Freedom of Religion

The Birth of Jesus Christ – Luke 2:1-20

Comments Off

Dec 242011

The Birth of Jesus
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Luke 2: 1-20 (NIV)

University Policy Defines Religious Discrimination as Oppression by Christians

Comments Off

Feb 162011

University to Change Policy Defining Religious Discrimination as Oppression by Christians
By Todd Starnes

Published February 16, 2011
| FoxNews.com

The University of California at Davis has backed away from a policy that defined religious discrimination as Christians oppressing non-Christians after more than two dozen Christian students filed a formal complaint.

The definition was listed in a document called, “The Principles of Community.” It defined “Religious/Spiritual Discrimination” as “The loss of power and privilege to those who do not practice the dominant culture’s religion. In the United States, this is institutionalized oppressions toward those who are not Christian.”

“This is radical political correctness run amok,” said David French, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund.

The conservative advocacy group wrote a letter on behalf of more than 25 students who objected to the policy and wanted it revised.

He said it’s absurd to single out Christians as oppressors and non-Christians as the only oppressed people on campus.

Raheem Reed, an associate executive vice chancellor at UC-Davis, said he received the letter and removed the definition Wednesday afternoon.

“I certainly can see how a Christian student reading that definition might feel and that’s why it was immediately disabled and taken down,” Reed told Fox News Radio. “This is not how we define religious discrimination.”

However, one student said they complained to administrators last November about the policy and nothing was done. “Christians deserve the same protections against religious discrimination as any other students on a public university campus,” French told Fox News Radio. “The idea that a university would discriminate against Christians is a very old story, unfortunately, and one that we see played out every day.”

One student, who asked not to be identified, said university officials asked her to reaffirm “The Principles of Community” last semester. She refused to do so when she realized that Christians were not protected under the policy.

“To have a non-discrimination policy that excludes the Christian faith is a cause for action,” she said. “In higher academia, one would hope that a diversity of ideas and beliefs would be appreciated. But my experience has been that this has not always been the case. There is a real fear of academic bias against the Christian faith.”

Reed said he regrets that Christian students might feel intimidated. “We want everyone to feel safe, welcomed and supportive,” he said.

“Not only are we taking it down, but now we’re going to look at what kind of affirmative steps we can take to reassure those members of our campus community who may have felt somewhat threatened or intimidated by it.”

French said all of the students who complained are fearful of backlash if their identities became known. “This was amazing to actually enshrine in your non-discrimination statement – discrimination against Christians,” he said.

“This is a symbol of the seeming impunity in which universities violate the law to establish a radical, secular-left agenda.” Alan Brownstein, a law professor at UC-Davis, said the campus has a generally open and tolerant view of religion.

“It’s a university campus,” he said. “There is robust debate and people will disagree on just about everything.” Brownstein, who is a nationally known constitutional scholar, said any legal challenges to the policy would depend on whether or not it’s a binding document.

“Clearly, if you had an enforceable regulatory policy that said, ‘we will discipline Christians who oppress non-Christians, but we will not impose the same kind of disciplinary sanctions on non-Christians who engage in the same kind of harassing behavior against Christians,’ that would be unacceptable and subject to legal challenge.”

Reed said “The Principles of Community” is not a policy. “They are, in fact, aspirational principles we have – to try to make sure we are promoting diversity and trying to build a more inclusive campus community,” he said.

Regardless, Brownstein said it might have been more appropriate to use less-specific language in the policy. “It’s always preferable to be as general as you can when you describe these kinds of unacceptable behaviors,” he said.

Why did Liberal ‘Christians’ attack Tea Party Christians?

1 Response »

Sep 262010

.
I have heard that the Obama Administration has recently back-tracked on the plan to label Conservative Christians as “non” Christians….but that doesn’t make what’s already been said go away. Misconceptions and, well, slander should still be addressed.

So…in the statements below, Mr. Jim Wallis appears to be judgemental, angry, intolerant, and impatient with fellow Christians …and doesn’t appear to even like Americans of light skin tone. But this is who our President asks to speak into the Spiritual lives of Americans… so he must have a warm heart and ability to love his brothers and sisters in the Lord, even if they disagree with him.

As Christians, would Jim Wallis and David Gushee be willing to sit down and just listen to a few of their conservative Brothers & Sisters in Christ – just sit down, with love, patience, respect and tolerance, and listen, with a heart open to understanding and without trying to correct or instruct? Just as they would with Wallis’ friend, the Imam in charge of the planned Mosque near Ground Zero?

World News Daily: ‘Christians’ set to attack tea partiers
Author warns of next assault after failed attempt to define group as racist

“With recent attempts to portray tea-party members as racist backfiring, a renewed attack is being launched, warns the author of “The Tea Party Manifesto,” and this one is from progressive Christians who claim the movement lacks Christlike charity.

“Just as the racism accusation from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People proved groundless before it deteriorated into an embarrassing public-relations disaster that encompassed the White House, says Joseph Farah, author of the “Manifesto,” no one should accept the latest salvo as gospel either. Federal welfare programs are “coercively taking money from people and redistributing to other people, which, at the end of the day, is legalized stealing,” Religion News Service recently quoted Farah as saying. “And the Bible is pretty firm on stealing. … When Jesus talks about clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, he’s talking to us as individuals. [The Bible doesn't] suggest that government is the institution that he designed to help the poor.”

Progressive Christians with ties to the Obama administration – whose policies of government expansion over private-sector industries gave rise, in part, to the tea-party groups – characterized the movement as unbiblical.

“I think that the general ideology of the tea party is not a Christian one,” said David Gushee, co-founder of the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good. “This kind of small-government libertarianism, small-taxes, leave-me-alone-to-live-my-life ideology has more in common with Ayn Rand than it does with the Bible.”

In one of his regular columns on the Huffington Post, Gushee wrote,

“I believe that extending health-care access to every American was always the right goal and reflects the moral commitments of the Christian faith.”

Gushee’s biography boasts of being “contacted by candidate Barack Obama and remain(ing) in conversation with the religious-affairs office of the Obama administration.”

The Rev. Jim Wallis, founder of the Washington-based social-justice group Sojourners and a key member of Obama’s faith council, is “even blunter in his assessment of the tea party’s approach to giving,” reports Religion News Service.

“The libertarian enshrinement of individual choice is not the pre-eminent Christian virtue,” he wrote on his blog, God’s Politics. “Emphasizing individual rights at the expense of others violates the common good, a central Christian teaching and tradition.”

How “Christian virtue” and “the common good” jibe with Wallis’ own documented radical associations and stances, including support of violent extremists, oppressive regimes and anti-American sentiment, warrants examination, critics say.

While the Associated Press described him as a “politically progressive evangelical,” Wallis reportedly served as Michigan leader of the Students for a Democratic Society – out of which Bill Ayers’ domestic-terrorist group the Weather Underground sprouted.

Wallis’ magazine Sojourners, reports WND, “actively lobbied for communist regimes that seized power in Latin America in the late 1970s.” His 1976 book “Agenda of Biblical People” called America “the great power, the great seducer, the great captor and destroyer of human life, the great master of humanity and history in its totalitarian claims and designs.”

Wallis got involved early in the racism offensive against the tea party.

“There is something wrong with a political movement like the Tea Party which is almost all white,” he blogged May 27. “Does that mean every member of the tea party is racist? Likely not. But is an undercurrent of white resentment part of the tea party ethos, and would there even be a tea party if the president of the United States weren’t the first black man to occupy that office?”

Farah, who wrote a book as far back as 2003 predicting the circumstances that would foster the tea-party movement, advises resisting attempts to narrow its scope to tax reform and fiscal issues. Subtitled “A Vision for an American Rebirth,” Farah’s “The Tea Party Manifesto” argues for following the Framers’ example in defining the movement’s spiritual core.

With “phase two in the coordinate strike against the tea-party movement attempting to co-opt the language of faith,” Farah warns, “realizing its spiritual moorings is essential not only to the success, but the actual survival, of the movement – and the future of America’s liberty.”

U.S. Atheists Reportedly Using Hair Dryers to ‘De-Baptize’

1 Response »

Aug 042010

.
U.S. Atheists Reportedly Using Hair Dryers to ‘De-Baptize’
Published July 17, 2010 | NewsCore

According to Nightline, the leader wore a monk’s robe and said a few mock-Latin phrases before inviting participants to “come forward now and receive the spirit of hot air that taketh away the stigma and taketh away the remnants of the stain of baptismal water.”

Then he “blasted his fellow non-believers with the hair dryer to symbolically dry up the holy water sprinkled on their heads in days past. The styling tool was emblazoned with a label reading “Reason and Truth.”

The leader told Nightline that he believes parents are wrong to baptize their children before they are able to make their own choices, and slammed some religious education as “child abuse.” He said the blast of hot air was a way for adults to undo what their parents had done.

A 24-year-old said, “I was baptized Catholic. I don’t remember any of it at all,” said “According to my mother, I screamed like a banshee … so you can see that even as a young child I didn’t want to be baptized. It’s not fair. I was born atheist, and they were forcing me to become Catholic.”

Ironically, the leaders own son became a fundamentalist Christian minister after having “a personal revelation in Jesus Christ.”

“One wonders where they went wrong,” he chuckled to Nightline.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/07/17/atheists-reportedly-using-hair-dryers-baptize/?test=latestnews

—————————————————–

Wow. That brings up some interesting questions!

- Does baptizing a child in the Catholic church force them to be Catholic as adults?
- I gave birth to some kids in Montana: Did I abusivley force them to be Montanans?
- I gave most of the kids dance lessons; Did I force the girls to be Ballerinas? What about the boys?
- Should there be a limit to what a parent can introduce to a child or educate a child in, in case they won’t like it when they grow up?
- Or is it okay for a parent to offer academic and creative opportunities, just so long as nothing spiritual is involved?
- What about the child that might say later…’Mom, now that I am an adult, you are telling me that you knew about ‘Jesus Christ’…and that you experienced all kinds of answers to prayer from the Holy Spirit during the time I was growing up…but you never told me about it? You watched me struggle through my teen years, yet never once showed Me how to pray? Why?’

Hopefully the participants didn’t pay their snake-oil leader anything for the “De-baptism.” After all, going through a ritual ”de-baptizing” and making the kinds of statements these people made… are they even truly atheists?

1) “He said the blast of hot air was a way for adults to undo what their parents had done.”
- Excuse me, but what did the parents do? If there is no God, how was their Baptism any different from washing their child’s hair? What is he “undoing?” Wouldn’t one have to believe in something Spiritual in order to “undo” what was done?

2) “I was born atheist, and they were forcing me to become Catholic.”
- Are some people born atheist, and others not? Why? How does one know if they were born atheist?

Or….is everyone born with an innate understanding that God exists? …Or….

- If he really WAS born atheist…AND from the time of conception never had any kind of spiritual connection, how did he have a ‘sense’ that he didn’t want to have the baptism done?

3) The 24-yr-old, still wet behind the ears, said, “According to my mother, I screamed like a banshee … so you can see that even as a young child I didn’t want to be baptized.”
a) – As a very young child, did he know he was getting ‘baptized’ and that it carried a religious connotation? If he was too young to ‘know’, how did he ‘sense’ that this was something spiritual that he didn’t want done?
b) – Ok, if it wasn’t a spiritual sense…maybe he just didn’t like getting wet. My 4-yr-old grandson still screams like a banshee when his hair is washed. Does the fact he doesn’t want it washed mean he has a right to not have it done? Is his mother abusing him by forcing him to have clean hair?
c) OR – did he have a spiritual sense, but didn’t want to accept the Spirit of God as his authority. Instead, what he is saying is that even as a baby, he wanted to choose another spiritual leadership. In which case, he’s still not an atheist, because even satan believes in God.

Methinks they protest too much. Obviously, the very fact that they are doing this “ritual” and making the statements they made testifies to the fact that they do believe in the supernatural.

Follow up Questions…
.

a) When is someone old enough to honestly believe in God? Is there a set age, or does it depend on the person?

b) What do we believe, then, about children that die in infancy?

An Open Letter from the Afghan Christian Community to the Body of Christ Worldwide

Comments Off

Jun 302010

The letter was written on June 8, 2010 by Afghan Christians “who are currently living in exile from their beloved homeland because they were forced to flee their country in order to save their lives and the lives of their families, due to orders of execution issued against them by the Afghan government for choosing to convert to Christianity.”

The full text of the letter follows.

“To the Body of Christ:

“This letter is written by the Afghan Christian Community in India which is a small community of 150 Afghan Christian refugees and asylum seekers.

“We left our country because we were sentenced to death on the account of our Christian faith (conversion), as Afghanistan is a Muslim Country, the Afghan Government is an Islamic government, and Islam is the only formal religion of the country, and according to the Constitutional law of the Afghan Islamic Republic, conversion is considered as a big crime, Christian are called pagans and infidels and are sentenced to death by the Afghan Government. Christians are considered criminals. Death penalty is waiting for all those who want to leave the darkness and come to the true light, repent from their sins, and put their faith on the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Lord and Savior of all human being.

“We believe that you (the Body of Christ) have already heard that some pictures and movies of the Afghan believers (from Delhi and Kabul) were shown by an Afghan Private TV (Noorin TV), this TV channel showed these picture in a especial program (Sarzameen Man), and the Government and people were encouraged and provoked to think about the issue of conversion, to make a stand against it and to take serious and practical measures and actions to destroy Afghan Converted Christians (Sons of God) and those who share the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Lost.

“The Afghan Parliament, Senate, Religious Council and Islamic Parties and leaders made statements that the Afghan Government has to search, find, arrest, deliver to courts and executes all Afghan Christians, and the Christian NGOs and Organization have to be stopped too. University students protested against Afghan Christians in Kabul and Herat Provinces, and the Afghan Government also made a statement that all Afghan Christians will be arrested and executed, and the Christian NGOs and Organizations which involved with the issues of conversion will be closed.

“Mr. Mujajdi, the Chairman Of Afghan Senate, said that if the Afghan Government does not take serious action, he and other Islamic leaders will call and request the Afghan people to take practical measures to kill all Afghan Christians. President Karzai himself showed his personal interest in this regard and said that all Afghan Christians will be arrested and executed and Christian organizations which are involved with this issue will be stopped. He ordered the Afghan security organs to take serious measures in this regard. The Afghan Home Minister and the Chairman of the Afghan Intelligence told the Afghan Parliament that 4 Afghan Christian individuals and one family have been arrested and they are under investigation, 13 NGOs have been named and suspended, the names of Afghan Christians have been listed, and the Afghan Intelligence agency is trying to arrest them. Two Church organizations have been closed. As we are in contact with our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan, many believers are arrested, our houses are checked by police and intelligence people in Afghanistan, our families and parents (though they are Muslim) are under investigation and even arrested, and all Afghan believers are misplaced.”

The letter-writers,

“(Afghan Christian Community) along with our other Afghan Christian brothers and sisters who are in Afghanistan” request you to:

“Pray for us and for this critical situation, pray for those who are arrested, and those who are under investigation. Please come together and help your Afghan brothers and sisters in Christ, as we are sentenced to death, we are arrested, we are under investigation, the Afghan Government kills us because we believe on Jesus Christ, we know that we should consider it pure joy when we suffer (James 1: 1 -4), and we are enjoying all suffering all joy. But we also know that faith without deeds is useless (James 2: 14 – 17), and this is the time to raise your voice for your brothers and sisters, for our children, for our old parents, for the execution of thousand Afghan believers. “This is the day that all of us should come together and pray, think, help and raise our voices to the International Community, to put pressure on the Afghan Government to stop killing, persecuting and executing Afghan Christians, to give us freedom of religion, to respect and accept us as Afghan Christians.

“We do not know how the whole world and especially the Global Church is silent and closing their eyes, while thousand of their brothers and sisters (Body of Christ) are in pain, facing life danger and death penalty, and are tortured, persecuted and called criminals because they believe in the Truth.

“We need to wake up, get up and speak up today, and to prove it that we are really in concern, and care for our brothers and sisters in Christ, we should help the persecuted part of the body of Christ, for His Glory. If we really believe that Lord Jesus Christ is God, then, He commands us to love Him and to love our neighbor, if our own brothers and sisters, are in pain and suffering, and we are silent and we ignore them and their suffering, then the question is that do we really obey Lord Jesus’ commandment to love Him and our neighbor?”

The letter concludes:

“So, dear brothers and sister (the Body of Christ), we (Afghan Christian Community in New Delhi) on behalf of all Afghan Christians request you to support us by your prayers and practical measures, let us tell the Afghan Government that we are not pagans and infidels, we are not criminals because of our Christian faith, and let us tell them not to sentence us to death.”

Recent Anti-Christian Outcry Highlights ‘Institutionalized Danger’ To Converts In Afghanistan

CSW, a UK-based human rights organization which specializes in religious freedom, working on behalf of those persecuted for their Christian beliefs and promotes religious liberty for all, has expressed its concern at the situation Afghan believers are facing.

In a media release, CSW says it is “gravely concerned that the ongoing rise in threats to the lives of Christians in Afghanistan is evidence of the ‘institutionalized danger’ to converts.

“Recent weeks have seen calls from high-level leaders within the country for the immediate arrest and execution of converts to Christianity. According to sources in the region, over twenty Afghan Christians had been arrested as of last week. Non-Christians known to be associated with Westerners are also being targeted for interrogation.”

CSW says the current situation was triggered in late May when a private television station aired photos of Afghans being baptized. Since that time, protest groups in four provinces have called for the execution of apostates, President Karzai has ordered a full investigation into the matter, two Christian humanitarian aid organizations (NGOs) are under scrutiny.

CSW explained:

“Afghanistan is one of ten Muslim-majority countries officially declared as Islamic nations. In matters with which the Afghan Constitution does not deal explicitly, Islamic Shari’a Law applies. This includes the question of apostasy, for which the death sentence is prescribed. Afghanistan has however ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which protects the individual’s ‘freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice.’”

CSW’s Chief Executive, Mervyn Thomas, said:

“Christian converts in Afghanistan have long faced extreme obstacles and threats but recent events have brought to light the institutionalised nature of the danger. Groups continue to flee the country and an urgent plea for help from Afghan Christians in Delhi has been circulated among Christians around the world. We call upon the international political community to act for the security of Afghan Christians and to urge the Government of Afghanistan to adhere to their obligations under international law.”

Crisis in Afghanistan Prompts Evangelical Response

The Religious Liberty Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA RLC) is also deeply disturbed over the recent developments in Afghanistan, calling for the death of converts from Islam to other religions.

The group says the anti-Christian reaction followed the airing of a controversial television documentary on May 27, 2010, on ‘Afghan Christian Converts’ by a local television station in Afghanistan wherein they revealed the identities of a some supposed Afghan Christian converts.

In a media release, WEA RLC says it is also

“deeply troubled by the statements made by Afghanistan Officials including the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan H.E. Hamid Karzai. It is reported that the President has instructed government officials and the Afghan intelligence agency to take immediate and serious action to prevent further conversions from Islam.”

WEA RLC says the events of the past few weeks where Afghan Officials suspended two church based aid organizations on alleged charges of proselytizing and the crack down on converts from Islam are “further disturbing developments which signify a non tolerant attitude toward religious freedom.”

An Afghan Christian leader who fled to safety, in an appeal to the WEA RLC, stated: “We do not know how the whole world and especially the Global Church is silent and closing their eyes while thousands of their brothers and sisters (Body of Christ) are in pain, facing danger to their lives, death, torture, persecuted and called criminals.”

WEA RLC calls on the worldwide church to pray for Afghanistan that there will be respect for the freedom of religion and that the government of Afghanistan will take a all necessary action to safeguard the lives and the rights of all Afghans and expatriates working in Afghanistan.

“It is a cause of serious concern that the mere accusation of converting from Islam has resulted in such strong and violent reactions by the Afghan authorities and the public. While we recognize the challenges faced by the Afghan government in rebuilding and restoring peace in Afghanistan after decades of war and division, we urge the Afghan government to take urgent and immediate action to protect the lives of all Afghans,” said Godfrey Yogarajah, Executive Director of the WEA RLC.

World Evangelical Alliance is made up of 128 national evangelical alliances located in 7 regions and 104 associate member organizations. The vision of WEA is to extend the Kingdom of God by making disciples of all nations and by Christ-centered transformation within society. WEA exists to foster Christian unity, to provide an identity, voice and platform for the 420 million evangelical Christians worldwide.

_______________________________________________

For further information from Christian Solidarity Worldwide or to arrange interviews please contact Kiri Kankhwende, Press Officer at Christian Solidarity Worldwide on +44 020 8329 0045, email kiri@csw.org.uk or visit www.csw.org.uk.

World Evangelical Alliance Contacts:
Godfrey Yogarajah, Executive Director – Religious Liberty Commission; wearlc@sltnet.lk
Sylvia Soon, Chief of Staff – WEA; sylvia@worldevangelicals.org
Reprinted from Assist News Stories

Yes, Virginia, there is a Jesus! Blackwell’s Commentary on Police Praying in Jesus’ Name

Comments Off

May 212010

.
No one could have said this Better. Includes awesome history tidbits.
- Article in full….

World Magazine - Ken Blackwell, April 30, 2010

Virginia’s Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell is catching flak from the ACLU because it does not like the fact that he has lifted the ban on police chaplains praying in Jesus’ name. Virginia’s former Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine had issued the ruling in 2008, and the ACLU gang charges that McDonnell is giving in to conservatives and Christians in revoking the Jesus ban.

Well, maybe another former Virginia governor influenced McDonnell—Thomas Jefferson. The author of Virginia’s famed Statute for Religious Freedom, Jefferson never tried to suppress Virginians’ or Americans’ free exercise of religion. In fact, as president in 1802, Jefferson invited Elder John Leland to preach a sermon in the U.S. House of Representatives. Leland, a Baptist lay preacher, surely mentioned Jesus. In that assembly sat Secretary of State James Madison, Jefferson’s close friend and collaborator and the author of the First Amendment. I suspect Jefferson and Madison knew more about the Constitution than the ACLU does.

Of course, the ACLU thinks child pornography is constitutionally protected. We’d rather see children constitutionally protected—from people like the ACLU.

The ACLU is in reality an “Anti-Christian Litigation Unit.” Its Virginia leader, Kent Willis, said the governor’s job is to protect “religious freedom for all.” Indeed, it is. But to deny Christians the right to pray in the name of Jesus is to disfavor them over others. No one says that a Jewish chaplain cannot mention the Torah. Muslim chaplains certainly cite the Koran.

Christians believe that Jesus is the Word made Flesh. To deny them the right to mention His name uniquely disfavors Christians. That invidious discrimination is what McDonnell rightly revoked.

McDonnell’s lifting of the ban on Jesus comes at the same time that the U.S. Supreme Court refused to go along with atheizers who wanted to tear down the cross in the Mojave Desert, which was erected to memorialize World War I soldiers.

U.S. soldiers who fought in World War II are remembered at the American Cemetery in Normandy, France. That beautiful memorial park was seen on television worldwide when Presidents Reagan, Clinton, and Obama went there to observe various D-Day anniversaries. What strikes the visitor to this cemetery is the acres and acres of quiet, dignified white crosses. Every few yards you see a white Star of David as well. No one protested. No one complained. Americans felt humbled and honored to have such a moving tribute to the young men who gave up their lives so that we might live in freedom.

The American Cemetery is, after all, U.S. sovereign territory. It was deeded to our country in perpetuity by a grateful French people. President Reagan often said the only territory the United States gained from World War II was the verdant acres in which we buried our dead.

McDonnell’s bold actions follow in the footsteps of another great Virginian—George Washington. As president, Washington told the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, R.I.:

“[H]appily, the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that those who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support. . . . May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants—while everyone shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid.”

Where did President Washington get that wonderful phrase—”the stock of Abraham”—and that beautiful sentiment about the vine and fig tree? They come from the Bible, of course, the same Bible the ACLU regularly attacks whenever it is publicly quoted.

The ACLU’s attacks on Christianity would bulldoze all those Normandy crosses, all those Stars of David. Too often this radical outfit—whose court costs for their anti-Christian intifada are often reimbursed by the federal government—relies on intimidation and bluster to get its way. That’s why we should applaud Gov. Bob McDonnell for defending Virginia values, for upholding the religious and civil rights of all, and especially for standing up to these courtroom bullies.

http://online.worldmag.com/2010/04/30/yes-virginia-there-is-a-jesus/
.

Diocese turns its back on Christ to keep schools open

Comments Off

May 072010

.
In an effort reminiscent of ancient Israelites who took up the traditions and icons of their neighbors every time they were afraid God wouldn’t or couldn’t help them with their troubles, New York and Washington DC Catholic dioceses have given up their right and duty to train up children in the way they should be – in return for public funding. DC Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl, converted seven of the District’s 28 Catholic schools into secular charter schools in 2008. Now, a Catholic archdiocese in Indiana plans to change its parochial schools into public charter schools this next year.

In order to do this, the diocese must agree not to teach the kids anything at all about God, and remove every decoration or figure that is associated with Christianity. In Indiana, this includes removing large limestone crosses that are part of the outside wall of the buildings.

Now, I’m not big on statues and icons. However, I am even less big on turning ones back on what one believes for the sake of a monetary goal.

I understand from reports that the Diocese believes this is necessary in order that the schools stay open in needy communities. In other words, the Diocese has decided that a neighborhood academic experience is more important to the well-being of these children and communities than knowledge of Jesus Christ. Does this Diocese not believe in the full teaching of the Gospel? If not, perhaps they are correct that they as a team should not be teaching it.

This isn’t about Catholic bashing. This is about one group of Christian leaders making a very wrong decision. I was raised in Catholic schools. My aunt, a Franciscan Nun, taught in a Catholic high school most of her life. We, as Christians, have been instructed to teach children the Good News. Catholic schools, I had thought, were founded with the express purpose of doing just that.

I can’t believe any truly believing Christian would agree to take a prayerful school and turn it secular for the purpose of collecting government money.

“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6

“Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 6:7

“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:4

In the first place, the ‘government’ can’t afford to be funding everything. Its going bankrupt, remember? As citizens, we need to be finding creative ways to make ends meet without depending on the government.

Secondly, there are wonderfully creative ways to teach children with little money. Ask any homeschooling mother. I also remember my mom telling me the story of her first year at a newly built Catholic school in the 1940′s. The classrooms hadn’t been completed yet, so they gathered in the cafeteria and separated the classes by hanging blankets. She remembered that year fondly.

In other words, get over the idea that everything that you think is needed is really needed.

But thirdly, and most importantly, God does tremendous things through prayer. Have none of these people ever heard of George Mueller? For those that don’t know, he fed hundreds of orphans through the years totally through faith and prayer. Some of the ways the Lord answered and provided were truly miraculous. There are many other examples of brave prayer warriors through out history. What Mother Theresa was able to do through faith and determination was amazing. Leaving God out of her ministry was not an option.

Haven’t any of these people read the Bible? Don’t think prayer can do the job? Believers know that God answers prayer. Sure, sometimes the answer is “no.” But if it is, then praise God for putting a hold on something that might not have been the best idea in the first place. He sees things that we don’t and has the ultimate wisdom as to how to accomplish needed goals - including the best way to teach children. But other times, when we are headed in the right direction, the answer is a miraculously yes.

Our family has had several experiences. Fifteen years ago, while my husband was driving across country, I waited at home and prayed. He was on his way to pick up four of his relatives’ children that were suddenly and unexpectedly in need a home. I prayed about how we would feed them when we could barely feed ourselves. But it was an emergency and my husband knew he had no other choice but to jump in the car and go. The next day, straight out of a George Mueller play book, a friend, unaware my husband had left to pick up children, showed up with a car full of supplies, including a summer’s worth of blue diapers. I didn’t have a small boy in my home that needed them…but my husband would be bringing an 18-month old boy home in a couple days. They were just the right size.

Apparently, a grocery store Semi had overturned at the corner in front of our friends house. The driver had told him to go ahead and gather the products strewn all over highway.

That event has always amazed me and I love to tell the story. Did I mention that the diapers were even blue, not pink? (this was during that brief period that they were selling them that way) Amazing - God having fun with even the smallest details.

Five years later, we were praying that if the Lord wanted our family to help at a Children’s home in Juarez, Mexico, he would provide a comfortable way for my husband, who was dying of bone cancer, to travel. That little boy with the blue diapers, now six, prayed that the Lord would give us an RV. After the prayer, I gently told him that we could pray for help, but it’s not right to ask for things so bluntly. A week later, a woman called and asked if she could give us a huge, 10 bunk RV. Needless to say, we went on that Children’s home in Mexico.

Others might doubt God’s providence, but those experiences, as well as a few others, spoke quite loudly to me.

That isn’t to say that I’ve never forgotten, gotten scared, and gone ahead without prayer – making a bad decision that I later regretted. But…at the very least, I would be terrified to take a step such as the one these dioceses are making – To decide government funding is a priority over teaching Jesus Christ to the children. I would be terrified as to the consequences that the leadership is bringing on themselves.

Even the thought of taking such a step is stomach turning. I pray that the Indiana diocese prayerfully rethinks turning its back on the spiritual needs these children have. One would hope that the faithful of the church in Indianapolis will not follow in the ways of New York and DC, but would instead pray for God’s providence, leaning on the Lord rather than turning their back on Jesus and depending on the government.
.

Rifqa Bary – Honor Your Parents; the 1st Commandment with a Promise

Comments Off

Jan 312010

.
It is reported that the “agreement between Rifqa Bary and her parents to settle their conflict through counseling has ended without a single meeting between the parents and their daughter” and that the parents are “withdrawing their consent to resolve the case.”

On Jan. 19, the parents had agreed that Rifqa should stay in foster care and that they would all go to counseling together rather than go through a dependency trial.

However, the motion filed Friday in Franklin County Juvenile Court states; “The parents now believe the entire deal should be thrown out because of misrepresentation and fraudulent inducement.” Apparently, despite their request, Rifqa, with the help of her attorney, had contacted the Pastor that had helped her run away.

Ok. I know how most everyone feels. But can I say just a couple things?

We can all make assumptions about the motivations of the Bary’s until the cows come home. But I don’t know them, and neither do most of you. Yes, it’s true that they are Muslims. Yes, it’s true that Sharia law is a very real danger. Yes, it’s true that the Bary’s have accepted help from CAIR and CAIR is a radical org tied to terrorism. But does that mean the Bary’s would be willing to murder their daughter? None of us really know.

I am a conservative, evangelical Christian. I can understand Rifqa, but I can also commiserate with the Bary’s. I have raised nine kids, and I, too, once had a 17-year-old runaway. She has since returned, lives nearby, and comes over almost every day, but I too, had to deal with other “Christian” families interfering – at a time when what I really needed was their support. They honestly thought they were helping her, but truthfully, they had no idea what was going on. They knew only the surface of my daughter – who had gone through four years with her father dying of cancer. We lost him when she was 16. Suffice it to say, these “well-meaning” people, in taking their ill-thought stance against the only parent she had left, did not help matters at all.

So, you say, “err on the side of safety for Rifqa.” Fine. But there are a couple of points I would like to make. They have to do with being Christian – meaning, Rifqa, being who she says she is. Those who aren’t Christian might not understand what I am trying to say. But those who are Christians know the following to be true. Being a Christian involves a heart for the lost and a desire to pursue God’s purposes. It’s not all about us.

Even if Rifqa never goes back to live with her parents, she, as a Christian, needs to honor them. She needs to treat them with love and respect. That’s just a fact. By not communicating with them, but instead, communicating with the people in Florida, even calling the man down there “Dad,” she is tremendously hurting her father and she knows it. That’s not Christ-like, and I am appalled that the family in Florida is allowing it. (Although their church now seems be trying to honor the parents and court.)

But even further – and here is where it gets tricky – Rifqa has the potential to be the “Esther” in her family. Up until now, she has not fulfilled the opportunity God has given her to be a light to her parents – showing them the way out of Islam. I pray that the members of her Ohio church are counseling her Christian walk, acutely aware of her need to be a Godly witness to her family. Being a Christian isn’t all about getting what we want. In fact, it can be quite the opposite. Remember Jonah? We are to lay aside our own wants and take up the cross for others. There are verses I could quote, such as John 15:13 – but non-Christians might get their knickers all in a knot if I do.

As Christians, we are all called to bigger things. I pray we can all be brave enough to step up to the plate when God’s call becomes clear.

I’m not saying that I know what God is calling Rifqa to. Although David honored Saul, and Daniel braved the Lion’s Den, maybe God has called Rifqa to something else, shaking the dust from her sandal. God only knows what He has called Rifqa to. I don’t know – I am just afraid that in all the cacophony of voices, and apparently not-so-good Christian counsel, she might not know, either. I pray that whatever He is asking of her, it becomes clear and she is willing.

And I’m not saying that taking up one’s cross is easy, if that is what is called for. I’m not saying that I wouldn’t want to run and hide if I were faced with what Rifqa is facing. All I am saying is; too often, we here in America forget what our faith is really all about.

I pray that God reveals to me exactly what He would have ME do, and I have the temerity and Grace to do it. Have you ever read “Safely Home” by Randy Alcorn? Wow. That’s a book that turns everything around. I highly recommend it.
.

Older Entries

Christ's Internet.com – News & Resource Portal