OFF TOPIC - pierced ears

From what I read on the BBC site, (a) there is no universal consensus on whether that was appropriate or not, and (b) the teacher asked the students to name the teddy bear, and the name was their choice.

If that is true (you never know whether news reports are completely true or not these days, really) then deportation seems more appropriate than beheading.

There's a thought - do you have the helmet earrings in?

One of the choices at the better ear piercing place is her birthstone - little tiny sapphires.

Meredith wrote:

I wouldn't have thought, though, that 24K gold would have any nickel in it, but I'm probably mistaken.

According to the news article in my local paper, one of the students chose the name, because he himself is named Muhammad. The teacher has been convicted and sentenced to 15 days in jail and is to be deported following the conclusion of the sentence. Prosecutors were calling for a longer sentence, as well as 40 lashes and a fine. The woman's defense counsel suggested the whole fiasco is the result of a school secretary with a grudge against the teacher.

This is California a/k/a Northern Mexico. We have lots of people (and probably stuffed animals) named Jesus.

Right, but Christianity has no prohibition against representations and idolatry.

Elizabeth

The burglar was busy at work when he heard a whisper: "Jesus is watching you." He scanned the room with his flashlight, but didn't see anyone, so he went back to work. A moment later, he heard the same words much closer. This time, his flashlight illuminated a parrot.

Burglar: Did you say that? Parrot: Yes. Burglar: What's your name? Parrot: Moses. Burglar: Who would give a name like Moses to a parrot? Parrot: The same guy who gave the name Jesus to his rotweiler.

PRT / TRP words

Parrot is probably a reversal of Greek trope = a turning. The parrot "returns" what you say, probably without understanding it. What the parrot says is tripe = nonsense. The same semanitcs occurs in Hebrew with the word KiSHKeSH = prattle, scribble at a time when the letter shin had a T-sound. Ki[T]Ke[T] reverses to TooKi = parrot.

ciao, Izzy

Sure, it does.

Deuteronomy 5:8 Thou shalt not make thee any graven image

Most Christian denominations ignore it, or interpret it to only cover false idols, but the Amish (for one example) take it quite seriously. They do geometric art like hex signs, or fanciful things like distelfinks that don't actually exist, but will not portray anything real. No photographs of their people, no crucifixes in their homes.

There are several interesting sayings in that vein, although I don`t think I`ve heard that one. Our version is |"Take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves"

"In for a penny - in for a pound"

Pat

I have thought about this for some time. I agree "When in Rome, etc", but this is a twso-edged sword. It equally applies to Muslims living in Canada. I ask myself what might have happened if this had occurred in Canada. Are there any Canadian Muslims who would be willing to take the law into their own hands, and kill the person responsible? IMHO, and unfortunately, I believed the answer is "YES!"; and that scares the hell out of me.

As usual - I really wonder why you don't return to Beloved England Jim, surely it's so much better than Muslim ruled Canada ?

Such as?

Elizabeth

Ok, so let me modify my original statement "Mainstream Christianity has no prohibition (in practice) against representation as idolatry." Better?

The point being that naming an animal or drawing a picture of Jesus doesn't carry anything like the same weight in our culture as naming an animal or drawing a picture of the Prophet does in Islamic culture.

Elizabeth

It doesn't bother me as much as, because I believe it is much less likely than, Christians who take the "law" into their own hands to persecute gays.

Elizabeth

Because percentage-wise there are more Muslims in Britain?

Elizabeth

I am afraid it would not matter what they did here in Canada, he would not like them being here, that's despite the fact that some mullah's have spoken out against violence etc.

We're soft you know - we allow them to wear veils and worship in their mosques, that's a bad thing. They must be like us or get back on the boat, but then others would say if people are going to board boats and be returned, he would be going as would I. That's something to think about, how far back would the boat boarding go? lol

One of the many reasons I'm not the least bit "religious." I continue to carry on tradition, most of which means getting together for dinner, but refuse to be affiliated with any church or synagogue until the people who claim they are devoted to their religious beliefs stop disregarding the Judeo-Christian ethic, and show me they are more tolerant.

Lucille

This reminds me of a time we were eating in a restaurant with friends, and on the menu was "spaghetti with Jesus sauce."

"What's Jesus sauce?" my friend asked me.

We couldn't figure out what it was, and when the waiter appeared, we asked him.

"That's 'Jesus' (hey-seuss)," he answered. "That's the name of the cook."

We had a good laugh over that one.

Sue