The Count of Monte Cristo

The theme of The Count of Monte Cristo is not a new one. Edmond Dantès takes justice into his own hands because he is dismayed by the limitations of society’s criminal justice system. Societal justice has allowed his enemies to slip through the cracks, going unpunished for the heinous crimes they have committed against him. Moreover, even if his enemies’ crimes were uncovered, Dantès does not believe that their punishment would be true justice. Though his enemies have caused him years of emotional anguish, the most that they themselves would be forced to suffer would be a few seconds of pain, followed by death.

Considering himself an agent of Providence, Dantès aims to carry out divine justice where he feels human justice has failed. He sets out to punish his enemies as he believes they should be punished: by destroying all that is dear to them, just as they have done to him. Yet what Dantès ultimately learns, as he sometimes wreaks havoc in the lives of the innocent as well as the guilty, is that justice carried out by human beings is inherently limited. The limits of such justice lie in the limits of human beings themselves. Lacking God’s omniscience and omnipotence, human beings are simply not capable of—or justified in—carrying out the work of Providence. Dumas’s final message in this epic work of crime and punishment is that human beings must simply resign themselves to allowing God to reward and punish—when and how God sees fit.

Question of the Day

Justice. Fair treatment. Honor.

Most of us feel a sense of strength at the mention of these words.

Unfortunately, great stories must contain the opposite of these traits.

Injustice. Dishonor. Unfair treatment.

Images of moments when we were treated wrongly.

Wars, scoundrels, and flashes of the villian parade in my mind.

The question today is what would you do if you were falsly accused of a crime?

If you were sentenced to live out the rest of your days in a dungeon, would you be overcome by grief or would you rise up in strength and face your fears?

I think of great biblical characters life Joseph.

I consider the life of Mandela, Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr., and the imprisoned.

And yes, the apostle Paul.

Wait, there is one more hero we are forgetting, the count.

Yes, the Count of Monte Cristo is a tale much like the stories above.

What would you do if you were accused of a crime you did not commit?

Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights is the name by which the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution are known. They were introduced by James Madison to the First United States Congress in 1789 as a series of articles, and came into effect on December 15, 1791, when they had been ratified by three-fourths of the States. An agreement to create the Bill of Rights helped to secure ratification of the Constitution itself. Thomas Jefferson was a supporter of the Bill of Rights.

The Bill of Rights prohibits Congress from making any law respecting any establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, guarantees free speech, free press, free assembly and association and the right to petition government for redress, forbids infringement of “…the right of the people to keep and bear Arms…”, and prohibits the federal government from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. In federal criminal cases, it requires indictment by a grand jury for any capital or “infamous crime”, guarantees a speedy, public trial with an impartial jury composed of members of the state or judicial district in which the crime occurred, and prohibits double jeopardy. In addition, the Bill of Rights states that “the enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people,” and reserves all powers not specifically granted to the federal government to the people or the States. Most of these restrictions were later applied to the states by a series of decisions applying the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which was ratified in 1868, after the American Civil War. This article courtesy of Wikipedia.

Pillars of Our Country

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

What is religious about this document?

The constitution is always described as a document with its roots deeply embedded in a foundation of faith.

But what how would you describe this connection?

Question of the Day

Has this pastor gone too far?

I guess you have to ask yourself would you be offended if someone threatened to burn your holy book?

I know that I would be enraged if someone shared hateful words about the Bible.

Even if this man believes he is right on principle, he should back down before someone shoots him.

Buring Quran is ‘direction God wants us to go’

“God is leading us right up to the moment,” he said. “It’s no different than Abraham and his son. God didn’t tell him, ‘Go right up to the point where you might sacrifice him.’ He wanted him to be fully committed. We’re prepared to do what we’re called to do.”

Jones said he has received more than 100 death threats and has started wearing a .40-caliber pistol strapped to his hip since announcing his plan to burn the book Muslims consider the word of God and insist be treated with the utmost respect. The 58-year-old minister proclaimed in July that he would stage “International Burn-a-Quran Day.”

Sapp said the church has collected “in excess of 200″ copies of the Quran. “We’ve gotten them from all over the country,” he said.

David Petraeus, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Kabul, took the rare step of a military leader taking a position on a domestic matter when he warned in an e-mail to the Associated Press that “images of the burning of a Quran would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan — and around the world — to inflame public opinion and incite violence.”

Question of the Day

Rev. Terry Jones, of the 50-member Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla., told The Associated Press. “We should address radical Islam and send a very clear warning that they are not to retaliate in any form.”

Why has this man resorted to burning a book?

And a holy book I might add?

He could have picked an article by a radical Imam or cleric.

The pastor might have denounced Islam by ridiculing certain people.

Instead, he has resorted to book burning.

He is likely to get shot.

Why attack the book and not the philosophy behind radical Islam?