[Magdalen] Right now: Paris.

[Marion Thompson]

Very well said, Sally, from beginning to end.  I am deeply disturbed  by 
the drums of war that I hear rumbling.  How does one fight an ideology?  
Bombs and more killing only fan the flames and harden the resolve of 
those who pursue that cause.  So far I am encouraged that our new 
government and Prime Minister haven't rushed into hasty and impetuous 
reaction contrary to what was pledged pre-election.  I keep him and them 
in my prayers.  What a baptism of fire following the first days of sunny 
ways!

Marion, a pilgrim

On 11/16/2015 12:37 PM, Sally Davies wrote:
> I think one of the most painful aspects of this and similar experiences -
> for me at any rate - is the realisation (once again) that "there is no
> we".  Unless each one of us goes out of our way to seek unity and that
> means submission, "considering others above ourselves" and all the rest of
> it. And can we do this? Experience suggests: not often.
>
> It means being willing to be the kind of humble peacemaker that Jesus said
> would be called a child of God, who would bear God's name and likeness. It
> means being yielded to Spirit...
>
> Unity achieves nothing important if it's just the unity of those who agree,
> of pleasant and agreeable (or compliant) company, of hearing opinions that
> affirm what we have already decided to believe. Such unity falls apart as
> soon as there is a failure to agree on something that matters, or even on
> the facts of a matter.
>
> To the extent that it becomes difficult to see this terrorist
> horror through the eyes of love and compassion - and I find that extremely
> difficult - it is a reminder of how far I, personally, have strayed from
> God's standard. How little I have yielded in all these years...
>
> I am shocked and appalled. I'm disappointed, I'm despondent for the world
> my young boys are inheriting. I'm sickened by double standards, saddened by
> the invisibility of some people's suffering - though not by the visibility
> given to others - since Kenya, Lebanon, Mali, Somalia, and the
> non-combatants of Syria and Iraq would not be more cared about if France
> were less cared about.
>
> And I'm ashamed of myself that I'm already over-full with it, seeking some
> shallow escape at every opportunity. That I have such a short concentration
> span, like most of my fellow humans I suspect.
>
> That it's easier for me, even though not easy, to resonate with an
> outpouring of passion on Sky News or in the Pub or on Facebook, than to
> think of something to say to my colleague who just lost her mother,
> suddenly, shockingly, and far too young.
>
> I'm not a moral idiot but I'm no moral example either.
>
> I like things that are definite and there's nothing definite here. But I
> have decided to do one thing: I will follow the example of John Kerry and
> refer to the group-formerly-known-as-IS, as Daesh or The Daesh Death Cult.
>
> It may be that the only way to reduce the Death Cult's power is to kill the
> leaders one by one and dismantle the structure thereafter. I will not
> apologise for a sense of relief when I hear of their deaths, because they
> are to humanity what a cancer cell is to a normal cell. But that does not
> mean their individual deaths are cause to rejoice.
>
> Nor that "we are at war" is an any sense an adequate response. Perhaps
> "we" will all have to depart this world and another, more imaginative
> generation arise, for an adequate response, a better unity, to be found.
>
> Sally D
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Monday, November 16, 2015, Molly Wolf <lupa at kos.net> wrote:
>
>> So your audience -- that is, the Magdalen pub -- contains moral idiots
>> inferior to you?  How flattering.
>>
>> A good homiletic rule is "preach to the people in the pew, not out the
>> back door."
>>
>> Gnarliness does not equal superior wisdom.
>>
>> Molly
>>
>> The man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no
>> other way. -- Mark Twain
>>
>>> On Nov 16, 2015, at 5:46 AM, Jim Guthrie <jguthrie at pipeline.com
>> <javascript:;>> wrote:
>>> From: James Oppenheimer-Crawford
>>>
>>>>> We are all appalled at the Paris attacks -- as we have been right
>> along by
>>>>> suicidal bombers and killers. Not that the death toll in all these
>> attacks
>>>>> in a given year is less than the number of gun deaths in the United
>> States,
>>>>> but it's those Jihadi Terrorists and not the NRA Crowd.
>>>> WTF "we" are you talking about?  Do you refer to "we" as those living in
>>>> your house?
>>> Well, maybe 'm wrong.Maybe not everyone is appalled by what happened in
>> Paris, nor appalled by terrorism whether Jihadi or home-grown.
>>> Obviously, YMMV.
>>>
>>> Of course, I find the notion of not thinking it appalling pretty
>> appalling in itself.
>>> Jim Guthrie