When Will People Learn?

I was watching the news last night. They reported that a child was murdered by the ex-boyfriend of the child's mother. This reminded me of a conference I attended years ago. At this conference, a researcher from England presented the results of a study he conducted. He discovered that the incidence of child abuse is much higher in households where one of the adults is not the biological parent of the child. The incidence was much higher in households where the couples were not married to each other. This is not new. Similar findings were reported by CNN a long time ago. I remember hearing about this also in my Psychology class in college. Then common sense dictates that these alternative relationships should be avoided to reduce the incidence of child abuse. But despite the preponderance of the evidence, some people continue to reject the traditional family and choose "alternative" household settings, which give rise to these abuses. When will people learn?

Causes of Crime

You'll often hear activists and politicians guess the causes, and then propose quick & dirty, politically expedient band-aid solutions, to the crime problem in our society. For example, they'll say that the cause of crime is unemployment. I don't think so. I remember reading a news article about a carpet installer who raped and murdered his client. Do you know where the police caught him? At his next client, installing carpets as usual. Sometimes the "experts" claim that poverty is the cause of crime. Tell that to the "poor" executives of Enron. I also know someone who receives only $200 a month in social security benefits, but she doesn't commit crimes. Some say crime is caused by a lack of education. Well, did you know that the first, and probably worst, serial killer in US history was a doctor? His name is Henry Holmes. So next time you hear politicians or activists propose solutions to these "causes" of the crime problem, we should ask them this question, "What really is the root cause of crime in the first place?" Then and only then can they come up with the proper solution.

Will the World Really Be Better Without God?

I saw a TV show called “Masters of Science Fiction.” In it, the President said nuclear weapons & God were invented due to fear. This represents Hollywood’s belief that God is just an invention. But there’s more. John Lennon’s song, “Imagine”, expresses his belief that the world will be perfect if there’s “no heaven” & “no religion too.” The music industry shares this belief. So is it true? Will the world be better if people didn’t believe in God? Examine the evidence. Stalin, Mao, & Pol Pot are examples of atheists who tried to create a utopia on earth. These despots are responsible for murdering millions of people. What they created instead is hell on earth. Just ask any survivor of their regimes. Now look at those who genuinely believed in God, & actually practiced their belief, such as St. Francis of Assisi & Mother Teresa. They were motivated by faith in making the world a better place. Ask anyone who benefited from the works of the Franciscans or the Missionaries of Charity. So do you still believe the Entertainment Industry’s notion that eliminating God will make the world a better pace? Judge for yourself.

Extraordinary Compassion

When we hear the word compassion, we normally associate it with feelings of pity for the less fortunate. We don't often associate this feeling with people who may anger us in any way. But one day, I heard the news that my co-worker's son was murdered by another man. Of course, her grief would have been unimaginable. Any mother would feel the same way. But what surprised me was when she felt compassion for the murderer's mother. She was imagining what the other mother was going through. She asked herself "was the other mother wondering where she went wrong in raising her kid", or "was the other mother fearful that her son may be executed for this murder". While she had every right to feel angry, she did not. It made me feel a bit ashamed of myself for being angry at others for less serious matters. Perhaps we all could be more compassionate, and less angry, towards those who annoy us in our daily lives.