A thought on the "torture memo"

When I practiced law, I used to spend countless hours writing legal memoranda advising clients about questions of law. When writing a legal memorandum, we are supposed to be objective and tell what the law is, and not make a case for what it should be.

It's interesting that a legal memorandum written by a Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo (I think he is now a law professor at Berkeley) recently surfaced which is being condemned and dubed "the torture memo." This 2003 memo essentially told U.S. Military that it could subject suspected terrorist to hard treatment as long as it didn't cause "death, organ failture or permant damage." It gave a legal opinion that torture is not illegal.

This is an interesting question for me as a former lawyer because it poses a question as to what a lawyer who is a follower of Jesus is supposed to do in cases like this (I don't know if John Yoo is a Christian or not). How do we apply our faith to our professon? Are we supposed to be objective and lay out the law even though the result is violently against biblical ethics? What would you do?

What is more amazing is that torture was sanctioned and used by the Bush administration and this memo was a key enabler to that policy. How would you like to be the guy who justified use of torture?

Fighting Disease in Africa

Here is something positive coming out of Washington. God calls us to reduce suffering in this world! All Christians should applaud this effort. Read this excerpt of an op-ed from LA Times:

A $50-billion bill to fight AIDS and other diseases in Africa and elsewhere gives us reason to cheer.

April 4, 2008

President Bush is going partway toward atoning for his sins in the Middle East by rebuilding Africa. His leadership in fighting disease and poverty on the continent culminated Wednesday with a breathtaking gesture from the House of Representatives, which took the president's generous proposal to spend $30 billion over five years fighting AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis around the world and upped it by $20 billion.

The $50-billion reauthorization for the president's anti-disease program, which is also expected to pass in the Senate, marks a dramatic shift in the United States' attitude toward foreign aid. This country has supported big international disease-eradication projects in the past, notably when it led a World Health Organization crusade against malaria in the late 1950s, but never with such an enormous financial commitment. We'd like to think this reflects a realization that saving lives and rebuilding economies destroyed by disease is a better way to enhance global security and stability than dropping bombs on people.

For the entire op-ed, click here.

Praying the Psalms

Here's a great article in LA Times by Connie Kang (the reporter who did the story on New City Church) about prayer which appeared last Saturday. A few months ago, I preached on this very idea in a sermon entitled: "Praying our tears."

Psalms offer source of inspiration for prayer

Worshipers turn to ancient Hebrew verses to discover a powerful tool for intimacy with God.

By K. Connie Kang, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

March 29, 2008

The Psalms, says theologian Eugene H. Peterson, are God's gift to those who want to learn how to pray."If we wish to develop our entire heart, mind, soul and strength, the Psalms are necessary," the author of the bestselling "Message Bible" writes in "Answering God: The Psalms as Tools for Prayer." "We cannot bypass the Psalms."

For the entire story, click here.

Pictures from New City Easter Service

Small group discussion

New City Worship thru a fish-eye

New City Worship Gathering

Kevin's Talk

Faces of New City

Making friends as we share brunch

LA Times Story about New City Church of LA on March 15, 2008

This article appeared in LA Times, Belief section on Saturday, March 15, 2008:

As downtown revives, so do congregations

A growing, diverse population in the L.A. neighborhood results in new parishes and bigger old ones.

By K. Connie Kang
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

March 15, 2008

The congregation at New City Church of Los Angeles -- downtown's newest house of worship -- is a microcosm of the burgeoning downtown itself.

The parishioners, who gathered for a recent service improvised in an Italian restaurant near Walt Disney Concert Hall, included some local loft dwellers. About two dozen adults -- some with squirming toddlers in tow -- spent half an hour visiting with one another over yogurt and fresh fruit before the Sunday morning worship. They were white and black, Asian and Latino, well-to-do and down and out."

If I am not living with God being first in my life, I am going to end up pushing a cart," said Jason Johnson, a Union Rescue Mission resident who is enrolled in a program to get back on his feet. He is fortunate, he said, to have a welcoming church within walking distance.

"I want to be here," said Booyeon Lee Allen, a reporter for the Los Angeles Business Journal who is an active church member along with her husband, Aric, an online marketing manager at Transamerica Insurance Co. "It's so exciting," she said, to be part of a diverse group who "can get along, pray together and be involved in each other's lives."

New City is one of the more visible signs of downtown's resurgence as a spiritual center since the 2002 opening of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

....

New City started holding public services Feb. 10 in the Italian restaurant.

A nondenominational church with a contemporary worship style -- the Rev. Kevin Haah doubles as the church drummer -- New City just started renting space in another restaurant on 3rd Street in the Arts District. The church will mark its official opening Easter Sunday.

New City's goal is to be a community that "reflects Jesus' love and repeats his actions," said Leo Poveda, who teaches Sunday school."

At New City, we judge no one, because . . . we're more flawed and broken than we know -- yet more loved and accepted by God through Jesus Christ than we ever thought possible," said Haah, a 42-year-old Ivy League-educated attorney who gave up his partnership in a prestigious law firm to go into ministry. "We are a community of sinners living in God's grace."

Before founding New City, Haah was a pastor at Youngnak Presbyterian Church of Los Angeles. He did English-language ministry for the second-generation Korean Americans and their non-Korean spouses and friends. Youngnak commissioned Haah to start New City, but it is independent.

Veterinarian David Forster and his wife, Janet, and their two young children followed Haah from Youngnak, as have several others.

New City's approach is innovative. At a recent service, members talked about "doing life together." After the pastor's sermon, they broke into small groups to discuss the talk.
"It's relational; you actually get to know people," said Jude Tiersma Watson, a seminary professor and urban missionary. She especially liked the small group discussion.

For the entire story, click here.

LA Times quotes Leo!

Check out the LA Times Front Page Article today. This article quotes our own Leo Poveda!

The Reason for God by Tim Keller

Many of you know that I am a big fan of Tim Keller, the senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, the church from which Aric, our intern, came. Yesterday, Tim Keller released a book called The Reason for God and like a true fan, I got it yesterday, and I have to say, it is pretty good. The first half of the book addresses common objections people have about Christianity and the other half addresses positive reasons for Christianity.

This might be the perfect book to give to a friend who is struggling with questions about Christianity. Most people who are not Christians, I believe, have some questions about faith that need to be engaged in an intellectually honest and respectful way.

Here’s the link to the book’s website: http://thereasonforgod.com/book.php

I highly recommend that you get this book, read it, and pass it on to a friend!