Social Issues: Child Abuse, Murder, Islam, Political Correctness, Multiculturalism.Evolution and the Middle East: One wonders why it is that we sophisticated highly educated western luminaries, who preach so much about facts and science, truthfullness and honesty, deliberately prefer fantasy to reality; deliberately prefer lies when the truth stands in opposition to our ideologies. The Tangled Web of Evolutionary Theory: I find that thinking about evolution gives me a headache, not because I find such examples as provided above too difficult to ponder, but because whenever I think about Evolution as a serious truth, then I am left to wonder why society fights tooth and nail against what ought to be the most natural instinct in human nature - supremacy! - at any cost!
2007 Social Commentaries at Magic City Morning Star News.
Dec 29, 2007 Evolution and the Middle East One wonders why it is that we sophisticated highly educated western luminaries, who preach so much about facts and science, truthfullness and honesty, deliberately prefer fantasy to reality; deliberately prefer lies when the truth stands in opposition to our ideologies.
Dec 24, 2007 A Serviceman's Christmas Message and Gift to You. Although the original author is unknown, I think it is a beautiful message that applies just as equally to American Servicemen as Australian. We should all be thankful for the soldiers and I would encourage you to email this page to all of your friends with a reminder that to dishonour the Soldier's service is to place no value in the benefits that we enjoy in our 'free' and democratic countries.
Dec 10, 2007 The Tangled Web of Evolutionary Theory. I find that thinking about evolution gives me a headache, not because I find such examples as provided above too difficult to ponder, but because whenever I think about Evolution as a serious truth, then I am left to wonder why society fights tooth and nail against what ought to be the most natural instinct in human nature - supremacy! - at any cost!
Dec 2, 2007 Punishment befitting the Crime I am going to go out on a limb here and offer my idea on what makes the young person's western world today so bizzare. Young people want direction, but not from people who are full of 'it'.
Dec 1, 2007 English is a Funny Language! For myself personally, life in China is continuously full of sight and sound gags. Then again, that may only be because I know how to laugh. They say that laughter is the best medicine and that it reduces stress. If that is true, I couldn't be living in a more healthy environment.
Nov 28, 2007 Who the Heck is Huckabee? The second point is worth noting; that Evangelicals who 'go over the top' with what amounts to as 'forced conversions', don't go over well with the general populace.
Nov 25, 2007 New Australian Prime Minister : New Round of Terror Threats. The Iraq war, the Insurgency and all terrorism is about 'Public Relations' exercises, and no one in his right mind would miss an opportunity to hack into the publicity surrounding the Labour Party's victory, to get more attention for themselves. This is to be expected.
Nov 21, 2007 Children, Muslims, & Global Violence Some blame violence on excessive wealth, excessive leisure time, insufficient counselling services, and governmental neglect. And while everyone openly or secretly blames parents for the violent nature of their children, every day secular society does it's best to deny parents the right to control or punish their children
Nov 3 2007 Fiddling the Books in China (and Japan) I continue to tell students to trust the Central Government, even if the local officials could care less.
September/October I was Stand-in Editor at Magic
The following are some of my own articles which I published at Magic City to keep the paper running while the editor was away.
Sep 19, 2007 The Irony in Gaza Irony No.8: Quoting the New York Times: "Fatah is paying Palestinian Authority workers to stay at home and not work for Hamas," Mr. Shawa said. "Hamas is paying its own people. But no one is paying the workers of the private sector. The ones who live on aid do nothing, and the ones who are working get nothing. Soon we'll all be aid-dependent, and I hate it; it's destroying us." See Irony No.1
Sep 9, 2007 Different Enemy - Same Language. One should not 'shake hands' with those who kill Palestinians! Said the Syrian VP. Would this include both Hamas and Fatah factions in Palestine. If the Syrian Vice President thinks it such a crime to kill Palestinians one would assume that he would condone withdrawing from any conference that would involve Hamas and Fatah.
Aug 20, 2007 Those Who Can't Assimilate. There are many people who cannot assimilate if their religion or cultural identity is to be retained. Frankly, I find nothing wrong with various religious and cultural groups maintaining their own distinct cultures. But there is a big difference between 'maintaining your religious culture' and demanding that your adopted country change to suit you.
Aug 9, 2007 The Death of a Faithful Companion I live in China and do not always know what is going on back home. It therefore came as a complete shock to me, when someone sent me a public notice about the death of a faithful companion. Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.
Aug 9, 2007 The Cost of Political Correctness. Should the people overwhelmingly support a new vision for the future, those in the minority will just have to like it or go elsewhere. (That might explain why I stay in China!)
Jul 2, 2007 Rewriting the Koran What we see today in Islam, is a revising of an ancient culture that has no place in today's world. Would Christians like to see a return to the Middle Ages Christianity? I think not! Why? Because the difference is cultural - not so much theological.
Jun 26, 2007 Fearing China? There are many people in the world it seems, who fear Mainland China, believing that one day China will be successful in establishing itself as one of the More powerful countries in the post USA world. Why anyone would be worried about the Chinese taking over the world I don't know. Even if they eventually did, those Chinese conquerors wouldn't be the Han Chinese we know about, and those living in our countries won't be like us. With or without the Chinese, our current national lifestyles, politics, cultures, traditions and possibly language, will all be totally different!
Jun 14, 2007 Palestine's Two State Solution About the only people on earth today who truly understand the suffering of the Palestinian people, are the Israelis. Ironic isn't it? "Allah will not give mercy to anyone, except those who give mercy to other creatures." (Abdullah b. Amr: Abu Daud & Tirmidhi)
Jun 12, 2007 In God We Trust. Write it on my heart, till it's more than words on paper, Till it's more than memorized, Till it's who I am and how I live my life.
Jun 10, 2007 Staying Sane in China. Leo Rosten in the Joys of Yiddish wrote that there is an old Jewish saying, that the difference between psychotics and neurotics is that while psychotics believe that 2 + 2 = 5 neurotics, although fully cognisant of the fact that 2 + 2 = 4, just simply can't stand it! Personally, I think there are a lot of neurotics in the world.
Jun 3, 2007 What's in a Name? Racism! Last week, the Israeli army attacked a squalid Palestinian refugee camp with tanks and artillery pieces shelling it at close range. Army snipers gunned down 18 civilians and dozens more injured. Water and electricity were cut off. By week's end, much of the camp had been turned into deserted rubble. Thousands of terrified residents fleeing the camp.
May 4, 2007 16, Gay and Homeless in China. I do not know who this boy is, or where he is, or where he will be, but between now and the next time I run into him, I am going to do some research in the hope of finding information and contact numbers, so that I can refer him to professionals who will be of assistance to him. It's far too dangerous for such a young man to be living this kind of lifestyle at this age. Those of you who pray, remember this nameless and faceless Chinese boy in your prayers.
Apr 5, 2007 Comical Evolution. If there is no God, then to hell with everything and everyone! I'll do and say as I please! And with recourse to Evolutionary Science and Mother Nature's undeniable testimony, I'm entitled to knock down and kick over anyone who stands in my way. Three cheers for evolution!
Apr 5, 2007 No Racism in Political Correctness Is it OK to bomb a Jewish establishment (or any other) provided that it cannot be associated with the expression, 'Racism'? Do we sooth our consciences by simply saying: 'Oh, but they didn't prove it was a 'hate crime'" ?
Feb 16, 2007 America's Cultural Left is Responsible for World Terrorism. Indeed, the left detests the social conservatism that is the hallmark of the whole swath of cultures stretching from the Middle East to China. Those cultures are viewed by many Western liberals as backward, hierarchical, patriarchal, and deeply oppressive. But viewed from the perspective of people in the traditional societies of the world, notably the Muslim world, these same trends appear nothing less than the shameless promotion of depravity.
Feb 25, 2007 What is There to Like about Living in China? I even remember the time I challenged students to consider their reactions if they discovered a close friend or relative was gay. Oh you would have been so proud of their western like politically correct BS, and BS it was. One boy was really good at giving the appropriate answers until I asked his reaction to a scenario in which his little brother not only announced that he was gay, but that he was getting married to his lover. The response? I would kill him! 'You mean you would beat him up?' "NO! I would get a knife or gun and kill him dead! I would not allow such a dishonour in my family!".
Feb 16, 2007 America's Cultural Left is Responsible for World Terrorism. Indeed, the left detests the social conservatism that is the hallmark of the whole swath of cultures stretching from the Middle East to China. Those cultures are viewed by many Western liberals as backward, hierarchical, patriarchal, and deeply oppressive. But viewed from the perspective of people in the traditional societies of the world, notably the Muslim world, these same trends appear nothing less than the shameless promotion of depravity.
Feb 3, 2007 Herouxville, Quebec and Islamic Stereotypes One would need to conduct a survey of the townspeople to determine who had developed negative feelings for Muslims as a result of the new regulations. If Muslims in Muslim countries graciously grant us these rights, why should we not grant them their own customs.
Jan 30, 2007 Israelis are War Mongers and Terrorists, Plain and Simple! For years the people of Israel have declared that they only want peace with their neighbours, but we know that their words are all lies. They say that they want true dialogue with their neighbours, but it is clear that they never want those dialogues to succeed. They blow up every situation to serve their own interests and a foreign agenda.
Jan 19, 2007 Sheep Stealing in China Australia has a reputation as a pastoral country, producing some fine Marino sheep. Years ago when I was a policeman in Blackall in Central Western Queensland, I made friends with the Mitchell-Hills who were managing one of the Walker sheep properties. There was a saying many years ago amongst some evangelical Christians that: 'We don't steal other people's sheep!" By this they meant that they seek to convert those who do not believe in God, rather than try to win over people who already have an existing faith.
Jan 18, 2007 Murphy's Law and Customer Service in China The Chinese Central Government apparently ordered that teachers finishing their contracts this semester be 'released' on December 20th, so that they could return home to celebrate Christmas, but it seems, from what I have been told, that in Hubei, little attention is paid to the Central Government. I was not released from my contract early.
Jan 16, 2007 A Conversation with Mr. Devolin on Islam. Often times, people hear our words without knowing where we are coming from. They put their own slant on our words, and judge us according to their own emotional dictates. I maintain that perspectives derived from personal experience have a legitimacy lacking in those from armchair pontiffs whose only connection to someone's experience, is their ideology. Ideology is a poor substitute for reality.
Jan 14, 2007 The Wrongs of Indigenous and Other Human Rights. The law of 'unintended consequences' certainly does present us with some unusual situations at times, doesn't it? Anyway, because there is no afterlife, (we are just an evolved swamp slime after all), our lives are pointless, so what the hell! Let's eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.
Jan 13, 2007 Teaching Conversational English to Chinese Students You may well laugh at that last point, but I have heard it from students. It is a great answer, and an ironic one at that. You see, in my 4 years of teaching so far, I have found that students hate to talk to the Teacher in English, and yet hate listening to the teacher talk talk talk! One day after class, a student approached me and asked: "Why did you teach us that lesson?" I replied: "For the same reason I teach anything, because you guys won't talk, and I have to do something to earn my salary.
Jan 11, 2007 Honesty, Patriotism and Plain Living? Who Said This! 'We must not allow the boundaries to be blurred when it comes to right and wrong, evil and kindness, beauty and ugliness' he said. "What we support, what we resist, what we oppose and what we promote all must be crystal clear". 'Who said this' about patriotism, hard work, plain living, consciousness of others, honesty, credibility, and obeying the law? Do you know?
Jan 11, 2007 Xenophobia in France: Jews, Muslims and Vegans Suffer! I've said it before and will say it again, Political correctness is just a weapon in a war to control society and force it to comply with officially imposed streams of consciousness. The day will come when every thought and act in democratic countries will be totally controlled by legislation designed to give the populace the right to believe nothing that they are not told. What a farce western civilization is becoming.
Jan 7, 2007 How Historians Deceive Us and Manipulate Biblical Chronology. We sometimes tend to think that our knowledge of history is based on irrefutable evidence, but our knowledge is based in a collection of rags and tatters. Some historians and archaeologists would rather provide us a factually incorrect history, than one which might cause us to give credence to anything recorded in the Bible.
Jan 5, 2007 Christianity and Martyrdom in China The difference between Martyrdom and Suicide is that the Martyr will gladly die for his faith, if that is the lot that befalls him; whilst a suicide takes matters into his own hands.
Copyright 2011 is held by the nominated authors on this article page.
About the KingsCalendar Publisher
R.P.BenDedek is the owner and Editor of KingsCalendar.com which was originally set up to publicize his research results into the Chronology of Ancient Israel. Those results were published under the title: 'The King's Calendar: The Secret of Qumran'.
Whilst there have been many attempts to solve the chronological riddle of the Bible's synchronisms of reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah and their synchronism with other Ancient Near Eastern Nations, no other research is based on a simple mathematical formula which could, if it is incorrect, be disproved easily. To date, no one has been able to dismiss the mathematical results of this research.
Free to air Academic articles set forth Apologetics for and results of his discovery of an "artificial chronological scheme" running through the Bible, Josephus, the Damascus Documents of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Seder Olam Rabbah.
During the current economic downturn, this book has been dramatically reduced in price but will eventually rise as the economy improves.
Check the Chapter Precis Page to see details of each chapter and to gain access to the Four Free to Air Chapters
R.P. BenDedek writes social commentaries and photographic 'Stories from China' both at KingsCalendar, and as a contributing columnist at Magic City Morning Star News in Maine USA.
