piasharn | (no subject)

I am a liberal. However, I don't always agree with my fellow lefties, and I don't always disagree with the other side. Two examples follow...

Here is one occasion which I am very much in alignment with something that Cal Thomas wrote.

"The conflicting thought is that nowhere in Scripture is the secular state expected to acknowledge God. The state is an instrument of God, which Paul tells us we are to obey for our own good (Romans 13:1-5). There are verses about nations being "blessed whose God is the Lord" (Psalm 33:12). But there is no expectation or command for the state to be an instrument in spreading God's message to humankind. That is clearly the job of those who follow Him. In fact, when the state takes upon itself the work of spreading God's message (or is asked to do so by God's followers), it often does a poor job."

(Emphasis is mine)

"Does the presence of the Ten Commandments in a courthouse, or a creche on public property in December, or a cross on state property, advance or detract from the message these symbols are supposed to communicate? Will an irreligious people who worship their personal golden calves of pleasure and affluence be more likely to "seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness" (Matthew 6:33) if they see such displays, or be lulled into a false security that God is somehow pleased or tolerant of the increasingly secular outlook of His creation?"

"If the ultimate question is how best for God's followers to interest more people in Him and His message, then the ultimate answer ought to come from internal, not external, things. Loving your enemies, praying for those who persecute you, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting those in prison and caring for widows and orphans make up the "strategy" laid down by the Founding Father of the Christian faith. Could it be that too many have forsaken the harder but more effective work in favor of exterior symbols that, like crosses worn as jewelry, tell the observer nothing about one's heart?"

On the whole Alabama courthouse fiasco, I'm having mixed feelings as well. Personally, I don't give a damn about that monument. However, the judge's claims that our country is a Christian one and that our laws are based on the Ten Commandments is completely bogus. It was his attitude, more than anything, that made me glad the hunk of rock was wheeled out of the courthouse.

Besides, it was such an ugly monument. Couldn't they have put a bit more creativity into the design?

Still, having the thing there will not make the courthouse more holy or moral or whatnot. It's not going to convert anyone. More likely than not, it would just end up being an eye-sore.

The second example, Muslims and Christians in Denial is a piece that highlights five Letters to the Editor in the New York Times. All concern the topic of Christians attempting to convert Muslims.

I'm not going to quote any sections, because it's really one of those articles that you need to read the entire thing. But I do recommend it, especially if you are intereted in the interactions of various world religions. The author makes a lot of jabs at liberal Christians and Muslims, many of which I agree with. Although to even things out a bit, he digs into the one letter from a fundamentalist Baptist as well.

And this, my dears, is why I don't believe in organized religion. If you're going to follow a particular doctrine, then you allow yourself to be bound by the dogma of said religion.

On the subject of conversion... I don't necessarily disagree with it. Like the article mentions, no one is forcing anyone to follow a particular path. That being said, there are still a few things that bug me... like when some (not all!) missionaries bring food or other goods to very poor countries and give them to the people in exchange for listening to sermons and whatnot.

I know, they're still not forcing them, but it's a shifty way of going about the business. In my mind, the best way to go about it is the method used by Mother Theresa. She didn't preach or condemn or tell people that they had to follow her religion. She just cared for people and gave them their dignity back.

I may not be Christian, but I'll be pissed as hell if she is not recognized as a Saint. If anyone earned that title, it's Mother Theresa.

And then there are the people who just don't shut up. You know, you listen politely to their spiel, say "Thanks, but no thanks" and try to go on your merry (if hellbound) way, and they won't leave you alone! (Either that, or they start going on about how you are will be damned to Hell... what, are you trying to scare me into joining your religion?) Look, badgering me is not going to change my mind.

It's like the spam mail that floods my Inbox... if I didn't want it the first time you told me, why am I going to want it the next seven times? Shake the dust from your feet and move on already.