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Jennifer03801
Starlite Member
Username: Jennifer03801
| | Posted on Monday, February 05, 2007 - 05:23 am: | 
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Proposal to bar religion challenges is dangerous
Our view: Legislator's plan shows disregard for basic principle of church-state separation
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 02.05.2007
Arizona Legislature is made up of many ordinary citizens. It would be unfair to expect them to be legal scholars, but they should at least be comfortable with the idea of living in the United States and respecting constitutional principles.
Some of them, clearly, are not.
One of the key principles embedded in the Constitution holds, in effect, that the United States is not a theocracy. The founders, both those who were religious and those who were secular humanists, never intended that it would be.
This is a fundamental truth. Which is why a resolution introduced last week by Sen. Karen Johnson, R-Mesa, is profoundly disturbing. Johnson's resolution, which proposes an amendment to the state Constitution, would subvert this principle as it applies to Arizona courts.
The proposal would prohibit all Arizona courts, from the Supreme Court on down, from granting injunctions or other legal relief if the question involves "the acknowledgement of God as the sovereign source of law, liberty or government."
According to a story in Wednesday's Star by Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services, that prohibition would remain in place whether the action were brought against the government as a whole or any state or local official.
Johnson, who publicly supports various conspiracy theories, is unhappy with recent court rulings that upheld the constitutional separation of church and state.
If adopted, her proposal would also prevent anyone from challenging, in state courts, prayer in public schools, she said.
Johnson was quoted by Fischer as saying, "I want religion in my government. I want my government to have a faith-based perspective." Johnson did not specify whose or which religion she wants in government, nor did she address the rights of atheists.
Johnson's resolution would set a dangerous precedent. It could conceivably violate the civil rights of those who do not share the views of the majority.
Let us suppose, for example, that most of the students and teachers in the Tucson school system were practicing Muslims, and Christians and Jews were the minority. If the Muslim teachers were seen as having an objectionable religious influence on the students, Christian and Jewish parents would have no legal means of redress in the Arizona court system.
In effect, the amendment would deny Arizona citizens a right protected in the U.S. Constitution. If the amendment were challenged and made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, it would never withstand judicial review.
In 1803, in Marbury v. Madison, one of the Supreme Court's most important cases, Chief Justice John Marshall established the process that enables the high court to strike down any state or federal statutes that are judged unconstitutional.
Johnson's attempt to tear down the barrier between private religious beliefs and public actions, and in the process to tear down a doctrine that makes the United States unique, would not stand a chance of surviving judicial review.
It should be rejected
“Religions are many and diverse, but reason and goodness are one” - Elbert Hubbard
Let us today take a stand to end all kinds of fear and hatred of "the other." - Abdul Malik Mujahid
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Timelesspilot
Starlite Member
Username: Timelesspilot
| | Posted on Sunday, February 04, 2007 - 08:05 am: |
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http://blueletterbible.org
To what level or degree will we the "Saints" and the "Redeemed" of GOD allow comprimise into our "World".?.?
My walk and words are the playing feild on which I will be Judged.
Christian intolerance is JESUS teaching. He turned over the tables of the money changers and declared "My house will be a called a house of prayer for all nations..."
I declare..."As for me and my house we will serve the LORD".
Yshwa,Messiah,Savior,LORD
"Once upon a time...was a master of crime ..."Born again for HIS glory" and now thats my story...The Timelsspilot, "Chaplain Ken" {alias} "Firewalker"-on CB radio Channel 13
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Jennifer03801
Starlite Member
Username: Jennifer03801
| | Posted on Saturday, February 03, 2007 - 04:02 pm: |
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Deuteronomy
22:22 If a man is caught having sexual relations with a married woman both the man who had relations with the woman and the woman herself must die; in this way you will purge evil from Israel.
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Timelesspilot
Starlite Member
Username: Timelesspilot
| | Posted on Saturday, February 03, 2007 - 11:41 am: |
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Is not the foundation of fundamentalist christianity a comprime of the words of JESUS ?
I do not serve a Burger King GOD and I don't want it my way.
If a few so desire the general ok to everything...that calls itself "spiritual" then where are the blocks that built this nation?
When we comprimise to the words written we show others it is OK to believe what they want to believe.
Adultry is not a affair it is a SIN..
Pornography is not a problem it is a SIN...
Child Abusers aren't mislead they are SINNERS.
Jeus words not mine.." Be ye perfect even as my Father in Heaven is perfect."
Some say "That it's ok I am not perfect God knows that.." We were made in his image and we must strive to be like him..
If you know it is wrong and do it anway then you willingly go against GOD's word not mine....and you are SINNING.
ie. how many times must a man/woman steal to be called a {Thief} 1...
ie. how many times must a man/woman lie to be a {Liar} 1...
ie. how many times must a man/woman commit a sexual sin and be an {adulterer} 1...
The world looks to us to see the GOD we serve and what do we show them?
A plastic Jesus standing on our dash that makes all the boo boos be better?
No Jesus was a warrior a man of complete valor, honor, sinless principles and worth of all Praise.
"Once upon a time...was a master of crime ..."Born again for HIS glory" and now thats my story...The Timelsspilot, "Chaplain Ken" {alias} "Firewalker"-on CB radio Channel 13
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Jennifer03801
Starlite Member
Username: Jennifer03801
| | Posted on Saturday, February 03, 2007 - 10:18 am: |
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Senate chaplain withdraws from evangelical seminar
From the Associated Press
February 2, 2007
WASHINGTON — Senate Chaplain Barry C. Black has canceled his scheduled appearance at a Christian evangelical conference after he was pictured with columnist Ann Coulter and other prominent conservatives in a brochure promoting the event.
Black told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) that he wouldn't be addressing next month's Reclaiming America for Christ Conference because his appearance wouldn't uphold the Senate chaplain's "historic tradition of being nonpolitical, nonpartisan, nonsectarian," a spokeswoman for the chaplain said Thursday.
Spokeswoman Meg Saunders said Black, a Seventh-day Adventist and a former Navy chaplain, had received "a very generic invitation" in fall 2005 to speak at the March conference and had agreed because there was room on his schedule.
After learning more about the other speakers and the event's featured topics, Black became "concerned" and canceled his appearance, Saunders said. "He felt the information had been incomplete," she said.
Other featured speakers at the conference in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., include Father Frank A. Pavone, a Catholic priest and abortion opponent; conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly; and Family Research Council President Tony Perkins. Listed topics include "making America safe for the unborn," "the battle to defend marriage," "homosexuality and the church" and "Darwin's deadly legacy."
The Center for Reclaiming America for Christ is an offshoot of Coral Ridge Ministries, an evangelical group led by the Rev. D. James Kennedy.
The Rev. Gary Cass, the center's executive director, said he had hoped Black would speak about how faith and public service intersect. He said he did not try to disguise the fact that the conference was conservative. "We are a conservative evangelical ministry. Our conference is an outworking of our faith. It's not political; it's moral, it's ethical. Does it have political implications? Certainly."
The invitation, sent to Black by Reclaiming America National Field Director Barbara Collier, referred to the event as a "grass-roots training conference … to specifically inform, train and equip Christians to be salt and light in their own communities." Collier wrote that Black's appearance "would encourage individual involvement to help restore our God-given freedoms and to defend and implement the biblical principles on which our country was founded."
The Rev. Barry W. Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State said that his Washington advocacy group had learned of Black's plans to appear from a brochure for the event that pictured the chaplain next to Coulter on the list of speakers. Lynn said he sent a letter to Black objecting to the appearance.
"The chaplain is supposed to represent a variety of faiths," Lynn said, "and here he was going to an event that is always partisan, always divisive, always disparaging of other religions other than fundamentalist Christianity."
Saunders said Black decided to withdraw from the conference before receiving Lynn's letter. The Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call first reported the cancellation, on Thursday. |
Timelesspilot
Starlite Member
Username: Timelesspilot
| | Posted on Saturday, February 03, 2007 - 09:31 am: |
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Before we Judge or Criticise the Leader for what we think...Hadn't we better go to GOD's word in Romans 13 and seek it for the answers? We are not ot be (hipocrits or Hypocritical)We are to seek GOD's face as he show's us his hand. The word says: http://blueletterbible.com For the real truth Romans 13:1-2
"Once upon a time...was a master of crime ..."Born again for HIS glory" and now thats my story...The Timelsspilot, "Chaplain Ken" {alias} "Firewalker"-on CB radio Channel 13
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Jennifer03801
Starlite Member
Username: Jennifer03801
| | Posted on Saturday, February 03, 2007 - 08:49 am: |
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Critics Blast Bush For Not Praying Hard Enough
WASHINGTON, DC—President Bush, already facing the lowest approval ratings in history, is coming under fire from former supporters over what they call his "ineffectual and incompetent" use of prayer for national guidance and assistance.
"Every time the president is criticized, he insists that the nation is in his prayers," said the Family Research Council's Bob Jensen. "That may be, but it's becoming more and more clear that these prayers are either too infrequent, too brief, or not strongly worded enough to be effective."
Jensen added: "This nation deserves more than a president who just pays lip service to prayer. It deserves a president who demands that his prayers get real-world results."
Despite assurances from the president that he "prays every day" for the nation's interests both at home and abroad, the mounting crises of recent months—escalating gas prices, the botched Dubai port security deal, ethics scandals, and the rising death toll in Iraq—have left many unimpressed with the effectiveness of his devotion.
Francine Gundersen, an Iowa mother and churchgoer, says she voted for Bush but is now having doubts about his commitment to prayer, particularly with regard to Iraq, where her son, P.F.C. Jason Gundersen, has served since June 2004.
"Bush says he prays for the soldiers' safe return, but if that's the case, where is my son, Mr. President?" she said.
The White House Office of Communications, which has denied any wrongpraying, released transcripts of Bush's inner dialogues with God from May 12 through Oct. 22, 2005 and tried to paint the president as "very close" to the Almighty, saying he speaks with Him "regularly."
"The president spends many hours each day alone in quiet contemplation," White House press secretary said. "These allegations are, quite simply, absurd. The president is as strong a prayer as any who has occupied the White House."
In an interview on Fox News, Vice President Dick Cheney defended Bush, saying the president puts as much energy into prayer as he does into domestic policies.
"Half the time, I can't even get him on the phone because he's busy praying for the American people, the same people who are now so quick to criticize him," Cheney said. "If something's wrong with those prayers, I would suggest that it's perhaps the fault of a supernatural entity. But it's not the president's. He is doing his duty."
While newly released portions of White House prayer logs show that Bush's praying has actually gone up in recent months, critics are seeking to subpoena the documents in their entirety to determine the strength of those prayers.
The harshest criticisms continue to come from members of the president's conservative base, who insist that the proper devotional words must be used in prayer.
"There is a real possibility that the president misrepresented the number of times he invokes Jesus' power each day in accordance with the strict guidelines of scripture," said Henry Holbrook, senior fellow at the Intercession Institute, a leading conservative prayer tank. "Is he clasping his hands together tightly enough? Is he using the proper forms of the pronouns 'thine' and 'thou'? What about the verb 'hast'?"
Susan DiDomenico of the National Prayer Task Force said her organization is seeking "full disclosure" of any and all prayers Bush may have skipped or manipulated to seem more effective or holy.
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Timelesspilot
Starlite Member
Username: Timelesspilot
| | Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 - 04:03 pm: |
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I drove a tractor to the gate
Opened yes but was it Fate?
Til I grow in touch with me
How will I ever begin to see?
Upon the Mountain dew does fall
Within the Forest trees so tall?
Rowing crosswind brings no gain
Cycling uphill towards the Rain?
Travelling thru a Mountains side
The road less travelled seemed so wide.
Bears the mark of a Broken Pen
With the desire to be Born Again.
"Once upon a time...was a master of crime ..."Born again for HIS glory" and now thats my story...The Timelsspilot, "Chaplain Ken" {alias} "Firewalker"-on CB radio Channel 13
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Jennifer03801
Starlite Member
Username: Jennifer03801
| | Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 - 08:02 am: |
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Beyond the Question
by May Sarton
The phoebe sits on her nest
Hour after hour,
Day after day,
Waiting for life to burst out
From under her warmth.
Can I weave a nest for silence,
Weave it of listening,
Listening,
Layer upon layer?
But one must first become small,
Nothing but a presence,
Attentive as a nesting bird,
Proffering no slightest wish
Toward anything that might happen
Or be given,
Only the warm, faithful waiting,
Contained in one’s smallness.
Beyond the question, the silence.
Before the answer, the silence.
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