GraniteGrok

[For GraniteGrok by Gigi L.]

A call for people to Pray

In 1775 the First Continental Congress “Designated a time for prayer in forming a new Nation."

1863- Abraham Lincoln called for a National day of prayer & fasting during the Civil War.

1952 - A bill proclaiming an annual National Day of Prayer was passed unanimously by Congress. President Truman signed it into law. It required each President to select a day for national day of prayer each year.

1972 - National Prayer Committee was created. 

1988 - A bill was introduced to make the National day of Prayer the first Thursday in May. It received bipartisan support and became a law. It was signed by president Reagan on May 5th, who commented, "On our National Day of Prayer, then, we join together as people of many faiths to petition God to show us His mercy and His love, to heal our weariness and uphold our hope, that we might live ever mindful of His justice and thankful for His blessing."

1993-1998- The National day of Prayer continued with each President recognizing the importance of this day. President Clinton in his 1997 signing said,  "Let us uphold the tradition of observing a day in which every American, in his or her own way, may come before God seeking increased peace, guidance, and wisdom for the challenges ahead."

The National Day of Prayer has had its critics, led by groups who refuse to accept any type of religion. Rather than simply choose to not participate, some have gone so far as to protest this special day. Fortunately, these actions have thus far not changed the spirit of this tradition our Founders thought so important. This National Day of Prayer is an opportunity to reflect and pray for our Nation and all her people.

Americans are the sort of people that, when a tragedy strikes, we automatically and immediately reach out and help. In every community across the Nation, people do this in many ways, sacrificing time and effort, oftentime never realizing that this is what our Creator expects of us. There is no doubt that such actions are the answers to the prayers of those in need. In this way, the act of praying becomes a vital part of fulfilling the greatest commandment of all: "Love one another as I have loved you."

Whether or not you want to accept God as your Creator, he has an influence on how each and every one of us lives our lives.  For many He is a last resort when faced with difficulties, yet amazingly enough, when people pray, worries become less and at times solutions become clearer.

Today, Thursday May 1st, is the National Day of Prayer. According to the Day of Prayer Task Force website,

The theme for this year is "Prayer! America's Strength and Shield" and is based on the verse from Psalm 28:7 which states: "The Lord is my strength and shield; my heart trusts in Him and I am helped."

At any time of the day or night we can call on Jesus. He is always waiting, listening for our call. What a wonderful blessing. No phone needed, no e-mails, just a whisper...

Posted by Doug at 7:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

...when the way that the Left treats Christianity is the same that it treats Islam.  Or Hinduism, or paganism, or....you get the idea - when Christianity is treated the same, no more and certainly no less, than other religions.  In other words, the callousness by which Christians are treated, the disdain for the majority religion.

Why is this so?  I believe it concerns a single word "Accountability" and an unwillingness to admit that there is a Higher Power than Man. 

Why does THAT matter? If God does not exist, we are only accountable to ourselves...and therefore, everything is relative.  After all, if there is only Man, only Man makes the rules, and given Man's nature, everything can be fungible with respect to right and wrong, respectful or not, tolerated or not.

Like this crap from Larry Lessig who is very much a Lefty leaning, Stanford law professor.  Who is also associated with Google - you know the company - the one whose corporate motto is "Don't be evil".  Would Google, if they had known, allowed the main character to have been Mohammed?

Oh, did I say, an Obama Technical Advisor as well?  What is with Obama's choice of whom he surrounds himself?  Isn't he in enough hot water all by himself by denigrating people who "cling to religion"?  Trust me, this ain't helping much... 

Including making videos of a gay Jesus disrobing to just a diaper and then gets hit by a bus.  To a group of people at Google.

He has the Free Speech rights to do so - and so do we to complain.

The Left is all about respect, listening to all sides, not offending, and being tolerant.  Ask yourself - does this video fit the bill?

Erick has more here and here from WTH for better takes on this.
 

Posted by Skip at 7:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Earlier today on our radio program, Michigan Congressman Thadeus McCotter discussed why he doesn't think President Bush should go to the Beijing Olympics, stating

We don't think that the president, for the first time in US history should attend a foreign hosted Olympics because... his presence at the Games has deviated from the norm and set a political gesture into the Olympics.

In a letter to the president last September, Congressman McCotter wrote that in light of a long list of

the communist dictatorship's rogue actions against our nation and others, your attending these games in communist China will subvert the moral authority of your position as the Leader of the Free World-- a Free World which will be watching and weighing your participation.

To that end, he has filed legislation in Congress which, according to his website, is 

"a bill in Congress restricting all government officials and employees from attending the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics in communist China. The bill does NOT affect America’s Olympic athletes. The bill H.R. 5668, The Communist Chinese Olympic Accountability Act, is a follow up to a September 11, 2007, letter to President George W. Bush in which Congressman McCotter and a bi-partisan coalition of Members of Congress, state: 'We urge you [President Bush] to reconsider your decision to attend the 2008 Beijing Olympics in communist China.'"

This is a great idea, in that it allows the athletes to participate in the games without becoming political pawns, while at the same time sends a message that we are not going to accept a rival system of government that seeks to undermine ours through deception and espionage while trampling the human rights of its citizens in ways not tolerated elsewhere in the civilized world.

You would think President Bush would know better than to even consider such a trip, especially given the the violence in Tibet and elsewhere that's recently been all over the news.

I challenge New Hampshire's two Congressional Representatives, Democrats Shea-Porter and Hodes, to step up and join Congressman McCotter in his effort to stop President Bush from making a huge mistake.

How about it? Will the two of you support HR 5668? I wonder what the variaous candidates running for Congress this fall think? Albeit, it will be over before they get to Congress, but I'd still like to know how they would vote. This is a fantastic way to send a huge message without punishing a single athlete.

Posted by Doug at 4:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It is being reported by Reuters that Catholics are no longer the world's number one religion.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Islam has overtaken Roman Catholicism as the biggest single religious denomination in the world, the Vatican said on Sunday.

Monsignor Vittorio Formenti, who compiled the Vatican's newly-released 2008 yearbook of statistics, said Muslims made up 19.2 percent of the world's population and Catholics 17.4 percent.

"For the first time in history we are no longer at the top: the Muslims have overtaken us," Formenti told Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano in an interview, saying the data referred to 2006.

It then goes on to finger the reason:

...while the number of Catholics as a proportion of the world's population was fairly stable, the percentage of Muslims was growing because of higher birth rates.

Hmm. The other thing I learned in the news today is that this guy is a Catholic priest:

Yeah, I didn't believe it, either, until I went to the website of St Sabina and discovered, surprisingly, this "priest" and his "church" are indeed Catholic. And this "church" was the site of Barack Obama's racist, bigoted, hate-mongering pastor "Rev" Wright's re-entry into the public eye after a week in hiding.

Barack Obama’s former pastor, who canceled several public events after an uproar over his incendiary comments, surprised a Chicago congregation by attending an event to celebrate poet Maya Angelou’s birthday.

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright got a raucous standing ovation when he entered Saint Sabina church on the South Side on Friday night, video from WBBM-TV showed. Members yelled “Hallelujah!” as Wright embraced the Rev. Michael Pfleger, Saint Sabina’s pastor.

I've been a Catholic all my life, and I've never encountered a "priest" like Pastor Pflegler. If I had, there would be one less person calling himself a Catholic in the world. Thankfully, I always have gone to normal, REAL Catholic Churches where the LOVE of God is preached, not the HATRED of fellow man, as is apparently the norm in "black" "churches", including ones that claim to be Catholic. I've long known black racism existed. I had no idea it had risen to the level that it has even corrupted their "churches." God help them-- especially the children, for whom this will perpetuate such garbage for yet another generation... (much like radical Islam)

[H/T Michelle Malkin]

Posted by Doug at 4:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by Doug at 9:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Tomorrow is Easter - in my mind, the most solemn, yet joyous day in the Christian calender. It is the culmination of the Old and New Testament - God's love for us.  In His absolute holiness, our sin (from the free expression of will) is anathema - holiness cannot accept any blemish of that holiness.

But in His mercy and grace, He provided a propitiation for that sin - His Son.  Fully human and fully God, living a sinless and perfect life, Jesus submitted His will to that of His Father's on Good Friday, willingly taking on our sins, and willingly paid the ultimate sacrifice for that sin as foretold in the Old Testament:

Today, we celebrate and give thanks for His Resurrection, the true mystery of the Christian faith.  Why?  For if he had not risen, our faith is in vain. Only in His death and subsequent Resurrection can we hope and believe in the promised eternal life outlined in His Word.

He has risen, indeed!

For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.   (John 3:16-17) 

Posted by Skip at 10:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Anybody that watches TV and follows politics at all knows that the Democratic candidates seemingly spend inordinate amounts of time campaigning in churches and would have to admit we don't see the same on the Republican side. While we generally associate faith and Christian values with conservatism, we just don't find Republicans as publicly mixing it with politics-- at least within houses of worship with cameras rolling.

As Catholics, we just don't do politics in Church. It's God's house, and of course, the purpose of Mass is to worship Him-- period. But that doesn't mean that people who are Catholics cannot still have an opinion when it comes to politics. In fact, we are encouraged to be active and involved-- we just don't bring it into our Churches. Instead, we are asked to seek out politicians who will best reflect our beliefs and values in line with the teachings of our faith.

Yesterday, the McCain campaign released the following report announcing he has won the support of many Catholics from across America. And why not? When you look at the core teachings of the Church regarding life, forgiveness, and respect for our fellow man, Senator McCain stands head and shoulders above the Democrats candidates who are, after all, representing "the Party of Death." I am glad that our religion is more low key when it comes to politics within the confines of our Church walls. I am glad that my pastor won't stand in front of the Church and tell us who to vote for-- that way there, it is up to US to venture forth into the world and make our own decisions using our best judgement. I am proud to call myself a Catholic, and I am proud that many of my fellow brothers and sisters have joined with me in publicly announcing support for John McCain.

ARLINGTON, VA -- Today over 100 prominent Catholics nationwide have come together to support John McCain for president. The National Catholics for McCain Committee, led by U.S. Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Former Governor Frank Keating (R-OK), is growing rapidly. The group is represented by elected officials, businessmen and women, grassroots organizers, students, and Catholic leaders from over two dozen states.

"John McCain has a common sense vision for America based on faith, freedom, and families," said Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), National Co-Chair of the National Catholics for McCain Committee. "Committed to the protection of innocent human life, he is a leader Catholics will be proud to support. John McCain knows from experience what it means when a society tramples on the truth of the value of the human person. He is committed to defending the dignity and value of every person, regardless of their status."

John McCain expressed his deep appreciation and stated, "I want to thank Catholic voters today, who have played a vital role in electing me as the Republican nominee for the presidency. I am humbled by the support of such a diverse group of Catholic leaders who are dedicated to the defense of traditional marriage, advocate for the protection of innocent human life, and share my vision for a stronger, safer and more prosperous America. I stand firmly with those Catholics who believe that human rights are natural rights for all people, in all places, and in all stages of life."

The National Catholics for McCain Committee is actively recruiting Catholics at the national, regional, state, local, and parish levels to help share John McCain's vision and pro-Catholic message. 

Here is the list of those officially signed on: 

Continue reading "Catholics for McCain" »

Posted by Doug at 8:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We here at the 'Grok wish all our readers a very Merry Christmas.  Though the words are over 2,000 year old, they ring as true today as the actual event did back then in Bethleham.  We wish you peace on Earth and Good will towards men no matter your circumstance or location.

The retelling itself? Christmas and Easter - a birth for a death - part of the basic tenants of the Christian faith. A birth for a life that was all at once perfect, blameless, and without sin; one that fully filled all of the Old Testament Law of God - the unkeepable standard of holiness.  This Baby knowingly offered himself as the ultimate atonement for our sinful lives (for who among us can claim to have never broken God's Laws?).

While we celebrate His life at this time of the year, we Christians look forward to the fulfillment of His Promise - eternal life through the Greatest Gift the world has ever known - His life for ours. 

John 1:1

¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was with God in the beginning.     ³Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

Continue reading "Forsaking Glory, a Birth for a Cross, a Promise of Life" »

Posted by Skip at 12:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

...who has blessed us, our families and friends, and this Nation.  Even as there are those that believe that our Nation is stumbling and will never achieve their version of utopia (and never cease to kvetch to the rest of us), we have much to be thankful for in this country.  We are financially the richest nation on the planet, we are militarily the most powerful nation in the world, we are the largest economy ever seen in history.  We can come and go as we wish.  Our nation is yet the melting pot of the world where many races and nationalities have shown that we can live in harmony with each other - not the norm at any time or any other place.

But more importantly, we have the most free media anywhere that allows us to speak our minds and to criticize our leaders and neighbors, we have the freedom of speech that allows us to spread those thoughts to anyone what will listen, and the freedom to associate with others of like mind.  We can freely choose our leaders - and get rid of them freely too!

We also posses the freedom of religion to praise our God without fearing for our families or ourselves.  I am thankful for this country that believes that our rights emanate from God and not from the whims of men. 

No, we are not a perfect nation - and I hope and pray that God is not done with us yet, that we will become better still. I have reservations that we will ever become the Utopia that some feel we must be before stopping their kvetching, but compared to almost any other nation on Earth, there is much to count as blessings.  We ARE the shining beacon of light in a world that often time has no light at all. 

And I believe it is because God has blessed this nation.

And for that, I give thanks... 

The true meaning of Thanksgiving; truly giving heartfelt thanks to God.

Take a moment, close your eyes, and remember the maxim by which they lived - giving thanks for anything requires a contrite, open, and willing heart and acknowledged that there is a Higher Power than themselves that, even as half the Pilgrims had died of illness and starvation, would look out for them and would bless them. 

They certainly did...will we?

Posted by Skip at 11:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Signing the Mayflower Compact

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The Mayflower Compact has always been one of my personal favorite American documents. I always like to read it around Thanksgiving. It is a short and simple statement that life should be ordered by mutually-agreed to laws. Written by rational, thinking, and consummately civilized persons, The Mayflower Compact is universally considered to be the first basis in the New World for written law: 

“In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord, King James, by the Grace of God, of England, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, e&. Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia; do by these presents, solemnly and mutually in the Presence of God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid; And by Virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the General good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In Witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape Cod the eleventh of November, in the Reign of our Sovereign Lord, King James of England, France and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Domini, 1620.”

It was signed by 41 of the Mayflower’s 102 passengers. Contrast the words of the Pilgrim settlers, half of whom died in the first New England winter, with those being spouted by partisans of the current movement to erase the mere mention of God from any area of public and government life. I am sure that many such persons and groups, led by the ACLU, cannot have much stomach for the fact that our forebears came to this land “for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith.” It really flies in the face of their arguments in favor of removing “under God” in our Pledge and “In God We Trust” from our money.

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One Compact signer, Edward Winslow eventually became one of the Pilgrim leaders. He served as the governor of the Plymouth colony on three different occasions. His wife, Elizabeth (Barker) Winslow, died soon after their arrival. He then married, in May 1621, Mrs Susannah White, the mother of Peregrine White, the first white child born in New England. This marriage was the first in the New England colonies.

Winslow is also noted for writing one of the few known personal accounts of the first Thanksgiving. From a document known as “Mourt's Relation” he writes,

Continue reading "Having undertaken for the Glory of God and the Advancement of the Christian Faith..." »

Posted by Doug at 8:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

UPDATE:   Gee, a first for the 'Grok - even before the post goes up, there's an update....but read it carefully.  From the official Chinese news agency:

BEIJING, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- China Thursday rebuked reports that the it would ban foreign athletes from bringing Bibles to the Olympic village during the Beijing Olympic Games next year, dismissing them as "sheer rumors".

"We have taken note of the reports and checked with the relevant authorities. The facts prove that the reports are sheer rumors," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told a routine press conference.

[snip]

"The Chinese government has never ever issued such a rule, nor any such statement," Liu said. "China's religious affairs authorities and the Beijing Olympic organizing committee have not - and could not - issue a rule banning the Bible in the Olympic village."

China has always respected and protected the religious freedom of foreigners living in China in line with laws and regulations, he said.

According to the Provisions on the Administration of Religious Activities of Aliens Within the Territory of the People's Republic of China, foreigners are allowed to bring in religious publications, audio-video materials or other objects for personal use, Liu said.

"We are suspicious of the ultimate motivations of those who spread such rumors. They should be responsible, and not do things that are not beneficial for themselves and undermine mutual understanding between China and the world," he added

Such parsing....note that while foreigners are allowed such freedoms, their citizens are not.  Once again, we see the value (and the perceived danger) of ideas being allowed the freedom to go where they might.  The Bible, holder of such truths that have changed the world, would certainly change Chinese society (and I believe for the better).

And that is what they fear.... 

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You know, they do everything they can to suppress the practice of religion.  They want to drive it underground and keep separate the State and any other than the religion of the State, of Liberalism, of Statism, of atheism.  They fear what the ideals of religion can bring - especially that there is something more than the state that is in control and in charge.  For if they allow that it is true, some of what they have as control evaporates.

And no, it is not the ACLU that I am talking about...try Communist China:

Just in time for the Olympic Games.  And wouldn't this be the first time that an Olympic host ever regulated the religion of the visiting athletes?

And what does the International Olympic Committee say about this? I just went to their web site - the answer is:

<try a cricket chirp here> 

It seems that in their rush to have it their way (like Saudi Arabia), they want any Christian athletes to leave their Bibles at home.  From the NY Sun:

The organizers of the 2008 Olympic Games in China have put the Bible on the list of items that athletes are banned from bringing with them to Beijing, we learn from a report in the Catholic News Service, picking up an item in the Italian daily La Gazzetta dello Sport. This would seem to undermine claims by a Chinese government official, Ye Xiaowen, who told Reuters last month that China would accommodate the religious needs of visiting athletes. The Chinese official claimed to Reuters that restrictions on Bibles were intended "to prevent illegal vendors from driving up prices, which are kept extremely low by government subsidies." Only a Communist would buy that economic explanation, which makes no sense.

Continue reading "The REAL weapon they fear" »

Posted by Skip at 8:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I first saw this in the local paper, The Citizen, but since they just redid their site, I can no longer find the "find past issues" button / feature anymore.  So, this reference will have to do:

Church leader says members unhappy with gay bishop should refocus

The bishop of the Episcopal Church of the United States says church members unhappy with the ordination of a gay bishop in New Hampshire should worry about more pressing world problems. We need to refocus on more life-and-death issues like starvation, education, medical care.

World problems?  As much as any of us should be worrying about world problems, I agree.  Where again I see this as a microcosm of the problems of the "mainline" Protestant churches here in the US is the seemingly over-emphasis of a social gospel vs what many Evangelicals see as the role of a church, which is preaching the Gospel to save sinners. As I said in my recent post about John Kerry:

The Left just doesn't get it.  Yes, the teaching are important...but they put the cart before the horse.  It is the INDIVIDUAL salvation and repenting that is the primary message.  What is referred to as "the social gospel" comes afterwards as a result of a changed heart.  As long as they continue to ignore this principle, they will be wandering in the Evangelical desert (as it were) for more than a few years.....

With the mainline churches seemingly abandoning this primary mission, it is no wonder that their membership over the last few years has been plunging almost as fast as the mainline newspapers and network news shows - abandoning first principles in those areas too.

In her statement, it appears that she is just attempting sweeping the whole controversy thing under the rug - social gospel, all inclusivity, gay acceptance and ordination...you know, the typical stuff.  And avoiding the real controversy - where is the stance on Biblical principles?

Anyways, back to the Bishop Schori story:

Continue reading "Social vs Individual Gospel?" »

Posted by Skip at 8:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I thought all Americans were guaranteed their rights to religious freedom, but apparently unless we support the gay agenda, even though it goes against many people's religious beliefs if nothing else, we will continue to be pressured to ignore our own religious convictions and be ridiculed by homosexuals unless we jump on their bandwagon.

A case in point is the pressure that Barack Obama is receiving from the gay community, click here for the story.

Since there is no scientific consensus that gays are born that way and many scientists believe our sexuality IS a matter of choice, McClurkin has said absolutely nothing wrong in the story above. However, the gay community continues to use fear tactics to attempt to silence any opposition to their agenda of full marriage for homosexuals. Many homosexuals are striving diligently to be legitimized and validated, but many religious people believe God does not condone homosexuality, and therefore many of us will continue to believe that marriage should exclusively be a union between a man and a woman.

Does this mean we're homophobes? No, it does not mean that we hate or want to harm any homosexual. In fact, I agree that what anyone does in their own bedroom is their business as long as whatever they do is between consenting adults.

Continue reading "Reverse Discrimination?" »

Posted by Judy at 6:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (27) | TrackBacks (0)

See my original entry here, then click here for the update.

Oh, how I would like to have been a fly on the wall when Richard Roberts met with the Board of Regents. While Pastor Roberts has supposedly asked for a leave of absence, I'm guessing that it was at the prompting of the Board. I guarantee you that there is alot more going on in the background that we may never hear about.

With a university's survival on the line, not to mention the entire ministry begun by Oral Roberts, trust me when I tell you that the Board won't hesitate to throw Richard and Lindsey Roberts under the bus to save the university and the ministry...not to mention the hundreds of millions of dollars of donations at stake! Yep, the love of money is the route of all evil, but I'm confident that God's will shall prevail eventually although we may never know the entire truth...unfortunate since it IS the truth that sets you free!

H/T: Doug

Posted by Judy at 4:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

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Many public schools have become pagan religion indoctrination centers. These schools now teach children anti-Judeo-Christian beliefs and pagan religions, and try to mold children's minds through the latest techniques in behavioral psychology.

By teaching religious mysticism, public schools throughout the country are filling impressionable young minds with group think, multiculturalism, paganism, Earth worship, astrology, polytheism (belief in many gods), and pantheism (belief in spirit gods that exist in trees, rocks, and water). The God of Moses is out in our public schools, and Earth worship is in.

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Many teachers in public schools across the country now stress feelings and mystical experiences, not facts and reason, much less critical reading and thinking. Their behavior modification techniques indoctrinate children with emotion-driven group think and anti-Western, anti-Judeo-Christian values.

Author Aldus Huxley wrote about ‘new-think’ indoctrination in Brave New World, his frightening novel about a future totalitarian society. In his book, school authorities molded children’s minds so that as adults, they lost their ability to think critically or judge the policies of their leaders.

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Indoctrinating children with pagan beliefs in our public schools could have a similar effect. If a child believes he or she can turn into a bird or pass a math test by rubbing a voodoo necklace, then facts, reason, hard work, and dedication go out the window.

Posted by Doug at 8:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I grew up in Oklahoma City when Oral Roberts was on TV.

My siblings and I used to make fun of him. When he would ask people to come and put their hand on the TV, we'd jokingly do what he said. He would holler, "heal, heal, heal!" We'd all laugh and practice saying the same thing as we held our small hands on the TV. We thought he was nuts!

Well, the institution that Oral Roberts built in Tulsa, Oklahoma is awash in scandal. Click here to read about what's going on.

I have had friends whose children attended ORU. Many of them thought there was something "wrong" with the teachings at ORU. Some told me that it appeared that they cared more about "right appearance" rather than "right belief."

Continue reading "False Shepherds?" »

Posted by Judy at 8:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

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Disgraced Pastor Ted Haggard Asks Supporters for Cash. Is this the true definition of Chutzpah or what?!

Did you get a severance package equivalent to a year's salary of $138,000 from the last job you left? Can you sell your home for $715,051.

Would you ask others to support you if you disgraced your church, not to mention yourself, in such a manner and had equivalent assets?

Is it any wonder why Christianity gets a bad rap sometimes? There are nuts in the Church, just like there are nuts in the world! Hopefully, we don't judge everyone by the few nuts in either population. Well, please feel free to perhaps not apply this to those who kill in the name of God! As though God would ever tell islamo-facists to kill Americans or anybody else in His name.

This is about as bad, not quite, as Bishop Robinson insinuating that some of Jesus' disciples may have been gay! For the skinny, check out this podcast from MTNP this past Saturday, when we discussed the story, as reported some two years ago at WorldNetDaily.

Posted by Judy at 9:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We use SiteMeter to track visits to the 'Grok (darn, I gotta figure out why it isn't showing at the bottom of the page...sigh....add it to-do list).  One of the aggregator sites, NH News Links, linked to us so I went on over to see what story they had linked to (Doug's post about upcoming stuff).  On working down the page, I saw a number of posts about Bishop Gene Robinson and his decision to enter in a civil union here in NH (here, here, and here).

You gotta love the Internet and blogs - go looking for one thing and find something interesting everywhere you go when you least expect it.

Anyways, the 'Grok has done a bunch of posts on the decline of the "mainline" Protestant churches, including the Episcopalian church, as they seem to be turning, in my opinion, from a spiritual gospel to a more socially / culturally oriented theology (here, here, here, here, and here among others).

It seems that Bishop Gene Robinson has decided to insert himself into the news.  He announced to BBC while in London that he was going to consummate a civil union with his partner.

(London) The only openly gay bishop in the worldwide Anglican Church has unveiled plans for a civil union with his longtime partner, unleashing an attack by church conservatives who call it a publicity stunt.

[snip] 

The timing would bring it just weeks before bishops from around the world are to meet in London for their once-a-decade meeting called the Lambeth Conference.

[snip]

"I am certainly not doing that to rub salt into anyone's wounds, but no one should expect me to penalize me and my partner when these rights are being offered,"

Call me skeptical, but to announce this before one of the most important meetings of the Anglican Church when he single handed has thrown his church into such turmoil?  This could have been done afterwards, or even after the first of the year.  Does he really think that this helps his cause? 

[snip]

Robinson first raised the possibility of entering into a civil union when he testified in April before a New Hampshire committee hearing leading up to the vote that passed the law.

He has made it no secret that this is one of his signature issues.  Not necessarily in word but certainly in deed.  No, his emphasis has not been on healing, not on winning souls, not on stemming the decline in his church membership.  It is my opinion that he has used his position for his own purpose.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, the titular leader of the worldwide denomination has been trying to keep the Church from splintering over Robinson's election in 2004.

While Robinson will be allowed to attend the Lambeth Conference, Williams will not allow him to participate or vote.

A similar restriction has been placed on bishops consecrated in the US by Akinola.

On one level, Williams has done the right thing - putting both antagonists "into the penalty box".  However, this does not solve the problem - in watching words in the media, it is clear that Robinson is not going to stop his crusade.  And given the sin that Bishop Akinola sees being paraded by a church leader, neither will he stop in his admonishments.

Continue reading "The Bishop is at it again" »

Posted by Skip at 8:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

No, this is not JUST an ad for our good friend Pat Hynes from AnkleBitingPundits (and co-host of Meet The New Press).  But it works (read it, fact filled, and points out the importance of a rather large group that the Left both ridicules and is trying to court at the same time - a Skip recommendation!)

Rather, it is to point out that this group, like it or not, is going to play a major role in the upcoming election.  And over at CSNSNews, they are reporting that part of the Religious Right, the Evangelicals (and yes, as a born again Christian, I count myself within that group), as a group  do view things differently from the American population at large. 

This has major ramifications for the upcoming elections. 

Evangelical Christians' priorities for change in government and society deviate from average Americans' priorities more than any other subgroup, according to a study released this week by the Barna Group, a Christian research firm.

The study asked respondents to rank the importance of 11 different issues, including overall care and resources devoted to children, the quality of public school education, national security, poverty, the state of marriage and families, the spiritual state of the country and the environment.

Interest piqued, I decided  to look at the report at the report author, The Barna Group (which I highly suggest going over and reading it - it isn't all that long).  What it shows is that to attract Evangelicals (and like minded people), politicians and leaders are going to have to do a better job of figuring out what this group actually believes in, in order to attract their support.

And those issues are not ones we now see playing in the popular political culture.

The survey Question:

Think about how you would like the United States to change within the next 10 years. If you had the ability to make the decisions, tell me how important each of the changes I describe would be to you: absolutely necessary, somewhat important, not too important, or a waste of resources. 

The Results: after the jump 

Continue reading "And what happens when the future vision is different?" »

Posted by Skip at 8:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Even being a Christian myself, I'm sometimes embarrassed by how we act. We forget that God draws people to Himself, and we're merely facilitators sometimes. I hate it when Christian's beat people over the head with their Bibles rather than "lovingly" bringing them into the Kingdom. However, this can take on some interesting ideas of what "lovingly" means as well. Sometimes truth and honesty, wrapped in loving confrontation, feels anything but "lovingly." 

Since Bill Mayer is at it again, I thought some of you might be interested in reading Father Jonathan’s "loving confrontation" on Mr. Mayer’s un-enlightened state when it comes to Christianity. Yeah, I already know you chimps will be offended. God Bless you anyway.

Before any of us became Christians, we were all "un-enlightened" too and most of us didn’t understand God, or may have even believed that He didn't exist at all. We certainly didn't know what Christianity was really all about.

It’s kinda one of those things that you have to experience for yourself and then you’ll “get it.” Being forgiven for your sins, no matter what they are, is the biggest high in the universe...no drugs required. Perhaps that's why some newly born agains (and old timers) can be, admitedly, a bit overly zealous.

The nice thing about God is that he already knows everything about you, and He’ll still welcome you into his Kingdom just as you are, warts and all. How many people do you know who will welcome you in your absolutely worst state? Pretty cool when you think about it…

But, after you “join” you’ll likely have a deep desire to change for the better. Plus, He’ll provide you some insight into yourself, too, and even possibly reveal why you do those stupid, destructive things you do. It’s a win-win situation if you're willing. I like that! 

Posted by Judy at 5:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by Doug at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In show of sensitivity, schools chief renames Easter events

TIVERTON — The Easter Bunny was to have made a stop at a craft fair at the Tiverton Middle School tomorrow, appearing for photos with students as part of a fundraising effort sponsored by the school’s Parent-Teacher Council.

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But Schools Supt. William Rearick called a halt to the use of the word “Easter” at a school event, just as the word “Christmas” is out of bounds in school publications and activities.

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Instead of the Easter Bunny, the Parent-Teacher Council booth will offer photos with Peter Rabbit.

Similarly, Rearick said, he has told officials of the Tiverton Land Trust that a flier inviting children to an egg hunt cannot include the wor