borrowed thought

So, the pastor at the church I go to in NJ has the same name as me. We started a sort of chain email with a few other people, and one email was set to "reply-all" but directed specifically at Pastor Matt.

A person happened to be reading the email over my shoulder (that's not allowed!), and exclaimed, "Whoa, you're a pastor now??" Hahaha, little kids are so funny.

Well nope, I'm not nearly as wise as Pastor Matt, but here's something he said that I thought was really interesting, not something we think about every day:

"How radical is this:

"If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied."

A lot of Christian leaders have said the opposite over the years--that if it turns out there is no God and no resurrection, that living the Christian life still brings great fulfillment, etc. But the Bible says, no, it brings pain and suffering, and we are most to be pitied if we're deluded."

beef imports

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-korea-protest.html

Hrmmm... I eat American beef, and I haven't gotten mad cow disease (I hope I didn't just jinx myself haha). But seriously, Americans find it safe to eat U.S. beef. I feel like the protests are almost a slap in the face.

I think it's more a matter of Korean farmers wanting to keep competition out. Or maybe it's just a front for Koreans to air other grievances. And I guess these are legitimate concerns that the government should consider.

But 50,000 protesters holding signs with references to mad cow disease? Protest against human trafficking, protest against world hunger... but protest against something worth protesting about?