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There is another! (Reply to this comment)
by katynjames
I was hoping I wasn't the only Christian out there with these views!
Thank you for taking a stand on this. It is so sad and ironic that many of the people we are taking a stand against are the very people with whom our own beliefs are aligned. But then, that is the point, isn't it? So many Christians are out to persecute anyone and everyone who does not share their beliefs. Was Jesus' purpose in coming to this insignificant little planet to change the political views and laws of the Pharisees? Did He spend His precious time here debating why we should all believe or be spiritually "put to death?" Not at all. His was a mission of peace. He made plenty of politically risqué statements, sure, but He wasn't out to change the world in the sense that Christians today are. He didn't force His truths down anyone's throat. He kindly, gently persuaded. He taught informed people of who God is. THAT was what He was doing that was worth His coming to earth for. Without it, He might as well have just come as a full grown man and been crucified as quickly as He had arrived. But He didn't because He came to show us how to live.
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Jan 12 '06
5:55 am PST
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Re: Something to consider (Reply to this comment)
by AinsleyJo
Don't feel odd, because it's really none of my business whether you say "One nation under God" or "One nation under gods."
Unless you're being noisy with it--such as hollering it out or running it through a bullhorn (something that those who say it traditionally shouldn't be doing, either, because that would be rude and disruptive)--I should be focusing on my own saying of the pledge and not policing what comes out of your mouth!
Peace!
AJ :o)
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Feb 24 '05
12:12 pm PST
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Re: Re: Re: excellent epinion (Reply to this comment)
by AinsleyJo
Thanks! I noticed that you'd included this!
We definitely need to make some serious changes in our criminal justice system...but that's another story altogether!
Hugs!
AJ :o)
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Feb 24 '05
12:04 pm PST
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Something to consider (Reply to this comment)
by mumun
Separation of church and state, as a principle, is not only there to protect against the creation of a state religion, but also from a more subtle endorsement of Judeo-Christian religion. Something happens socially when we are at a public, government-sponsored event, and we get the message that "while we're a diverse country, monotheism is normal." For someone who does not subscribe to a monotheist (One God) religion, there is a very clear message here. This person has the option of playing along (saying "under God" for instance) or NOT playing along, but then they are the odd one out.
The church/state principle suggests that in a government facility, it is not appropriate to put anyone in the position of feeling weird because they don't believe in One God, or the Christian God, or the Jewish God.
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Feb 23 '05
12:24 pm PST
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Re: Re: excellent epinion (Reply to this comment)
by bobbo428
I enjoyed your quote
But I've seen the death penalty being carried out more frequently during election years in several cases, so the executions might be carried out in hopes of being rewarded with Votes!
And it isn't the scum of the earth that always gets executed.
It made my weekly top 100 list in October and is currently #12.
Good job, as always!
Bobbo
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Jan 11 '05
11:19 am PST
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Re: excellent epinion (Reply to this comment)
by AinsleyJo
Witch-burnings were another prime example of things done in the name of God--and what they were really doing was burning people with afflictions such as epilepsy and people who were eccentric, unattractive, and/or people the ones in control got mad at/jealous of for some reason.
And, even if some of these people actually WERE witches (i.e. practicing what is now called Wicca or a similar pagan religion), it was evil to give them the death penalty for differing beliefs.
We Christian claim to be a cut above other religions, so we'd better start acting like it and not doing what we condemn in people of other religions.
Think of the letter V.
Supposedly, those people who ran planes into different places thought that they would be rewarded with Virgins to have their way with.
But I've seen the death penalty being carried out more frequently during election years in several cases, so the executions might be carried out in hopes of being rewarded with Votes!
And it isn't the scum of the earth that always gets executed.
Not only are there people getting executed who were once the scum of the earth but who have become new creations but there are also people being legally murdered whose "guilt" was "proven" via "circumstantial evidence."
Six prime examples coming to mind are:
Bruno Hauptman
Julius Rosenberg
Ethel Rosenberg
Barbara Graham
(first name's slipped my mind) Coleman
And some guy down in Florida whose execution (in chair) was so botched up that his face was about burnt off!
And there have been scores of people who have been on various death rows and later proven to be not guilty--at least one or two of those coming within minutes of being executed!
There has even been an itty bitty kid who was legally-murdered in the South during an election year for a double rape and murder that he was too puny to have committed even if he'd wanted to--this happening back in the 1920s.
I think that he was 13 or 14 years old at the time they killed him and was a half-pint kid who could have passed for a nine-year-old.
He looked even tinier in that big chair, and the straps and hood were way too loose for him.
The guard who had been watching him had often heard him in his cell praying and crying. A lot of what he said the most was, "I want my Mommy!"
The voltage knocked the hood right off of him, and it showed his face--a little boy with tears streaming down his cheeks, and his last words might have very well been, "I want my Mommy!"
Exercise guru, Jack LaLaine, used to have a show on TV, and, at the end of it, he usually had some sort of wise saying to say in closing.
One such saying was, "Before we start sweeping everybody else's sidewalk, start with our own!" or something like that.
America needs to take a good hard look at itself!
And certain types of Christians need to take a long, hard look at themselves!
I admire Pope John Paul II for taking courageous measures that are truly Christian!
Blessings!
AJ :o)
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Sep 13 '04
8:23 pm PDT
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excellent epinion (Reply to this comment)
by bobbo428
AJ,
As always, this was a very well-written epinion that hit the proverbial bull's eye. I am a strong believer in freedom of religion--any attempt to establish a theocracy in this country would be truly un-American.
My own religion (Roman Catholicism) has, unfortunately, perpetrated some unsavory acts, most notably the Inquisition. It has also been behind some of the coercive colonizing tactics inflicted on Native Americans in the 1500s. Fortunately, the Pope has tried to issue apologies for past misdeeds.
I feel uncomfortable when religion is used to promote any discriminatory agenda (as in various denominations in the South) and the current anti-gay rhetoric.
People like Randall Terry would probably try to do all they can to make America a fundamentalist fascist state, much like that of the 1990 movie The Handmaid's Tale, set in 2010.
America must remain a free, religiously diverse nation--it is part of what makes us a great country.
Bobbo "Sid" Ruane
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Sep 13 '04
1:07 pm PDT
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