Once the death toll from the Asian tsunami passed somewhere around 50,000, I realized that I can’t conceive of that many people being dead. As of this writing on New Year’s Eve 2004, the toll stands at around 135,000.

Let’s try to make it more concrete:

• If you met five new people each day and lived 75 years, it would be like the death of everyone you’ve ever met. (I think most people don’t meet that many people. There are plenty of days when I interact only with people I’ve already met.)
• Stacked one story high, the caskets would cover seven football fields.
• Placed end to end, the caskets would stretch across Denmark from East to West – about 180 miles.
• If you were to read just the name of each person who died, taking eight hours per day without meals or bathroom breaks, it would take more than five weeks. That’s at about five seconds per name.
• Take the death toll from September 11. Multiply it times 50.

The tsunami death toll is still mounting by thousands each day. Click the envelope icon below to e-mail these stats to someone.

12/29/2004 01:53:00 PM|W|P|Jon Fortt|W|P|Interesting article here about the latest trend in campus politics -- religious conservative backlash. |W|P|110435358985135577|W|P|Conservative students at UNC, Ball State, cite academic freedom to dictate what they don't want to learn: But is this good for education?|W|P|jon.fortt@gmail.com12/29/2004 01:18:00 PM|W|P|Jon Fortt|W|P|Here in the U.S., we love to talk about pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. We also like to brag about what awesome givers we are. So when United Nations emergency relief coordinator Jan Egeland said this week that developed nations are stingy with aid, U.S. officials got into a huff. "Misguided and ill-informed," said President Bush. Outgoing Secretary of State Colin Powell said he wished Egeland hadn't said it. If only Egeland were wrong. His comment wasn't directed at any particular nation, though the U.S. seems to have taken particular offense. (Growing up, we had a rule about finding the originator of a fart: "Whoever smelt it, dealt it." I think that rule applies to America's guilty conscience here.) As the first link in this post explains so well, we give a tiny portion of our GDP (gross domestic product), or our economic output. In other words, we give a lot -- but it's a tiny percentage of what we make. This holds up poorly by what I'll call the "Jesus standard" of giving, quoted below from Mark 12:41-44: And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, "Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living."|W|P|110435510791070894|W|P|Is America as stingy with foreign aid, giving, as Jan Egeland suggests? Yep. Especially by the Jesus standard.|W|P|jon.fortt@gmail.com1/03/2005 03:15:00 PM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|Sure seems like the country should give as least as much as we are spending on war in Iraq. What are we up to, 200 Billion or so?

I have more hopes for giving by individual Americans than by the US Gov't in
any case.12/29/2004 12:37:00 PM|W|P|Jon Fortt|W|P|I struggle to cobble together a response to the earthquake tragedy in Asia -- as of this writing, the death toll has topped 80,000 and promises to climb far higher. What should a Christian do? Obviously the first order of business is to donate to organizations like the Red Cross; blankets and stuff are fine, but the best giving is money to assist aid workers in handling the aftermath. (So far Amazon.com has helped people to donate more than $2.3 million to relief efforts; at least this has happened in the last week of the year, when people are looking for tax writeoffs.) In these cases, I believe we Christians have to put proselytizing aside and represent Christ through our generosity. We must become the miracle we wish to see in the world, as Ghandi said. Or as the apostle Paul said: You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'|W|P|110435267739212813|W|P|Asian Earthquake toll makes this Christian struggle to respond; the best we can do now is give|W|P|jon.fortt@gmail.com12/22/2004 12:25:00 PM|W|P|Jon Fortt|W|P|I'm an education reporter, so I can't add my thoughts to this post about a private school in Texas that's forcing out a gay student. I can say I've heard of private Christian schools also tossing out female students for getting pregnant. (Male students who get girls pregnant get a pass, I suppose, because maternity's a lot easier to prove than paternity.) Schools say they try to handle these situations with love, as Jesus would. Any thoughts on whether they're succeeding?|W|P|110374712499178344|W|P|Christian school in Addison, Texas forces out gay student|W|P|jon.fortt@gmail.com12/26/2004 01:35:00 PM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|As absurd as I think it is for any school not to welcome a gay student, I wonder if it may be more loving in this case to remove the student from the school environment rather than to leave him there, where he'd face misunderstanding at best and discrimination at worst. (On second thought, though, after reading the article: since he was a senior with only one semester left who had been attending the school since kindergarten, he should absolutely have been permitted to complete his education there! Sigh. And I thought "Saved" was just a movie.) -- Liddy (treadingwater.typepad.com)12/31/2004 08:26:00 AM|W|P| Jon Fortt|W|P|Even so, one wonders whether they toss out liars, cheaters, fornicators, and kids who generally dishonor their parents.12/31/2004 01:58:00 PM|W|P| Jon Fortt|W|P|By that argument, the school would be kicking out the student for having gay sex, not for being gay. (Another way of putting it would be that a school would kick out students for lying, not for feeling a tendency to lie.)

I'm not sure this school ever established that this student had gay sex.

So: Did the school kick the student out because of who he was, or because of something he did? At this point, that's not clear to me.12/17/2004 10:55:00 AM|W|P|Jon Fortt|W|P|In this column, Nick Coleman gives so-called Christians an earful about their anti-homeless attitude. Thank you, Nick.|W|P|110330973282344955|W|P|Nick Coleman: The gospel truth about some readers|W|P|jon.fortt@gmail.com12/20/2004 05:23:00 PM|W|P| David Tieche|W|P|That was a fantastic article.12/21/2004 07:09:00 AM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|Hi Jon
Forgive me if I'm behind the times and everyone already knows about this, but have you read "Blue Like Jazz" by Don Miller? I think you might like it.

Merry Christmas!
-hannah12/27/2004 01:24:00 PM|W|P| Russell|W|P|Jon,

Can you get a copy of the original column that Nick wrote. Not that it makes much difference. He is absolutely right about some Christians being anything but Christ like. Am I in denial about the percent of Christians that act like this? I hope it is a small small percent.12/10/2004 09:36:00 AM|W|P|Jon Fortt|W|P|Remember the grilling that Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld got during his visit to Kuwait earlier this week? It appears a newspaper reporter helped the process along. Lee Pitts, a reporter for the Chattanooga Times Free Press, talked ahead of time to the soldier who asked the question, and helped his name get called to ask it. Here is the e-mail Pitts wrote about the incident. Baffling to me is the idea that people have a problem with this. Some have suggested that the question was planted, or that the reporter put words into the soldier's mouth. The reporter and the newspaper deny this happened. But isn't that beside the point? If the substance of the question is true (which investigations will examine, no doubt), and the question itself is relevant (which would seem to be the case, considering the ovation the soldier got from his fellow fighters), what gives? This administration is one that isn't used to swinging at reporters' fastball questions. Now they're getting upset that a reporter helped a solider learn to pitch. Which is immoral – ducking the question about combat armor, or encouraging a soldier to ask it?|W|P|110270020814035891|W|P|Soldier's combat armor question for Rumsfeld in Kuwait was prompted by Chattanooga reporter Lee Pitts: But does that really matter?|W|P|jon.fortt@gmail.com12/09/2004 07:17:00 PM|W|P|Jon Fortt|W|P|After making a case for a half-century that God doesn't exist, British philosophy professor Antony Flew has decided that someone must have baked this cosmic cake after all. He made the declaration in a video released today. Read the full story here. Flew now believes in God, but not an active God. His rationale is pretty simple. Even if there was a big bang that got this universe started, something must have blown up, and something must have made it blow up. The voice of God, perhaps? Anyway, he doesn't believe in an afterlife or any of that. For the record, we here at Cross believe in the actual Christian God. And we don't believe He's asleep at the wheel. We believe he's more of an omnipotent driving instructor who has let humanity take the wheel of our destiny. He gives good instructions, but we tend to blame Him when we crash.|W|P|110264863164672447|W|P|Famous atheist Antony Flew believes in God and design theory; but not the Christian God. He's just 81 though, so there's still time.|W|P|jon.fortt@gmail.com12/16/2004 01:30:00 PM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|An omnipotent driving instructor! I need to think more about this, but on first glance I really like it. A driving instructor who happened to have designed the car, perhaps, or at least given some blueprints to the people at the factory. And don't forget that the driving instructor has that extra brake at his (or her) feet, to use sometimes when we seem to be getting in trouble. -- Liddy (treadingwater.typepad.com)1/17/2005 10:42:00 PM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|Flew's God is similar to Buddhist "God", ie, the law of nature.
Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Ayn Rand were all famous atheists.12/09/2004 08:26:00 AM|W|P|Jon Fortt|W|P|This post comes from David Tieche. Welcome back, Dave! Unless you’re Rip Van Winkle, you’ve probably been noticing a growing divide in the nation, especially in the Bay Area, between people who are “religious” and people who are “non-religious.” The 2004 election crystallized just how divided this country is, and how poorly we talk about our differences and similarities. But it just got messier. A fifth-grade teacher from Cupertino is suing the school district in which he works because he claims his principal violated his First Amendment rights when she prohibited him from using handouts that discussed the role of God and the Bible in colonial-era history. Stephen Williams, a 38-year old history teacher, said that the district is taking the idea of separation of church and state too far by prohibiting him from talking about the role of religion (specifically Christianity) when talking about the founding of America. Some parents are accusing Williams of slanting his instruction in order to proselytize. You can read the whole article here. As usual, the major media outlets, including the San Jose Mercury News, are doing a pretty poor job of covering the meat of what looks to be one of the major problems now facing America: the growing sense of alienation that people who share vastly different religious views feel toward the “other” side. The issue here is particularly tense because the kids are involved. In my experience, parents want their kids to go to school and learn good things. A problem arises, however, when they feel that the schools are teaching their children things that they, as parents, don’t agree with. This makes parents feel like they’re being betrayed. Like the Pied Piper is coming to take their children, marching them into a scary sea of dangerous ideology. For example: • Some parents get upset when birth control is taught in sex education courses. This offends their sensibilities, sometimes their religious convictions, that only abstinence should be taught. • Sometimes, it’s about science and whether science teachers leave room in their curriculum for Creationism. Sometimes, parents’ religious convictions get challenged when they hear the very word “evolution.” • And sometimes, the tables are turned, and it’s religious convictions of the teachers that make the parents uncomfortable. This is the case in Cupertino. Since I’m both a Christian and a public school teacher, I’d like to attempt comment on some of the things I’m seeing. WHY WOULD A CHRISTIAN SUE? First of all, I’m very suspicious of Mr. Williams’s decision to sue. As a school teacher, I know there are certain channels for resolving conflict, especially about subject matter. Probably the very, very, very last channel is the county court system. There are about 100 other avenues Mr. Williams could, and should have gone down before he called in high profile legal teams, the most important being talking to his colleagues and the parents of the kids in his class. Two yeas ago, a fellow teacher of mine walked into my classroom after school while I was praying with a student. He “reported” me, and filed a grievance with the principal. Now, I hate conflict, so this one was particularly hard for me. But I knew something had really bothered my coworker, so I went right to him and we talked for a long time. I listened patiently to him and then I patiently explained how I wasn’t violating any rules. The student had approached me. The student and I shared the same religious beliefs, even went to the same church. And it was after school hours. The principal listened to both of us, and in the end, we all understood each other better. In fact, we’re probably closer than we were before. I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t have happened if I sued him and the school for discrimination. This whole thing is beginning to smell sour to me – like it’s less about religion and more about politics. Of course, I feel that way almost anytime I see anyone on FOX News. So many Christians don’t understand that even if you win a legal battle, you can still lose. Big time. Because the battle isn’t about laws, it’s about people’s hearts. WHAT ARE THE BOUNDARIES FOR A CHRISTIAN TEACHER? Now, I’m no expert, but I am a public school teacher and I take my profession very seriously. Like most teachers, I got into the profession because I love kids and I wanted to make a dent in the vast wasteland of need that is the public school system. I believe it’s not just my career, it’s my calling, and I believe it’s what I was put on this earth by God to do in this time in my life. In fact, I’m a teacher because I’m a Christian. But being a teacher, I know that I am also an agent of the state. This means, among other things, that I am not allowed to use my unique and powerful position of influence to officially endorse any religion to my class. That’s not what I’m there for. That’s not why I was hired. I’m not there to win souls, I’m there to teach English. And there’s a difference. This doesn’t mean that I leave my religion at the door. That’d be like leaving my lungs at the door. Being a teacher means being a person who is actively in the lives of other, often younger people. And my faith may come up. So what’s okay, and what’s not? One-on-one conversations with students where you answer their questions about matters of faith? Go ahead. Private conversations about God with kids who are inquisitive? All day. Pointing interested kids to materials that are in line with their religious interests? No prob. Using your platform to convert kids or push your religion? Now you’re crossing the line. SHOULD YOUR CLASS KNOW YOUR RELIGION? As bad as it is for teachers to abuse their authority like that, I also think it’s silly for people to think that religious ideas and concepts aren’t going to come up in the classroom, or that if they do, the subject should be immediately changed. I’ve been around kids long enough to know that they really wonder about God. But I think it’s kind of dangerous for the teacher in front of the class to be an official advocate or mouthpiece for a set of ideas. We’ve all had teachers who have been ideologues. It’s like they’re up there, waiting for everyone to give a puppet response of the answer they’re looking for. It intimidates students. I mean, who wants to argue with the teacher? In the classroom setting, I personally tend to challenge all strong beliefs, regardless of what they are. I do this thing, almost unconsciously, when a student is talking: I stand on the opposite side of the room. I do it so they’ll talk louder, but I do the same thing ideologically. I stand “across the room” from students with strong ideas, no matter what the idea is. I suppose this illustrates how I view education, and maybe where I’m different from many Christians. Some Christians I know believe pretty strongly that the purpose of schools is to make sure kids come out moral, and believing in God. As a Christian, I can’t buy into that. I think it’s pretty clear in the Bible that God gave that responsibility to parents and to the Church. If kids are rejecting the ways of Christ, that’s a problem with the parents and the church, not the public schools. The point of public education is to get students ready for the world, for society, for America. This means they’re going to have to interact with a whole bunch of different people, some of whom have radically different belief systems. One of my friend’s aunts stood in front of me and accused the public schools of “teaching homosexuality.” Now, I personally haven’t received my anthology of homosexual literature, but if she means that I actively teach my kids that if a person is gay, it’s not cool to beat them up or kill them, then yes, I am guilty as charged. Of course, I’d say this is also a basic Christian idea, but sometimes I’m in the minority on that one. When I challenge my students’ strongly held beliefs, it helps them understand what and why they believe, which is important. But as important as it is for you to know what you believe, you also have to know how to communicate with people whose beliefs are the polar opposite of yours. I suppose this means framing more conversations, and fewer lectures. Then again, I’m talking about teacher’s public roles, in front of the class. When the bell rings and students linger, hey, share away. I don’t think that’s the kind of thing that parents worry about. If my kid had a Muslim teacher, and he talked with students who were interested in his Muslim religion, I would be totally cool with that. If he had everyone take out their mats and pray to Allah every day at 3:15, I’d be a bit miffed. Which is another reason I don’t want prayer in schools, by the way. Besides, the gospel of Christ is not just about words and doctrine; it’s about the fruit of the spirit. If you want to make a profound impact on kids, love them, and show them you love them. And like the Apostle Paul said, against this, there is no law. Comments? |W|P|110260986017514717|W|P|Cupertino teacher ignites firestorm in education, religious communities. Christianity and the Declaration of Independence: What's okay to say?|W|P|jon.fortt@gmail.com1/06/2005 08:32:00 PM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|I worked to Cupertino. They have a very bad school system. In 1998 and 1999 the good people in the office left. Now you are not to talk about holidays in most schools. They only want high test scores. The teachers were also told not to reward students for doing good work. They should just do it because they want to.12/06/2004 03:34:00 PM|W|P|Jon Fortt|W|P|These thoughts from Josh Keller, pastor and youth group leader extraordinaire: Melissa and I just watched Fahrenheit 9/11 last night. Has anyone else seen this movie? I thought it was interesting and truth be told Michael Moore is an artist in every sense of the word. He was able to weave together a string of events that were very troubling on a highly emotional level. After watching the movie, Melissa and I felt unsettled. Who do we trust, George W. or Michael Moore? It made my head spin. I have to admit when he showed the woman, who had lost her son at war, it struck home with me. It is hard to have a family member in Iraq serving in a war that you have doubts about. He makes Bush look like a big fat idiot, a puppet in the Saudi/Texas Oil, Carlyle Group’s master plan to make money and lots of it! I had to take a look at the response to this documentary. I have been reading some pretty interesting articles that slam Moore and accuse him of fabricating a story to fit his own conclusions. Check out these links to see a pretty extensive argument: Dave Kopel, and Moore exposed. After having read some of this stuff I really feel like I did after I read the DaVinci Code. Even though the Code is a fictional book it begins with statements that the author has said are factual. Michael Moore has created a movie in a much the same way. Moore presented information that was supposed to be factual, but chose to weave a whole lot of lies, conjecture and conspiracy theories to complement his presuppositions. I was very encouraged to see that the woman (A Christian) who lost her son, wasn’t angry with God, but with Bush. You go lady! I am interested in your thoughts. I should really get a blog, everyone else seems to have one. Josh|W|P|110237637417764444|W|P|One Christian's response to Farenheit 9/11: lies, doubts, distortions and war|W|P|jon.fortt@gmail.com12/07/2004 05:11:00 PM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|Anyone entrusted with power will abuse it if not also animated with the love of truth and virtue, no matter whether he be a prince, or one of the people.
Jean de La Fontaine12/09/2004 07:49:00 AM|W|P| ragamuffinminister|W|P|Just wanted to say hi. You've posted some great stuff on the site. I remember checking it during its early days and I've come across it once or twice since, but it's worthy of more time.

Good job and good thoughts. Especially on the Eminem post. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and even though I was less than thrilled at some of the comments or where the comments took off to, I appreciated the fact that you had that space open for people.4/14/2005 01:15:00 AM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|In your briefing above on Farenheit 9/11 you are correct to say that More twisted some of the evidence to fit the big picture... However one thing that you fail to notice is that he is actully not at all saying all there is...

If you want to be enlightened please also see: "9/11 In Plane sight", "Outfoxed", "Orwell would turn in his grave", http://www.fromthewilderness.com/
etc etc etc

I am afraid to say that we American's have lost our freedom we hold so derely... The southerners may have lost the war but won the controll over the economy. Its not capitalism anymore, its totalitarism... and only we can change it12/02/2004 06:12:00 PM|W|P|Jon Fortt|W|P|In what I consider to be a bizarre story, the major networks have turned down this ad from the United Church of Christ. The ad suggests that gay people, minorities and others are welcome at UCC churches. Why did the networks reject it? CBS and NBC said they have policies preventing ads on matters of public controversy. ABC said it doesn't take religious ads. See the story here. On the one hand, I can see their point. What if the KKK wanted to run ads? What if a church wanted to run anti-abortion ads? On the other hand, it's strange that Six Flags, the NRA and Cineplex 200 can run ads, but a church can't.|W|P|110203995968393809|W|P|Networks reject church gay ad; United Church of Christ silenced in its message about same-sex marriage; see the ad streaming here|W|P|jon.fortt@gmail.com12/01/2004 09:07:00 AM|W|P|Jon Fortt|W|P|If you've never seen a The New York Times > Washington > bunch of preachers in a mud wrestling match, you missed "Meet the Press" this week. The New York Times covered it, which I suppose is its way of covering religion and politics. Baby steps. Arguments ensued about abortion, gay marriage, the election and other topics. Check it out. It's a good read.|W|P|110192086757378234|W|P|Wallis, Falwell, Sharpton, Land clash on "Meet the Press"|W|P|jon.fortt@gmail.com12/06/2004 08:47:00 AM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|here is a link to the actual transcript of the show:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6601018/

-hannah