Responses.
This is a response to an email I've gotten several times. If you read it, you may or may not be offended, and that's up to you. However, these are my views on the subject. You have been warned. I would like any comments you might have on this one. Thanks guys.
My comments in italics.
Did you see where Billy Graham's daughter was being interviewed on the Early Show not long ago about the September 11th terrorist attack and Jane Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this happen?"
Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said "I believe that God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman that He is, I believe that He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand that He leave us alone?"
Do you think that this is the only country that has ever had a disaster? What about the countries where church and state are not separated? When they are hit with earthquakes, famines, and terrorist attacks, where is God for them, since they open up every aspect of their lives to him?
Also, how would we know all of God’s goodness if there was nothing to take away from it? How bright would the light be if there was no darkness, as it were.
Let's see, I think it started when Madeline Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body was found recently) complained she didn't want any prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then, someone said you better not read the Bible in school... the Bible that says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said, OK.
As tongue-in-cheek as this sounds, I don’t want prayer in our schools, and I’m not dead.
First of all, it does not fall on the shoulders of the schools to legislate morality. That job falls to the individual parents and guardians of our children.
How old was the person who killed her? And did that person go to Sunday school when they were young? How come it doesn’t give that detail here?
Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide) And we said, an expert should know what he's talking about so we said OK.
Then, someone said teachers and principals better not discipline our children when they misbehave. And the school administrators said no faculty member in this school better touch a student when they misbehave because we don't want any bad publicity, and we surely don't want to be sued. There's big a difference between disciplining and touching, beating, smacking, humiliating, kicking, etc.) And we said, OK.
Okay. I concede this point. I’m all for discipline and the “spare the rod spoil the child” concept. So, they’re right here.
Then someone said, let's let our daughters have abortions if they want, and they won't even have to tell their parents. And we said, OK.
I DO NOT THINK ANYONE WITHOUT A UTERUS SHOULD HAVE ANY SAY IN THIS MATTER WHATSOEVER.
Men can have a say in abortion the day they do something in its creation other than come for five seconds.
As for women, they should have the choice. Maybe they’ll choose not to do it; I wouldn’t consider abortion for myself, nor would I recommend it to others. However, I try to keep my nose out of other people’s business. So whatever they do is up to them.
Then some wise school board member said, since boys will be boys and they're going to do it anyway, let's give our sons all the condoms they want, so they can have all the fun they desire, and we won't have to tell their parents they got them at school. And we said, OK.
In this issue, these are your real-life choices.
A) Don’t give out condoms for free in schools, because it promotes immoral behavior. Hmm, I wonder why the STD and pregnancy statistics are going up?
B) Realize that no matter what is defined as “good” and “bad” people are going to have sex, and try to take preventative measures against teenage pregnancy and STD’s.
You choose.
Then some of our top elected officials said it doesn't matter what we do in private as long as we do our jobs. And agreeing with them, we said it doesn't matter to me what anyone, including the President, does in private as long as I have a job and the economy is good.
It’s not that it doesn’t matter what top elected officials do in private. It’s the fact that it’s no one’s business. It’s between them God. Or did you forget that part of the Bible that said “Judge not lest ye be judged” and “Let him without sin cast the first stone?” Also, just because someone’s getting a blowjob or something doesn’t mean that you have to sink to that level. Pssh.
And then the entertainment industry said, let's make TV shows and movies that promote profanity, violence, and illicit sex. And let's record music that encourages rape, drugs, murder, suicide, and satanic themes. And we said it's just entertainment, it has no adverse effect, and nobody takes it seriously anyway, so go right ahead.
Again, this is a point I find myself agreeing on. However, I don’t agree on blaming everything that’s wrong in the world today on the entertainment industry. As I remember it, the Crusades were some pretty bloody skirmishes, and they didn’t have hate rock goading them on. Point is, violence, sex, and profanity have been around since the dawn of time. The media just magnifies it.
Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves. Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW."
Um, excuse me, may I point out something: I have a conscience. So does my little sister. And all of my younger cousins, and all of my friends. I think whoever wrote this is being pretty general by saying our children have no consciences. All the people I just mentioned in the above sentence also know the difference between right and wrong. Just because a few kids committed crimes does not mean that we all do. In fact, all of the people I know were appalled at what happened at Columbine.
Then there was the student who wrote "Dear God, Why didn't you save the little girl killed in her classroom?". Sincerely, Concerned Student... AND THE REPLY "Dear Concerned Student, I am not allowed in schools". Sincerely, God.
God is everywhere and a part of everything, or so it is preached. Correct me if I’m wrong, but “everywhere and everything” sounds to me like it includes schools, doesn’t it?
Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how everyone wants to go to heaven provided they do not have to believe, think, say, or do anything the Bible says. Funny how someone can say "I believe in God" but still follow Satan who, by the way, also "believes" in God.
I don’t talk trash about anyone’s version of God, realizing that they have their beliefs and their faith and that is their right. I have never wondered why the world is going to hell. I could give you several reasons there, including prejudice, ignorance, hatred, anger, and fear.
I do not believe what the newspapers say. I do not believe what the Bible says. I refuse to accept something just because I’m told to do so. I was raised to question everything and I will continue to do so until the day I die.
Funny how we are quick to judge but not to be judged. Funny how you can send a thousand jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.
Judge me, what will you find? If I judge you, what will I find? Step back and take a good long look at yourself and the things you stand for.
Funny how the lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but the public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.
Funny how the lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene is suppressed in schools and in the workplace. Funny how the public discussion of God passes freely through cyberspace, via emails such as this one and websites such as spirituality.net or beliefnet.com.
Funny how someone can be so fired up for Christ in church, but be an invisible Christian the rest of the week.
Funny how some people realize that there is a time and a place for everything… Save the preaching for Sundays and churches where it belongs. If one of my employees was all up in my face about Christianity 24/7, I would fire them. Wrong? Probably. What would happen in the real world? Yeah, probably that too.
Are you laughing yet??
Nope.
Funny how when you go to forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it to them. Funny how I can be more worried about what other people think of me than what God thinks of me.
I am not forwarding this because I agree with very little of it, and consider the rest propaganda and distortions of the facts at hand.
God can think whatever he wants of me. I have a pretty good relationship with him. People can think whatever they want of me. I don’t really give a damn.
Are you thinking yet???
I’ve been thinking since the beginning of this essay. Have you? Or are you just swallowing it hook, line and sinker because a minister somewhere said to?
Are you thinking for yourself yet???
My comments in italics.
Did you see where Billy Graham's daughter was being interviewed on the Early Show not long ago about the September 11th terrorist attack and Jane Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this happen?"
Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said "I believe that God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman that He is, I believe that He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand that He leave us alone?"
Do you think that this is the only country that has ever had a disaster? What about the countries where church and state are not separated? When they are hit with earthquakes, famines, and terrorist attacks, where is God for them, since they open up every aspect of their lives to him?
Also, how would we know all of God’s goodness if there was nothing to take away from it? How bright would the light be if there was no darkness, as it were.
Let's see, I think it started when Madeline Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body was found recently) complained she didn't want any prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then, someone said you better not read the Bible in school... the Bible that says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said, OK.
As tongue-in-cheek as this sounds, I don’t want prayer in our schools, and I’m not dead.
First of all, it does not fall on the shoulders of the schools to legislate morality. That job falls to the individual parents and guardians of our children.
How old was the person who killed her? And did that person go to Sunday school when they were young? How come it doesn’t give that detail here?
Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide) And we said, an expert should know what he's talking about so we said OK.
Then, someone said teachers and principals better not discipline our children when they misbehave. And the school administrators said no faculty member in this school better touch a student when they misbehave because we don't want any bad publicity, and we surely don't want to be sued. There's big a difference between disciplining and touching, beating, smacking, humiliating, kicking, etc.) And we said, OK.
Okay. I concede this point. I’m all for discipline and the “spare the rod spoil the child” concept. So, they’re right here.
Then someone said, let's let our daughters have abortions if they want, and they won't even have to tell their parents. And we said, OK.
I DO NOT THINK ANYONE WITHOUT A UTERUS SHOULD HAVE ANY SAY IN THIS MATTER WHATSOEVER.
Men can have a say in abortion the day they do something in its creation other than come for five seconds.
As for women, they should have the choice. Maybe they’ll choose not to do it; I wouldn’t consider abortion for myself, nor would I recommend it to others. However, I try to keep my nose out of other people’s business. So whatever they do is up to them.
Then some wise school board member said, since boys will be boys and they're going to do it anyway, let's give our sons all the condoms they want, so they can have all the fun they desire, and we won't have to tell their parents they got them at school. And we said, OK.
In this issue, these are your real-life choices.
A) Don’t give out condoms for free in schools, because it promotes immoral behavior. Hmm, I wonder why the STD and pregnancy statistics are going up?
B) Realize that no matter what is defined as “good” and “bad” people are going to have sex, and try to take preventative measures against teenage pregnancy and STD’s.
You choose.
Then some of our top elected officials said it doesn't matter what we do in private as long as we do our jobs. And agreeing with them, we said it doesn't matter to me what anyone, including the President, does in private as long as I have a job and the economy is good.
It’s not that it doesn’t matter what top elected officials do in private. It’s the fact that it’s no one’s business. It’s between them God. Or did you forget that part of the Bible that said “Judge not lest ye be judged” and “Let him without sin cast the first stone?” Also, just because someone’s getting a blowjob or something doesn’t mean that you have to sink to that level. Pssh.
And then the entertainment industry said, let's make TV shows and movies that promote profanity, violence, and illicit sex. And let's record music that encourages rape, drugs, murder, suicide, and satanic themes. And we said it's just entertainment, it has no adverse effect, and nobody takes it seriously anyway, so go right ahead.
Again, this is a point I find myself agreeing on. However, I don’t agree on blaming everything that’s wrong in the world today on the entertainment industry. As I remember it, the Crusades were some pretty bloody skirmishes, and they didn’t have hate rock goading them on. Point is, violence, sex, and profanity have been around since the dawn of time. The media just magnifies it.
Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves. Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW."
Um, excuse me, may I point out something: I have a conscience. So does my little sister. And all of my younger cousins, and all of my friends. I think whoever wrote this is being pretty general by saying our children have no consciences. All the people I just mentioned in the above sentence also know the difference between right and wrong. Just because a few kids committed crimes does not mean that we all do. In fact, all of the people I know were appalled at what happened at Columbine.
Then there was the student who wrote "Dear God, Why didn't you save the little girl killed in her classroom?". Sincerely, Concerned Student... AND THE REPLY "Dear Concerned Student, I am not allowed in schools". Sincerely, God.
God is everywhere and a part of everything, or so it is preached. Correct me if I’m wrong, but “everywhere and everything” sounds to me like it includes schools, doesn’t it?
Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how everyone wants to go to heaven provided they do not have to believe, think, say, or do anything the Bible says. Funny how someone can say "I believe in God" but still follow Satan who, by the way, also "believes" in God.
I don’t talk trash about anyone’s version of God, realizing that they have their beliefs and their faith and that is their right. I have never wondered why the world is going to hell. I could give you several reasons there, including prejudice, ignorance, hatred, anger, and fear.
I do not believe what the newspapers say. I do not believe what the Bible says. I refuse to accept something just because I’m told to do so. I was raised to question everything and I will continue to do so until the day I die.
Funny how we are quick to judge but not to be judged. Funny how you can send a thousand jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.
Judge me, what will you find? If I judge you, what will I find? Step back and take a good long look at yourself and the things you stand for.
Funny how the lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but the public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.
Funny how the lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene is suppressed in schools and in the workplace. Funny how the public discussion of God passes freely through cyberspace, via emails such as this one and websites such as spirituality.net or beliefnet.com.
Funny how someone can be so fired up for Christ in church, but be an invisible Christian the rest of the week.
Funny how some people realize that there is a time and a place for everything… Save the preaching for Sundays and churches where it belongs. If one of my employees was all up in my face about Christianity 24/7, I would fire them. Wrong? Probably. What would happen in the real world? Yeah, probably that too.
Are you laughing yet??
Nope.
Funny how when you go to forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it to them. Funny how I can be more worried about what other people think of me than what God thinks of me.
I am not forwarding this because I agree with very little of it, and consider the rest propaganda and distortions of the facts at hand.
God can think whatever he wants of me. I have a pretty good relationship with him. People can think whatever they want of me. I don’t really give a damn.
Are you thinking yet???
I’ve been thinking since the beginning of this essay. Have you? Or are you just swallowing it hook, line and sinker because a minister somewhere said to?
Are you thinking for yourself yet???