Picture credit : http://english.sina.com/p/1/2008/0709/170758.html3 Days. In three days our country begins its recovery.
This picture is of Tai Shan, a panda at the Smithsonian Zoo, celebrating his third birthday earlier this year. The fruit circle, cut to make the numeral, is made of water and gelatin. Tai Shan is the first surviving panda born at the zoo, and still lives with his parents in the National Zoo Fujifilm Giant Panda Habitat. If you are going to Washington over the next few days, maybe you can visit Tai Shan.
Rev. Ed Dobson made pledge to live for a year like Jesus (Story). Dobson was one of the founders of the Moral Majority in the 1980's, now he is vice president for spiritual formation at Cornerstone University.
"The one-time architect of the religious right is in hot water with some conservatives over his statement that living like Jesus during 2008 influenced him to vote for Barack Obama -- his first presidential vote for a Democrat."
"Dobson acknowledged he has been criticized for linking his Obama vote to Jesus. While disagreeing with Obama on abortion, Dobson said the Democrat was closest to the spirit of Jesus' teachings of compassion and peace."
And while we are on the subject of compassion and peace, how about Kay Warren, the "purpose-driven wife" of now-controversial pastor Rick Warren, reminding us of this:
She spoke at Judson college in Marion, AL, and praised Obama for leading the way on HIV testing. She compared today's AIDS epidemic to the biblical references to leprosy.
"I challenge you to find anyplace in the Bible where Jesus asks how someone became sick," she said.
Warren, or Jesus for that matter, was not concerned about people's "lifestyles," to use a divisive term not used in his day. He cared about ministering, healing, bringing the downtrodden and the outcasts into the fold.
If only more of the churches that claim to follow Jesus would actually do so. You've got your angry, judgemental philosophy (and God) or your compassionate, loving philosophy (or God).
I will choose to follow the one Ed Dobson is following this year. The loving, compassionate One.
21 comments:
Joe,
You are singing my theme song. I loved the post.
Dianne
Thanks Dianne. It's a song that we can all sing along with. Well, most of us anyway.
"Rev." Bill,
I pray that you read my column in The Western Tribune next week. It is meant for people exactly, and I mean precisely, like you.
There is a lot that you could learn.
If you don't get the paper, it will be posted here on Wednesday or Thursday
Never heard of The Western Tribune.
The Western Tribune is the Bessemer Weekly newspaper. I write a column published each week.
I post the column on this blog each Wednesday or Thursday.
Surely you have heard of it.
rev. bill, The Western Star is the Bessemer weekly newspaper. The Tribune was started by the guy who got fired from The Western Star b/c of....well, I don't think we can say because Joe will delete it. The Western Star is like 30 years old. The Western Tribune is like a year old.
My aunt used to work for The Western Star as a reporter.
Oh yes, Bill, the Western Star, of which the last editor left after being found out to be a plagiarist and to unethical publishing of fake letters, and which is without an editor now.
Kristi, the column is targeted to you also. And to John.
Here is what tells a lot. You all can come on here everyday. You can post negative comments every day. You call yourselves Christians. But you cannot find it in yourselves to post a comment to wish an elderly lady a happy 100th birthday.
Can anyone find a way to do away with this pathetic blog. It is apparent that this guy has NO CLUE.
randy cant for the life of me understand why you [or anyone else]make the effort to read a blog that you dont like.
i can understand people having different points of view [seeing through different glasses] but to go to a blog or website that you have already decided you dont like is beyond me.
perhaps you are the web police or maybe like bush the world police.
im sure that the internet has plenty of sites that neither of us like.
i just dont go there.
i just wonder why you do?
good fortune to you
Because lipscomb, I live in Bessemer. Have live here for 35 years. This blog is called Bessemer Opinions, but the Opinions here do not reflect the majority of the people in bessemer.
You have a liberal homosexual, who writes in a weekly paper that, on the streets, is the laughing stock of our town, and so I guess I come here for comic relief more than anything else.
Joe should change the name to gay-liberal opinions, not Bessemer opinions.
There is still hope for our town, but no thanks to this blog.
ditto randy. Longtime Bessemer resident here. I concur.
i too am a longtime bessemer resident. however i disagree with randy who said the opinions here do not reflect the majority of the people.
joe's opinions reflect the policies of the democratic party, for the most part. the bessemer people vote democtatic and voted heavily for barack obama.
i dont agree with joe 100% of the time, but come on, this nation and this town,are progressing, and joe is right on target
Oh please rob. the majority of bessemer voted for obama and we both know why. I am a business owner. I challenge you to go around our town and talk to business owners and ask them who they supported in the election. I assure you that the majority of them would not say obama. I am a member of the chamber of commerce and of one of our civic organizations. If you attended the chamber golf tourney back in October, you would have heard many of our business owners talking about how much they hoped obama would not be elected. I was sitting at a table of probably 12 bessemer business people and ALL OF THEM were voting McCain.
There is no doubt that Joe's vies reflect that of the democratic party, but if you call Government control progressive, you are very mistaken.
Joe, I'm getting late to this article but I'm delighted that Dr. Dobson took the position he did. Perhaps he is growing more and more into one who has the true spirit of Christ, a spirit of love. Reading the comments, however, I am reminded that not everyone is in the same place - or on the same journey. Keep up the good work!
Randy,
Residents, not business owners, vote. Many who own businneses here don't live here.
Yes we voted to Obama for one reason: to save our nations reputation, and (I guess this makes two reasons) because we believe he is the best prepared and posseses the skills and qualities to solve our nations probems.
Rob, thanks for your input. Come back frequently.
Richard, thank you too. I just hope Dobson holds on to the truth he has discovered.
Randy,
One would get the idea that you believe the chamber is a white supremist group or something. I know plenty of Chamber members who supported Obama. And I belong to a civic group too. And I believe between 80 and 90 % or more of them voted for Obama.
People like me study the issues, and study the views of the candidates. That is why we voted for Obama.
Do you not watch the news? Do you have friends in other countries? We do. All over. We here from them all, how their view of America improved with the election of Obama. Like Bono (U2) said, this gives America a chance to be America.
There is more out there than your little white world. We are a diverse country, and as Barack said, black, white, gay, straight...we are all Americans. "We Are One." Except for you, I guess.
Now that Randy is reveling his racist leanings and Kristi is suggesting a threat against the president, comments are cut off.
Well, they are being moderated.
Kristi and Randy are backtracking. Kristi has let me know that she was not suggesting a threat, and Randy wants us to know that he is not racist.
OK. I believe them both. Really.
But the new rules still apply.
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