Can Christians Be Threatening?

Can Christians be threatening? Damn right, they can!

Many Christians today are frightened of Muslims. They see Muslims as dangerous, a threat. These Christians would disagree but I feel they suffer from Islamophobia and Islamophobia can prove dangerous to Muslims. Almost an entire Muslim family in London, Ontario, was killed by a young Christian man who drove his car into the family while they were out for a summer evening stroll.

Listening to these frightened Christians go on and on about Muslims inspired me to look into Christians and fear of the other. I did not have to look farther than the Second World War. There are more recent examples I could have examined but being I was born just a few short years after the war, the question of German Christians and their involvement in the "Final Solution" has always been an open question. I decide to look for an answer.

The answer is ugly, nasty and disheartening. Christians can be, and often are,  absolutely terrible people. This comes as no surprise to lots of folk. The United States, a country many claim has a long history as a Christian nation, is not known only for its good deeds. At best, the United States has a very checkered history when it comes to adhering to and promoting Christian values.

But, I am not talking about the Yanks here but about the actions of the Christian Germans before and during the Second World War. Throughout this period, Germany was overwhelmingly Christian, easily over 90% of the population. In comparison, in 1933 it is estimated there were only about 500,000 German Jews or less than 1% of the population.

The fear, suspicion, prejudice and open hostility of the antisemitic Christians toward the Jews has a long history in Europe. For centuries, Jews were portrayed as "Christ-killers", moneylenders and untrustworthy businessmen. In these Christians' eyes, Jew was synonymous with greedy.

As the Nazis ramped up their attacks on the Jews, the Christian leadership in Germany and in much of Europe mostly failed to speak out strongly against the rampant and growing violence towards Jews. In Germany,  a faction calling itself the "German Christians" made every effort to Nazify the church. Even the mainstream churches remained largely silent or, worse, were actively complicit.

If there were only 500,000 Jews in Germany, how did the Nazis slaughter millions and million of Jews in pursuit of the "Final Solution"? The answer is obvious. For the most part, Christian countries controlled by the Nazis collaborated.

By the end of the war, approximately two-thirds of all European Jews had been murdered. Poland alone accounts for about 3 million of the deaths. Hungary adds another 560,000 or so. The German Nazis provided the leadership and physical support for the Final Solution operation, but it took the cooperation of millions of European Christians to make the operation successful.

 Sadly, and shockingly, as one learns more, it becomes clear that the Final Solution only succeeded to the degree it did because it was conducted in countries where nearly everyone was Christian with a long tradition of antisemitism.

Danish Christians see religion as a matter of national identity.

Were there any countries that did not quickly fall inline? Yes. Denmark. The Lutherans, which made up the majority of Danish Christians, were able to save almost all Danish Jews. The government and the Danish citizens organized the escape of  approximately 7,000 Jews to Sweden in 1943. The Danes showed some spine.

 

At this point, my inquiry takes a surprising turn -- there is a lesson here for today's Muslim-fearing Christians, the oh-so-pious Bible thumpers.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark was a broadly inclusive state church. It wasn't highly dogmatic but instead it was a cultural as well as a religious movement. Most of its pastors combined traditional Christians beliefs with an adherence to civic duty overlaid with national pride.

The Danish Lutheran Church's actions were rooted in their belief in a shared humanity. Jews were seen as fellow human beings and not just feared as members of another religious group. The Danes were able to skirt the fear-of-the-other.

The Danish church showed true Christian generosity by providing

 crucial assistance by hiding Jews and by protecting their sacred religious symbols such as Torah scrolls.

 

Do masks work?

N95 masks outperform all other types of masks

 

Are you up to the challenge? If you think you can make health decisions for you and your family independent of the advice given by experts -- maybe even going contrary to the opinions of the experts, answer the following question.

 

Do masks work for fighting covid-19? 

 

If you answered, "No, they don't", you flunked the test. Read on for the correct answer.

COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, and the main route of transmission is through the air—especially in the form of fine aerosols and respiratory droplets exhaled by infected people when breathing, talking, coughing, or sneezing.

• Masks filter inhaled and exhaled air. Depending on the mask type (cloth, surgical, N95/KN95/FFP2), the fit, and how consistently it’s worn, the degree of filtration varies. Even if not perfect, a mask always provides some reduction in exposure, both for the wearer and for others nearby.

• Effectiveness is a spectrum. A loose cloth mask is a weak barrier; a properly fitted N95 is a strong barrier. Poor fit, gaps, or wearing it under the nose reduce effectiveness, but even then there is partial protection.

The question isn’t whether or not masks work, but rather how well do masks work. The degree of benefit varies.

In “real-world” settings, much depends on how well the mask is worn (gaps, slipping, reuse, moisture), the type of mask, and for how long it is used or reused.

1. Masks reduce risk, but by how much depends on several factors.

• Wearing a mask is associated with a reduced risk of infection. The reduced risk is variable.

• Always wearing a mask or respirator in public settings is an improvement over never wearing one. The type of mask is important. Wearing an N95/KN95 mask is better than wearing a surgical mask and both are an improvement over not wearing a mask.

• Well-fitting respirators (N95/FFP2 etc.) outperform surgical and cloth masks in terms of filtering aerosol particles.

• It is believed that a “duckbill” N95 blocked almost all exhaled particles from infected individuals.

• Studies suggest that if many people wear masks, even moderately effective masks can have substantial community-level impact on transmission. 

The following is only anecdotal evidence but I am going to mention it anyway. 

During the peak of the covid-19 pandemic, I always wore an N95 in public. As the danger from covid waned, I switched to well-fitted surgical masks. I also got vaccinated. As the virus has mutated, I have gotten my covid-19 booster shots regularly. I have now had nine covid-19 vaccinations. 

Neither I nor my wife have ever had covid. And a good thing, too, as my wife and I are getting up in years.

Are All Christians Christian? Maybe not.

I have relatives who openly and constantly proclaim their strong Christian beliefs. You might say they are continually  bearing witness, publicly declaring their great love for Jesus. They believe they are confirming their deep commitment to God but are they?

 

I was raised a Christian. I taught Sunday school in my teens, and yet I am repulsed by self-admitted sinners who readily accept Jesus's gift of imputed righteousness. They put their faith in Jesus and this faith is, in their eyes, the conduit for God’s grace—a grace available to all sinners.

 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor killed by the Nazis, had a word for this. He called it "cheap grace"—forgiveness devoid of true repentance or transformation. If a sinner is truly "in Christ", they must forsake their evil ways. Sinners cannot persist in their sinning ways confident that Christ forgives all.

 

Bonhoeffer practised what he preached: "costly grace". Bonhoeffer saw cheap grace as one of the greatest dangers to Christianity. He went so far as to help form a church in opposition to the mainline German Christians movement which supported the Nazis.

 

For his efforts, Bonhoeffer was arrested in April 1943. He spent about two years in jail where he suffered greatly. Just weeks before the war ended, he was hanged.  Bonhoeffer's death was true to his message: “When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.”

 

Most evangelicals have not been asked to put their lives on the line for Christ but they were asked to get vaccinated against covid-19. Many refused. When vaccination was mandated they saw this as an attack on their God-given freedom of choice.

 

This attitude is not in keeping with the Christian religion of my youth. Back then, I would have argued that Saint Paul taught personal freedom ends where the danger to another begins. If refusing the covid-19 vaccine puts the old and the weak at risk, then the choice to not get vaccinated appears to be driven not by Christian values but by selfishness with an overlap of pride. 

 

But the covid vaccine is the least of my concerns. A big concern, one of many elephants in the room, is the truly horrifying war in the Middle East. On October 7, 2023, Hamas crossed the border into Israel, killing about 1200 Israels and others and then retreated with about 250 hostages.

 

The Israelis responded with an all out attack on Hamas with massive collateral damage. As of the middle of September, some 65,000 Palestinians have died. About 39,000 are women and children.

 

I believe Jesus would be appalled. Jesus said: “When he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.’”
— Luke 19:41–42

 

What were the things that made for peace? I believe they were, and are, compassion, forgiveness, generosity, and trust in God, in stark contrast to the violence, division, and hard-heartedness encountered as a rule.

 

Palestine and the war are complex situations but, no matter, this war must stop. The monstrous number of dead is shocking but the number of injured and the types of injuries are truly horrifying. Today, hell flourishes in Palestine.

 

Like many on the extreme-right, my relatives are not appalled. They don't even believe the widely reported casualty numbers. They are insulated from reality by a mix of theological conviction, political ideology, and media distrust.

Sources such as the NYT or the CBC are discounted as "fake news". 

Today's state of Israel is seen as a direct fulfillment of God’s promise. Its survival and expansion since its birth in 1948 are signs that all is unfolding according to God's plan. As God's plan does not included the slaughter of tens of thousands of innocent civilians, the reports must be fake news. The New York Times, CBC, BBC and even UN reports are all part of the fake news conspiracy.

 

How would Jesus react to the fake news conspiracy story? It is hard to say but let me hazard a guess. He would see this refusal to see truth as the sin of wilful blindness. The Jesus of my youth was discerning, not gullible. He would not have been taken in by either Roman spin or manipulation by the Pharisees. He would not have dismissed all the MSM with one broad brush stroke.

 

In a related situation, Jesus confronted those who shut their eyes to what was immediately in front of them. Quoting the prophet Isaiah, he said: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand… their hearts have become calloused, they have closed their eyes” (Matthew 13:13–15).

Working for three decades in the media did not give me credibility. 

There is so much amiss with today's extreme right-wing Christianity that I will begin wrapping up this post. Otherwise, I might go on and on almost endlessly. Instead, I will leave you with this thought: For all the talk of love, Christians on the extreme-right are fear-driven, anger-filled and insulated by hate.

 

They demonstrate fear of losing their culture (replacement theory), fear of religious displacement (Christians are under attack) and fear of the other (gay people, Muslims, immigrants) just to name three.

 

Anger is also a mixed into this nasty brew and there is a lot of anger to go around. Liberals, progressives, Muslims, gays, immigrants, woke folk and all-too-often blacks quickly come to mind. These are all easy targets for right-wing hate.

 

In this worldview, love isn’t absent—right-wing Christians still talk about it and talk about it incessantly—but in practice love is restricted, contained and finally stripped of the compassion of Jesus.

Sech SCB568P Smartwatch with Bluetooth Calling, Heart Rate & SpO2 Monitor and more (like problems)

All I wanted was watch with an alarm. That's all. I take oodles of pills for my heart and at four different times during the day. I often take some meds late or even totally forget to take some. Clearly, I needed a watch with an alarm.

I found a simple watch and it was on sale. A plus. The fellow at the store assured me this watch had an alarm. He was sure of it; It was a smart watch. I took it home, opened the box and discovered I needed a smart phone to set-up my smart watch. There was a QR code, there was Bluetooth, everything that I would need but for one small thing -- a smart phone. I don't have one and don't want one. I have a flip phone. 

Undaunted, I thought maybe I could use my computer. Nope. A little daunted, I thought maybe I could download an emulator, a bit of software to allow my computer to emulate a smart phone. Nope. My computer was not smart enough to talk to my smart watch.

Totally daunted, I sat beaten. Then Ashley, my daughter, stopped by. She has a smart phone. The cavalry had arrived. In moments my watch was up and running. And, did it have an alarm? It sure did. Eight to be exact. Ashley programmed the watch to ring four times daily to remind me to take my meds. Yes!

Then Ashley showed me how my smart watch could take my blood pressure, heart rate, blood oxygen level, count my steps, record my sleep patterns and more. It is too bad none of its tricks were medically unacceptable. My smart watch, it seems, was not as smart as it claimed.

Then Ashley watched a video on her phone. The audio could be heard throughout the room. Her phone, thanks to Bluetooth, was connected to my watch and my watch, in a sharing mood, was sharing with everyone in the room. We all wondered if my smart watch would do the same with a private conversation and make it a public conversation. Hmmm. Smart phone. Smart watch. Maybe not so smart.

Oh well, it keeps good time. The alarm is the bee's knees. I can ignore everything else -- including the watch. I think it is ugly. No matter what face it shows the world, and it has a few different faces, to me, it is ugly. It screams, "Cheap!" On the plus side, it is small and tucks into the watch pocket of my jeans.

I hate change! (If you have one of these and don't think it is ugly, you are probably young and use an iPhone. You're forgiven. I understand. You're an inhabitant of the digital world.)

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 My Best Crack at Instructions - no promises 

After weeks of trying, I had to admit my watch needed to be paired with a smart phone. My family pooled their money and bought me a used iPhone 11 for my birthday. 

But, even with the new smartphone, my problems did not all immediately disappear. Learning how to get more and more out of my little smart device is proving tough for an old geezer who finds it hard to even call it a watch. Telling time is just one of its many functions. I confess, I find it confusing.

I thought I could write something to help others with their Sech smartwatch. At the moment, I can't. Everyday I learn something new about my watch. It is hard to share stuff that you do not understand completely. My suggestion? Use Perplexity to assist you.

That said, I will leave my first attempt at assisting Sech smartwatch owners online. No promises. 

Before you can do anything with your Sech smartwatch, you must download the "da Fit" app and link your smartphone to your smartwatch. The Sech smartwatch will not work with the Apple Watch app—only with the DaFit app.

 

 1. Scan the QR code in the instruction booklet that came with your watch.

• Open the Camera app on your iPhone.

• Point your phone steadily at the QR code printed in the Sech smartwatch booklet.

• A banner or link should appear at the top of the screen—tap it.

• This will take you to the App Store page for Da Fit.

(If nothing happens, you may be able to search manually in the App Store for “Da Fit” and download it from there.)

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2. Download the Da Fit app

• Tap the Get button.

• Enter your Apple ID password or use Face/Touch ID to confirm.

• Wait for the app to install.

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3. Set up Da Fit on your iPhone

• Open Da Fit after it installs.

• Allow all the permissions it requests (Bluetooth, Notifications, Health data, etc.)—these are needed for proper syncing.

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4. Pair your smartwatch

Before its first use, the watch must be charged and activated. Use the supplied magnetic charger plugged into a 5V IA computer USB port. Attach the other end of the charging cord to the two metal contacts on the watch back. The first charge takes about two hours.

To turn on the watch, press and hold the button on the side of the smartwatch.

Ensure Bluetooth is enabled on your iPhone (Settings > Bluetooth > On).

In the Da Fit app, go to “Add Device” or “Bind Device”.

The app should search for nearby watches. Select your Sech smartwatch from the list, if necessary.

Confirm any pairing requests both on the watch and on the phone. Allow all for full functionality. 

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5. Finish setup

• Once paired, the app should show your smartwatch’s connection status immediately below the Sech name and model number.  

• You can now adjust watch settings, sync data, and customize notifications through the app.

  If the above does not work for you, please comment and I will try and find a solution. 

   

WATCH FACES: I did not find any of the supplied six watch faces worked for me. I downloaded the "Business black" found in the "New Watch Faces" group. Why? This alternate watch displays the percent of remaining battery power.

Downloaded from da Fit: Business black

On your smartphone, tap "da Fit" app > find Watch Faces (Tap the watch icon, third icon from the left at the bottom of the screen. It should be lit.) > tap Face Gallery below the third watch face shown. You will see numerous optional smartwatch faces. I picked "Business black" found in the "New Watch Faces" group.

To switch between watch faces, turn the knob on side of the smartwatch. It turns both clockwise or counter clockwise.

Wrist Raise Turns on Watch Face: Still on the subject of the watch face, the face may light up when you move your arm quickly. This can be a battery drainer. To disable the Wrist Raise feature, go to settings on the watch (stroke down) and tap the gear wheel. Scroll down to Wrist Raise, tap it and slide the onscreen sliding switch to off.

"Settings" can also be found by turning on the watch, swiping right twice, and then scrolling to the bottom of the function icons. The settings gear wheel icon is the last function icon in the long list. Tap it.

 

Using the da Fit app on your iPhone

On your iPhone: Using the da Fit app on your iPhone, you can access many of the smartwatch Functions. Tap the da Fit icon and then tap the bottom far left icon. It is the first one in a row of four icons. All the functions can be found by scrolling up and scrolling down. Here is the function list (top to bottom): “Activity”, “Sleep”, “Heart Rate”, “BP (Blood Pressure)”, “Blood Oxygen”, “Stress”, “Weight” and “Intake Reminder”.

All functions work in a similar manner. Click on the function field and a new screen opens with related, in depth information appears. All are petty well self exclamatory. If an old geezer can muddle through, you can too. To close the in depth screen, tap the “X” at the top left of the window.

Always keep in mind: to paraphrase Dirty Harry, a smartwatch has to know its limitations. Smartwatches are not medical devices and much of their data is suspect.

Activity: This records the number of steps taken each day, the distance covered, and the calories burned. The distance covered can be displayed in either Imperial or metric measure. Tap the third icon from the left at the bottom, the smartwatch icon, tap Others. To change formats, tap on the arrow to the right.

• Steps are recorded automatically. I found this function to be amazingly accurate at walking speed. I checked the Net and found many posts agreeing that the recorded steps feature is accurate.
•  
• Distance covered can be fairly accurate as well. But, you must enter your stepLength first. Tap the fourth icon in the bottom row, it shows a person, tap Profile and enter your stepLength.
•  
• The calorie counter is another matter. Most sources give the kCal function a thumbs down. It's best used as a trend indicator rather than a precise measure of calories burned.

Sleep: The more I use this, the more I realize this is just for fun. It cannot be trusted. It promises a lot but delivers very little. Touch the Sleep icon and guesstimates  of your Sleep Ratio and Sleep Quality Score are displayed. If you want another, more generous opinion, please click the link to: Do Sleep Trackers Really Work posted on the Johns Hopkins Medical Health site.

Heart Rate: Tap the heart rate field and a full screen heart rate page appears. Tap “Measure” at the bottom of the iPhone screen. The smartwatch will measure your heart rate and display it on both your watch and your phone. I have found this to be amazingly accurate, especially at rest or possibly when the wearer is engaged in light to moderate activity. I have found the more active I am, the least accurate is the HR reading.

BP (Blood Pressure): This feature is not to be trusted. If you must know your blood pressure, get a proper unit with an upper arm cuff. Omron makes excellent blood pressure monitors. The smartwatch BP feature is close to useless and BP measurements using a wrist cuff are also have a reputation for being untrustworthy.

 

SpO2 or Blood Oxygen: I believe this works. It usually agrees with my single purpose pulse oximetre. Touch the Blood Oxygen field, touch Measure at the bottom of the screen and the smartwatch will start taking the measurement. If your watch and phone are connected, the percent of Oxygen number will be displayed on both the smartphone and on the smartwatch when the measurement taking is done. If this fails, I have found tapping Find Device restores the connection. If this fails, read the Problem entry below.

 

Stress: Almost every one agrees this feature is useless. Enough said. For more info, read Smartwatches Offer Little Insight Into Stress Levels.

 

Weight: There's not much to see here. You enter your weight manually. When you expand the weight window, if you have entered both your height and weight in the da Fit app, your BMI is displayed and what your number means. It tells you whether you are thin, ideal weight, fat or obese. As I said, there's not much to see here

 

Intake Reminder: This will track your liquid consumption for the day but you must enter each drink manually.

 

Problem: Occasionally, the iPhone and the smartwatch are not in sync. The link is broken. Using the da Fit app on the iPhone, touch the smartwatch icon, third from the left at the bottom of the screen. At the top of the screen, it will read SECH SCB568P Below the SECH name, you should see Connected. If you see Disconnected, you must connect the smartphone and smartwatch. This happens more often than I care to admit.

 

First fix, still on the smartphone SECH screen, tap Find Device.You may have to scroll to see this. Tap Find Device and the watch should emit a tone confirming the phone and watch are connected. Disconnected will change to Connected.

 

If this fails, turn to the smartwatch. Swipe the watch screen to the right twice. The smartwatch will show all the function icons. Scroll down to "Settings". Tap Settings. Scroll down to "System". Tap System. Tap "Restart". You may have to tap Find Device as well. The system icon can also be accessed by swiping down on the watch face. Look for the system gear wheel, tap it and you are in.

 

If this fails, touch "Reset". This is the nuclear option. Reset returns the smartwatch to its factory settings. You will have to reload your alarm settings, any formats you  have personalized and any other features you entered or modified. If you are using an optional watch face, you will have to reload it, too.

 

Those were all the functions found on the iPhone using the daFit app. 

 

Using the da Fit app on your SECH smartwatch

On your SECH smartwatch:

 

Let us examine the SECH SCB568P smartphone and discover what functions it offers. Many of these function work best when the smartphone is connected to the nearby iPhone.

 

Activity:

Sleep:

Heart Rate:

 

Phone Call: Tap and a Phone Call screen appears. You have three choices: Recent Calls, Dial Pad, and Contacts. Placing a call was simple. The audio was amazingly good. Recent calls was pretty straight forward. I fave failed, so far, to link my watch to my iPhone contact list. 

 

Exercise: 

Exercise Records:

Blood Pressure:

SpO2:

Stress:

 

Weather: This shows the current weather info, for instance sunny and the present temperature. It also show the time for sunrise and for sunset. Swipe up to see very truncated weather forecasts for the next six days. Weather info is synced to your iPhone after connecting with the APP. If the link is broken, disconnected for too long, the watch will not update. 

 

Messages:

 

Shutter: After connecting to your phone, the watch can remotely control your phone’s camera to take photos. After opening the camera on your phone, tap on the watch camera control page to trigger the camera shutter to take a picture.

 

Player:

Relaxation:

AI Voice:

 

Timer: Tap one of the preset times or tap the custom setting, when set, tap the start button. To stop, tap the X.

 

Alarm: Alarms can be set using the da Fit app or on the watch, up to 8 alarms can be set. The alarm rings or can both ring and vibrate. Setting the alarm times is both quicker and easier using the da Fit app on the iPhone. Setting the ring or the ring-vibrate function must be done on the watch itself.

 

There is an automatic snooze function. I could find no way to turn the snooze function off or on. If you do not turn of the alarm when it sounds, it will sound again in a few minutes. Momentarily depress the button on the side of the watch to turn off the alarm.

 

Stopwatch: Tap the start button on the stopwatch page to start timing, and tap the stop button to stop timing.

 

World Clock:

Cycle Tracking:

 

Find Phone: Scroll down to find phone, tap and your linked smartphone will either ring or vibrate, possibly both, making it easy to find your misplaced cell phone.

 

Calculator:

Games:

Settings: 

Perplexity believed Mark Carney wasn't Prime Minister!

If you need any proof that putting too much faith in the accuracy of AI "facts", check out the following screen shots from a session with Perplexity -- a big player in the AI arena.

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Hot damn! Stop the presses. AI does not know Mark Carney is the Canadian Prime Minister. When challenged, Perplexity stuck to its position:

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It took a third challenge to elicit a correction from Perplexity:

It finally admitted its error, saying, "You're absolutely right, and I apologize for the earlier mistake. Mark Carney is indeed the 24th Prime Minister of Canada. (The bold type was used by Perplexity.) It closed the session by saying, "Thank you for pointing out the error, and I appreciate your understanding."