normal" or even desirable.
I cannot understand the mind-bending illogic requred to think that in the face
of obvious facts of biology, individuality and society, but here is a review:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=33068
. Kevin McColluch tries to untwist the thinking for the rest of us:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=33070 . (PS I was
once given an explanation of "Log Cabin" as in L C Republicans that
was shocking, so bad, so obscene and frankly unsanitary, unhealthy and nasty,
that I cannot print it. Could somebody out there assure me that it is not true,
with evidence?)

5) Mind-benders 2: ME Roadmap Watch

The Suicide-bomber-Diplomatic 2-track approach to negotiating "peace in
the ME" : http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=33041

6) Possible Roadblock on the road to the H2 Fuel Cell Economy:

Hydrogen may not be so benign after all, once it leaks and gets up into the
upper atmosphere where it affects the concentration of water vapour by chemical
raction to form upper atmospheric water. This may affect both the Ozone layer
and Greenhouse gas concentrations. (Water vapour is a far more imnportant GHG
than CO2. indeed, the debate over impacts of increased CO2 largely hinges on
whether on balance it leads to more lower atrmosphere water vapour: higher cloud
cover so cooling effect, or upper atmosphere, where it acts to accelerate heating.)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030612/ap_on_sc/hydrogen_environment_6
and http://atcaltech.caltech.edu/tech-today/subpage.tcl?story_id=9281

A busy week on the web, all in all!