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Our Mission |
WAWA/WeAreWideAwake is my Public Service to America as a muckracker who has journeyed seven times to Israel Palestine since June 2005.
WAWA is dedicated to confronting media and governments that shield the whole
truth.
We who Are Wide
Awake are compelled by the "fierce urgency of Now" [Rev MLK, Jr.] to raise
awareness and promote the human dialogue about many of the crucial issues of our
day: the state of our Union and in protection of democracy, what life is like
under military occupation in Palestine, the Christian EXODUS from the Holy Land,
and spirituality-from a Theologically Liberated Christian Anarchist
POV.
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The Walls of Berlin and Bil'in |
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Garth Hewitt: From the Broken Heart Of Gaza |
FACTS ABOUT THE WALL from friends in Bethlehem
Read the truth about the Wall and what is happening today in the Holy City of Bethlehem. |
Read more...
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Eileen Fleming's Biography
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Read more...
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"We're on a mission from God." The Blues Brothers "Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all...and passionate attachments for others, should be excluded; and that, in place of them, just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated. The nation which indulges towards another a habitual hatred or a habitual fondness is in some degree a slave...a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils." George Washington's Farewell Address - 1796 "My aim is to agitate & disturb people. I'm not selling bread, I'm selling yeast." Unamuno
"Imagine All the People Sharing All the World." John Lennon "If enough Christians followed the gospel, they could bring any state to its knees." Father Philip Francis Berrigan
"You can stand me up at the gates of hell, but I won't back down." Tom Petty
"If I can't dance, it's not my revolution." Emma Goldman
"We have yet to begin to IMAGINE the power and potential of the Internet." Charlie Rose, 2005
Only in Solidarity do "We have it in our power to begin the world again" Tom Paine
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"Never doubt that a few, thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead |
"You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free." John 8:32
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DO SOMETHING! |
Photo of George shown here and in web site banner courtesy of Debbie Hill, 2000.
DO SOMETHING! Click Here |
Declaration of Independence |
We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; that, among these, are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; and, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it. -July 4, 1776. The Declaration of Independence |
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Home A Greater Awakening Have you heard the true tale of the Bedouin named Mohammed Ali?
Have you heard the true tale of the Bedouin named Mohammed Ali? |
Have you heard the true tale of the Bedouin named Mohammed Ali?
I
begin this true story at its beginning in 1945, in Egypt, in the land
just above the bend of the Nile, north of the Valley of the Kings,
across the river from the city of Nag´ Hammâdi, near the hamlet of
al-Qasr, under a cliff called Jabal al-Tarif.
An Egyptian
Bedouin named Mohammed Ali was out gathering sabakh, a nitrate-rich
fertilizer for the crops that he grew in the small hamlet of al-Qasr.
He
was aghast to stumble upon a skeleton as he dug, and bewildered when he
uncovered a two-foot high earthenware jar. A bowl had been placed over
the top, and it was sealed with bitumen.
At first, the Bedouin
thought an evil genie was within, but when he shook the heavy jar, he
heard things moving and thought it might be gold.
He smashed the
jar open and out fluttered pieces of gold particles that he tried to
catch, but they disappeared. When he peered into the jar, he was
dismayed to find twelve leather-bound books.
Mohammed Ali was
illiterate, so he placed no great value on books, but was confident he
could sell them and make something for his troubles. So he carried the
jar filled with books back to the homestead.
Now, Mohammed Ali
also happened to be a fugitive from the law, for he had wielded the
weapon that spilled the blood of a patriarch during a violent incident
in a generation-long family feud, not so very long before.
After
a few days of mulling over possibilities, he decided to give his find
to the local Coptic priest for safekeeping. You see, he feared the
authorities soon would be lurking about and would confiscate his
possession before he could receive any money for it.
His mother ripped out many pages to keep the home fire going, and I grieve and wonder what ancient treasures she burned.
Anyway,
the priest passed it on to his brother-in-law, a traveling tutor, who
brought the books to the Coptic museum in Cairo on October 4, 1946.
What
was found were ancient compositions, written in Coptic that had been
translated from ancient Greek. The volumes were leather-bound pages of
papyrus, and no doubt the gold dust that Mohammed Ali witnessed was
from papyrus fragments that had broken off.
Under the leadership
of UNESCO, Egypt, and the American scholar James Robinson, these
anthologies and collections of texts with titles like the Gospel of
Thomas and the Gospel of Mary Magdalene have now been translated into
many languages.
I contend that when USA Christians fall in love with the Mystery of God; we will begin the world again.
These
ancient texts offer NO new answers; but they do provide us with a
glimpse of Christianity at its very roots, and it was most diverse
indeed.
The most likely source for these books that have become
known as the Nag Hamadi Library, was the Pachomius Monastery, which
thrived for centuries just three miles from the burial site.
Scholars
agree that most likely a monk from there buried these books in the
wilderness under the cliff of Jabl al-Tarif for safe-keeping.
These texts had been deemed heretical by those who were gaining power through the political arena; the Proto-orthodox.
In
the 4th century, Emperor Constantine, a pagan warrior became the first
Christian ruler, but waited until he was on his deathbed before being
baptized.
I contend that the most decisive event in the history
of Christendom occurred when Emperor Constantine accepted the Christian
faith, for those who had once been persecuted were now protected by an
earthly king.
Both a patriarchal monarchical state and church were formed at the same time.
Power struggles and debates were common among the early Christians.
Individual churches determined which texts were read, and they all had their favorites.
Constantine sought to unite his empire, and uniting the church was a savvy political move.
He
announced he would pay for fifty illuminated copies of scripture to be
bound, and thus the biblical canon was established and sealed.
There was fierce debate among the bishops about what should be included and what left out.
The proto-orthodox, who had now become the dominant voice, determined what was heretical for everyone.
The proto-orthodox demanded much-loved scripture to be burned, usually because it did not fit their understanding of God.
Many of these texts were considered Gnostic.
Gnosis is defined as knowledge discerned intuitively.
Gnostic texts offer deep mystery that is discerned via intuition, not rational thought.
This is not the way for fundamentalists.
A Gnostic is open to receiving intuitive knowledge of deep spiritual truth.
For
students of the New Testament, this is a much greater find than the
Dead Sea Scrolls. Forty of the texts had previously been unknown to
modern scholars.
Thirty-five scholars worked diligently on these
translations, and all agreed that the bound books themselves date back
to the fourth century and were written in Coptic translated from Greek
and Aramaic-which is what Jesus spoke!
The Gospel of Thomas is a
collection of the sayings of Jesus, words of wisdom, proverbs,
parables, and some very confounding mysteries.
About 35 of the
114 sayings have no counterpart in the New Testament, while at least 20
are almost identical, and 54 have similarities.
Many scholars
concur that the sayings were originally written in Syriac, a dialect of
Aramaic, the language of Jesus and his followers.
It is very possible the sayings are closer to the words Jesus actually spoke than what is found in the canonical gospels.
Two thousand years ago, there was lively debate about who Jesus was, and why he came.
The
proto-orthodox, who were the majority, considered these gnostic texts
anathema and thus deemed them heretical for many reasons.
The main reason is that they did not fit neatly into the evolving dogma.
Gnostic texts offer us mystery, not answers.
Jesus said he came that we would have life to the full; abundant life [John 10:10] and that takes deep thought.
Falling in love with the Mystery of God is a great place to start.
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Visitors since 07.22.05 |
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"HOPE has two children.The first is ANGER at the way things are. The second is COURAGE to DO SOMETHING about it."-St. Augustine
"He who is not angry when there is just cause for anger is immoral. Why? Because anger looks to the good of justice. And if you can live amid injustice without anger, you are immoral as well as unjust." - Aquinas |
Order My Books |
"Memoirs of a Nice Irish-AmericanGirl's Life inOccupied Territory" AND "Keep Hope Alive" To order either book click here. |
UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Everyone has the right to freedom of
opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions
without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and
ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
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The Paradoxical Commandments by Dr. Kent M. Keith People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway. If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway. The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway. People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway. People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway. Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway. © 1968, 2001 Kent M. Keith " In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway."-Mother Teresa
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“You cannot talk like sane men around a peace table while the atomic bomb itself is ticking beneath it. Do not treat the atomic bomb as a weapon of offense; do not treat it as an instrument of the police. Treat the bomb for what it is: the visible insanity of a civilization that has ceased...to obey the laws of life.”- Lewis Mumford, 1946 |
The age of warrior kings and of warrior presidents has passed. The nuclear age calls for a different kind of leadership....a leadership of intellect, judgment, tolerance and rationality, a leadership committed to human values, to world peace, and to the improvement of the human condition. The attributes upon which we must draw are the human attributes of compassion and common sense, of intellect and creative imagination, and of empathy and understanding between cultures." - William Fulbright |
“Any nation that year after year continues to raise the Defense budget while cutting social programs to the neediest is a nation approaching spiritual death.” - Rev. MLK |
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Establishment of Israel |
"On the day of the termination of the British mandate and on the strength of the United Nations General Assembly declare The State of Israel will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel: it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion it will guarantee freedom of religion [and] conscience and will be faithful to the Charter of the United Nations." - May 14, 1948. The Declaration of the Establishment of Israel
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posted 3/25/2009 |
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