DIVERSITY
A Singaporean friend
of mine reminded me that it was Chinese New Year. I know very little about
astrology but I am happy to celebrate it with our Asian brothers. Then
I realized I've met so many ethnic groups within the last few days. For
example, today I was invited by a close South African Jewish friend of
mine to visit his temple. I'm extremely interested and I hope my wife
and I can do that a few weekends from now. The other day I had a nice
long chat with a neighbor who is from Bombay, India. His explanation of
their complex political system was fascinating. Last week I met a retiree
from Thailand when I was getting my haircut. He had every right to be
proud of his successful children. In that same week a Korean restaurateur
shared her need for more business. In church I have friends who are Argentinian,
Greek and Japanese. I had a meeting today with 5 people. None of us come
from the same ethnicity -- a Caucasian, an African American, a Guyanese,
an Armenian, a Mexican and a Filipino. Right after that I caught up with
an old friend from Lebanon. Mind boggling, huh?
In Genesis, Adam lived
with animals for a time and even though he was in Paradise, he felt alone.
Then, when God presented Eve, he was blown away. God could have made another
man but instead He created a complement -- something to complete
each of them. Adam's perfect partner was not a carbon copy. Instead of
being negative about their anatomical differences, they chose to accept
and marvel at them.
We coexist in a diversified
world - different in ethnicity, religion, skin color and sexual preference.
Here's a favorite TED video about Emotional
Correctness presented by Sally Kohn, a liberal lesbian who used
to work for conservative Fox News. I admit I learned something from
it.
The man said,This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my
flesh; she shall be called woman, for she was taken out of
man. ---- Genesis 2:23
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Wisdom
from Norm of Arcadia, CA
A good wife always forgives her husband when she's
wrong. --- Rodney Dangerfield
Thanks
to this week's winners:
Russ of Monrovia; Tom of Pasadena; Norm of Arcadia, Don of Kelowna,
Mike and Charlie of New York,
John of Rancho Palos Verdes and Art of Pasadena.
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Comments
Anonymous
Fri, 02/21/2014 - 16:02
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Diversity
Thanks Raoul, I like the comments on the benefits of diversity and have long held the opinion that we are Blessed with such variety in our lives and the realization that others are more like us than different. Enjoy the Olympics and the diversity offered there as well.
Happy Valentines Day.
Tom of Pasadena
Anonymous
Fri, 02/21/2014 - 16:08
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Question About Diversity
I was wondering what you saw in the Kohn TED video that you learned from that you didn’t already learn from Jesus? Kohn said she is into the Dali Lama. Hate mail is not acceptable to Jesus, but the truth is. Jesus never used words of hate; just the word of truth. I just got off the phone with one of my nephews, Eric who works for the Condor Conservancy Project in Grand Canyon, AZ. I had mailed him a long letter and old magazine that I had stumbled onto quite by accident. One of the articles was about the plight of the Condors and their come back. Not out of the woods yet, but gaining ground, partly because of Eric’s work. Recently he came out publicly that he was homosexual and I wrote to him about my views based on the Bible, which I know he is not a believer in and it sparked a friendly call from him which resulted in a 40 minute conversation.
In one of the emails he mentions hate crimes against homosexuals and lesbians and not approving that life style and equal rights. My answer and observation was this: Both his mother and my mother both were American Citizens, and proud of it – my uncles, their three brothers all served in the Navy during WW II and one in Korea as well. They were all born in Mexico and they immigrated during the Mexican Revolution as did many Mexicans. However, for as long as they lived they were still Mexicans by birth and that never changed. My point to my Nephew was this: I have known Lesbians that were once heterosexual, married, got divorced and went into the Lesbian life style and then found that it was not for them and they went back to a heterosexual life style and are now married to husbands. The one I know personally became saved as a Christian; the other is the wife of the newly elected mayor of New York. She is a former Lesbian and also Black. She is now heterosexual, and could change again if she chose, but she will always be black. I wrote that I do not hate homosexuals, lesbians any more than I do not hate adulterers. I just do not approve of their life styles, and I know Jesus does not either.
Here is another thought. I shared with Eric. You are helping to propagate the Condors – life. Well if the Condors were to stop having chicks where would they end up and when? They can live some forty years, so that would about be it. If the human race would only have two children for each couple capable of bearing children the human race would come to an end. Many would never make it to child bearing age so to propagate the race - and God commands us to do, you need to have three or more children per couple to continue. Here is another reason for giving only to heterosexual couples the rights traditionally accorded to marriages is that one of the ever real dangers of giving birth is that the mother can die, or be physically incapacitated. Something that would not happen to homosexual and lesbian couples. When married couples plan on having a baby, death is the furthest thing from their thoughts. Just the happiness of a new born baby to a family; but death does occur. We have one good friend that lost her sister in child birth and another I just learned about from a friend that happened in December last year. So to reward homosexuals and lesbian with the same rights of couples that can propagate our planet and possibly suffer a loss doing so is contrary to the Bible and just the natural world as well. So the truth must be spoken regardless how it is received.
In my letter to my nephew I out lined my beliefs and both perspectives – and we could still talk civilly – 40 minutes worth.
God bless you,
Chuck of W, CA
RaoulTGIF
Fri, 02/21/2014 - 16:17
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Clarification
What I learned from that video is not that I need to compromise my beliefs. What I learned is we need to listen more ... both sides should listen more. I believe people are polarized in many issues. And there is need to find middle ground. Otherwise, the distance between the two sides will keep getting wider. How do you do that if both sides are not listening? --- or If both sides only listen to opinions coming from the same side?
I used to approach political and religious debate with much fervor knowing (as I believed) so much more than the opposition. Yet I didn’t win many converts. Usually, I develop lasting enemies. Then I realized it was pride rather than concern that fed my energy. I also realized it wasn’t necessarily my facts that were flawed. It was my approach. The TED video shows that this lesbian, just like us, had preconceptions about the “other side.” But when forced to deal with them on an everyday basis, she discovered they were far from being the stereotypes in her mind. They were the nicest people ... she even said that Sean Hannity would be the first person she would run to for help. Why? She saw their lifestyle. At the end of the video she did not say that she was converted to the conservative right but guess what? She softened up. Do you think she would soften up to another know-it-all conservative? Probably not. But approached by a conservative who would listen, she just might.
For years I wouldn’t talk to my sister about politics. But after approaching her with this gentler attitude she opened up. She even shared this to my other family members that I had changed. It really works. And this isn't a trick --- I really wanted to listen to her side. True, I needed to bite my tongue whenever she mentioned something way off but this is part of the process.
Dennis Praeger, the talk show host invites people of opposing viewpoints to his show. What I learned from him about arguments is that winning isn’t the goal. The goal is understanding their point. Understanding where they are coming from. Then, as you allow them to open up, they would allow you to do the same and hopefully all will mature in their perspectives.
After such an exchange of ideas, we should go back to our lives and thresh things out. See which opinions hold water in real life. That’s the way it works.
Unless we start to listen, we shouldn’t expect the other side to listen. What’s the harm in listening? And if they come up with facts we had never known, then we learn something. And if, in the process, we learn that we are wrong, well we need to research more and if our research still proves us to be wrong, then we should consider the other option. I believe there is an absolute truth. And this truth is in scripture. Some may say it is still subjective in interpretation. I don’t think so. There are more black and whites than gray. Even if it is subjective, the boundaries are more defined than human feelings that dictate the social winds of acceptance. And, as they say, the truth shall set us free.
Raoul
Anonymous
Fri, 02/21/2014 - 16:23
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No argument
A discussion is different than an argument. My only reservation is that too often I would be labeled as a hate monger, and of course that would be far from the truth. A discussion allows for both sides to make their view point shared, even if one doesn’t convince the other side, at least you might understand their view point. When you are presenting your views from a Christian / Judeo perspective and use the Bible as your reference point you often immediately lose the other side because they aren’t open to that as a basis for argument. That is why I use many natural foundations to view my perspective as well. Hoping that speaking to the ‘natural’ thinker our point will be made – God speaks to both. Especially related to giving homosexuals and lesbians the same marriage rights as heterosexual couples have.
The last couple of days we watched two different documentaries, one about the Great Snow Owl in the Arctic and the other about Caimans, an alligator type reptile in South America. What was incredible about the two documentaries were the lengths that these animals go to raise and nurture their off spring and ultimately propagate their kind. Both parents in the case of the Snow Owls made great sacrifices to feed and nurture their young. Both the Snow Owl and the Caiman mothers showed wonderful and unexpected gentleness in raising the young. This documentary was interestingly titled, “In Cold Blood.” Something we expect from human parents, but often sadly is absent. But everything of course has to start with giving birth to offspring; taking care of them is second.
Chuck of W, CA