Kameel Majdali's Road Ahead

Recently Australian Federal Parliamentarian Joe Hockey, 44, the former Federal Minister for Human Services and then later for Employment and Workplace Relations in John Howard’s government and currently the Shadow Treasurer in the Federal Parliament, gave a speech entitled In Defence of God . While it never occurred to me that the Creator of the Universe needed ‘defending,’ I was keen to read what Mr. Hockey had to say, especially since his family comes from Palestine, just like mine. I tried in vain to locate the complete text. But an extract of it was enough to get me blogging. According to Michelle Grattan’s article Hockey goes to the defence of religious faith http://www.theage.com.au/national/hockey-goes-to-the-defence-of-religious-faith-20091108-i3ip.html , Mr Hockey says: A number of fast-growing evangelical Christian churches in Australia take a literalist approach to the scriptures. While most leaders of the older churches … have moved away from such a position … there i...

‘Talking heads’ were spinning; fingers wagging; and Australia found itself in the centre of a furious storm. What was its transgression? A war crime? A human rights violation? A political scandal and cover-up? No, none of the above. The ‘eye of the storm’ was a skit on ‘ Hey, Hey, It’s Saturday ,’ where a group of Sydney doctors, of different races, did a take-off of the ‘Jackson Five,’ called ‘Jackson Jive.’ The doctors painted their faces ‘black.’ The man impersonating Michael Jackson was ‘white.’ One of the judges, American singer Harry Connick Junior, found himself in an awkward situation. He handed the group a big ‘0’ and said such an act would never be allowed in America; it apparently brought reminders of racist minstrel shows in the 19th century. Australian host Daryl Somers quickly apologized for the offense and so did the performers. Their contrition did nothing to slow down, let alone stop, that which followed. A chorus of condemnation blew with gale-force ferocity, mo...

It is the phone call you dread to receive, especially from a relative who never calls. But the call came on Thursday, the 3rd of September from the United States. The news was unwelcome, though hardly unexpected. My father, Frank, had a cardiac arrest in hospital and died despite attempts to resuscitate him (2nd September US time). He was 85 years old. Dad’s death came only ten months after I got the other dreaded phone call. My mother, Louise, age 84, had also had a cardiac arrest and died despite the efforts of the paramedics to revive her. The date was the 31st of October. Billy Graham, in reference to his beloved wife Ruth Bell Graham who died in 2007, said that no matter how much you anticipate death, it is still a shock when it comes. This is, no doubt, true for many people. The stunned realisation that your loved one has ‘passed on’ and you will not be able to see, speak, or visit with them for the rest of your natural life is an immeasurably sad thing. For many, it can be ...

Luke 9:23 (KJV) 23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. Have you run into a difficult person lately? Working with people is mandatory in terms of getting somewhere in life. Unless we have self-sustained lives on a deserted island, we will be encountering people…all kinds of people. While some are kind and delightful, there are those who can be downright nasty. Sometimes we console ourselves with the explanation: ‘This difficult person must have issues.’ It is reminiscent of the following story: One Sunday Morning A woman wakes up late on Sunday morning and realizes that church will be starting soon. She feverishly tries to wake up her husband, but he merely yawns and rolls over. She tries again…no success. Then the woman becomes louder and more aggressive: ‘Wake up, it is time to get ready for church.’ Finally the man slowly rises upright and says, ‘I don’t want to go to church!’ The wo...

In a day of change, challenge, crisis, and confusion, it is good to know that God has prepared a better way. A way forward. A way to true freedom. God’s way is nothing new and was announced thousands of years ago. It comes via Jesus Christ. Jesus gives an open, all-inclusive invitation to ‘whosoever will.’ Yet once a decision to accept the invitation is made, that man or woman, boy or girl, becomes part of an exclusive group. Jesus is inviting us to follow Him, to learn of Him and to become like Him. In other words, He is welcoming us to become His disciples. True disciples of Christ are a rare and blessed breed. A disciple in the strictest sense of the word is a ‘student’ or ‘learner’ of a worthy person. But the studies are not done in a mere classroom, with lectures to listen and assessment tasks to complete. The disciple is essence becomes an ‘adherent’ or ‘follower’—a ‘full-time follower’—like an apprentice in a trade. They live and learn from the Master, day in and day out, ...

If ever there was a word that made music to the ears, it has to be the word ‘freedom.’ It is the yearning and passionate desire of humanity to break free: free from bondage, tyranny, oppression, and limitation. It was the war cry of the American revolutionaries as summarized by Patrick Henry’s ringing words: ‘Give me liberty or give me death.’ Freedom is the ideal which makes music to the soul. Yet even in ‘free societies’ there are many who are in bondage. In the United States, it is estimated that one out of every one hundred adult Americans is either in jail or in prison; this is one of the highest rates of incarceration in the world. Substance abuse is high all over the world, whether it is narcotics, alcohol, or tobacco. Some are tyrannized by wrong relationships or financial woes. The so-called ‘Sexual Revolution’ of the 1960s was meant to allow unlimited sexual expression without the moral restraints; this coincided with the advent of the birth control pill and was bolstered ...

US President Barack Obama made headlines with his much anticipated speech to the Muslim world on 4 June 2009, called ‘A New Beginning.’ The stage was Cairo University. Choosing Egypt as the place to make his speech was significant because of its multi-faceted role as a leading Arab, Muslim, and African nation, and home of Al Azhar, which Obama called ‘a beacon of Islamic learning.’ People asked me what I thought of Obama’s speech, so here goes… First, about Obama the man. Having stepped onto the national scene less than five years ago when he eloquently spoke at the Democratic National Convention in 2004 which nominated Senator John Kerry as their candidate for President of the United States, Obama’s rise to power has been simply stunning. He is well-known as a great speaker, even an orator. In these challenging times of multiple meltdowns in the economy, swine flu pandemic and global hot spots, Obama’s words inspire hope. Obama, from all appearances, is providing an outstand...