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How many newsgroup members does it take to change a light bulb? Fire Fighters forced to take part in a Gay Parade. The Worlds Oldest Profession. Smart Parenting and talking to your Children about Same Sex Marriage. Warning an asteriod is due to hit the Earth Tonight! Very Real Implications of Degrading the Institution of Marriage. Another Creepy Video. Thoughts on Materialism Does Science Condemn God? Here is one for FloridaStateGrad. October 07 November 07 December 07 January 08 February 08 March 08 April 08 May 08 June 08 July 08 August 08 September 08 October 08 +Christ is Risen+
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YOUR GOVERNMENT AT WORK Posted: May 29, 2008
With today's signature on SB200, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat, has eliminated gender-specific restrooms and locker rooms statewide, giving woman and girls reason to fear being confronted by predators, cross-dressers "or even a homosexual or heterosexual male," according to a critic. The state's new "transgender nondiscrimination" bill makes it illegal to deny a person access to public accommodations, including restrooms and locker rooms, based on gender identity or the "perception" of gender identity. Ritter signed the Expanded Discrimination Prohibitions, approved by the legislature, with this definition: "'Sexual orientation' means a person's orientation toward heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, or transgender status or another person's perception thereof." "Who would have believed that the Colorado state legislature and its governor would have made it fully legal for men to enter and use women’s restrooms and locker-room facilities without notice or explanation?" said James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, the Christian publishing and broadcast ministry in Colorado Springs.
"Henceforth, every woman and little girl will have to fear that a predator, bisexual, cross-dresser or even a homosexual or heterosexual male might walk in and relieve himself in their presence," Dobson said. "The legislation lists every conceivable type of organization to which this law applies, including restaurants, bathhouses, massage parlors, mortuaries, theaters and 'public facilities of any kind.' Those who would attempt to protect females from this intrusion are subject to a fine of up to $5,000 and up to one year behind bars. "This is your government in action. It represents a payback to Tim Gill and two other billionaires who have essentially 'bought' state legislators with enormous campaign contributions. Coloradans deserve better!" Dobson said. "And by the way, because of the way this bill is written, it is not subject to the initiative process. There is no recourse,” Dobson said. According to the bill, business owners and managers of restaurants, gyms, barber shops, massage parlors and managers of public facilities "of any kind whether indoor or outdoor" cannot deny a person employment or access to a facility based on gender identity or that "perception." The bill also makes it illegal to discriminate based on "sexual orientation" when renting, selling or leasing housing or when selecting members for jury duty." Penalties for those who discriminate against others based on gender identity include fines and/or time in jail. The same issue, on which WND has reported, already has created a mess in Montgomery County, Md., where a lawsuit is pending seeking to deprive residents of the right to vote on whether they want their restrooms and locker rooms opened to men who believe they're women. WND reported the Montgomery County Board of Elections certified a petition assembled by Maryland Citizens for a Responsible Government that would be placed on the November election ballot. The petition seeks to reverse a county law adopted in recent months that aims to "protect" transgender people from discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodations and various services. Critics say instead it would virtually eliminate the ability of businesses, clubs or anyone providing a "public facility" to prevent men from entering women's showers, and vice versa. The Colorado bill says churches, synagogues, mosqu and other places used principally for religious purposes are not included in the definition of "place of public accommodation." "Lest we think that this is just the 'bathroom bill,' I'd like us also to realize that this really is about Christian businesspeople being able to practice their faith through their profession," Rep. Amy Stephens said, citing an Albuquerque photographer who refused to photograph a same sex couple's ceremony, was brought before the New Mexico Civil Rights Commission, found guilty and fined $6,000. Dobson warned the Colorado bill now will be "coming to every state in the country." Here is a little piece on the blending of modern life and ancient faith in the homeland of the Christian Monastic Tradition: http://www.reuters.com/arti...
Contemplating CatsThere is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast." --Anonymous "Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this." --Anonymous "Cats are smarter than dogs. You can't get eight cats to pull a sled through snow." --Jeff Valdez "In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats." --English proverb "As every cat owner knows, nobody owns a cat." --Ellen Perry Berkeley "One cat just leads to another." --Ernest Hemingway "Dogs come when they're called; cats take a message and get back to you later." --Mary Bly "Cats are rather delicate creatures and they are subject to a good many ailments, but I never heard of one who suffered from insomnia." --Joseph Wood Krutch "People that hate cats, will come back as mice in their next life." --Faith Resnick "There are many intelligent species in the universe. They are all owned by cats." --Anonymous "I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is infinitely superior." --Hippolyte Taine "No heaven will not ever Heaven be; Unless my cats are there to welcome me." --Unknown "There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats." --Albert Schweitzer "The cat has too much spirit to have no heart." --Ernest Menaul "Dogs believe they are human. Cats believe they are God." --Anonymous "Time spent with cats is never wasted." --Colette "Some people say that cats are sneaky, evil, and cruel. True, and they have many other fine qualities as well." --Missy Dizick "You will always be lucky if you know how to make friends with strange cats." --Colonial American proverb "Cats seem to go on the principle that it never does any harm to ask for what you want." --Joseph Wood Krutch "I got rid of my husband. The cat was allergic." --Anonymous "My husband said it was him or the cat... I miss him sometimes." --Anonymous "Cats aren't clean, they're just covered with cat spit." --Anonymous Since everyone is talking about Obama this morning; I will share this artical on Black Liberation Theology.
Rev. Wright and Black Liberation TheologyFr. Richard Demetrius AndrewsSermon delivered May 4, 2008 Before this past week or month you may have never heard of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. After this week, just about everyone knows who he is. His association with presidential hopeful Barack Obama, his interview with Bill Moyers on PBS, and his recent provocative speeches before the NAACP and the National Press Club launched Rev. Wright into the national spotlight. I saw the live broadcast of the National Press Club speech and thought immediately of the need to address the main underpinnings of Rev. Wright’s comments—Liberation Theology. He gave a brief history of its roots and how it interplayed with the development of Black Theology or the Theology of the Black African Churches. Beginning in Latin America, Liberation Theology is based on the belief that the Christian Gospel demands "a preferential option for the poor," and that the church should be involved in the struggle for economic and political justice in the contemporary world—particularly in the Third World. Dating to the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) and the Second Latin American Bishops Conference, held in Medellin, Colombia (1968), the movement brought poor people together in Christian-based communities, to study the Bible and to fight for social justice. However, since the 1980s, the church hierarchy has criticized liberation theology and its advocates, accusing them of wrongly supporting violent revolution and Marxist class struggle” (Columbia University Encyclopedia 2004). Black Theology developed alongside Latin Liberation Theology and had its roots in the Civil Rights and the Black Power movements of the 1960s. In the process, many “black ministers consciously separated their understanding of the gospel of Jesus from white Christianity and identified it with the struggles of the black poor for justice.” Rev. Wright correctly credits two books written by James Cone, “Black Theology and Black Power” in 1969 and “A Black Theology of Liberation” in 1970, that made liberation the organizing centre of his theological system and subsequently of many Black churches.While Latin Liberation Theology was concerned with classism and Black Theology was concerned with racism, both held a common concern for the poor (Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology 1984). So what’s the problem? Is there a problem at all? Certainly Orthodox Christianity teaches the dignity and equality of all human beings, regardless of socio-economic class, race or gender, because we are all created in the image and likeness of God. The divine Son and Word of God became incarnate in the person of Jesus Christ to save all of humanity from evil, sin and death. Orthodox Christians around the world, historically and now, are involved in activities and ministries that seek to bring God’s mercy and justice to suffering and oppressed people. The problem is that Liberation Theology, Black Theology, Feminist Theology or any other similar theology have tended to supplant the theology of God revealed in the Law and Prophets of Israel, in the person of Jesus Christ, and continuously revealed by the Holy Spirit to the Saints in the Church. These theologies become heresies when they take part of the truth and try to make it the whole truth. It is like taking a theatrical spotlight and placing a red lens over it and then saying that whole world is red. This distortion is what caused some in the Latin Catholic Church to support violent revolution motivated by godless Marxism. This distortion is what caused feminist Christians to demand ordination for women while dismissing many traditional forms of Christian spirituality in favor of pagan rituals. This distortion is what caused James Cone to say:
As Greek Orthodox Christians, we know well the history of oppression and suffering under the Turkocratia, the Ottoman Muslim persecution that lasted nearly 500 years. We know that the freedom fighters of the Greek Revolution in the early 1800s were mostly Orthodox Christians. While the bishops and priests certainly prayed for the freedom fighters, one does not find writings emanating from the Church encouraging armed revolution and slaughter of the Turks. The same pattern is found under Roman occupation/persecution of the first three centuries and under the Communist Regime in Russia during the 20th century. Even St. Paul’s epistles encourage patient endurance and faithfulness to God, not armed resistance, under persecution. If Greek Orthodox took the same approach as the most radical Liberation and Black theologians we would see everything through the lens of Ottoman oppression. This might motivate us to say things like “God is only the God of the Greeks!” or “Every Turk is evil!” Certainly do not misunderstand my words to imply that Rev. Jeremiah Wright is evil. In fact, I’m sure he is good person with many redeeming qualities. During his speech to the National Press Club he mentioned many of the ministries of his parish, Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. I would like to hear more about those ministries to seniors, youth, the poor, and prisoners along with many others. These are the words and activities that can unite people. That will not happen with the divisive words coming out of an extreme Black Liberation theology. Rev. Wright quoted Jesus’ inaugural sermon which quoted the Prophet Isaiah (61:1-2). It is the gospel passage we read every September 1st, the beginning of the Ecclesiastical/Church Year, from Luke 4:18-19. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” We must be careful not to read this from a purely literalist perspective. For any one of us can be wealthy, healthy, powerful and free by worldly standards while at the same time be very poor, sick, weak, enslaved and oppressed in terms of our relationship to God and each other. Fr. Richard Demetrius Andrews is the pastor of St. George Greek Orthodox Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Fr. Andrews is the past president of Minnesota Eastern Orthodox Christian Clergy Association (MEOCCA), and a volunteer chaplain with the St. Paul Police Department. Posted: 26-May-08Most of these quotes are taken from G. K. Chesterton's "Orthodoxy." Chesterton argues against materialism, the philosophical view that only matter has any reality; non-material constitutents of human experience like love, meaning, compassion, etc. are not real. It's an important discussion given how much Western culture has been influenced by the materialist view in the last century -- Darwin, Freud, Marx, etc.
This link says that after the Tibetan protest the Chinese government is keeping a close eye on Roman Catholic pilgrims. Let us all remember the Chinese earth quake victims in our prayers while we are at it. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/...
His Grace Bartholomew the Ecunemical Patriarch of Constinople has been voted by Time magazine as one of the most influential men of the year and has been awarded The Woodrow Wilson Award for his efforts in human rights, protecting the enviroment and dialogue between science and sprituality. Some surprising results in this artical of who actually practices what they preach> http://www.washingtonpost.c... THE SNEEZE
They walked in tandem, each of the ninety-two students filing into the
Already crowded auditorium. With their rich maroon gowns flowing and the
Traditional caps, they looked almost as grown up as they felt.
Dads swallowed hard behind broad smiles, and Moms freely brushed away
Tears.
This class would NOT pray during the commencements---- not by choice,
But because of a recent court ruling prohibiting it.
The principal and several students were careful to stay within the
Guidelines allowed by the ruling. They gave inspirational and
Challenging speeches, but no one mentioned divine guidance and no one
Asked for blessings on the graduates or their families.
The speeches were nice, but they were routine until the final speech
Received a standing ovation.
A solitary student walked proudly to the microphone. He stood still and
Silent for just a moment, and then it happened.
*
All 92 students, every single one of them, suddenly SNEEZED!!!!
The student on stage simply looked at the audience and said, 'GOD BLESS
YOU'.
And he walked off stage.
The audience exploded into applause. This graduating class had found a
Unique way to invoke God's blessing on their future with or without the
court's approval.
Isn't this a wonderful story?
Pass it on to all your friends and GOD BLESS YOU!!!
This is a true story. It happened at the University of Maryland!
Two men right here in Yucca Valley, along with tne ACLU were responsible for that Supreme Court decision.
Another blog was addressing the American market for drugs and it's cause of drug violence in Mexico. The original poster of that blog deleted a lot of comments ,because the commenter's were promoting casual drug use and legalization of it in the U.S. I glanced at the comments before they were deleted and noticed that most of them were from the militant liberal crowd. It struck me as odd that a vast majority of the self professed liberal crowd would support the use of recreational drugs. You would think that a few would offer a diffrerent opinon. So let us address that question. What is your stand on casual drug use?
Since I was a child I have always had an interest in Astronomy. Of course I could never convince my parents to buy me that telescope and as a adult more important things like rent and food take precedence. Once again I find that good things come to those who wait. This morning I found on Yahoo this free Microsoft program that lets you explore outer space with images from the big boys telescopes. Now I can spend time admiring more of Gods creation and giving thanks for his wisdom and goodness that surpasses all understanding. Here is a link to "Six Dawns" which is a E-book that discusses traditional Christian approach to creation. As you will read, the argument is quite different than the rationalist West arguments of Intelligent Design, Creationism, or Darwinism that have been much debated lately. http://www.zephyr.gr/stjohn...
Christians are fleeing Iraq and Christianity risks disappearing from the country, says a senior Baghdad cleric, Archbishop Avak Asadourian of the Armenian Church of Iraq, reiterating appeals made recently to Western churches to intercede with their governments about the plight of Iraqi Christians. “We do have the courage of faith, the outpouring of love, but because of the war, you see death and destruction, the manifestation of evil. Our people are lacking hope, and so they are leaving,” said the archbishop in December. He said the four years since the US-led invasion had been “the most difficult by far” of his 28-year ministry in Iraq. “We have new martyrs in the church in Iraq,” said Asadourian. “I know of no one incident in the last four years where priests have converted to another religion because they have been threatened,” the archbishop stated, adding the same was true for lay people. “So in Iraq the faith of your brothers and sisters in Christ is strong enough to face martyrdom.” Young people “are faced each day with death and destruction, they are faced each day with being kidnapped or facing the agony of having a loved one who is kidnapped.” Despite the hardships, Asadourian, who lighting candles in Iraqleads the Council of Churches in Baghdad, said the faith of the Christians in Iraq has not wavered. “I pray that the churches in the West will be strong enough to have a say in the corridors of power to remind those in power what they promised for Iraq and that it is high time that the promise is fulfilled. We ask for peace, not only for Christians, but for the entire Iraqi people, be they Muslim, Christian or adherents of other religions.” He noted that the churches in Iraq have faced conflict situations since the outbreak of the war between Iran and Iraq in 1980, in which many young Christians were killed. “After that came the Kuwait war, and what ensued after that was the 13-year-long embargo, which in itself was a war. Then we had the 2003 war – and after the cessation of hostilities, we have this, the ‘war against terrorism’ taking place in the entire country.” “There’s no comparison between Iraq now and [under Saddam],” Canon Andrew White, a Baghdad-based Anglican priest, said in a televison interview. “Things are the most difficult they have ever been for Christians, probably ever in history.” He said that about 90 percent of Iraqi Christians have either fled Iraq or have been killed after being targeted for assassination by Islamic extremists. On New Year’s Eve, at least seven Iraqi churches were bombed. Reprinted from:http://incommunion.org/arti...
The Ecumenical Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church, His Grace Bartholomew I has been listed as one of The Times Magazines man of the year. http://www.time.com/time/sp...
SCHOOL -- 1957 vs. 2007 |