Saturday, October 01, 2011

Cancer Statistics Daunting but Overshadowed

I take cancer seriously.
Family members have passed away, and some currently struggle with the brutal disease and its heartbreaking impact.
We frequently have requests for prayer and support.

Thank goodness for research, medical advances and all the people who contribute to the cause.
It seems there is always a weekend run/walk event or other charity efforts to help. I gladly contribute and have walked along, too.

What surprised me this week was a statistic.

8 million deaths
40 million deaths

Cancer is reported as the leading cause of death in the world.
It takes an enormous toll. Some say one of three people will contract cancer in their lifetime.

But it is not actually the leading cause of death in the world.
Cancer is responsible for 8 million deaths per year.
Abortion is responsible for more than 40 million deaths per year, worldwide.

Cancer is the leading cause of non-elective death.
Abortion is the leading cause of elective death.

What struck me most when I compared the two is our collective drive throughout the world to defeat cancer.
We are all committed and compassionate about finding cures and treatments.
We gladly donate time and money to this worthy cause.
Every one of us wants to spare the lives of our friends and family.

If we could flip a switch tomorrrow and save 8 million lives, worldwide, from cancer death, woudn't we?
Absolutely - that's exactly what we're all researching, donating and walking and praying for.

What if you could flip a switch and save 5 times that many lives in a year?
40 million lives.
In a ten year span....that's the poplulation of the United States, or Japan, or Indonesia...

I believe we should speak candidly and openly about reversing the statistic that is reponsible for the most deaths worldwide.
Definitely pray, and even organize a walk or two.

What do you believe?

Tolerance for Christians in Iran?

In Iran, and other neighboring countries in the region, you cannot choose your spiritual beliefs, they've been chosen for you.
There is lots of talk about co-existence with the likes of Christianity and Judaism, but its just talk.
When the rubber hits the road and someone publically declares their free will differently, it can be met first with community intimidation, and through their court system with a death sentence:

Dateline Iran: Article by Jamie Dean of Worldmag.com
"During a final day of hearings in an Iranian court on Wednesday, officials gave Iranian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani a final ultimatum: Recant your Christian faith or face the possibility of execution. Nadarkhani refused to recant.
That sets up a grim prospect for the husband, father of two young children, and pastor of a 400-member congregation in the city of Rasht. The Iranian court could decide as early as this week whether to find the Christian guilty of apostasy and carry out a sentence of death by hanging."

We are quick to say that this is only happening among the "extremists." But similar court systems are being proposed for export to other parts of the world, including the USA. They are not benign, multi-cultural experiments. They are based on the same principles used to condemn Youcef Nadarkhani.
While we don't need to over-react or disrespect other people's views--it is ok to ask tough questions.

My question for today: What is at the core of these laws that can lead to Christian persecution in the hands of extremists?
What is at the core of our laws here where we do not imprison and execute people for free choice of spiritual beliefs?
At least in the short term, let's export the latter as opposed to importing the former.


Update on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2011
U.S. State Department issued a statement condemning the conviction of Youcef Nadarkhani and calling for his release:
“Pastor Nadarkhani has done nothing more than maintain his devout faith, which is a universal right for all people. That the Iranian authorities would try to force him to renounce that faith violates the religious values they claim to defend, crosses all bounds of decency, and breaches Iran’s own international obligations.”

What do you believe?