Amerikai Magyar Hírlap, 2001 (13. évfolyam, 2-43. szám)
2001-02-09 / 6. szám
AMERICAN Hungarian Journal MEDITATIONS by Dr. Bela Bonis Pastor (562) 430-0876 First Hungarian Reformed Church, Hawthorne A few years ago a very prominent Radio-TV preacher asked his nation-wide audience to suggest topics for his program. Approximately 70 percent of the large response desired messages on the subject of life after death. Of course one can take the attitude of an American thinker and author, Henry Thoreau, who said, "I’m not interested in questions on immortaility. One world at a time - that’s my motto. Do the duty that lies at hand here and don’t worry about the hereafter." But when one reflects seriously on such a response, he soon realizes that one’s concept of duty is conditioned by what one believes on the subject of death, and life after death. As we believers think together about the subject, "What is Death?" our first consideration ought to be "What does God’s Word say about it?" and not what men conjecture. We must be careful not to put words into God’s mouth. Man does not bring light to bear upon the Bible. The light of the Bible always shines on us and enlightens us. To that effect, we should read the parable of the rich mand and Lazarus in Luke 16. The parable accents the challenge of Stewardship. It was directed to the Pharisees who were lovers of money. The rich man did not go to hell because he was rich but because his stewardship lacked the spiritual quality of the grace of Christ. One should not forget that the Bible speaks of the justice of God just as much as His mercy. Death brings judgment as well as salvation. There is no terror for the soul that is sheltered in the love of God. Yes, there is the present world, with its duties and labors, its joys and sorrows, its battles and struggles, its realities and its shams, its fleeting pleasures. But there is also the world to come (Mark 10:30). Heaven is a place as well as a state. Jesus said, "I go to prepare a place for you." God has room in the universe for heaven as a place. And to me, one of the most suggestive and satisfying statements is St Paul’s: "We shall bear the image of the heavenly", that is, the image of love, loving and being loved. A glorious life in a glorious world! When you enter the veil, could you sing the song, "Now unto Him that loved us and washed us from our sins, and has made us kings and priests unto God, his Father"? Hungarian Premier's State-of-the- Nation Speech BUDAPEST, Feb 2, 2001 (Duna TV) - Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said that the weak euro caused severe losses to the Hungarian economy last year. In a state-of-the-nation address delivered at the Vigadó Hall in Budapest, Orbán conceded that the energy with which his government had undertaken the health service reforms became exhausted in the second half of 2000, but, he said, improved birth and death rates might halt the continuing decline of the country's population. Explaining the thinking behind raising the minimum wage, the prime minister said that if Hungary wanted to become an EU member it had to be done. Orbán also called for the drafting and adopting of a land ownership law based on the Danish and French models to overcame the problem of small farms. The following is an excerpt from the live relay of Orbaris speech by Hungarian Duna TV on 1 February: Dr. György Granasztoi, chairman of the Hungarian Civic Cooperation Society, which organized the Vigadó Hall event, including the state-of-the-nation address by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, introduces the prime minister. ... I will not try your patience any longer, and will ask Mr Prime Minister to begin his address.. [Orbán] ... Esteemed ladies and gentlemen... Remember that in 2000 we had to suffer through the largest flood not just in a century but perhaps the millennium. We had to suffer through, together with the whole of world, an oil crisis, and although we are not EU members, we had to live through the first shock, and a big one at that, to the EU's common currency. It is possible to attach figures to these trials and losses; even if not precise figures, the scale can be assessed. The flood washed away almost lOObn forints. Experts say that we lost about one billion dollars, approximately 350bn forints, because of the oil crisis and they estimate that the losses caused to Hungarian economy by the weak EU common currency, the euro, amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars. Thus, the problem was great, but we have overcome it. You [plural], too, can see if you travel about the countiy that the rebuilding has been completed everywhere... [Orbán] ... However, we still cannot be satisfied, especially not when reading the studies that describe the Hungarian society's state of health. This is the case because the great dynamism with which we have begun the transformation of the health service and as a result of which we have abolished the Social Insurance selfgovernment bodies, re-organized the Health Insurance Cash Office, privatized the GP services, developed the emergency patient care, built ambulance stations and I could go on with the list - well this dynamism became exhausted by the second part of last year. We, all of us, are hoping now, that the modernization of the health service system will be given a new impetus. I note with pleasure that not just us but the health service employees, including doctors, too, are looking forward to it There are positive signs too... If we look very closely at the real facts, we are able to notice the most important facts indicating the changes. Probably, you [plural], too, have heard the-end-of-the-year statistics; that in year 2000, the death rate in Hungary decreased by three perent, birth rate grew by three percent and six percent more people got married than hitherto. [Big applause] Regrettably, the Hungarian population continues to decline but, it seems that we have managed to halt this unfavorable process, and that we might achieve palpable changes in year 2001... [Hungarian birth rate, with rare interruptions, has been declining for decades, and fears for the survival of the Hungarian stock has been a rallying cry since the 1920s and especially since the fall of the communist regime in 1990. The Orbán government has embraced this issue, and it has re-introduced several family-supporting measures]. [Orbán] It was the idea of a world based on work that had spurred us - I admit, after much debate - to raise the Hungarian minimum wage in significant measure. Remember that when the civic government entered office in 1998, the minimum wage was 19,500 forints. Since 1 January 2001, it is 40,000 forints and it will rise to 50,000 forints in 2002. Let me give you two arguments in favor of our decision. Naturally, one reason was our wish to raise wages because we want people to get a decent wage for a decent job of work, and increasingly so. However, there was another consideration; that the value of work should be placed above that of the unemployment benefit. This was the case, because prior to the raise, unemployment benefit provided virtually the same income as the minimum wage for a decent eight-hour work. A country built on such a system could never be based on [respect of] work. The value of work should always be Letter to Ilona Y. Reksz Ilona Y. Reksz, Co-Chairman of the California Ethnic Leadership Council got the following letter of thanks from President George W. Bush: January 15,2001 Dear Ilona, Dick Cheney and I want to thank you for all you have done for us. Your leadership, energy, and generous commitment of time were crucial to our campaign’s success. I am grateful for your hard work and honored you were on my team. I look forward to leading our great country. Sincerely. George W. Bush **** ***************** placed far above the value of unemployment benefit... I am also asking you to accept the third argument, that if we really want to become European citizens, and if we indeed see ourselves as people belonging to the most advanced part of the world, then, putting it simply, it [higher minimum wage] must be so. Esteemed ladies and gentlemen, in a world based on work, agriculture, too, must provide a decent living for farmers. So, the creation of a modem agriculture, with family farms in its focus, is one of our most urgent tasks. For this reason, we must draft, in the first half of 2001 if possible, the much-missed law that regulates Hungarian land ownership, that gives land to local farmers and which puts right the current fragmentation of farms, that is, a law which will adjust the regulations that have proved themselves in Denmark and France to the Hungarian circumstances. The land ownership issue is currently the most important matter for the agricultural sector, and it would be a good thing to put an end to this debate by about the middle of this year... Celebrate St. VALENTINE’S DAY at the CSARDAS RESTAURANT with the one(s) you love! Since February 14th falls on a Wednesday, perhaps the best time for a romantic dinner or a pleasant lunch with live music would be this coming weekend. 1 Playing the Accordeon is CHARLIE KALMANHELYI During the remodeling going on right now, we’ll be happy to serve you at the covered and heated Winter Garden area. SEE YOU AT THE CSARDAS! Magyar hírlap flj[ 2001. február 9.
