A few years ago, a couple applying to rent one of my sister's properties said that they would sign the lease only if she added a clause that said should the Rapture occur, they would be released from the lease and all related responsibilities, including any rent owed. Basically, they explained, you can only be beamed up into Heaven during the Rapture if you have no earthly ties, including debts, responsibilities, etc.
My sister, having never heard of this Rapture thing before, did a little research and decided that because the Rapture allegedly occurs when the moutains are shaking, the seas are boiling, and the world is pretty much ending, she'd probably have a few other things on her mind at the time besides collecting rent. So she wrote the clause into the lease. The couple and their family were very good tenants, although with about four kids, they put a lot of wear and tear on a house with only one bathroom.
As an ex-science journalist, I am absolutely with you on the faith vs. science issues. Gravity doesn't care if you're an evangelical Christian, a reform Jew, a Buddhist, a Muslim, an agnostic, whatever. It just works. I find comfort in the idea that, in a way, it's irrelevant whether we believe in evolution. It continues to occur every millisecond of every day. Time is truly on our side.
While we're talking 'bout evolution: Not sure where I got the first link--hell, it may have been here--but you have to visit the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Check it out at http://www.venganza.org/ (I gotta get one of those T-shirts.)
On the praying vs. doing something issue: It is worth noting that many churches and faith-based groups have done some wonderful work helping the Katrina victims, from converting their churches into shelters to providing food and supplies to relocated families to taking families into members' homes. There have been some non-faith-based groups that have done so as well, but it seems like the churches have been at the forefront, picking up much of the miles of slack the Feds left.
One last hurricane-related note: Most of you have probably seen the news reports about the literally thousands of animals abandoned in the Katrina zone. Of an estimated 50,000 animals in the greater NOLA area, rescuers have managed to pull out only about 6,000 alive so far. They still have 3,000 unfilled requests from evacuees to search homes for pets left behind. About half of the animals the rescuers find are still alive, miraculously, but that percentage will probaly drop pretty quickly in the next week. These animals have been without food and water for three to four weeks.
Many of them were left behind because no provisions were made for them during disaster planning. Texas authorities have, thankfully, been more enlightened, particularly the mayor of Galveston, who encouraged people to bring their pets on the evacuating buses. Read more here: http://tinyurl.com/bfp4v (this is a link to the Best Friends site, one of the best resources for animal-related Katrina news.)
Reps. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), and Barney Frank (D-Mass.) have introduced a bill that would require Federal disaster grants to state and local authorities to include pets in their evacuation plans. While it's far from a perfect bill, it's at least a positive first step. If you agree with the substance of the bill, please contact your Congressional representatives to express your support for HR3858, the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act.
If you can bear a truly heart-breaking picture, check out this story on the Best Friends site about an elderly poodle that somehow survived in St. Bernard Parish until rescuers reached her on Tuesday: http://tinyurl.com/9wwb2
Like the groups assisting human evacuees, animal-rescue groups need of monetary donations. Their work will also need long-term support, as the displaced animals are spread out to shelters across the country that must care for them until their owners are found or they are considered to be abandoned and therefore up for adoption. Most of the major news sites have lists of the active groups on site in the Gulf. --BaileyTC
no subject
My sister, having never heard of this Rapture thing before, did a little research and decided that because the Rapture allegedly occurs when the moutains are shaking, the seas are boiling, and the world is pretty much ending, she'd probably have a few other things on her mind at the time besides collecting rent. So she wrote the clause into the lease. The couple and their family were very good tenants, although with about four kids, they put a lot of wear and tear on a house with only one bathroom.
As an ex-science journalist, I am absolutely with you on the faith vs. science issues. Gravity doesn't care if you're an evangelical Christian, a reform Jew, a Buddhist, a Muslim, an agnostic, whatever. It just works. I find comfort in the idea that, in a way, it's irrelevant whether we believe in evolution. It continues to occur every millisecond of every day. Time is truly on our side.
While we're talking 'bout evolution: Not sure where I got the first link--hell, it may have been here--but you have to visit the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Check it out at http://www.venganza.org/ (I gotta get one of those T-shirts.)
On the praying vs. doing something issue: It is worth noting that many churches and faith-based groups have done some wonderful work helping the Katrina victims, from converting their churches into shelters to providing food and supplies to relocated families to taking families into members' homes. There have been some non-faith-based groups that have done so as well, but it seems like the churches have been at the forefront, picking up much of the miles of slack the Feds left.
One last hurricane-related note: Most of you have probably seen the news reports about the literally thousands of animals abandoned in the Katrina zone. Of an estimated 50,000 animals in the greater NOLA area, rescuers have managed to pull out only about 6,000 alive so far. They still have 3,000 unfilled requests from evacuees to search homes for pets left behind. About half of the animals the rescuers find are still alive, miraculously, but that percentage will probaly drop pretty quickly in the next week. These animals have been without food and water for three to four weeks.
Many of them were left behind because no provisions were made for them during disaster planning. Texas authorities have, thankfully, been more enlightened, particularly the mayor of Galveston, who encouraged people to bring their pets on the evacuating buses. Read more here: http://tinyurl.com/bfp4v (this is a link to the Best Friends site, one of the best resources for animal-related Katrina news.)
Reps. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), and Barney Frank (D-Mass.) have introduced a bill that would require Federal disaster grants to state and local authorities to include pets in their evacuation plans. While it's far from a perfect bill, it's at least a positive first step. If you agree with the substance of the bill, please contact your Congressional representatives to express your support for HR3858, the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act.
If you can bear a truly heart-breaking picture, check out this story on the Best Friends site about an elderly poodle that somehow survived in St. Bernard Parish until rescuers reached her on Tuesday: http://tinyurl.com/9wwb2
Like the groups assisting human evacuees, animal-rescue groups need of monetary donations. Their work will also need long-term support, as the displaced animals are spread out to shelters across the country that must care for them until their owners are found or they are considered to be abandoned and therefore up for adoption. Most of the major news sites have lists of the active groups on site in the Gulf.
--BaileyTC