andrew dodson

AOL News – U.S. Coastlines May Be Next Frontier for Oil Drilling

Drilling in an Alaskan Wildlife Refuge? Not a good idea. Drilling off the coast, miles and miles away from existence? Yes!

Yeah, yeah. There’s still environmental issues with drilling in the ocean. Let’s give our forests and wildlife areas a rest though and explore elsewhere. After all:

An estimated 16 billion barrels of oil and 78 trillion cubic feet of natural gas lie in offshore areas currently off-limits, according to government and industry statistics. That’s enough oil to meet total U.S. demand for more than two years and enough natural gas to supply the country for three and a half years.

Let’s do it!

Most of the United States is caught up in the Terri Schiavo story right now. I figure I’ll add my two cents.

What’s happening to her right now is wrong. Who are we to play God and decide when this woman should die? There’s something wrong when the justice system can overrule her parents – the two people who brought her into this world. To all the people who would argue she has no chance of recovery, I pray you never have to experience a similar situation with a loved one. Then we’ll see how your feelings change.

While I’m on the subject (sort of)…

Over the past few years, my feelings about the death penalty have also changed. I used to believe anyone that committed murder should be put to death. Once again, humans would be playing God by flipping the switch or inserting the needle. This is wrong. While I’m in support of life sentences without parole, I don’t think we need to decide when a criminal should die.

Recently, the Supreme Court placed a ban on the death penalty for juveniles. While the following quote supports that decision, I believe it applies to criminals of all ages:

“(We encourage) … guidance that will lead young people away from violence and crime, but we do not turn our backs on those who commit criminal acts, including murder,” said Day, who leads the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, which prioritizes ministries to children and young people worldwide. “The Bible and the church teach love, forgiveness and the opportunity for restoration even in cases of the worst offenders.”

Ok – so what’s my opinion on war? After all, war involves humans killing other humans. Those who know me know that I’m a fan of President Bush and I’m pleased that Saddam Hussein is no longer in power (our pursuit of Osama bin Laden and whether or not we had a good strategy going into the war with Iraq are completely different subjects).

Bible.com has a nice response to the Christian viewpoint of war:

Where we find most of our problems with the military action of our government versus loving our enemies is that God’s law of justice for the taking of a life demands that life be taken; yet, God’s spiritual law of mercy and forgiveness grants that a murderer can be forgiven and restored. How can we reconcile this? We must understand that God instituted civil authorities to maintain order in the earth. God uses them to restrain evil and they should be obeyed for this purpose.

How can I be against the death penalty, but a supporter of war? It’s a touchy subject, for sure. I’m not sure I’ve thought up a good enough answer to put into words on this blog. Maybe we’ll revisit this post another day…

Rick Long says:

I think we Christians need to be promoting what we are for. The world knows what we are against. Actually, the world thinks we are against pretty much everything outside of baptism and designated offerings. I am sick of hearing the self-rightous and pious point out the filth, and much of it is indeed filth, while leaving the love of Jesus out of the equation.

I couldn’t agree more. Specially, this whole “traditional marriage” debate. Do Christians realize that our aggressive support for one man/one woman is being viewed as hatred toward homosexuals?

Shouldn’t we instead focus on reaching out to homosexuals? Instead of trying to interfere with how they live their life, we need to show them God’s love. We need to support and encourage anyone who may be struggling with this issue. Help is available.

http://www.exodus-international.org/default.asp
http://www.peoplecanchange.com/
http://www.becomingreal.org/

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