Karl's comments

"If you desire peace..."

2012-01-20T12:00:00.001+02:00

If you desire peace, cultivate justice, but at the same time cultivate the field to produce more bread; otherwise there will be no peace.

- Norman Borlaug
from his Nobel Lecture
as quoted on God's Politics

Tech support call

2012-01-19T06:00:00.001+02:00

Tech support: What’s on your monitor now, ma’am?
Customer: A teddy bear my boyfriend bought for me at the 7-11.

Source: funnymos.com

Sign at the entrance to a shop in Mallorca

2012-01-18T06:00:00.001+02:00

- English well talking.
- Here speeching American.

The price of freedom

2012-01-17T12:00:00.001+02:00

The price of freedom is to allow freedom. Very few people are willing to pay the price.

- Leonard Jacobson
as quoted on Child of Illusion

Word play: Balderdash

2012-01-16T06:00:00.001+02:00

The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words. One of the winners is:

Balderdash, n. A rapidly receding hairline.

The English language needs this...

Thanks to the Episcopal Padre!

Emerson on the envoys of beauty

2012-01-13T06:00:00.001+02:00

If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would we believe and adore; and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown! But every night come out these envoys of beauty, and light the universe with their admonishing smile.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson,
from his essay "Nature"
as quoted on God's Politics

RF: Mediocre Samaritan

2012-01-12T08:14:00.002+02:00

Hendrix on power and love

2012-01-11T12:00:00.001+02:00

When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.

- Jimi Hendrix
as quoted on Facebook

Punny humour

2012-01-10T06:00:00.001+02:00

When the smog lifts in Los Angeles , U.C.L.A.

Thanks to Bailey's Buddy!

King on human salvation

2012-01-09T17:01:00.001+02:00

Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.

- Martin Luther King, Jr.,
in Strength to Love (1963),
as quoted on Facebook

Schoolboy Howler

2012-01-05T06:00:00.001+02:00

Al Chemy was a man who discovered chemistry.

"All I ask of those in authority"

2012-01-04T06:00:00.001+02:00

All I ask of those in authority over me is that they are better at their job than I would be. This is not arrogance on my behalf. It is simply what I need to be able to do my job.

- MadPriest

Finland: Vicar in registered partnership

2012-01-03T18:00:00.001+02:00

In western Finland, not far from Turku, there is a small municipality called Koski. The parish is, of course, equally small, with some 2.500 members. The vicar, Terhi Latvala, is a woman, and she recently formed a civil partnership with the parish’s youth deacon, another woman called Katri Tuori.
At first, the good people of Koski were stunned, but they soon came to accept the situation. Only a few discordant voices were heard. These were, naturally, the ones that the yellow press seized on.
But the fact of the matter is that the vicar of Koski is a lesbian, living openly with her partner, and no-one gives a hoot.

Good for Koski!

And congratulations to the new partners!

Latvala ja Tuori virallistivat parisuhteensa (Auranmaan Viikkolehti 25.11.11)
Työntekijöiden rekisteröity parisuhde puhuttaa Kosken seurakunnassa (Kotimaa 25.11.11)
Lesbopappi kuohuttaa pikkukunnassa (Iltalehti 14.12.11)
Lesbo kirkkoherra hämmentää Koskella - nai nuorisodiakonsa! (Hymy 15.12.11)

Biblical morning coffee

2012-01-02T09:40:00.000+02:00

A couple argued about who should brew the morning coffee. The wife gets really annoyed and says: "Men HAVE to make the coffee. It says so in the Bible!"
Her husband demanded that she show him. She fetched the Bible and showed it to him. At the top of the page, it said "HEBREWS".

Found it on Facebook.

King on the importance of the law

2011-12-23T12:00:00.002+02:00

It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important.

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

as quoted on Twitter

MadPriest on learning from your sins

2011-12-20T12:00:00.001+02:00

It is far, far easier and less painful to learn from the sins of your past than it is to learn from the sins of your present.

- MadPriest

Gather in by scattering

2011-12-19T12:00:00.002+02:00

Do not lose by saving, but gather in by scattering. Give to the poor, and you give to yourself. You will not be allowed to keep what you have refused to give others.

- Saint Peter Chrysologus
Sermon 43
as quoted on God's Politics

King's most urgent question

2011-12-16T12:00:00.002+02:00

Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

as quoted on Twitter

Tech support call

2011-12-15T06:00:00.002+02:00

Customer: I have problems printing in red…
Tech support: Do you have a color printer?
Customer: Aaaah……………… thank you.

Source: funnymos.com

Sign in a hotel in Japan

2011-12-14T06:00:00.002+02:00

Is forbitten to steal hotel towels please. If you are not person to do such thing is please not to read notice.
You are invited to take advantage of the chambermaid.

Truman on Moses' poll

2011-12-13T12:00:00.001+02:00

How far would Moses have gone if he had taken a poll in Egypt?

- Harry S. Truman
as quoted on Child of Illusion

That's bad!

2011-12-12T06:00:00.002+02:00

I am a Nobody.
Nobody is Perfect.
Therefore I am Perfect.

Thanks to Wounded Bird!

King on our means

2011-12-09T12:00:00.000+02:00

Means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek.

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

as quoted on Twitter

RF: Medicated Greeter

2011-12-08T06:00:00.002+02:00

To hesitate to tell the truth

2011-12-06T12:00:00.001+02:00

The moment we begin to fear the opinions of others and hesitate to tell the truth that is in us, and from motives of policy are silent when we should speak, the divine floods of light and life flow no longer in our souls.

- Elizabeth Cady Stanton
speech to the National American Woman Suffrage Association, 1890,
as quoted on God's Politics

Punny humour

2011-12-05T06:00:00.001+02:00

A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months.

Thanks to Bailey's Buddy!

John Paul II on the responsibility for war

2011-12-04T12:00:00.001+02:00

The responsibility for war rests not only with those who directly cause war, but also with those who do not do everything in their power to prevent it.

- Pope John Paul II
in Catholic Relief Services: the Beginning Years by Eileen Egan
(NY: Catholic Relief Services, 1988), pp. 155-156
as quoted on God's Politics

Lincoln on peace

2011-12-03T12:00:00.001+02:00

Peace does not appear so distant as it did. I hope it will come soon, and come to stay; and so come as to be worth the keeping in all future time.

- Abraham Lincoln
Letter to James C. Conkling, Aug. 26, 1863
as quoted on God's Politics

King on what we will remember

2011-12-02T12:00:00.001+02:00

We will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

as quoted on Twitter

Schoolboy Howler

2011-12-01T06:00:00.003+02:00

The Andes are a race of people living in North America.

The nun and the cabbie

2011-11-30T06:00:00.001+02:00

A cabbie picks up a Nun. She gets into the cab, and notices that the VERY handsome cab driver won't stop staring at her.
She asks him why he is staring. He replies: "I have a question to ask, but I don't want to offend you."
She answers, " My son, you cannot offend me. When you're as old as I am and have been a nun as long as I have, you get a chance to see and hear just about everything. I'm sure that there's nothing you could say or ask that I would find offensive."
"Well, I've always had a fantasy to have a nun kiss me."
She responds, "Well, let's see what we can do about that: #1, you have to be single and #2, you must be Catholic."
The cab driver is very excited and says, "Yes, I'm single and Catholic!"
"OK" the nun says. "Pull into the next alley."
The nun fulfills his fantasy with a kiss that would make a hooker blush.

But when they get back on the road, the cab driver starts crying.
"My dear child," said the nun, "Why are you crying?"
"Forgive me but I've sinned. I lied and I must confess; I'm married and I'm Jewish."
The nun says, "That's OK. My name is Kevin and I'm going to a Halloween party."

Thanks to Mrs. Karl!

To change and to risk

2011-11-29T12:00:00.001+02:00

To change is to risk something. That makes us insecure.
Not to change is the bigger risk, but it seldom feels that way.

- Waterman

as quoted on Facebook

The blonde and the Christmas stamps

2011-11-28T06:00:00.001+02:00

A blonde goes to the post office to buy stamps for her Christmas cards. She says to the clerk: "May I have fifty Christmas stamps?"
The clerk asks: "What denomination?"
She answers: "God help us! Has it come to this? Give me 22 Catholic, 12 Presbyterian, 10 Lutheran and 6 Baptist."

Thanks to MadPriest!

Peace, justice, and truth

2011-11-27T12:00:00.000+02:00

Peace is the experience of justice, and you can't have justice without truth.

- Ray McGovern
Activist and former CIA analyst
as quoted on God's Politics

Tech support call

2011-11-26T06:00:00.001+02:00

Customer: Hi, good afternoon, this is Martha, I can’t print. Every time I try, it says ‘Can’t find printer’. I’ve even lifted the printer and placed it in front of the monitor, but the computer still says he can’t find it…

King on hate

2011-11-25T12:00:00.002+02:00

Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man’s sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true.

- Martin Luther King, Jr.
as quoted on God's Politics

The source of power

2011-11-24T12:00:00.001+02:00

Power understood as the ability to accomplish desired ends is present in human relationships no matter how particular communities or societies are organized. Nevertheless, Christian communities recognize that the source of power in their life is the love of Christ which inspires and directs them. This is a style of power not of coercion but of empowerment of others.... It also connects to those at the margins of society who search for word of God’s love and justice.

- Letty M. Russell
in Church in the Round
as quoted on God's Politics

Punny humour

2011-11-23T06:00:00.001+02:00

If you don't pay your exorcist you can get repossessed.

Thanks to Bailey's Buddy!

Hill on judging another person

2011-11-22T12:00:00.001+02:00

No accurate thinker will judge another person by that which the other person's enemies say about him.

- Napoleon Hill (1883-1970)
as quoted on Child of Illusion

Sign in a furrier's window in Sweden

2011-11-21T06:00:00.001+02:00

Fur coats made for ladies from their own skin.

Darwin on adapting to change

2011-11-20T12:00:00.001+02:00

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.

- Charles Darwin

as quoted on Child of Illusion

You know that your dog has trained you well when ...

2011-11-19T06:00:00.001+02:00

... you sit on the floor if the dog got in the chair first.

From Of Course I Could Be On Vacation ... with my thanks!

King on an appalling silence

2011-11-18T12:00:00.000+02:00

History will record that the greatest tragedy of social transition was not the clamor of bad people, but the appalling silence of the good.

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

as quoted on Twitter

You know that your dog has trained you well when ...

2011-11-17T06:00:00.003+02:00

... you talk to your dog when you are driving. He answers.

From Of Course I Could Be On Vacation ... with my thanks!

X on a crushing society

2011-11-16T12:00:00.000+02:00

I have no mercy or compassion in me for a society that will crush people, and then penalize them for not being able to stand up under the weight.

- Malcolm X
as quoted on Child of Illusion

RF: Rich Camel in Heaven

2011-11-15T06:00:00.001+02:00

Nigeria: Dune James Rike, David Usman, Mark Ojunta, Monday Hassan et al.

2011-11-14T18:00:00.001+02:00

Examples of violent acts of the Muslim extremists from the Boko Haram sect in Nigeria during the last months:

4.5.11. Muslim extremists attacked Kurum village (Bauchi state) in a rampage that began at midnight. James Musa Rike, pastor of a Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) congregation in Kurum, said that after killing two of the couple’s children, Faith and 1-year-old Fyali, the assailants cut his wife’s abdomen with a machete. Dune James Rike was aged 35 when she died.
Pastor Rike next heard the cries of his 13-year-old daughter, Sum, a few meters away. He rushed to her, only to discover that she too was cut with a machete on her stomach, and her intestines were all around her. She said that the Muslim militants told her they would kill her and “see how your Jesus will save you.” The girl told her father that she responded by telling them that Jesus had already saved her, and that by killing her they would only be making it possible for her to be with Him. Pastor Rike prayed for her as she died.
Shooting and setting homes on fire, the Muslim extremists killed 12 other Christians in the attack. Bauchi police reported 16 people dead – one man, three women and 12 children.
Pastor Rike and his son survived the attack, and his adopted daughter, Whulham, was injured and receiving treatment at the General Hospital in Bogoro.

7.6.11. The Rev. David Usman, 45, a COCIN pastor, and church secretary Hamman Andrew were shot and killed by members of Boko Haram in an area of Maiduguri (Borno state) called the Railway Quarters. The area was the base of Boko Haram until 2009, when Nigerian security agencies and the military demolished its headquarters and captured and killed the sect’s leader, Mohammed Yusuf, and some of his followers.

27.8.11. Mark Ojunta, a 36-year-old evangelist from southern Nigeria who was ministering amid the Kotoko people of Borno state with Calvary Ministries (CAPRO) was shot and killed in Maiduguri by Boko Haram.
CAPRO International Director Amos Aderonmu said Ojunta died “as a martyr on his field among the Kotokos.” CAPRO had learned that all its staff members working among the Shuwa Arab, Kotoko and Kanuri peoples were on a Boko Haram list of people to be killed and had evacuated them, Aderonmu said.
Ojunta had returned to teach a class after the evacuation of his family. He is survived by his wife and two children, besides his parents and sisters. He was buried in his home state of Abia.

17.9.11. In guerrilla style typical of recent Islamic extremist attacks in northern Nigeria, about 15 gunmen stormed three houses in Ungwan Rana Bitaro village (Kaduna state) at midnight, leaving three dead and eight wounded.
Three houses were attacked by before the attackers retreated into surrounding bushes. When they came, they brought out the members of these families and started shooting them and cutting some of them with machetes. Killed were Monday Hassan (55), his daughter Godiya (13), and his nephew, Istifanus Daniel (35).

22.9.11. In the town of Madala (Niger state), suspected militants from Boko Haram went to shops owned by Christians at a market at about 8 p.m., ordering them to recite verses from the Quran. If the Christian traders were unable to recite the verses, the gunmen shot and killed them. The sound of the gunshots compelled Christians to call the police, and officers arrived to find five Christians had already been killed.

Nigerian Pastor’s Wife, Children among Christians Killed in Attack (CDN 10.5.11)
Pastor, Church Official Shot Dead in Nigeria (CDN 10.6.11)
Muslim Extremists from Niger Help Kill Christians in Nigeria (CDN 31.8.11)
Muslim Extremists in Nigeria Kill Christians in Two States (CDN 27.9.11)
Islamic Extremist Group Kills Another Christian in Nigeria (CDN 17.10.11)
Nigeria: Den muslimska sekten Boko Haram dödar kristna (Kalles kyrkliga kommentarer 18.10.11)

King on scientific and spiritual power

2011-11-13T12:00:00.001+02:00

Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

as quoted on Twitter

Do not condemn

2011-11-12T12:00:00.001+02:00

Do not condemn the judgment of another because it differs from your own. You may both be wrong.

- Dandamis
as quoted on QuoteFame.com

King on the need to evolve a new method

2011-11-11T12:00:00.003+02:00

Man must evolve for all human conflict a method rejecting revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

as quoted on Twitter

ELCF extends hand to immigrants

2011-11-10T18:00:00.001+02:00

A remnant of the bond between Church and State in Finland is the fact that members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF) have to have a registered home municipality in Finland. Citizenship is not required, however.

Now, the ELCF is endeavouring to help immigrants join its ranks. Most immigrants, a majority of which are nominally Christian, do have a registered home municipality, but some, especially refugees, do not.
In September, the House of Bishops gave support to a change in the law to allow immigrants to join even if they do not have a registered home municipality. Archbishop Kari Mäkinen says the aim is to ensure that immigrants could join any congregation without legal obstacles. I welcome this move; it is about time!

The ELCF has developed various services for immigrants over the years mainly in big cities. Other denominations also offer similar services. Membership of non-Lutheran denominations such as The Finnish Free Church or the Finnish Orthodox church does not require registration.

Evangelical Lutheran Church extends hand to immigrants (YLE News 14.9.11)
Ingen finsk hemort inget hinder för medlemskap (Kyrkpressen 15.9.11)

Schoolboy Howler

2011-11-09T06:00:00.001+02:00

An epitaph is a short sarcastic poem.

MadPriest on the faith of an atheist

2011-11-08T12:00:00.002+02:00

I have too many doubts to be an atheist.
I am just not capable of such faith.

There is no greater evangelist than science itself.

- MadPriest

Nouwen on Christian unsatisfaction

2011-11-07T12:00:00.001+02:00

You are a Christian only so long as you constantly pose critical questions to the society you live in ... so long as you stay unsatisfied with the status quo and keep saying that a new world is yet to come.

- Henri Nouwen
as quoted on God's Politics

Wilde on the gutter and the stars

2011-11-06T12:00:00.001+02:00

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.

- Oscar Wilde
as quoted on God's Politics

Einstein on learning, living, and hoping

2011-11-05T12:00:00.002+02:00

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.

- Albert Einstein
as quoted on QuoteFame.com

Wilde on forgiving your enemies

2011-11-04T12:00:00.000+02:00

Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.

Oscar Wilde

Latvia: Churches defend "traditional family values"

2011-11-03T18:00:00.000+02:00

Leaders of the Lutheran, Catholic, Baptist and Adventist churches in Latvia have criticized a new social science school textbook that describes gay and lesbian life as a ”normal aspect of sexuality.” The Latvian Ministry of Education is giving in to the Churches’ demands, and that, in turn, is criticized by local representatives of sexual- minorities.
The Churches promise to continue to defend ”traditional family values”. ”The church isn't alone in its traditional view of the family in Latvia,” said Ivars Kubcis, spokesman for the country's Evangelical Lutheran church (ELCL).

About a quarter of the Latvians are Lutherans and Catholics, respectively, while some six per cent are Orthodox.
Latvia decriminalized homosexuality as late as 1993, and was the last EU member to forbid discrimination of homosexuals in 2006.

Latvian churches reiterate condemnation of homosexuality (ENInews 17.6.11)
Latvian kirkot paheksuvat oppikirjaa (Kotimaa24 23.6.11)

CofS pastors must perform marriages

2011-11-02T18:00:00.001+02:00

In the year 2009, the General Synod of the (Lutheran) Church of Sweden decided to enlarge the concept of marriage to include same-sex couples. In other words, a gender neutral marriage was created. Pastors who conscienciously objected to the new order were to be allowed to refrain from marrying same-sex couples.
In spite of this, a handful of oastors elected to apply to have their licence to perform marriages revoked. The state office called Kammarkollegiet granted them this.

At the end of October, 2011, the General Synod discussed the situation at length. The decision taken (161 votes for, 77 against) was that no pastor can be allowed to give up his or her licence, since performing marriages is an integral part of the work of a parish pastor. If any pastor can't perform same-sex marriages, other arrangements can be made.
The licence to perform marriages is not owned by the pastor, proponents said. It is the Church that applies for it from the State on its pastors' behalf. If you want to be a pastor, you can't just pick and choose.

Det är inte prästen som äger vigselrätten (Marta Axner 25.10.11)
Vigselbehörighet för alla präster (Kyrkans Tidning 28.10.11)
Backlash för Frimodig Kyrka (Karin Långström Vinge 31.10.11)
Alla präster ska ha vigselbehörighet (Dagen 1.11.11)

Tech support call

2011-11-01T06:00:00.001+02:00

Tech support: Click on the ‘my computer’ icon on the left of the screen.
Customer: Your left or my left?

Sign in a dry cleaner's in Rome

2011-10-31T06:00:00.001+02:00

Ladies, leave your clothes here and spend the afternoon having a good time.

MadPriest on the final questions

2011-10-30T12:00:00.001+02:00

People who excuse their actions by claiming that "the real world" is too complicated to always tell the truth or to always act with complete integrity, are the ones who make things complicated in the first place. The final questions we will all have to answer one day will be very simple, requiring only the reply, "yes" or "no."

- MadPriest

Keller on faith

2011-10-29T12:00:00.002+03:00

Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light.

- Helen Keller
as quoted on QuoteFame.com

Sign in a tailor's shop on Rhodes

2011-10-28T06:00:00.001+03:00

Order your summer suit. Because is big rush we will execute customers in strict order.

Italian proverb

2011-10-27T12:00:00.002+03:00

After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box.

- Italian proverb
as quoted on QuoteFame.com

King on transforming an enemy

2011-10-26T12:00:00.001+03:00

Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

as quoted on Twitter

Uganda: Susan Ithungu

2011-10-25T18:00:00.001+03:00

Susan Ithungu, a 14-year-old girl in western Uganda, was hospitalized in October 2010 after neighbours with police help rescued her from her muslim father, Beya Baluku, who had locked her in a room with almost no food or water for months. He was arrested shortly afterward but quickly released, sources said. Ten months later, she was still unable to walk.

Susan and her younger brother lived alone with their father after he divorced their mother. In March 2010 an evangelist spoke at Susan’s school, and she decided to trust Christ for her salvation.
After a month, news reached her father that she had converted to Christianity. He warned his children not to attend church or listen to the gospel message. He also threatened them with a sharp knife that he was ready to kill them in broad daylight in case we converted.
He then locked Susan up in a room for six months without seeing sunlight. Her brother was warned not to tell anyone that Susan was locked up in a room and not being given any food. When their father was away, the brother roasted bananas for his sister and dug a hole under the door to pour water through. Susan could drink the water using her tongue, but most days she could only feed on mud.

Neighbours became concerned after not seeing Susan for several months. After they reported the case, the police went to the house, broke down the door, and took Susan to hospital. Her hair had turned yellow, she had long fingernails and sunken eyes, and weighed less than 20 kg. It is unknown when she will be released. Though she can’t walk, she can now talk. She is still feeding on soft foods, but is still strong in the Lord Jesus Christ. She needs prayers and support, so that she can resume her education soon.

Girl in Uganda Loses Use of Legs after Leaving Islam for Christ (CDN 11.8.11)

A UN enquiry

2011-10-24T06:00:00.001+03:00

The UN sent out an enquiry:
WOULD YOU PLEASE GIVE YOUR HONEST OPINION ABOUT SOLUTIONS TO THE FOOD SHORTAGE IN THE REST OF THE WORLD?

It was a fiasco:
Eastern Europe didn't know what “honest” meant.
Western Europe didn't know what “shortage” meant.
Africa didn't know what “food” meant.
China didn't know what “opinion” meant.
The Middle East didn't know what “solution” meant.
The USA didn't know what “the rest of the world” meant.

Found it on Facebook.
Thank you, Karin!

Justice and the Kingdom of God

2011-10-23T12:00:00.000+03:00

Justice is like the Kingdom of God - it is not without us as a fact, it is within us as a great yearning.

- George Eliot
in Romola
as quoted on God's Politics

God loves heterosexuals, too

2011-10-22T12:00:00.000+03:00

The Bible contains six admonishments to homosexuals and 362 admonishments to heterosexuals. That doesn't mean that God doesn't love heterosexuals. It's just that they need more supervision.

- Lynn Lavner
as quoted in a comment on CBC News

MadPriest on animal and human characteristics

2011-10-21T12:00:00.001+03:00

To believe that animals have the same characteristics as human beings is anthropomorphism. To believe that human beings have the same characteristics as animals is just plain common sense.

- MadPriest

Someday...

2011-10-20T12:00:00.001+03:00

Someday they'll give a war and nobody will come.

- Carl Sandburg
as quoted on God's Politics

Tech support call

2011-10-19T06:00:00.003+03:00

Tech support: Good day. How may I help you?
Male customer: Hello… I can’t print.
Tech support: Would you click on “start” for me and…
Customer: Listen pal; don’t start getting technical on me! I’m not Bill Gates.

Sign on the faucet in a washroom in Finland

2011-10-18T06:00:00.001+03:00

To stop the drip, turn cock to right.

Every day, light your small candle

2011-10-17T12:00:00.001+03:00

It is so important not to let ourselves off the hook or to become apathetic or cynical by telling ourselves that nothing works or makes a difference. Every day, light your small candle. ...
The inaction and actions of many human beings over a long time contributed to the crises our children face, and it is the action and struggle of many human beings over time that will solve them — with God's help. So every day, light your small candle.

- Marian Wright Edelman
in Guide My Feet
as quoted on God's Politics

Interdependent love

2011-10-16T12:00:00.006+03:00

Knowing one's self, finding one's self, and expending one's self for another are intertwined activities. Love of self, love of God, and love of neighbor are interdependent.

- Sidney Callahan
in With All Our Heart and Mind
as quoted on God's Politics

Punny humour

2011-10-15T06:00:00.001+03:00

With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress.

Thanks to Bailey's Buddy!

That's bad!

2011-10-14T06:00:00.002+03:00

In just two days from now, tomorrow will be yesterday.

Thanks to Wounded Bird!

King on waging war

2011-10-13T12:00:00.002+03:00

It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it.

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

as quoted on Twitter

RF: Wait ... nope

2011-10-12T06:00:00.002+03:00

Digging for truth

2011-10-11T18:00:00.001+03:00

On August 8, 2011, the Huffington Post published an article by Levi Ben-Shmuel, entitled Digging for Truth: How Deep Are You Willing to Go? Starting from the archaeological dig of the City of David in Jerusalem, the author challenges us to seek the truth, spiritual or otherwise, regardless of our preconceptions. An exerpt:

As archaeologists dig deeper into the earth to uncover new truths about the past, their findings have the potential to upend our understanding of religion and the role of God in its unfolding. Their search for truth mirrors our personal search for it. To reach a deeper level of truth, we need to dig into our own "debris." As we do our personal excavations and new information is revealed, the willingness to let go of beliefs that no longer serve us is crucial to personal and spiritual growth.
It is easy to find reasons not to begin the digging. For many, letting go of what is known and comfortable is a daunting task. The fear of what might be found in the darkness can be profound. It is easier to hold on to what is "truth" and forgo the dirty business of exploration.
Finding the courage to put cherished beliefs up for examination is the hallmark of true inquiry, whether it is scientific or spiritual. One quality that makes this kind of inquiry possible is humility. Being humble does not mean erasing one's opinions or submitting to another's will. The essence of humility is knowing one's rightful place in life. True humility recognizes the limits inherent in the human mind in the face of the awesomeness of a universe that is expanding, filled with mystery and might be infinite.

The article is not very long, but well worth reading - and pondering!

Punny humour

2011-10-10T06:00:00.003+03:00

A will is a dead giveaway.

Thanks to Bailey's Buddy!

Einstein on miracles

2011-10-09T12:00:00.001+03:00

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is.

- Albert Einstein
as quoted on Facebook

The church is not a nurse

2011-10-08T12:00:00.002+03:00

The church ... cannot be content to play the part of a nurse looking after the casualties of the system. It must play an active part both in challenging the present unjust structures and in pioneering alternatives.

- Donald Dorr
Catholic missionary priest
as quoted on God's Politics

Eviction notice recieved

2011-10-07T00:01:00.001+03:00

In Porvoo, chaplains (second pastors, curates, whatever we're called in your tradition) have been living in Kaplansgården (Chaplain's House) since 1763. Four years ago, I became the latest in the series. Little did I suspect that I would also be the last.
The parishes of Porvoo have decided to break this tradition just before it would celebrate its quarter millennium in 2013. Last week, we recieved our eviction notice and have to move out before the end of March, 2012.

This is, of course, sad news on a personal level. Where will we move? Should we buy a house or go on renting? How about the children's school? There are many questions and problems to be considered.
The way the eviction was handled also shows little regard for the human side of the story. I knew that the decision was coming on October 5, but last week the leading bureaucrats all of a sudden were in a great hurry to present the eviction notice. Since we have a legal six month period of grace starting from the end of the calender month in which the notice is presented, they wanted it done in September rather that October, so we'd be out in March rather than April. This in spite of the fact that the decision itself hadn't been made yet.
I think this is very poor personnel management, and am now thinking seriously about whether or not I can remain in the employ of such a "firm" or whether I should start looking elsewhere. One problem there is my vociferous engagement for the rights of sexual minorities within the ELCF, which has made me persona non grata in many circles, and which might affect my job seeking negatively. We'll have to see how it goes.

But what saddens me the most, I think, is the lack of historical sensibility that the bureaucrats and the Church Council displays in this matter. It seems to be enough that our Cathedral stems from the XIII Century - other historically valuable buildings don't count (Kaplansgården is not the only object to be sold). What counts is their economical value. Yes, by selling Kaplansgården, the parishes would probably net a round million Euros to be used for many good things, but a million is not that much money, after all. In a few years (if that!) it will be gone, and so will a bit of the city's and the church's history.

"A people who forgets its history has no past - and no future."
- Robert A. Heinlein

See previous blogs in Swedish here and here.

Estonia - the world's 'least religious' country

2011-10-06T18:00:00.000+03:00

I love Estonia, Finland's neighbour to the south.
We have no land border, but are separated by the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea that I have lived by all my life. Estonia is closer to Helsinki and Porvoo than most of the rest of Finland, as a matter of fact - the city of Tampere is some 200 km to the north, which isn't so much, but Tallinn is even closer, only some 70 km to the south. Of course, in travel time the difference isn't so big, as Tampere is two hours by train from Helsinki, while Tallinn is two hours by ferry. But Lapland is so, so far away. The distance from Porvoo to the north of Lapland is equal to the distance to, say, Berlin.

For some years now, I have been engaged in S:t John Aid in Estonia (Johanniitide Abi Eestis), and this summer I got fed up with only knowing a bit of Estonian, so I have promised myself to learn the language properly. Which isn't too hard, since it is a fairly close relative to Finnish. You just have to be wary of the pitfalls - words that sound similar but have entirely different meaning. "Pulma" means problem in Finnish, but "pulmad" means wedding in Estonian, for instance. Not that the meaning is so different there, perhaps...

But our modern history separates us. While Finland was able to stay out of the Soviet Union after WWII, Estonia and the other Baltic states, Latvia and Lithuania, were annexed. This has had far-reaching consequences, of course, both economically and culturally.
One consequence is on the religious front. The Soviet anti-religious propaganda struck hard in many parts of the union. In Finland, some 80% of the population belongs to the Lutheran church. In modern-day Estonia, only 13% do, and yet the Lutheran church is the country's largest. A colleague in Tallinn said that he avoids wearing ecclesiastical garb in public because of the negative reactions he gets. I use it myself, since it often gives people an opportunity to contact the pastor and talk a bit. But that is at home in Finland, of course.

This does naturally not mean that Estonians are unspiritual. It only means that they now seek their answers outside of the churches. Which is their right, but it also shows that half a century of violent propaganda can have an effect on a good people. It is sad.

Spirituality in Estonia - the world's 'least religious' country (BBC News 26.8.11)
The Least Religious Country in the World (Aqurette 26.8.11)
Estonia: "We do not tolerate homosexuality" (Karl's comments 6.9.11)

Sunshine and smiles

2011-10-05T12:00:00.001+03:00

What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity.

- Joseph Addison
as quoted on QuoteFame.com

King on stronger right

2011-10-04T12:00:00.000+03:00

Right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

as quoted on Twitter

Israel: Serge and Naama Kogen

2011-10-03T18:00:00.001+03:00

A hard-line Jewish ultra-Orthodox group in Israel, Yad L’Achim, that singles out Jewish Christians known as Messianic Jews for harassment and abuse is taking aim at a couple it claims is manipulating minors into becoming Christians.
In late June, 2011, the group placed leaflets around the home of Serge and Naama Kogen, 37 and 42 respectively, in Mevasseret Zion, a suburban community located just west of Jerusalem. The same week someone took out a full-page ad in a local newspaper giving the couple’s address and telling residents they were part of a missionary group “targeting” the community. The Kogens are native Israelis and hence not part of any missionary group.
The advertisement invited the public to a protest planned against the Kogens, and on Sunday, June 26, about 20 of the group’s supporters demonstrated outside the couple’s home, where they denounced them over megaphones for 90 minutes.
The protests came after Yad L’Achim lost a court case against the Kogens and their congregational leader, Asher Intrater. The group had accused them of “proselytizing” minors.
During the protest, a distraught 16-year-old girl, the alleged target of the couple’s “missionary” efforts, said all of Yad L’Achim’s claims were false. Donna Lubofsky maintains that she has never converted to Christianity. She wanted to speak at the protest to give her side of what happened, but the organizers wouldn’t let her, she said.
“They are all liars, all liars! Ask them, why won’t they let me speak?” Donna said at the protest. “They won’t let me speak because what they are saying is untrue. They [the Kogens] never tried to get me to believe. They are just good people.”

Read more: Messianic Christian Couple in Israel Accused of Converting Minor (CDN 2.7.11)

We worked to heal the world

2011-10-02T12:00:00.002+03:00

Great social forces are the mere accumulation of individual actions. Let the future say of our generation that we sent forth mighty currents of hope, and that we worked together to heal the world.

- Jeffrey Sachs
in The End of Poverty
as quoted on God's Politics

Tech support call

2011-10-01T06:00:00.002+03:00

Customer: Hi, this is Celine. I can’t get my diskette out.
Tech support: Have you tried pushing the button?
Customer: Yes, sure, it’s really stuck.
Tech support: That doesn’t sound good; I’ll make a note.
Customer: No, wait a minute… I hadn’t inserted it yet… it’s still on my desk… sorry…

The test of forgiving

2011-09-30T12:00:00.001+03:00

The test of forgiving lies with healing the lingering pain of the past, not with forgetting that the past ever happened.

- Lewis B. Smedes
in Forgive and Forget
as quoted on God's Politics

King on injustice anywhere

2011-09-29T12:00:00.002+03:00

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

as quoted on Twitter

RF: Naming of Anteater

2011-09-21T06:00:00.002+03:00

Luther Foundation's ordination in Orthodox parish hall

2011-09-20T18:00:00.002+03:00

The Luther Foundation is at it again.
Last Saturday, September 17, three new pastors were ordained by the Foundation's bishop Matti Väisänen (see blogs here and here) in the Orthodox parish hall in Kuopio (eastern Finland). The ELCF had denied them any venue for the ordination, so they turned to the Orthodox Church. Its leading bishop, Ambrosius, asked the Orthodox parish of Kuopio to refrain from giving space to a schismatic group in the Lutheran church, but went unheeded.
Two of the new pastors will work in eastern Finland, and the third, Sebastian Grünbaum, will build and coordinate a Swedish-speaking community in Turku in the south-west. Grünbaum has studied theology in Swedish at Åbo Akademi in Turku, where there are several strongly conservative students and teachers (among a moderate majority, I hasten to add). The Luther Foundation will thus probably reap more fruit from that Theological Faculty.

The Luther Foundation protests against female pastors and against the increasingly positive and humane attitudes towards sexual minorities within the ELCF. It is akin to the Mission Province in Sweden and has for some years ordained its own pastors. In 2010, it consecrated its own bishop. These acts are, of course, schismatic, and neither the bishop nor the pastors have any standing within the ELCF. The Foundation refuses, however, to take the logical step and form its own denomination, which would allow it to build ecumenical relations to other churches, e.g. the ELCF. Since it repeatedly breaks the rules of the ELCF, it can go on pretending that it is persecuted, which I suppose gives its members a sense of righteousness.
But I don't feel that it is quite honest to do so.

Kotimaa om Nokia och Luther (Kalles kyrkliga kommentarer 16.10.06)
Missionsprovinsen till Finland? (Kalles kyrkliga kommentarer 4.12.06)
Förfalskade präster (Kalles kyrkliga kommentarer 26.1.07)
Yle: Ortodoksit tarjoavat Luther-säätiölle tiloja pappisvihkimykseen (Kotimaa 10.8.11)
Ambrosius toivoo Kuopion ortodoksisen seurakunnan peruvan Luther-säätiö-päätöksen (Kotimaa 10.8.11)
Pappisvihkimys Kuopiossa 17.9.2011 (Suomen Luther-säätiö 30.8.11)
Lutherstiftelsen får svenskspråkig verksamhet (Kyrkpressen 5.9.11)
Konservativa ÅA-teologer stöder Lutherstiftelsen (Hufvudstadsbladet 7.9.11)
Luther-säätiö vihkii ”kolme uutta pastoria” (Kotimaa 8.9.11)
Lutherstiftelsen vigde tre nya egna präster (Hufvudstadsbladet 17.9.11)
Luther-säätiö vihkii yhä pappeja kirkon vastustuksesta huolimatta (Helsingin Sanomat 17.9.11)
Paarma ennustaa: Luther-säätiö lähtee kirkosta (Ilkka 18.9.11)
Ilkka: Paarma ennustaa Luther-säätiön lähtöä (Kotimaa 18.9.11)

Algeria: Siaghi Krimo

2011-09-19T18:00:00.001+03:00

Convicting a Christian convert for insulting the prophet of Islam, a judge in Algeria stunned the Christian community by sentencing him beyond what a prosecutor recommended.
In Oran, 470 kilometers west of Algiers, a criminal court in the city’s Djamel district on May 25, 2011 sentenced Siaghi Krimo to a prison term of five years for giving a CD about Christianity to a neighbour who subsequently claimed he had insulted Muhammad. Krimo was also fined 200,000 Algerian dinars (US$2,760), according to Algerian news reports.
The prosecutor had reportedly requested the judge sentence him to a two-year prison sentence and a fine of 50,000 Algerian dinars (US$690).
The court tried Krimo based solely on the complaint filed by his neighbour, who accused him of attempting to convert him to Christianity.
“He gave a CD to a neighbour, and for that he has to spend five years in prison,” said the president of the Protestant Church of Algeria (EPA), Mustapha Krim, trying to contain his disbelief. “The hearing went well, and the lawyer defended well, yet in the end the judge gave him the maximum punishment.”

Authorities arrested Krimo on April 14 and held him in jail for three days. On May 4 he appeared before the court in Djamel, where the prosecutor requested the two-year sentence in the absence of the neighbour who had accused him – the only witness – and any evidence.
The punishment the prosecutor requested is the minimum for Algerians found guilty of insulting Muhammad or “the messengers of God,” or anyone who “denigrates the dogma or precepts of Islam, be it via writings, drawings, statements or any other means,” according to Article 144 of the Algerian Penal Code.
Krim said that if the courts start interpreting the law as it did in Krimo’s case, then the future of Algeria’s Christians is grim.
“If they start applying the law like that, it means there is no respect for Christianity,” Krim said, “and pretty soon all the Christians of Algeria will find themselves in prison. If the simple fact of giving a CD to your neighbour costs five years in prison, this is catastrophic.”

The court delivered its verdict the same week that the governor of the province of Bejaia ordered the closing of seven Protestant churches.
Asked if he thought the court had instructions from higher officials to hand down such heavy punishment to Krimo, Krim responded with no hesitation: “It’s certain!”

Algerian Christian Sentenced Beyond Prosecutor’s Request (CDN 30.5.11)

Wilde on agreement

2011-09-18T12:00:00.002+03:00

Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong.

Oscar Wilde

Rwandan proverb

2011-09-17T12:00:00.002+03:00

You can outdistance that which is running after you, but not what is running inside you.

- Rwandan proverb
as quoted on QuoteFame.com

Shaw asks "Why not?"

2011-09-16T12:00:00.002+03:00

Some [people] see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were and ask why not.

- George Bernard Shaw
as quoted on QuoteFame.com

RF: Heaven's Trespassers

2011-09-15T06:00:00.001+03:00