For Mubarak

I am so glad Egypt is now free of Mubarak Regime, that regime that ignited the sectarianism in Egypt, that regime that increased the gap between the poor and the rich in the society. I went to streets supporting the protests 2 weeks ago, and last Friday I went to streets celebrating the resignation of Mubarak.

BUT, now as I hear he is sick (comma & depression):

+ I pray that God heals him and grant him a honorable peaceful life.

+ I pray that Mubarak shall repent, and that God accepts his repentance.

+ I pray that I, and all protesters, be able to forgive and forget for Mubarak.

+ I pray that neither us, nor the new regime/government, shall do him injustice.

+ I pray that democracy finds its way through the current chaos, to achieve the real goals of the revolution.

+ I pray that God implant love and peace in the hearts of Egyptians, towards one another.

+ I pray that we be fair and NOT forgot the few good things that Mubarak and his regime did (in the early years of his rule). Or it would be disgracefulness.

O Lord, bless our lands, Egypt.

Egypt's Turmoil and OT Genocides

Is there such a "justified" killing?

If I am in the holy (to me being Egyptian) Egyptian land, would I be in the demonstrations? I believe so. But because of the absence of police, people had to defend themselves. And to do so, people took kitchen knives, staffs, white weapons etc. Thus, there is a chance to engage in a fight with a criminal, and kill someone... would I participate in killing? A similar question was raised last week in the OCF meeting, when an answer came out: yes! God commanded genocides in the Old Testament (OT)! Is this true? Did God command genocides?

With what is going on in Egypt, I had both questions in the back of my mind, and I believe I have an answer, at least for me. I will try to be brief here.

First, what happened in the OT is taken out of context. Because of many reasons that I try to summarize as follows.

1. Different "punishments". First, there has been different "punishments" in the OT. The great flood in days of Noah. The confusion of language in days of the tower of Babel. The rain of sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah in days of Lute. The 10 Plagues of Egypt in days of Mosses. And then, many "punishments" for the Israelites in the wilderness, and in Canaan. But these are actually calls, not punishments.

2. Call not punishment. God calls each person to return to Him in a gradual manner, according to our response. Gentle whisper first, then invitation, then a push, a warning, etc. The last way God calls us, is that He leaves us to our own desire, rather the wrong desire of our hearts, so that we start reaping what we sow: evil. We saw this with the Israelites many times, in the book of Judges, Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc. Again, the goal is people's repentance; that once I see the result of my evil, I realize that I need Him. That is, God left up His support - for a moment - so that we taste how it is without Him. And hence, the door for repentance is always open.

3. Repentance door is open. A "genocide" was commanded to Jericho, but Rahab the prostitute - and all her family - were saved, because she believed and repented. Not only was she saved from the last call to Jericho (to repent), but also she was one of two ladies mentioned in the genealogy of our Lord Jesus Christ, glory to His Holy name. Surprisingly, neither was our mother St. Sarah, St. Rebecca or St. Rachel... rather, the two were originally gentiles; Rahab and Ruth! This confirms that God didn't really command a genocide, but it was a call for people of Jericho to repent, and if they did, like Rahab, they would have been saved!

4. Last Call. Did God warn them before? Let us see. 400 years before, God sent them Abraham, who was salt and light among them, and they definitely heard about God's promises to him, which contained warnings and vows to them (and that is why Abraham is considered a prophet). They also had Lute, Melchizedek, and Job. They also witnessed the destroy of Sodom and Gomorrah. Then after 400 years, they saw the 10 plagues of Egypt, and how God split the red sea for them to pass. Yet, their hearts were uncircumcised and they chose not to repent. So, God delivered them to the desire of their hearts.

Now, and second, back to the main question, is there such a "justified" killing? Should I kill or not if I am a soldier in a war? Or if I am in Egypt right now, and need to defend my family?

"Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, ... for some, with consciousness of the idol, until now eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. But food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse." (1Corinthians 8:4-7)

Thus, if I am a soldier, or member of safety committee in Egypt, and my conscious is pure that killing as self defense, or country defense, or nation defense, is valid, then it is valid for me. Yet if my conscious tells me that this is wrong and it is cutting the chance for a human to repent, then it is sinful, even if the priest, or patriarch said otherwise.

Bless you Egypt's Unrest!

I say: Bless you Egypt's unrest!

If Egyptian Police intentionally left their duty and released prisoners to terror innocent people, if indeed that was El Adly's plan to show us how insecure the country would go without this "regime", well, Thank you Adly & Bless you unrest!

for you gave us a chance to know that we don't need you to be safe!

for the chance to gain trust in our selves one more time!

for the pot where differences between all people sects did melt down!

for the chance that once again all Egyptians were united in their goal!

for the chance to realize that we care about Egypt more than anything else!

for the chance to realize that Egypt's safety is our priority!

for this historical chance, when Egypt for once, is secular!

for reminding us how great we are, the descendant of Pharos!

It is indeed the first time - since really long time - when people forgot their religion, their political views, their social differences, etc, and were one for one goal: we will keep Egypt safe! It is comforting to see how the youth and men went out forming organized committees to protect their people, the Egyptians! It reminds us with our power, together! It reminds us with our unity, and sharing of the nation, cause and goal, problems and dreams, we share our belonging to Egypt!

I, therefore, joyfully say: Bless you Egypt's unrest!

P.S.: Inspired by watching the Bless you prison movie couple days ago, where Nicoleta finds her path back to God in communist prison.

If I am in Egypt now

If I am in Egypt, I would definitely have went down to streets on Tuesday to protest, peacefully, against the ruling regime.

If I am in Egypt, I would have gone again on Wed and Thu to protest, again peacefully, against the regime.

If I am in Egypt, I would have never participated in any damaging or violence acts, and would have subjugated to curfew conditions.

If I am in Egypt, I would have fought the anarchic people who try to take advantage of such a great move, i.e., the peaceful protesting, and would go shoulder to shoulder with my fellow Egyptians, regardless of their political affiliation, however, I would have never gone shoulder to shoulder with the Muslim Brotherhood group.

I heard Ali, a college student who claims no affiliation to any political party, at El Arabia channel saying how it was peaceful, and that some youth from Brotherhood were mad and wanted to burn and damage, but they tried to stop them. He also condemned the way the police treated their peaceful move, from the very beginning of Friday. In sense, that is what pushed it to be non-peaceful. So, who is the main responsible for what is going on? The current regime, which should leave, but in lawful way, not through violence.

It would have been much more better, and much more efficient if we had continuous small peaceful protests until the elections are due. We should have protested with specific feasible requests before the elections, so that we guarantee fair elections. But what is happening now is a loss of the protest messages, as if we only want Mubarak to leave. Yes, we hope for change, not in authority, but in mentality of authors. I am afraid that violent change is NOT leading to a change of authority mentality, the other way around, it confirms it.

So, what? Should I protest or not? What would have I done if I am in Egypt? I am not sure, I really am not sure. I am confused in thoughts between longed desire for speedy reformation, and a hope for smooth peaceful such reformation. I am confused between rejoicing for the people wake up, and my sorrow for the blood shed and the damages. I am between my hope for a, finally, a change, and fear from that change. I am between looking forward for secular regime, and my fear from radical-fanatic- religious gang, i.e., Muslim Brotherhood. Sigh! I am confused... I don't know where is the goodness for Egypt... I just pray that whatever outcome will be for Egypt's goodness.

So, in conclusion, what to do now if I am in Egypt? Again, I would protest, again and again, but peacefully and never participate in any damaging or violence episodes. God bless Egypt.

"Blessed is Egypt my people" (Isaiah 19:25)

Not Yet!

To Muslims friends, we - Copts - say: In God we are indeed rejoicing! But we are still mourning!

Indeed, many Egyptians got disgusted of the New Years Crime in Alexandria. Indeed, the rational and non-fanatic Egyptian muslims stood up. Indeed, celebrity tried to show sympathy.

BUT:

the martyrs blood is still fresh, we didn't forget yet!

the tears of the afflicted families are not dried yet!

the wounds are not healed yet!

the blood of Copts that was shed in a train, on Jan 10th, just after Christmas, is still warm!

the suddenly became handicapped children, are still handicapped!

Clearly condolences, demonstrations, protests, or execution court decision for one of last year's crime in Nagah Hammadi, are all together NOT a comfort.

We need to tackle and solve the roots of the problems.

Celebrating the Revelation of God tonight (Theo-phay), we remember what happened in New Year's Eve as, not the conclusion of decades of treating christians as second-hand citizens, but rather as a mark for a new era of Martyrdom. This reminds us when our Lord Jesus Christ told us that it will happen, a day will come when those who kill us think they are doing God a favor! It also reminds the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, which all tell us that repentance is our call, and to love those who persecute us is our challenge!

To Muslims, however, especially the rational ones, those felt sympathy with us and wanted to help, I say: In God we are indeed rejoicing! but we are still mourning!

from CNNWorld:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/11/25/egypt.christians.clashes/index.html

Christian protester killed in clashes in Egypt

By the CNN Wire Staff

November 25, 2010 6:05 p.m. EST

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The clashes with police erupted over permission to build a church
• Police fired tear gas and arrested 93 people
• Building permits for churches are often a source of tension

Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- Egyptian authorities have rounded up 156 people in connection with this week's deadly protests over plans to build a church near Cairo, the government announced Thursday.

Those arrested have been ordered held for 15 days while the investigation into Wednesday's clashes continues, Egypt's official Middle East News Agency reported.

Police battled about 150 demonstrators outside a government building in the Cairo suburb of Giza on Wednesday. Police turned to tear gas to break up the melee, while protesters responded with Molotov cocktails. The clashes left a Christian protester dead.

Tensions have been running high between Egypt's Muslim majority and minority Christians, who make up about 9 percent of the people. Copts, who are adherents of an Egyptian sect of Christianity, complain of discrimination, including the lack of freedom to build houses of worship. The government denies those accusations.

However, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has expressed concern that the Egyptian government and media have deliberately promoted sectarian friction ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for December.

"We've seen a clear uptick in recent weeks of incitement coming from media outlets and clerics espousing sectarian hatred and violence," said Leonard Leo, chairman of the independent, bi-partisan commission. "This kind of rhetoric goes too far and stokes the fire of extremists looking for ammunition to justify violent acts against religious minorities."

The commission said that earlier this month, ten Coptic Christian homes and several businesses were burned and looted in Qena province in southern Egypt following rumors of a romantic relationship between a Christian man and Muslim woman. Security officials imposed a curfew and arrested several Muslims, the commission said.

CNN's Ben Wedeman contributed to this report.