All Posts Tagged With: "Faith"

Secular Right argues about the will and ability of God:

Gardner argues that were God to start preventing some deadly accidents, he would have to prevent all such accidents, resulting in chaos.  The reality is far worse than that.   Since believers give credit to God for answering their prayers when they are saved from catastrophe or illness, they have to explain why he answered their prayers and not those other people’s prayers, why he saved these children from a tsunami and not those other children.  Any believer who today thanks God for making sure that his coronary bypass operation was successful has to explain why God allowed at least 37 peasants to be buried in a Guatemalan landslide on Sunday.  Such an explanation requires either extraordinary narcissism on the believer’s part or positing capricious injustice on the part of God.

Even as a believer, there are some things I can’t explain and some things I don’t understand. This is one of them. And this falls into the part of my faith that remains blind. I realize that it’s impossible to fully understand the infinite with an finite mind, so there are some aspects of my faith in an infinite Almighty God that I freely admit I cannot fully, or even adequately, explain with human logic and reason. It’s one of those tough parts of my faith that I haven’t fully come to grips with, but I remain a believer in His love, in His wisdom, in His perfect will and in His Good News.

Jim Martin at Fried Green Onions is once again on a crusade against fellow bloggers who don’t share in his fundamentalist views. And again, in the comments on this blog and in commentary on his own blog, he has called out yours truly on my last post, twisting the words written to infer something never implied and drawing conclusions based on self-derived fallacies.

Typically, I would continue the debate within the comment section where his comment was left, but he has created two posts on his own blog taking the dialog to the public stage, so it is in a dedicated post that I will address some of Mr. Martin’s points, challenges and questions. (I apologize in advance that this will likely be a lengthier post.)

This discussion began with my pointing to and quoting of a post by Otter, in which he ultimately proclaimed, “I say, you should be ashamed of yourselves and I find myself ashamed to call you all my Christian brothers and sisters.” I agreed with his comments with a simple, “Amen.” (Keep in mind that I was quoting another blogger’s commentary.) I knew when I posted it that I would get a response from one of my faithful opponents. Mr. Martin did not disappoint, leaving this comment Continued

From BBC:

For Lt Col Darrel Vandeveld, a devout Catholic, the twin responsibilities of religious faith and military duty led to a profound moral crisis.

His resignation has led to charges against six inmates being dropped, at least for now, and called into question the possibility of a fair legal process at Guantanamo.

“I know so many fighting men and women who are stained by the taint of Guantanamo, so I’m here to tell the truth about Guantanamo and how a few people have sullied the American military and the constitution.”

…

“I never suffered such anguish in my life about anything,” he says, looking back over the period.

“It took me too long to recognise that we had abandoned our American values and defiled our constitution.”

*

Last week, I wrote about one of my most faithful readers, Jim Martin of Fried Green Onions, who frequently attacked some of my posts both in comments on this blog and in commentary on his own blog. While I welcome passionate debate about any given issue, I took issue with the manner in which he disagreed, especially the prevalence of vitriolic ad hominem attacks and extremely personal aspersions.

Yesterday, Mr. Martin seemed to offer an olive branch of sorts with this post:

Yes I am a daily reader of the Brad Neese…living large in Oklahoma site

I find Brad to be the most articulate spokesperson in Oklahoma blogging for his current view of things politic.
I think he will go far in liberal progressive circles.
The vast divide that separates us can be measured in years (perhaps 40 years between us). The vast difference between those reared in Tiny Town or Urban Utopia could figure in to the equation.
Brad really believes almost opposite to the views I hold. Unlike the other liberal bloggers I run across he appears to have no personal axe to grind other than his belief system.
I count him along with Oklahoma Lefty as a Worthy Adversary.
God bless and keep our country free!

I am grateful for his kind remarks. I certainly welcome respectful, reasoned discourse and disagreement about the issues we face here in Oklahoma, in our nation and in the world. It is indeed possible to have a great divide in political positions and yet respect and even admire our political opponents. And it is possible to have honest disagreement without making it a bitter war filled with animus, insults and slanderous insults. I would hope that we can have this type of dialogue here in the Oklahoma blogosphere as well as the American and worldwide blogospheres. Continued

…nor is he a Democrat. He cannot be boxed in, or appropriately represented, by any political party — especially in the American political system. But that doesn’t stop some Christianist pastors from projecting divine partisan preferences upon the Almighty.

Evangelical pastor’s opening prayer at a McCain-Palin rally in Bethlehem, PA, last week —

“O God, we are in a battle that is raging for the soul of this nation. You, O God, have raised up Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin for such a time as this … Help them, O God, to strengthen our economy, to keep our taxes and spending low … and grant them the privilege of being elected the next president and vice president.”

Pastor Arnold Conrad at John McCain’s rally in Davenport, IA, last week —

“I would also add, Lord, that your reputation is involved in all that happens between now and November, because there are millions of people around this world praying to their god — whether it’s Hindu, Buddha, Allah — that his opponent wins, for a variety of reasons. And Lord, I pray that you will guard your own reputation, because they’re going to think that their god is bigger than you, if that happens. So I pray that you will step forward and honor your own name with all that happens between now and election day.”

If God’s reputation is involved in all that happens between now and November, was it not involved in everything between now and January 2001? Was His reputation honored and guarded with an unjust war that claimed the lives of tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children — His created beings? Was His reputation honored and guarded when our country abandoned its fundamental principles by suspending basic human rights — including habeas corpus — and engaging in torture (and blatantly lying about it with legalistic euphemisms)? Was His reputation honored and guarded during one of the most dishonest and secretive administrations of my lifetime?

I agree with the pastor on one thing: “God, I pray that You will step forward and honor Your own name with all that happens between now and election day.” It just might not be the same results this pastor is expecting. I just don’t presume to know what preference God actually has, if any. Both men and both parties fall woefully short of His plan, His desire and His reputation.

It’s very dangerous to inject partisanship into the Christian faith. God is not partisan. God is holy and just. God’s agenda is far bigger than any election or any political party. I don’t believe that God has chosen sides in this election. And pastors should be careful in doing so; to do so unwisely in the name of God is unwise and foolhardy indeed.

I echo what Abraham Lincoln said,

“Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.”

That is chiefly why I am no longer Republican… and I am assuredly not a Democrat. In my humble opinion, it’s unwise for God-fearing and Bible-believing churches to do otherwise. Partisan loyalty can divide allegiances. And as Christians, we are to have but one allegiance. Tony Campolo summed it up best:

“Evangelicalism getting wedded to any political party is like ice cream mixing with horse manure. It’s not going to hurt the horse manure, but it sure will mess up the ice cream.”

“The answer — upon even a moment’s reflection — is unequivocally yes.”

So says Douglas Kmiec. He holds the endowed chair in Constitutional Law at Pepperdine University. Prior to that, he was dean and St. Thomas More Professor of Law at Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. He also served as Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

Here’s more from a letter he authored for a ProLife - ProObama website recently created by the Mathew 25 Network.

Barack Obama’s life has been one dedicated in service to the needs of others.

We are all called to build a culture of life - but there’s more to it than just hoping that the next Supreme Court justice somehow deals with Roe v. Wade. A bad economy is threatening to human life. Women facing the moral tragedy of abortion - are facing it, now, today - and they need a supportive community and tangible help, not condemnation.

As Ronald Reagan’s legal counsel and as a dean and professor at Catholic University and Notre Dame, I have worked to put the law on the side of life where it belongs.

But after 35 years, a new approach is needed. Too many unborn lives are being lost as we wait for judges to get it right. Barack Obama’s strengthening of support for prenatal care, health care, maternity leave, and adoption will make the difference. Studies confirm it.

We are but a few weeks away from a new beginning in America.

I am inspired by what Senator Obama calls “the promise of America — the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation in the fundamental belief that I am my brother’s keeper; I am my sister’s keeper. That’s the promise we need to keep.”

It is because of the hope of this promise, that I have written Can a Catholic Support Him? Asking the Big Question About Barack Obama. While especially aimed at Catholic citizens, the book and the material here are devoted to opening every heart and mind to the prospect of transcending the partisanship on these difficult issues.

That is the change we need right now. And it is within our grasp.

A non-sensical commenter from yesterday who was responding to a post of mine from 10 weeks ago says that it’s obvious.

There are none so blind as he who will not see!
That’s you.
You dont even have to be a believer in God, Jesus, buddha or any other religion to know evil when it shows its ugly head.
Muslim is the anti-christ, obamas just a soldier of alla.
His people believe hes a muslim. the muslims consider him a muslim. Who exactly are you trying to convince he isnt muslim? and why?

Well, there’s a website that says it can answer this very important question: “Is Barack Obama a Muslim?”

* * * * *

P.S. Note to Van Gard — People might take you more seriously if you could spell, punctuate or even incorporate actual facts and truths into your argument.

*

This just plain irritates me. Jesus is not a Republican (or a Democrat). I believe with all my heart that He cares about more than just the abortion issue and the gay marriage issue.

Indeed, Jesus is pro-life, but pro-life is more than just about pregnancy and birth; pro-life extends beyond the womb and encompasses all the life issues each and every individual all around the world faces, including extreme poverty and obscene disparity of wealth, famine and hunger, genocide and war.

Jesus certainly cares about the sanctity of marriage, but that extends beyond the issue of a union between homosexual couples and encompasses the union and marriages of heterosexual couples, including fidelity and marriage “until death do us part.” Why do the divorce rates within the Christian Church so closely mirror that of divorce rates outside the Church? If fundamentalist Christians, like the gentleman in the video, care so much about the sanctity of marriage, why doesn’t he focus on the truest threat to the “traditional marriage” — rampant divorce rates among heterosexual couples who even occupy our church pews?

Do I condemn those who have been divorced? Absolutely not. I simply want the same standard of “sanctity” to apply to heterosexual couples as these Christianists want it to apply to non-heterosexual couples. I do not oppose civil unions between two adults, heterosexual or homosexual. Marriage is an institution that should remain within the religious context, and it can be defined by the respective religious institution.

What irritates and frustrates me most are that Christianists like this gentleman continue to reduce every election down to these two issues. And how successful has that proven to be. They’ve had eight years of a pro-Christianist presidency with control of at least two branches of government for the first six years. Look at where it has gotten us.

Has there been significant improvement in our nation and in the world with these two issues? Has the Christianist agenda really worked?

There are more issues than just these two that devoted followers of Christ should consider when voting this November. Failing to consider the other bigger issues — poverty, hunger, war, the Gospel message of faith, hope and agape love — is ignoring the larger messages of Jesus and the Bible.

*
[Stepping down from my soapbox now.]

Okie blogger Dr. Bruce Prescott takes issue with an essay by Cal Thomas posted by Baptist Press, in which Thomas writes:

Obama can call himself anything he likes, but there is a clear requirement for one to qualify as a Christian and Obama doesn’t meet that requirement. One cannot deny central tenets of the Christian faith, including the deity and uniqueness of Christ as the sole mediator between God and Man and be a Christian. Such people do have a label applied to them in Scripture. They are called “false prophets.”

Dr. Prescott counters:

Somebody needs to tell Cal Thomas and Baptist Press that Barak Obama is running for President, not prophet. … Someone also needs to remind Cal Thomas and the editors at Baptist Press to reread Matthew 7:1-5 and Matthew 7:15-27.

… Constitutionally, there’s no religious test for holding public office in this country. Obama’s running for President, not pastor or prophet.

*

It would seem to me that Cal Thomas and like-minded others are usurping the role of the ultimate Judge. I wouldn’t think that is the wisest position to be put oneself in. Fortunately for me and for Barack Obama, there is only One opinion that really matters.

P.S. Talking about “false prophets,” wouldn’t usurping the role of the ultimate Judge make that person a “false judge”?

The following story comes from a pastor’s blog and it was touching enough that even Andrew Sullivan picked it up on his blog.

Continued