Helping or hurting? How Young is Too Young for Salvation

Every Sunday my 4 year old goes to Sunday school with her grandmother just as I did with mine so many years ago. My mother didn't raise us to be particularly religious; she raised us to be good people. Now she has found Christianity and that works for her but I have never been entirely comfortable with the idea bringing my little girl to church.

Here is what I believe: I believe that because I was thought at a young age by my Grandmother and by the church that the only way to be is Christian, I have an underlying belief in most things Christian: heaven, hell, God, Jesus. This is not by choice. I huge part of me does not believe in Christianity. I don’t agree with most things in the Bible, I don’t agree with Christian ideals like: the inferiority of women, homosexuality being wrong, the whole creation story, that Jesus was truly the son of God. But because I was taught from a young age that these things are real, it’s hard for me to push these beliefs out of my mind completely. When I am scared, I call for Jesus. When I am thankful, I thank God. And I'm not saying that I don’t believe in God, I simply don’t believe Christianity is the right answer.

So now here I am sitting with my just turned four year old looking at a coloring book and pointing to a long haired, bearded man she says to me, “Look Mom its Jesus!” I was shocked! (And disturbed.)

Religion should be a choice. Even the Christian Bible teaches that. She should be able to make the decision on her own without prior influence. The way I see it, the only reason we are Christian is because we live in a predominantly Christian place. If we were in the Middle East our beliefs may be different, if we were in India they would be different.  Living in India there is a good chance from a young age you would be taught that Hinduism is the right choice in religion. And you would believe that with all your heart and you would raise your children to feel the same way, believing that what you are doing is the best thing for your child. That’s what every religion is doing. Is it right? Is it truly right to strip someone of the basic ability to choose one’s own faith at such a young age?

My daughter is sweet, kind, companionate; she has great empathy for everyone and everything. She is happy, she is strong. Why does she need religion at four years old?

What is the right thing to do? Should she still be allowed to go to church and be brainwashed into believing one thing? I would greatly appreciate any well worded and respectful input. Its just a question, please understand that I am not knocking religion or Christianity, I’m simply asking a question.

This graph shows religion does not promise civility! 

God’s war on women: “What have the children done wrong?”

Nadia and her savior: Her uncle who refused to let his niece be another statistic. 

This is Nada Al-Ahdal. She is 11. Risking life and limb and acid in her face she has fled her home in hopes of being freed of the tradition of marrying young girls to much older, often abusive men. These children are forced into marriage, often for money for her family and forced to do all things her husband demands under penalty of physical violence and death.

Violence against women has only gotten worse as the world grows older. Much of this violence is backed by religious and traditional views. Much of it perfectly legal, and when it’s not law enforcement is rare. Why are the Gods of the world so angry at life giving woman? Why are men so afraid of the simple beauty of a woman’s strength?

Not that I think there is anyone left in the world who does not know about this horrible worldwide fact but here is some basic information provided by: http://www.endvawnow.org/en/

[Femicide

·         In Guatemala, two women are murdered, on average, each day.

·         In India, 8,093 cases of dowry-related death were reported in 2007; an unknown number of murders of women and young girls were falsely labeled ‘suicides’ or ‘accidents’.

·         In Australia, Canada, Israel, South Africa and the United States, between 40 and 70 percent of female murder victims were killed by their intimate partners.

·         In the State of Chihuahua, Mexico, 66 percent of murders of women were committed by husbands, boyfriends or other family members.

Violence and Young Women

·         Worldwide, up to 50 percent of sexual assaults are committed against girls under 16.

·         An estimated 150 million girls under  the age of 18 suffered some form of sexual violence in 2002 alone.

·         The first sexual experience of some 30 percent of women was forced. The percentage is even higher among those who were under 15 at the time of their sexual initiation, with up to 45 percent reporting that the experience was forced.

Harmful Practices

·         Approximately 100 to 140 million girls and women in the world have experienced female genital mutilation/cutting, with more than 3 million girls in Africa annually at risk of the practice.

·         Over 60 million girls worldwide are child brides, married before the age of 18, primarily in South Asia (31.3 million) and sub-Saharan Africa (14.1 million). Violence and abuse characterize married life for many of these girls. Women who marry early are more likely to be beaten or threatened, and more likely to believe that a husband might sometimes be justified in beating his wife.]

When will this end? What is the cause? Why isn't anyone paying attention? When did women become a nuisance, an outcast, a second or third class citizen? Why do we cast them aside and hurt them? What the fuck is going on in the world? And why would any God support this?

Thank you for being so strong Nadia. I thank your uncle for the same. Your passion and your plea have been heard. Now, we fight for the girls and women still waiting to be saved. 

http://www.vday.org/node/1040

http://womenthrive.org/issues/violence?gclid=CL2IxYq0zrgCFWyCQgodpDoAHA

http://www.now.org/issues/violence/stats.html

True American heroes will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law….

But don’t tell anyone, it’s a secret.

So while everyone focusing on the Zimmerman verdict, the media blackout on the Bradley Manning trial continues. Now if you’re one of the few people who don’t remember who this kid is and what this kid did let me remind you. Bradley Manning stands accused of Aiding the Enemy and communicating national defense information to an unauthorized source, as well as 19 other charges. 25 year old Bradley released a video showing the tragic  July 12, 2007 Baghdad airstrike and the 2009 Granai airstrike in Afghanistan; 250,000 United States diplomatic cables; and 500,000 army reports that came to be known as the Iraq War logs and Afghan War logs. 

[The July 12, 2007 Baghdad airstrikes were a series of ground attacks conducted by a team of two United States Army Apache helicopters in Al-Amin al-Thaniyah, in the district of New Baghdad in Baghdad, during the Iraqi insurgency and US military occupation of Iraq which followed the Iraq War. The attacks received worldwide coverage following the release of 39 minutes of classified cockpit gun sight footage in 2010.

In the first strike "Crazyhorse 1/8" and "Crazyhorse 1/9" directed30mm cannon fire at a group of nine to eleven^[8][9] men, of whom one had an AK-47 and another an RPG-7;^{[10][11][12][13]} most were unarmed;^[14][15] two were war correspondents for Reuters: Saeed Chmagh and Namir Noor-Eldeen, whose cameras were mistaken for weapons. Eight^[8] men, including Noor-Eldeen, were killed; Chmagh was wounded.

The second airstrike using 30 mm fire was directed at Chmagh and two other unarmed men as they were attempting to help Chmagh into their van. Two children inside the van were wounded; three more men were killed, including Chmagh and the children's father.^[9] ]^{Wikki “July 12, 2007}

Yeah, that’s what he did. He exposed our president as a mass murder of epic proportions. He exposed the fact that American soldiers are gunning down innocent men, women and children! You don’t believe it? GOOD, go look it up! While you’re at it look up the fact that veteran suicide rates are at an all time high now averaging a pace of one active duty man every 18 hours! Yes you read that right! Why are they killing themselves?

And now they are trying Manning as a traitor?! No, Bradley Manning is no traitor. Bradley Manning exposed our corrupt blood thirsty government to the light of day. He stood up for what was right. He did what I wish every man in the military would do. He said, “No more”. And you should too.

The media paints people in Iraq and Afghanistan as American hating heathens with silly beliefs and dangerous weapons. They are flying around in an Apache Helicopter spotting people through infrared scopes, and they are hiding in the freaking sand with rocket launchers! I'm not defending any terrorist actions, not by any means, I'm simply pointing out that this is not a war! It’s an all out assault of a nation that probably could use help, but not the kind the US offers. And NO not everyone they kill is an innocent bystander, but if they were American bystanders? If they were WHITE bystanders? Would we tolerate it then? Would it be ok then? I don't think it would. Free Bradley Manning. End the War of Terror.

"I've said repeatedly that America doesn't torture, and I'm going to make sure that we don't torture…”

Among other things one of the President's promises to American citizens made during both campaigns was the closing Guantanamo bay. Not only has he not done that, but he HAS closed the office of the committee to close Guantanamo Bay. Hm…. 

On July 8^th Obama issued a special message to “Muslims around the world” which ended in the statement… “I wish Muslims across America and around the world a month blessed with the joys of family, peace and understanding. Ramadan Kareem.” Well… isn't that special! The man who ordered the forced feeding of inmates so fed up with their living conditions they chose to die of starvation in protest rather than live under Obamas rule of terror. Men held for indefinite amounts of time, without fair trial, without formal charges being brought against them; Men who just want to see their families, men who just want to feel the warmth of the sun and to be treated as human beings. But no Instead in this holy month the death lord Obama continues the predator drone death strikes that have killed countless innocents in the Middle East including children. So yes on this occasion let us remember the men stolen from their homes and held against their will after being stripped of every human right. Let us remember the women who lost their children to America’s War of Terror, oh excuse me, War ON Terror. Someone help us.

“166 detainees are still in Guantanamo, of whom 106 are on hunger strike, of which 45 are “on the enteral feed list”, according to the prison’s authorities. The hunger strike began in February after guards allegedly interfered with the inmates personal belongings, including the mishandling of Korans.

Younous Chekkouri, who has spent 11 years in the jail for being a suspected terrorist despite being cleared for release in 2010, complains to his lawyer that Guantanamo guards are now punishing him and other hunger strikers with extremely invasive invasive body searches. 

“The searches, as they like to call them, are spreading fear and shame. Eight guards with the watch commander surround me in one room, while two of them put their hands all over me. The sexual assault hasn't just happened to me. Why are they doing this? That’s what I’d like to know,” he told Cori Crider, who is also the strategic director for London based legal action charity Reprieve, in a letter obtained by Al Jazeera.

Anne Richardson, a lawyer for one of the detainees, told RT in June that the inmates are being subjected to freezing temperatures in their cells and made to choose between shower and sleep, “punished and treated like animals.” http://on.rt.com/uxctic”         

http://www.ryot.org/forcing-cans-of-ensure-through-the-nostrils-is-inhumane-according-to-lawsuit-filed-on-behalf-of-gitmo-detainees/239149

Speaking of Zimmerman…

Can someone tell me why while Zimmerman is considering pleading to the lesser charge of Voluntary Manslaughter, and Marissa Alexander of Jacksonville was just sentenced to twenty years in prison for firing warning shots! Yes that’s right. Marissa Alexander was in her home being brutally assaulted by her husband of whom she already had a protective order against. She fired warning shots coming nowhere near her assailant. Yet even though she has no criminal record and clearly acted in self defense, she has been convicted of attempted murder and charged to twenty years in prison. You’ve got to be freaking kidding me. Under Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law a victim is not required to first flee the situation and is able to defend one’s self immediately after feeling threatened. In other words if some black kid is looking at you crazy, have at ‘em! But if you are being assaulted and fear for your life and God forbid you make the mistake of being a minority, well then that law does not apply to you. Sorry.
[On March 10 of this year, around midnight, Ralph Wald, 70, of Brandon, Fla., got out of bed  to get a drink and found Walter Conley, 32, having sex with his wife, Johanna Lynn Flores, 41, in the living room. He immediately went back into his bedroom, grabbed his gun and shot Conley three times. Conley died. Wald claims that he thought Conley was a stranger who had broken in and was raping his wife – despite the fact that Conley lived next door, had been his wife’s roommate and lover, and had his wife’s name tattooed onto his neck and arm. During a 911 call, when the dispatcher asked Wald if the man he shot was dead, Wald responded, “I hope so!” ^{TUESDAY, JUN 11, 2013“Stand your ground” law helps white defendants a lot more than black ones BY KATIE HALPER} http://www.salon.com/2013/06/11/stand_your_ground_law_helps_white_defendants_a_lot_more_than_black_ones/
Both people used the “Stand Your Ground” defense… White guy goes free, Black woman goes to jail for 20 years, keeps abusive man on streets and leaves 11 year old girl motherless. The awesome power of our justice system: Justice is blind indeed. 

America! Land of the free, home of the brave…. What a notion. What a place.

It’s gone too far, ladies and gentleman. Your rights as a human being and your rights as an American citizen have been stripped! You stand alone and unprotected! You did everything you were supposed to do. You worked hard, you paid your illegal taxes¹, you kept your head down and tried to be a God fearing law abiding citizen. But while you were living life with your heads in the sand you gave up some of your most basic rights.

On May 7, a neighborhood witnessed a group of officers deliver a brutal beating to a man who lay on the groundpleading for his life. This man was David Silva, 33 year old father of four, and he was dead before the night was over. Police reportedly beat David Silva to death with batons after releasing a K9 unit on him and restraining him on the ground for several minutes.  Several witnesses had their cell phone video of the incident confiscated. This man was intoxicated, he was big, and he was disorderly, he may have even been dangerous, this is the truth. But he was NOT armed, he was NOT deadly and he did NOT deserve to die at the hands of out of control police men.²

What gives any group of men the power to take another’s life, in front of his family, in front of his peers, in front of his own home? This is a government out of control!

People have given up there right to remain silent³, the Fourth Amendment right⁴, and the right to due process!⁵You are being spied on⁶, lied too, stolen from and made a fool of!

Police violence and police misconduct is at an all time high. Police brutality and abuse of power is at an all time high. These men have been warned about civil unrest⁷ and an aggressive public, trained in martial law and encouraged to twist the law in their favor and use aggressive force rather than be just.

¹http://www.wnd.com/2007/07/42749/

² http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/22/david-silva-cell-phone-video-bakersfield-police-beating_n_3314957.html

³http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/constitution/item/15787-supreme-court-bombshell-no-right-to-remain-silent

⁴http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/illegal-search-and-seizure

⁵http://www.patheos.com/blogs/theanchoress/2013/02/05/drone-killing-without-due-process-and-obama-and-ayers/

⁶http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/10/edward-snowden-basic-liberties_n_3414824.html

⁷http://swordattheready.wordpress.com/2013/02/11/dhs-and-military-prepare-for-civil-    unrest-in-usa-this-summer/

Obama and the puppet masters

No matter whom is in office the verdict is in they are all the same, shifty. greedy, manipulative just to name a few, a good majority of politicians are duping the American people and the American people are allowing it. If you set aside the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Alex Jones sort out the rhetoric and the noise, clear the cache of any unnecessary clutter and open your minds eye to the rhythms of the now. , as you come up with a consensus and the answer is clear then you must act because, the puppet masters have their job to do!

TRAYVON WHO?

Here we go again, now that the murder trial of Mr George Zimmerman is pulsing through the mainstream media, we have to yet be reminded again, of the the injustice's bought about on the black man by the system and also a mixed man? I say that to say this... in this convoluted myriad of targeted media portrayal of a man who claimed to defend himself against a youth who would seemingly, was minding his own business while heading back to his home from purchasing some items at a local convenience store approached and more than likely accosted by a self proclaimed neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman, whom was on the phone with 911 prior to the fatal incident taking place. I not falling for any of it, we having been missing the point for a very long time, "THIS TYPE OF SHIT GOES ON IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY ALL THE TIME" So why when it is a so called racial incident like the Trayvon Martin case does people like Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson, Mr Shabaaz and the so-called new black panther party, and all all the others whom grandstand when there is an opportunity to insert themselves into the equation and exploit black emotions and fears, "SHAME ON THOSE" whom would use an situation like the Trayvon Martin case to get some media time, where where you when scores of black men are gunned down every single day in the streets all of the country... What about  these statistics........ Now until we get up to a podium and grandstand about these homicides, most unsolved then I'll be concerned about one of our youth who lost his life. Homicides by Date

DATE

RACE

AGE

SEX

WEAPON