Gaza situation: analysis

(Scripturelink Voters Guide)

Article by Marc Aupiais

There is another possible reason for the current Israeli strikes, one not perhaps overly covered. America is entering a Democrats: presidency next year: under a person who has promised to be softer on international relations: this could be bad for Israel: American support ensures they are not conquered by the Arabic Nations around: and Bush is always helpful: he is one international leader who has read the definition of Terrorist; even if he's extrapolated a bit at times: he has condemned Hamas for reopening hostilities with an Israeli government, which has so far been viewed as too soft on the issue: and too friendly to Hamas: who continues to launch terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians.

Hamas has political insurance out of fighting, as does the other group: to an extent: Hamas has no interest in the welfare of their people, nor in peace: but Israel: if the International community can make them feel safe: perhaps by funding missile defense systems, or other defensive aids: and by finally taking war crimes to trial: if Israel were to be made to feel safe: the entire situation would begin to end.

As it is, every Israeli attack: while seeming not to end the Catastrophic situation, is motivated by a desire to secure Israeli people's lives. Hamas: is so defiant: because their survival depends on an enemy to fight.

The only way to peace: is to ignore Hamas' desires: and focus on the needs of the people, and not what they have been propagandized into believing they want. With the entire situation: an international force needs to be deployed, and to ensure the Human Rights of both sides: the time for tit for tat negotiation is over: the time for human rights has begun. Negotiations: must have a goal: not simply squabbling: and a reason to negotiate: must be given: even if it is the threat, or realization: of international troops: and the Hague.

Soft solutions: are often the cause of fear: which, along with the feeling of injustice: these create: creates hatred: and a desperation which leads to war: and only results from a lack of hope. Both sides have become desperate: and all the condemnation in the world: cannot release Israel: from their justified fear: even if their methods may not be justified. Politics, and games must end in this conflict: there must be a final solution: one which unlike the Nazi campaign: does not involve wiping persons of a certain political or religious, or cultural group out: there must be international: armed intervention: via peace keepers; as happens everywhere else: and there must be at least the threat of international prosecution in the International Criminal Court: for all involved in crimes.

There must be a reason to negotiate, and a hope for justice and final peace from it: which only comes from a higher power, and I am not Referring to either of the religions, of the two groups: rather I refer to the United Nations.

Only by justice, can concord be restored, and by concord, shall peace largely be regained. At least those who ordered illegal actions: these at least must be prosecuted: unless extenuating circumstances can be proved... and not simply assumed.

I am not saying that peace keepers must fight Israeli troops: what I am saying is that these must be deployed, perhaps after fighting, or maybe in some ingenious manner. Also, why is it that Egypt continually closes their border? would this not help the situation, if it were opened: would it not begin to release Hamas' grip on Palestine?

Journey in a Broken World: "My stereotype"

(Journey in a Broken World )

Article by Marc Aupiais

She had said that the Afrikaners were placed in concentration camps by our Allied government in World War Two: whole families: children and women also. I asked, wasn't that some other war, wasn't it just men in the Second World War, that they put in concentration camps for support of the Nazi enemy?

Then, I had made an odd comment: they were not of what one might say is my tribe. It was quickly rebuked. I agreed, it is so easy to see another group as less than human, we do it daily with refugees on television, and with murdered Fetuses, we do it when a Tsunami strikes, or two buildings are flown into by planes: at first, yes empathy, but then: often apathy. We were driving back from church.

He was wearing unfashionable short pants, and Afrikaner attire, I thought he'd get into a Land Rover, and drive off, he did not. My stomach turned, he was our car guard.

When we were leaving, I quickly got the bags and put them in the car, I felt guilty: I was not going to let him serve me, he was human. I felt such guilt, guilt we don't feel when refugees are our car guards: more educated men. It wasn't my comment that it was an Afrikaans issue, that had made me so concerned. I empathized with him, as I often do with church friends of all colours, and with colleagues who are Afrikaans.

Somehow, I am accustomed to Nigerians, or Zimbabweans, with nothing: taking our bags and putting them in the boot (storage area of the car for our international readers), then taking our trolley, and smiling while they serve us. We expect them to die to protect our car, for enough maybe to buy a soft drink.

When considering Afrikaners, who supported the Nazi enemy, I seemed more dry about the possible punishing of their families, I thought: maybe that is why they took over the country later. It was a definite they. Now, I am not a tribal person, yet: because they were abused by a government my ancestors fought with against the Nazis: I did not care if their families were locked up. I was wrong: only the objector should have been imprisoned. And again, with the car guard: today I realized, subconsciously, I have viewed things tribally.

I find it of interest, we see tribes, and fit with some. My tribe is Catholicism: the doctrinal, dogmatic type. I feel at home with Catholics somehow, and especially with British people, even as I am not a British person. When on holiday: I take comfort in British institutions. We were a British colony, but it is more than that. I was not around for our independence. Those of our tribe, we associate with.

We say: if not clever enough, or not pretty enough, or not our language, or not our grade at school, or year in varsity, or department at work. What Christ brings is not grace alone where there was "none". Not salvation where there was none: he saves those before and after his death: with his one death and resurrection. Yes, he enables our obedience... but all grace is through him, before or after his passing, is it not?

More than that, what is radical about Christ: is that he preaches that all men are our neighbor, our tribesman. He came to love and save all of us, even my French, Irish, German soul. He himself: even loves me, one not of his tribe, one who is now of his new tribe: simply because I am human.

Love your neighbor: the Jews did, but love your tribal enemy, while prudently securing your life: well, that is a Catholic idea. Whether Born, or in the waiting room of the womb, hoping not to be killed, whether black, white, or tan, whether catholic, or Islamic, or Atheist: all are in my tribe: it is fear which empathizes more with our own language or colour. When white men are car guards: it makes one fear: their tribesman is that, what of them?

When we realize finally: all men are my neighbor, whatever their stage, beliefs, morality, or colour: the truth comes: justice extends to every life... no person may be denied justice: and while it is my responsibility to care for my life first: others are just as worthy of justice, even as I must secure my own life first. 

Now, the Catholic tribe, brings hope, and it alone can do in the world: what is needed to save it: we are the Spartans at Themopoly; and only by our sacraments, and for those able: our faith; or else religion in perfect proportion: the seeking of the Truth, to obey Him, but not finding him of no fault of our own. We are saved by one church, one baptism, one breaking of bread.

Our tribe is humanity, our sustenance: the Military pledge: the "Sacrament", all 7. Our boat in this rapid flowing river, securely anchored on the crisp white crystal sand: is Mother church: the "pillar and foundation of the Truth" (I Timothy chapter 3 verse 15). Being Catholic, and in truth, makes me sane, but the sane and insane are of one tribe, being Catholic means I have the ability to save others; or to save more through influencing others who aid others by my work: but my fellows are just as human. Humanity is lifted in dignity, by the nature of our soul: but also as God took our form: we are elevated from all eternity, and every beginning: to utmost dignity. God bless Africa, the world, and Afrikaans people, and refugees. But most of All: God bless humanity. And my friends overseas, and over in my heart.

Either by obedience to the church, among the knowing, or obedience to conscience, and seeking of truth among the still seeking: we can be saved in hope: let us forward our tribe: by living morally, and instilling justice, even when it means violent means are needed to defend good. Let us instill justice, which is love, and faith, which is salvation, and deeds, which are faith, and which sustain it, and are required for it.

By our pledges, our sacraments: military pledges, not personally phrased procedures. We are saves: let us propogate the tribe of love, of truth, of sane proportion: even within the church. Let us be Catholic!

The reality of the substance of knowledge, which is truth, or a means

(Journey in a Broken World)

Article by Marc Aupiais

I look at the reflection in the water- light looks like electric shocks, or invisible scales, as it dynamically moves about the surface. The sky is reflected softly, even with aquatic transparency. I now shall speak of something as vital to man as our desire towards, of and for life-giving water, something as necessary, and daily needed:

Knowledge, such a word of note:

What it means is infinite, and undefinable- in effect, not definition!

Like a fountain of water, blue, mixed with turquoise, cyan and green, and white- sprouting water into a pool in one of those ancient looking cities- flowing knowledge, is beautiful knowledge.

We want to know, and others also do- we understand, and then we inform, or else secretly guard information- and politely use it to gain advances in our own dignity- our own means of survival.

So, love of knowledge- we name this practical, pragmatic. We flirt with danger to gain it- in the not entirely vanity driven fear of losing out, and we desire to gain from it.

Natural love of knowledge- is actually but something beautiful- something we must be proud of. When we learn, we feel happy- we need knowledge- in fact, our constant methods of doing things from knowledge- is how we conquer the planet. We may say it is communication, but this is a form of knowledge- and itself does nothing but relay knowledge to others- whether true or false.

The purpose of knowledge, is propagating our own survival, and making good our own intricate need to breathe, and be alive longer.

How then do we say some knowledge is bad- except that it is false knowledge, or improportionate- unhealthy, dangerous without context, or true perspective.

When we say faith saves- in fact, we say good knowledge saves- we say that understanding, and belief in good, solid true facts which are necessary to survival brings to man but freedom from insanity, from what we call sin, and into God's grace- and promises.

When we speak of improportion around knowledge- we understand the hunger and need for and of knowledge, that our fellow man has. To inform of false knowledge- is to give our fellow tools which do not help him survive- this is evil- because false knowledge damages people. Simply withholding knowledge- is not always evil, not either evil in itself is allowing one to continue in one false knowledge- if of another it means that if he had true knowledge- he would cause damage with it- and it would not save him in the long run, but condemn his soul, the channel of life into him.

In fact, false knowledge is dangerous- as our souls feed and live on truth- falsehood, if believed- damages our souls- the reservoirs, on which we are animated into being.

And so...

Faith saves, and faith destroys- it all lies on who, what and when and where we believe- belief is what gets us through, but also what destroys us and others- if false, or evilly disproportionate...

By belief, we control others, as though levitating the rainbow prism of their substance around us, like pink, blue, green, magenta, cyan, and purple ribbons floating and swirling in the air, like fire spreading, or a volcano erupting in endless passion.

By belief, we also are controlled, leveraged- and made into means of achievement by other beings- and this itself is not evil. It is only evil- when their use of us as means destroys the channel between our soul, or theirs- our winter store, and reservoir of life- and its source- Yahweh- Life, existence- Reality- the mediator in which we exist- "God", if we must say his common name. It is right to use people for good- but wrong to ignore their dignity, or use them in the wrong manner, or time, or as but tools- without choice or soul- for truly, man always has both! 'til death in the least we do!

What we believe determines who we are and who we have become. Our worldview determines how we act, our mannerisms, our culture, our core beliefs, values and causes. Who we are is the merging of two tsunami storms, the combining of two avalanches, the melting together of two flows of water currents, two oceans- two resonances- two sloping and twisting wall-like Icy snow sloaps.

These two- they are our evolutionary formation, and our events, choices, and observances!

09:00 - 09:16AM
15 November 2008
Marc Aupiais' Journal
Edited and altered for publication

Vatican- permanent observer to United Nations- Laws must never simply be regulations

(Social Justice South Africa; c.f. Zenit News Service 21/10/08)

Article by Marc Aupiais

The Vatican's permanent observer to the United Nations has stated that while laws are a necessity- regulations must never prevent the protection of the deeper values on which they have their basis. He further enforces that it is by the foundation of values, and respect for human dignity, as fostered in society and public realm as a whole that people are protected and justice done. He dismissed as less than just- the concept that law should be simply the implementing of norms created in past judgments, and regulations. He demonstrated his view that without respect for deeper values- laws cease to protect dignity, and human rights.

Archbishop Celestino Migliore, who represented the Vatican in making these statements- said that law should treat all people equally, regardless of social, economic, or political realities. He believes law should at its foundation- respect dignity, and truly is needed as it has become a pillar of the international efforts at global development.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights- he says- clearly implies a need for the rule of law.

Journey in a Broken World- What we are as self, and how this affects how we continue

(Journey in a Broken World)

Article by Marc Aupiais

Reason which denies faith is faulty, is a black hole with no purpose, not a small amount of substance or meaning. Faith is a light whose light appears as a darkness of deathly silence, through which we learn to listen- and to hear in intuition and essence- the voice below the nothingness we first hear.

I was terribly disappointed when a friend of mine from outside the Divinity of Mother Church (Acts 5 chapter verse 4; Acts chapter 15; I Timothy chapter 3 verse 15)- stated that all they knew for sure would remain after death was memory of another in their hearts, and mental capacities.

Perhaps we should look deeper within this- those who concern themselves too much with their own physical life and not their soul, rarely are remembered fondly if at all. Over time- whether moments or centuries, we desecrate and decimate their poorly woven life, and strip their evil form of all colour.

The good are different- not only are they remembered by those they have affected- but also have an infinite influence- through the slight molding of those who come into contact with those they know, and for much else- always their wisdom in life is spread and grows other souls infinitely. Even the good who are defamed win out in eternity.

When we want to preserve ourself- selfishness can only make sense to one with reason and faith- we are eternal, and so care for ourselves- by being wise- and godly towards others. Those who cannot believe- must not be selfish- if they want their memory to be fondly remembered- but put on a charade- so as to be remembered as good- or have any good impacts. Evil only survives when piggy backing on some proportionate or out of proportion goodness.

I am utterly selfish- and utterly selfless all at once- this is what it is to be part of God's body. I am so selfish that my selfishness extends to the care of others- that seeing their similarity in their humanity to my own self- I determine to care also for all others who seek after Reality.

Selfishness is equivalent in some ways to insanity- true care for self is care firstly to that closest to our self- God, and then care of our fellows in descending order of importance- as accords their similarity to Reality- to the mediator of our existence- God.

Those who believe there is not more- are those who do not sense the intuitive undercurrent- in the veins of truth itself, who do not feel the cool desert breeze, or the harmful arctic dust against their form. These do not sense what others do- their intuition, and reason has never formed into what the saints see as a world, a fantastic wonderment beyond what the intuitively blind cannot sometimes comprehend.

Let us pray for my friend, and for all who feel so- truly- to reject the Church, the effect God has on the earth, or simply not to know of it, or find it, or to see right through it- is a sad endeavor- and those who have been crafted through circumstances so that they are not yet within the fold of our foundation of truth (I Timothy 3 chapter verse 15)- as yet have only the ghost of hope which still can doubt- as compared with the substance we experience in every mutual prayer, when peace conquers us, and truth caresses us, kissing the very bends of our seen and unseen form with the feel of grace- swirling, and roaring around our cocoon of self.

Truly- to survive in eternity- we all must become utterly selfish- extending the self within us firstly to our life- which is reliance on God himself, and secondly in order to all other life- for what is alive has at least one attribute of God- life itself- and so we must treat all with justice- knowing that justice is the true form of love, and love is the true form of justice, which both are described often as mercy, or powers.

The Substance of true beauty

(Journey in a Broken World)

Article by Marc Aupiais

Sometimes when one is in a place- one senses a presence, whether it is other people, who soon show themselves, or animals- or something one truly does not have an explanation for from experience, but which our soul and body says is there.

Now intuition has many forms, sometimes it is memory, sometimes our senses knowing something too complex to explain in individual thoughts, and sometimes it is something deep within the essences of our nature telling us something.

When praying- Catholics have been known to feel the tugging of intuitive truth, and this is often how we explain the answering of prayers. The more we delve into the intuition, and trust it- the more our form is encouraged to perfect this sense.

Now, whether the culmination of past experience, or else seeing pictures or images which should be there, but are not, or perhaps the results of memory, or any other thing, I have had such interesting experiences before- and will tell of the result of them. No, it is not seeing things, but sensing things that we speak of- knowing as though from expirience- even when we do not know from the physical.

To me Saint Philomena is not the image we often associate with her- that of beautiful images of the young beautiful girl. She may well physically have this form- but when I pray- images enter my mind- once I saw her as nothing but blood, with but a bit of flesh or bone floating within it- and it scared me, another time a image entered myself, of an old lady- with gray hair- longer than time itself, looking down on me like an old seer. My thought of this image within- was firstly lowly, fearful and humble, but understanding surprise, and secondly a realization of true beauty- in her aged form was a softer beauty than in her powerful youth- the beauty of one who exists- despite all in opposition- the beauty of a soul who will forever fulfill her purpose- the beauty of one in true happiness.

What is the source of these intuitive thoughts- to me it matters, but to Mother church- all that matters is that they are free from moral and doctrinal error. I don't know if they would say that of this or not- I do know that to me beauty is that which is what it is designed to be- that which is perfect and natural- where the limited, though oft seeming dynamic, simplicity of the borders of what is natural is what is moral!