British Airways vs. Jesus Christ

Recently I wrote about the controversy spawned by airliner British Airways over its decision to force an employee to discontinue wearing a cross around her neck because they felt that it was offensive to others. The ridiculous decision created a firestorm of protests from all around the world, and in a predictably financially motivated reversal, British Airways has now relented on the policy, and “…have decided to allow some flexibility for individuals to wear a symbol of faith on a chain.” So states airline Chairman Willie Walsh.

However listen to this additional statement on the part of the Chairman: "Our uniform is one of the most powerful symbols of our company and heritage. Our staff wear it with pride and our customers recognize and value it. "This modification will enable staff to wear symbols of faith openly without detracting from the uniform." So, it seems Mr. Walsh is making things perfectly clear where British Airways stands. In the pecking order of important symbolisms, let be known that the cross takes a back seat to the British Airways Uniform (capitalization added for sarcastic effect)! The uniform is the “powerful” symbol of heritage here. What a relief to know that the cross of Jesus Christ (God in human form) will not “detract from the British Airways uniform”. I’m glad that the thought and visualization of the following “will not detract from the British Airways uniform”: …There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance,nothing to attract us to him. He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed… (Isaiah 53:2-5 NLT)

Mr. Walsh and his cohorts at British Airways may be rather proud of their accommodation and largesse, but my Christian brothers and sisters would be well served to permanently boycott the arrogance and gall of British Airways by aligning ourselves with the Him who was and continue to be despised and rejected, as opposed to the appropriately named “Airline of the world” who is bloated, proud and arrogant.

Ignore God and Decrease Your Birth Rates

I read a very interesting article yesterday in the New York Times on the topic of the shrinking birth rate in Europe over the past few decades. The article outlines the demographic danger facing Europe with the high likelihood that several countries (Italy, Spain and Germany among others) will see their native populations decrease by up to 40% by 2050. According to the article, the replacement birth rate necessary to maintain an equal population size from generation to generation is 2.1 children born to each woman. In Europe according to the article the rate is well below 2.0, with some countries closer to 1.5 and dropping. It is a lengthy and very interesting read that sheds some light on a phenomenon that in all likelihood will reshape the face of Western Europe within 100 years. The interesting thing about the article is that it was published after extensive research and interviews with many experts and it offers various possible explanations for why this situation has developed.

Mother Jesus?

The Episcopal Church USA continues to stake out their territory as a “church unto itself” as opposed to a part of Christ’s body of believers with such decisions as 2003’s approval of the New Hampshire Diocese's election of V. Gene Robinson, as the organization’s first openly gay bishop. This year the “church” elected liberal Katherine Jefferts Schori as their leader. Along comes this not surprising bit of information about Ms. Schori courtesy of Newsbusters.org . Most recently, she irritated some conservatives by speaking about "Mother Jesus" in a sermon....the website then goes on to quote Washington Post reporter Alan Cooperman who stated: To those who accuse her of heresy for referring to a female Jesus, she responds with a typically learned disquisition on medieval mystics and saints who used similar language, including Julian of Norwich and St. Teresa of Avila. "I was trying to say that the work of the cross was in some ways like giving birth to a new creation,

Funerals for the Unsaved or Unbelievers

I am not a leader of a church, but I oftentimes wonder how does one lead a funeral service for someone who dies without knowing Jesus Christ as Lord ? Admittedly I have not been to many funerals in my lifetime, though they are appearing to come more frequently lately, but the fact is that funerals are held daily throughout the world and as such this is a pertinent question to someone just about every day. I’ve been to the funeral where the person lived a fairly routine life, taking care of their families and other responsibilities as best they could, paying taxes and doing the average things that we as human beings do on a consistent basis. They however had no visible relationship with God through His son Jesus Christ. When this person dies, the surviving family members are oftentimes left scrambling trying to find a person and a place to officiate the funeral services – generally because the deceased did not have a regular church that they attended. Funeral homes sometimes serve thi

Treasure In Clay Jars

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