Happy New Year
5767 starts at sundown. A happy New Year to all those to whom it applies, and wishes for a great weekend to those to whom is doesn't.
Posted by Charles at 06:50 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Blurring Religious Groups
When discussing Islamic groups, American writers know how to make distinctions between Shiites and Sunnis.
Yet, for some strange reason, American writers often fail to make distinctions between Christian religious groups.
For example, OpinionJournal recently published a commentary in which its author lumps all Presbyterians into the same group (Link).
In her commentary titled "Anything Goes" (Sub-titled: "The Presbyterian Church gets into the 9/11 conspiracy theory business."), Heather Wilhelm writes, "Now, however--five years after 9/11--the publishing arm of the Presbyterian Church has decided to heat up the brimstone a notch, releasing its very own 9/11 conspiracy theory . . . "
Folks, there is no such thing as The Presbyterian Church.
For the record, there are several Christian denominations that have Presbyterian in their names.
Five of them are the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, the Presbyterian Church in America, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church (USA) .
It is the last one that Wilhelm is writing about. It is the last one that constantly generates controversy.
Yet, Wilhelm implies that all Presbyterians belong to this last group.
To imply such a thing is to imply something that is false.
Sadly, such a mistake is often an indicator of a lack of religious education on the part of the writer.
So, before commenting about a church group, please do your homework first. Church groups are not all alike.
Of course, if you are a member of a church group, then you should already know that.
Image Source:
Posted by Dodo David at 11:00 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
What's Anti-Semitism and What's Not
Jeff Jacoby asks the question I have been wondering about for the past couple of weeks:
Two anti-Semitic incidents occurred on July 28. Both took place on the West Coast; both involved an American venting his hostility to Jews. But only one of them became in the days that followed a big national story about anti-Semitism. The other was treated as a serious but local matter, and drew only modest coverage around the country.
Incident A involved nothing more dangerous than a guy spewing crude anti-Semitic slurs when he was arrested for drunk driving; once sober, he publicly and profusely apologized. Incident B involved a Muslim gunman’s premeditated assault on a prominent Jewish institution; his attack left one woman dead and sent five to the hospital, three of them in critical condition.
Which would you say was the bigger story?
Of course he's comparing Mel Gibson's drunken raving and the Muslim who went into a Jewish center with guns blazing, killing one and injuring others.
Mel Gibson, A-list movie star and producer/director, gets drunk and starts spouting anti-Semitic slurs upon being arrested -- an incident that gets worldwide coverage and worldwide shock and awe. Naveed Haq kills and maims in a premeditated incident in Seattle (he waited 10 days after buying his guns to pick them up), and it barely picks up on the media radar. Just another story.
What the heck is wrong with people? As Jacoby notes, the New York Sun said about the Seattle incident, "No one wants to propagate bias or jump to conclusions." What about Haq's bias? Telling 911 dispatchers, “These are Jews and I’m tired of getting pushed around and our people getting pushed around by the situation in the Middle East” isn't exactly a rousing endorsement for multicultural acceptance and tolerance. And yet another Muslim gets the benefit of the doubt.
Gibson's fame guaranteed name recognition in an ever-competitive news cycle, and it was milked for all it was worth. Money to be made and all that. But Haq's actions were much more serious...and the minor coverage of this incident says something even less favorable: making a fuss over violent Muslim behavior may get you into trouble down the road, so best to let it blow over as quickly as possible.
After all, I doubt Mel Gibson will whip out his guns and go for retaliation.
Posted by Pam at 10:13 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
The church from Hell
Last week, the Associated Press published a story about Fred Phelps and his church from Hell a.k.a. Westboro Baptist Church. [To read the story, click here.]
If you think that I have gone too far by labeling Phelps’ church as being from Hell, then obviously you haven’t read the AP story. One wonders if Matt Sedensky, the story’s author, didn’t get the same impression after he interviewed Phelps and his flock of goats.
Here are some excerpts from the story, along with my comments.
The story begins like this:
OGDEN, Iowa (AP) -- The soldier's flag-draped casket is set on the gymnasium floor, below the unlit scoreboard, before bleachers crowded with mourners.
They are there for Sgt. Daniel Sesker, the young man known for an infectious laugh and a wide smile, his life taken abruptly by an improvised explosive device outside Tikrit. Inside his high school, those who loved him are just beginning to grieve.
Outside, near a cornfield awaiting planting, picketers thank God for Daniel Sesker's death, talk approvingly of his entrance into hell, and mock the mourners. Amid gusting winds, they struggle to hold up signs that read "Thank God for IEDs" and "God Hates Your Tears."They approve of people entering Hell? Isn’t that the sort of thing that Satan does?
It's simply their duty, they believe, to let it be known that God hates you.
Well, so much for John 3:16. If God indeed hates you, then Jesus died in vain.
There have been thousands of protests since, at the funerals of homosexuals - but also at memorials for Mister Rogers . . .
They protested at the funeral for Mr. Rogers? Why? Not only was Fred Rogers the nicest guy to ever appear on television, but he was also a Presbyterian minister who believed John 3:16 . . . I think that I just answered my own question.
Westboro Baptist has only about 75 members, nearly all of them Phelps' relatives.
Not only is this particular family tree full of nuts, but it also has root rot.
Where Westboro parts ways, of course, is its emphasis on God's hatred and the way it spreads this message. Members believe they must alert the world's depraved sinners of their fate even though such people have no chance of going to heaven. They're not doing this to save you - they're doing it to save themselves.
They’re trying to save themselves? Well, so much for Ephesians 2:8-9: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” (NIV)
The Westboro flock is out there all alone, both in their beliefs and in their methods. No other religious group has stepped forward to join them.
This group is so bad that not even Anton LaVey’s followers will join it.
An excerpt from one of Fred Phelps’ sermons: "We pray for more tornadoes, we pray for more hurricanes, that Katrina's just a tiny little preamble. That's what we pray for."
If a tornado were to strike Phelps’ church, then would Phelps complain about getting what he prayed for?
Neither Phelps nor his congregants - who believe both he and they are prophets - claim to be without sin, but the pastor is infuriated when asked about their wrongdoings.
Phelps and his ilk are prophets? That explains everything. Obviously it is permissible to contradict the Bible when one is a prophet.
Jesus said, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them.”*
The Apostle Peter wrote, “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.”**
Regarding Fred Phelps, the story’s author writes, “He will die soon. His lifetime of preaching God's hate, he believes, has earned his place in heaven.”
The Apostle Paul preached God’s love: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”***
The Apostle Paul also taught that you can’t earn a place in Heaven.
Now, Fred Phelps and his flock might not be literally from Hell (they just act like they are), but I am certain that Westboro Baptist Church is one of Satan’s favorite places on Earth.
Quote Sources:
*Matthew 7:15
**2 Peter 2:1
***Romans 5:8
Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
Posted by Dodo David at 08:32 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Andrew Sullivan Syndrome (ASS) Reaches New Heights
I have absolutely no idea what world St. Andrew of Perpetual Victimhood lives in but I can assure you it is no where in America:
The number of Christians misrepresented by the Christian right is many. There are evangelical Protestants who believe strongly that Christianity should not get too close to the corrupting allure of government power. There are lay Catholics who, while personally devout, are socially liberal on issues like contraception, gay rights, women's equality and a multi-faith society. There are very orthodox believers who nonetheless respect the freedom and conscience of others as part of their core understanding of what being a Christian is. They have no problem living next to an atheist or a gay couple or a single mother or people whose views on the meaning of life are utterly alien to them--and respecting their neighbors' choices. That doesn't threaten their faith. Sometimes the contrast helps them understand their own faith better.
Who has problems living next to atheists or gay couples? Christians? Absurd. I would like Andrew to provide a study with some scientific validity to show that Christians in this country are campaiging to throw atheists out of their neighborhood. Most Christians also know and fellowship with openly gay people. I would suspect that even Reverend Fallwell has a gay friend or two.
And there are those who simply believe that, by definition, God is unknowable to our limited, fallible human minds and souls. If God is ultimately unknowable, then how can we be so certain of what God's real position is on, say, the fate of Terri Schiavo? Or the morality of contraception? Or the role of women? Or the love of a gay couple?
God is NOT unknowable--that is the fundamental basis for Christianity! Christians believe they can have a relationship with God because of Christ's sacrifice on the cross for our sins. That is the definition of being a Christian. And God provides us with his positions in something called the BIBLE:
“For the Word of God is alive and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow and is a critic of thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12.
“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” 2 Peter 1:3-4
"All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Andrew Sullivan will have none of this "preachy" talk in the Bible. He wants to talk about "his truth" as defined by his feelings and politics. He sits in a tower casting judgement on the evils of the Bush administration and its supposed "torture" of terrorists. To him that evil is absolute; there is never a gray area in issues that do not criticize his behavior and fundamental character. Sure, he will admit to some sinning that society now perceives as petty, but he would never admit that the Bible objects to something substantive to his life (and I am not talking about his homosexuality).
"...teaching, for reproof, for correction." How is this possible if you never take seriously what the Bible says? If you cannot know God, why even be a Christian? His entire argument is based on the fact that he is a person of faith based on nothing. How could he know that God wants him to be a Catholic if God's desire for us in unknowable? This is 8th grade rubbish.
But he saves his most arrogant pronunciations for the end:
So let me suggest that we take back the word Christian while giving the religious right a new adjective: Christianist. Christianity, in this view, is simply a faith. Christianism is an ideology, politics, an ism. The distinction between Christian and Christianist echoes the distinction we make between Muslim and Islamist. Muslims are those who follow Islam. Islamists are those who want to wield Islam as a political force and conflate state and mosque. Not all Islamists are violent. Only a tiny few are terrorists. And I should underline that the term Christianist is in no way designed to label people on the religious right as favoring any violence at all. I mean merely by the term Christianist the view that religious faith is so important that it must also have a precise political agenda. It is the belief that religion dictates politics and that politics should dictate the laws for everyone, Christian and non-Christian alike.
Andrew Sullivan first wanted to take Truth out of the Bible and now wants to take Christ out of the Christian. He alone can now divine who is a real Christian and who is simply a Christianist--someone so blinded by their love of God that they insist on following his teaches and defies government indoctrination of fluid morality.
I guess Jesus' mission against the standing government was unnacceptable to St. Andrew. Ah, yes. We find that Jesus Christ too was a Christianist. "Christianists"--what utter garbage and nonsense. Too bad there wasn't an Andrew Sullivan back then to set Him straight on all that infernal preaching.
So, there it is. Religion to St. Andrew is something to be objectified; it is not something that transforms a people and society. Religion is a private hobby, a pass-time, that should not be all up in peoples' face and never interfere with what is of utmost importance to the future of society...gay marriage.
Posted by Aaron at 09:01 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Wonderfully Fair Opinion Piece about Religion in Public Life
I do not agree with all pionts, but I think Jon Meacham offers a great illustration of religiousity in American life.
George H.W. Bush was nearly in tears. Standing in front of deep burgundy curtains on a stage in College Station, Tex., late one afternoon last week, the 41st president was presenting an award for public service to his longtime friend the Rev. Billy Graham. Now 87, white-maned, hard of hearing and able to move only with a walker, Graham sat near the former president as an emotional Bush talked about prayer and the presidency.
"Many of you here have heard me quote Abraham Lincoln, who once said that 'I have often gone to my knees in prayer out of the conviction that I had no place else to go,' but sometimes even that is not enough. No matter how deep one's faith is, sometimes you need the guidance and comfort of a living, breathing human being. For me, and for so many occupants of the Oval Office, that person was Billy Graham. When my soul was troubled, it was Billy I reached out to, for advice, for comfort, for prayer." Bush's voice cracked with emotion; perhaps, given Graham's fading health, it was one of the last times they would be together.
I get choked up reading it.
Following Homer, who said "all men need the gods," John Adams once remarked: "Religion always has and always will govern mankind. Man is constitutionally, essentially and unchangeably a religious animal. Neither philosophers nor politicians can ever govern him in any other way."
Yet the Founding Fathers knew they would be governing a pluralistic nation. In 1790, his first full year as president, George Washington wrote a powerful letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, R.I., underscoring the American commitment to religious liberty: "It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights," Washington said. "For happily the government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance. . . . "
I believe that no one should feel compelled to be of a certain religion or be religious at all. I don't believe, however, that a president should be denied his faith and his level of enthusiasm for his faith.
At a service for Reagan's second inauguration, Graham reflected on the tensions between God and Caesar. "It is true that we are a pluralistic nation," he said in a sermon at the National Cathedral. "We have a Constitution which guarantees to all of us human freedoms, of which religious freedom is foremost. In America, any and all religions have the right to exist and propagate what they stand for. We enjoy the separation of church and state, and no sectarian religion has ever been -- and we pray God, ever will be -- imposed upon us." The Founders would have understood and approved.
This is where a lot of the frustration begins with people who believe there is a "religious right" out to put a stranglehold on politics. I disagree. Government should not intrude into matters of faith (like establishing a state religion) or telling churches what they can and cannot say (like telling pastors to stay out of political issues), but that does not mean that religion must stay out of politics--there is a difference between government and politics.
Politics deals with matters of morality and most people find morality in religion. Therefore, when issues like the death penalty, war, abortion, education and public good arise, people need to understand that religion should be allowed into the discussion. When people refuse to allow religion as the basis for a person's morality, they themselves create the feeling that that religion is being shoved down their throat. For example, they feel that if a person supports the outlawing of abortion because s/he believes abortion is murder (based on his or her faith) that it somehow uses the government to force the abortion proponent to be more Christian.
The abortion proponent then uses this to somehow disqualify the opponents participation in the political process, and I believe that is fundamentally unfair--by denying a fellow American a voice in an important debate based on his/her religion.
This exlusion is precisely what the First Amendment and the Founding Fathers sought to prevent.
Posted by Aaron at 10:55 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
He is Risen!
Matt 28:6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.
Today we celebrate the Christ Jesus' victory over sin and death so that we all may have eternal life with God.
Posted by Aaron at 07:57 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
More Christian Hating
I saw this guy on Book-TV on C-Span last weekend and could only handle about 10 minutes of this guy. When I heard the title of his book would be American Theocracy, I knew that he would soon be making the 2006 circuit to warn people against the freak Christian conservatives in this country.
The United States has organized much of its military posture since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks around the protection of oil fields, pipelines and sea lanes. But U.S. preoccupation with the Middle East has another dimension. In addition to its concerns with oil and terrorism, the White House is courting end-times theologians and electorates for whom the Holy Lands are a battleground of Christian destiny. Both pursuits -- oil and biblical expectations -- require a dissimulation in Washington that undercuts the U.S. tradition of commitment to the role of an informed electorate.
This is rank idiocy. Our military posture since 9/11 focused on the Middle East because that's where the attackers came from! And the attackers were Islamic radicals and the Middle East is where Islam was born! And we do have oil interests in the Middle East. We would have less interest in the Middle East if the leftist environmentalists would let us drill for our OWN OIL.
Patrick at ABP, who has a book coming out soon, reacted to Kevin Phillips' column today with the same disgust I did:
But then, Kevin Phillips is selling a book. And as Joe Wilson, Al Franken, Richard Clark, and countless others have demonstrated, there is no quicker way to make a buck than to write a book lying about the current President of the United States.
Precisely.
Posted by Aaron at 02:01 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Islamic Cartoons and Condi's Lame Response
I am a huge fan of Condi, but the State Department, under her leadership, should have known better than to come out on the side of radical Islam over a bunch of worthless cartoons.
Condi herself has been the target of racist cartoons in the past:
I don't remember Condi issuing a fatwah against Danzinger, nor recommending a bloodletting at any of the newspapers that published that cartoon. Why should the State Department support people who are doing just that over some silly cartoons of Muhammed.
Take a look at these totally benign cartoons:
Now let's look at some Muslim propaganda about the Jews:
How wonderfully tolerant! Remember all those Jewish edicts to fill the Arab street with blood? Oh wait, that didn't happen. Nevermind.
Check out more here.
Posted by Aaron at 02:48 PM | Comments (11) | TrackBack
Religion Controversy: SBC & Tongues
A new controversy involving the Southern Baptist Convention gives me another reason to be glad that I left that denomination.
The trustees of the SBC International Mission Board want to remove a board member because he is opposed to a board policy that contradicts a biblical teaching.
Last year, the Board decided to reject missionary candidates who spoke in tongues in private devotion.
This decision clearly violates what the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 14:39, which says (emphasis mine), “Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.”[NIV]
It is true that Paul warned churches about the improper public use of tongues, but, as the above verse reveals, Paul didn’t ban private use. Instead, he instructed churches not to completely ban tongues.
If during its annual convention, the SBC upholds the decision made by its International Mission Board, then the SBC would be openly contradicting the Bible.
If this happens, then it will be clear that the SBC lies when it claims to always adhere to the Bible’s teachings.
Posted by Dodo David at 12:58 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Lawsuit: Jesus Never Existed
Here's a lawsuit worthy of a Hollywood film:
ROME -- Forget the U.S. debate over intelligent design versus evolution.
An Italian court is tackling Jesus, and whether the Roman Catholic Church may be breaking the law by teaching that he existed 2,000 years ago.
...
"I started this lawsuit because I wanted to deal the final blow against the church, the bearer of obscurantism and regression," Mr. Cascioli said.
I wonder how long it will be before the ACLU here in the good ol' U-S of A will follow Cascioli's lead?
Posted by Pam at 04:46 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Why Robertson Is Wrong Doctrinally
Briefly, I don't think Pat Robertson understand what the Bible says about Israel.
My understanding is that Christ establishes Israel (and its boundries) upon His return and that current national boundries are meaningless.
Anyone care to comment?
[I don't have a Bible here at work, so I will need to put the verses in later....]
Posted by Aaron at 03:15 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Tale of Two Asses
US evangelical broadcaster Pat Robertson suggested Ariel Sharon's stroke was divine retribution for "dividing God's land" of Israel, igniting his latest trademark controversy.
As the Israeli prime minister battled for life, Robertson seemed to suggest to viewers on his "700 Club" television show that Sharon was being punished for his policies in Gaza and the West Bank.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: Ass
Iran's president said Thursday he hoped for the death of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the latest anti-Israeli comment by a leader who has already provoked international criticism for suggesting that Israel be "wiped off the map."
"Hopefully, the news that the criminal of Sabra and Chatilla has joined his ancestors is final," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by the semiofficial Iranian Students News Agency.
Posted by Aaron at 07:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Mormon Missionary Shot Dead in VA
This is horrible. Please pray for the families of those involved. I hope they catch the bastard that did this:
A Mormon missionary going door-to-door was fatally shot Monday night and a fellow missionary was wounded by an assailant who fled, police said.
The attacks happened just after 6 p.m. in the Deep Creek area of the city, police said, when a man approached the two, shot them and ran away.
One of the victims ran to a nearby nursing home seeking help, police said.
Posted by Aaron at 12:28 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Bible Belters Most Charitable in Nation
Its also not surprising that those who love to spend other people's money, never like spending more of their own: New Englanders remain among the most tightfisted in the country when it comes to charitable giving.
Posted by Aaron at 06:47 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
"Evangelism" Defined by a Reader
From reader Sue Ellen:
let me try to help as it seems that i are one: 'evangelical christians' tend to see that as an identifier for born again christians living a lifestyle evangelism. not only do they sometimes go on outreach but support others who do. they see certain aspects of their daily life as ministry, be it at home, work, or with casual acquaintainces. their priorities are God first, family second, ministry and/or work third, and jobs fourth although that is usually woven into the third. they pray a lot based on their personal relationship to Jesus and if you visit their churches you will usually see them holding their bibles open and hear the pastors teaching directly from scripture. to break it down further, some teaching is "isogetical" meaning a scripture is chosen and taught on. some teach via the "exegetical" approach, meaning an entire book of the bible is studied from beginning to end. there are some churches, such as presbyterian churches, who have gone their own way from the organized church to teach this way rather than stick with the traditions of the mainline church. (and get ready for this. . . whisper, whisper. . . they even use a lot of contemporary music with guitars and praise bands and stuff. . . ) hope that helps clarify some of the evangelical christian 'definition' for you. (it amazes me that the george w bush and laura can do such a good job of balancing their faith with their political lives. they definitely live their faith but do so without throwing it around or shirking it when it would be more convenient to do so.)
Posted by Aaron at 07:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
"Evangelical"
That term has been thrown around for the last five year (usually to label someone a nut). When did "evangelical" become a denomination of sorts? What does it imply? What makes someone who a Christian an "evangelical" one?
What are your thoughts?
Posted by Aaron at 03:44 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Interesting Criticism of Atheism
This is a very interesting piece arguing that people of faith are necessarily more moral and charitable written by an atheist:
The Salvation Army has been given a special status as provider-in-chief of American disaster relief. But its work is being augmented by all sorts of other groups. Almost all of them have a religious origin and character.
Notable by their absence are teams from rationalist societies, free thinkers' clubs and atheists' associations - the sort of people who not only scoff at religion's intellectual absurdity but also regard it as a positive force for evil.
He goes on:
Late at night, on the streets of one of our great cities, that man offers friendship as well as help to the most degraded and (to those of a censorious turn of mind) degenerate human beings who exist just outside the boundaries of our society. And he does what he believes to be his Christian duty without the slightest suggestion of disapproval. Yet, for much of his time, he is meeting needs that result from conduct he regards as intrinsically wicked.
Civilised people do not believe that drug addiction and male prostitution offend against divine ordinance. But those who do are the men and women most willing to change the fetid bandages, replace the sodden sleeping bags and - probably most difficult of all - argue, without a trace of impatience, that the time has come for some serious medical treatment. Good works, John Wesley insisted, are no guarantee of a place in heaven. But they are most likely to be performed by people who believe that heaven exists.
I agree that charity is more likely to come from religious people, but I disagree that atheists are inherently less moral. You have to define what is moral to a person. As we've seen with the latest testaments from the Democratic Party, morality is redistribution of wealth, free health care and racial quotas. If they believe that that is moral, then democrats are highly moral.
Essentially, he demonstrates not only the emperical dysfunction of aetheism, but the theoretical contradiction as well.
He defines charity as moral--but where does this sense of selflessness come from? Religion. We are told that the human condition is greed (used as a justification for taxation and wealth redistribution); but if you are an atheist, the human condition should be what it is--what we evolved into. Charity is a characteristic of people of faith through scripture.
He wants to argue that atheists should be able to live life like a Christian without the faith in Christianity. But if you don't believe in a religion, what is your morality? Should it not be what your human condition compels you to do? In that sense, atheists should be the most moral people on earth. But they are not.
Even if its a vague belief in karma, its still a belief in something other-worldy acting to correct balance. So he makes a true point, but fails to understand the true basis for it.
Posted by Aaron at 06:53 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
Sunday Prayer List
I am going to start a weekly Sunday prayer list where people can ask our readers for personal prayers for anyone they list in the comments section (I will move it into the post after you comment on it). Today, I would like to submit:
1. People in the way of Katrina, our police, national guard, FEMA and Coast Guard.
2. Our service members in the War on Terror. I would like to specifically ask for you to pray for my new Sodiers Angel Network
adoptee, SSG Bob Burgess who is currently in Iraq.
3. Our fellow patriots in Crawford braving the heat to support our troops.
4. My uncle Louis who is not in good shape.
Don't knock this. You could have 500 people sending up a prayer if you list your request here.
Posted by Aaron at 07:56 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
The Christian Struggle
In his book The Alphabet of Grace Frederick Buechner gives a disturbing description of himself:
I am a part-time novelist who happens to be a part-time Christian because part of the time seems to be the most that I can manage to live out my faith.
Buechner is not the only person to express struggle with the Christian faith. In Romans 7 the Apostle Paul tells of his own inability to completely escape from sinful actions. If an Apostle is not completely immune from the influences of the flesh, then how can any rank-and-file Christian claim to be?
It should not be surprising that Christians have trouble acting out the faith that they claim to have. Even with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, a Christian is still a creature of flesh and continues to be influenced by the flesh. All too often flesh and Spirit are incompatible.
What, then, can be deducted from this painful admission of Christian reality? The first deduction is that Christians do not possess any bragging rights. They are as sinful as non-Christians. Only the grace of God allows Christians to do anything that is good and pleasing to God.
The second deduction is that Christians should not be so cocksure that their theological beliefs are error free. Regardless of how sincere Christians may be, they still view the Bible and their church groups through lenses made of flesh, which explains why there are so many divisions within the universal Church.
The third deduction is perhaps the most important. The reality of our sinfulness serves as a reminder of why we need the Savior. In God’s eyes all sins are equal. This situation means that the gluttony practiced by an ordained minister is cause for condemnation just as much as the viewing of pornography by a layman – although the equality gives no excuse for either.
Perhaps the #1 problem with the common Christian struggle has to do with Christians being reluctant to admit to its existence. A Christian may speak against the sins that (s)he does not commit, while practicing the sins that (s)he won’t admit are sins. For example, the Bible speaks against both drunkenness and gluttony, but have you ever heard a sermon against gluttony?
Yes, all Christians struggle with faith because they are still creatures of flesh. The good news is that the Christian faith is not faith in the flesh. It is faith in the atonement for sin given to us because of the sacrifice of Jesus on a cross at a place called the Skull. That faith is validated by what happened on the following Sunday morning. The resurrection of Jesus was something that not even flesh could prevent.
Posted by Dodo David at 11:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Look at My Penis
Okay, Dobson stepped in it bigtime. From the Corner:
Meanwhile, the boy's father has to do his part. He needs to mirror and affirm his son's maleness. He can play rough-and-tumble games with his son, in ways that are decidedly different from the games he would play with a little girl. He can help his son learn to throw and catch a ball. He can teach him to pound a square wooden peg into a square hole in a pegboard. He can even take his son with him into the shower, where the boy cannot help but notice that Dad has a penis, just like his, only bigger.
Look, kids should know their bodies. But don't take your son in the shower and flaunt your penis. Take him to the gym or to a swimming pool where he could be exposed to the male form when its natural for men to be around each other naked or almost nude. Straight men don't say, "hey, let's go upstairs and take a shower together."
Dobson's suggestion is ridiculous.
Posted by Aaron at 10:57 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
To the world's wounded spirits
The following essay was written by Megan Gilligan, a graduate of Broken Arrow High School in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. While in high school, Megan was a contributing writer for the "Satellite" section of the Tulsa World newspaper. Megan's essay was published by the Tulsa World. It is repeated here verbatim.
A few months ago, my childhood friend Aaron killed himself. Though I don’t know all of the details surrounding Aaron’s death, I know some of those surrounding his life.
When I first met Aaron, we were in the sixth grade. He painted his fingernails, wore Nine Inch Nails T-shirts and used eyeliner. At that age being different can go one of two ways: the other kids can decide you’re either cool and original or weird and a freak. Aaron was kind of stuck in the middle. He had friends who thought he was cool, but the rest of the sixth-grade class found him too strange to socialize with. Either way, he was the weird one.
I liked Aaron though. He was funny and smart and used to throw rulers and markers at my best friend because it made me laugh. He was better at math than anyone I knew and would tie my shoes because he was nice. He was the only boy I ever shared nail polish with, and he used to give me really complex riddles on Mondays and wouldn’t tell me the answers until the following Friday.
As the years went by, I saw Aaron grow progressively more distant. He became very introverted, and the light in his eyes started to fade. In the tenth grade he got his girlfriend pregnant and dropped out of school.
While I know that Aaron had friends, I also know that he had a lot of pain. This drove him to heavy drinking and drug use. This drove him to death by his own hand.
I cannot fathom going through life as a wounded spirit. I cannot imagine being so desperately tormented that there is nowhere to turn, no exit door from the agony, the pain, the haunting thought of life being full of suffering forever.
So many people wake up each morning barely clinging to the shirttails of life because all they have to live for is a new day of torture. These are the teased, the tormented, the abused. These are the crippled, the addicts, the sickly. These are the ones who have nowhere to turn, no one to listen, no one to understand. They’ve been picked on and pushed aside, abandoned and forgotten, left to die or left to live wishing they were dead. In silence they suffer and suffer and suffer.
These are the wounded spirits of the world. Every day we walk by them, we talk to them – maybe they’re even our friends - and every day while we’re going forward through life looking forward to the next day, they’re going through life wanting nothing but the end.
Maybe you’re a wounded spirit. Maybe you’ve been bloodied and broken and betrayed by everyone around you. Maybe you’ve been crippled, and now you’re limping, hoping for someone to pull you out of the darkness, to guide you into the world in which everyone else seems to be living, the world exempt from the heartache you’ve lived.
Or maybe you just know one.
If the latter is the case, then it’s your responsibility to respond. If you are fortunate enough to be one of those who does not have to live in emotional agony every second that you’re alive, you owe it to those who aren’t so lucky to step in and guide their battered soul to safety. It doesn’t take much, just an offering of friendship or guidance or help.
But I’m not writing this to those who haven’t suffered. I’m writing to those who have. Matthew 11:28-30 says, “Come unto me, all ye that are heavy laden, and I will give you rest – For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” I know that a huge community of people in this area stiffen when anything Biblical is mentioned, particularly due to the religious institutions in this region that have perverted what Christianity is supposed to be.
But Christianity is not what some Bible school or faith preacher tells you it is. Christianity is not preaching one thing from the pulpit while doing another thing from behind a desk. Christianity is love. Christianity is peace. Christianity is refuge and protection from the pain.
But again, I ‘m not writing this to preach religion. I’m here only to say that when you’re a tortured soul, that’s not the way it has to always be. There are people who care out there, who can provide shelter from the rain. They are recovered wounded spirits who know what you’ve been through. And there are those who haven’t ever had to live through the anguish you’ve survived, but they care, and they can help.
So my point in writing this is to ask those tortured beings to find help before help isn’t to be found. Life, though it may not seem like it now, is so worth living. My friend Aaron had a future brighter than the sun, but his angle at it was obliterated by clouds, and he never knew what he was capable of. Don’t let that be you. Find a solace, find refuge. Find hope before it’s too late.
There are many refuges out there. Maybe religion isn’t your thing. Maybe you can’t imagine putting your faith in anyone or anything else because man has betrayed you so much.
But I have to think that there’s something to the One who could take lives so seemingly insignificant and so clearly flawed and make them something great. I have to think that there’s something to the One who says He’ll give you everything you need if you just love Him.
I have to think this. I have to have to some sort of faith, or I will have nothing to live for. I have to think this, or I will be Aaron. I just wish Aaron would have thought this before he died.
Megan Gilligan, To the world's tortured souls: 'Come unto me'. Tulsa World, Friday, January 3, 2003, D-1.
Posted by Dodo David at 08:30 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
The Christian Right and the 10 Commandments
Some members of the Christian Right have been grumbling about the decisions that the U.S. Supreme Court made regarding displays of the Ten Commandments on government property.
Members of the Christian Right are failing to ask an important question regarding such displays: Do such displays have any effect whatsoever on the people who see the displays?
If the displays are ineffective, then the displays are nothing more than form over substance.
People supporting such displays may experience warm, fuzzy feelings upon seeing such displays, but if people want warm, fuzzy feelings, then why not erect displays of Mickey Mouse instead?
The irony is that fighting to have religious displays permitted on government property does nothing to convince people to convert to any particular religion.
During the first two centuries of Christianity's existence, Christian displays were the last things that would have been permitted by the Roman government. Yet, Roman citizens kept converting to the Christian faith. Their conversions were the result of the way that Christians treated others. In short, Christians won coverts by obeying the two commandments that Jesus said were the greatest: Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.
Christians don't need to have the Ten Commandments displayed on government property.
Christians need to have the Two Greatest Commandments displayed in their lives.
The latter display wins converts; the former display doesn't.
Posted by Dodo David at 10:20 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Politics & Religion
It has been said that in polite company there are two subjects that one does not discuss: religion and politics. But there has to be a time and place to talk about both. Now is my time to do so.
What prompted me to write about these subjects was a discovery that I made while browsing through the discussion groups at Yahoo! I discovered that some people were having trouble justifying their political affiliation to their religious groups. It seems that to some people the only way to be a good person of faith is to belong to a particular political party.
I politely disagree with such an idea for one reason. An attempt to create a marriage between religion and politics tends to cause trouble for both, and I believe that the record of world history confirms this. When the Pilgrims boarded the Mayflower, they were fleeing from a place where the King’s religious beliefs had been made a part of civil law. Did the King belong to a pagan faith? No. He was the head of the Church of England, a branch of the universal Church. The Pilgims were also a part of the universal Church.
How does this situation apply today? I have observed members of the Religious Right insist that civil laws adhere to the Bible in the way that the members of the Religious Right interpret the Bible. Were that to happen, then what would happen to Christians who don’t agree with the way that the Religious Right interprets the Bible? What New World would dissenting Christians have to flee to? What place of refuge would await those of us who are a part of the Christian Middle? None that I know of.
When it comes to politics, members of the Religious Right need to relax. God’s sovereign will shall be done regardless of Man’s politics. Besides, when we do stand before our Creator, our political affiliations will be meaningless, because God is an Independent.
Posted by Dodo David at 06:25 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Jonah Goldberg Is a Hero. Are You?
Last week, the New York Times introduced us to the future of public service with an essay by Fatina Abdrabboh. Here is a bit of her brilliant essay:
Suddenly a man, out of breath, but still smiling and friendly, tapped me on my shoulder and said, "Ma'am, here are your keys." It was Al Gore, former vice president of the United States. Mr. Gore had gotten off his machine behind me, picked up my keys, handed them to me and then resumed his workout.
It was nothing more than a kind gesture, but at that moment Mr. Gore's act represented all that I yearned for - acceptance and acknowledgment.
Pat also pointed us to Ankle Biting Pundits where they found she was a professional victim of hajib hatred.
Not to be outdone, Jonah Goldberg wants us to know that he is a hero, just like Al Gore:
...I helped a Muslim woman with her groceries in a supermarket parking lot. She was dealing with her kids and her shopping cart started to roll away from her car with the groceries still inside. As it rolled, I saw a decent society of tolerance and kindness rolling away. The cart’s one wobbly wheel — going chapocketa, chapocketa, chapocketa — was onomatopoetically tapping out a small drumbeat for the forced march to oblivion of all we hold dear.
Thank goodness I was there.
Thank goodness this country produces heroes like me.
I sprang into action. Walking more than a dozen yards without concern about the parking-lot traffic, heedless of the SUVs barreling along at 5 perhaps even 10 MPH — not even caring about what my fellow Americans might make of me giving aid and comfort to a Muslim woman. I knew that this woman’s faith in the American way of life was on the line! And I was going to do what was necessary! I grabbed that shopping cart and I pushed it through all the fear and bigotry this country has smothered that poor woman with. I pushed that shopping cart back to that woman’s minivan not so much so she could more easily unload her Cocoa Puffs, but because I have a dream. I have a dream that one day little Muslim boys and little Jewish boys, little Arab girls and little Scotch-Irish girls will be able to join hands as sisters and brothers and push that great shopping cart we call “America” together — with their one free hand.
I don't use the word "hero" lightly, but I am the greatest hero in American history. Except, maybe, for Al Gore.
We need to build a monument to these heros--Americans helping muslims with their errands and keys. Are you a hero? Let us know! We will document all the heros for Fatina and send her a letter with all your reponses.
I am being completely serious, but you don't have to be. Let us know if you are or know heros like Jonah and Al.
Posted by Aaron at 10:04 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack