Christian Community Networking

 Dale Philyaw, Economist / Veteran

Political Nonsense

Political nonsense appears to be the mantra that the current Republican Party follows. It is time for us to take a look at their methods of governing and hold them responsible for their actions.

The Republican Party would have us believe that more tax cuts and breaks would increase the chances of corporations using those profits to generate new jobs. With companies sitting on record profits and the number of jobs lost during the both the Bush and Obama administrations I find it difficult to accept increasing their profits through reduction in taxes would result in the sudden decision to use those profits to generate jobs.

Those corporations sitting on record profits would now be sitting on more record profits while tax revenue remains the same. The company is entitled to its profits. that is not at question but to think less taxes would increase jobs is to deny the record profits corporations are currently sitting on. The Republican standard argument is that uncertainty is the reason for companies sitting on the sideline, if so why did we start losing jobs under Bush and before the Obama extension of the Bush tax cuts. Recall the Republican forced the extension. It appears the assertion is merely a Republican talking point.

Republicans want government to get out the way and let businesses conduct their business without regulation, unless of course you are talking about a government subsidy or providing an additional incentive for the business to take advantage of. Closing loop holes that allow multi-billion dollar corporations to escape paying any taxes seem a reasonable approach in generating needed revenue. Government is to get out the way unless it is providing a financial reward to business.

I am aware that the wealthy pay taxes and merely takes advantage of the available tax laws and loop holes available. The Presidents stance on the wealthy and corporations paying there fair share is a positive measure. No one is implying they do not pay taxes nor is President Obama engaging in class warfare as many Republicans would like us to believe. The President viewpoint is supported by a huge majority of Americans.

Americans should view how the economics and ideology of the parties affect them individually and not be blindsided by a Republican agenda that does little to support the individual. Expect more Republican rhetoric concerning class warfare. If you are talking about less than 1 percent of the American population how then are we engaging in class warfare.

Social Security should not be viewed as an entitlement program, we the people have contributed into this program throughout our working lives and are simply receiving the benefit of the investment. Social Security is based on your wages and the amount contributed, how is it that as the government continues to call it an entitlement.

As many things in this world: the truth/better option lies somewhere in the middle of the extremes (Republican and Democratic views). As an Independent I support President Obama jobs bill and would like to see our representatives represent the people. Government is not the total answer but it must not sit idly by and watch the economy and more importantly the people suffer. In basic economics the government, businesses and the consumers are the movers of the economy, if business and the consumer are not spending, one thing the government can do is to spend in an attempt to stimulate the economy. The Republicans do not support any government spending if it is proposed by President Obama, no matter the benefits. Government spending on infrastructure should be a no brainer, its put people to work and the work is needed. What better time to repair our roads and bridges than now when so many need the work. The Republican talking point is it is temporary job improvement, if the viewpoint is accepted what is the problem in this economy. Government is only a portion of the solution, should government do nothing and sit idly by! I think not.

Thank you

 Hasani Pettiford, author/speaker

How to Tell if a Girl is "Not" Interested

Signs a girl is not interested

She keeps looking around - When a women is interested, she puts in the effort by giving you her full attention. If she's aching to end the conversation with you, looking for someone else to chat with, like the bartender, or, say, her drink, chances are she's not into you.

She's not talkative - Every dating guide will tell you the same thing: women love to talk, so let them. If,however, she limits her answers to "yes" and "no," never bothering to elaborate, you have a flat liner. Ditto if she doesn't ask you questions and shows no interest in what you have to say.

She may also mention that you remind her of her brother or guy friends, or go on about the other men she's interested in (which curiously, are nothing like you).

Her life is too hectic to accommodate a relationship.- She says she's really busy at work, she works long hours, or simply can't make the commitment. She might say this before you actually ask her out, as a preemptive strike. However, this shouldn't be taken as the smoking gun. If you get this excuse more than once, then you can throw in the towel.

You're always the one calling her and/or she doesn't return your phone calls. - Watch out, she may be avoiding you; and if she's not avoiding you, you are not on her mind and she simply forgot. Either way, this means that she has less invested than you and doesn't care enough to actively seek out your company. Here's a rule of thumb: If she doesn't return your first call, call a second time, as she may be playing hard to get. If she doesn't return your second call, you can rightly conclude that she's not into you. (Do allow a certain amount of leeway on this point; women have been told by umpteen dating books to let the man do the pursuing. She should be calling you at least once for every three times you call her.)

She avoids eye contact and physical proximity. - This is an obvious sign that many men overlook. If she is attracted to you, she will naturally want to be close to you and make eye contact. If she is evading your gaze, however, she may be consciously trying to avoid leading you on and having to turn down your advances later. It's a sneaky little trick, but it usually works. Take it as a sign that you're not her type. If she keeps you at arm's length at all times, she may also be protecting her personal space, so make sure you don't get too close. She tries to set you up with another woman.

She is always vague about making plans - If she really wants to see you, she'll make firm plans. If she doesn't want to see you, or doesn't care one way or another, you can be pretty sure that she's not into you. If she is vague about making plans, it probably means that she is neutral about being in your company, or even worse, that she doesn't want to commit in case something better comes up. Ouch.

If she’s not interested in you…

* She NEVER initiates contact with you,

* She cancels dates with you without proposing a make-up date.

* She pours out all her emotional baggage to you.

* She playfully call you her brother.

* She talks about other guys to you.

* She is indifferent towards you.

* No matter how hard u try to impress her, she just ignores you.

* She is self absorbed and preoccupied with her own life which does not include you.

What say you?

www.hasani.com

 Ramon Roane, author/speaker

9/11 Remembered

This Sunday our nation will remember the 10th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the downing of United Airlines Flight 93. In one day nearly 3000 souls departed this life. Over 5000 rescue workers have been affected by the hazardous flumes and not to forget the family members of the victims of this cowardly attack. How could anyone forget? And with the recent threat by terrorist to explode car bombs in New York and Washington D.C. this Sunday, how could we to forget our enemies will not allow us to. This Lord’s Day let us remember 9/11.

I can’t even count the amount of times I remembered those that died that day. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are constant reminders with over 7,000 causalities from U.S. and Coalition Forces. Those wounded in action is nearly 33,000, this forces us to remember. Not even the death of bin Laden can erase these memories.

Whether you believe the attack was a conspiracy or not, the innocent men, women and children lost their lives that day. Every time I watch the videos of the attack and host of emotions run through me, from sadness to anger. Even though I did not lose anyone I knew personally, I still look at the victims as a part of my American family. Therefore my brothers and sisters died that day.

Though the attacks did not affect many of us directly, we are still affected indirectly. The changes in our air travel are very noticeable. If you know a firemen, police officer or service member you have been affected by the attacks. What were you thinking when you watched people falling from the towers? I don’t think that I will ever be the same, because of 9/11 and nor will many in this country.

Let’s remember the firemen and police officers that went into the burning towers to face unknown dangers to save lives. Let’s remember the unsung civilian heroes that sacrificed their lives so that others may live. Let’s remember the heroes of Flight 93 who decided to fight the highjackers to thwart another attack on the Capitol.

However, let us all remember 9/11 in our prayers. I will pray for the families of those that were killed during the attack. I will pray for the families that lost love ones during the war. I will pray that God heal those injured during the attack or during battle. I will pray for our leaders to make the wise decisions that will keep us safe and prevent from this happening again. I will pray for our service men and women to be victorious in battle as Moses and Joshua.

I encourage all Christians to pray for our President, elected and military leaders that we may live a quiet and peaceful life.

What say you?

 Aaron Rosendary, Certified Trainer

Diet tips for people on the go!

Let’s say you wake up in the morning getting ready for work and you have developed a routine of drinking coffee instead of eating breakfast. You get to work at 8am and you jump right into it. Around 10am you are hungry and you either drink another cup of coffee or you hit the vending machine. Now, it is lunchtime and you are really hungry so you go out for fast food or a chain restaurant. Five or six hours later, the hunger hits you again and the cycle repeats itself. Does this day sound familiar? If so, you're not alone for people on the go!

Today the 8 hour work day has evolved into the 10 or 12 hour shift work. Many of us are taking on additional work from home for ends to meet. With crazy hours like these, the best way to make sure you stay on track nutritionally is to prepare yourself a week's worth of healthy meals in advance. Here are a few tips for doing just that.

Master the grocery store. You should avoid entering the grocery store when you are hungry. Without thinking, you find yourself drawn into the bright, shiny, end-of-aisle display and before you know it, you're about to fill your cart with 10 frozen pizzas for $10.

Stop! Change direction. Do not go in hungry. When you do enter go straight to the produce section and select enough lettuce and fresh vegetables to make a salad that'll last you all week. It's best to avoid processed foods, keep to the perimeter of the store. This path will lead you to healthy choices like veggies, fruit, low-fat dairy, lean meat, and poultry.

Cook big on Sunday. Roast a bunch of chicken, make a big stew, and grill some veggies; you'll have a great meal on Sunday and enjoy the leftovers for the next few days. Another thing to do on Sunday to prepare lettuce that you bought while strolling the perimeter of the store and put it in a zip-top bag. With this combination, you'll have fresh, healthy food to put into meals all week.

Pre-pack your snacks for work. You may not always have time for a full meal at work, and that's OK. The night before a busy day, measure out foods that you can graze on all day. Measuring the portions in advance helps assure that you won't accidentally down an entire 1,000-calorie bag of trail mix.

Hydrate in fashion. Instead of going through tons of plastic bottles at your desk, buy yourself a fancy water bottle. Busy people often forget to hydrate properly. In addition, the average American drinks 57 gallons of soft drinks each year! You can avoid the temptation to purchase soda by refilling a beautiful reusable water bottle with water throughout your day.

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If your plan is working, just stay the course. Do your homework. When you plan to go to work the next day, plan your meal as well. Failing to plan is planning to fail with your diet. Finding and keeping a diet that supports your lifestyle will more likely result in long-term success for people on the go like you.

What say you?

 Ramon Roane, author/speaker

Seen "The Help", yet?

I was among the millions to have watched the movie “The Help.” I saw it opening weekend and I attempted to see again a week later, but I was turned away twice because it was sold out. I am a sucker for a good movie and this is a great movie. However, this movie has its share of fans and critics. Which are you?

I read an article by Dr. Boyce Watkins on NewsOne.com, in which he criticized a movie he didn’t even watch. That is like a judge deciding a case without hearing it. His first impression of the movie was that it was the female version of “Driving Miss Daisy.” He criticized the racial stereotype that was pervasive in the film. What did he expect from a movie about domestic help in the 1960s Mississippi, a Queen Cleopatra movie?

This movie entertained and educated the audience. Let me tell you something personal about me, when I go to the theater, I sneak in my favorite treat, chocolate covered cashews. The first time I saw the movie I told a friend of mine that I got so pissed off that I wanted throw my chocolate cover cashews at the screen, lose my Christianity and walk out. You know I must have been angry to throw away my treat. I am currently in a racial discrimination lawsuit and scenes in the film provoked anger in me, because of my own experiences with racism that are so recent.

African Americans have contributed to this country greatly and this film points to that fact, even though this movie was based on a novel. Dr. Watkins looked at the white woman, Skeeter (Emma Stone), as the hero, but if he had known that she was heavily influenced by her help, Constantine, played by the great Cicely Tyson. Skeeter was told daily by Constantine that she was kind, smart and important. Constantine told her that she was going to do great things. Constantine’s contribution was seen in the life of Skeeter.

Now, the real heroes of the movie were Aibileen and Minny played by Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer, respectively. Those two women faced a great risk of not just of losing a job, but even their lives. I thought the story was historically accurate for the times. When Aibileen and Minny went to recruit other maids to participant in the book, but were initially rejected, because of the fear of retaliation from whites. When Yule Mae (Aunjanue Ellis) was beaten and arrested for stealing that ring, her friends decided to get involved in the writing of the book. This was the most inspiring and emotional moment in the movie.

There are some African Americans that don’t want blacks to be playing subservient roles in the movies, but movies about racist Mississippi life, what would you expect? However, I am all for African Americans playing the heroes or heroines and I do support those films at the box office. However, The Help is a great movie no matter who made it. Needless to say I am a fan of this movie.

What say you?

 Ramon Roane,author/speaker

Christ was a socialist? Really?

This week I saw a banner online that said “Jesus was a Socialist.” What? I did a double take. I thought I knew Jesus, but I never knew that Jesus was identified as a socialist. I did a word search of the bible from cover to cover for the words socialism or socialist and  found none. So, where did this come from? Mr. Gregory Paul wrote an article for the Washington Post entitled, “From Jesus’ socialism to capitalistic Christianity.” In 550 words or less I would like to examine both the message and the messenger of this article, to see if Christ supports socialism.

Socialism is an economic system in which the means of production are publicly or commonly owned and controlled cooperatively. Socialism is a relatively modern construct, a governmental system invented roughly 1,800 years after Christ’s death, not a biblical mandate. The question, then, is how is socialism compatible with Christianity, because the bible doesn’t mandate it?

Mr. Paul claimed Jesus was pro-socialist. Since, socialism is a governmental system this would rule Jesus out, because Christ didn’t come to establish a government, but His church. He misinterprets Matthew 19:23-25, the story of the rich young ruler. Jesus was not saying that the rich cannot get into heaven, but if your wealth is your god, then you can’t enter. Then he turns to Acts 2:42, where it reads “And all that believed were together, and had all things common.” Again, he misinterprets the scripture. The things they had in common are what they believed. When the next verse says they sold their possessions, it was not all of their possessions, but they sold accordingly to those in need in the church. All of the above was voluntary.

Your giving in the church is always voluntary and not forced. He uses the story of Ananias and Saphhira to support forced giving, because the execution of the couple. Again, Mr. Paul misinterprets the scripture. They were not killed because of how much they gave, but because they lied to the Holy Spirit. Remember, Peter told them it was their money away. Mr. Paul’s whole argument rests on this event.

Christianity is incompatible not just with socialism but also many aspects of the modern welfare state. We are called us to help the poor, it is also clear that the poor must help themselves to the extent they are able. The bible warns against idleness and says, “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”

Now, I would like examine the messenger, Mr. Paul. He is an independent researcher on subjects dealing with paleontology, evolution, religion and society. He is also an atheist. Now, this is the problem. We have a non-believer, Mr. Paul, trying to interpret the scriptures. Let’s check the book,

1 Corinthians 2:16 (KJV)

For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ.

Mr. Paul views the bible as just a book. We Christians view as the Living Word of God. His argument that Christ is pro-socialism doesn’t hold water and Mr. Paul not only needs water, but the belief in the saving grace of Jesus Christ and baptism in the watery grave.

What say you?

 Hasani Pettiford, author/speaker

How Important Is Physical Attraction?

The basis of any date, courtship, or relationship is basic physical attraction and emotional desirability. If you are not attracted to someone and they are not attracted to you, you have just become friends. You both must be physically attracted on some level to make things work. Yes, spiritual attraction, deep respect and friendship all play a part in the long run but in the first few minutes of meeting we instantly recognize whether there is an attraction and chemistry present between us.

Unfortunately, there is a population of people who believe that looks don’t matter. They feel it is what’s inside that counts.” But, for many, the need for attractiveness not only helps initiate a relationship, but it helps maintain it.

It is a fact that humans are drawn to beauty. We seek beauty in nature, art and pretty much everything else; that is just how we’re wired. Researchers have even found that babies respond more positively to attractive people. Babies haven't been acculturated to learn what our popular culture considers attractive, but they still respond to beauty.

A recent study found that physical beauty is the highest priority for men in choosing a mate (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Peter Todd, of Indiana University). The same study found that women placed physical attraction second only to how much money a man has. So, as you can see, physical appearance is high on a woman’s list of desirables in a relationship as well.

Most agree that body shape and weight, choice of clothing, hair style, makeup, and personal hygiene come together to make a person physically attractive. In a poll that I personally conducted, I asked a group of men and women the following two question: 1) What should men focus on in order to become more physically attractive to women? 2) What should women focus on in order to become more physically attractive to men? The findings were very telling.

Female Responses:

■Stomach: Why do a lot of men hit 40 years old and look like their nine months pregnant

■Men with male boobs are not a good look

■Oral hygiene: Brush your teeth and make sure that your breath is pleasant

■Muscular and toned: Keep your arms looking good

■Grooming: Remain clean cut and shaven

■Manicures: Unless you’re a pimp, cut your nails

■Clothing: Wear fashionable clothing. Wash and iron your clothes before you put them on

■Wash, scrub and use deodorant

Male Responses:

■Smile: Not only is it physically appealing, it’s an indication of your attitude and personality

■A consistent manicure & pedicure

■Clothing: no cleavage hanging out or pants causing yeast infections.

■Hair: NO WEAVES, Allow a man to fall in love with the natural woman that you are.

■Maintain a healthy weight and exercise daily

If both men and women take the time to consider the aforementioned list and make the appropriate adjustments, they will successfully move one step forward in the dating game.

www.hasani.com

 Hasani Pettiford, author/speaker

Books news and publishing industry statistics

Here are some fascinating publishing industry statistics about the book industry in general and book news on self-publishing in particular. This is featured on http://selfpublishingresources.com/resources/books-news-and-publishing-industry-statistics/

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• The New York Times reported that “According to a recent survey, 81 percent of people feel that they have a book in them…and should write it.” If you do the math, that represents over 200 million people in the U.S. who want to write a book in their lifetime! No wonder self-publishing is thriving as never before!

• A new survey found that 23 percent of readers polled have visited an author’s web site, while only 18 percent have gone to a publisher’s site. The survey, conducted by advertising firm Spier New York, surveyed 813 readers, 35 percent of whom were under 35 years old. The survey also found that 50 percent of those queried had purchased a book as a gift within the past year. Online purchases represented 28 percent of books bought, while 89 percent came from a brick-and-mortar retailer.

• USA Today has added a searchable database of 10 years of bestseller data. You can find it on the page where their weekly bestseller list is posted. A key discovery: the all time best-selling writing/reference guide in the United States is The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. (Note that it was originally a self-published book!)

• Consumers in the Northeast spend the most on reading materials, while spending is the lowest in the South.

• Sales of religious paperback books represent a significant market share in today’s publishing arena. The new gospel on book sales has spiritual and religious titles crossing over into mainstream bookstores and taking upwards of 7 percent of all book sales. The Purpose Driven Life, for instance, has sold over 22 million copies.

• There is a new concept, “wag the long tail,” which means if you rack up enough small sales, especially consumer sales on the Internet, it will add up to big profits in the long run. Technology is turning mass markets into millions of niches. Independent presses, self-publishers, and authors can sell effectively into these micro markets. This bodes well for new and mid-list authors, not to mention creative-minded smaller presses.

• About 20 percent of online sales are of titles not available in traditional brick-and-mortar stores. Projections are this figure will soon reach a third of all book sales.

• What element of a book is the most important? Seventy-five percent of 300 booksellers surveyed (half from independent bookstores and half from chains) identified the look and design of the book cover as the most important component. They agreed that the jacket is prime real estate for promoting a book.

• Speaking of promoting, niche magazines, which focus on a single topic, are becoming increasingly popular. This trend to specialization — everything from magazines on poker playing to horse people, from interior design and decor to wedding titles, from dog magazines to golf periodicals — provide targeted opportunities for promoting books on these topics.

• From 8,000 to 11,000 new publishers enter the field every year; they are mostly self-publishers.

• There are about 1.5 million books in print at any one time in the United States.

• Bookstore sales by month would surprise the average consumer. You probably think December is the high month. Yet the big bounce is in January and again in August and September when university sales are made. The lowest month is April with only $0.987 billion in sales.

• Some 300 to 400 mid-sized publishers exist.

• 78 percent of titles brought out come from a small press or self-publisher.

• On the average a bookstore browser will spend eight seconds looking at the front cover and 15 seconds scanning the back cover.

• Nonfiction typically outsells fiction by two to one. However, at least 20 percent more fiction is being published these days via the Internet and (POD) Print on Demand.

• Interest in poetry and drama has grown by more than 33 percent since 1992.

• The average number of copies sold per title of a POD company that printed 10,000 different titles: 75 books.

• A poll of 2,700 U.S. Internet users, representing about 100 million U.S. Internet users, indicates that about 8 million unpublished novels and 17 million unpublished how-to books have been written by that Internet-using population alone.

• Women buy 68 percent of all books sold.

• Most readers do not get past page 18 in a book they have purchased.

• 52 percent of all books are not sold in bookstores! They are merchandised via mail order, online, in discount or warehouse stores, through book clubs, in nontraditional retail outlets, etc.

• 64 percent of book buyers say a book’s being on a bestseller list is not important.

• The #1 nonfiction bestsellers for 2001 was the Prayer of Jabez, exceeding 8 million copies. Self Matters was #1 on the 2002 list with mere 1,350,000 copies sold. John Grisham’s The Summon stopped the fiction list with 2,625,000 copies. The best-selling trade paperback during 2002 was, of all things, a cookbook: Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook. How-to, memoirs, and religion were also strong sellers.

• Parables, short tales of fiction that teach a life lesson, have many avid fans that drive them onto bestseller lists. One of the most recent is Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, MD. Dr. Johnson began his career as a self published author.

• Bookstores are famous for returning books to publishers. The industry return rate is typically 36 percent for hardcovers and 25 percent for soft covers.

• It takes an average of 475 hours to write a novel. Fiction is considered successful if it sells 5,000 copies. Writing a nonfiction book requires about 725 hours. A nonfiction book is deemed successful when it reaches 7,500 copies sold.

• The largest advance ever paid for a self-published book? A whopping $4.125 million. Simon & Schuster paid that for Richard Paul Evans’s The Christmas Box.

We have researched a multitude of sites and publications to pull these facts together for you. They include the ISBN agency, Harris Interactive poll, Book Industry Study Group, Bookwire.com, Seybold conference, IBPA, the American Association of Publishers, Authors Guild, Lulu.com, Jupiter Media Matrix, parapublishing.com,Foreword magazine, Department of Commerce, Publishers Weekly, various news releases, Books in Print, R.R. Bowker, Forrester Research, Morris Rosenthal, Romance Writers of America, Shelf Awareness, U.S. News & World Report, Poets and Writers, M. J. Rose, Borders, and SIMBA.

www.hasani.com

 Ramon Roane, author/speaker

Speaking Christian

Do you speak Christian? Yeah, that’s right I asked if you speak Christian. When I was a little boy growing up in the south there were women wearing long dresses saying that “I have been fire baptized.” I had no idea what in the world that meant. I guess they were talking Christian, but is that a language?

I did not know that Christian was a language. There was a recent article on the CNN Belief blog titled, ‘Do you speak Christian?’ If you heard people talk about the rapture or salvation, blessed or favored, then you are likely just speaking Christian, according to the article. The unbeliever would not understand the term ‘born again’ like Nicodemus in John 3, but Jesus taught him what it meant, just as we should also teach others.

Many Christians often repeat terms like ‘I have been fire baptized’ or ‘I have been washed in the blood of the Lamb’ without truly understanding what it means. To the unbeliever a fiery baptism would be something to avoid, but it is said like a badge of honor by many Christians. In an unstable world the unbeliever is searching for stability that can be found in the scriptures. When I became a student of the bible I knew better and I could explain or translate if you will to believers and non-believers on what they heard.

In the church many people often repeat what they hear in church without an understanding. If they hear it they will repeat enough to when it becomes their gospel. If your church believes that everyone should speak in tongues, I believe some will fake it just to fit in. If everyone in your church is saying that they have been fire baptized, you may say the same thing without feeling any heat. These things are repeatedly said and done without any understanding. Remember, understanding is a principle for all Christians.

What I am saying to you is to study the bible for yourself! When someone asked you what does a certain Christian term means, you should be prepared to give an answer. And let the scriptures speak for themselves. It is a commandment for us to study and be ready to give an answer.

2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

1 Peter 3:15 (KJV)

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

What saddens me is to read an article or blog that pokes fun at our faith. And often times it is an intellectual or biblical scholar that is interviewed for a response. Who will quote everybody, but Jesus!

Now, Christian is not a language to be learned, but a life to be lived in the power of the Holy Ghost.

What say you?

 Ramon Roane, author/speaker

Christianity Blamed in Norway?

Why blame Christianity for what happened in Norway? So when a non-Muslim goes and kills 76 people the first thing that comes to mind is that he is a Christian terrorist? This murderous rampage at the hands of Anders Behring Breivik in Norway would be a follower of Christ? How could they call him a Christian with such little information?

The New York Times, NBC and CNN all decided to copy each other’s stories rather than do any real investigative reporting. Al Jazeera, of all media outlets was at least the most honest by stating that cops were trying to identify him beyond his own Facebook described words. When media outlets like the aforementioned depend on Al Jazeera, we all should be careful accepting whatever they say.

If Anders is a Christian, then I’m just going to call myself a nuclear physicist. Why not? Isn’t that how it works…we just call ourselves something and immediately it is so? I can call myself anything I want but the second I show up in a courtroom I would be thrown out for my phony credentials. Analyzing the faith of Anders is no different. I guess what I’m saying is that you can’t take people at their word alone.

It is no secret that Christianity seems not to be a popular faith nowadays around the world. When a political leader of this country while speaking to a Muslim audience says that we (U.S.) are no a Christian nation adds to the narrative.

So why would they say that he is a Christian? It’s hard for the general public to hate a crazy person without some sense of pity. It’s human nature to hate an entire group of people and the media knows it. So instead of calling the shooter a raving psychotic, they call him a Christian Fundamentalist. The papers sell, people tune in to CNN, and the wheels of misinformation keep on turning.

Most of the blame lies with Islam because the fundamentals of Islam do indeed allow for killing infidels. Therefore, anything “fundamentalist” is automatically bad. The apathetic public can only see one religion as being equal to another so the term is used to describe a twisted and evil theology.

The fundamentals of Christianity are faith, hope, and love. This would make Christian fundamentalism a good thing one would think. That means you believe in the fundamentals of the faith, which last I checked did not involve murder, not exactly terrorist material.

Most Christians knew when they first heard of what happened in Norway that it could not have been a Christian. It should not be a surprise that someone would blame Christianity. I leave you with Jesus’ words;

Matthew 10:22 (NCV) All people will hate you because you follow me, but those people who keep their faith until the end will be saved.

What say you?