REBRANDED

 Anders Behring Breivik posted 1,516 pages to explain his motive for killing 76 of his Norwegian countrymen.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2018198/Norway-massacre-Killer-Anders-Behring-Breivik-privileged-son-diplomat.html

Breivik's tank must have been topped off and brimming over with evil on Friday.  He had no room for conscience or reason or compassion or love or mercy.  


How does a person pull the trigger against a living being...not only the first time, but over and over and over and OVER for 90 minutes?  


Breivik said steroids helped him.  And he listened to music from Lord of the Rings at full volume to "suppress fear".  This man was a toxic mix of abandonment (a father who left him as a baby) and disillusionment with life...mixed with narcism (having plastic surgery in his 20's, going to a tanning booth and applying makeup before his spree)...with being obsessive and paranoid.  He had trouble with women and lived with his mother until he was 30.  He needed to be important and he believed his deeds could cleanse Europe.  Doesn't this all sound very Hitler-esque? 

Surely, the mass murder ITSELF is a window into this man's soul.  Breivik acted out rage that knew no limits.  His post was the rant of a madman and it took him nine years to write it. He said he filled exploding bullets with drops of nicotine for optimum killing ability.  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2018748/Norway-massacre-Anders-Behring-Breivik-Dum-dum-bullets-injected-poision.html  He left a cowardly bomb to terrorize innocents.  Yet he was a warrior who gave up without a fight when the police arrived.  

Breivik knows his motives and seems to want to share them.  His posting suggests political motives, but his grasp on reality was tenuous.  His animosity toward his father and stepmother was palpable.  It was revealing today to hear the elder Breivik say his son should have committed suicide and now he was going to always have to live with his son's notoriety.  Those two Breiviks must be a pair.   


But now, incredibly, there is another angle on this case.  Above the fold in the New York Times, we read the big headline that Breivik was a Christian fundamentalist. What would make the NYTimes PRINT such a thing? Considering the shooter was a mass murderer, what was the basis for that assessment?  

The Times might argue that Breivik wrote "Christian" on his Facebook info page.  Well, he's insane, right?  He could have called himself a giraffe.  Can we agree that journalism with a big voice should have used extra discretion in branding?  The Times has  responsibility for accuracy as all the smaller papers will follow suit.


Which of Christ's qualities did Breivik exemplify?  His thoughts and actions had political and cultural overtones, but barely had religious ones.  He didn't kill those people for Jesus' sake; he killed to do something important.  His guns didn't target the Muslims that he hated.  He targeted the establishment which embodied his father's belief system.  He wanted to take out the Prime Minister (the one he saw as responsible for Norwegian policy toward Muslims) and the teens (whose liberal views would affect the country's future).  Was Breivik's a hate crime against Muslims?  Indirectly.


Remember Major Hasan @Ft. Hood?  Now THERE'S a direct hate crime.  He stood on a table screaming "Allahu Akbar" and gunned down thirteen people while the media bent over backward to not attribute the crime to his religious beliefs.  So was Hasan crazy...or faithful?  Here are comments from Anwar al-Awlkaki, Hasan's former imam:

"The fact that fighting against the US Army is an Islamic duty today cannot be disputed.  No scholar with a grain of Islamic knowledge can defy the clear cut proofs that Muslims today have the right - rather the duty - to fight against American Tyranny.  Nidal has killed soldiers who were about to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in order to kill Muslims.  The American Muslims who condemned his actions have committed treason against the Muslim Ummah and have fallen into hypocrisy...may Allah grant our brother Nidal patience, perseverance, and steadfastness, and we ask Allah to accept from him his great heroic act.  Ameen."


Hasan was motivated by RELIGIOUS ISSUES in his beliefs of Muslim fundamentalism.  On the other hand Breivik was a child of privilege and concerned about POLITICAL ISSUES which were fueled by his seething fury against his family.  He ranted on about a litany of things that were "wrong", including multi-culturalism and feminism and neo-Nazi issues.  Video games may have influenced him.  They didn't make him a killer, but they may have "trained" him to make the multiple kills.  


Jesus said we would know his followers by their fruit.  I cannot tell you Breivik's heart, but I can easily see his deeds do not match Christ.  I would call him neither a Christian nor a fundamentalist.

The media would have us believe that Christianity has splintered in two.  They see "regular believers" and "Christian fundamentalists".   Since I see myself as a Christian fundamentalist, I would beg to differ.


Fundamentalist believers adhere to the fundamentals of the faith (since 33AD) and truth as proclaimed in the Apostles Creed (which has been around since the 5th century). 


In some places around the world, Christianity has grown cold and church attendance has declined.  That is especially true in Europe.  Christ followers may look out of step in a pagan culture, but it is not Christians who moved.


Is Breivik in the looney fringe of conservative issues?  Yes.  Is he a looney on religious issues?  Yes.  He said he was a crusader for Christendom.  We don't have to have a psychology degree to know how weird that was.  Unbalanced folks are unbalanced in all areas, but if unbalanced in matters of Christ...they do two things:

 they profane Christ's name 

and 

  they make it hard for Christians

What about Breivik's hatred of Muslims?  


The same media who believe Christianity has splintered - also think Islam has splintered.  People see Muslims as either "regular believers" or "Muslim fundamentalists".  Al-Awlaki would be an example of an extreme, Sharia-promoting fundamentalist...and peace-loving Muslims would be the regular believers.  Are "peace-loving" Muslims and Muslim fundamentalists split?  THAT is the $64,000 question.

Consider the smirk on the shooter's face in this picture.  He seems content to be the center of the media attention.  


This poor man is deranged and is a right-wing extremist.  He has turned into the very people he purports to despise.


But is Breivik a Christian fundamentalist?  Shame on the New York Times for their lack of objective, responsible reporting.

UP AND DOWN

Here's an old YouTube that's a guaranteed trip down memory lane.  The Clintons watch as Al Gore captures the crowd's enthusiasm and explains how everything that should be down is up and everything that should be up is down.    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wApxxm-vOgQ  

The Vice President thought he was a prophet about climate change, but who knew he could predict America's financial future?  Today unemployment is up and jobs are down.  Bankruptcies/home foreclosures are up and personal income is down.  Deficit is WAAY up and business activity is WAAY down.  Fear is up/hope down.

Face it.  We were sold a bill of goods.

Whatever this administration touches has turned to pottage.  From "Cash for Clunkers" to "Fast and Furious"...from "Stimulus" to "Obamacare" (not even enacted yet, but already with thousands lined up to get a waiver)...these programs are hitting the fan.  Why?  Unintended consequences?  We are black and blue over liberal intentions.

If the Clunkers program was a small arrow aimed at a small part of our economy, where is the howitzer aimed at the big picture?  Was Stimulus the howitzer?  If that didn't work, shall we do it again?

If you or I were responsible for fixing "the worst recession since the depression", wouldn't that be top on our list?  Yet what does our President SAY we should do?  I've heard no plan.  Bupkas.

I've heard the President lecture Americans about eating their peas.  I've listened to the President in many press conferences with the wagging of the finger and talk of sacrifice.

But doesn't the leader go first?  Did you know that since President Obama announced his re-election, he has spent one of three days flying to a fundraiser, then speaking, then flying home?  That'll take a chunk out of a third of your time.

Last February he DID propose a budget and the vote was 97-0. The only written-down plan he has offered was completely rejected.  Why?  It was a budget that doubled the debt instead of addressed the debt while his mouth preached the need to reduce the debt.  Is there ANY wonder why the GOP won't bite on the offer "you raise the ceiling, then I'll cut"?  Riiiight.  Third grade made us wise about that ploy.  The Heritage Foundation twittered yesterday "a promise to cut spending is not a spending cut".  Amen.

Yet he appears to be the reasonable one while the House GOP are the ones who have proposed and passed a plan.  http://www.usnews.com/news/washington-whispers/articles/2011/01/20/house-gop-lists-25-trillion-in-spending-cuts

Reasonable doesn't wait till the last minute to get this done.  That's how kids do their science project, but how is that responsible?  We have seen this coming and in fact, the President was hired to do something about it.  He had clear sailing his first two years.  Those mean elephants were impotent until the midterms when Americans began to wise up.  Why was debt not a priority?

We need to rare back and get a perspective on this administration.  Yes, all the doublespeak throws us off.  And yes, he is tricky in parsing words.  Remember when he tried to get Israel to give up her borders?  He left just enough cover in the statement to run back under if the balloon didn't fly.  The balloon collapsed and he ran under the words "with land swaps".  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304066504576339292070000576.html 

It's amazing that the President is on record saying you would NEVER increase taxes during a recession...yet that is what he persists to push in the "deal".  Complete repudiation of himself.

I never thought I'd see President Clinton supplanted; he's the King of Syntax/Obfuscation.  And by the way, as an Arkie I can speak with some experience about our state's native son and his whoppers.  Examples are myriad and you may be thinking "Lewinsky"...but I'm still aghast about this beaut which went out in a radio address TO THE NATION in June of 1996.  "I still have vivid and painful memories of black churches being burned in my own state when I was a child."  NEVER HAPPENED.  Good grief, is there not any shame for these self promoters?

Here are some cold hard facts that cannot be parsed.  During the Clinton administration, our debt increased daily by 547 MILLION.  During Bush it jumped to 1.6 BILLION a day.  Now during just the first half of Obama, the debt clicks off @ 4.1 BILLION everyday.

We are hemorrhaging.  We need real leadership that puts the country first.  Our leader has lived on the government and thinks government and spending is the answer.  He has swelled the structure of government and put a sway in Uncle Sam's back.

But there have been Presidents before who have brought the country back from unemployment and inflation.  Can their policies be considered NOW?  Here is one man who tried to be heard.  Economics is laughter-challenged and dry, but this is hilarious...and only 19 seconds long.  http://famousdc.com/2011/07/20/closing-bell-are-you-an-economist/

We don't need a degree in economics to know we have overspent and have to quit.

RICHNESS

"It is the blessing of the LORD that makes rich".  

Proverbs 10.22

Mike and I are giving thanks for a rich weekend in Little Rock.  We got to spend some time with these good friends, some of which are four decade friends.  We've all been in Bible studies together and have prayed each other through some sticky stuff.  Prayer joins hearts.  We were whooping it up Friday night over one friend who had just received a cancer-free followup.  Another friend was soon to leave for a mission trip in Poland.  Those Polish women have no idea how much fun is coming their way.

Facebook is a wonderful tool to keep up with friends, but nothing beats the old face-to-face.

Our original intent for coming to Little Rock was to see a sweet couple say "i do" on Saturday night.

It is always fun to be in different churches and see how they present Christ.  The Anglican Church has respectful gestures that appealed to us.

Anna and Nathan are special.  They serve in China and so there were touches of that culture through their service.

Anna only had to travel just a couple of hours in China to the place where most bridal gowns are actually made.

This was one of the most beautiful dresses I've seen.  And God gave her a bargain!

And now I pronounce you...

man and wife!

Sunday we got to go to the church that "raised" us.  When you spend thirty years in a place, it's home.  This building is only two years old, but Fellowship has been in so many different structures (a school when we first started,  a movie theatre, their first building that was added onto and cobbled onto, and now this megaplex).  All the building projects just serve to prove the building is not the church.  There's a sweet spirit in this place and it's a privilege to see familiar faces and worship together.

                                                                
Brad and Laura's new 2005 Accord followed the motorhome down to Little Rock.  Then we also picked up this shiny 2007 Odyssey which had been drop-shipped from Houston in an eBay transaction.  It exists, Brad!

Brad's new boss has graciously offered to keep the cars @their place until Brad and Laura arrive.   The Rollins' are hospitable people; two extra cars in the driveway will give their home the appearance of being in perpetual party mode.

We ate supper with Gary and Jeanne as we did the car shuffling.  We've been friends since their four boys and our kids were in primary school.  They serve Christ with eager willingness and humility.  It is very satisfying to think of what the Lord has done for Brad in providing this fine mentor/friend/co-worker.

Our three day weekend also offered a time away for Mike and I and we seemed to need it.  It was nice beside the river.  Even though the heat and humidity wrestled one another for top billing, there was actually one piece of time on Sunday afternoon that we could sit outside.  We were under a huge sheltering walnut tree, enjoying the breeze and just talking.  We are still classified as "in shock" to think Brad and Laura will be in Little Rock.

Max Lucado says "each life is a story to be written.  The Author starts each life story, but each life will write his or her own ending."  Awesome liberty.

It's funny how the newly married Nathan and Anna are in one of life's beginning phases, but Mike and I can hardly remember the starting line.  Surely life has surprises and phases, but God's faithfulness is the overarching constant.  The Cruses are feeling particularly blessed these days...richly blessed.

DEER HUNTING

Last month Mike and I had blood in our eye(s) because a deer left nubs in my cutting garden.

Just when we were busy thinking murderous thoughts, somehow that emotion morphed into deer delight.

Now Mike has hung a feeder at the far corner of the property.  We hope that by feeding them, they will have no reason to sample our tomatoes and phlox.

Basically, we're just bribing 'em not to steal from us.  We learned that principle from American foreign policy.

Mike says deer notice when something is new or not right.  Click to enlarge this smart doe.  She's looking up at the new feeder...trying to remember if the corn tree used to look like this.

In addition to Ms. Naughty (who now we call "Lonesome Doe" because she has no fawns)...our herd now includes two other mature doe named Thelma and Louise.  They each have twins that we just call "the kids".

That makes a grand total of SEVEN in our herd.  The deer come out several times a day and we find ourselves running to the window like it's snowing.



The fawns no longer nurse so they eat the corn, too.

Here's a pair of the kids saying "Uh... Momma....isn't this when we're supposed to run?  Check this out, Mom!"

We keep binoculars by the window and we can begin to tell the difference in the deer.

Lonesome Doe has a notched right ear and a scar down her side.

We didn't need binocs to see her markings in this shot taken by the game camera back in her outlaw days.

This is Thelma with her fawns.

One offspring is on task and the other clearly has had some caffeine.

It takes effort for Thelma to keep up with both of them now that they venture farther from her.  The days of traveling in a tight pack are over.

July Fourth we sat on the deck and could watch simultaneous fireworks to the west and to the northeast.  The woods lit up and the noise was loud and long both on Saturday and Sunday night.  That had to make the herd skittery.

I remember when our dog Sweetie would cower and slink next to the wall when firecrackers went off.  If Maltese hate them, I'm sure the deer do, too.

This week Louise has been coming with only one fawn and we're hoping that doesn't mean what we think it means.  It's a hard life in the wild.  With the triple digits, I've worried they were thirsty.  There is a pond pretty close and Mike says they get water in the leaves they eat.  Maybe we should put a long hose out there with a sprinkler.  I can't believe I just said that.

We have a friend named LeAnne who lives in the woods and loves to deer hunt.  But she has a fast rule for those hooved friends who come up close to her house.  If she names one, they are not fair game in the fall.  No wonder.

CAYLEE

Lady Justice must have wept.

Whether you were screaming at the television because you thought the defense covered up murder and then crowed about it...

or you were screaming because you thought the state overreached a first degree murder count without sufficient motive or conclusive DNA...

EVERYONE in America was sad about Caylee.

We watch Law and Order and we know Jack McCoy could have nailed this case.  For three years we've been told the evidence was a slam-dunk and CSI taught us to follow a powerful evidence trail.  Well, neither reality TV nor sitcoms ARE real life.  The evidence in this case wasn't believed.

Maybe The Twelve held the prosecutors to an impossible and artificial "TV standard".  Or maybe The Twelve were morons.  But now what?  Did a dysfunctional family just stage the perfect get-away?  Did George and Cindy Anthony pull their red Jeep into the garage and let the door down and turn to one another in a smile?  All of a sudden, America is rounding up a posse.

There WAS something heinous about Caylee's helpless state that wrenches our hearts.  Something about that little body left in a swamp alone causes us to want to rise and defend her.  Thank goodness we still have enough decency as a nation to react to justice denied an innocent child.

But our finite minds couldn't untangle all those tangled lies.  Did we really expect justice to sort through them?  What a Solomonic job!  We may not ever know how Caylee died, but we know that "this side" of life is full of unraveled knots that call for trusting God.  Perhaps you have a few unexplained knots.  I do.

Let's think biblically about this case:

1.  The only thing worse than miscarriage of justice is a wrong conviction.  God gave us our justice system...laws to protect us and preserve order.  Do we sometimes miss the boat?  Yes, things aren't perfect.  But I'd wager a guess that Dominique Strauss-Kahn is grateful today for a system that protects the innocent.

Sometimes life can seem to be only about what our eyes can see.  Today I see a different Casey Anthony as the judge said she might be released on Wednesday.  Of course her countenance would be brighter, but there is now preening and stroking the hair.  I hope this is not all about Casey.

It's easy to get snookered about this life being "all there is".  It isn't.  This is a blip and eternity stands before us.  One day all the things that cause today's angst will not even be a memory.  Today's woes serve to make us long for another place...and prompt us to get a ticket for that place...and fit us to serve in that place.

2.  Caylee Anthony was two months short of her third birthday and therefore not accountable to God for her ticket.  She got a fast track to heaven.  We overestimate the value of life on this side when we think Caylee's life was cut short.  In her new digs there are no lies or duct tape; the motives there are pure and love is trustworthy and complete.  The Bible says Jesus called the little children to come to Him.  Caylee may not have had a father on this side, but now her heavenly Father has her safely on His lap.  She is home.

3.  Are you angry because the Anthony family got away with murder?  They didn't.  The One who will judge all men's hearts knows what happened and He is a perfect Judge.  That is comforting when nothing else seems to help.  Hebrews 10.30 says "for we know the one who said, 'vengeance is Mine, I will repay' ".

Christians are grateful for the way that verse takes us off the judgment seat and keeps us from regrettable action.  Unless we were a witness in the Anthony home, the cause of Caylee's death is unknown.

Meanwhile, we are instructed by the "capital J" Judge...to put off anger, rage, malice, slander, and abusive language.  That might also include the inflammatory salute the associate defender gave to the media.  God called for the putting-off of destructive emotions because He knew how they chew up our insides.

The ability to actually put aside such rage is possible through Christ.  If the Anthonys decide to sell their story, it will be harder.  I hope we do not have to see this family anymore.

Our justice system has declared that we may not accuse Casey Anthony again for this murder.  But this murder case is not over...so put down your pitchforks.  The Judge With All Omniscience and Perfect Justice will have the final say.

"The LORD has made the heavens his throne; 

from there he rules over everything."  

Psalm 103.19 NLT

FOURTH REFLECTIONS

When I was a young girl, this was my idea of a terrific movie.  Still is.


Remember how crazy Rhett was about this flirty little coquette?  Miss Scarlett was spoiled and she took Rhett for granted.  Then one day he walked out and she realized that it really WAS Rhett that she loved.  We all wondered if it was too late...


This July 4th, I'm thinking I have been spoiled by living in this great country.  I'm ashamed to say I've taken it for granted.  And I'm waking up to the appalling thought that her best days may be over and my grands will not inherit the freedoms that Mike and I have enjoyed.  I don't want to be like Scarlett and think about it tomorrow.  Tomorrow may be too late.


When Jesus was born, the Romans were the dominant world power.  They built roads throughout their empire and promoted one language.  Commerce prospered, and so did the gospel.  That is one reason why it says in Galatians "but when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son".  That fullness of time included an earthly governmental structure whose improvements facilitated the spreading of the gospel.


In the same way, my country did not just happen; God gave America to the world so that men could taste liberty and want liberty in their spirit.  Isn't that why people beg to come here from all over the world?  We all want to live under benevolence.  That desire foreshadows heaven.

Our republic flourished in the world like a city set on a hill.  When Ronald Reagan used those Bible words, it connected with people.  They understood that the phrase meant being salt and light...and being a light to the world implies initiative and stewardship and integrity.  


We are not exceptional because we are exceptional people.  We are exceptional because God has blessed us and given us the amazing privilege of cooperating with Him.  


God's heart and intention now and always is for reaching the world.  In America we have the freedom of worship connected with the freedom of speech...plus the prosperity to make possible the generosity that makes Him known.  Just as the missionaries went down Roman roads to faraway places, in our day we have dollars to go/send people to China or to the urban cities.  We can reach the world through the internet.  We live in innovative times.


The theme to know Him and make Him known is woven in our national history from the pilgrim's discovery of this new world, to the wisdom of our founding documents.  If you have three minutes, this link illustrates how His grace HAS been shed on us.   http://www.sermonspice.com/product/10180/in-their-own-words-4th-of-july-version

The men in the above video were able to flourish because a sovereign God had a plan and the men knew the Planmaker.  Now our republic has been handed off to we the people and it is now ours to keep or to squander.  Unfortunately, the Planmaker has been routinely run outta Dodge in our country.  That's good reason for the phrase be careful what you ask for.   


Let's ask for mercy.  Let's tell Him that we don't want to trifle with His good gift and we want to be good stewards, but we really don't know what that means practically.  Let's pray and pray again.  From my earthly perspective, prayer doesn't seem like enough.  But it IS what He said do...

"If my people, on whom my name is named, make themselves low and come to me in prayer, searching for me and turning from their evil ways; then I will give ear from heaven, overlooking their sin, and will give life again to their land."  2 Chronicles 7.14 BBE