Missional Journeyman

Global Village Construction Set

2012-02-22T09:30:00.000-05:00

The GVCS Tractor
Source: OSE, GNU FDL 1.2 / CC BY-SA 3.0

It hasn't been too long since last I blogged about Open Source Ecology (OSE), but I love this idea. It's essentially a matter of making making practical designs for farming and industrial equipment freely available, in an "open source" manner. The idea is that economically-challenged individuals and those in isolated regions where spare parts can be scarce should be able to build their own equipment. The designs could also be adapted based on resources available and the local context. Open Source Ecology is calling this collection of 50 industrial machines they are building the "Global Village Construction Set" (GVCS).

The GVCS has categories for Habitat, Agriculture, Industry, Energy, Materials and Transportation. In a pinch, post-apocalypse humanity could take these designs and begin rebuilding civilization with a decent modicum of comfort. In developing regions, people can work with these designs and build the equipment they need.

OSE aims to have 50 designs out by the end of 2012, working with a budget of only $2.4 million. They are also apparently selling finished machines, and are currently taking pre-orders for the Soil Pulverizer, Tractor, Power Cube and Compressed Earth Block Press.

The following, taken from the OSE-GVCS page, are the "key features" of this project:

Open Source - we freely publish our 3d designs, schematics, instructional videos, budgets, and product manuals on our open source wiki and we harness open collaboration with technical contributors.
Low-Cost - The cost of making or buying our machines are, on average, 8x cheaper than buying from an Industrial Manufacturer, including an average labor cost of hour for a GVCS fabricator.
Modular - Motors, parts, assemblies, and power units can interchange, where units can be grouped together to diversify the functionality that is achievable from a small set of units.
User-Serviceable - Design-for-disassembly allows the user to take apart, maintain, and fix tools readily without the need to rely on expensive repairmen.
DIY - (do-it-yourself) The user gains control of designing, producing, and modifying the GVCS tool set.
Closed Loop Manufacturing - Metal is an essential component of advanced civilization, and our platform allows for recycling metal into virgin feedstock for producing further GVCS technologies - thereby allowing for cradle-to-cradle manufacturing cycles
High Performance - Performance standards must match or exceed those of industrial counterparts for the GVCS to be viable.
Flexible Fabrication - It has been demonstrated that the flexible use of generalized machinery in appropriate-scale production is a viable alternative to centralized production.
Distributive Economics - We encourage the replication of enterprises that derive from the GVCS platform as a route to truly free enterprise - along the ideals of Jeffersonian democracy.
Industrial Efficiency - In order to provide a viable choice for a resilient lifestyle, the GVCS platform matches or exceeds productivity standards of industrial counterparts.

To see some of the equipment in action, check out the video below.

In Chains: Freeing Women and Girls from Sexual Slavery

2012-02-21T09:30:00.012-05:00

The film described above was funded last year through Kickstarter and should be released this year (2012). Here's the description from the Kickstarter page:

Nicaragua is the least developed country in Central America and the second poorest country in North, Central, and South America. With little to no education or skills, women who are abandoned by their husbands or widowed are forced into prostitution as the only means for supporting themselves and their children. Additionally, girls 5 years old and younger are routinely sold to brothels and forced to sexually service men.

There is a never-ending list of girls and women that are routinely raped and abused, with no apparent way out of this life.

Watch our overview video to hear just a few of these horrible stories.

In Chains is a documentary project that will show the reality of life for these victims. The startling truth that exists right now, that as you read this girls as young as 7 are being rented to men and raped. Women, seeing no other option, are selling themselves in order to support their family, even as their children look on.

Sex trafficking exists all over the world, in every city. However, in Nicaragua, one of the poorest countries in the world, something amazing is also happening. In the capital city of Managua an organization called "House of Hope" is successfully rescuing women and children from prostitution. In the middle of absolute desperation, people are reaching into the darkness and saving the lost and the hopeless.

Our goal with this project is to paint a picture of the reality of these women and children, with the hope that it will inspire and empower others to do what House of Hope is doing: helping to solve the sex trafficking issue.

Book Review: The Hole in Our Gospel

2012-02-20T09:30:00.008-05:00

Originally published on IgneousQuill.org, 29 November 2010.

“Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God.” - Bob Pierce

For quite a while I kept hearing good things about Richard Stearn’s book, The Hole in Our Gospel. Someone at my church read it and said it revolutionized his thinking. The book was available for purchase for a while at church, and others who read it agreed that it was eye-opening. Recently I got around to reading it for myself. While I appreciated the book a great deal, I suspect that it was less less of an impact on me because most of it really wasn’t news to me. I’ve been trying to get informed over the past few years about issues of poverty and justice around the world, and so perhaps that prior knowledge stole some of this book’s thunder, so-to-speak.

One part autobiography, one part World Vision promotional work and one part Bible study, Mr. Stearns crammed a lot of data and quite a few stories into slightly less than 300 pages of text. These three threads are interwoven throughout the book.

The autobiographical portion details how Mr. Stearns became a Christian, going from a convinced atheist to a committed Christian, his professional rise (with setbacks) in the business world, and finally his struggle with the call he perceived to accept the role of president of World Vision USA. It was on this latter decision that the narrative becomes a little tiresome in places. I suppose because it was such a monumental shift, not only for him but also for his wife and children, he wanted to convey how hard it was to step down from a place of wealth to one of much less wealth. Further, he clearly didn’t believe he was the one for the job due to his lack of prior experience with poverty and relief work. Still, not so many words were needed to get this point across. On the other hand, I appreciated his story of coming to faith in Christ so much that I shared it with my teenage daughter.

Clearly, as World Vision president Mr. Stearns has a duty to advocate on behalf of the good work his organization is doing. This isn’t something I can criticize, but only note as fact regarding this book. Clearly this is where his experience lays as well, so it is natural that he would cite more examples from his charity than any other. At the same time, he does mention throughout the book several other ministries that do great things for the poor around the world. So it isn’t “all World Vision, all of the time.”

Perhaps the most important aspect of this book for many Western Christians, and evangelicals in particular, is the Bible study. Verse after verse is presented to support helping the poor as a biblical mandate. He mentions The Poverty and Justice Bible, which I have discussed elsewhere, and emphasizes the reality that around 2000 verses or more of the Bible deal with poverty and justice issues. This fact may surprise some Christians, particularly those who only think in terms of Christianity as a transaction that gets them to heaven (personal salvation through Christ, avoid egregious sins, repent often then wait for eternity to come) rather than as a call to grace-filled, Spirit-led active discipleship in this world while we prepare for resurrection and New Heavens/New Earth.

This book is generally very good, but I would recommend it in particular to anyone who wants to begin exploring for the first time what the Bible really says about helping those in need. It will most certainly help give you a clearer vision of God’s heart for the poor.

Baptism: Water and Spirit

2012-02-19T10:30:00.002-05:00

All Scripture references from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.

After coming around only with great difficulty to accept the place of immersion baptism in becoming a disciple of Christ, imagine my surprise at finding I was still holding to a minority view regarding this act.

In the Roman Catholic Church I had been taught that baptism, by any mode, conveyed salvation. Although in adults faith was required in the form of assent to certain core doctrines, in children this really didn’t matter. This was one of the doctrines I specifically rejected in leaving that communion. My convictions were thoroughly evangelical.

What do evangelicals believe? In general they hold that salvation occurs when someone trusts in Christ as Savior. Some call for a “sinner’s prayer” to be recited in one form or another, others say that even being able to believe is a gift of God’s grace that precedes faith. By far the majority agree that whatever else, baptism has nothing to do directly with salvation. As the Baptists have put it, paraphrasing Zwingli, “baptism is an outward sign of inward grace.” In other words, baptism shows that we are already saved, not that our salvation is beginning at that moment.

While in Bible college a friend of mine read a book by Billy Graham on the Holy Spirit. In it, Rev. Graham explained that the baptism with the Holy Spirit took place at the moment of saving faith. As a person accepts Christ, in Graham’s view, he or she is baptized with the Holy Spirit. Later this person may or may not be baptized in water, but this plays no role in salvation.

The Assembly of God denomination has traditionally taken a different view of baptism. While they agree that salvation is by “faith alone,” they then require baptism in water for church membership. Baptism in the Spirit is something that happens after salvation, separate from that event, which is evidenced by speaking in tongues.

Through my personal study while attending Central Christian College of the Bible I came to understand that baptism in water is necessary to become a disciple. This is the moment in the believer’s life when sins are remitted and the gift of the Holy Spirit is given.

"Peter said to them, 'Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." – Acts 2:38

At Harding University, an a cappella Church of Christ school, I fully expected to be at variance with the disciples there in regards to a few matters, not least of which instruments in worship. For the most part I kept quiet, though, studying out any explanations that didn’t fit what I already believed. So, as I already mentioned, it more than surprising to learn that I didn’t agree with what was being taught about baptism in water and the Spirit.

The professor, who will remain nameless, lectured one day about how the baptism in the Spirit happened on the day of Pentecost and never again. He held this perspective against the – as he put it – majority view that held there were spirit baptisms first on the day of Pentecost, then at the home of Cornelius. Rather than two separate events, he argued that the second was a continuation of the first.

My head was spinning. It got worse. As I began to research the topic I found that the common belief within Christian Churches/Churches of Christ (instrumental) were little different. One way or the other, baptism in (or with) the Spirit was something strictly for the earliest days of the church, on two separate occasions.

Fortunately, I slowly began to learn that there were a few scholars and preachers in both the above-mentions branches of the Stone-Campbell Movement who held to a view similar to my own. One of these is Jack Cottrell. Whatever else we might disagree about, there is harmony where baptism is concerned. There is only one baptism, consisting of water and Spirit. There are not two baptisms, one of which is defunct.

"There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all." – Ephesians 4:4-6

Off an on over the following weeks I studied the topic further, trying to examine all viewpoints. In the end I concluded that I had been right all along. It’s just as well that the topic came up, or else I may never have examined the Scriptures more deeply on the topic and gotten blind-sided later.

What follows are a few key passages that touch on the topic. Explaining what happens at baptism was not the main point of any of these verses, but they do tell us what the accepted, apostolic teaching was on the topic.

"Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers—none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. And this is what some of you used to be. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." – 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

To me, this couldn’t be clearer. When one trusts in Jesus and confesses him as Lord, resolving with the help of God to turn away from sin, forgiveness is bestowed and a new life is given. This happens through the working of the Holy Spirit. On the outside a ceremonial washing takes place, while inwardly the Spirit of God is making all things new. Since “baptism” is nowhere specifically mentioned, it can be argued that the “washing” is indeed baptism and the rest a simple description of what the Spirit does, without calling it “baptism with the Spirit.”

"For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit." – 1 Corinthians 12:12-13

In the above verses a description is given of becoming part of the “one body,”which is the church. Once again, baptism is connected to salvation (becoming part of the church) and the entire event is the work of the Spirit. It was “in the one Spirit” that “all were baptized into one body.” One interracial, international family, created and bound together by the Spirit.

In summary, Christian baptism is the moment at which the finished work of Christ is applied fully to the believer. Sins are forgiven and the Holy Spirit takes up residence in the heart and life of the new disciple of Jesus. There is now only one baptism, one in water and Spirit, a symbolic outward washing and a simultaneous new creation behind the scenes.

There will be objections to what I’ve said. Some will point to Pentecost and Cornelius (I may deal with these separately). Others will says I’ve just got it wrong. Evangelical friends will surely be gritting their teeth and wondering how I could have missed grace so completely (I haven’t, I just see it happening in a different sequence from what you believe to be true). Nothing I’ve written here is meant to imply that anyone’s baptism is lacking. So far as I can see in the New Testament, the requirements for baptism to be effective are faith in the Lord Jesus, a turning from sin and the correct mode (immersion). That’s it. It’s highly unlikely you fully understood every aspect of what was happening when you were baptized, if you were baptized. You may have thought you were already saved or else not understood that you’d be receiving the Holy Spirit (let alone that this was the baptism with the Spirit given by Jesus). However apostate this may make me in the eyes of some, I’m satisfied that this understanding as a whole is thoroughly orthodox.

"But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life." – Titus 3:4-7

In the event that anyone reading this has not yet been baptized by immersion for the remission of sins and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, I encourage you to seek out a church that can help you find out more and start a new life in Christ.

Church Locators:

International Churches of Christ

Christian Churches (USA only)

Churches of Christ

Honduras January 2012 Community Service Brigade

2012-02-18T09:30:00.020-05:00

"All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along." - Galatians 2:10 NIV

Great reports continue to come in from community service brigades sent out through HOPE worldwide. The one featured in the video below took place this year (2012) in Honduras. Volunteers completed 1,100 medical visits and filled 3,000 prescriptions free of charge in just 3 days.

The next one is scheduled for Managua, Nicaragua this June. If you are interested in volunteering, click here for more information.

Haiti's Second-Hand Clothing Market

2012-02-17T09:30:00.000-05:00

When it comes to second-hand clothes and Haiti, I'm a bit of a hypocrite. If it were in my power to stop all shipments of second-hand clothes to Haiti today, I'd do it (that much power in my hands would be scary!). At the same time, when teams go to Haiti from the Central Jersey Chapter of HOPE worldwide, my family sends clothing.

The trouble with sending second-hand clothing to Haiti in large quantities is simply that it floods the market with low-cost product that eliminates most local competition. With cheap clothing available from overseas, why buy from local vendors? The only exceptions that comes to mind for the average person are school and work uniforms, and that market is hardly sufficient to sustain many tailors. If second-hand clothing, called "pepe" in Haiti, were removed from the market, local clothing manufacturing could flourish.

Of course I realize that it's likely a big help to Haitian parents to be able to buy inexpensive clothing for their children, but who's to say that with adequate competition, locally-made apparel couldn't be reasonably-priced? Further, with people actually able to make money off of their product, more money would be circulating in the economy. There could be more jobs in the industry, from the factory to the retail locations.

As I mentioned above, my family does send clothing donations to Haiti. I don't feel too bad about it, though, because it's a small quantity that gets distributed freely in a singly geographic location. What's given certainly helps someone out, and I'd consider it more of a personal gift than anything else.

Current produced the following short video that gives a little on-the-ground perspective on "pepe."

A Priestly Advocate for the Poor

2012-02-16T09:30:00.004-05:00

Rev. Nathan Monk shared recently on his Facebook wall about how he started holding his "FEED THE POOR" sign. It's a good story. With his permission I'm re-sharing it here.

Four years ago I was driving along a local highway when I saw a man standing on the side of the street holding a sign that read, "hungry please help." I was heading home and it was getting late in the day and I was inclined to ignore his plea like the other motorists. But then I noticed three small children and their mother sitting on a bench behind the man.

Instantly my conscience took over and I pulled into the closest parking lot. I offered for the family to eat at a restaurant across the street. The man packed up his family and told them to go on. I insisted that they all go together because I wanted them to have a break and enjoy a meal together as a family. The man pulled me away from his family by the arm firmly but kind and said, "I lost my job a few months ago and we've been living in a hotel. If I don't come up with $55 dollars by tonight we'll be living in a car. I can't go eat with them. This is all I have!"

I asked the man if I could hold his sign for him. He looked confused for a second but couldn't find an argument. He handed me the sign and left to eat with his family.

I stood there holding his signs in the heat as rush hour traffic buzzed by. People yelled, "Get a job!" and obscenities. Someone threw a drink at me. A few folks stopped and put dollar bills out their half cracked car windows.

The man returned and I gave him what I had collected and we parted ways never to meet again.

A few months later the county passed an ordinance making it illegal for men like him to stand on the roadways and beg, no matter what their plight might be. The sheriff and different commissioners hit the airways with poverty myths painting everyone as drug addicts and alcoholics. Not one of them attributed it to the fact that we are one of the poorest counties in the nation or that it could be from the economic recession. It was the poor's fault that they were poor because of bad choices, they said.

I began holding a sign where the "panhandlers" once stood which read, "FEED THE POOR". It started more or less as a tongue and cheek to the counties "don't feed the bears" mentality about the homeless and poor.

We fought the ruling in court and won....for a while.

The sign became a way of life for me. Two or three times a week I would hold the sign and any money collected we would use to help feed, clothe and shelter the poor. Soon people came from all over the city to find me to give us money or food to help the less fortunate. People from all over the world began to visit our website to help.

But then the county decided to shut me up.

They passed another ordinance. This time making it not only illegal for the homeless to beg for change but for non-profits and news paper hawkers from doing the same. Not only did it eliminate the ability for the poor to beg for themselves but for charities who helped the poor from doing so and also did away with the number one employer of the poor, the local news paper sales group.

To date its been six months since this new law has passed. It has nearly strangled our outreach to the poor which has seen over 40,000 hot meals distributed to those in need, countless pounds of clothing, toiletries, we've paid for peoples medicine, utilities and for emergency shelter.

I can no longer beg on the road with out fear of arrest. So instead I am begging, virtually panhandling if you will, to you on the net.

Please share this with your friends and if you would like to donate to help us continue our work with the poor visit: http://www.saintbenedictmission.com/donate.html

See Also:

Film Project: Bay Of All Saints

2012-02-15T09:30:00.006-05:00

There are so many very cool projects coming out of Kickstarter. One that is currently seeking $10,000 by mid-March is the "Bay of All Saints" film project. From the Kickstarter page:

In Bahia, Brazil, generations of impoverished families live in palafitas, a vast network of shacks built on stilts above a rising tide of garbage over the ocean bay. When the government threatens to reclaim the bay in the name of ecological restoration, hundreds of families are about to lose their homes.

Filmed over 6 years, BAY OF ALL SAINTS is a lyrical portrait of three single-mothers living in the water slums during this crisis. Geni, AKA 'Miss Mayor,' a pizza parlor manager rapidly becomes a community organizer; Jesus, a laundry-washer, starts to look beyond her dreams of a Prince Charming who never comes; Dona Maria, a trash-picker, once freed from domestic servitude, ventures outside the palafitas as she raises her 16 children and grandchildren on the ocean bay.

Their individual stories of poverty unfold through visits from Norato, their big-hearted refrigerator repairman, born and raised in the palafitas. He bears witness, as each family is promised a new home in governmental housing, without knowing when, or if this promise will ever be kept.

BAY OF ALL SAINTS offers a glimpse at the complexities of urban poverty; the sacrifices these women make for their children's survival and the demands of life on the bay. Ultimately, the State's urban development project—through its tumult and blunders—compels these women to rise up and fight for their future.

Cheer and a Teen Girl's Heart

2012-02-14T09:30:00.001-05:00

The dots are connecting, and I've had one of those "aha" moments about parenting a teenage girl. It centers around sports, which have never been of any interest at all to me, and touches on two important aspects of a girl's development.

Almost a year ago my teenage daughter went on an all-out quest to get into cheerleading. Where we live the cheer squad for the school is actually coordinated through the town recreation department and is managed by volunteers for the community. As it turns out, she didn't make the cut for the squad. She was devastated, and the level of her emotional collapse was startling to me. For a couple of months we searched for a private cheer house where she could train for competitive cheer, but the main blocker was always the schedule. There were usually two practices per week and in every case they conflicted with church commitments. Additionally, once competition began we'd have to dedicate three weekends a month to going to events, one of which would always be on a Sunday and prevent us from going to church. It was a no-go, and once again my girl was deeply disappointed.

My daughter's the one in red, up in the air.

Through it all, I kept wondering why this was so important to her. I talked to her about taking dance classes or going back to gymnastics, but these were of minimal interest to her. She was convinced that her thing was cheer, and she didn't want to hear about anything else.

A few weeks ago, Scot McKnight posted part of an article by Alison Gopnik from the Wall Street Journal to the Jesus Creed blog. The part of particular interest to me is where it's explained that teens don't take major risks just because they lack judgment. Rather, they have a distorted and exalted view of the expected pay-off:

Recent studies in the neuroscientist B.J. Casey’s lab at Cornell University suggest that adolescents aren’t reckless because they underestimate risks, but because they overestimate rewards—or, rather, find rewards more rewarding than adults do. The reward centers of the adolescent brain are much more active than those of either children or adults. Think about the incomparable intensity of first love, the never-to-be-recaptured glory of the high-school basketball championship.

What teenagers want most of all are social rewards, especially the respect of their peers. In a recent study by the developmental psychologist Laurence Steinberg at Temple University, teenagers did a simulated high-risk driving task while they were lying in an fMRI brain-imaging machine. The reward system of their brains lighted up much more when they thought another teenager was watching what they did—and they took more risks....

Suddenly, the first half of my "aha" moment lit up. My daughter was obsessively focused on cheerleading and was desperate to get into it because she believed the imagined result in exaggerated terms. That alone would have been a pretty powerful insight, but then I came across the following in some other reading:

"One might hope that the strongest predictor of teenage virginity would be church involvement—but it's not. A recent study of teenage girls shows that the strongest predictor is actually participation in team sports. The girl who plays lacrosse or soccer is more likely to remain chaste than the girl who attends church and youth group. Apparently sporting leagues are doing something right, and the church is (so to speak) dropping the ball." - Real Sex: The Naked Truth about Chastity by Lauren F. Winner

Dang! Now we're onto something!

As I mentioned above, church activities were a major obstacle to being able to getting my daughter into cheer. Certainly I believe that Christ and his reign is more important, but if what Lauren Winner shares is accurate, there's a strong case to be made for teen girls to be active in sports.

Putting it all together, the imagined reward, especially in social terms, was a major driving factor in my daughter's commitment to getting into cheer. At the same time, that activity likely would help her gain confidence (and also occupy her time and energy) sufficiently to make wise sexual choices.

From this I draw two conclusions:

First, youth groups that offer Bible studies and fun activities aren't quite getting it right. Everything that the youth group does (and in fact, the church at large as well) should focus on the mission of God. There needs to be a missional motivation in every Bible study and event, and much more could be done in the way of service activities. If two or more sports practices a week plus weekend competitions aren't too much of a burden for parents and kids, then why should volunteering in a soup kitchen and visiting the elderly in nursing homes be considered too much? Yes, I realize that sports and this level of youth activity can be too much, but why can't youth groups be more missionally-minded, at least for the kids who aren't so much into sports?

Second, my daughter is definitely going to get back into gymnastics, Lord willing. From there we'll look into cheer again and make some tough decisions about our schedule, if need be. For her, the rewards can be even more than she's imagining.

See also:
Teenagers, Now Understood (Jesus Creed)
What's Wrong With The Teenage Mind (WSJ)

Book Review: The Blue Sweater

2012-02-13T09:30:00.002-05:00

"There is no passion to be found playing small in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living." - Nelson Mandela

A few years ago I came across a copy of The Blue Sweater, by Jacqueline Novogratz, in a bookstore and really enjoyed the first chapter. When I returned home I dropped it in my Amazon.com shopping cart (that's why brick-and-mortar bookstores are dying), but then some of the reader reviews on the book made me hesitate. Most of the criticism seemed to circle around the writer's lack of style, and I saw a complaint in there too that Ms. Novogratz focused too much on herself and not enough on the developing world. In actually reading the book, I can agree somewhat with the first critique, and less so with the second.

The first chapter of The Blue Sweater is very engaging. Ms. Novogratz shares about a blue sweater that she'd given to Goodwill as a teenager, and how she found that exact shirt being worn by a child in Africa years later. It's a story that brings home the reality of how interconnected we all are in this great-big-but-getting-smaller world.

After the first chapter, Jacqueline digs into her life story in two parts. First would be how she fell in love with Africa and got involved in development work in Rwanda, and the second part covers the post-genocide era and the founding of Acumen Fund. It is all first-person perspective, as it needs to be, because these are events that shaped her experience and perspective on what works and what doesn't work in development efforts.

Jacqueline started out in international banking, and despite the prestige of that role, she found herself wanting to work to solve the world's problems. Interesting to me in particular was how she loved Brazil, from her first arrival in Rio de Janeiro on business.

"The minute I landed in Rio, I felt I'd arrived in a magical place that somehow already lived inside me."

While in Brazil, Ms. Novogratz became aware of the situation of street children. She went so far as to take a little boy into her hotel room for a bath, and then fed him at the hotel restaurant. The hotel manager wasn't too pleased, and nowadays I can think of all kinds of ways that a foreigner could get him/herself in trouble by taking this kind of action. Still, it shows the writer's heart.

"The street kids were a perfect embodiment of the poor as outsiders, as throwaway people in a world that didn't want to see them. I wondered what I could do to change that in some small way."

Her dreaming continued, and Jacqueline became increasingly uncomfortable with the routine life of climbing the corporate ladder. She knew that on the one hand she could enjoy some sense of financial security and professional accomplishment, but on the other hand there was a world out there in need that could drive her to take risks and become more than she ever thought possible.

"I didn't want to become old at 35 and knew instinctively that a combination of service and adventure could lead to a life of passion and constant renewal."

Without going too in-depth, the remainder of the book describes how she stumbled at first in Africa, and then found her place in Rwanda. She made mistakes, learned some important lessons, and saw the waste and mismanagement in traditional development efforts. Over time she developed a model of giving loans based on local ideas rather than grants to carry out a plan conceived without reference to needs and opportunities on the ground.

"By lending women money instead of giving handouts, we would signal our high expectations for them and give them the chance to do something for their own lives rather than waiting for the "experts" to give them things they might or might not need."

She was already out of the country when the genocide began, but as she watched the news accounts her heart was broken. Returning after stability was restored, she found that the surviving women with whom she had worked had played multiple roles. Some were victims, others perpetrators and still others were relatively passive.

The last part of the book describes in great detail how Acumen Fund came about, and how particular projects were selected for loans to get going. This organization does remarkable work, based on what she describes, and has been somewhat ahead of the curve on strategy in many ways.

That this is not a major literary work, I agree. I read the book on my Kindle and based on how long it took me to complete I assumed it must have been pretty thick in print. I was surprised afterward to find that in paperback form the book is only 306 pages long. There is some repetition in the book and a few of the examples could have likely been summarized or removed entirely. At the same time, The Blue Sweater is an inspiring and encouraging read, and I recommend it to anyone interested in the intersection of philathropy and enrepreneurship in the developing world.

"After more than 20 years of working in Africa, India, and Pakistan, I've learned that solutions to poverty must be driven by discipline, accountability, and market strength, not easy sentimentality. I've learned that many of the answers to poverty lie in the space between the market and charity and that what is needed most of all is moral leadership willing to build solutions from the perspectives of poor people themselves rather than imposing grand theories and plans upon them."

Separation?

2012-02-12T10:30:00.007-05:00

Originally posted on IgneousQuill.net, 10 September 2006.

"These will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might" (2 Thessalonians 1:9 NRSV).

The passage above has been the subject of some consideration on my part over the past several months. I don't dwell on it, but come back to it from time to time. It is a depiction of the return of Christ in judgment. I'll have more to say on it later, but for now I'd like to point out something fascinating that I noticed in the Greek rendition. By the way, if the script below doesn't appear properly in your browser, it's because you need to download a good Greek font.

Here's the text of 2 Thessalonians 1:9 in Greek:

2Th 1:9 οιτινες δικην τισουσιν ολεθρον αιωνιον απο προσωπου του κυριου και απο της δοξης της ισχυος αυτου

Notice the words I've placed in blue and red. The blue is "from the face" and the red is "from the glory of his might." Now, review the verses from the Greek Septuagint version of the Old Testament:

Isaiah 2:10 καὶ νῦν εἰσέλθετε εἰς τὰς πέτρας καὶ κρύπτεσθε εἰς τὴν γῆν ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ φόβου κυρίου καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς δόξης τῆς ἰσχύος αὐτοῦ, ὅταν ἀναστῇ θραῦσαι τὴν γῆν.

Isaiah 2:19 εἰσενέγκαντες εἰς τὰ σπήλαια καὶ εἰς τὰς σχισμὰς τῶν πετρῶν καὶ εἰς τὰς τρώγλας τῆς γῆς ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ φόβου κυρίου καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς δόξης τῆς ἰσχύος αὐτοῦ, ὅταν ἀναστῇ θραῦσαι τὴν γῆν.

Isaiah 2:21 τοῦ εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὰς τρώγλας τῆς στερεᾶς πέτρας καὶ εἰς τὰς σχισμὰς τῶν πετρῶν ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ φόβου κυρίου καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς δόξης τῆς ἰσχύος αὐτοῦ, ὅταν ἀναστῇ θραῦσαι τὴν γῆν.

Did you notice the almost word-for-word parallel between the language of these verses from Isaiah and the verse from 2 Thessalonians? I've heard and read that many of the New Testament quotations from the Old Testament are actually from the Greek Septuagint, an ancient translation from the original Hebrew (that's part of what explains the difference you see between many OT quotes in your NT...our OT is based more on the Hebrew, whereas the NT writers were using mostly the Greek translation, and the rendering came across slightly different).

Look at these verses from Isaiah in your English Old Testament and I believe you will see why I don't agree with the common translation of 2 Thessalonians 1:9. This is not talking about "separated from the presence of the Lord." This thought is a later interpolation based on the popular beliefs regarding hell. The King James Version gets it right (though at other times it gets things very wrong) as does the American Standard Version as well.

The apostle Paul was using language familiar to both him and his readers when he penned this verse. It is a depiction of an active God arising in terrible judgment on those who have persecuted His people. It is beautiful to me to see the parallel, and to let Scripture interpret Scripture.

2Th 1:9 οιτινες δικην τισουσιν ολεθρον αιωνιον απο προσωπου του κυριου και απο της δοξης της ισχυος αυτου

"...who shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might" (2Th 1:9 ASV).

Medical Brigade Guatemala City - February 2012

2012-02-11T09:30:00.005-05:00

From February 16-19 a HOPE worldwide medical brigade will be taking place in Guatemala. In preparation for the incoming volunteers, the folks in Guatemala put together the following video. I look forward to hearing about how things go with this effort, a continuation of the work of previous years. Also, click here for a nice article on Disciples Today about the work of this "brigade" in Guatemala.

N.T. Wright at Moody Bible Institute

2012-02-10T09:30:00.004-05:00

Last year I was finally able to meet N.T. Wright, the man whose research and teaching on Jesus restored my faith to health a few years ago, at an American Bible Society gathering. He is as friendly, humble and sharp as he seems in his writings and public presentations. In the talk featured below at Moody Bible Institute he draws from his forthcoming book, "How God Became King: The Forgotten Story of the Gospels."

N.T. WRIGHT part 1 from ETS Productions on Vimeo.

N.T. WRIGHT part 2 from ETS Productions on Vimeo.

H/T to Kurt Willems & Carson T. Clark.

Film Review: Waste Land

2012-02-09T09:30:00.003-05:00

Originally posted on IgneousQuill.org on 17 July 2011

“Those who hope in Christ can no longer put up with reality as it is, but begin to suffer under it. To contradict it.” – Jürgen Moltmann, Theology of Hope

It could be I’m the last to comment on this documentary about people who made their living by picking recyclable materials out of the world’s largest dump, located on the edge of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I write “made” because apparently the landfill is being closed down. The following is a brief synopsis of the film, taken from the official website, followed by my few thoughts on one aspect that seemed key to everything with this documentary.

Filmed over nearly three years, WASTE LAND follows renowned artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world’s largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho, located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. There he photographs an eclectic band of “catadores”—self-designated pickers of recyclable materials. Muniz’s initial objective was to “paint” the catadores with garbage. However, his collaboration with these inspiring characters as they recreate photographic images of themselves out of garbage reveals both the dignity and despair of thecatadores as they begin to re-imagine their lives. Director Lucy Walker (DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND, BLINDSIGHT and COUNTDOWN TO ZERO) and co-directors João Jardim and Karen Harley have great access to the entire process and, in the end, offer stirring evidence of the transformative power of art and the alchemy of the human spirit.

To me, the key point in this film was the question of whether it was fair and good to show a different life to folks working in the dump. Although certainly through TV they are aware of a reality outside of that which they live, most have never experienced it themselves. They’ve largely only known poverty and struggle. By engaging some of them in an art project and possibly even taking some to foreign countries (the latter of which did happen with at least one participant in the project) they would be seeing a side of life that could not be theirs.

Or could it?

To be perfectly honest, in the beginning I tended to side with the non-engagement perspective, the one that calls it unfair to make people think their lives can be any different, any better. Now I realize that was simply my lack of faith, hope and love.

We are all creatures of habit. We live a status quo that, however unpleasant it may be at times, we prefer over the uncertainty of unknown, different possibilities. When we plan for the future, we do it based on what our eyes can see and our minds can calculate. At some point it may become so bad that any alternative is welcome, but this tends to be rare and we run right back to the stability of the known and counted.

Sometimes, disruption is called for to break the spell of the status quo.

Is it unfair to dangle a different life before they eyes of the poor? No, not at all, especially if the intention is right and a willingness is present to at least provide encouragement. By seeing new possibilities, people are enabled to dream new dreams and strive for goals they previously never considered setting. Is it risky? Of course. Failure is always a possibility, but despair cannot be considered a valid option.

Not everyone from Jardim Gramacho who was featured in this film has “come out on top.” None, however, walked away unchanged. That is what really matters. Whatever work is done with the poor, false promises should never be made, but also no one should be denied taking the risk of the possible.

“For nothing will be impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37 NRSV)

See Also:

Waste Land Official Website

Terminator and CDargs: Two Great Command Line Tools

2012-02-08T09:30:00.000-05:00

Originally published on IgneousQuill.net, 28 July 2010.

The average Linux user isn't going to need to use the command line, and in my opinion, shouldn't feel compelled to use it. Still, developers and system administrators use it intensively on a daily basis. Recently two very handy tools for managing the terminal have come to my attention.

First, Terminator. It allows you to open a terminal window and then split it into multiple views within the same window. You can be browsing directories in one, using interactive Python in another and running an applications from another...and still split the terminal further.

Ubuntu users should have no problem downloading Terminator either through the command line with sudo apt-get install terminator or through synaptic. Check out the man page for commands to open, close, resize and more. H/T to ars technica for bringing this one to my attention.

Second, CDargs is a very useful tool for bookmarking directories. Rather than have to type the full path to a directory you access frequently, bookmark it. Once you have CDargs installed, you can go to any directory you wish to bookmark and create a shortcut to it.

Let's say you want to bookmark the desktop. With CDargs you would do as follows:
user@user:~$ cd Desktop user@user:~/Desktop$ ca desk

Then, from the home directory (or any other) type in cdb desk and it will take you back to the Desktop.

Simple, right? Check out the tutorial on Linux.com where I learned about this to find out how to install and begin using CDargs.

Is there something you like to use in the terminal that makes your life easier? If so, let me know about it in the comments.

Film Review: Life In A Day

2012-02-07T09:30:00.005-05:00

A guest post by Allen Andersen.

The premise is simple. What if we could take a snapshot of the entire world on a single day? What would we see? What stories would unfold?

I've heard this referred to as "That YouTube documentary". And yes, this "documentary" (as I said, not so much a documentary as a video snapshot of the world on a single day) was compiled from videos taken on July 24, 2010 submitted to YouTube and tagged for inclusion in this project. But the result was something very engaging. There are some breathtakingly beautiful moments along with some outrageous laugh out loud moments. There are also some very intimate stories that are shared, like the mom recovering from cancer surgury, the Korean man traveling around the world on his bike, and others.

If you like documentaries, you will love this. Unlike other documentaries that deal with a single subject, this one just takes a peek at the world on a single day, yet teaches us much about other places, other cultures, and how small the world really is.

See also:

Movie Review: Ctrl+Alt+Compete

Haiti: The Republic of NGOs

2012-02-06T09:30:00.001-05:00

Over two years after a devastating earthquake, Haiti continues to languish. In fact, it's been impoverished throughout its history, but this has seemingly gotten worse in recent decades. It is no longer a self-sustaining nation, and the government of the nation is weak at best.

Haiti has been referred to as "the republic of NGOs" because of the large number of NGOs working in the country. Although I would normally consider NGOs to be beneficial to development, the NGOs in Haiti wield considerable influence and are largely driven by foreign powers.

This and other strong criticisms of the "rebuilding" of Haiti are made clear in the following video, from Al Jazeera English. This is a discussion that's well worth the time to watch.

Significance: Narrative and Counter-Narrative

2012-02-05T10:30:00.002-05:00

Originally posted on IgneousQuill.com, 18 June 2010.

All Scripture verses from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Holy Bible.

Narrative:

Counter-Narrative:

"God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day." - Genesis 1:31

In ancient times the myths spoke of the world as an accident. There was a war among the gods and out of the carcass of the dead came the universe. Against this the Hebrew Scriptures spoke of purpose and value. The world is because there is a supreme deity who made all things and called them "good." In our times the scientific understanding of evolution combined with the vastness of space and time is being interpreted by some to bring back that meaninglessness. Against this the Scriptures still speak.

"...for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him." - Colossians 1:16

It isn't just that the cosmos came into being through the agency of a benevolent Creator, but that this God is supreme over all things, including over the powers that oppress. All things, including the powers, authorities and you and me, exist by and for Christ. In Him we find our purpose.

"But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8

Sin is real. We can see it in ourselves and the world around us. We are unworthy in every way, but through his death, Christ paid our ransom in his own blood. Our worth is now tied to his.

"For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." - Romans 8:19-25

The world, created good, is polluted by human sin and bound, awaiting the the resurrection and judgment of humankind. The universe and even our tiny world and species have a purpose in the plan of God.

"Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." - 1 Corinthians 15:58

Life matters. What we do matters. We matter.

Gratitude Snapshots from HOPE worldwide

2012-02-04T09:30:00.008-05:00

HOPE worldwide put together a nice video thanking supporters in various languages for their help, particularly in 2011. It's good to see scenes from around the world where HOPE worldwide volunteers are active.

Since I didn't see the Central Jersey Chapter of HOPE worldwide represented, here's the slideshow from our Jamaica trip last year. The Central Jersey Chapter is active in New Jersey and also sends volunteers to Haiti, Jamaica, Dominican Republic. We're looking to expand throughout the Caribbean.

See also:

Codecademy: What's Up with "What If"?

2012-02-03T09:30:00.008-05:00

Towards the end of last year Codecademy managed to make "learning to code" a major New Years resolution for a lot of people. Even NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg joined the masses in signing up to learn Javascript online. I'd love to be a big promoter of Codecademy, but not until they can explain to me what's up with "What If."

I actually started on Codecademy earlier last year but got busy with other things and set it aside. With the new year I thought I'd pick it up again, and just this past weekend I started over through the lessons. I didn't get very far, though. In section 6, dealing with if statements, the console and editors don't display at all. Instead, I get the following:

This happens both on my home computers running Ubuntu and on my work computer, which runs Windows. I get the same view using Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome. The strange thing is that when I'm not logged in and go to that page, the display is correct. Of course, that does me no good at all.

I've sent two emails with a description of the problem and the above screenshot as well as Tweets with the same. So far, no reply from Codecademy.

Has anyone else seen this while going through the tutorial? Since Codecademy doesn't appear to be reliable, can anyone recommend a good course, even paid (assuming it isn't too expensive) that can serve as a worthwhile alternative?

UPDATE: A couple of days ago I received a short "we'll take a look" email from Codecademy. Today, 2/6/2012, the page is displaying correctly for me.

Tech Review: Samsung Replenish

2012-02-02T09:30:00.001-05:00

While working at AT&T I came to respect the Blackberry as a sound, reliable smartphone. At that time the iPhone was just being released and it was (and for many still is) too expensive for every user. Troubleshooting issues for enterprise customers utilizing a Blackberry was always a breeze, but when someone contacted me with a problem on any other smartphone I cringed. After a few years using Blackberrys I began to see that they weren't quite keeping up with other smartphones, though. In my last upgrade I opted for a Samsung Replenish because it has a keypad and runs Android. It's been a mixed experience so far.

To begin, the downside:

The Replenish has incredibly limited internal memory, only 130MB. Although you can add a memory card up to 32 GB, not all of the apps can be properly moved to it. I've found that I can't have more than 10 applications that I use on a regular basis on this device, and I constantly have to clear out text messages and the browser cache to keep the internal memory limit from being hit.
The camera is a borderline fuzzy 2.0 Megapixel.
Processing speed is painfully slow.
The device locks up, requiring reboot.
After only a few months use it's already started rebooting by itself, without prompting.

On the other hand, there are some positives with the Samsung Replenish:

If you are eligible for an upgrade with Sprint, you can have this device for free with a 2-year contract.
Sprint is promoting this device by not charging the standard $10 extra per line that smartphones now receive.
Upgrading from a Blackberry to this device was like the experience was of going from a flip-phone to a Blackberry in the first place. This is, in general, a big improvement over the Blackberry. Still, that doesn't speak well of the Blackberry.

If you want something low-cost that's better than a Blackberry, and you are a Sprint customer, you'll like the Android. If you are looking for a higher-end device or have experience with other smartphones besides Blackberrys, pass this one up.

See also:

From a Blackberry Curve to a Samsung Replenish (IgneousQuill.net)
My Seven "Must Have" Android Apps (So Far!) (IgneousQuill.net)

Feed the Poor: 1,000 Strong with Father Nathan

2012-02-01T09:30:00.005-05:00

Late last year I blogged about Rev. Nathan Monk, a priest of the Old Catholic line (apparently moving towards Orthodox) who is an advocate for the homeless in Florida. Pensacola city councilman Sam Hall cut him off while he was addressing the city council, an act that in my opinion and that of many others clearly violated both the first amendment and good sense. That 15 minutes of fame for the good priest has faded, but he continues to work to help those in need.

Although I agree strongly with the view that what the world needs is more entrepreneurial creativity and fewer handouts, it is also clear to me that there are times when emergency assitance is needed to help folks out who are "down on their luck" due either to circumstances beyond their control or through their own mistakes. It is with this in mind that I'm announcing here Rev. Monk's initiviative to raise $10,000 by February 10. He just needs 1000 people to contribute $10 each.

If you can afford it, could you help out? See below for more information, taken from the Facebook event page for this fundraiser.

Imagine if 1,000 people joined Father Nathan in giving $10 dollars to help feed the poor. 1,000 Strong is a grassroots online campaign to raise $10,000 dollars by February 10th, 2012.

It's just that simple. We are asking 1,000 people to make a minimum donation of $10 (but you can donate more) to help us reach our goal by the 10th of Feb.! Donate, share, impact!

FEED THE POOR is a growing community food sharing outreach founded by Father Nathan in the summer of 2005. Since it's inception over 42,000 meals have been shared and countless families have received blankets, clothing, toiletries and emergency shelter and utility assistance.

to donate visit: http://www.saintbenedictmission.com/donate.html

to lean more visit: http://www.saintbenedictmission.com/feed-the-poor.html

like FEED THE POOR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Feed-the-Poor/311230178912605

See also:

Homeless Has A Name

2012-01-31T09:30:00.003-05:00

In the 1990s, Mark Horvath was homeless, one of many "nameless" faces we avoid seeing. Now he and supporters of this effort, called "Invisible People", are trying to do something to end homelessness in the United States. It's an ambitious goal, but he's leveraging the power of the Internet and social media to get word out about the need and his mission. Now there's a documentary project underway, funded via Kickstarter, to highlight his work and the reality of life on the streets. It's called @home. Check out the trailer below and keep an eye out for the documentary when it's complete. You can also follow Mark and Invisible People on Twitter at @invisiblepeople.

See also:

Some Project Management Humor

2012-01-30T09:30:00.006-05:00

Something fun for a Monday morning.

Meaning and Purpose on the Pale Blue Dot

2012-01-29T10:30:00.005-05:00

Originally posted on IgneousQuill.com, 5 March 2010

Look at the brown band in this picture. Scan down until you see a little pale blue dot. Got it? That's earth, and this was a picture taken by Voyager 1 in 1990 at distance of 3.7 million miles (6 million kilometers) from earth. The picture was taken at the request of Carl Sagan, and here's what Mr. Sagan had to say about the image in a speech:

"Look again at that dot. That's here, that's home, that's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.

The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.

It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known."

Reading Sagan's words, I find myself agreeing and disagreeing at the same time. Seeing our world from such a distance certainly makes us seem quite insignificant in the vast scheme of things. Our conflicts seem all the sillier when put into the perspective of the vastness of space, the infinitesimal tininess of our planet hurtling through that great deep and the unfathomable enormity of time.

"When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?" (Psalm 8:3-4 NRSV).

There's nothing particularly new about the idea that humanity may be less even than an afterthought in the grand scheme of things. Many ancient cultures had creation myths that involved gods at war, beasts slain and the universe and all that's in it coming forth from the rotting carcass(es). There was nothing special about this world or it inhabitants, according to this view. Into this scenario a powerful counter-narrative was sewn together and spoken.

It began with the universe:

"And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day" (Genesis 1:31 ESV).

And culminated with humanity:

"...then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature" (Genesis 2:7 ESV).

Arguments centered around questions of creation and evolution generally miss the point of these passages. They were never meant to be read or understood according to Enlightenment rationalism. The overriding argument of Scripture is that all life matters and this world has real value. Just because a person doesn't hold a certain status in society doesn't make her worth less than others, and the simple fact that the earth seems miniscule when compared with the great expanse of the universe doesn't make our world any less important.

I said above that I find myself both agreeing and disagreeing with Sagan's "pale blue dot" commentary. Think about it. Why do people fight? For stupid reasons? Perhaps. Because they were deceived into fighting? It happens. The fundamental motivator, regardless of whether the cause is truly just or nothing but a massive lie, is a belief that some things matter.

Nationalism, family, pride, wealth, fame, religion, etc can all be reasons people march in wars, but there are also causes that motivate people to march for peace, for understanding and for equality. Are these also meaningless, given that they are sought out on a pale blue dot no bigger than a pixel? I say "no," and I say it because my faith, based on the words of Judeo-Christian Scripture, tell me so.

You may choose to believe and base your life on the popular narrative in its modern form. That would be the one that says the universe is a confluence of random factors and life is therefore only what you make of it, and not more. Many have believed this story in its countless versions down through the ages. My choice is to embrace the Biblical counter-narrative. This universe exists intentionally and humanity has a purpose.

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows" (Matthew 10:29-31 NRSV).

"For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him" (Colossians 1:16 NIV).