I just got back from an interesting trip to the Middle East that I would love to post more about soon. But for now I wanted to talk about an interesting and challenging Christian activity that is taking place within Egypt. The Zabbaleen are Coptic Christians that live within Egypt. There is only 60,000 of them or so and they are responsible for picking up 1/3 of Cairo’s trash. They take this trash and pick it up off the streets and then bring it with them back home. Their home is literally a landfill. Trash surrounds them.

It puts a whole new spin on the idiom, “one person’s trash is another man’s treasure.” The men go out into the city and pick up the trash and bring it home where their wives sort out the trash into plastics, glass, papers, etc… It is a very efficient recycling system. After they do this they make goods out of the trash and sell it.

At first as an American I can respond with disgust and anguish that these folks are living in a landfill. Can you imagine little kids that often put whatever they find in their mouth living in a landfill and putting whatever he can find in his mouth!!! Sometimes there is broken glass and used syringes!!!

However it has been once told to me that an observation of the phsyical condition of someone’s life is an example of someone’s spirtiual condition. In light of this, when we look at the lifestyle of these Christians I can impose an idea that quite possibly this is exactly the life that we are to life. We are to be those who go within the dirtiest and darkest of places and pick up waste, sort through it and redeem it. These families give me quite a picture of what we are to be like. In the midst of darkness we are to be light. In the midst of trash we are to be garbage collectors and redeem the usefulness of fallen and broken items. To look at the bad and find the good within it. For more information about the Zabbaleen you can read:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A23780270

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zabaleen

http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0106/p07s02-woaf.html

A friend of mine wrote what I consider a great response to the World Perspective article. To sum it up, the balance is found by accepting both as realities that affect each other.      Part of the answers is in two diverse sayings. A proverb from a sailing magazine, “Attitude is the difference between ordeal and adventure”, and an old Zen story. The story I may be telling wrong, but the baic idea is this: two zen monks were exchanging idas about the flag they were watching, flapping in the breeze. One said, “It is the flag moving.” The other said, “It is the wind moving.” The “Zen master” happened to be about to walk by, and they hadn’t noticed him overhearing them. He said, “It is mind moving wind and flag.” the lesson is NOT that “it is all in your mind”. It’s not. It is real. At least, part fo what we experience is real. A large part of the rest of what we experience is what modern psychology calls our “perception set.” That is all the accumulated memories, opinions, beliefs, beliefs of others who have influrnced us, te mood we happen to be in, how much sleep we’ve had, whether we’re hungry or satiated, and all the similar things you can add to this list. About the zen story. remember how the apostle paul reminds us that Gos has made his truth known, or atleast partially known, throughout his creation. Thus, it should neither surprise nor confuse us that elements of great wisdom are found in other religions. We are not called to believe they are all wrong through and through. We are called to believe that Christinity contains the critical truths about who God is, who we are, and how to get to heaven. So, back to suffering, and our attitude about it. First, I must admit that it is far easier for me to try to say something true and wise about this than it is for me to have a good, holy attitude when something unpleasant happens to me. The truth is, I rarely remember to thank God in all circumstances…” when my circumstances are unpleasant. But perhaps one starting point is to observe that there seem to be folks who believe that things like divorce, alcoholism, abuse, cancer, etc., “happen to other families, not ours”. And how sad that is, because something WILL happen some day, and they will try to scrable to make up excuses as to why their holy, rightous, and charmed family is not to blame. Bad stuff happens. A lot. And it happens even to good people. And that is why the doctrine is false that “if you do the right things, pray the right things in the roght way and believe the right tings and name it and claim it, then you will receive nice things, not just spiritually, but in the physical world.” This is an insult to God because then when something unpleasant happens, they are forced to believe that either God is punishing them or Satan is attacking them. Sometimes, it’s just an ice storm, or cancer, or normal consequences from bad human choices, such as driving drunk or getting into too much debt. in other words, sometimes it’s either nature or humans, and if you have painted yourself into a corner where you are committed to believing it’s either God or Satan, then you’re stuck, and stressed out. Or copping out. If you decided to drive drunk then if you blame either God or Satan you’re copping out, and you’re deceiving yourself plus anyone else foolish enough to believe you. How will you ever be able to repent if you don’t accept responsibility? This also relates to one of the big diversions or slips in Chritianity that occured slowly during approximately 1890 to 1920 or 25.  Some of the protestant Christinas moved towards almost eclusively trying to be practical and good and kind and do lots of charity, embrace modern psychology and sociology, and de-emphasize the supernatural aspects and the repentance and salvation. The other group emphasized the spiritual, salvation, repentace, prayer, and evangelism aspects of Christianity and ended up, without realizing it, de-emphasizing the charity, and social activism. (After all, what’s the use of giving food, clothing, comfort, jobs, etc., to someone of they never hear the good news and just think that rescue is physical world rescue?)  The social activism and modern science oriented people might say, “What’s the use of preaching salvation to someone so hungry and cold they can’t concentrate?” Presumably, and large portion of Christians remained i the middle! Nertheless, this over-simplification is relatively accurate: a lagre prtion moved toward modernism, new-age, non-supernatural religion while another group become obsessed with conversion and almost ignored continuing discipling of new believers, as well as charity. How does this relate to the original questions about suffering and our attitude towards it? First, if you believe that you shouldn’t be having any suffering because you prayed the right things in the right way and are following the right (human) leader, then you are not being balanced. And conversely, if you believe it all has to do with virus, and diet, and excercise and yoga and buying an ozone producing machine, then you’re leaving out prayer, holiness, and the supernatural side. Third, if you don’t care about either of those but are just compaining and freaking out, well, you’re not balanced, either. Not hugs alone.Not pills alone.Not money alone.Not prayer alone. (conservatives, please don’t shoot me for that.)Not diet alone. Not just wind and not just flag. And not just mind. The flag is really moving and the wind is really causing. But all of our sensory input is filtered through our perception set.  If it is raining and we ar a farmer who needs rain, this is a happy day. If we are a teenager who wants to picnic with our lover, it is an unhappy day. If we are optimistic, we may say, “it will end soon.” If we are pessimistic, we may say, “well, this ruins everything.” If we have Christian Hope, then we are realsitc, and can say, “It is raining. God can make the best outcome come from anything. God is still the one true God and he is still sovereign. I will trust God and make the best of it. I will prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Praise God.” Now, ask me if I am able to do that most of the time.  Well, what do you think? No. Just because I know wise things doesn’t mean I am able to do them. In fact, I am pretty sure I complain way too much. But I hope to improve, God helping. Amen.    

Well I got married on November 10 and everyday my life has been improving more and more. Marriage is great!!!  When I tried to write another blog post, I went to my book marked page for this blog only to find that it wanted me to type in a username and password. I haven’t had to do that in over a year and so anyways I forgot what that stuff was. It wasn’t until skimming through my emails that I stumbled across a hint and BAM! back in business.  

I have a hard time saying the pledge of allegiance to the flag and if anyone has any thoughts that can help me I would greatly appreciate it.

It struck me one day when I was asked at a baseball game that I was doing something in rote. I had my hand on my chest and I was pledging my allegiance to the flag, and it made me think of the war in iraq and the people who are dying and killing over there.

I also thought of those who claim we are a Christain Nation and that we need to do everything within our power to put prayer back in schools and legislate morality, then God would bless us.

That word allegiance to me signified worship in that momment and I didn’t want to pledge my allegiance to anything other that Jesus. I want to follow Him first, not America. Then I thought about the apostles who got in trouble for not bowing down to the Emperors in Rome. Am I will to be subjected to the same fate. I hope it never comes to that in our country. I thought about what would happen if Muslims came over and were able to take over our country. Would I be upset and thing that God has abaonded us? Would I think that Christianity was a joke because our country fell apart? I think many Christians would with their God and country celebrations.

I was reminded by the above verses that my home is not anywhere on this earth, and my allegiance is to Jesus Christ alone. It doesn’t matter where I live, I hope by His grace to have the same mind as Christ and in humility become a servant, and become obedient even to the point of death. All of this as I look forward to the return of the King, when we shall all live in glory for ever and ever.

The sad note that my heart aches for is after reading this story “Former Christian Minister now Buddhist monk dies“. The sad thing about this story is he died, without hope and without God. He was lost, and is now suffering in absolute darkness, burning in hell. My heart aches for this man. I can’t help but also think of others like him. Please read the article and know this, there are others within the church that have the same doubts that this man had, and given the right circumstances will come to the same fateful conclusions. “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” Heb 3:12-13