Response to the Canadian Political Parties English Debate

So, I watched the 2h debate between the Conservatives, Liberals, NDP, and Bloc Quebecois on CBC and I have to admit I was disappointed with it. I like watching debates during an election because in theory I should learn why I should vote for one party over another. If this was a one-on-one debate, then I would not mind if heard constant criticism of the current government as long as it was coupled with why I should elect a new one. However, it was 4 people debating and all I really heard was why I should not vote for one person.

As questions were asked, it started as a one-on-one debate between two of the party leaders for 6 minutes and then it expanded to the other parties. I found that one-on-one's always came back to attacking Stephen Harper, and this included the one-on-one debates he was not in! Sometimes the debate went completely off-topic that they may as well had no questions being asked at all. Furthermore, I found that it was not really a debate at all but a gang-up on Stephen Harper. To me this is not fair because a good debater should be able to acknowledge the positive and negative aspects of what or who they are opposing.

For example, I don't like the Star Wars prequels and I'll gladly defend my dislike for them in a debate. However, I can say that John William's score for them was amazing, I really enjoyed how Mustafar and Naboo turned out, and the make-up/cosmetic transformation from Chancellor to Emperor Palpatine and Anakin Skywalker to burnt up Darth Vader were very well done. I can affirm these positive things about the prequels even though I hate them.

In this debate I heard again and again why I should not vote for Stephen Harper. Yet no one acknowledged that under Harper Canada faired a lot better than any other country during the recession. It would have looked better if the parties affirmed that and then said how they could improve upon it. Instead they keep coming back to where Stephen Harper failed and why I should not vote for him. Why can't  you guys can tell me why I should vote for you and what you want to do for Canada if elected? 

The political parties need to stop bashing the current Prime Minister all the time during debates. Debating is the time to balance between the problems with the old government and why I should choose them to form the new one.On May 2 I don't who to vote for; I only know that I should not vote for Stephen Harper if the NDP, Bloc, and Liberals had their way. Well, OK, I know who I'm going to vote for but the debate really had little to no influence on my choice at all. If anything, it made me wonder if the best choice is to fire all of our politicians and find new ones.

The Darkness- A Poem

I wrote this poem to express a day when I went through an intense spiritual battle. There is a lot of imagery in this, so don't take everything literally. I did allude to the Scriptures a bit. If you want a back story to some of the allusions, read Hosea and Ezekiel, and Romans 7-8.  Another good Scripture to read is Psalm 88. If you need specifics, please ask what something means in it, instead of making your own assumptions!

The Darkness- A Poem by Andrena LeBlanc

The darkness

It is tempting because its easy

You can hide your deeds and thoughts

Despite knowing that God will always see

And still to it I flee

The mantle of darkness cools the soul,

Hardens the heart and quickens mortality's toll

Yet is a fun and pleasurable fold

I hate it, yet I love it

I could remove what it feeds on:

Keep the lights on always and tear down whats on my walss

But something else will just come along and make me fall

Oh how tainted is my love for the darkness

I want its shadows but I hate them and their leader

How can I love what I hate?

My darkness, my sin killed Jesus

Jesus is my only love, my only purpose, my only identity

Yet, I crawl into bed with His killers

I hate sin and the dark

Yet I sleep with it and revel in its pleasures and passions

I walk away and feel sick after the encounter

Already death was conceived by it

Who are you, O world, to say darkness and sin is right?!

How dare you recruit and attempt to bring me back to your prison!

Your sin and darkness killed Jesus

If I could, I would never return to your brothel of sin, death, and darkness

The darkness, the darkness

O Lord when will I be free from it?

When will you return and set your followers free?

This thorn of darkness is so hard to bear

Yet, I have no where else to go but to You

The world can't help, it's under the dark

I can't go to the church, your bride will just show me the door

I can only go to you, the rock of my salvation

O darkness, if I could I wouldn't put up with your crap again

No more nights of forbidden passions

No more nights of conceiving darkness and death

Yet it is inevitable that I reutnr to your brothel again...

I sneak out, even though I know my Lover already knows where I am going

The adultery will happen and sin and darkness will be conceived and they will give birth to death

Sin and darkness blind me to my Lover's distance when I come home

Then the darkness turns and whispers:

"How could you betray and deny your Lover like this? Your no good!"

"You are nothing but an adulteress!"

Then I hear the Accuser say to my Father, "Your daughter just cheated on your Son!"

Look, here comes my Lover- What will He say?!

"My dear, come here."

"Yes, Lord Jesus?""What have you done?"

"I have sinned. I don't deserve to be with You anymore."

Jesus then turns to His Father:

"Father, she is with mme. It is finished."

Then He turns to the Accuser:

"you are the one who led her astray. She is Mine, not yours!"

 Then Jesus says to me:

"You are forgiven. Go and sin no more."

Thank you Lord for Your forgiveness

Thank you for dying to save me from Satan, darkness, sin, and death

Even though my sin leads me to unwanted places, I am still Yours

I will only follow You

Prayse God for the Holy Spirit, who leads me from the darkness into the light!!

O what a wretched woman I am!

Who will save from this body-

And from this world of Satan, sin, darkness, and death?

Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord!!!

End

Poem: Struggles at Home

Struggles at Home
I want to connect and show that I care
But it seems in the end I run away
When I am with you there is always a wall
That is always a scale too tall

I try to tell you how I feel
There is so much I want to reveal
But in the end I back away
No longer do I want to stay

I try to explain
What it is that brings me pain
But in the end it is I
Whom you lay a lot of the blame

Why can't you see me?
Why can't my words get through
You are so closed to me
So closed...

This poem is what I feel
It contains no symbols or seals
Yet you probably won't understand a word
I guess to you they're just meaningless terms

I love you and I want our relationship to be better
Than why can't I reach you?!
Why can't you hear me?
Sometimes I think you hate me

But I know you love me
Even though sometimes it doesn't show
It's something I don't always know
I wish it was something you would more often show

I love you and I want to love you more
I want to be your best friend
Then why can't we connect?
Why can't I love you more?
Why can't I see that you love me more?

Andrena

CBE's Women and Christian History: Building on a Legacy Conference

Christians for Biblical Equality (CBE) is a ministry that I mentioned in a previous post. They are a ministry that promotes equal access to all positions within church leadership regardless of social class, ethnicity or gender. This ministry is based on Galatians 3:27-29-


For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.


And there mission statement is as follows:

CBE affirms and promotes the biblical truth that all believers—without regard to gender, ethnicity or class—must exercise their God-given gifts with equal authority and equal responsibility in church, home and world.

This statement can be found on their website, along with their numerous resources that promote biblical equality. Although I do not have the finances I would become a member of CBE, I do fully support their cause and will do whatever I can to promote it.

Their primary focus is gender equality, specifically the freedom for women to enter all areas of church ministry. One of the ways they promote their beliefs is through conferences. One of the conferences is  Women and Christian History: Building on a Legacy. This conference is happening in Chicago and will look at the  women have fulfilled throughout Israelite and Church history.

Although I do not have the finances to go to the conference or donate to it, I do have the technological resources to promote it and CBE. I will always be for women in church leadership and biblical egalitarianism, and I hope that people who read this will consider promoting the conference, or going to it!

In closing, here is an email I got from CBE about the story of the youngest woman to become and Anglican Priest, who showed the importance of CBE's work and this conference:


Sharing the Legacy:

Dear Friend,
Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of speaking with a woman whose life displays the importance of CBE's message. Here is her story, which I thought you'd enjoy.

Heather Ann came into contact with CBE several years ago while she was working on her bachelor’s degree in religious studies. Even at the age of twenty, she felt called to the priesthood, though pursuing this calling brought backlash from her classmates. When Heather Ann was assigned to write a paper on women and Christianity, she called CBE for resources. Little did she know this organization would become a solid support system in her life.

In the package Heather Ann received from CBE was one of Dorothy Irvin’s annual calendars The Archeology of Women’s Traditional Ministries in the Church and a bookmark with an image of the tombstone of a female priest. Suddenly, Heather Ann was not alone. Women had been strong leaders in the church for centuries, and here was the evidence!

The bookmark from that first package accompanied Heather Ann wherever she went. “This was my proof,” she says. Whenever people asked her about being a female priest, she would show them the bookmark as evidence of her place within a larger tradition.

Armed with evidence of her priestly forerunners and supported by CBE members, Heather Ann became one of the youngest priests ordained in the diocese of Chicago, and the third Puerto Rican ordained in this same diocese. Today, Heather Ann is starting a church plant through the Anglican Church in North America.

To support women like Heather Ann, CBE and the Greater Chicago Chapter are hosting the one-day conference Women and Christian History: Building on a Legacy. As one of the conference's renowned speakers, Dorothy Irvin will present the same images that so strongly influenced Heather Ann’s ministry. What’s more, this conference will be located down the street from several Christian colleges and seminaries where women much like Heather Ann are in need of the encouragement of female church leaders throughout history.

Here are a few ways in which you can help us to reach as many people as possible with this conference.

1) Donate! Promoting a conference requires a lot of time and resources, from printing and design to mailing and phoning. Will you make a generous donation toward marketing this conference?

2) Tell your friends! Post links to CBE’s conference website on your Facebook, MySpace or Twitter account. Mention us in your blog. Let others know about this great opportunity!

Help CBE share the legacy of women in Christian history—a legacy worth building on!


In Christ's Loving Provision,
Mimi Haddad
President

P.S. CBE conferences provide life-changing fellowship and resources to hundreds of people. Donate to CBE conferences today!

It sucks that I can't go to the conference, but I hope through this blog article and my use of other social networking sites others will go to it and learn about what God has done through women through the centuries.

Why Aren't Women Preaching?

There are a lot of controversial issues in the church today. Some of them are whether or not to add funding to youth ministry or to seniors ministry within local churches, while others split Christianity in two. One of those issues is women in ministry. Why aren't women preaching? Why are there more men then women in pastoral positions in the church?

Because for some assanine reason Christian men decided that the only place God had for women in the church was to marry Christian husbands, make Christian babies, only serve children's or women's ministry, and feed everyone until the day we die. I am not saying that women are not called for those things as women are the only ones who can bear young but I have a problem with the idea that that is all that we are good for. As Christianity became more and more accepted into society, the church began to adopt certain cultural practices that were not biblical practices. Some of these are the belief that Europeans and European/Western culture is the most superior culture on earth and that men are the most superior gender on earth.

A lot of issues I'll be talking about in this blog things I enjoy to pist me the f_____ off. This issue, the issue of women in leadership or lack thereof, falls right under the pist me the f___ off category. I know, I am a Christian and I use coarse language. Well, that is another controversial issue within the church. However, that is a more "whatever fits the situation" with me. This is one of those situations. Why? Because I fail to see how so many men are into history and can study all the wars, atrocities, and injustices their gender has committed because they had the power to do so because they were in leadership and still say that our world will not spin unless men are in leadership.

The only thing men have been superior at when it comes to leadership is committing all kinds of violent acts that go from sexual assault to genocide. You men have had 2000+ years to show that you are superior in leadership, and you have done virtually nothing but abuse that privilege. Some days I look forward to judgement day when God holds men accountable for their abuse of their leadership positions in the church, home, politics, and the world.

 Except for the odd honourable male that pops up in history, the only man that truly belongs in leadership is Jesus Christ because He is only one that can be trusted to not abuse His powers. My proof? Being God the Son, the second Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ could have used His divine abilities to ensure global domination. Instead He chose to be dirt poor and had to get money out of a fish in order to pay the temple tax. All others fall flat, including King David who proved to be an incompetent, whiny, weeping wimp in the end.

During this year I read books on egalitarianism and I have found them quite compelling, and they bring a lot more sense to Bible passages, like 1Timothy 2, then complementarians (only men belong in leadership) ever did. One of the ministries God lead me to was Christians for Biblical Equality (CBE). It turns out that CBE has a chapter in Toronto. If I could, I would join CBE but for now I will post blog articles about women preaching. Perhaps I will do an internship there if God wills it- note it is not if a man wills it but if God wills it.

Women are not property, we are not the inferior sex. Women are equal with men and made in the image of God. The image of God is male and female, not just male or more male then female.  Christian Women, it is time for us to follow God's lead and do His will, even if it is through hardship. If men want to stand in God's way then they'll be the ones to reap the consequences in the end. However, Jesus will honour people who strive to do His will regardless of the consequences.

Before I end this. here are a couple of speeches I wrote for the RBC scholarship on what I was passionate about.  I am passionate about two things: Jesus and biblical women's rights. For the scholarship I chose to write about women's rights, specifically women in leadership. Thanks to CBE and all the egalitarian literature for inspiring me to write about this, regardless of whether I won or lost. And thanks to my mother, another woman who encouraged me to hold on to my egalitarian beliefs, who edited the essays for me!

RBC Scholarship Essays

Question 1: Please present the community or environmental issue you are most passionate about, whether it is global or community based.

Entering full-time Christian ministry can be a difficult choice for Christian women. There are many women who have felt God’s call to full-time Christian ministry and have achieved all the educational requirements; however, they are constantly prevented from entering into senior pastoral positions because of their gender. My passion is to see women have active positions in the church hierarchy and for Galatians 3:28 to become a reality in the church, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (NIV).

Question 2: Imagine yourself addressing a room of your peers. Please write a speech that you would give to inspire/ask others to mobilize for your cause and join you in being an agent of change to achieve your cause related goals.

Galatians 3:28 says  “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (NIV). I have experienced that verse become reality in my daily life at Emmanuel Bible College. Here Christian women and men come together in order to learn how to minister to other people. The same cannot be said for the church where in most cases the higher echelon is exclusively male. Many of the women, like myself, studying theology today will attempt to enter church ministry after graduating, only to be prevented because they are women. As I ponder this reality in the church, I wonder if pursuing a theological education is a waste of our time and money. For many women studying the various facets of theology today future employment will be limited to women’s and children’s ministry. Why is it that we have the same calling from God, complete the same studies, but cannot have access to the same positions in the church?

I believe that there are many women called to women’s ministry and children’s ministry, and I want to see them carry out what God has planned for them. However, there are also many women that feel strongly called to church leadership. They successfully complete their schooling, equalling or exceeding their male counterparts, only to have the church oppose God’s calling for them. This hierarchal structure, where women are subordinate to men is similar to what women are still subject to in many other areas of Canadian culture today. For example, in the year 2000 women only made 71% of what men made (Macionis, Jansson, & Benoit, 2009, p. 266).

Jesus Christ came to overturn societal norms and to proclaim a more egalitarian society:

The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.  (Luke 21:25-26).

This double standard that results in women being stopped from pursuing the paths that God has called them to by those who believe the higher echelon of the church is a male exclusive domain, questions whether the church is representing what God, through his Son Jesus Christ, envisioned.  As we move toward egalitarianism in our society, it is for the church to take the lead in our society towards equality.  It is time for women to take their rightful places as redeemed people of God and follow His calling and his lead wherever it may take them.

References

Macionis, J. J., Jansson, S. M., & Benoit, C. M. (2009). Society: The Basics (4 ed.). Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Star Wars The Old Republic Historical Timeline Videos

The Old Republic is the next installment in the KOTOR franchise. It is the first MMO Bioware has ever produced and the first MMO in gaming history to include story as an aspect to online games. The game is due to be released in spring, 2011. While fans. like me, wait eagerly for its release Bioware and LucasArts have been sending out historical video that tell the back story of The Old Republic as well as connecting the MMO to the original Knights of the Old Republic.

Time Line 1: The Treaty of Coruscant

The Treaty of Coruscant (TOC) is where the game starts. It is a tentative peace agreement between the Republic and Sith Empire that ended the war. This historical time line video of the TOC and introduces the historical timeline videos:

Time Line 2: The Mandalorian Blockade is Broken

The Mandalorian Blockade is what lead to the TOC because it caused a huge delay in the Emperor's victory.

Time Line 3: The Return of the Mandalorians

The Mandalorians were the direct instigators of the Mandalorian Wars that took place before the original KOTOR. They are what ultimately lead to the Jedi Civil War and Darth Revan and Darth Malak's fall. Now, they challenge the Jedi again during the heat of the Sith Empire's onslaught.

Time Line 4: The Empire Changes Strategy

The corrupted side of the Star Wars Galaxy. Mercenaries, bounty hunters, crime lords, and smugglers make up this diverse side. The corrupted side is neither light nor dark, but forms the galaxies underworld. In Star Wars Empire at War Forces of Corruption players got to work through the underworld of the Star Wars Galaxy during the Galactic Civil War and lead the Zann Consortium to underworld dominance. 4000 years earlier the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire looked for a way to get the galaxy's most notorious criminals to side with them....

Time Line 5: Battle of Bothawui

Time Line 6: The Onslaught of the Sith Empire

The Sith Empire returns into known space after being exiled for centuries. They were exiled after their defeat at the hands of the Jedi and the Galactic Republic. Assuming the Sith Empire was done, the Jedi and Republic went on to fight the Exar Kune War, the Mandalorian Wars, the Jedi Civil War, and the Sith Triumverate. Only the Exar Kune War had nothing to do with the Sith Empire, however, and the latter three should have alerted the Jedi and Republic to the reality of the great evil that existed beyond known space. However, it didn't and the Sith Empire returned 300 years after the death of Darth Malak and the end of the Jedi Civil War...

Time Line 7: Peace for the Republic

According to Master Gnost-Dural, the 300 years after the Jedi Civil War was a time of peace and growth for the Republic... OK, he clearly has never played KOTOR II as the first 5 years after the Jedi Civil War the Republic was fighting agaisnst the Sith Triumverate lead by Darth Sion, Darth Nihilus, and Darth Traya. So, I'd say the Republic was at peace for 295 years, not 300. Anyway, the Sith Emperor was not a fool during those years and sent many infiltrators into the Republic and Jedi Order in order to prepare for a Sith invasion. This video looks at one of those infiltrators 200 years after the Sith Emperor's first representatives returned to known space:

Time Line 8: The Jedi Civil War

As I explained in a previous blog article, the Sith Emperor's first representatives to return to known space were Darth Revan and Darth Malak ...

I'll edit this article as more time line videos come in. They are the property of LucasArts and Bioware, the two companies who designed the first KOTOR and who are designing Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR).
The next time line video will be about the Mandalorian Wars which lead to the Jedi Civil War.

God and Social Justice: Amos 1-2

Bible Study in the Summer
One of the things I enjoy about Christmas break and summer break is that I can do what I enjoy on a regular basis without having to worry about school work. Some of my hobbies- such as video games and reading- could be done during the school year, but post-secondary education requires the laying aside of personal hobbies in order to succeed academically. Bible Study is one of my favourite activities that has to be indirectly set aside during the school year because the Bible books and passages I study during the Fall and Winter semesters are chosen when I choose my classes. Taking biblical studies courses during the semester naturally requires me focus on the books/sections/passages of the Bible that the course is based on with little room to study other books on my own. Summer time allows me to study portions of the Bible that I will not be studying during the school year. This allows me to keep my inductive Bible study skills as razor sharp as they need to be as well as  allowing God to continue to work in and through me during the summer. It also allows me to study the Bible without the added stress that coursework brings. 


I use many resources when I am doing Bible study, but most of them can fall into 1 of 3 categories: the Bible, surveys, and commentaries. The most important resource to use in Bible study is naturally the Bible. However, it is important to learn about the different translations/versions of the Bible that there are in English because there are 1000s of them. The versions I prefer to use are the New International Version (NIV), New American Standard Bible (NASB), and the New Living Translation (NLT). Before using surveys and commentaries, it is a good idea to thoroughly observe the passage that is being studied. What is observation? Well I cannot thoroughly explain but it is just reading the passage over and over again and looking for several features. Some features include repeated words, who is speaking to whom if it is a dialogue or letter, noting any geographical locations, noting how God acts/reacts or how the person writing talks about Him, and various other things. Observation is different from interpretation because the purpose is to not figure out what the Bible passage means but what the passage says. I learned all about this in my interpretation and application of the biblical text class, among other things when it comes to doing Bible study. Personally, I think EVERY Christian should take some kind of course on proper Bible Study but that's a discussion is for another article.


The second type of resource are Bible surveys. Bible surveys focus more on the historical and cultural context of the Bible as a whole and then focus more on the books specifically. Some surveys cover the entire Bible, others cover either the Old or New Testament, and others cover specific books. They are quite useful in understanding the historical context of the book being studied as well as  the literature/genre of the book and what to look for while reading- such as theological themes. 


The second set of resources are Bible commentaries. Commentaries give verse-by-verse explanations of the Bible books. Good commentaries usually focus on one book or a small collection of books. They also cover historical background and themes of the books and give summaries, but they go deeper then the surveys. It is good to use more than one commentary when studying a book of the Bible because although they are useful, they are often subject to the opinions of who is writing. Certain controversial passages- such as Genesis 1-2 and 1Timothy 2- are often subject to the author's personal interpretation; therefore, the reader should use more then one commentary when studying them.


Book of Amos:

Currently I am doing a Bible Study using the NIV Application Commentary series. I've read through Hosea and now I am reading through Amos. Both Hosea and Amos are minor prophets and the only two with their own respective books that were sent to prophesy in the Northern Kingdom. Hosea was a native to the Northern Kingdom, but Amos was brought up in Judah, and worked as a shepherd and raised Sycamore trees before he was called as a prophet to the Northern Kingdom. Some say that Amos was the very first foreign missionary ever called  because by the time of Amos, Israel and Judah had been separate kingdoms for over 200 years and had developed very different cultures.

... Public Service Announcement ...

I think before I continue talking about Amos, I should give you people the back story of God's calling Amos to prophesy. The story of Israel is from Genesis 11 to the end of Nehemiah. In Genesis God called Abraham to form a nation that would be the people of God. Genesis ends with Abraham's grandson, Jacob/Israel, in Egypt because of a famine that plagued the land God promised to give Abraham's descendants. In Exodus-Deuteronomy God rescues the people from Egypt, gives them the Law, and eventually leads them to the Promised Land. Joshua-Ruth records Israel conquering the promised land and beginning its period as an independent, theocratic nation. Theocratic nations are nations where God, or a diving being, is the head of state. Throughout Exodus-Ruth the Israelites are mostly proven to be a rebellious people who repeatedly fall into apostasy and do not hold to the Law God gave them through Moses (Mosaic Law Code). While God is shown to be patient and faithful numerous times, Israel clearly proved to be a way ward people that violated their agreement/covenant with God and ended up being enslaved by other nations. This enslavement was a part of the covenant they made with God: if they followed what was written in the covenant, such as not following other gods (idolatry), then God would bless them and they would stay in the land; however, if they chose to reject God and refuse to follow His laws (which would be breaking the covenant) then God would discipline and eventually have them enslaved or exile them from the land. The latter happened over and over again in the book of Judges. Judges 2 summarizes what happens in the book perfectly. 


The books of 1Samuel-2Chronicles tell the tale of Israel when it became a monarchy. The first king was King Saul, who proved to be an oppressive despot instead of an ideal Israelite, who whole heartedly followed God. The second King was King David. King David is the line that Jesus would eventually be born from, who is our Lord and Saviour. Because of David's faithfulness to God, God chose David's dynasty to be the rightful ruler over Israel and for the Messiah to be born through his line. Matthew 1 and Luke 3 connect the two individuals quite well. Even though King David was the greatest king of Israel, I personally believe he became an incompetent flop in the end. Jesus will always be the ideal king/ruler/head of state any day of the week. This is why I  do not like any government that  currently exists on earth because they are always full of flaws  because they are run by imperfect, sinful human beings. Jesus is fully human and fully God, and His ruler ship will always be the ideal government that I support above all others any day, but that subject is for another blog article. Back to the regular scheduled programming.


King Solomon succeeded David and built the temple and palace, and basically made Israel into an Empire. Up until that time inter-tribal rivalries always existed and attempts by King David to unify them were only partially successful. When King Solomon was in power, inter tribal rivalry heated up again because Solomon made Jerusalem the religious capital, the political capital. Jerusalem was in the tribe of Judah- the tribe that was exempt from paying taxes to pay for Solomon's army and other expenses. When King Solomon died the 10 Northern Tribes rebelled against Solomon's son, Rehoboam, and made Jeroboam (Jeroboam I) king over the new Kingdom-Israel. Only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, or the two Southern Tribes, remained under David's dynasty and they formed the Kingdom of Judah. In this blog article, unless stated otherwise, when I say Israel I mean the Northern Kingdom/Northern Tribes, and if I say Judah I mean the Southern Kingdom/Southern Tribes.

The Northern Kingdom was bad news all the way down to 722BC when they were conquered by the Assyrian Empire. Their first king was Jeroboam I who lead the nation astray by setting up two golden calves to represent God, appointing his own priests, and appointing random feasts in the Israelite calendar. All of these were done in order to prevent people from fulfilling their religious duties in Jerusalem and potentially reunifying with Judah... Oh yeah, and they were also violations of the Mosaic Law Code (see Ex. 20, and Deuteronomy 5; Leviticus 8-10; and Leviticus 23-25). This caused the people to be led astray and opened the door for King Ahab and Queen Jezebel to introduce Baalism into the Northern Kingdom. Because Baal is depicted as a golden calf, the people began to confuse God with Baal and combined Mosaic Yahwism (Israel's religion prior to 586BC) with Canaanite Baalism. This downward spiral lead to a lot of social, religious, and political corruption. Reading about what life was like back then makes me glad I live in the 21st century AD and not during the monarchy period of Israel/Judah.


Eventually Judah suffered the same fate as the Northern Kingdom in 586 BC. They lasted longer because quite a few righteous kings ruled the nation but most of them were bad. After king Manasseh basically lead the nation to break every law in the Mosaic Covenant from idolatry to social injustice, God eventually said enough is enough and Jerusalem was sacked, and the temple was destroyed by the Babylonian Empire in 586BC.

... Back to the Regular Scheduled Programming: Amos 1-2 ...

One of the issues God had with the Northern Kingdom was social justice, or lack thereof. The people were really nasty to one another back then. In Amos 1:3-2:3 God describes the inhumane acts of the nations surrounding Israel and Judah. Philistia, Tyre, and Edom were involved in the capturing and deporting of innocent people and selling them into slavery during peace times; Ammon was known for enlarging their territory by ripping open pregnant women to kill their unborn in order to in still terror into people so that they would flee their lands- lands that the Ammonites gladly took over; Moab was VERY disrespectful to the dead; and Edom was not only buying slaves and being a hateful and oppressive brother to the people of Judah and Israel (Israel and Judah are descendants of Jacob who was the younger brother of Esau who fathered the people of Edom).

Amos 2:4-2:16 proved that the "people of God" were not any better. Judah's problem was that it refused to follow God's laws in the Torah and that the people allowed themselves to be lead astray by false prophets and  corrupt political leaders. Israel bullied their own people by not giving the poor people enough time to pay off small loans in order to sell them into slavery, sexually abusing female servants (Ex. 21:7-11; Lev. 19:20-22), and trying to worship God with stolen goods (such as cloaks and wine). Reading all about this stuff and gaining insight from Bible surveys and commentaries on Amos brought me to a couple of realizations.

One of the obvious things that God wants to teach people in this passage is that He is the Lord of all nations. In Western society this can be hard to believe because we have so much money, technology and other benefits that it seems we control our own destinies. In some ways that is true because it is the choice of every individual to follow God or reject Him. However, this does not mean that God does not sovereignly rules over all nations. The prophecies, also called "war oracles" because they are things that prophets or priests would say before they went off to war, in Amos 1-2 show that God will hold all nations and all people accountable-- including His own. 

Another thing is that God is for social justice. This is because of who God is and how He created human beings. Social injustice is committed when people, usually those in power, violate the human rights and human dignity of other people, usually those who are not in power. These things violate the image of God as all people are created in God's image. Denying someone their rights and dignity as a human being, violates the image of God and that makes God mad. God is also a loving God and throughout Scripture we read of a God who cares about the poor, the humble, and the weak of all societies. Furthermore, He is shown as one who fights for the oppressed against their oppressors. This was true in the case of the Exodus when God fought for the oppressed Israelites against their oppressors, the Egyptians. This event showed that God fulfils His promises, is a God of grace and wants to save people, and that oppressors are His enemy. 

In Amos day the Israelites seemed to have forgotten God's grace to them and that He is against oppressors, as now they have become oppressors. As a Christian, I am part of the people of God. From reading the Bible, it is clear that God's people do not really get special treatment unless they walk in obedience. To me, this shows that that God does not truly show favourites because anyone can become a part of God's people. God saved me and my brothers and sisters in Christ through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ from the greatest oppressors of all time: sin, Satan, and death. Therefore, I have to remember what God did for me then and what He does for me now so I do not become an oppressor. Some people who know me could read this and think that I will never become an oppressor. My answer to that is in our society there is always the potential to be in power and those in power are always tempted to abuse that power and become oppressors. That and sin still exists in me, even though I am redeemed. And just like the Israelites had the potential to do the opposite of what God wanted, I have the potential to do the opposite of what God wants of me too. Therefore, I must always be on guard against this temptation.

Another thing these chapters bring up is God's name and how it can be profaned. An example of this is what is happening in the Catholic Church right now. Because they allowed sin to go rampant and unopposed, God's name, honour, and reputation has been desecrated in the eyes of the people in and outside of that denomination. This is true about any other issue-- especially social injustice because it gives the impression that God supports it, is unable to stop it, or doesn't care about it. A mixture of all three has happened as a result of these scandals, and the first item has especially happened throughout Israelite (Northern + Southern Tribes) and Church history. God's people are supposed to represent God to human beings who are not a part of God's people and show them what God is like. This is what the Bible calls witnessing, and it is a calling that God gives to all human beings who are His people. To allow sins of any kind- such as social injustice, sexual sins, and oppressing others-- violates God's name, honour, and reputation. No wonder God the Son had to come down and reveal God directly, because the Israelites basically did a terrible job of it and in a lot of ways the church has done a terrible job of it. 


Conclusion

Amos 1-2 calls believers to examine their lives and make sure they are not committing social injustices.  There have been many cases throughout history where the church has been directly responsible for social injustice. The oppressed became the oppressors and we are still cleaning up after them to this day.  Thankfully God came down in the person of Jesus Christ to reveal what He is like to us, and He gave us His Word as another revelation to who He is and what He is like and how He views social justice. Social injustice is contradictory to God's character, and He demonstrates it throughout the Old and New Testament.

I think that Amos 1-2, and passages like it, should be preached at least once a month in churches today. Church leaders need to enforce the fact that our actions either honour God bring glory to God or dishonour God and desecrate His name. Perhaps it would cause people, including many church leaders today, to rethink some of their actions and think twice before they choose

I also think that Christians should pay more attention to social justice issues in the world today. If God is the Lord of Nations and cares about what's going on in the world, then we should care and try to get involved. I also think that means that we should know what's going on in our own country and pay attention to things, such as politics. In the Bible it is clear that God cares about politics and who is in power. If our God cares, then we should care and be involved so that God-honouring/God-fearing candidates come into power and that God-honouring laws get passed and the ones that do not honour God or go against what the Bible says are not.

I bet a lot of people reading this are wondering why I haven't posted Amos 1-2 in this article. The reason is that I think that when it comes to the Bible it never hurt to get people to do some work. Look up Amos 1-2 and verify what I am saying. Read Genesis 12-2Chronicles yourself and see if what I wrote about the history of ancient Israel is true or not.After all, you shouldn't be completely trusting my word, but God's Word.  This is why I will rarely post the passage I am talking about within my blog articles unless it is needed. Believe me, it is better to do your homework because you'll get more out of blog articles like this one if you do, and it'll prevent you from being duped!