Foundation

I recently listened to Scott and Julie, from A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast. I listen to a lot of podcasts, and it's tough for me to keep up with them all, so I am a bit behind on this one. The story they were talking about was Isaac Asimov's Foundation. This is a book near and dear to my heart, as it brings me back to high school. A lovely young lass befriended me, and convinced me to join the Science Fiction Book Club, of which she was a member. Now that I think of it, perhaps she just wanted the free book credits for getting me to join...

At any rate, I got 2 free books for joining, and they could be any books, even trilogies. So on her advice I got Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy and Frank Herbert's Dune trilogy. Wow, seeing as that's going for $195 I wish I had kept my copies. Oh well.

Science Fiction soon became my favorite thing to read. And although I loved both sets of stories, Foundation was my favorite, and Asimov soon became my favorite author. Between trips to the mailbox looking for my next month's SF book club offerings, I would go to the library and pour through their science fiction section, from Anderson to Zelazny, reading everything they had.

But back to the Foundation trilogy. If you haven't read it, there will be spoilers, so go away, read it, and come back... Good. Julie and Scott had some interesting things to say about it, but they didn't focus on what I think is very obvious (maybe they didn't because it is so glaringly obvious) - Harry Seldon is Christ. Oh not literally, but he is a Christ figure in the story. Just like Christ he gathers his disciples and says "I will be with you until the end of the age."

When there is a Seldon crisis" he even appears to the descendants of his disciples. You did read the books, right? Oh, then a "Seldon crisis" is a socio-political crisis predicted by Harry Seldon's psychohistorical mathematics. When one happens, the people can't see the way it can be resolved, but Harry knows, and it all works out in the end. Kind of like "the gates of hell shall not prevail" kind of stuff...

Which got me thinking. In the 13th century, the Church was suffering from corruption from within and the threat of Muslim invasion and secularism from without. Sound familiar? Until a young man named Francis had a dream that Jesus was telling him "rebuild my church." We think of him as a nice man in brown who holds birds in his hands, but in the day he was quite the radical. He walked hundreds of miles, barefoot, to preach to the Muslims, with the result that they did not invade.

It seems like the Church today is experiencing another "Seldon crisis." Will Jesus appear and help us through this one? Perhaps he already has...

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Never Forget

I typically don't post much on 9-11. I mean it's obligatory to post something to commemorate the event, but it's not an event I like to remember. So I thought I'd write about what we really should never forget.

Let's never forget a president who, rather than spouting rhetoric and hatred, expressed his sorrow and pursued justice.

Let's never forget the men and women who risked their lives to try to rescue survivors.

Especially now that we seem hopelessly divided, let's never forget how we all came together as brothers and sisters

...and above all let's not forget God.

St. Michael the Archangel,

defend us in battle.

Be our protection against

the wickedness and snares of the devil;

may God rebuke him, we humbly pray;

and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host,

by the power of God, thrust into hell

Satan and all evil spirits

who wander through the world

seeking the ruin of souls.

Amen.

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Building Codes

 You didn't build that!

Muslims built it!

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On What Charge?

I'm somewhat confused (and a bit irate) at this piece from AP news:

Polk County sheriff's deputies arrested Pastor Terry Jones, 61, and his associate pastor, Marvin Sapp Jr., 34, on felony charges as he drove a pickup truck towing a large barbecue-style grill filled with Qurans soaked in kerosene. He had said he was heading to a nearby park to burn 2,998 Qurans — one for every victim of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Sheriff's officials said they would hold a news conference later Wednesday to discuss specific charges.

So, what is he being charged with?

Here's a story with a bit more detail.

Jones planned to burn the books at the county-owned Loyce E. Harpe Park in Mulberry, but was denied a permit, with officials saying he filed his request too late and that he does not have permission for an event of that magnitude. 

...Polk deputies took Jones and Sapp into custody. The Lakeland Ledger reports the men are facing traffic-related offenses for driving with kerosene in the grill. 

The Polk County Sheriff's Office has not publicly said what charges the two men face, but they will be felonies.

Really? I can't see how driving with a trailer with kerosene in it is a felony. Kerosene, like diesel fuel and unlike gasoline is not considered a flammable fuel. According to Wikipedia kerosene has a class II flammability rating, which means it must be moderately heated or exposed to relatively high ambient temperatures before it will ignite.

So I really don't see the problem. Stupid, yes, but a felony? Nor is failure to get a permit to exercise one's first amendment rights a felony.

Now I don't agree with Pastor Jones, or condone what he was about to do, but this is supposed to be America. The articles mentioned describe how his actions could spark Muslim violence in the Middle East. Although I doubt his actions would be that important, and there already seems to be violence in the Middle East without his help, even if it did, this is America, not the Middle East.

[Update: the charges have been disclosed:

Jones was charged with unlawfully conveying fuel, a felony, and openly carrying a firearm, a misdemeanor. Sapp was charged with invalid registration for his trailer that hauled the grill and the felony of unlawful conveyance of fuel.

So apparently in Florida it is a felony to carry kerosene this way, although I read several articles about its use in sprayers to kill vegetation - I wonder how they get around the law for that?

Well, my already low opinion of Pastor Jones' intelligence has taken a dip. He supposedly knew this was illegal but wanted to flout the law. Or at least that's what's being reported. We'll see what happens at the trial. I bet they throw the book at him (pun intended).]

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Baptists and Muslims

President Obama has expressed his support for the "ground zero" mosque. For those who have missed the story entirely,

The Islamic center's leaders say they plan to build the $100 million, 13-story facility called Cordoba House three blocks from the site of the 9/11 attacks. The developer, Sharif El-Gamal, describes the project as an "Islamic community center" that will include a 500-seat performing arts center, a lecture hall, a swimming pool, a gym, a culinary school, a restaurant and a prayer space for Muslims.

According to Obama, the Muslims have a right to build a worship center on private land. And he is correct, they do have that right. However, that doesn't make it a good idea. And it certainly doesn't warrant a presidential "thumbs up".

Consider the case of the Westboro Baptist Church. Their members have been protesting at military funerals, holding up signs with slogans like "God hates America". A federal court recently ruled that they had the right to protest. But was it a good idea? The Westboro church members were trying to get a national platform for their message, and in that sense they succeeded. But they also alienated people so much by their gross disrespect they not get the message across, but incited hatred of their cause.

A church (mosque, synagogue, etc.) does not exist in a vacuum. It exists within, and to serve, a community. Obviously the Muslims living in and near lower New York need a place to worship and study. But New York is a small place, and it is easy to get around. Moving the center even a few blocks, or building something less ostentatious would have shown the community that their feelings were considered and respected by the Islamic community. In fact, the group turned down an offer to move the center to state owned land in order to keep it where it is. This is not the correct stance for a community center to take. It is the stance of someone trying to pick a fight with the community.

Additionally, Obama's support reeks of the bad judgment he showed in his "stupid cop" comments over the Gates arrest last year. The president should not be taking sides on issues being resolved in a city. When he does so, he is the 800 pound gorilla grandstanding for attention. In the same vein as the center itself, Obama had the right to make those remarks, but they were not a good idea.

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