Religion / Government

The founding fathers composed the Constitution and shortly afterward discovered it did not adequately guaranty civil liberties. In 1791 they added the Bill of Rights, and the very first declaration was that government should not establish a national religion nor should it prefer one religion over another. There were two purposes. (1) To protect religion from governmental intrusion, and (2) to protect the government from the intrusion of religion.

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The rule was bent slightly when the government granted a tax exemption for churches and church properties. They did it to promote the community churches for the common good. A vocal minority is now making this tax exemption an issue.

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Churches, Synagogues and Temples each promote their concept of theology and teach their religious traditions. Most of them also draw people together and provide a sense of community, fellowship, compassion and scholarship to their members.

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Early Americans were strongly influenced by Judea-Christian values and the lessons of the HOLY BIBLE. Most religious leaders however, in deference to the First Amendment, tempered their political opinions. Then, over many years they began a subtle intrusion into partisan politics. Today most religious leaders consider it their duty to make their opinions and advice widely known by the voting public. There is no doubt they want the power to influence and dominate American politics. Doesn't this activity violate the intention of the amended Constitution?

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By granting TAX EXEMPTION the government gives financial assistance to religious organizations that, in turn, exercize their FREEDOM OF SPEECH to promote their influence of government. If the rule is that they should not do this, does it then mean they may not address hot button issues like abortion, illegal aliens, homosexuality, and so forth? These issues, for example, are found on most partisan political platforms.

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(1) I think churches have every right to comment on social issues, and can do so without addressing partisan politics.

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(2) Churches should never advocate breaking the laws. If a law is a bad law in the eyes of the church they should advocate changing it. They should do this without concern for partisan politics.

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(3) Abortion, homosexuality, the death penalty, inhuman treatment and so forth are all sensitive issues. Opinions on these "hot button" issues, including church leaders, can be discussed without involving partisan politics.

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ABUSES

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Lastly, this discussion would not be complete without a comment about the abuses of the tax laws. Churches can be a gold mine for their leaders, some of whom have executive jet airplanes, multi-million dollar homes, ocean going yachts, expensive art collections, and other extravagances. They are spending tax exempt money taken from donation plates. It's legal - but not ethically and morally acceptable.

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Thankfully, only a few of these charlatans are involved. They disgrace their theological privilege and endanger the concept of church tax exemption.

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Think about it.

Born Again Baloney

I am "skeptical Christian". Within my immediate family I seem to be the only skeptic. My parents were protestants, yet when they reached the end they received no comfort from their beliefs. That bothered me more than a little. My siblings each went in a different religious direction.As a boy I was taught many bible stories. The Christians were always the good guys. As I grew older I discovered that Christians also did some very bad things, yet it wasn't intil I reached college age that I started to doubt some of the teachings of the Church. I found it difficult to simply 'accept' some of the Christian theology, and I started asking questions. My sister Diane became a devout Lutheran, and my sister Charlotte became an equally devout Catholic. My brother Bud, to my knowledge, never expressed a serious religious thought. He went with his wife Sandy to her Church of the Latter Day Saints often but as far as I know, he never joined. .

I have no doubt that God exists. My skepicism begins with specific passages in the Holy Bible that are incredibly difficult to understand. Certainly the Bible must contain both accidental and intentional errors. It is often the only explanation for illogical passages. This puts me at odds with those who insist every single word is the WORD OF GOD. Try as I might I could not, and still can not, accept that.

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Errors have found their way into the collected books of the Bible as the result of;

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1. someone inserting words or statements to fit a description, or

2. from the difficulty of translating documents from one language to another, or 3. simply because of the the ambiguous nature of the meaning of words. (Changing semantics) . There were a lot of words passing through thousands of hands to reach the point that they were written, collected and bound as the Holy Bible. It defies logic not to suspect even one mistake in the final assembly.

Another issue the decision to include the mystic and superstitious content in the Holy Bible. Many if not all of these passages were written by people of ancient time. They were forwarded, most by word of mouth, and eventually transcribed and included. The people that wrote the mystic passages may have worshiped idols, animals, the sun, or the popular multiple dieties of their time. They may not have believed in a monotheistic God at all. This is also a logical reason for doubt.

. Which brings us to how we understand the Holy Bible today..

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• Evangelical Christians teach modern theological interpretations of the Bible. They hold several beliefs that are controversial.

• Holy Roman Catholicism is teaching their version of theology based upon the Holy Bible, and it is quite different compared to the many Protestant beliefs.

• Judaism isn't so certain of the "Trinity" theological interpretation, or that Jesus was the son of God. Their Holy Book is the Torah.

• Muslims generally believe in the Qu'ran, but

• Radical Islamists practice a wildly different interpretation of the same book.

to be continued

Pope Benedict vs. Islam

.....Pope John Paul was one of my favorite public personalities. Not being Catholic, it's odd that he became one of my heroes, but early on in his office, Pope John Paul did something that caused me to take notice. He spoke and wrote in a straight forward manner. He didn't speak down to people, nor did he avoid difficult questions. Pope John Paul was obviously very intelligent and well educated. He had a wide knowledge of the world around him, and understood the complexity of the job he was called to.

.....I often didn't agree with him. My skepticism got in the way. But much of his belief was mystical and quite outside of my range of understanding. I've never, for example, been convinced that supernatural miracles actually happened. I know they are the theological foundation stones for Christian churches, yet I have doubts.

.....Pope John Paul seems to have been very firm in his beliefs and never doubted as I do.

.....Pope John Paul stood solidly for the elements of life that I do believe in; the sanctity of marriage, the wrongness of abortion, the inherent goodness of humankind, the principles of the Ten Commandments, and the importance of the Golden Rule for example.

....Then, the old fellow died a public and difficult death. His life was extraordinary and the impact of his work as Pope will be felt for years to come.

....The new Pope inherited the world and all of it's problems. Catholics and non-Catholics, look to him for guidance. He is, in so many ways, the unspoken leader of the Christian religion. There is no one more influential in religious matters than the man in the fisherman's shoes.

....Now, a radical version of Islam has brought forward another terrible problem for the world. Potentially the most serious and far reaching problem ever faced. They mean to kill us all.

....Pope Benedict has this and other mind crushing problems on his plate. The question is does he have the moxie to deal with them? His start as Pope has not been impressive. He does not seem to be as cordial and welcoming as John Paul was, nor does he seem to be able to confront the big problems with dynamic new ideas. The jury is still out.

....The new Pope (and all he represents) is being attacked by the rapidly growing religion of Islam and so far his reaction has been weak and unsteady. Pope Benedict has apparently elected to be an appeaser, an apologist, and a diplomatic negotiator. If he persists on this road he will fail.

.....The Holy Book of Islam, like the Holy Book of the Christian religion, describes instances of terrible human conduct that is no longer acceptable. There are tales of unprovoked violence and wars of political expansion for example. Modern society is trying to eliminate this historical behavior, not teach it.

.....Many Arab Muslims have rejected modern culture and chosen to believe the inhuman and evil passages in their Holy Book. These extreme Islamists are a menace to the entire infidel world.

.....Television and instant communications have given the desert Arabs a dysfunctional knowledge of the western world.

American movies and television also, unfortunately, are filled with violence, nudity, drunkenness, drug use, foul language and worse. The unworldly Arabs understand only this distorted view.

.....Their sources of information are polluted and it would be very strange if they did NOT have a poor image of western civilization.

Radical Muslims have risen from obscurity in recent years. They are increasing their populations while the civilized world has been decreasing. All of Islam is gaining prominence and the fanatics among them teach their children to hate the western world. These young people end up be badly educated and viciously brainwashed.

.....Into this maelstrom steps Pope Benedict who seems not to have noticed that Islam threatens Christianity with extinction. Is that possible? Does it take a two by four over the head? Pope Benedict is still trying to create a dialog with Islamic leaders. This effort, with no doubt whatever, will fail. The Pope must realize that the Islamic religion is closed to tolerance, closed to negotiation, closed to any compromise, and will resist and effort to repair it.

Wake up and try harder Mr. Pope !

The Pope vs Islam Stupidity

.....Pope Benedict is a respected scholar and theologian. He is by nature a cautious man and makes few errors of judgment. The words he speaks are carefully considered as to their possible effect. There are people who disagree with him on various issues, myself included, but overall most people have accepted him to be a sincere theological authority and the spiritual leader of the Holy Roman Catholic Church.

.....An inhumane version of Islam has gained prominence in recent years. It's always been there, but generally ignored. The radicals of Islam have quietly become the enemies of humanity. Their ascendancy seems to have happened quickly - but it is not so. Islam has always contained an ignorant, inhumane, and militant faction, and the Qu'ran has always taught violent, intolerant, and anti-social behavior.

.....The prophet of Islam, Mohammed, was a badly flawed person. At two distinct times during his life, he wrote or is quoted in the Qu'ran. The first vision of Mohammed is rational, comforting and peaceful. The second, that written later in Mohammed's life, describes a much different person. It contains militant, dysfunctional and irrational verses, and it displays an intolerant, inhuman nature of the religion of Islam.

.....The Qu'ran unequivocally directs violence against non-believers. The extremist fanatics today use these terrible passages as a guide to their behavior. By doing so they eliminate any possibility of becoming a civilized society, competitive, enlightened, modern and accepted. Their failures guarantee continued unrest, poverty and dysfunction. Of course, they blame everyone but themselves.

.....The religion of Islam must undergo a radical and fundamental change to become acceptable in the world. Enlightened Muslims should be ashamed of their religion and they should want to make it glorious again. Unfortunately, they are mortally afraid of their radical minority.

It is hard to separate the fanatics of Islam from it's peaceful adherents. The lack of correction from within Islam by peaceful, enlightened and tolerant Muslims, paints a dismal future for them. Their constraint gives the impression that the entire religion of Islam is despicable.

.....There has been no significant effort by peaceful Muslims to speak or act against their fanatic fringe.

Pope Benedict unsuccessfully sought to find a way build a dialog. In his recent controversial lesson he said nothing that was not historically correct, and nothing that did not need saying. He spoke the truth and asked for a reasoned response from the religion of Islam. In doing so, he quoted a Byzantine figure who said, in the 14th century, that Islam had some problems.

.....The over-reaction was typical. Radical Muslim clerics interpreted the quotation as the Pope's opinion (it wasn't) and a mortal insult to Islam. Their reaction was ridiculously and exceptionally stupid.

Try again Pope Benedict.

But do not appease these brutes.

Who caused the spark ?

.....During idle days a person's mind tends to wander and sometimes follows an odd path without knowing why. Today is one of those days.

.....The word "Infinity" comes to mind for some reason. It's meaning is almost impossible to understand. It's something that can't be measured. It's something like a human spirit. It eludes a solid definition. Everything else has a beginning and an end, yet "Infinity" doesn't.

..... In some rather oblique way, the word is connected to thoughts about the universe.

.....Human beings look in a mirror to prove they exist, but they can't tell what "context" they exist within. We humans may be no more than a pin point sized random cluster of atoms in the grand scheme, or we may be the most important components of the entire universe. No one knows which, in part because we've not found a way to measure the value of life. The word "infinity" leads a person to think about it.

.....When contemplating the universe some of us recall the axiom we learned in school, "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction". This has been proven by science - but - is it true of the entire universe? Again, who knows? Likewise, all of our knowledge tells us that physical matter began somewhere at some time. Did the first instant of time begin when physical matter was created? If so, where, when and what did the first spark of energy come from?

.....The eternal question.

.....It dates from the foundation of the world, yet in all of recorded time there has been no provable answer. At some point we began to guess - and that led to superstition.

.....Over a long time superstition have been scrambled with logical thought. Philosophies have been erected to support an endless stream of possibilities. These thoughts have, for the most part, come down to us from history as part of religions.

.....There are people on earth who still believe in superstition, magic, the evil eye, animism, idol worship, astrology and so forth. We tend to think of these people as inferior, or not civilized, or of a lesser status.

.....In our American neighborhoods there are usually Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims and quite a few people with other assorted belief systems. A few argue now and then in a friendly way, but most realize that there are a lot of similarities in their many belief systems. The arguments are treated as agreeable differences between them. Essentially, they agree to disagree.

....Most monotheistic religions are related to each other yet EACH CLAIMS TO BE MORE CORRECT THAN THE OTHERS.

.....This claim has led to more bloodshed than any other history. The clergy, turned their evangelism into a salesmanship contest. There is no factual basis for the idea that one belief system is better than another. In fact, there is no basis for believing that any religion is better than "atheism". The claims of theological superiority are inventions of man and not of God.

.....Let's return to the "first spark". In my personal belief system, a Supreme Architect provided the initial energy, and the same singular intelligence caused everything to begin, and has the power to cause everything to end. I believe that God, by what ever name you choose, is the alpha and omega. Beginning and End.

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The Spirit & Freemasonry

There will always be controversy about religion. The subject is complicated and individual elements are subject to many interpretations. I believe in the possibility that mankind has a spiritual component, and that all religious thought flows from this simple beginning. It is from this singular belief that I hope to focus on the relationship of religion to Freemasonry.

Why this interest? Because I have a good Catholic friend who has been told that Freemasonry is an anti-Catholic organization. I'd like him to understand that the modern Freemasonry I know is not anti-Catholic at all. Nor is it anti-Protestant, anti-Muslim, or "anti" any other well known monotheistic religion.

My friend understands that the Holy Roman Church considers Freemasonry not compatible with the teachings of the Church and that is completely correct. The leadership of the Catholic Church has held that same opinion for several hundred years. Pope John II reaffirmed that the ban on Catholics joining Masonic organizations was still in force. Let us be very clear about this. Freemasons understand there is a major difference of opinion here, yet in the most general way Masons do not look upon this as suggesting that Catholicism is anti-Freemasonry. We simply live in the world as good and friendly neighbors. For further clarity the following facts are instructive:(2) Freemasonry welcomes all good men to membership regardless of race, age, religion, language, skin color or political activities.(3) Freemasonry rejects the concept that any one religion, theology or church is the ONLY way to God or the ONLY true church. It is this difference of opinion that disagrees with the Holy Roman Church, and is why Catholics are instructed not to join Masonic organizations. This difference is not a factor in the ability of the two groups to get along. They can (and do) dwell side by side with no other contention between them. Remember, there is no competition here. . Masons and Catholics are two friendly groups trying to be of benefit to humankind.

Turning it around, Masons have no quarrel with Catholicism either. There is a small mountain of evidence, thousands and thousands of books, and even more well known examples that the relationship between the Catholic Church and Freemasons is one of mutual respect.

(1) Freemasonry is not a religion. It is a fraternal organization that requires it's members to believe in God.

Sadly, there are a few people (including my friend) who have been told false rumors that Freemasonry is anti-Catholic. Rumors to that effect have circulated for hundreds of years. Time has brought enlightenment on both sides. Let's look into this just a bit further. Fraternal organizations became a significant and noticeable part of society in the 18th century. The precise founding date of the Masonic fraternity isn't known. The usual explanation is that stonemasons in the middle ages became skilled and banded together in groups not unlike modern day labor unions. They may have originally been called "freestone masons" which, in the language of the day, indicated that they developed unworked or "free" stones by using the skills of the masonry craft.

To teach and learn these skills they used grade levels that became known as the: (1) APPRENTICE (beginning level) (2) FELLOWCRAFT (journeyman) and the most skilled became (3) MASTER (senior and most skilled) Years went by and over time these levels became known as the three "DEGREES" of freestone masonry. They exist today as the three degrees of Freemasonry. The craftsmen wandered Europe looking for work, and built major structures including the finest and most advanced buildings of their time. The most famous of these are the Gothic Cathedrals built for the Catholic Church. Now, hundreds of years later these magnificent structures are impressive examples of the builder's craftsmanship.

Stonemasons traveled from one work site to another (one cathedral to another) and over the years formed a fellowship of men known to one another. Their guilds or unions often gathered in public houses that also provided lodging for the craftsmen. By the year 1720 they had established a more or less standardized system of teaching, keeping records, and taking minutes of their meetings. The written history of modern Freemasonry began. Men of other vocations observed the fraternal good will and friendships developing in Masonic Lodges and they too applied for membership. Lodges began admitting these men. At first they were mostly friends and acquaintances of the Lodge members. As more and more of the members had nothing to do with the stone mason's craft, the Lodges became known as "speculative" rather then "operative" organizations. Lodge rules were written, adopted and followed. All of the members, speculative or operative, called themselves "Free and Accepted Masons". We must acknowledge here that there have been times of anti-Catholic and anti-Masonic movements in serveral countries around the world. The reasons appear to have been rather petty. The point is that there have been isolated anti-Masonic movements within the Catholic Church, and anti-Catholic movements within Freemasonry. These episodes condradict the good intentions of both organizations and were obviously counter to the good will between them. Because fraternal organizations were popular and successful, Catholic men began their own Knights of Columbus fraternity. Like their friends the Masons, the Knights teach and practice high moral and ethical standards. They provide examples of upright conduct for men to follow, and they enjoy the fellowship of like minded men. Lastly, I have been an American Freemason for nearly 50 years. Never, with the exception of the long standing Papal ban, have I observed any disagreement between the Roman Catholic Church and Freemasonry, with one disgraceful exception from many years ago. A rogue group of men calling themselves Freemasons but acknowledged by no Masonic Grand Lodge, at some time after World War II organized the "P-2" Lodge in Italy. The men were thieves and worse, and did more to smear the name of Freemasonry than any other modern group. P-2 Lodge members were rejected by regular Masons everywhere. Several of their members apparently defrauded the Vatican and caused a major bank scandal in Italy. The news media connected these scoundrels with the names "Masonic" and/or "Freemason" despite the fact that the P-2 Lodge was not connected in anyway with the gentle craft of Freemasonry. And one more comment. I have been present when the Knights of Columbus have graciously visited the Grand Lodge of California. Their leaders have spoken to thousands of Masons there and at other locations. The Knights regularly participate side by side with Masons in community parades and charitable works. I have also been present at the laying of public school cornerstones by Masonic Lodges where one of the principal speakers was a Roman Catholic Priest. In my own community of Fountain Valley, Catholic Father Sammon, was for years the Chaplain of our City's Fire Department and many times praised and spoke eloquently of the good works of Masonic craft. Despite all of the above, there will probably always be a few ignorant people repeating unkind things about both the Catholic Church and Freemasons. You and I do know better.

Holy Baloney War

The radical and militant version of Islam we are seeing today is not representative of that religion but it increasingly dominates our world anyway. Atrocities done in the name of Islam are not new, just more of the same idiotic behavior humanity has endured for centuries. The radical minority within Islam spreads the same insanity and hatred it always has. The pin head believers in radical Islam have never embraced humanity. Never.

.....Their Holy Book must be terribly flawed. Apologists dismiss the flaws as irrelevant, but they are not. Naive scholars have concentrated on the beneficial aspects. A mistake of major proportions. The fanatic radicals concentrate on the evil content of the Qu'ran. Islamic history is complicated for non-Muslims because we are actually dealing with two versions of the same religion.

.....Muhammad, Islam's prophet and the author of the Qu'ran, was not a good man. He was charismatic, but that does not excuse his inhumanity nor his anti-Semitism.

....It is true that there are gentle and helpful philosophies within Islam. They seem to have come from from the same man but at very different periods of his life. It is his sadistic and murderous contributions in his later period that have so badly served the world.

.....Mohammad can not be excused from his role in creating the ignorant, intolerant and dysfunctional Muslim view of the world. He is responsible for the bitterness and hate in their hearts. They, the radical Muslims, rape, torture and murder innocent people in the name of Allah.

....The majority of Muslims do not follow the radical path, but neither do they speak out against it or make efforts to expel it from the main body of Islam. Because of their reluctance (or cowardice?) the religion of Islam gets a very mixed review indeed. On the one hand most Muslims are gentle, peaceful, and tolerant neighbors. On the other hand few Muslims are militantly and mortal enemies of all infidels - especially of Jews.

....(1) Why haven't Islamic scholars removed the evil passages from the Koran - or at least provided reasoned explanations for them? Leaving those passages in place makes the Qu'ran an instruction book for murderers.

....(2) Why is it millions of peaceful Muslims don't stand up to the extremists in their midst? Are they frightened? Perhaps, but I don't really think so. I think they know their religion is fatally flawed. I think they are having trouble coming to grips with that fact.

....There is proof on the front page of every newspaper, radio station, television and other parts of the media, that the religion of Islam is the religion that includes a militant intolerance. It's radical clerics have used it as a text book and absolutely destroyed several generations of Muslim students. These clerics should not be forgiven. They have ensured that there will be no educational, scientific, or social progress within the Muslim world anytime soon.

Islam has always been an intolerant belief system that aggressively threatens death to all non-believers. Until it is cleansed of it's inhumanity it will remain is a pathetically evil religion.

Radical Islam Is A Menace .

Every day Americans go through their normal routine. You'd never know there is war going on. They barely glance at a newspaper or the television news. When they do, they look at the bloody pictures, check the movie schedule, and move on. The war news in Iraq is particularly ugly. People are dying there. Far too many Americans quickly turn the channel to a game show or a sporting event.

It is disturbing to realize that the WAR is so ignored. Many British and American citizens are obviously losing interest. Military progress, if any, gets virtually no media attention. The public is aware only of the bloody messes that make the news. Progress doesn't. The biased media aggravates and directs public opinion. People see pictures of the body bags and no longer understand what is happening in the middle east. The rhetoric has run out of gas. At this point they don't care much anyway.

The lack of concern is a disaster. Perhaps it is because this particular WAR is like no other. The strategic goal is to maintain peace in the region. Saddam Hussein definitely had to be stopped. The man is a crazy, power mad, medieval brute. This man was leading the bluster of the Muslim turmoil in that part of the world. It is difficult but we must maintain perspective here. Hussein was a small part of the middle eastern mess.

The much larger danger is fundamental, extreme Islam.

It's followers threaten non-believers (infidels) with death - and they are quite serious. Their recent history proves they mean what they say. Iraq was and is a danger to the area and beyond because:

• They have been aggressively trying to acquire nuclear weapons,
• they have already used chemical and biological agents on their enemies, and
• they are actively promoting TERRORISM as a tactic of war.

Extreme Islam is terrifying because it makes no rational sense.

The world is struggling to understand the "islamo-fascist radicals", and there are MILLIONS of them. They wildly rant that they are going to MURDER EVERY NON-MUSLIM IN THE WORLD. Their promise is so OUTRAGEOUSLY INSANE normal people find it hard to accept.

Most Muslim terrorists follow the demented rantings of brain-dead Islamic clerics. They have been indoctrinated (from the cradle to grave) with a badly warped concept of humanity. The direct source of this idiocy is undenyably the Islamic religion. Civilized people need to wake up immediately. They, all infidels, have to be made to understand that Islam is a fundamentaly flawed religion that distorts the concept of right and wrong. Students of Islam develop no understanding of elementary human concepts.

Their assault on society began hundreds of years ago, when by military force they established a rather advanced society. Muslims had good schools, libraries, and educational opportunities. Their art and architecture was complex and interesting, and their civilization became comparitively wealthy.

It was a mirage. The only progress any Islamic people made was made by the people Muslims conquered by military force.

Then Islam actually strangled further progress wherever it was imposed. The Muslim society failed to keep pace with the rest of the world and today their social order is generally illiterate, tribal in nature, and medieval in it's brutality. Muslims have made virtually no contribution to mankind since medieval times.

THEY BLAME EVERYONE BUT THEMSELVES.

They began 'shooting themselves in the foot' centuries ago. Any Muslim who attempted to change the religious concepts holding their civilization back was subject to terrible punishments. They proved, over and over, that governments function badly under the control of Islamic law. This has been a total disaster for them and they still prefer the system. Linking Islamic Law with Islamic governments is a basic impediment. For Islamic society to join the modern world they must separate Islam from politics and control. The religion of Islam strictly forbids any such separation. So much for that.

The entire Islamic world has essentially collapsed. There is no competitively modern and powerful Islamic government anywhere in the world, and the frustration of failure is monumental. With so few options available to them, radical Islam zealots have turned to TERRORISM which is disgusting but very intimidating method of warfare. It causes comparatively little physical damage but has a huge impact. We must agree that TERRORISM by a minority of fools can not be allowed to bully the entire world.

The war in Iraq is over and rebuilding has begun. The media has chosen this time in history to be of no help whatever. The liberal elites that seem to control our media have opposed the Iraq war from the beginning. They continue to denigrate our military forces, ridicule our President, and demand that we withdraw. It appears that condemning the military and bashing Bush is more fun than eating or sleeping for these wackos.

They are attempting to silence bi-partisan support for our war leaders. They are attempting to encourage America's lack of interest in defense and security. By their actions they prove their inability to comprehend the enemy threat. Our way of life and our values are in danger. The Islamic enemy wants to destroy everything we stand for.

9/11 WAS OUR WAKE UP CALL.

Our notice that we are not invulnerable. The primitive, irrational, and unbalanced followers of fundamentalist Islam may be the most dangerous threat Americans have ever faced. Muslims refer to their religion as "PEACEFUL", but it's Holy Book, the Koran contains passages of unacceptable, diabolical nonsense. Many of it's chapters teach totally disgusting ideas. The true and simple fact is that Islam has never been a religion of peace.

The Koran clearly teaches that anyone who refuses Islam is worthy only of death. How do you misunderstand this statement? Murdering non-believers is exactly what they mean to do. Their despicable, extremist clergy is consumed with medieval violence. They prove that the Islamic religion is faulty to it's core. The idiots are in charge - and the moderate majority is letting get away with it. There is no excuse for the moderate majority to hide behind. Their appeasement results in TERROR being just around the corner. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

P.S: Have you ever wondered why Muhammad permitted so many vicious thoughts in the Koran? The resulting book is about as holy as Hitler's "Mein Kamph".

• It also is filled with the most virulent anti-Semitism.
• It contains instructions on the most disgusting and painful ways to inflict torture.
• It promotes brutality as a means of control.
• It refuses to recognize and to tolerate all other religions

The Koran is a bloody, beastly book of horror.

Prove that I am wrong. Please.

Save the beer and the broad in New Orleans

This picture caught my eye and held it. Where do you suppose the guy and the raft were heading? Did they make it? What did they do with the dog?

I'll just bet these people are on a pilgrimage from Duffy's Tavern to a grass shack on Key West. Somehow they have the look of Democrats about them. You can sometimes tell by estimating their ability to create a hanging chad or two.

The ACLU saw this photo and immediately filed suit to stop this gentlemen from bothering the fish. Two lawyers managed to convince a Judge that together with the Sierra Club they could clearly get damages from this beer swigging couple for threatening the environment.

Seeing the ACLU success, the city of New Orleans drew up a suit on the rather shaky grounds that these two people obviously do not have a license to operate their boat, and they do not sppear to have a fire extinquisher on board, and they clearly are poluting the city's water supply.

Now you might ask why all of this concerns a blog entitled Theology.Whiz? It's because these two brilliant Americans, escaping with the beer and a bible on a home build raft, deserve a prayer and thanks for showing us that Horatio Alger is not dead.

Yet.

The Leaders In not so many years these two birds will be graduating from high school. They will have learned less than their parents did by the time they reached the same grade level. This is happening because our American system of tax supported public schools is quietly slipping away. There are many reasons for the decline. Just to mention a few, our public schools are the victims of:

• continual tinkering,
• political correctness,
• affirmative action,
• unwise federal and state regulations,
• and a changing society.

Compared to 50 years ago there are lower requirements for matriculation. The schools have been "dumbed down". We are told that compared to the rest of the world, American students have been falling behind for many years.

Meanwhile, America is changing from a producer to a consumer.

The age of industrialization is over and we are now on the cusp of something different. A person can't help but notice that certain businesses are disappearing. Companies that MAKE things lead the parade out of town.

• Machinists are replaced with robots,
• engineers are no longer in demand,
• shoe makers are gone, and
• most clothing is sewn off shore.

This list is growing as you read this. We need to be concerned about what this change is doing to our country. We should also be concerned about the impact on our public schools.

The work environment continues to reduce the demands of industry for graduates prepared for the manufacturing sector. One thing follows another. The decline of these jobs has been caused, at least in part, by competition from underdeveloped countries. Step back and look around. Be aware that entire industries are no longer making things in America. They are in China, India, Brazil or Malaysia, etc. The iron and steel business left many years ago, and the consumer electronics industry more recently. Now, just a few days ago it was announced that both of our remaining car manufacturers, Ford and General Motors, are near bankruptcy. Will the automobile industry be next?

The young men in the picture above will be entering high school with the handicap of a less than competitive education. They will not well prepared for more advanced work. When they do graduate from high school, they and many others will enter colleges and universities without the prerequisite knowledge needed to learn more. Even today the largest classes at our colleges and universities are remedial classes. They are intended to teach subjects that should have been mastered in high school. This fact alone makes it clear that our public school systems are not working very well.

So the transition from high school to colleges and universities is less than perfect.

American colleges and universities are not doing so well either. They are graduating students prepared for jobs that are no longer in demand. Our two young students are expected to have a vocational destination in mind as they progress through school. They are going to need a job someday and must learn the drill for their coming vocation. If manufacturing has gone off-shore they must prepare for something else.

Schools must re-direct their curriculum accordingly.

We already sell enough pizza and hot dogs to one another. We import, distribute and sell all kinds of products manufactured off-shore, and we hire a lot of lawyers. There are a limited number of service jobs available, and there are a number of unemployed workers on the street. The courts are jammed and the jails are full. Medicines are made only for the rich. Greed is becoming more important than integrity. Smart graduates are heading for government jobs where outstanding retirement and benefit programs are guaranteed. Starting a new business requires inflating a financial house of cards. The complaints go on and on. America is on the road to socialism and we know that, ultimately, socialism does not work. Our capitalistic system with it's requirment for individual responsibility is a much superior economic system. However, socialism is coming if we do not reverse direction and return to more freedom and less government. We need to let the free market do it's thing, and educate our young people that there really is no free lunch. The government can't employ everybody, and if it did it couldn't collect enough taxes to pay everybody's salary. It just won't work. Freedom, inventiveness, competitive markets, self reliance, ambition and hard work are still the way to resist socialism. The competitive excellence of our educational systems must provide our society the means to improve.

Let's give these two birds in the picture a fighting chance.

One skeptic to another?

Good Morning Friend. I am looking for skeptic who might help me complete my religious education. From childhood I was exposed to Christian thoughts. When I reached college age I discovered some of these were quite complicated. I then attempted to read the Bible but bogged down with the irrelevant stuff.

There were tales of huge families, strange events, bloody wars and hard-to-believe miracles. Some were interesting and some not. I began to question what was fiction and what was fact and found reasons to doubt much of what I had been taught. I accepted the concept of God but rejected a lot of the mythology that surrounds Christianity.

.....As the story goes, in the beginning there was God. He designed and created the entire universe. To accept this requires logic, not the "leap of faith" that evangelists like to talk about. It's easy to understand that what a person sees would not exist if it was not created. Thousands of years ago they understood this idea, but couldn't leave it alone. They were compelled to explain it. Time passed and the explanations became more and more elaborate. The original thoughts were (accidentally) modified as they were passed down from parents to children. Scholars, teachers and prophets added their opinions along the way.

.....Several ideas of nature's origin were well established before Jesus arrived. As a young man he preached his version, and asked people to turn from animism, idols or other gods and worship his one God. Jesus made a significant impact on what was then a very small part of the world. He never travelled far - but his preaching was persuasive and far reaching. He entrusted his followers to carry his words to the limits of the world.

.....The known world at that time was the land surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Most of it was governed by the Romans who resented the rising influence of Jesus and believed he and his movement were a potential threat. Finally they arrested, judged and killed him.

.....By that time Jesus was known as the "Christ", and his followers as "Christians". From the moment he died on the cross until the present time, religious scholars have been interpreting and trying to explaining his teachings. Before and after he died, scribes recorded what was the known history. It was translated and passed from one generation to another, often translated from one language to another. Fictions and facts were made written documents. Despite the uneven scholarship many of the original documents can still be read today. The Dead Sea Scrolls for example.

.....Christians and Jews collected these stories, histories, legends, and mysteries, and from them all they produced the Holy Bible. There is evidence that many many people influenced biblical information before it was assembled. The Holy Bible includes all of this and, despite the circuitous gathering of the biblical components, a large number of Christians believe it to be the actual words of God. I am not in that number.

.....My skepticism has led me to think that the religious scholars who assembled the first bible interpreted the words AS IF they were SPOKEN by God.

.....Once I got that settled in my mind, I found it easy to accept the Bible as an interpreted record of history, logic, reasoning, philosophy, morals, ethics and so forth - and the written authority for the Christian religion. The Holy Bible has come to us from antiquity and it's pages offer comfort to troubled minds. I believe the Bible conveys what God MAY have said or intended - but perhaps not the exact, literal, words.

.....Miracles are difficult for me to accept.

• Did Moses ACTUALLY come down the mountain with stone tablets etched with the "Ten Commandments"? It's makes a great story but it probably didn't happen. I suspect a craftsman chiseled the Ten Commandments at the direction of one or more prophets, and gave them to Moses.

• JESUS may have actually died on the cross, but did he actually come back to life and rise to heaven? I think not. All experience tells us that death is final, and the physical body once dead can not move by itself. In my rationalization I believe the essence or soul of Jesus may have ascended to heaven, but not the body.

• CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY tells us that every human being has a soul. It is sometimes described as the spirit of man, and it seems to be unprovable. Yet, I accept that every person has a deeply religious component (spirit), but still wonder if the idea was first conceived by a theologian to describe the superiority or the mystery of mankind? This is an unresolved question with me.

• DIVIDING THE FISH. My favorite Sunday School story. Did Jesus actually divide one small fish into enough pieces to feed the multitude? If he did it would have been a miracle. The Holy Bible is full of miracles and I question every one. In the case of the fish, I suspect that the story is a parable used to teach a Christian lesson, and no miracle at all.

• Did JESUS actually heal people that had incurable disabilities or illnesses? The Bible tells us that Jesus could cure blindness, for example, by simply laying his hands on the person. Granted, modern medicine has learned that attitude and desire can have an effect on physical ailments and infirmities. However, it is not our experience that the laying of hands on a person can cure blindness, or repair a crippled body, or make a person who has lost a limb whole again.

These questions can go on forever but I am going to end this blog right here. My skepticism is stated, and despite all of these conflicts, I believe in Jesus Christ, God, and the Holy Bible. But obviously, I am not yet ready to accept ALL of the Christian theology.

END

Biblical doubts. .....I'm beginning to be more comfortable using the blog format. If you happen to read one of my blogs you will understand that they are nothing special. Well, neither am I. So what did you expect? There are no brain surgeons in my family. May we now proceed. This first effort will focus on religion. I have a tendency to stray once and a while, so don't be too surprised.

.....Is the Holy Bible the ACTUAL word of God? It depends. I a recently read a small book about the Holy Grail. I had always thought of it as a jeweled golden cup of some sort, that was used during Christ's last supper. Now, 65 years later I find that my Sunday school recollection may be less than perfect. The little book describes the Holy Grail as one or more of the following:

.....A golden cup - a food vessel - a container of treasure - a receptacle that gathered the blood of Jesus on the cross - an ornate dish - or a common kitchen container. Take your pick.

.....One legend says It was made of precious metals and decorated with gems. Another says it was clay and not decorated at all. There is no certainty about either description. It is not even universally agreed that the Holy Grail ever existed. If it ever did, it's purpose also remains a mystery. Clues may be found in stories that have come to us from antiquity, but they may or may not be true.

.....The legend of the HOLY GRAIL illustrates a problem connected with the HOLY BIBLE. Many of the stories in the Holy Bible seem to have arrived their in much the same way. Could at least some of those be legendary?

.....After centuries of study, biblical scholars still disagree on the accuracy of the text, the language used, and the meaning of many passages. A number of events once thought to be factual are now considered allegorical. The Holy Grail for example, could be either history or fiction. Many other passages in the Bible could also be history or fiction.

.....This, in a round-a-bout way, brings us to "miracles". I don't really think any of the biblical "miracles" are fact. I am reasonably sure that the Holy Bible was assembled from information and stories passed down from generation to generation. Their inclusion in the Bible followed a torturous path indeed. Information and stories were exchanged verbally from one person to another, or they were written, in one language or in several. The gathering of passages that finally became the Holy Bible was a complicated procedure.

.....It is too much of an incredible stretch to consider every passage as the ACTUAL word of God.

.....Why would God choose to convey his thoughts by way of such a convoluted passage to mankind? Doesn't it seem odd to you that God would select this way to to transmit his ACTUAL WORDS?

END