Daryl Hedding

Just a few random thoughts after Obama's big day. Gotta admit that our new President is inspiring, no matter what you may think about his policies, beliefs or associations. There's a certain discipline about him, a firm focus on achieving his personal objectives. In this case, those objectives will become a part of our corporate future. Heavy stuff. As many have said already, let's hope that he's the best President ever. Heaven knows we're going to need a rediculously good one. Talking of heaven, Pastor Rick Warren served his saviour well today. He gave Jesus honour before millions at the mall and around the world. When he lead the attendees in the Lord's Prayer, he made sure to note who the author was. Obama could not have made a better choice. Good signs. With all that is going on though, you won't be hearing much about Gaza. Israel very thoughtfully pulled its troops out in time for the new President's swearing in ceremony. Its mission for the most pa...

It's popular nowadays to bash Bush. Few will rally to his defence. But, today, that didn't stop the President from defending Israel, and laying the blame for the ongoing violence in Gaza squarely at Hamas' door. He said that Israel has the right to defend itself and that a truce must see Hamas unable to launch more rockets into Israel. Bush has set a standard for dealing with the Israel-Palestinian conflict; no moral equivalence. Try to find another world leader who's ready to call it like it is, who's willing to take a side and admit the obvious that Hamas and the Palestinians who voted them into power have brought this trouble upon their own heads. Obama has many challenges before him when he takes office this month. Meeting the Bush standard on this issue will certainly be one of them.

The world is shocked and outraged at the so-called "excessive" show of force by Israel as its airforce struck Gaza city inflicting close to 300 casualties. Hamas is saying that this will lead to all out war. But wait, let's back up a bit. Since 2005, over 7,000 Kassam rockets have been fired into Israel, all targeting civilians. This year has seen 3,000 rockets and mortars fired into Israel. Just a week ago, the truce between Hamas and Israel expired. Without provocation, Hamas launched another 200 attacks against the civilian population of Southern Israel. None of this produced any outrage or made front page news around the world. One might be forgiven for thinking that the lack of response to date by either Israel or the world has encouraged Hamas to continue its war against Israel as if it were within its given rights. Today that changed. Or, did it? Israel will certainly be villified again, called upon to restrain the use of its superior military force so peace tal...

By pure chance, I caught most of Ann Curry's Dateline NBC interview with Rick Warren last night. Warren's choice by Obama to give the invocation at his January inauguration has been met by outrage by the gay community. That's because they were already angry with Warren for supporting "Prop 8". Against this backdrop, Curry clearly decided that the viewer needed her to play some kind of devil's advocate. At one point she actually said this (emphasis added): Your position has raised the specter that you are homophobic. And that is why people are angry. Gay people are angry. And how is it possible for them to be civil when someone-- maybe deny-- you would say, "I don't like what you are." You understand that. To me, it seems a lot like she actually condoned the kind of harrasment that the gay community has launched against the likes of Rick Warren and the Mormon church for their opposition to the redefinition of the term marriage. Warren did a good ...

Muslims believe that they can bring peace to the world by making it submit to the rule of shariah law. Islam is much more than a religion; it is a political system, and since the days of its founding father, Mohammed , it has expanded through violence and conquest. Last week, the world watched on with disbelief as a few Muslims terrorised the large Indian city of Mumbai . A group that is being blamed for masterminding the attack, Lashkar -e- Toiba , aims to place India under Islamic rule . Like Muslims elsewhere, they think that these attacks will intimidate the Indians into acquiescing to Islam. Targeting civilians, who are most easily intimidated, is justified in their minds since, after all, they are bringing them the peace of Islam. Contrast that with the " peace that passes understanding ". Jesus offers peace to every individual that transcends the surrounding situation. It is not about subjugation , but emancipation. It involves no coercion , only willful acceptance. It...

In the midst of all the madness out there, it's never a bad thing to get a bit challenged about the state of your own heart, especially with a day like Thanksgiving coming up. I'm not American, but I doubt there is a national holiday anywhere in the world for which non-Americans so easily find appreciation (not just for the food). In the process of getting prepared to join the locals here in giving thanks to our Lord for all He has done for us, the message at Church on the weekend really spoke to me on two fronts. Firstly, our good pastor read the entire script of the original Thanksgiving Day proclamation by the Continental Congress in 1777. You can read it all here , or view the original document here . The key excerpt for me was this: "It is therefore recommended to the legislative or executive powers of these United States, to set apart Thursday, the 18th day of December next, for solemn thanksgiving and praise; that with one heart and one voice the good people may exp...

About a year ago I allowed my wife to talk me into going to one of those dreaded marriage seminars that churches like to host from time to time. I came in prepared to have my discomfort index sharply appreciated, but the only pain I was forced to endure was in my sides (no, not my wife poking me) from all the laughter. The couple that presented the seminar, Drs Les & Leslie Parrott , hit home some really insightful points with no shortage of humour. I mean, if you can't laugh about your marriage, who can? Aside from doing seminars and writing books, this couple also helped create the eHarmony Marriage website to help couples build stronger relationships. Getting to my point, I was shocked to learn today that eHarmony has been forced, as a result of a lawsuit claiming sexual discrimination against homosexuals, to start an online dating service for gays and lesbians. See Foxnews' article by Josh Miller . There's a very real threat out there from those that seek not pure...