Pope preaches to thousands at Cameroon mass

As the Pope caped off his quest to visit every continent, he spoke at Cameroon to a large audience of African catholics. Africa was the only continent the pope had not visited until this time. I think it is very important that the Pope visit African countries., in actuality as the rate of Christians in the western world declines Africa has the highest rate of growing number of Christians in the world. So if the pope wants to make an impact he is in the right place. I think with all the civil war and rebelion happening in African countries it is very important for people to have religion its something they can hold on to and not have taken from them. Some less fortunate people it is all they have to live for. So the Pope coming to there homeland is a very important thing. Even though Pope Benedict has said many times that he does not like to travel I feel that it is very important for him to understand that he is a symbol of hope and meaning for a lot of people nation wide. The Pope can touch many life's in his time here on earth .I think it is crucial that he travels worldwide to spread the message of god to all those who have not heard it.

Jim Jones and the peoples temple

The peoples temple in many ways resembles a cult. They are commonly referred to as the classic cult. But like the people that were involved say, no one joins a cult. People join religious movements because they feel strongly about the message the group is sending or believing in. The people’s temple was no exception. Jim Jones reached out to all kinds of people and touched their hearts. He made them feel as if they belonged to something and gave them a feeling of self gratification and accomplishment. These people were vulnerable to anything he wanted them to do, think hear, say or whatever for that matter. They became his puppets and he was the puppet master. Jim Jones changed the lives of many people. Both good and bad. But I can assure you that regardless of their feelings about Jim Jones, They will never forget the impact he had on their lives.

When you think of a cult you think of people who do outrageous things. Cults are thought of almost always in a negative way. But the people’s temple was not thought of negatively by its members. One of the main reasons you can classify them as a cult is because they constantly were trying to separate themselves from the rest of society. First in Ukiah, then San Francisco, and then ultimately Jonestown. Cults feel that the rest of society is inferior toward it and its members. The people’s temple shared this feeling. They strived to break away from a world thought by them to be inhumane and awful. They always wanted to form there own separate society at all costs and I think that was there main goal.

Another reason why they resemble a cult is because of the fact that Jim Jones on several occasions claimed to be of divine power or god like. And that is how his people saw him. This is very common in a lot of cults. The leader will claim to be God or have authority from God. But the fact that one man is doing this doesn’t make them a cult. It is the fact that the people believed it and followed him and his believes. The people’s temple members saw Jim Jones as more than just a man and that is a defining characteristic of a cult.

Also the members of the people’s temple for the most part saw those who were not believers or members as inferior or wrong. Many of the members broke off communications with friends and family. They saw there fellow cult members as their only family and the only friends they needed. Often times when Cults reach the point were the leader has enough control over his members to control every aspect of there life the end is near.

And finally the main reason why the People’s Temple resembles a Cult is because at a certain point the members were not making there own decisions any longer. Jim Jones decided every aspect of there life for them. They let Jim Jones think for them and make choices for there lives. He was in complete and total control of almost every single member of that cult and they would do whatever he said no matter how heinous or dramatic the task. This defining characteristic obviously lead to the end of the people’s temple and its members.

6 years later, progress and doubts are legacy of Iraq war

now that 6 years have passed since the beginning of the Iraqi war.what positive things do we have to look back on. Saddam Hussein has been taken out of power and killed for his crimes against the people of Iraq. we have set up a democracy and the Iraqi people now walk freely down there streets without the dictatorship of Saddam shadowing the individuality and there rights as people of the world. these are great things that we have done. but what else is left for us to do? in my opinion we have done our part and now it is time to move on. the Iraqi people have mixed feelings about our involvement in their country but ill tell you right now no matter what they say i bet they are glad they are alive rather than dead or under the rule of an awful man who was power hungry and on a warpath. This war has now gone on too long for my liking and i feel that it is time that we put an end to this conflict. i think it is great what we did for Iraq but there is nothing left to be done. The main reason we invaded Iraq in the beginning was because we as Americans were concerned for the safety of our own country. With Saddam in power Iraq posed a major threat to us and the rest of the free world. but now that we have put a stop to him i feel that our time in Iraq is up and we need to move on.

Mexican drug cartels thrive in suburban Atlanta

With the growing number of Hispanic and other Mexican immigrants flocking to Atlanta, Mexican drug cartels have began using the city as a base of operations and distribution. Every day more and more drugs and drug money are being brought through the city and transported up and down the east coast. Atlanta's location is a good place for cartels to thrive because of its interstate highway access and its high number of people. its is my opinion that if we dont stop these drug lords from bringing in and selling these drugs in our country now then are situation could get much worse in a hurry. With Mexico all ready being a high crime rate and poverty filled society we cannot let these cartels spill there product into our land. Mexico is becoming a major source for almost every drug out there and the Mexican drug lords are thriving and growing on the money they make in the U.S. I think we need to put a stop to this while we still can. With Mexico being so close to our southern states it creates an easy transport for drug lords to get there product out there. if we let this problem grow we are going to find ourselves in a massive drug and crime problem similar to the one taking place in Mexico today. We can't let these cartels run our cities and streets. i think we need to tighten border control and kill this problem at the source before we are victims to its consequences.

New mexico governer repeals death penalty

Governor Richards of New Mexico said in a statement Wednesday that regardless of his personal opinion on the death penalty, he does not have the confidence in the criminal justice system as it currently operates to be the final decision maker when it comes to who lives and who dies for there crime. i believe that this statement makes so much since. Governor Richards is obviously a smart man who takes things in and finds solutions to problems like the death penalty. i think the repeal of the death penalty in this case makes a lot of since when he puts it like that. Yes the government is the almighty body and mind and America but should any one man have the power to sign another mans death warrant? i think not. Also when you think about the U.S prison system you have to think that the reason we incarcerate criminals in the first place is to rehabilitate them and help them learn that what they did was wrong and hopefully live a better cleaner life. And we also need to clarify that a life sentence and a death sentence are too far different things. to take someones life for an action they have committed is wrong in my opinion. you have to break it down to the simple facts. what are we justifying by killings those who commit crimes worthy of a death sentence? nothing at all. we are not doing anything but making ourselves feel better about it. to kill someone is not to justify anything. to kill is wrong no matter how you shape it. life is the most important aspect of anything. and to take that from someone is wrongful punishment.

Survey sees a drift away from religion in America

After a survey taken by American Religious Self-identification surveys ( ARIS ). It is shown that americans as a whole are drifting from religion. With christianity being the major religious category in the U.S today it is taking the biggest hit. many americans are no falling in to the " none" category of religion. which doesnt nessesaly mean they are atheist or agnostic it just means that they do not identify with any religious group or organization. i think that this survey is really just pointing out the obvious. its no secret that americans every where are not as religious as they used to be. its just not a big part of modern life. Which differs drastically from a decade or two ago. religion is playing second fiddle to many other things in todays society. with all the technology and experts we have in the field of theology and reason, people just dont see religion as anymore than a Santa clause or easter bunny. which is sad but the truth in a lot of families in America. religious beliefs are still out there and a big part of some peoples lifes though. and if america is to be a heavely religious country again it is up to those people to make it so.

Dalai Lama: Tibetans suffering under China

After reading this article i feel that the buddhist religion is not understood throughout the world. The Chinese government is wrong to force the Dalai lama to go into exile. He is a noble peace prize winner! he offers only help and teachings of the middle way to the people. He in no way poses a harm to the Chinese government. i think that they should let tibet govern itself because they basically already did before china got involved in it. The government doesnt understand that this is the home of so many religious and spiritual landmarks for Tibetans. It is all they have known for so long and now they are being forced to flee there homes for there own saftey. I hope that the Dalai lama will one day be able to return or be reborn in Tibet and put an end to his peoples suffering.