The gathering place for Mental Health and
Applied Behavior Science Professionals. Become a charter member of Behavior OnLine. |
#31
|
|||
|
|||
Re: A spin on secularism?
Hello Todd,
You grasp my viewpoint very well I do support freewill, and the right to believe in one's particular faith and pursue it in peace. But who have to admit, the minority I happen to belong. Has received the short-end of the stick for quite some time and to be frank, We sort of expect the line to be drawn by the "secular world" but it really doesn't bother us. Unless they continue to teach 1st graders homosexual lifestyles are okay and how to be one, it does bother us. Rewriting our country's history to appease 10% of the population, it does bother us. Teaching witchcraft (a religion) in schools and not allowing the Bible to be taught, bothers us. Not allowing Creation equal footing with a religious atheistic format of evolution, bothers us. Teaching islam in public schools (California) a religion that is proven throughout history to be hostile (even "peaceful" Islam) towards Christian and Jewish Faiths, bother us. Removing the Ten Commandments (our Judaic/Christian) heritage and foundation of our laws from the public arena is scary, and it does bother us. Not saying the Pledge of Allegiance in school, bothers us. Liberals that want to sell our sovereign right as a country to protect ourselves, to the united nations, bothers us. and these same liberals that want gun control for every law-abiding citizen accept criminals. Murdering the unborn, breaks our hearts. and our tax money paying for it, bothers us. So Let Freedom (secularism/plurism) Ring? or Let Our Real Freedom Ring? Or we can blindly appease everyone and be politically correct while some people on the far-left want to blot out all morals & ethics, freedoms & rights from society, including yours. I am talking about the ones that want to destroy our Constitution & Bill of Rights. And this sort of balancing act of staying in the middle will eventually cause you to either make a stand or be steamrolled. When you burn a candle on both ends; it runs out of wick, pretty quick! History speaks for itself; examine the evidence. Peace, Mike Last edited by Mike Phillips; December 25th, 2004 at 09:58 PM.. |
#32
|
|||
|
|||
Re: Richard's Daughter, Juliet: Review of A Devil's Chaplain
Quote:
Actually I think you’re too tolerant of Mike’s annoying fundamentalism, or maybe you’re just baiting him. So anyway Todd, since you don’t really seem to be a zealous atheist intent on spreading an atheistic gospel (I think atheism, even more than one’s faith in God, is best kept to one’s self), I suppose I never really wanted Santa to crap in your stocking. And I hope that over the holidays you’ll have an opportunity to ponder the tiny odds that the universe and we are here by chance. |
#33
|
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
The middle is for roadkill ... and me.
Mike, thanks for your response list. It's good to hear honest complaints, they give me a better sense of how people think.
Quote:
Everytime some extremist brings a suit somewhere against something Christian in the public sphere, it is is exploited all over the media for its dramatic effect as if "liberals" are all ACLU members or atheists or multiculturalists. Most people on the left are not trying to ban the Bible, and don't care about displays of the Ten Commandments. Most secularists have no interest in such things one way or the other, until the issue becomes polarized and we have to choose sides because someone is forcing a "culture war" unneccessarily on us. Most people in Tennessee didn't care one way or the other about evolution until the drama of the Scopes Trial made it an issue. Quote:
that I can't believe it is really as big a priority for all of us as political activists have made it seem. I haven't been in public school for years, but when I was there, they didn't teach us to be homosexuals. My kids go to parochial school, so I don't have a recent personal reference. Quote:
Quote:
This also cuts right to the reason for secularism. The history of public schools is a history of division between different Churches in the way they want to teach the Bible (and which Bible they want taught). The compromise here was to teach religion in a comparative way, it's sources treated as literature rather than Scripture. If they refused to teach the Bible as literature, I would strongly agree with you that its omission would be unfair and unrepresentative. However I have to agree with the principle that we shouldn't teach Scripture as such in public education, but that this should be done by parents and local communities. Quote:
The tension is over the widespread perception (or fear) that science is a "better authority" and therefore that teaching theories that seem to presume naturalistic metaphysics will corrupt the minds of people against Creation and its perceived natural and moral order. I don't know how to resolve that tension, since naturalized ethics are far from compelling to most people. Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
I value intelligent reflection, which means recognizing what truth and legitimacy is in different viewpoints, and where each of them gets things wrong. It means being hard on important principles and important shared values, but flexible about people and their different ways of reasoning. The middle is the only honest place for someone like me to be, even though people often see it incorrectly as weakness. peace, Todd |
#34
|
|||
|
|||
Re: History Speaks for itself.
Hello Todd,
Our founding fathers who so brilliantly drew up our Bill of Rights and Constitution did so in a manner that would prevent the (papal) oppression that was still fresh in their minds from the struggles and persecutions that took place in England, as well as other European countries. Amid the chaos of national religion imposed on the "common folk" during these times (the dark ages), our founding fathers (several years later / the idea actually began during Jamestown, Plymouth then Williamsburg and came to fruition later on) had the wisdom and foresight to try and prevent a papist imposed national religion within the confines of government, that in times past had successfully wrapped their tentacles in areas of monarchy, political arenas and courts, which they unmercifully tried to stamp out all attempts to print the truth or defy their "authority". The "idea" behind a secular government was to protect an individuals "christian" rights to worship Almighty God and practice the Gospel of Jesus Christ FREELY and with LIBERTY in their own way without imposing a national state controlled religion. Drawing from & escaping the horrors of papal controlled state religion, they did not want to have the same "dark age" cast its hideous shadow upon our newly won freedom. (It wasn't just about breaking away from the the "king" there were a few other issues/nuances involved). You mentioned earlier in a previous post, the failures of a national religion in the European Countries. I ask you what is their national religion? and why is it failing? I'll give you 3 guesses and the first two don't count! I ask you, why is our national religious FREEDOM so successfull? And "tolerance" take a glance at the recent militant/peaceful islamic faction growing stronger everyday; is doing to the tolerant national religion controlled governments of Europe. They are taking over the countries and converting many to Islam (and killing the ones that do not) and the culture is growing more anti-semictic daily all in the name of an all-inclusive tolerant national religion. >who is really holding the smoking gun< to coin a phrase "the power of the pen is mightier than the sword" {Here is another clue, could it be that someone has "islam" on a leash and using that rabid dog to do his dirty work?}. Don't forget the moral decay, ethical depravation & ignorance of truth that is spreading. (sounds like another "dark age" to me? and let us not forget the "merlins"/"evolutionists") proclaiming science is the answer to the woes of humanity. Yeah, it is a real fine mess. The sad part is, certain entities within our beloved country's boundries desire to abolish the document that protects our freedom of worship, to impose a "state" religion and create another dark age of ignorance & deception. I most certainly pray that history does not repeat itself, but in these current times & culture America is falling victim. Peace??? Mike p.s A couple more little questions. Who is really being tolerant? or is "tolerance" a clever sheme to subvert the truth? Last edited by Mike Phillips; April 10th, 2005 at 08:14 PM.. |
#35
|
|||
|
|||
Re: Spirit?
Todd,
On a more personal note, from your last statement, it appears to me; you have a gift. A gift that we "fundamentalists" call discernment. I pray, that it never fails you and may your special insight reveal what your heart is searching for. Shalom, Mike p.s You are more spiritual than you know. |
|
|