Posted on 07/07/2003 3:50:21 AM PDT by grumple
In light of the many perversions and jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke, it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking. Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayton asked her "How could God let something like this happen?" (regarding the attacks on Sept. 11). Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said "I believe 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 He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?" In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK.
Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school ... the Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.
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). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.
Then someone said teachers and principals better not discipline our children when they misbehave. 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 a big difference between disciplining, touching, beating, smacking, humiliating, kicking, etc.). And we said OK. 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. 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
Then some of our top elected officials said it doesn't matter what we do in private as long as we do our jobs. 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.
Then someone said let's print magazines with pictures of nude women and call it wholesome, down-to-earth appreciation for the beauty of the female body. And we said OK. And then someone else took that appreciation a step further and published pictures of nude children and then further again by making them available on the Internet. And we said OK, they're entitled to free speech.
Then the entertainment industry said, let's make TV shows and movies that promote profanity, violence, and illicit sex. 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, nobody takes it seriously anyway, so go right ahead.
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."
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 you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.
Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.
Are you laughing?
Funny how when you 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. Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.
Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in!
Oh, I guess you don't like that.
Who'da thunk it?
As I noted before, I don’t have a lot of interest in arguing the validity of the position here, details of it’s history, or even the concept that some would tell you it doesn’t apply in foreign (English) languages for that matter. I provided the references in response to the concept, advanced by several, that this is a recent practice, which it isn’t. Ramban and Maimonides would get you back to about 1200, Shevuot 35a-b to before 700, not particularly recent in my mind.
This is false. Dr. Spock did have a grandson who committed suicide. I guess we can disregard the rest of the article since the author doesn't really care about facts.
It’s largely an Orthodox practice. You posted the article, which dealt with suppression of public discussion of God, not spelling. Your introductory comment
Many times lately I've seen the word God (on Free Republic) where some have forgotten how to spell it, like some aversion to it, as if they would be skewered by the Devil's pitchfork for spelling it out....
focused not on the article, but introduced a new topic, a practice largely of Orthodox Jews, as though there’s an aversion to the word, which is factually incorrect. If phrases like Skewering by the Devil's pitchfork or aversion to [God’s name] aren’t critical, I completely misunderstood.
What I meant to point out was the irony of criticism (maybe not meant by you, but in evidence on the thread) of an Orthodox practice, essentially in favor of the more liberal Reform viewpoint, in the interest of raising public consciousness of religious values. It’s backwards.
I know that I am a child and servant of God, a unigue human being infinitely valuable in the eyes of God and Christ, a thinking being charged with free will with an immortal soul, a soul not because I was taught that but by distinguishing between my awareness, consciousness and mind.
No tradition tells me this, no church, no book, no religion. I came upon it through inner searches of my heart, observation of people and the vast interactive system of the world and acknowledging what makes me joyful and depressed, what gives me satisfaction and what gives me strength in times of trial. The only thing tradition tells me is that I am an American living in a culture that sprang from the history of my ancestors.
Whoever wrote "Fiddler on the Roof" is full of fresh fecal matter. Because a novel is entertaining and thoughtful does not means the philosophy therein is correct.
You done real good and nothing got blowed up either ;-)
Perhaps, but character and self-respect are not the same thing either.
The quality of character between the WWII generation and the Cold war generations is debatable but the cold war ended nearly 20 years ago and the rot continues apace.
Even as we speak elements of the left are questioning our motives in Iraq and Afganistan. I'm sure they enjoy high levels of self-respect but in my opinion they have precious little character.
This was always my understanding of it too.
It makes me think they are using the word G-d because they don't really believe in God.
Just my opinion and how I feel when I see the dash mark where an o should be.
Amen. It's the one proscription I have on my language.
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