1 Paralipomenon 16: 23-36 (1 Chronicles)
Sing ye to the Lord, all the earth; show forth from day to day his salvation. Declare his glory among the Gentiles; his wonders among all people. For the Lord is great and exceedingly to be praised; and he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols; but the Lord made the heavens. Praise and magnificence are before him; strength and joy in his place.
Bring ye to the Lord, O ye families of the nations; bring ye to the Lord glory and empire. Give to the Lord glory to his name, bring up sacrifice, and come ye in his sight; and adore the Lord in holy becomingness. Let all the earth be moved at his presence, for he hath founded the world immoveable.
Let the heavens rejoice, and the earth be glad, and let them say among the nations: The Lord hath reigned. Let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof; let the fields rejoice, and all things that are in them. Then shall the trees of the wood give praise before the Lord, because he is come to judge the earth.
Give ye glory to the Lord, for he is good, and for his mercy endureth forever. And say ye: Save us, O God our savior, and gather us together, and deliver us from the nations, that we may give glory to thy holy name, and may rejoice in singing thy praises.
Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel from eternity to eternity; and let all the people say Amen, and a hymn to God.
***
This book of the bible is called in the Greek language Paralipomenon, which means “the things that are left out” meaning detail that is not included in previous books, forming a kind of supplemental writing. In Hebrew this section is called Dibre Haijamim, “The words of the days” otherwise known as The Chronicles. It contains information from the beginning of sacred history with Adam to the Babylonian Exile in 536 BC. The section I have quoted is from the time of David, when David had the Ark placed in the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle at the time was a tent that David had pitched for the Ark of God having newly arrived in the City of David, that is, Jerusalem. The Ark was in the charge and care of the priestly tribe, the Levites, and David appointed chiefs and brethren from the tribe to move and place the ark, provide the festivities, musicians and singers, and to conduct sacrifices and then feed the people. (Every person received a loaf of bread, a piece of roast beef, and flour friend with oil). After this feast Asaph, who was appointed chief on this occasion by David, sang the praise I have quoted above.
When meditating on this passage remember that God was physically present in the Ark among the people. So this was not just pretty words of a song written for an occasion; this was praise and affirmation given to God to his very face while in the midst of all the people of Israel. So there is a great correctness in all that is spoken by Asaph (and I quoted only about half of it) not only because the virtue of it being recorded in sacred scripture, but also because of the occasion, where it is spoken directly to God in the Ark.
There are two insights I’d like to point out that I think are missed by many today. The first is to please note how emphatically it is expressed that God is to be praised and glorified not just within the Israelites, but to all “among the Gentiles,” “all the earth,” “among all peoples” and “of the nations.” Now, Judaism today and traditionally is not known as a proselytizing faith. In other words, they do not evangelize. However, it is abundantly clear that the admonition is to praise the one God to all people, every nation throughout the whole earth. God expects and David and the Levites confirm that the One God should be affirmed, glorified and praised not only among themselves, the Israelites, but directly among the Gentiles and among all peoples. This is one reason I give when people wonder why I am affectionate toward devout mainstream Islam. They are declaring their belief very loudly and continuously in the One God. This is one example I give of the validity of the common roots of Islam, Judaism and Christianity. The commonality is the unrelenting glorification and affirmation of the One God. This is one reason that Islam “casts a hairy eyeball” (is skeptical) of some aspects of Christianity, as they are concerned that the birth of Jesus by the will of God through the Holy Spirit, and the idea of the Trinity, is a dilution of the affirmation of One God. I’ve blogged and will continue to do so about how that misunderstanding is indicative of a much smaller gap than people realize, but this blogging is intended for different purposes. I wanted to show that it is historically and theologically imperative that the One God be praised and glorified among all people, even if surrounded by idolaters (and by that we mean people who believe that inanimate objects have any portion of divine power.)
This leads me to a second point. Notice that the passage is lavish in description of the beauty of the world: the wonders, heavens, earth, world, sea, fields, the things within them, and trees of the wood. However, all of these aspects of the physical world are praised in relationship to God having created them, and how in turn, their very existence consists of them “praising” God in turn. I think that many people today make two mistakes. One is that they think that early “primitive” people were not full of appreciation for the beauty and majesty of the natural world. Far from it – people then loved the greenery and wilderness and glory of creation probably more than even the most fervent “tree hugger” or “Green” today. This is because ancient people recognized God’s hand in the creation of the earth and all its being around them. It was not just an “old, exceptional specimen of cedar of Lebanon,” it was a tree created and nurtured by God. Just because people lived in subsistence and harvested trees for their buildings did not mean they were not moved very deeply by the beauty of nature. They kept it in perspective, though, because they recognized that the very existence of life in all its natural forms is the result of the hands of God. This is what I mean by the second mistake by people today, who are making a pseudo-religion out of the wonderment and protection of nature. I’m the most ardent steward of earth, and that was even my major in college, but I urge people do not confuse feeling the wonder of God and his creation with either political or real animism. In an odd way the most extreme protectors work against themselves by objectifying “the wonder of nature” separately from God’s works and being the good steward. The good steward makes better protective decisions about nature and the environment than does the person who is practicing a form of political animism that borders on idolatry. The good steward ensures survival by good management in the context of the reality of how people live and the ecosystems. The ineffective “protector” is almost trying to hermetically seal species or parts of ecosystems from the reality in which they must ultimately survive.
So I thought this passage, sung before the real physical in spirit presence of God in the Ark, would give some important perspective and reference point for pondering and learning. When people stray it is important to look back carefully at the original deeds and specific wordings of these important events and teachings. By the way, just as a personal comment, this passage is so important that I’ve had one of my special book marks on this page in my childhood Bible from that very time… just about forty years of time from then to now…
Monday, September 17, 2007
Uganda and South Africa fight AIDs
Dear Colleague,
Bishop Hugh Slattery of the South African Diocese of Tzaneen recently commissioned two beautifully done documentaries which he shared with PRI. Together, they tell how the Catholic Church in Uganda and South Africa are successfully fighting the AIDS epidemic and dealing with its social consequences. But those who promote the life-saving message of abstinence and marital fidelity are being ridiculed and mocked by degenerate population controllers at every turn.
Steve Mosher
HIV/AIDS: Western Failure and Ugandan Success
by Colin Mason
That Sub-Saharan Africa lies in the grip of a vast AIDS epidemic is no secret to anyone. According to statistics published in 2006 by UNAIDS (the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS), an estimated 24.5 million people in the region were HIV-positive by the end of 2005, with 2.7 million contracting the virus in that year alone.
Desperate to stop the spread of this disease, which is well on its way to becoming the most destructive plague of all time, AIDS-stricken countries in Africa have turned to the West. The assistance they have received may have done more harm than good, however.
Secular-minded Western aid agencies have bombarded the continent with graphic sex-education programs and condoms. Yet, according to numbers published by UNAIDS itself, HIV infection rates in Africa continue to climb, suggesting that such programs, instead of curbing the disease, are actually contributing to its spread by encouraging risky behavior.
Only one African country, Uganda, has successfully combated AIDS. Its HIV prevalence rate has plummeted in recent years. Over 18% of the adult population tested positive for the AIDS virus in 1992. By the end of 2005, only 6.7% did. No other country has experienced a comparable decline.
How was this remarkable turnaround achieved? Western aid organizations, eager to justify their programs (and their funding), falsely attribute the decline to sex education and condoms. The Ugandans themselves tell a much simpler story. It can be summed up in one word: abstinence.
The unsung hero of Uganda's victory over AIDS is a Catholic nun by the name of Sister Miriam Duggan, M.D. Early on in the fight against this deadly disease Sister Miriam developed a program called "Education for Life," a program which encourages people to be abstinent before marriage and faithful within it. By educating people about the dangers of promiscuous sex and its deadly consequences, "Education for Life" has helped to change the mindset of the Ugandan people. Sister Miriam Duggan and her collaborators insist that it is this program, backed up by the willingness of the government to accept abstinence education, that has helped reduce the AIDS epidemic in Uganda.
"I think it can be very confusing for young people deciding now 'which way do I go?'" says Thandi Hadebe, an abstinence educator for Education for Life. "And that is where I think we fail our young people; because we give them too much conflicting information." He blames the AIDS epidemic on indiscriminate condom promotion and mixed messages sent by "comprehensive sex" educators.
Education for Life takes a very different approach. "We emphasize the aspect of freedom," says Fr. Andrew Shingange, another educator with the program, "that it is within themselves that they can protect themselves."
A brilliant new documentary film called The Change is On celebrates this victory for life and common sense. Commissioned by Bishop Hugh Slattery of the South African Diocese of Tzaneen, it tells Sister Miriam's story, and explains how "Education for Life" works in practice.
In Sowing in Tears, the sister documentary to The Change is On, Bishop Slattery describes the work of faith-based organizations in dealing with the social consequences of HIV/AIDS. Nor surprisingly, it is people of faith who are heroically caring for the infected in their homes, and staffing the orphanages full of orphaned and grieving children. (These excellent documentaries were produced by Metanoia Media, and may be ordered by going to CatholicStudio.com. )
Few know the problems of the HIV/AIDS epidemic better than Bishop Slattery. The adult HIV rate in South Africa was 18.8% at the end of 2005, or about what it was in Uganda 15 years ago. The "Education for Life" program has now been introduced in his diocese, and is spreading throughout South Africa.
"[AIDS] is a threat to a whole civilization, it is a threat to our future, it is a question of 'will there be generations around here in the future?'" says Bishop Slattery. "It sounds pessimistic put that way, but really, it is massive if you look at the numbers."
"It is becoming more and more evident day by day that the Western world's obsession with condom promotion is severely hampering the efforts of African countries to deal effectively with HIV/AIDS," says Bishop Slattery. "The only country to show real progress in combating the disease is Uganda … through the promotion of abstinence before marriage and fidelity in marriages. The Western world refuses to accept and laud this tremendous achievement. On the contrary it is doing its utmost to undermine it by using every possible means of promoting condoms there, against the wishes of the government leadership."
Is anyone at USAID listening?
Colin Mason is the Director for Media Production at PRI.
Media Contact: Colin MasonEmail: colin@pop.org(540) 622-5240, ext. 209_________(c) 2007 Population Research Institute. Permission to reprint granted.Redistribute widely. Credit required._________PRI is a 501(c)(3) educational organization. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to PRI,please go to our Donations Page. All donations (of any size) are welcomed and appreciated._________
The pro-life Population Research Institute is dedicated to ending humanrights abuses committed in the name of "family planning," and to endingcounter-productive social and economic paradigms premised on the myth of"overpopulation." Find us at www.pop.org.
PRI, PO Box 1559, Front Royal, VA 22630 USA Phone: 540-622-5240
Bishop Hugh Slattery of the South African Diocese of Tzaneen recently commissioned two beautifully done documentaries which he shared with PRI. Together, they tell how the Catholic Church in Uganda and South Africa are successfully fighting the AIDS epidemic and dealing with its social consequences. But those who promote the life-saving message of abstinence and marital fidelity are being ridiculed and mocked by degenerate population controllers at every turn.
Steve Mosher
HIV/AIDS: Western Failure and Ugandan Success
by Colin Mason
That Sub-Saharan Africa lies in the grip of a vast AIDS epidemic is no secret to anyone. According to statistics published in 2006 by UNAIDS (the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS), an estimated 24.5 million people in the region were HIV-positive by the end of 2005, with 2.7 million contracting the virus in that year alone.
Desperate to stop the spread of this disease, which is well on its way to becoming the most destructive plague of all time, AIDS-stricken countries in Africa have turned to the West. The assistance they have received may have done more harm than good, however.
Secular-minded Western aid agencies have bombarded the continent with graphic sex-education programs and condoms. Yet, according to numbers published by UNAIDS itself, HIV infection rates in Africa continue to climb, suggesting that such programs, instead of curbing the disease, are actually contributing to its spread by encouraging risky behavior.
Only one African country, Uganda, has successfully combated AIDS. Its HIV prevalence rate has plummeted in recent years. Over 18% of the adult population tested positive for the AIDS virus in 1992. By the end of 2005, only 6.7% did. No other country has experienced a comparable decline.
How was this remarkable turnaround achieved? Western aid organizations, eager to justify their programs (and their funding), falsely attribute the decline to sex education and condoms. The Ugandans themselves tell a much simpler story. It can be summed up in one word: abstinence.
The unsung hero of Uganda's victory over AIDS is a Catholic nun by the name of Sister Miriam Duggan, M.D. Early on in the fight against this deadly disease Sister Miriam developed a program called "Education for Life," a program which encourages people to be abstinent before marriage and faithful within it. By educating people about the dangers of promiscuous sex and its deadly consequences, "Education for Life" has helped to change the mindset of the Ugandan people. Sister Miriam Duggan and her collaborators insist that it is this program, backed up by the willingness of the government to accept abstinence education, that has helped reduce the AIDS epidemic in Uganda.
"I think it can be very confusing for young people deciding now 'which way do I go?'" says Thandi Hadebe, an abstinence educator for Education for Life. "And that is where I think we fail our young people; because we give them too much conflicting information." He blames the AIDS epidemic on indiscriminate condom promotion and mixed messages sent by "comprehensive sex" educators.
Education for Life takes a very different approach. "We emphasize the aspect of freedom," says Fr. Andrew Shingange, another educator with the program, "that it is within themselves that they can protect themselves."
A brilliant new documentary film called The Change is On celebrates this victory for life and common sense. Commissioned by Bishop Hugh Slattery of the South African Diocese of Tzaneen, it tells Sister Miriam's story, and explains how "Education for Life" works in practice.
In Sowing in Tears, the sister documentary to The Change is On, Bishop Slattery describes the work of faith-based organizations in dealing with the social consequences of HIV/AIDS. Nor surprisingly, it is people of faith who are heroically caring for the infected in their homes, and staffing the orphanages full of orphaned and grieving children. (These excellent documentaries were produced by Metanoia Media, and may be ordered by going to CatholicStudio.com. )
Few know the problems of the HIV/AIDS epidemic better than Bishop Slattery. The adult HIV rate in South Africa was 18.8% at the end of 2005, or about what it was in Uganda 15 years ago. The "Education for Life" program has now been introduced in his diocese, and is spreading throughout South Africa.
"[AIDS] is a threat to a whole civilization, it is a threat to our future, it is a question of 'will there be generations around here in the future?'" says Bishop Slattery. "It sounds pessimistic put that way, but really, it is massive if you look at the numbers."
"It is becoming more and more evident day by day that the Western world's obsession with condom promotion is severely hampering the efforts of African countries to deal effectively with HIV/AIDS," says Bishop Slattery. "The only country to show real progress in combating the disease is Uganda … through the promotion of abstinence before marriage and fidelity in marriages. The Western world refuses to accept and laud this tremendous achievement. On the contrary it is doing its utmost to undermine it by using every possible means of promoting condoms there, against the wishes of the government leadership."
Is anyone at USAID listening?
Colin Mason is the Director for Media Production at PRI.
Media Contact: Colin MasonEmail: colin@pop.org(540) 622-5240, ext. 209_________(c) 2007 Population Research Institute. Permission to reprint granted.Redistribute widely. Credit required._________PRI is a 501(c)(3) educational organization. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to PRI,please go to our Donations Page. All donations (of any size) are welcomed and appreciated._________
The pro-life Population Research Institute is dedicated to ending humanrights abuses committed in the name of "family planning," and to endingcounter-productive social and economic paradigms premised on the myth of"overpopulation." Find us at www.pop.org.
PRI, PO Box 1559, Front Royal, VA 22630 USA Phone: 540-622-5240
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Bible Reading: Luke (Jesus)
Luke 6: 39-45
And he spoke a parable also to them, “Can a blind man guide a blind man? Will not both fall into a pit? No disciple is above his teacher; but when perfected, everyone will be like his teacher.
But why doest thou see the speck in thy brother’s eye, and yet dost not consider the beam in thy own eye? And how canst thou say to thy brother, ‘Brother, let me cast out the speck from thy eye,’ while thou thyself dost not see the beam in thy own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam from thy own eye, and then thou wilt see clearly to cast out the speck from thy brother’s eye.
For there is no good tree that bears bad fruit, nor is there a bad tree that bears good fruit. For every tree is known by its fruit. For from thorns men do not gather figs, neither from a bramble do they harvest grapes.
The good man from the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good; and the evil man from the evil treasure brings forth that which is evil. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks."
And he spoke a parable also to them, “Can a blind man guide a blind man? Will not both fall into a pit? No disciple is above his teacher; but when perfected, everyone will be like his teacher.
But why doest thou see the speck in thy brother’s eye, and yet dost not consider the beam in thy own eye? And how canst thou say to thy brother, ‘Brother, let me cast out the speck from thy eye,’ while thou thyself dost not see the beam in thy own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam from thy own eye, and then thou wilt see clearly to cast out the speck from thy brother’s eye.
For there is no good tree that bears bad fruit, nor is there a bad tree that bears good fruit. For every tree is known by its fruit. For from thorns men do not gather figs, neither from a bramble do they harvest grapes.
The good man from the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good; and the evil man from the evil treasure brings forth that which is evil. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks."
Bible Reading: Corinthians (St Paul)
1 Corinthians 8: 1-6
Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but charity edifies. If anyone thinks that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, the same is known by him.
Now as for food sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. For even if there are what are called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (for indeed there are many gods, and many lords), yet for us there is only one God, the Father from whom are all things, and we unto him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through him.
Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but charity edifies. If anyone thinks that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, the same is known by him.
Now as for food sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. For even if there are what are called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (for indeed there are many gods, and many lords), yet for us there is only one God, the Father from whom are all things, and we unto him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through him.
Bible Reading: Kings, about priorities
2 Kings 7:4-9
But it came to pass that night that the word of the Lord came to Nathan saying: Go, and say to my servant David: Thus saith the Lord: Shalt thou build me a house to dwell in? Whereas I have not dwelt in a house from the day that I brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt even to this day, but have walked in a tabernacle, and in a tent. In all the places that I have gone through, with all the children of Israel, did I ever speak a word to anyone of the tribes of Israel whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying: Why have you not built me a house of cedar? And now thus shalt thou speak to my servant David: Thus saith the Lord of hosts: I took thee out of the pastures from following the sheep to be ruler over my people Israel. And I have been with thee wheresoever thou hast walked, and have slain all thy enemies from before thy face; and I have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great ones that are on the earth.
But it came to pass that night that the word of the Lord came to Nathan saying: Go, and say to my servant David: Thus saith the Lord: Shalt thou build me a house to dwell in? Whereas I have not dwelt in a house from the day that I brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt even to this day, but have walked in a tabernacle, and in a tent. In all the places that I have gone through, with all the children of Israel, did I ever speak a word to anyone of the tribes of Israel whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying: Why have you not built me a house of cedar? And now thus shalt thou speak to my servant David: Thus saith the Lord of hosts: I took thee out of the pastures from following the sheep to be ruler over my people Israel. And I have been with thee wheresoever thou hast walked, and have slain all thy enemies from before thy face; and I have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great ones that are on the earth.
Atheists smarter than Believers in one Respect?
I tend not to wonder about very much since I have a pretty good handle on what’s going on. Sometimes people think I don’t know about something really bad, since they assume that if I don’t go crazy, or sue, or become a professional victim, or obsess about an injustice, I must not know about it. Au contraire mon frère. When the earthly ship is sinking someone has got to stay serene and sane, and it looks like I’m the only one sometimes. However, there is one thing I have never really understood, even though I could give the biological and psychological reasons for it. I don’t understand people who do believe in God who flip the finger at him (“shoot the bird”). I mean, I can understand atheists doing it, actually, as they either truly don’t believe (and thus get some sort of release disrespecting someone who does not exist) or they are doing a “just in case” experiment to see if they can get a rise out of a God they don’t believe exists, but they are cautious people who believe in hedging. I have never understood people who do believe in God, however, who give him the finger in word and deed. Um, what is the logic? You believe there is a God and you tell him to go pound salt, and worse, do something to harm someone who is his, one of his children. What exactly do you think is going to happen? Sure a lot of rotten people have done bad things throughout history, and “gotten away with it,” maybe even leading long and “happy” lives. But if you believe in God, where exactly do you think they are going to go when they die? I mean, so far as anyone sane realizes, everyone dies, so there’s just one exit door from life. And if you believe in God, and you know he (or his reps, like St. Peter) are standing on the other side of that door, um, the reason to knowingly hurt and piss him off all your life would be…? Like I said, the atheists I understand… but how incredibly stupid are the believers?
Baseball Talk: Orel Hershiser
A few days ago I finished reading Orel Hershiser’s book “Between the Lines: Nine Principles to Live By” (with Robert Wolgemuth) from 2001. (I’m lucky to have a signed copy, though not to me lol). Anyway I loved the book. He’s one of my favorite recent pitchers and I loved his discussion of his ethics in baseball and life, and the lessons he learned from his family, life, and baseball coaches. His faith is admirable and he does a wonderful job organizing and communicating the things that he learned that helped him to succeed and be joyful. Parents especially might find this book helpful. A+++++!
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