Providence Magazine’s Post

Deep dive by GIM SIONG LEE of Channel News Asia into #ChinaVatican relations (pegged on the pending renewal of their deal on the appointment of bishops), in which I share my views. While a moral force in the world, the #HolySee has been pragmatic in dealing with Beijing, drawing sometimes sharp criticism. It is important, however, to understand the motivations behind Vatican diplomacy - to ensure that Catholics around the world can worship openly and without impediment, and to secure the universality of the Catholic Church under papal authority. With regard to China, the Vatican has managed the relationship with some deftness, even as it has maintained official diplomatic recognition of the government in Taipei. The criticism the pope and his predecessors have received about “dealing with the devil” are useful voices to remind the Vatican and Pope Francis of the challenges they face in engaging China, challenges that confront every country in the world. https://lnkd.in/gazkDBse

The Pillar provides excellent analysis of an area of Sino-Vatican relations that has been little discussed: the unilateral merging and de-establishment of dioceses, which only Rome technically has the authority to carry out. "With the Vatican-China deal up for renewal this year, the Holy See’s Secretariat of State will have to decide if Beijing’s unilateral redrawing of the ecclesiastical map is a calculated provocation, and how it can respond within its limited diplomatic room to maneuver. As such moves become more common, however, the Vatican will have to reckon with the emerging divide between the Church in China recognized by Rome, which increasingly exists only on paper, and a different reality on the ground, run by the CPCA." https://lnkd.in/gJdhZeQn #China #Catholic

To “Japa” or Not to “Japa” - a short philosophical exegesis worth reading

Camille Gail Weston "Jesus' little brown sheep" Bible Devotional - The Remix 2024 Today is January 8, 2024. (Part 1 of 2) https://lnkd.in/gFBR5F9N "If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men." – Romans 12:18 Does the Bible set precedent for peaceful diplomatic relations? Sundays mornings are an essentially important aspect of my career in law and politics. In America, a prominent feature for research and analysis is Sunday morning politics on Meet the Press, Face the Nation, etc. These media resources give us in depth analysis on issues relevant to national security, economics and international relations. I am a Seventh-day Adventist Christian. Because we observe the Seventh-day Sabbath on Saturday (Exodus 20:8-11)… Sunday is all work for me, especially in politics. Good news! Today, the correlation of my daily devotional in the Bible overlaps with international diplomacy. In all things may Christ Jesus have the preeminence. (Colossians 1:16-18) In Genesis 21:22-34, we are witnessing the first instance of international diplomatic relations. Abimelech recognizes Abraham as blessed by God and chooses to forge a diplomatic relationship with Abraham premised on this purpose. ... the conclusion of today's two part post is in the next message published. https://lnkd.in/gFBR5F9N

#FEATURE: We read in this column on Tuesday about the Catholic Church’s geopolitical engagements and influence, which are numerous and complex. The Church’s massive ‘soft power’, which is its membership around the globe, puts the Vatican in a unique and powerful position when it comes to geopolitics. Read more here: ( https://wp.me/peM2NU-2ao1 )

The best path to peace is represented by the ideals of the Abraham Accords – that shared economic and commercial endeavours build trust between peoples; that co-existence is preferable to conflict; and that shared cultural experiences facilitate understanding between previously warring states. These precepts will not bring peace in themselves, but they can lay the foundations for it in the future. https://lnkd.in/e-jNW-AP

The year 2023 was full of Antiquities and colonialism, postcolonialism, and decolonization. The year 2024 begins with antiquities and imperialism.

Recently published in 2023, ‘Gifts in the Age of Empire’ by Sinem Arcak Casale examines the diplomatic exchanges of gifts between the Safavid and Ottoman empires, revealing how these treasures influenced their cultural, religious, and political rivalries in the 16th century. Book Summary: “Explores the Safavid and Ottoman empires through the lens of gifts. When the Safavid dynasty, founded in 1501, built a state that championed Iranian identity and Twelver Shi’ism, it prompted the more established Ottoman Empire to align itself definitively with Sunni legalism. The political, religious, and military conflicts that arose have since been widely studied, but little attention has been paid to their diplomatic relationship. Sinem Arcak Casale here sets out to explore these two major Muslim empires through a surprising lens: gifts. Countless treasures—such as intricate carpets, gilded silver cups, and ivory-tusk knives—flowed from the Safavid to the Ottoman Empire throughout the sixteenth century. While only a handful now survive, records of these gifts exist in court chronicles, treasury records, poems, epistolary documents, ambassadorial reports, and travel narratives. Tracing this elaborate archive, Casale treats gifts as representative of the complicated Ottoman-Safavid coexistence, demonstrating how their rivalry was shaped as much by culture and aesthetics as it was by religious or military conflict. Gifts in the Age of Empire explores how gifts were no mere accessories to diplomacy but functioned as a mechanism of competitive interaction between these early modern Muslim courts.” Available: https://lnkd.in/deqb5Csj Tags: #ottomans_zubairsbookshelf #iran_zubairsbookshelf #gifts_zubairsbookshelf

"After the expenditure of so much human life to so little purpose, men might have grasped the essential futility of putting the beliefs of the mind to the judgement of the sword." CV Wedgwood On the 24th October 1648 the Treaties of Westphalia were signed, ending the Thirty Years War. Prior to the 20th century this was one of the bloodiest struggles in European history with estimates of up to 8 million dead and large areas of the Holy Roman Empire laid waste. The war's roots lay in the ideological contest between Lutheran and Catholic interpretations of Christianity. However it evolved into a protracted struggle between the Bourbon and Habsburg dynasties to dominate Europe. It left many European states devastated and exhausted. The significance of the treaties today is that they are credited with establishing the principles of modern international relations. The sovereign rights of states to self-determination within their borders; the inviolability of those borders; and that sovereign states have no right to interfere in the domestic affairs of others. Like so much in history, the extent of the linkage is disputed, but the concept of Westphalian Sovereignty is an established part of the international system. It may not have kept the peace, but it has informed our sense of whether a country at war is in the right and set a high legal bar for interference. More problematically it has provided a legal shield to repressive regimes when challenged on humanitarian grounds about the treatment of their people. China has always been swift to invoke Westphalian Sovereignty to remind others that its internal affairs are none of their business. On the whole however, China's approach has been relatively consistent. The revanchist regime in Russia has spent much of the last 20 years interfering in the internal matters of other states. All the while threatening dire consequences for other parties who do not respect its own sovereignty. The problem for the rest of the world is if we allow Russia or indeed, any aggressor regime, to dispense with the concept of Westphalian Sovereignty - then we are back in a world where the strong powers do whatever they want and no-one is safe. It may not be perfect, but it is what we have and what most states have been able to go along with. Our allies in Eastern Europe are certainly in no doubt about this. So, for a different reason, are our friends in the liberal democracies of East and South East Asia. Belatedly, most of Western Europe has also come to realise this. The outlier is the Republican right in the US, who for reasons of domestic politics seem willing to sacrifice global security. The survival of our international system is incompatible with a "might is right" approach when it involves nuclear armed states. Some might say, such an approach is also incompatible with the survival of developed human civilisation. On a separate note, isn't it interesting to observe where Russia's western border was in 1648.

NEGOTIATIONS ON GAZA MUST BE FOLLOWED BY CONTINUOUS 24-HOUR PRAYER: We learn from the media that NEGOTIATIONS REGARDING THE CEASEFIRE IN GAZA are ongoing. The very term CEASEFIRE but NOT PEACE says that these negotiations are PERCEIVED AS DUALITY. This is because a CeaseFire is a LIMITED PEACE based on LIMITING BELIEFS that contains the CONSCIOUS MIND OR EGO OF EACH OF THE WARRING PARTIES AND EACH OF THE NEGOTIATORS NEGOTIATING ON THEIR BEHALF. This means that the negotiations are based on the IMAGE OF REALITY THAT EACH OF THEM PERCEIVES FOR THEMSELVES THROUGH THE FILTER OF THEIR OWN BELIEFS. SUSTAINABLE PEACE belongs to the SUBCONSCIOUS MIND OR SOUL which is an eternal and infinite field of information. In order to approach the soul and MAINTAIN AWARENESS AT THE LEVEL OF THE SOUL, the best way is PRAYER both ISRAELI according to Judaism and PALESTINIAN according to ISLAM. It is necessary that this prayer be CONSTANT AND UNINTERRUPTED, I.E. 24 HOURS AS LONG AS THE NEGOTIATIONS END AND AFTER THAT. i It would be best if, AT THE TIME WHEN THE NEGOTIATIONS START, THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS OF BOTH RELIGIONS INVITE THE PEOPLE TO PRAY WITH THE INTENT TO ESTABLISH PEACE. That prayer also includes OTHER RELIGIONS EXCEPT JUDAISM AND ISLAM, and its goal is to ACCESS AND MAINTAIN ACCESS TO THE SOUL. Prayer CHANGES AND MAINTAINS THE BRAIN WAVES STATE from a BETA STATE (12,5 to 30 Hz) corresponding to war to a THETA STATE (4 to 7 Hz) corresponding to peace. Because, as NIKOLA TESLA said, IF YOU WANT TO KNOW THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE, YOU NEED TO APPROACH EVERYTHING AS ENERGY, VIBRATION AND FREQUENCY. This means that PRAYER, IN ADDITION TO RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE, ALSO HAS ITS SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE, in the sense that it CREATES AND MAINTAINS THE INFORMATION FIELD OF THE SOUL IN WHICH WAR CAN NEITHER OCCUR NOR EXIST. #war #peace #gaza #israel #unrwa #equilibrium #jasnicaklaramatic