Tuesday, February 12, 2008

NO I DO NOT AGREE!

AN EMAIL I RECIEVED TODAY....


The Australian Prime Minister John Howard..... What a GREAT man!!!!!!

Isn't this refreshing?

The UK Needs A Leader Like This!




Prime Minister John Howard - Australia


Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told on Wednesday to get out of Australia , as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks.

Separately, Howard angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation's mosques. Quote: 'IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali , we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians.'



'This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom'

'We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society . Learn the language!'

'Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.'

'We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us.'

'This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom,

'THE RIGHT TO LEAVE'.'

'If you aren't happy here then LEAVE. We didn't force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted.'

Maybe if we circulate this amongst ourselves, American citizens and Leaders will find the backbone to start speaking and voicing the same truths.


If you agree ... please SEND THIS ON.



My reply:

I'm sorry to make contact for such unhappy reasons, but I would prefer if you didn't send emails like this to me. I don't think telling citizens of a country who want to adminster their personal, not their public lives, in a different way to the ideas of the Prime Minister is a very worthy cause. In fact it goes against the free will God granted us to make up our own minds about our lives. We are free to choose our religion and to choose how we live. I think infact that sending emails like this beautifully illustrates a quote from Ghandi, " I like your Christ, but I don't like his Christians ". I believe Jesus would not be chasing people out of their homes, rather finding ways to minister to them with love. I quote from a website here,

"In the story of the Samaritan woman, Jesus crosses both social and religious barriers (John 4:4-42). While much attention has been given to this aspect of the story, few have pondered the significance of Jesus conversing with not only a Samaritan, but a Samaritan who was a woman.

Jewish society frowned upon conversation between male and female. This was particularly true of Samaritan women, who were deemed perpetually unclean. The laws of purity declared that "the daughters of the Samaritans are menstruants {55} from their cradle (Daube, 137). The Samaritan woman's surprised reaction to being addressed by Jesus is evident (4:9). The latter part of the verse is often translated "for Jews have no dealing with Samaritans" (RSV). The verb sugchrontai alludes to the cultic code that forbade a Jew to eat or drink from the vessel of an unclean person such as a Samaritan, and especially a Samaritan woman whom they considered a perpetual menstruant. The Samaritan woman's shock is understandable as Jesus requests a drink from her vessel.

When the disciples return, they are shocked to see Jesus and the Samaritan woman in conversation. The Greek does not attribute the disciples' shock to the fact that Jesus was talking to "the woman" but rather "a woman." Schnackenburg points out that "the disciples are not taken aback . . . to see him disregarding the barriers of race. They are thinking of the reserve imposed on all Jews, and a rabbi in particular, with regard to the female sex" (1:443). The attitude of Aboth Rabbe Nathan is typical of rabbinic thought when he says, "One does not speak with a woman on the street, not even his own wife, and certainly not with another woman, on account of gossip" (Haenchen, 1:224)." http://www.directionjournal.org/article/?680

Jesus here chooses to spend time with someone who is of effectively a different religion to that of his own, takes time to talk to them and engage with them rather than ignoring them or berating them. As a result of this, the Samaritan women does indeed respond to the good news.

If perhaps the Christians of today followed Jesus' example and minister to the Muslims of the world with love and kindness, tolerance and understanding, showing them a path whereby one has a relationship with God, they might be more inclined to listen to the good news. Treating them as a threat and alienating them will not do this. Misunderstanding breeds fear and fear breeds hatred. I hope that you can break this cycle.

With love, and the hope that you would understand my point of view,

Alex

Discuss....

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Your last comments remind me of the wise words of Yoda...

'Fear leads to... and .... leads to the dark side.'

Sorry - I just can't remember the whole quote from the horror that is 'The Phantom Menace'

I'm glad you can respond so positively and with such depth to these issues. And I hope this comment is eccentric enough...