Tuesday, November 09, 2004

our founding fathers and cain...

From my history lecture: Those who designed the federal constitution in 1788 made no provision for parties and indeed the founding fathers increasingly denounced groups seeking political power as "factions-scheming, narrow, selfish elements pursuing goals contrary to the common good, the bane of all experiments in free government".

From Blog for America: The question: Why should I pay more just because I make more? The answer: Because you are a responsible citizen in a society which believes in compassion and social responsibility, and freedom isn't free.

From Understanding Genesis: The Lord said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" And he said - "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4.9)

"The Bible wishes to establish emphatically the moral principle that man is indeed his brother's keeper and that all homicide is at the same time fratricide."

From me: I have heard myself and others make comments to the tune of, "She's not my problem" or "That's for him to deal with" or "Sucks for him" or "Wish I could do more, but it's not really my responsibility"... but the point of the story is that it is.

This is our world and it is what we make of it, you know? And these people? Yah, the ones we despise as well as the ones we love are our responsibility to take care of, to help, to be helped by.

Reminds me of Jesus words regarding loving the loveable being the easy thing to do. He called us beyond that to help restore humanity, to bring shalom (lit. health, wholeness, peace) to this earth.

This world is not going to hell in a hand-basket. This world is not God-forsaken. This world is not hopeless.

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