Category: Faith

The Reasonable Celebrate the Season

Nativity scenes featuring Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus lying in a manger, surrounded by shepherds and wise men are a familiar sight this time of year.   They are part of the Christmas tradition and serve as a reminder that Jesus is the reason for the season.

One that is particularly beautiful went up on Thanksgiving weekend.  It is on a billboard outside the New Jersey entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel.  It is a silhouette of three wise men riding camels toward the manger under an enormous shining star.  However, the jarring words on this billboard are anything but traditional.   “You KNOW it’s a Myth.  This season celebrate REASON.”    At the bottom of the billboard are the words “American Atheists – Reasonable since 1963.” Continue reading “The Reasonable Celebrate the Season” →

Thanksgiving, the Inoculation against Fear and Worry

These are difficult times.  The recession is technically over but few Americans are optimistic about the future.  It’s little wonder when so many have lost their homes, their jobs.  Storefronts are vacant.  Our once proud country is mired in debt and individuals and businesses are facing the uncertainty of higher levels of taxation.  Where do we go from here?

We go to our knees . . .  in thanksgiving.  Yes, this is the time to focus on what we have, not what has been lost.   Continue reading “Thanksgiving, the Inoculation against Fear and Worry” →

The Election and the Eighth Commandment

The economy is at the top of every list of voter concerns.  As pollsters dig a little deeper, it’s not the economy in general, it’s one’s own personal economy that troubles voters.  If one’s personal economy has not taken a hit, the fear that it will be affected is enough to cause every one of us to carefully consider his or her vote.  Buzz words like “hope” and “change” simple won’t be enough this year.

I have come to the conclusion that this election may hinge –  not on the economy per se –  but on the Eighth Commandment: “Thou shall not steal.”  Continue reading “The Election and the Eighth Commandment” →

Christians are Slackers

Christians are political slackers.  We have failed to defend the values upon which this country was founded.  We have failed to defend the Constitution and we have failed to defend our military men and women who have pledged to defend this country with their very lives if necessary.

As we approach the birthday of our nation, most get all teary-eyed when the flag is raised and the “Star-Spangled Banner” is played.  Unfortunately this yearly display is rarely followed by the actions necessary to keep this country “the land of the free” and “the home of the brave.”  Continue reading “Christians are Slackers” →

A Creche without a Cross?

Nothing disturbs an Atheist like a creche, or  manger scene as it is more commonly called, featuring statues of Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus surrounded by shepherds, wise men and assorted farm animals.

What is so threatening about a tiny babe sleeping in a lowly manger?  If Jesus had remained a babe there would be no objection.   However, there would be no creche without the cross.  Ah, there is the rub. Continue reading “A Creche without a Cross?” →

Tiller and his Assassin: The similarities

On Sunday, George Tiller, the late-term Kansas abortionist, was killed in the lobby of the Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita while serving as an usher.

The man who reportedly took his life was 51-year-old Scott Roeder. What do Tiller and his assassin have in common?  On the surface, nothing; below the surface, everything. Continue reading “Tiller and his Assassin: The similarities” →

Christians and Government

“Let every person be in subjection to governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.”  Roman 13:1

A pastor of a very large church recently chastised his congregation for its preoccupation with and involvement in the affairs of government.  He said that politics is a Christian “brain cramp.”

Using the text of Romans 13:1 and I Peter 2: 13-17, he told the people in his flock that if they failed to submit to any governmental authority they were in rebellion against God. Continue reading “Christians and Government” →

Is the U.S. A Christian Nation?

On Monday, Barack Obama’s U.S. apology tour, stopped in Turkey where he caused quite a stir.  In a press conference, in a shaky attempt to be all things to all people, he said this:  “Although we have a very large Christian population, we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values.” Continue reading “Is the U.S. A Christian Nation?” →