Faith arise!

A good job for faith

A friend mailed me a link of a Tearfund interview of Jim Wallis, an American  social  prophet and the founder Sojourners magazine. He talks among other things about the role of prophets in politics and maintaining integrity in politics, how to bring justice to the poor, about good and evil in people, the war in Iraq.

I find it interesting how he challenges us to reach BEYOND like Jesus always challenged people (you will not worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem...worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth). He also encourages us to demonstrate a better way in politics, environmental issues, on justice, not just to protest against things (in Finnish case most often with ignorance).

He says: "The two hungers in the world today are for spirituality and social justice. The connection between the two is the one the world is waiting for. Spirituality without justice in an affluent society can turn into consumerism and narcissism. But the fight for justice without spirituality can lead to dispair, bitterness, anger and burn-out. "

And: "God hasn't given up on his world and neither should we!"

"When I read the Bible, God doesn't call us to charity. God calls us to justice. The Bible doesn't talk about poor people; it talks about poverty and the causes of poverty. The word oppression was a Biblical word. This is a Biblical word- hardness of heart, structures, policies, the way things are arranged." "...sometimes you just can't keep pulling bodies out of the river; you've got to send somebody upstream to seewhat or who is throwing them in." 

Day of demonstrations

Yesterday I witnessed something that was quite unusual in Finland until last May Day. It was a weekend busy with demonstrations in Helsinki before ASEM (Asia-Europe meeting) gathers to interegional summit today. Demonstrators demanded human rights for Asia, and reminded that different kind of Europe is possible, especially for immigrants. I was happy to find out that this was the first time in the ten-year history of Asem that the representatives of several NGOs were welcomed to bring their greetings to politicians. 

A group called Sm*sh Asem had called together a "demonstration" that was planned to be violent. So being there anyway I went to do some prayer walking among the people gathered in the square of the museum of modern arts in the centre. It was definately worth going since I have never seen so many journalists, photographers and policemen in my life! Before the people most of whom we curious watchers noticed, we were surrounded by some 200 hundred police who were equipped with shields and helmets. The street was also blocked with four busses as the police announced that the demonstration was cancelled because the police hadn't found agreement with the organizers of the event.

The incident was the main news both yesterday and today and raised many questions in media: Why was the crowd surrounded before no one committed a crime? Was the police overreacting going against some 100 young anarchists with many hundred officers?  Did the police's strict behaviour and surrounding the people entice the already emotional young people to attack?

Actually it seemed that several journalists were siding with the anarchists saying that they didn't see any violense, no stones thrown at police. And asking why more than hundred young people were detained since there were only less than hundred anarchists present. Some curious outsiders were blocked into the area for hours since the police didn't let anyone leave. Somehow I managed to get out of the site after the first hour just to realize that all of the centre was closed by the police who were calmly redirecting the traffic (I still hadn't seen any violence). 

I have my own questions: Is there something wrong with the news if some young anarchists make the main topic of the news with simple aggressive behaviour while several thousand serious demonstrators with a message hardly get noticed? Aren't there other believers who feel called to intervene by being present and praying at these kinds of incidents? Has the universal threat of terrorism somehow confused us so that we can't find ways other than force to handle some dosens of bitter youngsters, or do we really have to do this to prove to manage the EU presidency?