Golden Rule?

(Political and historical thoughts following...)

As Americans, how would we feel if a foreign country decided that we were a nuclear threat to the world, and then tried to diplomatically, politically, and possibly militarily control us? In their eyes, they would have many reasons to believe this. We have lots of nuclear research going on and everyone knows we have nuclear weapons. And in the nuclear age, only one country has actually used nuclear weapons against another people, incinerating tens of thousands of helpless women and children - the U.S.A.

Then, how would we feel if that country decided that in order to protect themselves from us, they were going to place military and government officials around all of our borders. Then, they announce that they plan to inspect every single person, plane, train, boat, and piece of cargo that enters our country, without our consent.

Wouldn't we consider that unacceptable? Wouldn't we consider that as something illegal by international expectations of law, and according to our own Constitution? Wouldn't we consider that a virtual declaration of war? (Which is basically what happened in World War I when the Germans blockaded Britain)

Well, news is that this is the very thing our Congress is close to voting for and approving within the week in regard to Iran. Read this announcement and comment from Congressman Paul:


"Now the one issue that I do want to mention tonight is a resolution that is about to come to this floor if our suspicions are correct, after the July 4th holiday...It will be expected to be passed easily. It probably will be. And it is just more war propaganda, just more preparation to go to war against Iran.

This resolution, H.J. Res 362 [listed as H. Con. Res 362 online] is a virtual war resolution. It is the declaration of tremendous sanctions, and boycotts and embargoes on the Iranians. It is very, very severe. Let me just read what is involved if this bill passes and what we’re telling the President what he must do:

"This demands that the President impose stringent inspection requirements on all persons, vehicles, ships, planes, trains and cargo entering or departing Iran, and prohibiting the international movement of all Iranian officials."

This is unbelievable! This is closing down Iran. Where do we have this authority? Where do we get the moral authority? Where do we get the international legality for this? Where do we get the Constitutional authority for this? This is what we did for ten years before we went into Iraq. We starved children - 50,000 individuals it was admitted probably died because of the sanctions on the Iraqis."

But they say, “Yeah, but Ahmadinejad — he’s a bad guy. He’s threatened violence.” But you know what? Us threatening violence is very, very similar. We must - we must look at this carefully. We just can’t go to war again under these careless, frivolous conditions."


It's not that we should never go to war. It's that we should only do so when it is just. Because it's natural for us to be unjust, to point out the wickedness of our enemies while spotlighting only the glories of ourselves and our friends, Jesus gave us a rule for behavior: the Golden Rule. Considering what we would have others do to us is a really powerful way to prevent ourselves from doing something we will regret, individually, or as a nation.

Hitting a Ball with a Stick

Here's a very funny, short article from The Onion, (a newspaper dedicated to being sarcastic about everything) and some not-so-funny thoughts following.


Man Who Used Stick To Roll Ball Into Hole In Ground Praised For His Courage

June 19, 2008 | | Onion Sports

SAN DIEGO—A man who used several different bent sticks to hit a ball to an area comprised of very short grass surrounding a hole in the ground was praised for his courage Monday after he used a somewhat smaller stick to gently roll the ball into the aforementioned hole in fewer attempts than his competitors. "What guts, what confidence," ESPN commentator Scott Van Pelt said of the man, who was evidently unable to carry his sticks himself, employing someone else to hold the sticks and manipulate the flag sticking out of the hole in the ground while he rolled the ball into it. "You have to be so brave, so self-assured, so strong mentally to [roll a ball into a hole in the ground]. Amazing." The man in question apparently hurt his knee during this activity.

(For those of you who don't know, this is talking about Tiger Woods winning the U.S. Open earlier this week, and him doing so with an injured knee that will keep him out of golf for the rest of the year.)


What drives me crazy about the REAL quotation from the ESPN guy is that I hear this sort of stuff all the time - that athletes have done something "heroic" or "brave" by playing a sport when it was difficult, or when the other team was really good, or when they had a boo-boo on their leg. This kind of language is especially prevalent in college sports, as if the kids are doing something amazing because they play sports well, and, GASP, they're in college too!

Now don't get me wrong. Playing through pain and difficulty shows determination and will. It may even show a measure of leadership when a person does so for the good of the team. But it is not, I repeat, IT IS NOT, heroic.

Heroic is a few men storming the cockpit and taking out the terrorists, even though saving the day meant sacrificing themselves. Heroic is a firefighter storming into a burning building to save someone he doesn't know. Heroic is dying on a cross in humiliation when the glory of the universe is within your grasp.

Hitting a ball into a hole with a stick, throwing a ball into a hoop, kicking a ball into a big box - not heroic.

Oh, Down in Mexico. Sounds so sweet, with the sun sinkin' low...

Last week's mission trip to Mexico was great. The kids and I had a great time, learned a ton, and worked so hard. You should definitely check out the website of the ministry we went with: Isaiah 55 Ministries. Here are some highlights from the week:

1. We spent most of the week doing construction, primarily lots of digging, leveling, and pouring concrete.
A woman named Kelly Green (that's her in the picture below, the one that's not a guy) has a ministry down in Reynosa that is just unbelievable. There's a section of the city called Boystown. Everything imaginably illegal used to happen there - drugs, mafia, prostitution, etc. Because the Mexican government couldn't (or wouldn't) handle it, they simply walled off a small part of the city and said, "As long as you do it in here, we don't care." So, guards stand outside the one entrance/exit every day, and keep watch over who goes in and out. Five years ago, Kelly Green decided that she was called to minister here. So, she sold everything she had that wouldn't fit in her car, and drove from Tulsa, OK, to Reynosa, where she now lives and ministers to the prostitutes, drugattics, and needy people of Reynosa. Wow.

The building we were working on will house her and anyone who decides to come and serve for her for a minimum of two years. Wow.


2. Visited a government-run orphanage that has a great relationship with Isaiah 55. There were lots of kids there, including one family of five children. I got to hold a little boy named Diego for much of the time - so cute :)

3. We hosted a big cookout at the park next to the main deaf school in Reynosa. Isaiah 55 is doing awesome work with deaf children and their families, helping them to learn sign language and communication, for the ultimate end of getting to the point where they can share the Gospel with these children. Most kids take at least 2-3 years before they're even able to begin to understand a concept like God, or sin, or grace.

The two guys in the picture are Zach and Brent, two young guys who both own their own contracting businesses in Tulsa and Nashville, who simply left their businesses for the summer in order to serve in construction with the mission. They were great leaders and great examples to us all.

4. We spent our evenings hanging out at the Isaiah 55 headquarters, located on three floors of an apartment building in downtown Reynosa. Soon, thanks to a new purchase, Isaiah 55 will be building their own building, on their own land! The picture has everyone on our team in it (plus one of the missionary-kids, Rebecca Clow).

That's it for now. Praise God for a wonderful trip, and for getting me back home safely to my family.

A Little Pun-Fun from "Pearls Before Swine"

Pictures and stories from Mexico, coming soon...

Just call me J-Raf

Peru Mission in Christianity Today

In this article about foreign missions and business, Christianity Today covered the work of Peru Mission - how cool is that! It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Peru Mission. It makes me excited to see that their gospel-centered, community-transforming vision for Trujillo is bearing fruit and gaining recognition.

(The section about Peru Mission runs from pages 4-5)

May Book Log

The amount of books on the monthly book log will be increasing dramatically over the next few months as I prepare to study for my doctoral exams in November. It's not going to be an easy six months. In fact, it will probably be the hardest six months I've had so far as I juggle studying, working at school, serving at the church, oh yeah, and being the husband and father I'm called to be. All prayers are much appreciated. Here's the list:

Enger, Peace Like a River - Wow. I've discovered a new author to add to my list of favorites. The West, an asthmatic narrator, a miracle-working father, cowboys and outlaws - you won't regret reading it.

Alcorn, Heaven - easily the most informative book I've ever read about heaven, and the new heavens, and the new earth. So comforting, and so exciting!

Thornton, Politics and Power in a Slave Society: Alabama, 1800-1860 - ok. Very thorough, and had a great quote about us needing to forget the idea that having democracy is so morally superiour, that somehow it means that we'll always choose the right direction.

Ford, Origins of Southern Radicalism: The South Carolina Upcountry, 1800-1860 - great on understanding South Carolina not as an anomaly in the South, but still with enough unique characteristics to lead to secession. Also good in emphasizing that despite the state constantly being under elite control, those leaders never gained their positions without the consent of common folk.

McCurry, Masters of Small Worlds: Yeoman Households, Gender Relations, and the Political Culture of the Antebellum Low Country - ok, just ok

Woodward, The Strange Career of Jim Crow - very enlightening. Strange, because considering the times, this period of time was so short.

Owsley, Plain Folk of the Old South - amazing. From 1948, the first book to really recognize that the old South was not the Gone-with-the-Wind society of rich white planters, black slaves, and poor white trash. In fact, the vast majority of southerners were average, plain, farmers and herders.

Hyde, Jr., ed., Plain Folk of the Old South, Revisited
- informative essays

Sellers, The Market Revolution: Jacksonian America, 1815-1846 - huge, lots of unintelligible terms, and can you say, "I'm a Marxist historian, which means I don't allow anything other than economics to matter in history."


Hahn, The Roots of Southern Populism: Yeoman Farmers and the Transformation of the Georgia Upcountry, 1850-1890 - Puts the Populist movement of the 1890s in a long-term perspective.

Escott, After Secession: Jefferson Davis and the Failure of Confederate Nationalism
- Despite Davis's promising leadership skills and the promising early years of the Civil War, he argues that the South could not win because it could never develop a strong enough sense of nationalism. Factionalism between states and leaders of states hindered Confederate progress.

Wetherington, Plain Folk's Fight: The Civil War and Reconstruction in Piney Woods Georgia - one of the best this month. Lots of focus on plain folk and why they decided to live and fight - mostly about community and religious commonality