Disturbing numbers

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Today I looked up the number of abortions which happen worldwide in the space of a year. The number was truly shocking:

42 Million 56 Million

42….million…that number is just far too big for me to even try and wrap my head around. How about the number just in the US?

1.37 Million 638,169

1.37….million… Even that number is too large for me to even attempt to visualize… What would that be per day?

3,700 1,748

Over three and a half thousand abortions a day in the USA… To put that into context, September 11th, the event that shook the world, claimed approximately 2,977 lives…

I recall hearing a soundbite on TV of a certain politician defending the current abortion laws and saying that he wanted abortion to be “safe, legal and rare”.

I’m sure there’s constant medical progress towards protecting the mother’s health during the abortion procedure.

Abortion is certainly legal.

But rare?

With great accent comes great responsibility

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While we’re on the subject of great power and responsibility, I just wanted to share with you a recent post I saw over at “Stuff Christians Like” entitled People who pray with British accents:

“When I hear someone pray with a British accent, they sound like it’s coming out of their mouth in cursive…”
– John Acuff

Having an English accent in America is something of a blessing and a curse.

It’s constantly assumed that I’m from Australia. I’m regularly asked to repeat myself while on the phone because people can’t understand what I’ve said. I’m often asked if I know so-and-so who lives in London. I regularly have to explain the difference between England, the UK and Great Britain.

On the plus side, people assume that I’m more intelligent than I actually am… 🙂

Sunday Lectionary: Power and Responsibility

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Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time: October 30, 2011

The Readings this week focus around the relationship between power and responsibility. It answers the question: what does the Lord demand of a leader?

In the First Reading, the Prophet Malachi speaks out against the Levite priests for abusing their position of power. They did not honour their privileged relationship with God. King David sings in the Psalm about the attitude which they should have had: humility rather than pride.

In the Second Reading we gain insight into St. Paul’s relationship with the Church in Thessalonica. Although Paul had founded that church and although he had legitimate authority over them as an Apostle he speaks tenderly to them and lovingly, as one might expect a good father.

Not so with the Pharisees! In the Gospel Jesus condemns them for not practising what they preach, for placing heavy burdens on the Children of Israel and for constantly seeking public adulation.

Jesus then turns the concept of leadership on its head. If you want to be great in the Kingdom, he says, you must humble yourself and serve. As a great man once said, with great power comes great responsibility…

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Favourite People: Peter Kreeft

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Today I wanted to honour another one of my favourite people. The person I would like to enthuse about today is Dr. Peter Kreeft, professor of philosophy at Boston College and, quite frankly, one of the most intellectually engaging speakers I’ve ever heard.

Professor Kreeft first came to my attention when one of my friends mentioned in an email that she really liked his books. Up until that point, I had never heard of him. Following the recommendation, I went to his website and listened to some of his talks which are available online.

After listening to the first talk, I concluded what I almost always conclude after listening to one of his lectures: “I am so dumb! My mind is so dull!”. Like Grandpa Sheen, Kreeft has an amazing ability to forge links between ideas which I would never have considered to be even remotely connected.

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How Hebrew is your Faith?

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How Hebrew is your Faith? I think that within Christianity there is always this Marcionite tendency to try and sever Christianity from its Jewish roots.

When I was back living in London, I had the privilege of hearing the testimony of a man called Roy Schoeman. Roy is the son of Jewish parents who escaped the Nazi persecutions in Germany before World War II. He studied for a while under the noted Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg before eventually falling into atheism. Some time later he had a dramatic conversion and, a little while later, found his way into the Catholic Church.

When I first heard Roy speak, it renewed my appreciation for the Jewish roots of Christianity. I have since listened to a number of his talks and I’ve found that his Jewish perspective often gives me a new awareness when looking at the Sacred Scriptures. I have found this particularly true for St. Paul’s epistles, especially the letter to the Romans.

I would thoroughly recommend everyone to spend some time in the Audio and Video section of his website, listening to his testimony and to some of his talks, I think you’ll find them really enlightening.

“After all, if you [Gentiles] were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature…[and] grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will…[the Jews]….the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!” – Romans 11:24

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