'...the Lord... has pleasure in [our] prosperity.'Psalm 35:27 NKJV
Yep - these are the best days of my life thus far. Although in saying that, i did mention to Nicole, and her friend last night, that i wish i had a boyfriend, because i felt like going out, or doing something. They told me to "go get one then" ...like it is that easy! I told them that i am too lazy and can't be bothered "getting one"...so they told me "well that is your own fault then cause you could get one if you wanted one." Oh to be 16 again...and have things seem that simplistic!
Anyway, instead, of going out and just "getting myself a boyfriend"...i spent my evening arguing an absolutely mute point with someone on Facebook! haha What an absolutely amazing waste of time it was.
You see, there is / was a website that had been put up, in response to the earthquake in Christchurch. This website was put up by a religious fanatic, and it stated that the Christchurch earthquake had been brought on by the citizens of Christchurch themselves. It stated that it was their own fault because gay and lesbian people live there. It blamed the earthquake on gays and lesbians. From memory - i only read the website once, and then it was removed - It also blamed the earthquake on the fact that prostitution had been legalised, and stated that New Zealand society as a whole is evil, full of drug addicts, criminals, violence, etc etc...it stated that New Zealand is a modern day Sodom - which if you are not familiar with the Bible story of Sodom and Gomorrah, was a city that God destroyed due to impenitent sin, and homosexuality. It called all New Zealanders who have ever sung our national anthem - "God save the Queen" - hypocrites. It blamed the state of our economy on our sins.
Everyone knows, that i am a Christian, that i believe in God, and what the Bible says. That is no secret. There are a lot of things about our society here in New Zealand that i do not agree with. New Zealand is a very secular society...no doubt about it. We could, and should be doing things so much differently. That goes without saying. I don't though, agree with, and never will agree with, a hate filled website being published with the sole intention of causing more hurt to people who are suffering. This website was not well written, with valid arguments. It was crass, hurtful, and full of sexually explicit photos. It was the rantings of a hate filled lunatic, that was attempting to incite hate - not the reasoning of a Christian with good intentions, and trying to spread the word of God.
A Facebook page was set up, requesting that people email complaints to the host of this website, until the website was removed. Enough people did this, and the website is, at least for now, gone. This action though, prompted some Christians to rush in there, in support of the website, in the guise of advocating for free speech. Now i am all for free speech, and in all honesty i was out of my depth in this debate, while i tried to explain why i thought it was a good thing that the website had been removed - with a woman that is studying a Master of Laws and is writing a thesis on Rights and Freedoms law, and is married to a theologist. LOL! I sure know how to pick my battles!
She argued her point re free speech, and how it doesn't matter if it is hurtful to anyone, or if it incites hate - that the website had a right to be there, and requesting that it be removed, or lobbying to do so was a breach of human rights - or something like that anyway.
The most amusing part of this whole debate though, is that this woman is another blogger, that i have met once, and who also knows my "friend" that i have written about my struggles with over the past couple of months. This woman emailed me yesterday, in response to a blog post i had done, regarding the behaviour of this former friend of mine, and what i had written about it. She asked me, if i would consider removing my blog post because it had the potential to cause unnecessary hurt to this former friend of mine. She stated that she did not think it was "kosher" for me to have written my views on the situation, on a public blog - despite the fact that i had not identified this former friend, and no one knew who she was. I thought about what she had to say yesterday, and i removed the blog post in question. Despite it being my feelings, and a true account of what had happened, and how i felt about the whole situation, i removed it because it was not my intention to cause unnecessary hurt to anyone - no matter how bad i think their actions are, or how mean, or crazy i think that person is.
So my only argument with her last night was how were these two situations different? I pointed out the irony of her advocating free speech, no matter how hateful or hurtful that speech is, after requesting that i remove something from my blog that she did not like. She had all sorts of reasons why the two were different - one of them being that her two emails to me were different to a group of people "lobbying" to have someone's writings removed from the internet. Not long after this argument of hers - i noticed her, sending messages to others asking "" and supplying a link to the page. lol...Hello??? Isn't that lobbying and hate speech itself - by insulting and calling anyone with a view different to your own, a nutter? The irony was more amusement than i could shake a stick at.
Honestly - i wasted hours last night, trying to get my point across - That sometimes, free speech aside, things can just be...wrong...and that website was wrong. Christchurch is full of people who are consumed with grief, who are probably already questioning their faith - if they have one - because of this tragedy, people who have lost everything, people who have no plumbing and have not been able shower, or flush a toilet in days...and people who have not slept in days. I don't know about anyone else that reads this, but do you know how crazy a person can get after 4 days with no sleep? Well i do. Christchurch does not need to have it's residents, riled up by having websites circulating that blame a certain group of people for what they are going through. Political, religious, and free speech debates aside -the website was hurtful and wrong and i am glad that it is gone. Websites like the one in question hurt Christianity, more than anything.
To me, this is simple and i don't need a law degree to work out that you can't have it both ways. You can't request or expect something that you have read to be removed, because it has personal relevance to you, and think that is any different to people wanting something that was hurtful to the people of Christchurch, to be removed. The scale of the hurtfullness is the only thing that differs regarding these two scenarios. I am not talking about having someone else remove my blog, or something from my blog. I am talking about the basic desire to not want to see or read hurtful and damaging things, and our right to request that it be removed - which is what the facebook page was all about.
I struggle with the fact also, that this woman is unhappy about being included in an internet poll with another blogger who she states advocates adultery, by writing about how to get away with shagging a married man at a birthday party (have not read the post in question myself, just got told about it) -yet she is happy to be friends with, and defend, a woman who commits adultery. I just don't GET that. SOMEONE. HELP. ME. There seems to be one rule for some...and another for others in some people's eyes, i guess.
I should have gone out boyfriend hunting instead last night! It would have quite possibly been a better use of my time!
Phew...that was a read and a half. I was good this morning. I got up at 7am and went for a run. It is a beautiful day out there, and i am feeling fantastic. Morning runs are where it is at!
Oh..and here are a couple of links to news items about that website...in case you had not heard about it.
Extremist Christians blaming disaster on gays
'Despicable': website blames Christchurch quake on gay community
God delights in seeing His children succeed; what good parent wouldn't? Jesus said, 'If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in Heaven give good things to those who ask Him!' (Matthew 7:11 NKJV).
David wanted to build the temple, but God chose his son Solomon instead. Sometimes our desires differ from God's, so we need to consult Him before we make a move. Usually God reveals His plan one step at a time. If your desire for something persists, it's an indication that God is leading you. So look for the signs, listen to the Holy Spirit, prayerfully evaluate everything, cultivate an instant response to God, reject all feedback that breeds doubt, ask God for wisdom and expect it. And don't be selective about who you're willing to receive wisdom from. After all, God once spoke through a donkey and changed history.
The Bible says, '...Ask... God, and He will give it to you' (James 1:5 NLT). Wisdom is the ability to see and interpret things through God's eyes. What an advantage! The Psalmist says, 'The entrance of Your words gives... understanding...' (Psalm 119:130 NKJV). When God saves you, He renews your mind because that's the drawing-board for your future. Mind management should be one of your top priorities: '...Whatsoever things are... good... think on these things' (Philippians 4:8 KJV).
Don't justify failure another day; refuse to stay bogged down; stop placing blame on others. Instead circle today's date on your calendar and declare that the best days of your life are beginning - right now!
Yep - these are the best days of my life thus far. Although in saying that, i did mention to Nicole, and her friend last night, that i wish i had a boyfriend, because i felt like going out, or doing something. They told me to "go get one then" ...like it is that easy! I told them that i am too lazy and can't be bothered "getting one"...so they told me "well that is your own fault then cause you could get one if you wanted one." Oh to be 16 again...and have things seem that simplistic!
Anyway, instead, of going out and just "getting myself a boyfriend"...i spent my evening arguing an absolutely mute point with someone on Facebook! haha What an absolutely amazing waste of time it was.
You see, there is / was a website that had been put up, in response to the earthquake in Christchurch. This website was put up by a religious fanatic, and it stated that the Christchurch earthquake had been brought on by the citizens of Christchurch themselves. It stated that it was their own fault because gay and lesbian people live there. It blamed the earthquake on gays and lesbians. From memory - i only read the website once, and then it was removed - It also blamed the earthquake on the fact that prostitution had been legalised, and stated that New Zealand society as a whole is evil, full of drug addicts, criminals, violence, etc etc...it stated that New Zealand is a modern day Sodom - which if you are not familiar with the Bible story of Sodom and Gomorrah, was a city that God destroyed due to impenitent sin, and homosexuality. It called all New Zealanders who have ever sung our national anthem - "God save the Queen" - hypocrites. It blamed the state of our economy on our sins.
Everyone knows, that i am a Christian, that i believe in God, and what the Bible says. That is no secret. There are a lot of things about our society here in New Zealand that i do not agree with. New Zealand is a very secular society...no doubt about it. We could, and should be doing things so much differently. That goes without saying. I don't though, agree with, and never will agree with, a hate filled website being published with the sole intention of causing more hurt to people who are suffering. This website was not well written, with valid arguments. It was crass, hurtful, and full of sexually explicit photos. It was the rantings of a hate filled lunatic, that was attempting to incite hate - not the reasoning of a Christian with good intentions, and trying to spread the word of God.
A Facebook page was set up, requesting that people email complaints to the host of this website, until the website was removed. Enough people did this, and the website is, at least for now, gone. This action though, prompted some Christians to rush in there, in support of the website, in the guise of advocating for free speech. Now i am all for free speech, and in all honesty i was out of my depth in this debate, while i tried to explain why i thought it was a good thing that the website had been removed - with a woman that is studying a Master of Laws and is writing a thesis on Rights and Freedoms law, and is married to a theologist. LOL! I sure know how to pick my battles!
She argued her point re free speech, and how it doesn't matter if it is hurtful to anyone, or if it incites hate - that the website had a right to be there, and requesting that it be removed, or lobbying to do so was a breach of human rights - or something like that anyway.
The most amusing part of this whole debate though, is that this woman is another blogger, that i have met once, and who also knows my "friend" that i have written about my struggles with over the past couple of months. This woman emailed me yesterday, in response to a blog post i had done, regarding the behaviour of this former friend of mine, and what i had written about it. She asked me, if i would consider removing my blog post because it had the potential to cause unnecessary hurt to this former friend of mine. She stated that she did not think it was "kosher" for me to have written my views on the situation, on a public blog - despite the fact that i had not identified this former friend, and no one knew who she was. I thought about what she had to say yesterday, and i removed the blog post in question. Despite it being my feelings, and a true account of what had happened, and how i felt about the whole situation, i removed it because it was not my intention to cause unnecessary hurt to anyone - no matter how bad i think their actions are, or how mean, or crazy i think that person is.
So my only argument with her last night was how were these two situations different? I pointed out the irony of her advocating free speech, no matter how hateful or hurtful that speech is, after requesting that i remove something from my blog that she did not like. She had all sorts of reasons why the two were different - one of them being that her two emails to me were different to a group of people "lobbying" to have someone's writings removed from the internet. Not long after this argument of hers - i noticed her, sending messages to others asking "" and supplying a link to the page. lol...Hello??? Isn't that lobbying and hate speech itself - by insulting and calling anyone with a view different to your own, a nutter? The irony was more amusement than i could shake a stick at.
Honestly - i wasted hours last night, trying to get my point across - That sometimes, free speech aside, things can just be...wrong...and that website was wrong. Christchurch is full of people who are consumed with grief, who are probably already questioning their faith - if they have one - because of this tragedy, people who have lost everything, people who have no plumbing and have not been able shower, or flush a toilet in days...and people who have not slept in days. I don't know about anyone else that reads this, but do you know how crazy a person can get after 4 days with no sleep? Well i do. Christchurch does not need to have it's residents, riled up by having websites circulating that blame a certain group of people for what they are going through. Political, religious, and free speech debates aside -the website was hurtful and wrong and i am glad that it is gone. Websites like the one in question hurt Christianity, more than anything.
To me, this is simple and i don't need a law degree to work out that you can't have it both ways. You can't request or expect something that you have read to be removed, because it has personal relevance to you, and think that is any different to people wanting something that was hurtful to the people of Christchurch, to be removed. The scale of the hurtfullness is the only thing that differs regarding these two scenarios. I am not talking about having someone else remove my blog, or something from my blog. I am talking about the basic desire to not want to see or read hurtful and damaging things, and our right to request that it be removed - which is what the facebook page was all about.
I struggle with the fact also, that this woman is unhappy about being included in an internet poll with another blogger who she states advocates adultery, by writing about how to get away with shagging a married man at a birthday party (have not read the post in question myself, just got told about it) -yet she is happy to be friends with, and defend, a woman who commits adultery. I just don't GET that. SOMEONE. HELP. ME. There seems to be one rule for some...and another for others in some people's eyes, i guess.
I should have gone out boyfriend hunting instead last night! It would have quite possibly been a better use of my time!
Phew...that was a read and a half. I was good this morning. I got up at 7am and went for a run. It is a beautiful day out there, and i am feeling fantastic. Morning runs are where it is at!
Oh..and here are a couple of links to news items about that website...in case you had not heard about it.
Extremist Christians blaming disaster on gays
'Despicable': website blames Christchurch quake on gay community
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment