This is the first (hopefully not last) of a series of posts I want to do on investigating Islam, especially Islam in Europe.
I tried to remember the 5 pillars and only could remember 3. So, I admit my ignorance.
I plan to read the Quran and have actual participants of the religion tell me what they believe and practice.
Why am I doing this?
A fact finding mission. I want simply to know what Islam looks like in Europe.
Have you ever read those guide books for tourist places and thought, "I could write reviews of where to stay, what to eat, and what to do."
Well, I have.
I doubt this will be a recurring topic, but one never knows.
There is a stretch of road between the Texas and Florida that parallels the Gulf Coast called Hwy 90. I've not traveled all the road, but I would like to give a summary of some of the best and worse places to eat if you take the scenic route on Hwy 90.
One of my favorite places to get a Po-Boy sandwich used to be Pirate's Cove in Pass Christian, MS. I say used to be because I've not been there since before Katrina.
Going further East in Gautier (pronounced GO-SHAY), you'll find a reasonably priced seafood cafe called Petit Bois (pronounced PETY-BOY) Cafe owned by Michael Majure. I would recommend one of the basket orders.
Just over the bridge into Pascagoula, you'll find several tantalizing establishments like Cornerstone, for seafood; Edd's Drive In for hamburgers and hot dogs; Aunt Nita's for their famous pizza burger; and the Heritage House for Sunday Buffet (they serve lunch everyday too).
At Cornerstone you'll get quality service and pretty good shrimp or catfish po-boys. If you go to Edd's (been there since 1953, I believe) just off Hwy 90 don't worry about the place being 
worked by teenagers. Ms. Betty runs a tight ship. Once, after I had ordered, my meal was overlooked because of inattentiveness, but after bringing it to the her attention, she got my order, offered a full refund, and scolded the offending parties. I went ahead and paid her back the money. You can't pass up the Orange Freeze here. At Aunt Nita's I'd leave the pizza burger alone if you have heart trouble, but if you're a high schooler, this may be your favorite food in all of Pascagoula.
Just before you enter AL, in Moss Point, MS, you'll find some of the best fried catfish around at Lakeview Catfish Restaurant. But you better come on Thursday through Saturday evenings and Sunday because it's closed otherwise.
If you're looking for Chinese, try the China Chef Restaurant in Theodore, AL. I always go for the house fried rice.
When you get to Tillman's Corner, and are looking for Mexican, you may want to skip Aztecas, especially if you're from Texas. You'll be disappointed, or at least I was.
I used to be able to recommend the Bangkok Thai Cuisine, but not after finding someone's fake fingernail in my rice. You'd be better off at a fast food place. Although I have heard that Three Flavors (Japanese, Thai, and Mexican) is a nice substitute almost next door.
If you don't mind the crowds, try Dick Russel's BarBQ. I wouldn't recommend the Baked Beans but everything else seems nice.
If you take the Causeway, another name for Hwy 90 going across Mobile Bay, you'll have a spectacular view of the Bay while enjoying some local seafood at Felix's Fish Camp. But as is the case with seafood, don't think about getting out of there too cheap.
Finally, I have read The Shack by William Young.
I know this is like two years ago, but I am just now getting around to it.
I do not know what all the ruckus was...well, unless you are a Trendy Calvinist, then yeah, you would have been disappointed in how God is portrayed.
But I liked the book. My favorite was Mack' garden of mess being compared to a fractal.
We learned this week that indeed you can use "light-skined African American without a Negro-dialect," in reference to Presidential canidate Obama and not be considered a racist.
Dang.
It's great to know we have progressed so far in race relations in the States. It used to be considered racist to label any black person according to the shade of their skin. That is, if you were lighter skinned, then you had some sort of an advantage over the darker skined ones. And it used to be that anyone saying that a black person was "articulate," was a racial slur too.
But not anymore.
Even white people can do it.
I would have surely thought that calling Ebonics "a Negro dialect," would be racist, if not ignorance seeing how Ebonics is an actual language not a dialect. But maybe Harry Reid would have been called a real racist if he'd just called Obama what he really thought of Obama, i.e. a light skinned (aka half white) nigger who talks like a nigger. What other "better choice of words would he use?" This is exactly what he meant.
Or maybe it's that he's a Democratic? A racist nonetheless.
When comparing world religions I will agree, they all are similar (otherwise they would not be called religions), but all religions are not the same.
If we take out "truth" from them all, we do get some comparisons. This tells me man was made for worship.
However, if we consider "truth" when comparing religions, the amount of truth in each one lies on a continuum from mostly true to barely true. If there were no truth at all in every religion, it's no more than futile motions.
Just finished reading about the two demoniacs in Mat 8:28-34. There is an obvious point: Jesus was not afraid of dealing with demon possessed men, and as Son of God he had the power and authority to exorcise the men. This is what Matthew was communicating.
So, going outside the "point" of the story is usually a bad idea. And my next musings are no exception. Beyond this point is my opinion and personal reflection and does not add to the point mentioned above.
I have questions. These two guys lived in a cemetary, and they were so violent no one could pass by there. But Jesus had the audacity to. They thought he was going to torture them. And it seems they sensed he was going to exorcise them. They didn't ask for this, and I wonder even if they could have. The demons were expelled into swine who ran into the water. The ones feeding (the pigs) lost their herd. Since swine are not kosher, why were people feeding them? These had to be non Jews. They ran into town and told what happened, and the people "implored" or "encouraged" Jesus to leave.
The story's focus is the exorcism. But we have no idea what the reaction of the exorcised was. And what about the sentiment of the pig feeders? If we go with "implore," that makes it sound as if the people were upset with Jesus either for killing the pig feeders' pigs or for casting out the demons in the two men.
If we go with "encouraged him to leave," this makes it sound like the people were supportive of what Jesus had done, but realized he had stirred up something that would harm him and/or them. Therefore, they encouraged him to leave to avoid hurt and violence. If they thought Jesus would be harmed, they did not recognize him as the Son of God like the demoniacs had.
There is nothing to suggest they felt they would be harmed as a result of what Jesus had done. But they lived among the demon possessed and felt no harm. Were they so used to bad spiritual stuff that they weren't afraid for themselves? This is what I think was the case.
I think the people of G (there is some speculation about the actually name of the place) were complacent with darkness around them. The pig feeders (probably evil themselves) wouldn't take on Jesus head on and so went into town to raise up a mob. The people obliged and felt that if the whole town went with the pig feeders they could convince Jesus to leave, not for his sake, but because they felt threatened. Light had come into the darkness and the Light was rejected.
Before we think poorly of the people of G, we should probably see ourselves as either the violent men or the pig feeders or the town mob. We may not be demon possessed. But I bet we're hanging out with the pigs trying to keep them healthy to consume. And if we really think about it, we would rather the light stay away from us. Sure, we may say we are followers of Jesus. But he entered the darkness alone. It's a place we're not willing to go; our own darkness.
We too would rather strongly encourage Jesus to leave us alone with our violence and our baseness.
John the Baptizer is attributed as being a voice crying in the wilderness preparing the way for the Christ.
Did he start his job as soon as he was born? Little Ida Claire (named after the Gulf Coast Hurricane in her honor and when you say it together you get, well, I dee clare, a wonderful Suthern xprehshun) sure announces her presence by crying. She gets the whole house's attention. Was this what the Bible means when it described JB as a voice crying? I doubt it, but it sure fits.
And what about little baby Jesus himself? Here is the Word of God lying in a manger, one week and a half after bring born, not being able to say one syllable. He could only cry. And since this was their firstborn, were they able to understand what he was trying to communicate?
WOW. How humbling for God in human flesh, who could not speak but cry.
