Pray for Uganda
A nearly miraculous 6 month ceasefire between the Lord's Resistance Army and the government of Uganda is set to exprie Wednesday, February 28th (that is, today). This is enormously heartbreaking, as it means that a situation has been *so* bad for so long for so many children, and which looked to be getting better, may now be getting worse again.
Read more
62% of children living in displaced persons camp in Northern Uganda are victims of sexual abuse (The Monitor)
At least 66,000 children are thought to have been forcibly recruited into the Lord's Resistance Army (AllAfrica.com)
If I think about this too much, I start crying.
See also World Vision's Synopsis
See also Invisible Children
See also Juba Talks
Does god hate africa more than he hates the rest of us?
7 comments:
Does god hate africa more than he hates the rest of us?
I sure hope not :(
Hey Benjamin,
I think that what's happening in Africa is an articulation of the kind of thing that makes me not buy that God is, if God exists, any kind of sentient being. So, Africa depends on people, who like you, are moved to tears by the wretchedness and ruthlessness that happens. Thanks for the always thoughtful and compelling blogs.
just because people are evil (joseph kone for example) doesn't mean God is evil... it just means he has given us the choice to be good or evil.
helen,
me too (sort of, see below)
Hereandnow,
I actually tend to go the other way, which is to assume that god does exist, that she is a sentient being, and that she's basically an asshole (although a dear friend of mine tells me that "asshole" should only be used of males, not females) (hehe). which still leaves us with africa depending on people like us, I suppose.
Laurel,
yeah, but what kind of god makes the foreknowingly conscious choice to create a universe with a set of parameters that allows for a Joseph Kone? I guess I wouldn't have. Me and Solomon!
one that i dont' understand, but still choice to believe loves me and everyone else too.
i know you think it's crazy. it's absurd, but i'm ok with that.
laurel,
I don't think you're crazy. Well, okay, I think consciously choosing to attend SPU is a little crazy. but hey, who am I to talk? I'm at least as crazy as you are.
What does it mean to choose to believe that god loves you and everyone else? I mean ... okay, you're right--I think that's insanely hopeful. but I think one has to be insanely hopeful to be a christian. and I just can't maintain that level of hope anymore in the face of things as they are. By insanely, I mean ...
Helen talked about choosing to reinterpret everything that came to her through her senses--eyes, ears, etc, in light of her presuppositions about god. This made sense to me. What if I stop that, and try to understand what I see and hear without those presuppostions. For me, this turned out to feel a lot more realistic/honest. But that's just me.
You can read more of Helen's story here. I think she is a graceful keen observer.
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