Domestic Violence in Christian Homes

A friend and I discussed domestic violence in Christian homes. That discussion triggered my action to write about domestic violence in christian homes.

The one that you will be able to read now is not the final paper since I desire to develop this thesis everyday maybe for a month.

The questions that will be answered here are:

1. What does the Bible say about violence at home?

2. Should the battered wife just allow the batterer to inflict pain on her in view of Galatians 5:23-24?

3. What should be the response of the church if her member is a victim of the proponent of violence at home? Should we just advise the victim to accept pain because the Bible teaches full submission to husband?

I’ve been reading the Bible and trying to know what it says about violence at home. I am also doing some research about it.

But here is my initial stand about it:

1. We should look at Galatians 5:23-23 in the light of the "whole" Scripture.

2. Our body is the temple of God. Therefore, we should not allow others to destroy our body.

3. Obeying doesn’t mean agreeing. We may disagree with the batterer and yet follow the Bible.

4. Up to what extent should the wife obey the husband? Is it absolute? (this is the most common argument)

5. The Bible also teaches that we should obey the government. The Family Code of the Republic of the Philippines says that domestic violence is a crime.

More about this next time!

I was chatting with the "kasambahay" of my sister. Somehow, we talked about why I am so dirt poor. My sister commented that I am poor because I opted or I decided to be poor. I've decided to live in a third world underdeveloped country. She again said that she can help me stay in Singapore for three months. I guess she also wants to tell me that I can just find work in SIngapore. I replied that I am happy in Cambodia.

John Rawls, a political philosopher, once said that, "For there to have a social justice the greater blessing should be open to the least privilege member of the society."

That is the very reason why I am committed to working and living with the poor people.

I always bring clothes from my sister's abode everytime I come home (Cambodia) from SIngapore. The clothes that I brought home this week were all fairly new. Maybe just worn by my nephew once or twice. Those clothes are much better than those one can buy in Second Hand shops.

I gave some clothes to our school's cleaner/janitress. She was so happy with those clothes. I also gave clothes to two pastors who are serving God in spite of the fact that there is no money in the ministry. Those pastors are sharing God's word to the poorest of the poor in Cambodia.

Those things make me happy and I won't definitely experience the same in Singapore. :-)

Back off!

Are you pissed off with me? It seems you are.

I don't care.

You have the right be be pissed off. But don't impose on me your self-righteousnes.

Actually, I am also pissed off with your holier-than-thou attitude. You project that you know the Bible from the first letter to the last.

That I think is the very reason why you are aghast when I utter "out of this world ideas". But my ideas are mine and I don't care how people will react to it.

You know why so many people are against Christianity? One of the reasons probably is that there are Christians who are so righteous that they always see the wrongdoings of others. They will bombard others with their unsolicited pieces of advice. They will not run out of opinions. And they usually quote the Holy Scriptures.

I tell you, the world will be better without you.

You see God as vindictive and a God who loves punishing people?

I see God as a loving God who understands my shortcomings.

I see God as a God who looks at what Christ did on the cross for me every time He notices that I am doing things that are unholy.

I see God as a forgiving and understanding God.

So, I really don't mind you. In fact, I think you are an unnecessary termite.

But please!

BACK OFF!

Pathetic

"C'mon! Let's go out!", Mark told me.

"Where are we going?", I replied.

"Let's go barhopping. Don't worry. I'll pay."

"I don't want to go out.", I said with a smile.

"Pablo, you've been so sad for a week now. I don't want you to be sad. Let's go out and have fun."

"No, thanks. See you tomorrow." I smiled politely.

But I was telling myself, "How can I have fun when my Nanay (mother) has been in ICU for a month now and I can't even be with her because she's miles away. I can't even call her on the phone because it might interfere with the medical apparatus? Pathetic!"

I closed the door gently but I was sad. How can friends be so pathetic? Don't they know that I am grieving right now?

As I always do everytime I am in emotional pain, I opened myBible. I turned to John 11.

John 11 is about Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary. In the story, Jesus learned that Lazarus died.

Lazarus' sisters, therefore, were grieving.

Jesus loved Lazarus, Martha and Mary so much. Mary was the same woman who poured an expensive perfume on Jesus' feet.

We know what happened next. Jesus wanted to visit them inspite of the danger He may encounter in going to the same place where the Jews stoned Him.

Martha was probably discouraged. She felt that her only hope,Jesus, was late in coming to help them (verse 21). I guess, though, that Martha was still hopeful as she told Jesus, "But I know that even now God will giveyou whatever you ask." (verse 22)

How did Jesus respond?

Jesus knew that Martha and Mary were grieving.

Did Jesus invite them to go to the Jordan River for aswim? No, He did not.

Did Jesus ask Martha to go shopping? No, He did not.

Funny but it is how some us console our friends.

Did He rebuke Martha and Mary for having a little faith? No,He did not.

Instead, He reassured Martha and Mary by telling them what He can do as the Son of God.

Then they went to the tomb.

What happened next?

Jesus wept (verse 35).

You might be asking, "Why did Jesus weep?"

Or you might be thinking in the same way that Jews who were there thought. You might be thinking thatJesus wept because He loved Lazarus so much. (verse 36)

Jesus' love for Lazarus is unquestionable. But was that the reason He wept. I am convinced that it was not.

Let's go back a bit to know the reason. Verse 33 says, "WhenJesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled."

I strongly believe that Jesus wept because He was feeling what Martha and Mary felt. He was actually empathizing with them.

Webster's Dictionary defined empathy as, "the action of vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another."

I have reasons to believe that the reason why Jesus wept is because He was empathizing with Mary and Martha.

I hope we can learn from Jesus when we have a friend who is suffering.

Instead of rebuking our friends;

Instead of treating our friends to McDonald's or Starbucks;

We can use the Scriptures to reassure that Jesus is still in control.

We can also relay to them that we care by empathizing with them.



"Out on the highways and byways of life,
Many are the weary and sad;
Carry the sunshine where darkness is rife,
Making the sorrowing glad.Make me a blessing,
make me a blessing today"
-from the hymn "Make Me A Blessing"

U.S.: International Police Dog?

Bret Stephens' article entitled "From WikiLeaks To The Killing Fields" that appeared in July 27,2010 issue of Wall Street Journal is full of errors. I nearly defecated on my pants upon reading his article.

What he is actually saying is that the American presence in South East Asia during the tumultuous years of the 70s is not only justified but it is warranted. He posited that the Khmer Rouge genocide wouldn't have happened if the Americans did not leave Cambodia.

This for me is an unacceptable rationale.

Let me remind Mr. Stephens that U.S. bombings that killed innocent civilians, the Agent Orange, and supporting a corrupt Lon Nol government actually helped the insurgents by cultivating discontents among ordinary Cambodians who may have stayed neutral if members of their families were not killed because of American aggression.

Moreover, he attributed "the killing of an estimated 165,000 South Vietnamese in so-called re-education camps; the mass exodus of one million boat people, a quarter of whom died at sea; the mass murder, estimated at 100,000, of Laos's Hmong people; and the killing of somewhere between one million and two million Cambodians" to the withdrawal of American troops. (Wall Street Journal, July 27, 2010)

I am wondering if Mr. Stephens is ignorant of the atrocities of the American troops that killed millions of civilians or he is just having a dementia.

Because of this, let me remind Mr. Stephens about the Agent Orange that still is creating havoc to some Cambodians, Laotians, and Vietnamese until now.

Let me remind Mr. Stephens about the American bombings of Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam that killed millions of civilians. Let me remind him too that so many of these bombs are still here in Cambodia and are killing innocent civilians up to now. These UXOs (Unexploded Ordnance) did not explode when American warplanes dropped and still poses a threat to unsuspecting victims.

The idea that Americans are needed in Afghanistan and Iraq makes me puke. The United States really has this messianic complex and they think that the world will be chaotic without them.

On the contrary, the world will be a better place without the American troops who are committing atrocious crimes in the Philippines, in Iraq and in Afghanistan. Just two weeks ago I posted a news clip about the American troops who arrogantly disrespected our national anthem and the Philippine flag (http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20100719-282027/American-soldiers-disrespect-to-RP-flag-in-AFP-camp-probed). And just only a few days ago, American soldiers harassed a Filipina and shouted invectives to a Filipino military officer (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20100721-282380/5-US-soldiers-probed-for-rowdy-behavior-in-Zamboanga-concert).

I am wondering what is happening now in Iraq and Afghanistan were American troops are present. I am also wondering if Mr. Stephens is turning a blind eye on these.

Yes, the Khmer Rouge did an abominable act. But there is nothing that can justify the presence of American troops in sovereign and independent states.

I can only hope that the United States will back off from being a self-imposed international police dog.

Labada

(tula para sa isang kaibigan)

Kahapon
Ibinabad ko sa sabon
Ang t-shirt na bigay mo.
Umaasang maalis nito
Ang mga mantsang nanikit
Dahil sa ilang taong pasakit

Kagabi
Kinusot ko ito nang ilang beses
Hanggang maramdaman ko
Ang hapdi sa aking mga palad
Hindi ko ininda ang sakit
Kahit may mga dugo na
Ang mga sugat ko
Dahil umaasang maililigtas ko pa
Ang ating pagmamahalan

Kanina
Ikinula ko sa init ng araw
Umaasang muli kong mararamdaman
Ang init ng iyong pagmamahal
Kapag isinuot ko ulit
Ang bigay mong t-shirt

Ngayon
Nasa SM ako
Isinusukat ko ang matingkad na blusa
Ngayon ko lamang ulit napansin
Pagkaraan ng maraming taong kita’y kasama
Na bagay pala sa akin
Ang matingkad na blusa

Mamaya
Itatapon ko na ang t-shirt na bigay mo

Paalam, irog ko.

Nompang Pate

One thing that I thank God for for bringing me here is that I can really enjoy cheap foods.

One of my favorites here in Cambodia is Nompang Pate. Nompang Pate is a baguette with strips of pate. The usual length of a baguetee here in Cambodia is about twelve inches. Pate is similar to luncheon meat. Home made liver spread is also applied on the baguette which is sliced into two. It is also eaten with fresh onion leaves and pickled cucumber.

And guess how much is the nompang pate? You can enjoy the goodness of nompang pate with 3,000riel (0.75USD).