The Gospel In Four Minutes

Praying for Peace and Looking for Jesus at #OccupyWallStreet

Friday marks the 10th anniversary of the United States’ invasion of Afghanistan.

In his speech this summer on the war in Afghanistan, President Obama pledged that U.S. combat troops will all leave by the end of 2014.

In the latest news, however, U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, U.S. Marine Corps General John Allen, said that "while some folks might hear that we're departing in 2014 … we're actually going to be here for a long time."

In fact, the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph has reported that the strategic agreement being negotiated between the U.S. and Afghanistan would allow thousands of troops to remain until 2024.

Sojourners produced this video to highlight the moral, human and financial costs of the war:

WAR NO MORE.

If the moral and financial costs weren’t enough to end the war, public opinion has turned against it, and its strategic importance has long been in question.

Tomorrow, the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will be more than $1.259 trillion.

Tomorrow, almost 14 million Americans will still be unemployed.

Tomorrow, the homes of more than 2,500 new U.S. families will enter foreclosure.

Tomorrow, one in seven U.S. households still won’t know where their next meal is coming from.

Tomorrow, one in four American children under the age of six will still be living below the poverty line.

Tomorrow, three billion people around the globe will still be living on less than $2.50 a day.

Tomorrow, 400 million children will still lack access to clean water.

Tomorrow, 300 children under the age of five will die in the Horn of Africa because of famine.

People are feeling crushed from all sides.

Parents who aren’t sure where their kid’s next meal will come from, and the college students who have tens of thousands of dollars in loans and can’t find a job.

Families that have lost their homes in bank foreclosures, and the tens of millions of people who live below the poverty line even though they HAVE jobs.

Problems in our nation and around the globe are huge, and the odds for overcoming them seem insurmountable.

The institutions and systems -- whether business or government -- meant to serve the people, seem beyond the reach of basic human kindness and completely unaccountable.

And the ever-widening gap between the very top one percent who control more wealth than the bottom 99 percent is a recipe for disastrous social instability and unrest.

The new movement called Occupy Wall Street now has spread across the country, from the very seats of our political and financial power and our largest cities, to suburbs and small towns. In some communities small groups of a few dozen have formed, and in some cities thousands have gathered.

In each instance, no matter the size, people’s frustrations, hurts, and feelings of being betrayed by our nation’s politicians and economic leaders are clear. They want to be heard.

We will likely see images and hear things from Occupy Wall Street demonstrators that will offend us and some that will inspire.

We’ll hear demands that we agree with and some that we don’t.

And that’s OK.

The Occupy Wall Street protests make some people nervous, while others scratch their heads, and more than a few grab their sleeping bags and join in.

There is a lot of speculation as to who the "Occupiers" are and what they might accomplish. There is much I still don’t know about the movement, but undeniably it has caught the imagination of a generation -- and that matters.

Here are a few things I do know about the Occupy Wall Street protesters:

When they stand with the poor, they stand with Jesus.

When they stand with the hungry, they stand with Jesus.

When they stand for those without a job or a home, they stand with Jesus.

When they are peaceful, nonviolent, and love their neighbors (even the ones they don’t agree with and who don’t agree with them), they are walking as Jesus walked.

When they talk about holding banks and corporations accountable, they sound like Jesus and the biblical prophets before him, who all spoke about holding the wealthy and powerful accountable.

Pray for those out on the streets.

Think of ways that you or your church can be Jesus to them.

And do one of the things that church folks do best: Bring them a covered casserole!

Take your church potluck down to the occupations. Sit, eat, and talk with the protesters. Offer them the sacred gifts of hospitality, company, and friendship.

Or a hot cup of coffee.

Or send them a pizza. (Think of it as a peace-za.)

The Occupiers' desire for change and willingness to take action to do something about it should be an inspiration to us all.

It is for me that, even after 10 years of war, we can still act and pray for peace.

For as Isaiah 2:4 says: "[God] will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore."

Tomorrow I’ll be in New York City, where I will head to the financial district to visit with Occupy Wall Street demonstrators, because they are carrying on the most interesting conversation going on in that city -- or any other -- right now.

Besides, I love a good potluck or pizza party where people imagine a better world.

Jim Wallis is the author of Rediscovering Values: A Guide for Economic and Moral Recovery, and CEO of Sojourners. He blogs at www.godspolitics.com. Follow Jim on Twitter @JimWallis.

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REJOICING OVER THE DEATH OF A SINFUL MAN

REJOICING OVER THE DEATH OF A SINFUL MAN
by Anointed Caleb Awuah on Friday, May 6, 2011 at 11:51am

Anointed Caleb Awuah -  They say Osama Bin Ladin has been killed, I see a lot of people even Christians rejoicing about it. though He was wrong for putting not America but the world to a great sorrow. We should even check where He is going. Jesus came to save people like Him and not to seek their perishing. A lot of pastor and Christians has failed for rejoicing over the death of a sinful man. What would you do when we enter Heaven and saw OSAMA BIN LADIN sitting at the right hand of GOD. You would be ashamed if you rejoice over his death. Am no sure heaven would be happy by seeing OSAMA being dead in HIS Sin.

We preach the Gospel to sinners not those who are already saved. so if you are praying or seeking all sinners death, shame on you. you are not the preacher of the Gospel and this is not the mind of God "Peter said "It is not the mind of God for anybody to perish but all men to come to repentance.

How Should Religious People Respond To Bin Laden's Death?

By Kevin Eckstrom
Religion News Service

This story was reported by Daniel Burke, Adelle M. Banks, Nicole Neroulias, Omar Sacirbey and Alessandro Speciale.

WASHINGTON (RNS) Jesus said "love your enemies." If only he had said how we should react when they die at our own hands.

After President Obama announced that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had been shot dead in Pakistan, ebullient crowds gathered outside the White House and at Ground Zero to cheer the demise of the world's most wanted terrorist, smoking cigars and breaking into chest-thumping chants of "USA! USA!"

Watching from her home in suburban Virginia, Christian ethicist Diana Butler Bass felt a growing sense of unease.

"What if we responded in reverent prayer and quiet introspection instead of patriotic frenzy?" she posted on Facebook. "That would be truly American exceptionalism."

At the Vatican, too, where church leaders had just wrapped up joyous celebrations elevating the late Pope John Paul II to one step below sainthood, officials urged caution.

"A Christian never rejoices" in the death of any man, no matter how evil, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said, but instead "reflects on the serious responsibility of each and every one of us has before God and before man."

For many Americans, bin Laden's death was quite literally an answer to prayer. Muslims who saw bin Laden as an apostate breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Ethicists and pastors searched for the appropriate space between vindication and vengeance.

U.S. special forces did what they had to do. How everyone else is supposed to feel about it is a little less clear.

"As Christians, we believe that there can be no celebrating, no dancing in the streets, no joy, in relation to the death of Osama bin Laden," Christian ethicist David Gushee said. "In obedience to Scripture, there can be no rejoicing when our enemies fall."

Indeed, the Hebrew prophet Ezekiel warned that our enemies are not necessarily God's, who takes "no pleasure in the death of wicked people," preferring only that they "turn from their wicked ways so they can live."

The questions around bin Laden's demise tended to break into two different camps: Were we right to kill him? And is his death something to cheer?

For many, what set bin Laden apart was his defiance, unrepentant violence and coldly calculating designs to rain destruction upon Americans, innocent civilians and even fellow Muslims.

"While vengeance is not a responsibility of us mortals, the pursuit of justice is," said a statement from Agudath Israel, an Orthodox umbrella group. "As believing Jews, we see in bin Laden's demise the clear hand of God."

In a larger sense, removing the singular threat of bin Laden can also lessen the violent threat of radical extremism and terrorism. Put another way, taking one life can save countless others.

"It is a sad truth that one man's death can represent a step forward in the progress of human relations," said Zainab Al-Suwaij, president of the Washington-based American Islamic Congress.

For many people, bin Laden's guilt or innocence never needed to be adjudicated in a court of law, and an American bullet to his head was judgment enough. Scholars cautioned, however, that there's a difference between judging a man's actions and judging his soul.

The Rev. John Langan, a Jesuit professor of Christian ethics at Georgetown University, said killing bin Laden to prevent future attacks is morally valid, but cautioned that vengeance is ultimately a divine, not human, right.

"I knew people who died in 9/11," Langan said. "I feel deeply the evil of that action. But I am part of a religious tradition that says that we don't make final, independent judgments about the souls of other men. That rests with God."

Which all leads back to Americans' response to the death of a madman.

"You have to have compassion, even for your enemies," said A. Rashied Omar, a research scholar at the University of Notre Dame's Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies.

"The Quran teaches that you never should allow enmity to swerve you away from compassion, because without compassion, the pursuit of justice risks becoming a cycle of revenge."

Others said there is a difference between rejoicing in bin Laden's death and finding a certain degree of satisfaction -- a "subtle but important difference," said the Rev. Jay Emerson Johnson, an Episcopal priest who teaches at the Pacific School of Religion.

"I'm not sorry Bin Laden is dead," Johnson posted on Twitter. "That's not the same thing as celebrating his death."

And that, perhaps, is where Americans will live in the coming days and weeks, caught in the gray space between satisfaction and celebration, glad that bin Laden is finally gone but not wanting to dance on anyone's grave.

"Without apology, we all sleep better in our beds knowing that Osama bin Laden is no longer a threat," said R. Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. "But celebration in the streets is something that falls short of the sobriety
that I think Christians should have on our hearts in reflecting on this event."

Celebrating a Death

Paul Brandeis 

Raushenbush

Religion Editor, Huffington Post

It is a strange and conflicting emotion to celebrate a death. My professed beliefs include the redemption of evil and the potential good in all humanity. Yet I felt a sense of exhilaration when I read the headline "DEAD" about Osama bin Laden.

For the last 10 years Osama bin Laden has exemplified the absolute worst of religion. He was a fundamentalist and a zealot in his own belief and willing to kill those who believed differently; he recruited young people into his ranks by preying on their despair; and he carried out violence in the name of God. Through actions and belief, Osama bin Laden profaned the name of God and denigrated all people of faith.

Osama bin Laden never felt any remorse for his murderous ways and the heartbreak that trailed behind him. He viewed his actions as part of a struggle that allowed him to transcend any moral concerns. He and his followers routinely slaughtered the innocent. He was ruthless in using faith as a means to the very worst ends. To reiterate what the President said in his announcement of bin Laden's death: "Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader, he was a mass murderer of Muslims." His death is satisfying not only because of what he did, but because it prevents him from doing any more violence in the future in the name of religion.

When I think of bin Laden I think of evil.

But I have to be careful in my celebrations of bin Laden's death. I was a chaplain at Columbia University during Sept. 11, 2001. Two days after the attacks, some of my students put on an art exhibit in response called Peace Kitchen. In one piece a student had put a film of bin Laden's face over a mirror so we saw our own face staring back at us through his. The point was not that there was equivalency between bin Laden and us, but to acknowledge that evil is not something that only exists outside of us that we can point to and kill once and for all. Evil doesn't work like that. All humans have the potential for grace, but we also all have the potential to sin and do evil. It is a tempting yet dangerous practice to look around the world for evil people and target them. That is just what Osama bin Laden thought he was doing. We must be vigilant that we do not become what we despise. We must be careful in the way we use religion and the name of God to further our own causes or to ever manipulate people into hate.

So, let us mute our celebrations. Let any satisfaction be grim and grounded in the foundation of justice for all who have suffered at bin Laden's bloody hands. And also justice for crimes against God -- for using God as an instrument of terror and and promoting distrust between peoples of different religions and nations. Let us put bin Laden's body in the ground, and in doing so bury his disastrous and blasphemous religious legacy.

Ultimately, judgment is not ours to make. But I believe in a just God and I believe that Osama bin Laden, for all the talk of rewards in heaven, will not be enjoying his meeting with the God of Creation.

Death of Osama bin Laden

How Should We Respond to the Death of Osama bin Laden?

by Jim Wallis 05-02-2011

This morning most Americans are feeling a sense of relief at the news that Osama bin Laden is dead. He was truly an apostle of hate, a dedicated purveyor of violence in response to every grievance, a manipulator and distorter of religion for political purposes, and a man responsible for the deaths of thousands of people. Nevertheless, it is never a Christian response to celebrate the death of any human being, even one so given over to the face of evil. Violence is always an indication of our failure to resolve our conflicts by peaceful means, and is always an occasion for deeper reflection.

A brief statement from the Vatican this morning says it well:

“Osama bin Laden, as we all know, bore the most serious responsibility for spreading divisions and hatred among populations, causing the deaths of innumerable people, and manipulating religions to this end,” said Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, who released a brief written statement reacting to the news.

“In the face of a man’s death, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibilities of each person before God and before men, and hopes and works so that every event may be the occasion for the further growth of peace and not of hatred.”

The Bible takes evil seriously and clearly says that evildoers should be held accountable for their deeds, and the state has the legitimate and important role of bringing to justice those who perpetrate terrible crimes. Osama bin Laden was perhaps the most monstrous face of the monster of terrorism in our time. But killing bin Laden has certainly not ended the problem or threat of terrorism. And it also does not vindicate the decade of perpetual war, which has been the U.S. response to the horrible attacks on 9/11 that have also resulted in thousands of other innocent casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Indeed, the problem of war is how indiscriminate it is. And it is worth noting that the special forces action that resulted in the death of bin Laden was a very focused effort to bring one perpetrator to justice, rather than just another act of war. We didn’t get bin Laden as a casualty of bombing raids or drone attacks on the city that harbored him; instead, this was the result of careful intelligence and a laser-like focus on the man most responsible for9/11. Some of us believe that should have been the U.S. strategy from the beginning.

But the death of bin Laden must become an important historical moment of reflection. How do we best respond to evil and those who perpetrate it? What have we learned in the last 10 years about what truly is the best answer to the violence of terrorism? How do we change the conditions that have allowed terrorists to pull others into their agenda? In this fallen world we are often faced with imperfect choices in response to the clear dangers of evil. Religious wisdom always has us look also at ourselves and what opportunities we have to be makers of peace. As Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn once said, “Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either, but right through every human heart, and through all human hearts.”

What must be said, as was strongly stated last night by President Obama, is that America is not, nor has it ever been, at war with Islam or the Muslim world. As many have pointed out, many of the victims of Osama bin Ladenand his al Qaeda network were Muslims, both in the U.S. and around the world. It is indeed time to unite with our many faiths around a serious strategy for building peace.

Before the news last night, it was clear that Osama bin Laden was already losing. The “Arab Spring” of young Arabs and Muslims through nonviolent democratic movements has been a repudiation of bin Laden and his radical terrorist agenda. The death of Osama bin Laden could be a turning point in our ability to both resist evil and seek good, to turn away from the logic of both terrorism and war, and, as the Bible says, to find the things “that make for peace.”

Jim Wallis is the author of Rediscovering Values: A Guide for Economic and Moral Recovery, and CEO of Sojourners. He blogs atwww.godspolitics.com. Follow Jim on Twitter @JimWallis.

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