Teaching About Islam in Public Schools: The Friendswood Incident

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The Houston controversy about an incident at Friendswood Junior High where the principal Robin Lowe allowed a special event to take place to teach students about Islam has taken a new turn. Ms. Lowe responded to an incident in her school when a Muslim student was dumped head first into a trash can by holding a forum in the gym to teach students about the rudimentaries of Islam. Enough parents went berserk that she was removed from her position and put into central administration. I wrote earlier about this incident and my views about religious illiteracy in America. The blog entry is HERE <<<

Well today the Houston Chronicle reported that Ms. Lowe has taken a new job as principal of Pershing Junior High in Houston, which just happens to be the Junior High that my son is zoned to once he finishes grade school. I couldn't be more thrilled to think that we in this area of Houston got so lucky to have this forward-thinking woman as the principal of our school.

At the same time I am appalled at the response of David Welch, the executive director of the Houston Area Pastor Council, who was the one who called for her ouster as principal of Friendswood in the first place. It is reported in the newspaper that he said, "While we are encouraged that she's no longer the principal at Friendswood Junior High, we hope that she has learned from this experience and will be cautious and follow school policies appropriately this time." To remove her from her job, he used the argument that she didn't notify parents before the event so that they could remove their children. Was this used as an excuse by a Christian constituency to control public education for what they understand to be their own benefit?

For the record, Ms. Lowe did not break any school policies. Texas State law does not require written parental permission or notification before potentially controversial lessons. I completely support what she did, and I hope that she learned form this just how important it is to educate our youth about other religions. Please keep it up!

Book Note: Escape by Carolyn Jessop

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I have never posted on a non-academic book, but I just finished reading Carolyn Jessop's book, Escape, and I am so traumatized by it that I have to say a few words about it.

The book is not an outstanding literary work. What makes it "good" is the story that it tells and its relationship with everything that has now been going on in Texas with the Zion Ranch. The word "good" is relative. What the book really is is harrowing. I know no other word to describe it, other than perhaps "unbelievable." Immediately in the first chapter I felt like I had entered a surreal realm. But knowing now what I do about Warren Jeffs and the Zion Ranch because of some research that I have done in the aftermath of the Texas CPS case, this book brought me face to face with the reality of a living horror.

Carolyn Jessop was the fourth wife of Merrill Jessop who eventually moved to the Zion Ranch with a dozen wives and his children with these wives. Carolyn is the first women to escape the FLDS with all of her children and actually get custody. She fled just as Warren Jeffs became the prophet and the Zion Ranch was set up. So she never lived there. But her ex-husband Merrill, according to the press reports I have been able to find, is thought to be the head of the Zion Ranch compound.

Carolyn's book tells her whole story, from the time she was a child, to her marriage to Merrill, her years in the polygamous relationship, the births of each of her eight children, and how she fled in a van almost out of gas. She was only saved because she was able to secure overnight a protective order against Merrill, who went after her and the children to discipline and force them back into his home and obedience to him their "priest head." Women in this tradition are taught to be completely obedient to their husband who is the one who gets to decide whether or not the wife will go onto the afterlife with rewards or be thrown into hell. If a woman does something that is not in obedience to her husband, she is disciplined - beaten, starved, humiliated - in order to punish her (or one of her children is so that she will come into line). She is also taught that all illnesses - her own or her children - are due to her disobedience and are punishments from God. Medical care at hospitals and doctors can only be sought with permission from the husband, who often withholds this in order to force his wife and children to be obedient to him in everything. Children are regularly abused - actually routinely would be more to the point - often by step-siblings and wives in the family who have more favor with the husband than the real mother does. Sex is the only commodity of exchange that allows the wives to control what happens to them and their children. As long as she stays in sexual favor with her husband, she and her children have some sort of protection from abuse by step-siblings and the other wives because the husband might be willing to stand up for her.

Carolyn Jessop also talks about Warren Jeffs and his rise to power since Merrill's family was a power family in the FLDS close to Jeffs and the two prophets prior to him. Jeffs is portrayed as a person as bad as one can get, tearing families apart, arbitrarily taking wives away from husbands and remarrying them to others, committing sodomy and rape, allowing the sacrifice of live animals by cutting off their heads in front of school children in order to teach about blood atonement, beating children and women, and the list goes on. According to Carolyn, Jeffs has been grooming the FLDS community to commit mass suicide. There was a running joke among the women in Carolyn's circles that they shouldn't drink the punch.

Carolyn's testimony before the Attorney General of Utah was what launched a state-wide investigation and response. Jeffs is now behind bars after he was hunted down by the officials. He was put on the top-ten most wanted list, and this is what brought him in at last.

Carolyn published this book in October 2007. I praise her for the courage that it must have taken for her to not only escape, but write this book. Her story is about what is happening now. And it is a nightmare. My hope is that the CPS raid on the Zion compound has broken up the community enough to allow others to escape. The reports we are getting in the paper here in Houston is that most of the families are not returning to the Zion Ranch, that CPS is monitoring the families, and that criminal cases are being investigated at least with the men who have fathered children with the underage girls. I hope and pray that this is enough.

Friendswood Junior High and Teaching About Religion

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I am very concerned with an incident that has happened in Friendswood, a junior high school in the Houston area. A principle, Ms. Robin Lowe, has lost her job because she brought in speakers to teach the students the basics about Islam. I have seen the powerpoint presentation, and there was nothing in that presentation expect the bare minimum basics of Muslim belief and practices. Ms. Lowe did this in response to a racial incident in the school which the Council on American Islamic Relations was planning to report as a hate crime to the FBI. The community's response was vicious outrage that their children would be taught about Islam without notifying the parents first so that they could pull their children out of the lecture. The principle has been fired.

What a pity it is that Americans are so uneducated about the subject of religion. Since we live in an international environment, where the globe is our home, we ought to be following Ms. Lowe's example and educating ourselves in terms of basic religious literacy. In fact, I not only think that we should be educating our children in the public schools about world religions, I think that the parents should come along and learn something too, especially the difference between teaching about religion versus teaching how to be religious.

The separation of church and state has to do with devotional practices - keeping public schools from teaching children how to be religious. This is very different from teaching children about the major teachings and practices and history of various world religions. Parents at Friendswood were up in arms because the speakers said in their presentation that Allah was the name of God. Allah is the Arabic word for "God." Why the ruckus? Teaching children that God has different names in different languages and different faith traditions is just a basic fact. It has nothing to do with teaching devotional religion.

Most people believe that teaching religion and teaching about religion are the same thing because all most Americans have ever encountered in their lives is religious instruction that teaches us how to be religious in a particular faith tradition. Religious education has been left to our families and religious institutions - our churches, temples, synagogues, and mosques - because, in our attempt to remain faithful to the separation of church and state, we have tended to keep all religious education out of the public schools, whether devotional or not.

As a society, we have not been able to distinguish between learning how to practice a religion and learning about the history, beliefs, and practices of a given religion. Our children are not even taught the basics of their own faith traditions, let alone those of the major world religions. It is not until a child reaches college and elects to take a Religious Studies course that such subjects are even broached. When students start to take my courses, they do not even know the basic historical facts about Christianity, information that children in sixth grade should know.

Has Texas recognized this, since the state has recently agreed to allow for the creation of an elective course about the history and literature of the Old and New Testaments in the public schools? I have my doubts, and they are becoming more serious every day. With all I have said in this post, you might expect me to support Texas' decision. But instead, I am tremendously worried because I am not convinced that the people who will be teaching such a course have had training in Religious Studies to know the difference between teaching the Bible and teaching about it. I worry that such courses, unless this distinction is understood, will degenerate into little more than bible study gatherings promoting contemporary Christian interpretation of the texts they will read.

In this new Texas state-authorized Bible class, there is also no provision for teaching about other religions, which makes me even more concerned. And now, in the Friendswood incident, I have noticed that this state-authorized class is already being used against the teaching of other religions. Mr. David Bradley, a State Board of Education member, said that the class about Islam that Ms. Lowe put together can't be justified by comparing it to teaching the state-authorized Bible class, calling it "a fallacious argument."

Why, Mr. Bradley? Teaching about religion should be the same no matter what religion we are talking about. Or is Mr. David Bradley privileging the Bible, by which he means the Christian Bible? Is there a hidden Christian agenda behind the new state-authorized Bible class? What Ms. Robin Lowe did should be held up as an example for our community to follow, not a reason for her to be fired. What is happening in Friendswood today is a disgrace to the public school system in Texas.

Why do we continue to foster illiteracy when it comes to religion? What are we scared of? Becoming religiously tolerant? Understanding each other and ourselves better?

What about women priests?

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I have to respond to José's comments on my earlier post about the Catholic church recently criminalizing women priests, excommunicating them (as heretics?). I have to respond because José presents us with the party line, which is about as uncritical and ill-informed as can be. It is a party line that we have accepted only because it has been beaten into us over the centuries, and sounds "normal" when in fact it is insidious sexism. Why is it that inequality in gender is considered normal, when inequality on other levels is fought tooth and nail? Why do we allow this to continue? We are the ones who are in control of our thoughts and our actions. It is time to step up to the plate and demand that gender not matter to the priesthood. We do not have to accept the Vatican's decision.

Consider this. We can't allow women to be priests because Jesus only selected men as his apostles. How silly is this? Let's move to another issue. What about race, age, and religion? Are men who are Asian, African-American, or Native American denied priesthood on the basis that Jesus only selected "caucasian" Middle Eastern men as his apostles? Are men who are older than forty denied the priesthood on the basis that Jesus only selected young men as his apostles? If we really were to get serious, shouldn't the priesthood be confined to young Jewish male converts who speak Aramaic, on the basis that these were the men that Jesus selected as apostles and are the only people who can represent him on earth? As soon as we move the discussion to a different issue, it is clear how silly and meaningless it is!

Besides, there is the other issue I haven't raised, and that is the issue of whether or not Jesus actually selected only twelve male disciples as his followers, or whether this is a contrivance of the later tradition which worked to eliminate women from positions of leadership which they held in the early movement.

As for José's statement: "If I were a Catholic I would be allowed to discuss and debate these views, and many other issues, but I couldn’t simply defy church teaching imagining that the church will simply capitulate to my defiance or that I’m setting some sort of good example to incite greater defiance. Not even the entire Protestant Reformation has been able to alter any of the major Catholic and Orthodox doctrines. We must marvel at their consistency and dedication while Protestantism continues to splinter and fall deeper into heretical teachings and practices." If we were to list all of the people that the Catholic Church has considered a heretic, excommunicated, tortured and killed, I think it would put things into perspective. It would also show that some of the greatest minds in our culture, the ones that have moved us forward in our knowledge of ourselves and our world, have been official heretics like Galileo. If it weren't for the heretics, we would never advance in our knowledge because no one would challenge the status quo or think beyond what they have received.

Yes, women can and should be priests. This issue is vital to us, more than ever now that the Catholic Church has criminalized us! It is the reason that I am writing Sex and the Serpent in Ancient Christianity: Why the Sexual Conflicts of the Early Church Still Matter. I'm going to now close so I can go to work on the second chapter, "Why was the Spirit neutered?"

UPDATE: Jared Calaway from Antiquitopia has posted a similar discussion HERE<<<

House of Yahweh cult

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The morning news in DALLAS reported earlier this month on a polygamous sect called the "House of Yahweh," and CPS's involvement with some of its children. I was unaware of this community until my husband told me about them last evening. Do any of you know more about this group?

CALLAHAN COUNTY – In his first sermon after leaving jail, Yisrayl "Buffalo Bill" Hawkins was in classic form: folksy, paternal and apocalyptic.

"No, we're not getting ready to kill ourselves," said the prophet of the House of Yahweh, a barbed wire kingdom of brimstone prophecies and abject poverty 15 miles southeast of Abilene...

The 73-year-old was arrested and indicted in February – less than two months before raids on the Eldorado compound – charged with four counts of promoting bigamy, made a felony in 2005 after the unrelated FLDS group arrived from Utah...

Mr. Hawkins also faces a misdemeanor charge of breaking child labor laws, accused of having up to 40 children working weekdays "in the fields, in a canning operation, in a cafeteria and in the butter making process."

Another member, elder Yedidiyah Hawkins, is expected to stand trial this summer on charges of aggravated sexual assault of his now 14-year-old stepdaughter, a girl who authorities allege he was planning to make his wife.

Yedidiyah, who like many members changed his last name to that of his teacher, faces additional charges, including bigamy and engaging in organized crime. Prosecutors say he has at least four wives...

Marleigh Meisner, a spokeswoman for Child Protective Services, said CPS has investigated at least 20 cases involving House of Yahweh members in recent years.

•Two cases resulted in the removal of children, including four taken from the home of Yedidiyah Hawkins.

•Officials removed two children from a home after a mother and her neighbor performed surgery on a 7-year-old girl who later died.

•CPS officials also investigated the death of a 1-year-old child who died of malnutrition and traumatic asphyxiation. Investigators found "reason to believe" the death was from medical and physical neglect. No criminal charges were brought in that case.

•Ms. Meisner declined to talk about any ongoing investigations or whether she believes abuse and neglect pervades the group.

To read more, go HERE<<<

This is a link to Hawkins' own website, HOUSE OF YAHWEH

Zion children to return to ranch

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CPS lost its appeal yesterday. The Texas Supreme Court upheld the order to return the FLDS children to their parents since CPS didn't prove that it was an emergency situation and the ranch was not a single household.

This does not mean, however, that things will go back to "normal." Apparently CPS will be monitoring the families and can take action on a per child basis in the future. The criminal probe will continue.

A woman judge wrote the dissenting opinion, saying that provisions for the teenage girls should be taken into consideration since they were in the most danger of abuse. Two of the male justices signed this dissenting opinion too.

The Houston Chronicle piece is HERE<<<

Even better, HERE<<< is the link to the supreme court decision itself.

An appeal decision for some of Zion Ranch mothers

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Today the Texas 3rd District Court of Appeals said that the children of 38 of the Zion Ranch women cannot remain in state custody because their children were not proven to be in danger. So the sorting out of the families begins...
SAN ANGELO, Texas (CNN) -- The state of Texas should not have removed children it took from a polygamist sect's ranch because it didn't prove they were in "imminent enough" danger, an appeals court ruled Thursday.

In its ruling, the Texas 3rd District Court of Appeals decided in favor of 38 women who had challenged the removals and appealed a decision last month by a district judge that the children will remain in state custody.

"The existence of the FLDS belief system as described by the department's witnesses, by itself, does not put children of FLDS parents in physical danger," the three-judge panel said.

According to the ruling, the lead investigator in the case alleged that the belief system facilitates a lifestyle in which "male children are groomed to be perpetrators of sexual abuse and the girls are raised to be victims of sexual abuse."

An attorney representing the mothers said the trial court that originally backed the state's seizure of the children has 10 days to vacate its decision. If it doesn't, the appeals court will act, said Julie Balovich of the Texas RioGrande Legal Aid.

MORE<<<

The fathers at Zion Ranch

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The Houston Chronicle reported today that it is likely that criminal charges will be brought against the husband(s) of the underage pregnant girls from the Zion Ranch. A special prosecutor has been approved.

A judge at the center of the largest custody battle in U.S. history has approved a request to bring in the Texas Attorney General's office to prosecute any future criminal charges in the case.

State District Judge Barbara Walther on Monday approved Tom Green County District Attorney Stephen Lupton's request for a special prosecutor in the case involving the Yearning For Zion Ranch north of Eldorado.

MORE>>>

Religious freedom - what is it?

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I continue to be shocked when I read newspaper articles and editorials on the Zion Ranch. There seems to be a continued theme - that the State should not be interfering in religion, or in family affairs. Both of these are inaccurate assumptions.

First, we all have religious freedom to think whatever it is we want to think, and to organize our religions. But this freedom does not translate to all religious actions, if they are actions that break state or federal laws. The Zion children are not in protective services because the State doesn't like the way the women dress, or anything like that. The children are in the custody of the State because the minor girls are pregnant. DNA tests are being run to help sort out what is going on.

Second, we have agreed as a community to protect our children from abuse. We have established services in our States which look out for those interests. In the case of the Zion Ranch, the children have been put into protective custody of the State of Texas because there was enough compelling evidence brought forth at the initial trial that the children living in this compound are at risk of abuse.

Will the children stay in State custody? We won't know the answer to this until the investigations are finished, and the court proceedings continue.

More about boys from Zion Ranch

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If you aren't from Texas, you may not be keeping track of what is going on with the Zion Ranch children. The newspapers in the area have been reporting that there are now over 460 children who have been moved into various facilities around Texas. Over 100 are in the Houston area now. The State is trying to keep all the children in the different families together, so they have moved them into group homes where they can be schooled privately, at least until they begin to assimilate.

There was more disturbing news yesterday released about the young boys. Many of the young boys have signs of broken bones. The State is investigating the cause(s). It is not clear yet if these are normal broken bones from kids playing and falling down, or if some sort of abuse is the reason.

This morning the Houston Chronicle reported that most of the parents have left the Zion Ranch now. Some of the women are living in women's shelters. Other parents are moving into the cities where their children are living in order to be able to visit them regularly.

Speaking on behalf of Obama

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I usually keep contemporary politics off my blog. But today I am upset enough about what I see happening in the media that I am going to say something here. Now that we have blogs, the media no longer controls all the public information. So my thought is let's use this to our advantage and let's start speaking out and passing a message of hope and reason around the blog world.

Like many of you, I am extremely concerned about the future of our country. I am also extremely concerned that we, the US populace, continue to allow the media to do our thinking for us, and essentially determine the election of the next President of the United States, as it did in the last election. And look at what a disaster that has turned out to be!

Aren't we brighter than this? Don't we realize that the media spins things this way and that way just to keep us entertained and watching TV? They are exploiting knowledge and our emotions, and keeping millions of us from actually talking about what actually matters. And how they do it is through FEAR. They make us afraid of our own shadows. They push all of our deep fear buttons. And the response is predictable.

And they are going at it big time now, feeding the frenzy - all of our fears about race and religion exposed and dumped on Obama. It saddens me greatly. In such a vicious climate, can we ever have another leader with a higher social vision? Or will we end up with the mediocre, and continue as usual?

PASS IT ON: Hope, Reason, Vision!

Romanticizing Zion

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The Houston Chronicle this morning published another distressing article on the Zion Ranch. This one is a celebration of the clothing and hairstyles of the women. Will we see some new fashion for women come out of this Ranch? So the reporter asks. Will we see pastel colors again - how sweet they are - and puff sleves - how old-fashioned? Full length dresses perhaps - to give women today a more subdued appearance? And what about hair styles. Aren't their buns homey? Long hair is "in" now, and women are on the look out for vogue "updos."

This is enough to make me want to scream, "You have to be kidding!" How desperate are we as a culture (maybe this is just Texas?) to romanticize this compound, as if it is some return to a lost Eden or a golden era of pioneers and self-sufficiency?

Let us keep this in mind. The State of Texas has taken temporary custody of over 430 children because the underage girls in this compound are pregnant. They got pregnant somehow. Someone permitted it and someone did it. And the mandatory DNA tests are going to sort this out. We are talking about statutory rape. We are talking about a polygamous compound in which some men have dozens of wives, many who are still children themselves. These men have hundreds of children and grandchildren. The families dress in specific colors in order for them to be recognized as a husband's family unit. The women dress with head to foot coverage so as not to tempt other men in the compound or make jealous other wives in their particular family unit. What happens to the boys on this Ranch? In a small polygamous compound, certainly they cannot all be maintained. Has anyone wondered what is going on with them? The pattern here?

The Zion Ranch is not "Little House on the Prairie"

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I just have to speak out this morning about a news article that appeared in the Houston Chronicle this morning, "Zion Ranch mothers question CPS raid." Terri Langford reports how "beautiful" the compound is. How there are oak trees everywhere. How groomed the road is that stretches between two metal gates. How everywhere there are signs of "devotion to industry" with new crops planted. How nicely squared boulders line the rock quarry. Theirs is a "quiet life" with lovely women in pioneer dresses "with puffed long sleeves." Oh how sweet the colors of the cloth, yellow, light blue, turquoise, and dark blue. How each has long hair put up in a "beautiful upsweep." For four blissful years they lived a quiet life until...the "state descended" on them.

The women were interviewed by the press. And what do they say? When questioned about the pregnancies of the thirteen and fourteen year old girls in the compound, one of the women said, "What does 'age' mean?" Another said, "It's a choice." Another, "Everybody in America has free agency."

What is going on here? When a man has sex with a thirteen year old girl she has no choice. The last time I knew it was a crime in the US called rape. And usually the police arrest him and he goes to court where it is decided what to do with him. In fact, if my memory serves me correctly Warren Jeffs isn't just a convicted criminal, he is convicted on two counts of being an accomplice to rape because he forced a 14 year old girl into a marriage with her first cousin! And if the mothers of these children think for an instant that their daughters have a choice in this situation, they had better think twice. What thirteen year old child is going to leave the compound on her own, especially when the message preached around her is to go forth and multiply!

We need to be very aware here that a religion, no matter what it is, does not have the right to overstep the law of the US. Members may choose to, but if the members of a religion break a law, then there are consequences. And the pregnancy of all these young girls is not only distressing to me, but is more than suggestive of a pattern of male criminal behavior. The Zion Ranch is not "Little House on the Prairie."

Chaldean Catholic Archbishop kidnapped in Baghdad

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This just in my e-mail from the Mandaean list-serve. More bad news from Baghdad. When is this going to end?

From the Associated Press:

Gunmen abducted a Chaldean Catholic archbishop soon after he left Mass in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, the latest in what church members called a series of attacks against Iraq's small Christian community.

The gunmen killed three people who were with Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho, said Iraqi Brig. Gen. Khalid Abdul Sattar, a spokesman for the Ninevah province police.

It was not known who was behind the kidnapping, said an aide to Iraq's Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, leader of the church.

"This act of abduction against a Christian clergy member will increase our fears and worries about the situation of Christians in Iraq," said Archbishop Andreos Abouna.

The Chaldean church is an Eastern-rite denomination that recognizes the authority of the pope and is aligned with the Roman Catholic Church. The Vatican said in a statement the fact that the gunmen knew Rahho had been celebrating a religious rite indicated the kidnapping was premeditated.

MORE...

Disappearing Mandaeans

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The personal story of the Mandaean Wini family can be heard by clicking the icon in the upper right corner of the screen. It is a radio interview. From America Public Media:

Reports of sectarian strife in Iraq automatically connote the factions of Sunni and Shia. They don't usually mention people like Walaa Wini. Walaa practices an ancient faith that now faces both persecution and extinction within Iraq. Walaa is Mandaean....

Walaa himself was threatened by masked gunmen who came to the store he operated with his brother. They later killed his brother, and in another incident, shot and wounded another brother. Walaa talks to Dick Gordon about being Mandaean in Iraq and the uncertainty he and his family now face since their recent arrival in the US.
Please remember to pass on the petition for the Mandaeans. We have gathered now 544 supporters. We need 1000, so we are a little over half way there.

DeConick responds to Osteen

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Well it's Houston and Joel Osteen has released another "inspiring" best-seller. I imagine that my readers are probably familiar with Osteen, and his just-released book Become a Better You. We in Houston have been deluged with Osteen-mania, including five days of excerpts from his new book in the Houston Chronicle. I have been following the excerpts, getting more and more concerned about his "inspiring" message, and reminded about the main pop theology that has irritated me about Christianity since my teens when I watched my mom embrace it.

Osteen tells his audience that if they want happiness they need to be satisfied with where they are because God is in control of things and we are right where God wants us to be. His message:
If you're in a hard place, be encouraged in knowing that God is still in control of your life...

Recall those three Hebrew teenagers in the Old Testament who wouldn't bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar's golden idol. The king got so upset that he ordered them thrown into a fiery furnace.

But the Hebrew boys said, "King, we're not worried about it. We know that our God will deliver us. But even if He doesn't, we're still not going to bow down." Notice, they embraced the place where they were, even though it was difficult, even though they didn't like it.

You can do something similar. Quit living frustrated because your prayers weren't answered the way you wanted. Quit being depressed because you're not as far in your career as you had hoped, or because you have a problem in your marriage, or in your finances. No, just keep pressing forward. Keep your joy and enthusiasm. You may not be exactly where you hoped to be, but know this: God is still in control of your life.
As for bad marriages, Osteen says:
Well, he may not be the perfect husband. But you can thank God that at least you have somebody to love. Do you know how many people are lonely today? Believe it or not, some woman would be glad to have your husband. Be grateful for that man. Be grateful for that woman.
I normally don't get involved in contemporary theological discussions, but the days on end that I have had to put up with reading this message has irritated me enough that I feel compelled to respond. Why? Because what Osteen is saying is not just nauseating, it is downright dangerous. Here is another man in power, telling his flock to be content with all aspects of their lives, because God is controlling those situations. He uses a very violent image - a king executing those who don't submit to him - to inspire his audience to hang in there because God is in control. Does he really think that if any of us find ourselves raped or kidnapped or faced with genocide or war that we should expect God to swoop down and save us like the young teenagers who faced execution by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar?

What about women and children who are being beaten by their husbands, boyfriends, and dads every day in America? Is God in control of them? Should they stick it out because it is what God plans for their lives?

It is just this sort of Christian theology that bolsters abused women, and tells them that it is the right thing to do to stay with the abuser. That they must deserve it in some way, that they are being punished for being bad people, that they need to learn to forgive their husbands and love them unconditionally. I know this from personal experience since my husband has dedicated many years of his life to helping abused women try to get legal protection against the abuser.

Now my reader might think that Osteen can't possibly intend this? My response is that it matters not what he intends, but how his message is received by women in abusive relationships and other people who face terrible things that are beyond their control. His message "you must learn to be happy right where you are" is downright dangerous for them.

So I have another message. If you are in an unsafe place, if you are being hurt, abused, or threatened, get out. No one is going to do this for you - God or anyone else. You have to make the decision to leave.

There is so much in our lives that happens to us that we have no control over - and it is not because God wants those things to happen to us. But there are things we do control and it is our responsibility to use our brains and figure out how to get to where we want to go if we aren't already there. So if you hate your job, don't be content with it and thank God that at least you have a job. Figure out what needs to be done to get the job you prefer or dream about, and do it, knowing full well the risk. It might take years. It might take training. It might take saving money. It might take moving. It might not work out the way you planned it. So have a plan B. My point is this: if you have a dream, you are your own fairy godmother.

Nathaniel Deutsch speaks out about Mandaeans

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Wade brought to my attention an op.ed. piece in the NY Times this morning. Professor Deutsch, a Gnostic expert from Swathmore, has made a plea to us in the Times to help resettle the Mandaean community in the States. As a religious minority, they are unable to survive any longer in Iraq. For more information about the Mandaeans, I have a webpage and a series of previous posts that include details on how to write letters to Congress. It is vital that as many of us as possible write to Congress again, since they are considering legislation for Iraqi refugees that has already been passed by the Senate.

Help for Mandaean refugees on the way

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I am excited to report that the Senate has passed a bill to help resettle vulnerable populations in the US. Now is the moment to encourage your House Representative in Washington D.C. to support and pass this legislation. It feels like it has been a long campaign to help the Mandaeans, but it looks like some good may come out of it.

This excerpt is quoted from Refugee's International E-Update which was sent to me today:

Victory! Senate Passes Bill to Help Iraqi Refugees

Late last night, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed an amendment, the Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act of 2007, to assist Iraqi translators and others who have been targeted for working with the United States. The bill would increase the number of vulnerable Iraqis who can be resettled in the U.S. by improving the process for Iraqis to apply for resettlement. Refugees International thanks Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) for introducing this bill, as well as the numerous Senators, including Senators Gordon Smith (R-Ore), Sam Brownback (R-Kan), and Joe Lieberman (D-Conn), who supported the bill. Refugees International urges the House of Representatives to follow the Senate's lead and pass this legislation. In addition, the Bush Administration should increase regional security by providing humanitarian relief funding to the countries hosting the millions of Iraqi refugees who have been forced to flee the violence in Iraq, as well as the NGOs and UN agencies providing relief services for displaced Iraqis.