When Getting By Isn't Good Enough

Just when we begin to think that a fat bank account, powerful friends, and smart lawyers are all it takes to tip the scales of Justice, the recent arrest of cinema darling Roman Polanski (pictured) reminds us that even in this life, while you may get-by, you don't always get-away.

Polanski, 76, who directed such critically acclaimed movies as "Chinatown" (1974), and "The Pianist" (2002), was arrested in Switzerland over the weekend at the request of law enforcement authorities in Los Angeles, California, who had a 31-year old warrant for Polanski's arrest. Polanski, convicted in 1977 of having sex with a 13-year old girl, fled California for Europe prior to his sentencing for the crime; and had successfully avoided countries that might extradite him to the United States -- until last weekend.

There is no excuse for any of Polanski's actions. Not his flight from justice. Not his crime against a 13-year old child.

Most difficult of all to swallow is the rising chorus of voices calling for his immediate absolution because (1) his crimes were committed such a long time ago; and (2) he's had such a remarkable career in the 30-plus years since his conviction, which ought to count for something -- like a "get out of jail free" card.

Trying to argue for accountability, fairness, justice, and the rule of law with the folks who are pulling for Polanski's immediate release is, I think, a futile endeavor. The sad part is this: There are a lot of people in our society who think as they do.

However, the encouraging part in this long, painful story is that there are times when even the rich and powerful are called to answer for their crimes, no matter how long they've managed to get-by.

Magazine Review: Mapping the Seven Deadly Sins

The latest issue of "Wired" magazine maps the Seven Deadly Sins. (Click here to see the article and accompanying maps.)

If you've never read this magazine, it is worth your time. And it's not just a magazine for geeks (although persons with less than perfect eyesight will need reading glasses). As you might have assumed, you can also find "Wired" on the Web.

I began subscribing to this magazine because I thought it would help me to better understand the technology that has become a part -- for better or worse -- of interpersonal communication. Preaching, if nothing else, is interpersonal communication on a large scale; and I thought that a better understanding of the communication technologies would help me to be a better preacher.

So, if you've wanted to learn about Craigslist, how to throw a knife, or discover what's really in a Slim Jim snack, "Wired" is your ticket. And, you'll also see where the big "sinners" live!

Religion: The Scoundrel's Last Refuge?

Last Wednesday's shooting death of a security guard special by an 88-year old white supremacist in Washington, D. C.'s Holocaust Museum brought to mind two thoughts.

The first thought is a quote from 18th Century English writer Samuel Johnson (see photo): "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel." 

The second thought is a recollection of a meeting I once had with another elderly white supremacist nearly 30 years ago, who called his fellowship of racial hatred a "church."

The year was 1981.  I was working as a religion reporter in The Miami Herald newspaper's Broward County bureau when I discovered the existence of a group that called itself The World Church of the Creator (please click here for a link to the Anti-Defamation League's write-up on the group).  After a phone call to the group's founder, Ben Klassen, a white colleague and I arranged to interview Klassen for the article.

It was clear that Mr. Klassen's "church" was a refuge for scoundrels -- similar to the contemporaries of Samuel Johnson that gave genuine patriots a bad name.  

Likewise, the museum shooter -- James W. von Brunn -- an alleged World War II veteran who described himself as a patriot, according to reports of writings posted on his Web site.  

In such cases as these, it is always the genuine article that betrays the phoniness of the Klassens and the von Brunns of society.  Real patriots do not need to pin a flag on their lapel.  Their patriotism is measured in sacrifices made for the benefit of all of one's fellow citizens, not in the collection of perquisites and prerogatives for one's own family, group, or tribe.

Similarly, according to scripture, true disciples are known by their unalloyed love for the wide-ranging fraternity of God: Red, yellow, black and white -- and brown.  True disciples are the salt of the earth, and the candle in the darkened room. 

When true patriots and true disciples are at their best, there is no place for the scoundrels of the earth to hide.  

Piracy: The Devil's Hand is Tipped (Again)

Easter Sunday was a bad day for piracy.

With the rest of the world, I watched last week's events unfold 230 miles off the coast of Somalia in the Gulf of Aden.

Tuesday: A band of Somali pirates in a small boat hijacks the U. S.-flagged container ship MV Maersk Alabama. The crew resists; the ship's Master, Captain Richard Phillips (pictured), surrenders himself to the pirates as he orders his crew to a safe compartment in the ship. The pirates leave the ship in a life boat with Captain Phillips as a hostage.

Wednesday: The warship USS Bainbridge arrives on the scene. Negotiations begin to secure the release of Captain Phillips.

Thursday: Captain Phillips attempts an escape by jumping into the water, but is quickly recaptured.

Sunday: While under tow by USS Bainbridge, and in the fading daylight, it is determined that the pirates in the life boat are about to harm the captain. Three U. S. Navy sharpshooters positioned on Bainbridge's stern are ordered to shoot the pirates, which they do almost simultaneously. Three pirates are felled. The captain is rescued, unharmed.

A bad day for piracy, indeed.

Almost immediately, the usual collection of pundits and experts emerged to point out that the killing of the pirates would immediately transform what had been an ordered, purely commercial enterprise into something a lot more complicated -- and bloody.

Hold, for a moment, the compelling reasons for piracy: For nearly 30 years, Somalia has been a near-lawless nation; many of today's pirates were yesterday's fishermen -- before overfishing by Europeans and Asians made it nearly impossible for a Somali to make a living from the sea that didn't involve firearms and million-dollar ransoms; and the shipping industry was all to willing to play along as long as the cargo was safe and the insurance premiums didn't rise too sharply.

As before (see my blog from March 1, 2009), the devil's hand is tipped. The devil wants only to focus on the price of something; never on its value. So, it becomes okay to steal -- or even to be the victim of theft -- as long as it doesn't (pardon the metaphor) "rock the boat," or disturb the business model. Never mind that theft, kidnapping, false imprisonment, extortion, and bribery are always wrong -- and a cancer on society, commerce, government, and the human soul.

In the aftermath of Sunday's events, life in the sea lanes in and around the Horn of Africa may become more complicated for all mariners. Pirates may seek revenge on U. S. citizens. Other nations may attempt rescues as we did, with less rosy outcomes. But these are risks that must be taken for all who value some things -- such as freedom from fear and intimidation -- above its costs.

Easter Sunday -- which has its own narrative on the sacrifice of one for many; freedom from fear; and the elevation of value over price -- was, indeed, a bad day for piracy, in all of its forms. But it is a bright day for those who have seen the devil's hand (again).

"Resurrection" in the Dock

Okay. I will bite.

In the news of late is a story about a 22-year old mother -- Ria Ramkissoon -- who is charged with the murder by starvation of her toddler son. As twisted as it is that a mother would starve her own child, there's more: Ramkissoon has cut a plea bargain with prosecutors that calls for all charges against her to be dropped if, or when, her son Javon Thompson is resurrected from the dead. (Click here for CNN's account.)

There is a lot here on which to chew: The media's fascination with the tragic and the bizarre; the circumstances of the child's death; and the intellectually lazy manner in which complex subjects are disintegrated by reporters and their editors for easy consumption by the masses. And there is another subject that hovers and haunts this tragic situation: The plausibility of bodily resurrection.

In a post about this tragedy, blogger Gary Davis gives no quarter to the idea that the small cult to which Ramkissoon belonged is "Christian," or to the media's interest in resurrection without due consideration of the Resurrection. (Click here to read Davis' blog.)

If it is true that a sure bet is no bet at all, the Baltimore, Maryland prosecutors who accepted Ramkissoon's "resurrection" clause are not betting people, and their actions have put Resurrection in the dock.

Resurrection on trial is not a bad thing. Were it not for this intrusive reminder, most Americans might only think of God's most audacious act on the coming Good Friday and Easter Sunday -- which are yet more than a week away -- and not think of it again until the following year!

But there it is: The proposition that our life doesn't end with our bodily death. There it is: The possibility that as Jesus was resurrected from the dead, so will all who have lived be resurrected -- the faithful to life with God; and all others to an eternal existence apart from God. There it is: The wager of all wagers.

Unlike the Baltimore prosecutors, who have wagered without fear of loss; every person has a stake when the Resurrection in the dock. As the clock winds-down, and as we see many of our contemporaries pass from "labor to reward," we realize that, like it or not, we have skin in the game.