And Jesus turned to his disciples, saying 'Blessed is he who sees his brother in pain, or naked, or hungry, and says unto his brother, "Fear not, for I shall get Caesar involved. Otherwise, I might be personally inconvenienced."
And the disciples said unto Jesus, "Master, Master, did not you ask us to forsake our homes, our nets, our boats, and our families so that we could help the least of all these?"
And Jesus mocked them, saying, "Yea, verily, I say unto you, in my Father's house are many mansions. And the greatest of these shall go to those who are really tight with King Herod."
Go here for the latest example of the church saying "Let's get Caesar involved". As if Jesus would really support the Department Of Health And Human Services money pit.
From Roll Call, the unofficial magazine/website/playbook of the United States Congress:
Republicans Shift Focus From Jobs to God
•Oct. 31, 2011, Midnight
Republicans may be trying to focus their messaging on jobs and the economy — and hammering President Barack Obama for campaigning — but they still have time for some red meat base-baiting on the House floor.
To wit: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s (Va.) decision to bring to the floor a measure that “reaffirms ‘In God We Trust’ as the official motto of the United States and supports and encourages the public display of the national motto in all public buildings, public schools, and other government institutions,” according to the resolution, sponsored by Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.).
Just think of it...The Federal Reserve is bankrupting every retiree who did the right thing and set aside some cash. They're printing money like mad. They're counterfeiting. They're evil. But they will have "In God We Trust" on a massive medallion hanging in the lobby.
The resolution is one of three measures being considered by the House on Tuesday and is nonbinding.
Cantor’s office declined to comment for this story.
Democrats ridiculed the decision to bring up the measure.
“The last time we checked, ‘In God We Trust’ is the national motto of the United States, adopted in 1956, and China was still getting off scot-free while Republican House leaders refuse to bring up a bipartisan bill to level the playing field for American workers,” said Nadeam Elshami, spokesman for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.).
Anytime I find myself siding with Nancy Pelosi's minions, it is going to be a bad day. I'm calling in sick before the workplace accidents begin.
Go here for an explanation of the painting. Dr. Ralph, eat your heart out.
“How hard is it for the Republican leadership to reaffirm its commitment to the middle class by allowing a vote on the bipartisan China currency legislation that will create more than 1 million jobs? Apparently, they’re just too busy,” Elshami added.
In a statement, Forbes defended bringing the bill to the floor, arguing that Congress needs to directly confront “a disturbing trend of inaccuracies and omissions, misunderstandings of church and state, rogue court challenges, and efforts to remove God from the public domain by unelected bureaucrats.”
Randy Forbes, you ignorant slut. There are a lot of us who don't want any "gods" leading the charge in your dirty little wars. We don't want Yahweh, Zeus, Jehovah, Jesus, or Neptune to have any part of Obama's Jobs Bill. There are no misunderstandings. Here's an excerpt from The Treaty Of Tripoli, originated by John Adams (Sr.), unanimously approved by Congress, and then signed into law in 1797:
As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion,—as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen (Muslims),—and as the said States never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.
It really is that simple. The Founders saw all the wars that began as European religious spats, and decided that they wanted no part of it. The End. Full Stop.
Forbes points to a number of instances that are driving the need for the bill, including Obama referring to E Pluribus Unum as “our” motto and omission of the motto from parts of the Capitol Visitor Center, among others.
“As our nation faces challenging times, it is appropriate for Members of Congress and our nation — like our predecessors — to firmly declare our trust in God, believing that it will sustain us for generations to come,” he added.
Ok, Randy, put up or shut up. Let's not run anyone against Barack. Let the Fed keep printing money. Give ACORN, SEIU, OWS, and the government bureaucracies everything they want. Do we have ineffective schools? Just pray about it. Do we have more black men in cages than the Confederacy? Put it in the Lord's hands.
Trust in God. Somehow, I don't think you want to do that.
Since so many of you begin your Sunday morning devotions with a visit to this site....
Our text for today comes from the gospel of Matthew, Chapter 6, verse 5:
"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
Please put aside your bibles, and turn to your internet. Visit the site of Dr. Andy Barron, who is running for Texas governor. Dr. Barron's first priority is as follows:
Prayer as a priority - Since 1962 when prayer was eliminated unnecessarily from public schools there has been a steady decline in morals of our society.
The good doctor gives us more specifics on his Issues page:
■Prayer and Religious Speech Protected Under 1st Amendment
■Establishment Clause Requires the Government to be Neutral Toward Religion, and Does Not Justify the Exclusion of Religious Speech
■Legislative Prayer Is a Permissible Acknowledgment of Widely Held Religious Beliefs in this Country
■The Rights of Students to Pray at School
■The Rights of Students to Pray at Graduation
■Equal Access allows individuals and groups to use government facilities for prayer and worship on the same basis that other individuals and groups are given access.
By all accounts, Dr. Barron is a great guy. He has already accomplished more good in the world than I ever will.
Unfortunately, he is focused on reviving one of the problems that our nation's founders were trying to escape.
Dr. Barron grew up in Texas and went to Baylor. The organizations he belongs to are predominantly Protestant, so let's assume he's a Protestant.
Dr. Barron and other Christian Protestants can pray any time, anywhere. In between this paragraph and the previous one, I prayed a simple prayer. "God, please let this be a great post, and if it's okay with you, please let it be emailed around the world. Please help Kathie Glass be elected Texas governor. I want a pony. Amen."
You can't stop me from praying, at least in the Protestant sense of the word. You can't stop me, and I can't stop you. The legislatures can legislate all they want, and it doesn't do a bit of good.
But there's another kind of prayer, the kind that Jesus was irked about in this morning's Bible reading. Dr. Brent Beasley (of my own Broadway Baptist Church) calls this "Egocessary Prayer" (That's a play on words with the phrase "intercessory prayer", where you ask God for blog hits, election results and ponies). "Egocessary Prayer" is the kind I grew up hearing in school, at graduation services, before football games, and before most public events. It basically means "praying out loud in public".
For instance....
Before a Mississippi private academy football game, a preacher gets on the microphone and asks everyone to bow their heads, and asks God to bless (so and so). Then the preacher thanks God for (so and so), and asks that He keep our young men safe on the football field while they are trying to kill each other.
Then the preacher outlines the plan of salvation, not because God is fuzzy on the details, but because the preacher's congregation needs to know that the preacher is earning his pay and trying to convert the Catholics and Episcopalians.
Bonus points are given for length, style, use of verbs from The King James version, and for passion. I once heard the equivalent of a double reverse backflip triple-axle, when a preacher at a graduation service shoveled in something about the superiority of full-immersion baptism.
And then finally, the preacher says "we ask these things in your son's name, Amen."
Then you can go on with your football game, graduation, or city council meeting.
What will happen down in south Texas when someone is asked to lead a public school prayer, and a priest decides to take advantage of the teachable moment and educate everyone on how to pray with a rosary? (Note to Yankees, Europeans, and Aussies: No one living north of Waco can imagine this ever happening.)
Is Dr. Barron prepared to purchase storage facilities for Muslim prayer rugs?
Is there time before a high school graduation to perform the "Festival of Ramen", the only way known to appease The Flying Spaghetti Monster? Will the schools have to make reasonable accomodations for all the tongs, salad sporks, colanders, and cheese graters? And if you think kids coming to school in gang colors are a problem, just wait until those who have been Touched By His Noodly Appendage show up in full pirate regalia.
There are only 2 reasons for Egocessary prayer, as opposed to praying silently:
1) To show off.
2) To evangelize.
There's no point in the first one, and The Founders were opposed to the second. End of story.
One last thing about the Barron candidacy, check out this video. It's only 30 seconds long.
Regardless of how you feel about Andy Barron as Texas governor, regardless of how hard you work to get him elected, or whether you do everything in your power to prevent him from becoming governor, none of that matters.
You don't matter.
Polls don't matter.
Effort doesn't matter.
Planning doesn't matter.
Andy Barron wasted his time becoming a doctor/dentist. If people's health/teeth were going to improve, it was going to happen anyway.
Please check out the video. It's only 30 seconds long. I don't know why I'm bothering to ask you to watch it, since if you watch it, it was bound to happen anyway.
A few weeks ago we had a vote on whether to have a community sign provided by the city government, paid for with taxes. I cast the lone dissenting vote. While the amount of money is small relative to the overall budget, our budget is very tight and we made lots of cuts to avoid raising taxes. Therefore this expense, though small, should not stand while other more urgent causes are cut. However, the real problem is not financial. I warned that having such a sign would result in a fiasco of contention and rancor over policy. Last night’s council meeting proved my point.
Our city staff prepared a draft policy for the sign at last night’s meeting. It contained an exclusion for content of a religious nature, which I support. In order to clarify the interpretation of this policy I started the questioning by presenting several examples from the church I attend. A fellow councilman asked if a vacation bible school could be advertised. This went on a good long while with the mayor concluding he doesn’t have any problem with using taxpayer’s money for advertising items of a religious nature.
Let me set some further context here. We begin council meetings with a prayer to Jesus Christ. I oppose this. I haven’t actively done anything about it because I have so many other battles to wage, but I would certainly welcome a policy change here.
Why would a Catholic who goes to church twice every Sunday oppose religion in city politics?
Perhaps you are familiar with the first amendment to the US Constitution. Perhaps you are aware of the inspiration the first amendment derived from Thomas Jefferson. Perhaps you are aware that Muslims, Jews, Atheists, and others have the same rights as Christians. Perhaps the Muslim, Jew, or Atheist wonders if they will get a fair shake on a zoning variance after the entire council prays to Jesus. Perhaps you are aware of the atrocities of the Taliban.
I take my faith seriously. I do not need George Bush, Bill Clinton, or any other politician being the middle man in my relationship with God. If we continue to empower politicians to take our money to promote their church, what happens when their church isn’t your church?
Now ask yourself, do I sound like a Republican to you?
Let me be more clear:
•I cast the lone dissenting vote against an ordinance allowing government to ban cell phone use in school zones •I cast the lone dissenting vote to renew our curfew law
It is easy to stand on the sidelines and call yourself one thing or another. The true test of your identity is when you are outnumbered but refuse to compromise your principles.
So, do Libertarians hurt Republicans? Yes, when they are in power. We have had Republicans in power until recently and Libertarians have appealed more to voters that see their failure of leadership. The same will happen with Democrats. Research proves it.
A few weeks ago we had a vote on whether to have a community sign provided by the city government, paid for with taxes. I cast the lone dissenting vote. While the amount of money is small relative to the overall budget, our budget is very tight and we made lots of cuts to avoid raising taxes. Therefore this expense, though small, should not stand while other more urgent causes are cut. However, the real problem is not financial. I warned that having such a sign would result in a fiasco of contention and rancor over policy. Last night’s council meeting proved my point.