Judgement day came and went?

21 May 2011. The day arrived with a beautiful sunrise, the crisp morning air fresh and inviting. If May 21^st were any other day, there would have been the promise of a lovely day. However, Saturday carried a promise of judgment and gloom.

Church groups met in churches in anticipation for the great day of judgment. Others stayed at home with family and friends having a day of quiet contemplation. Some spent the day in prayer and worship. Many looked to the skies, hoping, praying that they would see the return of Jesus on the clouds.

The earthquakes never came. Jesus did not come. God spared us his judgment for another day.  Thousands were disappointed. Millions scoffed. Few cared less. Whatever people did yesterday, they will probably remember it, as the day judgment never came. Critics will ridicule Christians all over the world because of this day. The masses will frown on the message of the Bible because of the claims made by one man.  

21^st May came and went, in all respects, a wonderful day. Fantastic weather, friendships, and life made it a day filled with joy and happiness.  However, what if we had two incredibly destructive earthquakes, how would that have changed our indifference? We all know that there will be an eventual end to this planet. How it happens is a matter of personal belief. Whether Jesus comes back to reclaim his kingdom and destroy a corrupt and evil world, or whether the sun explodes, is a matter of personal acceptance of an inevitable event.

We must save one thought for the Bible, because the book is fantastic. Throughout the pages of the Bible is much wisdom and instruction. There are answers to every spiritual question, and many wonderful gems, which we need not discard because of religious bias. Let us not judge the words of a global treasure because of the actions of one man. Often this singled out book is criticized and discarded, not because of its words, but because of the people who proclaim to speak on its behalf.   

The challenge for the Christian is to stop lending ears and heart out to the voice of a man, but rather to pick up the Bible and find within it, the love, beauty, and riches of faith. For the critic, likewise, criticize from a vantage of knowledge. If the critic has not read the Bible from cover to cover and voices an opinion, all it is, is a repetition of another man’s words. The critic and the believer that never reads the Bible are guilty of one thing; neither knows what the book says for itself, therefore, both of them drinks from an empty glass.

Judgement day is 21st May 2011

Oh no, we have only two days left before God is coming to Judge the world. May 21^st is the final whistle. The beginning of the end of this world. It will all start with two major earthquakes.  From then on things will get progressively worse until the final destruction of the earth by fire on 21^st October 2011.  

This is our future according to founder and president of Family Radio, Harold Camping. He is quite serious about this as well. With the help of many other professing Christians, they have put together an international marketing campaign. Their mission, according to those that promote this terrible event, is to warn the people of the world.  Consider yourself warned. If you did not read their ads, or flyers, then you received the warning from this blog.

There is a deep yearning in the Christian heart for the coming of Jesus the Christ. Many members of the Christian family have in the past claimed to know the day of Jesus’ return. Like today, people sold their belongings because what is the use of having all that stuff when you are on your way to heaven. Many of those people at that time were extremely disappointed when the end of days came and went without event. It is quite possible that many of today’s group will be distraught on the 22^nd of May as well.

The subject of the end of the world is an intriguing one. Whether we follow the Bible, Nostradamus, Mayan Calendar, or the prophet next door, the subject matter has the ability to draw us in and capture our imaginations.  The problem with all these predictions is there is no interrelation between them except that the world will end.   The world will end, of that there is no argument. When, is anyone’s prophecy? Out of all prophets claiming the end is coming, Barry Smith, put all predictions in perspective, he would have said it like this:

The world will end on the 21^st of May 2011, either before that or after that, but end it will.

Democracy, The Right to Vote

South Africa was a buzz of activity yesterday as people flowed to the voting stations to use their democratic right, the right to vote for the betterment of their lives.  People stood in queues for hours, waiting patiently for their turn to put their mark on that ballad paper. It is commendable the determination and overall interest shown by people to go out and vote. Statistics say that only 52% of the population voted. That is representative of only half the people of this country. Why would people, who have earned the right to vote, not step out and make their mark.

 Those that voted always answer first, and that answer is always that people who did not vote are just lazy. Non-voters are the people that stayed at home and watched TV rather than go through the inconvenience of long queues and irritable people. This is a gross misrepresentation of the facts.  Not everyone that chose not vote fell in this category.

Two anonymous men explained that if a political party can build a toilet for its people, but build it on the pavement without walls and doors; you read that right, toilets built outside the house, next to the road, with no walls. Those people have the luxury of a loo, but they are going to use it in the public eye.

“Honestly,” the one man said, “how can I vote for any party that does that to the people it is supposed to protect and care for?” These men make a good point; no one should be able to do this to someone else especially if they gave them the power.  If they can do that to a group of people and leave them like that for years, what does it say about their humanity and their level of care? The guilty parties of course are the two main ruling parties in South Africa.

What else is left? The smaller parties range from the sublime to the ridiculous. For goodness sake, shall we vote for the Dagga Party? Considering the revolting things that these parties have done and are doing, is the man that does not want to vote for them not in his democratic right to refuse to vote for any of them?

People that do not vote cannot complain about bad service delivery is a common theme in local newspapers and on radio shows. This however is not very democratic is it? The person who believes in his party votes for it, and can complain whether that party is ruling or not, however, the person that believes in no party and chooses not to vote for any of them may not voice an opinion. Come people, everyone has the right to exercise his democratic right as he chooses and still be part of the country.    

Mississippi Floods - heartbreaking.

Slowly the Mississippi swallows land and home. Maybe not as instantly destructive as the flash floods from the hurricanes, but just as ruthless in driving people from their homes and destroying years of memories. Unlike the hurricane, it gave time for everyone to move out its way. Now without thought or mercy it relentlessly tears down anything that stands in its way.  

ABC news and the National Weather Service report the river as six times its normal width and up to 47 feet (14.32 meters) deep. Everyone waits with baited breath to see if the levees in Memphis will hold. Memphis is the testing grounds for towns further downstream. If Memphis’ levees hold, chances are good that cities downstream will have the same success. If however the levees had to give way, Memphis would look a lot different than it did before.  

For this reason, authorities are desperate to stop the flooding of cities further down the river’s path. They will open the spillways to allow vast amounts of water to escape into the floodplains. This will destroy crops, and more houses, but at least the cities will be safe. U.S. officials call this “a necessary evil.” What can one do? Save the one kill the other, or kill the one save the other. Someone will feel the sting of the flood waters.  

Flooding however does not seem to be the only problem people have to contend with, there is also the issue of toxic water. The river is picking up some nasty debris on its banks and mixing it into a broth. Health officials issued warnings to stay out the water and warned people to enter the water only if they had protective clothing on. If this were not enough, there is the slight problem of reptilians washing ashore ‘in’ the cities. They are not all friendly either. Some of those are the venomous kind, you know the ones that hiss and slither and make people nervous.  

Can you imagine what it feels like to watch the water slowly move to your front door, invite itself in, take over your house and you are helpless to stop it? The tragedy of losing everything you worked so hard to build up over the years, must be a devastating experience. One day you had a life, a house, and a job. The next on the horizon, you see disaster. You know it is inevitable, but you are powerless to do anything about it. Day by day, you see how it slowly crawls in to devour what you consider as your whole life. It is an agonizing wait to the final countdown of total loss. Very Sad.  

Legalise All Drugs in South Africa - News Review

Now, South Africa is looking into the controversial subject of legalizing all drugs. The reasoning is that controlled drug trafficking will minimize the black market effect created by illegal drug trade. The alcohol act of the early nineteenth century is used as an example of how legalization can minimize the mafia element of the black-market trade.

Holland is obviously the first country brought to the fore when anyone mentions the ‘legal’ drug trade. However, Portugal is another country that legalized drug use. Their law states that anyone can have drugs in his or her possession. The Portuguese government only declares the trade and trafficking without a permit as illegal. Their drug usage laws are probably the most liberal in the world. They have had this law in place for about ten years now, and it would seem that the concept is successful.

It is perhaps a good idea to implement it in South Africa purely from the crime point of view. The drug lords have armed security and merchants, mostly with illegal firearms. Often there are wars between these gangs, and anyone caught in the crossfire…well let us just say there is no mercy.  South Africa is rife with gangs, drug wars, drug trafficking and the like. Legalizing drugs might just be the way to get rid of powerful crime syndicates.

Concerns are of course that with drugs being available in a shop, more people will use it. We might sit with a society of drug addicts. However, judging by the results in Holland and Portugal the reverse seems to be true.  Drug users will buy drugs whether they get it from a dingy room in the back of an alley, or if they can buy it in a shop. Legal or illegal the drug trade will continue. From a policing perspective legalization of the drug- trade will free up police from chasing after junkies and focus on more serious crimes.

The amount of time a police team spends at arresting a drug user could run into hours. Paperwork, fingerprints, logging personal items etc, eats away at actual policing time. While they are processing the person that sat against the tree in the park smoking a joint, people are murdered and raped.  It would make sense from a policing perspective to legalize drug use because it might create a more effective police force.

Whether people will behave better, whether it will add to the economy and whether it will stop the crime lords, well we can leave that open to debate. We can never tell what the mind of man will conjure up next. We have lived with illegal drugs for hundreds of years. That system is not working. Maybe we should give this a go and see if it will work.

Thoughtreview on Shopping Mall Hold Up

Reading the account of the shopping mall held up at gunpoint, it brings one thought to mind.

What the…

What went through these criminals minds as they planned this heist? How do they justify their actions? Do they have any thought for the traumatized people in the shop?

We can easily create the picture of this group of men gathering in some abandoned warehouse to plan their heist. Thirty-five men with different personalities meet up to plan a heist of singular mind. This in itself is a feat considering that they are all criminals with their own illusion of importance. Who would be the kingpin? Theirs is not a democracy. The strongest or the smartest is the ruler. The picture brings to mind the movie “Oceans Eleven.” These criminals however, are human beings, not fictitious characters. They are part of the human race even if their moral codes are vastly different from the laws of the world.

Because of their own morality, criminals can justify their actions. They do not believe they are doing anything wrong.  According to a professional shoplifter, there is nothing wrong with taking what you want, as long as nobody catches you. From this interview, we gathered that the thief thinks he or she can do as they please because the law does not have the power to stop them. The average person on the other hand will not steal because there is a morality linked to the law of the land that says it is wrong to steal. For the criminal there is no link between morality and law. The law is only a pain in the back. Anyone that breaks the law feels guilt. Think about it, it you hurt someone when they did nothing wrong, you feel guilt. The criminal does not have this guilt. Rather, this achievement increases their infamy.

When the heist was over, we can again see the picture of the group getting together with their loot. They open beers and cheer each other on a job well done. They laugh about the fear in the people’s faces. They joke about the man that wet his pants as they shoved a gun in his face. They feel no guilt. Where they should feel guilt, they boast and laugh. What they see as accomplishment will cause most people to drop their head in shame. The criminal mind broke away from guilt. What we experience as shame is the criminal’s joy. The best way to understand the breakaway from law without guilt is driving over the speed limit. We break the law but feel no guilt. In fact, it is just a pain in the back, especially when in a hurry. The criminal feels this way about the laws that stop him from doing what he wants to. We also laugh at the police officer that could not catch us as we drove past him. Are we that different from these criminals?

What makes the criminal an enemy to humanity is the disregard for the harm they do to their fellow human beings. Men like Ruben in the story of the hold up at the shopping center, will be scarred for life. Criminals steal our power and replace it with fear. They take our freedom and cause us to look over our shoulders. They destroy our trust and cause our world to turn in on itself. Crime destroys the power of humanities joint thought shield. It causes us to become individuals living alone on a planet full of brothers and sisters.

Shopping Mall Robbed at Gun Point

The clock chimes. It is five o’clock, time to go home.

Ruben logs of his computer and stretches his muscular body before standing up to leave the office. He pauses in the door and scans his desk to make sure everything is neat and tidy. Satisfied he heads for his car.

‘Ruben!’ Jason calls him before he could climb into his car.

‘You going to gym tonight’

‘Not sure buddy. I have to do some shopping for the wife first.’ Ruben sighed.

‘Bummer, rather you my man’ Jason slapped him on the back.

‘Thanks for that. ‘ Ruben smiled ‘See you in the morn’

‘Cheers buddy, have fun’

Ruben weaves expertly through the peak hour traffic. One hour and ten minutes later, he pulls into the Leondale shopping centre parking. He turns of the ignition and before getting out he hunts in the console for the shopping list Jennie, his wife, scribbled down this morning.  He crumples three pieces of paper before he finds her list. Ruben shoves it in his shirt pocket, climbs out, locks his door, and heads for the shop.

Mike, the owner of the Spar family store greets him with a vigorous handshake. They have a five-minute chat before he excuses himself and enters the cool, air-conditioned shop.  Surprisingly, Rubin fills the order on the list in less than ten minutes. He crumbles the shopping list and shoves it into his pants pocket, happy with this achievement. He searches out the shortest queue and takes position behind an old woman. He checks his watch. It is half past six, good, still early.

A commotion draws Ruben’s attention to the shop entrance. The people at the door fall to the ground as if some unseen hand is forcing them down. In an instant, a man stands at their queue with an automatic rifle pointing at Rubens face.

‘Get down!’ the man shouts. His eyes tell Ruben not to try anything funny.

The old woman struggles to get to the floor and Ruben tries to aid her but the man pushes the rifle against his cheek. Ruben leaves the woman and immediately complies. He rages inside, wanting to attack this small man holding him hostage, but he is powerless against the rifle pointing at his head.

Ruben sees the man leaving, hears the cars outside start up and the tires screeching as they chase of into the darkness of the night. Ruben checks his watch. The whole event lasted ten minutes. He gets up and helps the woman to her feet. Hi shakes his hands to stop them shaking. Ruben left his shopping in the trolley. He wants to get home. This day, 11th May 2011, he knows,  he could be dead. He just wants to get home.

The above story relates actual Events at Leondale shopping center on May 11th 2011. Only the Characters in the story are fictitious.

35-armed men arrived in vans at the shopping center at half past six. They entered all five shops and forced the clientele to the floor. They emptied out all the tills, took stock from the Spar, and emptied the bottle store of all spirit alcohol. Within ten minutes, they were in and out. No one was hurt in the incident except for the cash flow of all the businesses in the center. Although there was no blood shed, the truth is there were a lot of damage done to the minds of those that went through the ordeal.