Reading blogs

As most of you know by now, I do not blog at a blinding pace like some do! I suppose the juices of my brain work a tad slower than most, and that is why it takes me so long to get to the next blog entry.

However, there are some in the blogosphere who just cannot help themselves. The juices in their brains must be working overtime, and like volcanoes their brains must erupt on a daily basis. I have to admit, I admire people like that. Sometimes I wish I was like that, but then I am reminded of God's sovereignty and His providence in making me the way I am and others the way they are.

I have been following a couple of blogs recently. Some more recently than others.

One of the blogs I have been visiting the longest is that of James White at Alpha and Omega Ministries. I am sure that James does not sleep. He obviously has a brain that erupts on almost a continous basis. James, how do you keep up with the rest of your ministry? Anyway, keep it up! We are learning a lot from you!

A more recent blog is by Phil Johnson, called the PyroManiac. Phil's blog officially launched on June 1, 2005, but just could not help himself from writing his first entry on May 27. In this entry Phil wrote: "I'll be trying to post at least 2-3 times a week, most weeks. Don't expect me to be one of those every-day bloggers. I have a real job on the side." Now, if I am not mistaken, it seems that Phil has either lost his "job on the side" or he is not doing his job on the side! :-) Just like Bret Capracina noticed, Phil hasn't stuck to his 2-3 times blogging per week. Oh, well, PyroManiac is a daily must read!

The last blog I want to comment on today is called Between Two Worlds by Justin Taylor. Justin's blog is the type of blog where almost anyone can come to and have something to read that interests them. Justin is also one of those daily bloggers (even more than once a day sometimes) with a whole lot of insight on a multitude of subjects. Justin, I am still reading (as you can see from the first paragraph above) the book you co-edited with John Piper (Sex and the Supremacy of Christ) and I promise to have a review for you as soon as possible. What I have read so far is absolutely amazing!

All I can say is: "Guys, keep blogging!"

Just thinking...

Hotel Rwanda

Genocide! Murder! Mayhem! more than 500 000 dead!

 

This is what happened in 1994 in the African country of Rwanda when the Hutu tribe, according to typical genocidal fashion, systematically attempted to bring the Tutsi tribe to extinction.

 

Our story kicks off when one of the neighbours of Paul Rusesabagina (our main character) is brutally beaten and interrogated. That night in bed his wife wants to know why he did nothing to help their neighbour. Paul's answer was that he was not family. Family is more important than anything!

 

However, soon (in fact on 6 April 1994) after this, the Rwandan president's jet is shot down (by his own army) and so the Hutu onslaught is started under the false notion that the Tutsis shot the president's jet down. The secret pass phrase for the start of this massacre was "cut the tall trees down!"

 

In this situation Paul soon sees the injustice and evil of the genocide and starts opening the hotel (the posh Hotel des Mille Collines), where he is assistant manager, for the housing of refugees.

 

In the past, Paul used to keep his top visitors and other important political figures happy by giving them extra special treatment at their visits to the hotel. In this way he had built an important list of contacts.

 

During this period of genocidal massacre, he makes use of his contacts and the resources of the hotel at his disposal to keep the Tutsi refugees at his hotel safe from this atrocity. Paul constantly has to keep the Rwandan army happy through bribes to ensure the safety of the people at his hotel. In this way he ensures the safety of more than 1200 people, mostly Tutsis.

 

Paul keeps on putting his trust in the UN peacekeepers in Rwanda, believing that the UN would send more reinforcements to stop the genocide. However, Paul soon has to realize that the UN and the western world does not think intervention into a black country warranted their time, money or troops. They are now on their own with no help from the outside world.

 

Even though Hotel Rwanda is a movie about one of the most gruesome genocides of modern history, violence is never sensationalized. The movie is crafted well enough for the viewer to feel and understand the reality of the violence and murder.

 

Apart from the ineffectiveness of the UN in this situation, Hotel Rwanda also shows how the world in the West, especially the USA, rather spent time using words of no effect to express what they saw happening in Rwanda. No one could come to express the truth of what was happening in Rwanda: GENOCIDE! With the evidence at their disposal, the West could not (or would not) see the truth and rather used words such as "internal struggle" and "civil war." While the West was quibbling over the correct words to use, people were being slaughtered by their thousands.

 

Hotel Rwanda is a movie about a real-life person who made a difference in the world. It is a movie that once again dispels the notion that humans are basically good. It shows us how horrifying human nature can be. It also shows us how one imperfect man can make such a huge difference in the midst of the cruelty and evil of human nature. What it also clearly portrays is that the West does not care much for what happens in Africa!

 

Paul is asked by one of his employees, Dube, "Why are people so cruel?" Unfortunately, I have to use that dreaded 3-letter word: SIN! Sin has been with man since the beginning. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly corrupt: who can know it?" (Jer 17:9 ASV) "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity; And in sin did my mother conceive me." (Psa 51:5 ASV) The sooner we realize that sin is part of man's innermost, the sooner people will realize there is only one solution to this problem of sin! The atoning sacrifice of Christ!

 

This is a must-see-movie! Don Cheadle (Ocean's Twelve, Traffic and Picket Fences), who plays Paul in the movie, was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Paul Rusesabagina.

 

For a good review of this movie read HOTEL RWANDA. For more on what really happened in Rwanda, read THE HOLOCAUST IN RWANDA - 10 YEARS ON. I have recently read the book Holocaust in Rwanda - The roles of Gun Control, Media Manipulation, Liberal Church Leaders and the United Nations. What an eye opener! You have to read this book to see what really happened and how the world stood by and watched the genocide. You will see how useless the UN is, and how Kofi Annan, the current Secretary-General of the UN did nothing to stop the genocide! This book can be ordered through Christian Liberty Books.

 

Just thinking...