Eye on Faith

Monday, December 1, 2014

Modern slavery: Deeply hidden

(The Old Plantation, circa 1790)

Slaves may not still be picking cotton, but then again they might be.

According to Sky News, modern slavery is rampant within such countries as the United Kingdom, Poland, Nigeria,

Albania and Romania.

In the United Kingdom alone, an estimated 10,000 to 13,000 people were “trapped in conditions of slavery” in 2013. These conditions include “women forced into

prostitution, imprisoned domestic staff, and field and factory workers.” This estimate includes “victim numbers which go undetected by authorities.”

Because modern slavery is so “deeply hidden,” exposing its existence is the first crucial step toward eradication. “Urgent action” is now being called for by Home Secretary Theresa May of the United Kingdom.

Strategies used to “counter terrorism and fight organized crime” will be employed. Goals are threefold: to raise public awareness, to “prevent additional cases,” and to “pursue those responsible” for this hideous practice.

Resources

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/up-to-13000-people-held-as-slaves-in-the-uk/ar-BBg8jEp

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Pope Francis mirrors Saint Francis

Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Photo by Dersaadet)

When Pope Francis recently prayed “inside one of Istanbul’s most important mosques,” the Associated Press reported that he was “following in the footsteps of Pope Benedict XVI who visited Turkey in 2006.”

However, Pope Francis was also following in the footsteps of his namesake, St. Francis. It was Saint Francis who long ago set the holy example of Catholic/Muslim peaceful relations.

According to Lawrence Cunningham of Notre Dame, St. Francis of Assisi “ventured into Muslim territory” during the 13^th century “to visit the caliph of Egypt and preach the Gospel.”

Earlier in life, St. Francis had been a soldier. After renouncing that, he instead became a “spiritual crusader – a warrior without arms.” When St. Francis crossed enemy lines into Muslim turf, it was not as an envoy of war, but rather as brother of peace.

No one knows for sure exactly what was said during that historical meeting. We do know that the caliph “did receive him kindly.” We also know that St. Francis visited “in an attempt to engage the caliph face to face and possibly stop the killing and fighting.”

Centuries later, Pope Francis likely has these same holy intentions. Perhaps it’s time for the world to finally follow suit.

Resources

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/pope-prays-in-istanbul-mosque-in-new-outreach/ar-BBg7wxB

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Forgive us our debts, Mr. Anderson

Debtor's Prison (by Henry Nicholls)

Those who recite The Lord’s Prayer by rote might not stop to think about its implications all that often.

Certainly, one Mr. John Anderson (name changed to protect the guilty) didn’t seem to.

Anderson, who openly admits that he pushes “the edges a little bit sometimes,” has been known as a debt-collector extraordinaire. He told ABC News that he “follows the law, for the most part.”

His legal lapses recently landed Anderson in a California court of law. It seems that he was harassing a woman for $350 that

she owed from the 2007 purchase of a used car.

The testimony indicated that Anderson repeatedly told this debtor that “he knows everything” and could find her “no matter where” she was. Anderson also contacted her boss and “released the information” that she had a debt.

It was also Jesus who taught, “Judge not, lest ye be judged.” This has colloquially been interpreted as, “What goes around, comes around.”

So now Mr. Anderson is himself a debtor. The court determined that he owes this woman $33,000 for his merciless actions.

The Lord's Prayer is not just a plea. It is also a “contract” of sorts. “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors…”

Mercy, Mr. Anderson. Mercy.

Resources

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/debt-collector-owes-33k-making-womans-life-hell/story?id=27093191

Friday, November 28, 2014

Depravity Standard: Bad to worst

(Manson Mugshot - 1971)

Almost everyone agrees that Adolph Hitler and Charles Manson are bad news.

But just how bad are they?

These days quantification rules. A “leading forensic psychiatrist who has testified in some of America’s most infamous violent crime cases” is therefore developing a “Depravity Standard.”

This psychiatrist, Dr. Michael Weiner, is hoping that his Depravity Standard will be able to codify “the concept of evil for the justice system.” Weiner explains that “in criminal courts today, the decision to charge a case as heinous, atrocious, cruel, depraved or vile rests with the prosecuting authority…”

Steven Edwards of Fox News reports that Weiner’s Depravity Standard will be “rooted in specific hallmarks of intent, actions, attitude and victimology…” If it works according to plan, all crimes will then be comparable with one another, and “the level of evil in a crime” will then be determined in a more objective fashion.

Weiner’s Standard can also be applied outside the courtroom. Correctional officers can use it to make “early release recommendations,” academics to study hate crimes, and “governors regarding

pardon requests.”

Resources

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/11/25/measuring-evil-noted-psychiatrist-seeks-tool-to-quantify-wickedness/

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Thanksgiving: Mumming to Masking

(Photo by Bruce Andersen)

Just when it seems as though Thanksgiving history couldn’t be any more racist (as far as the mistreatment of Native Americans is concerned), the tradition of Masking comes to light.

Megan Garber wrote an article for Wire titled “Thanksgiving Used to Look a Lot Like Halloween, Except More Racist.” She

reports that a tradition of “Thanksgiving Masking” began in the mid-19^th century, and was “an outgrowth of ‘mumming,’ the centuries-old tradition in which costumed men went from door to door, asking for food and/or money.”

As the years went on, this Masking became quite mean spirited. Specific individuals and nations were ridiculed in a prejudicial fashion. In 1897, the Los Angeles Times explained that some Thanksgiving masks “made fun of people of other nations,” by means of “greatly exaggerated facial peculiarities.”

In the 1920s, Thanksgiving Masking began to fall out of favor. It was replaced by Thanksgiving Day parades, gorging and football frenzy.

Perhaps it will one day also be replaced by widespread gratitude.

Resources

http://news.yahoo.com/thanksgiving-used-look-lot-halloween-except-more-racist-123100574.html

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

LaSalle Street Church: Through the giving glass

Shane Claiborne (Photo by Enoch Lai)

Sometimes it literally and figuratively pays to view familiar things through a “looking glass” perspective.

Seeing things from opposite vantage points can often serve to sharpen the focus. Such was the case at LaSalle Street Church in Chicago last September when Pastor Laura Truax made an unusual announcement.

Truax suddenly explained to the congregation that each of the 320 regular attendees would be handed a check for $500. This money equaled 10 percent of the $1.6 million that the church had received from a real estate deal.

Chicago Associated Press reports that “LaSalle, a non-denominational church, has long been involved in social causes, from feeding homeless families to buying an ambulance for a medical clinic in Niger.”

Recipients of these checks were therefore asked “to do something positive with the money.” It was left up to each member to decide what that entailed.

Was this a leap of faith on Truax’s part? Could the congregants simply have kept the money for themselves? Yes, and yes again…

Nevertheless, Truax’s decision seems in keeping with Jesus’ words: “For I was hungry, and you fed me…” As Shane Claiborne has noted, Jesus did not say, “For I was hungry, and you wrote out a check to the United Way…”

In other words, Christianity is all about creating loving relationships, the more directly the better. In trusting the members to decide for themselves how to share this money wisely, Truax role-modeled a generous path for them to follow.

Resources

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/church-members-each-get-dollar500-to-do-good-for-world/ar-BBfxloK

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Turkeys fight back: Instant karma?

Wild Turkeys (Photo by Yathin S. Krishnappa)

It’s Thanksgiving time, and reports of wild turkey attacks are once again in the news.

Jason Caffey of Patch writes that the residents of Brookline, Massachusetts have recently been targeted by aggressive turkeys. One woman exclaimed: There was like six or seven of them, and as I went around the mailbox they went around and they started chasing me into the street and I screamed for help. These birds have even “been known to charge at people and try to claw their faces.”

As scary as these incidents may be, they are not nearly as destructive as being plucked, stuffed, and shoved into an oven. Could it be that John Lennon was correct about instant karma? What goes around comes around, especially at this allegedly thankful time of year.

If wild turkeys are heading your way, there are several things you can do to dissuade their possibly

dangerous intentions. Experts say that you need to “act boldly.” This could entail making loud noises, spraying them with water from a hose, swatting them with a broom, covering shiny objects, and/or enlisting your dog’s assistance.

If all else fails, become a vegetarian and celebrate Thanksgiving with “the three sisters” (corn, beans

and squash). That should calm things down in the long run.

Resources

http://patch.com/massachusetts/brookline/more-wild-turkey-attacks-brookline-0