| Letters to the Editor | ||
| A Christian nation? Regarding your May 2009 Get This feature on President Barack Obama, in which he declared that the U.S. is not a Christian nation: In his quote, the president also declared the United States has been enriched by “Muslim Americans. Many other Americans have Muslims in their family, or have lived in a Muslim-majority county. I know, because I am one of them.” Get this: We are born into our families. As children, we live wherever our parents take us. Get this: As long as we depend on the Muslim world for most of the oil we burn we should, at least, be on speaking terms with them. As believers of Jesus Christ, our responsibility is to demonstrate Him. Get this: Since the president accepts Jesus Christ as Lord, the Lord calls him His own. Get this: The Lord expects His believers to love one another and support one another in prayer (1 Timothy 1:2). Continue to grow in the grace of the Lord. Jessie Fisher Cypress, Calif. America is a secular nation Unlike European countries which are avowedly Christian, and yet in which church attendance is in single digits, historical evidence does show that our founders were wise in making our government a government founded on Christianity, but refrained from making Christianity our national faith. Notice that we have no religious test for public office and that we don’t support any religious leaders with taxpayer money. In Europe, for example, citizens have to opt out of supporting a church, otherwise the pastors are paid with government money. Clearly, based on the evidence, I much prefer being in a secular nation of Christians than being in a Christian nation of secularists. In the 1790s we defeated the Barbary Coast’s pirates and President Washington started a treaty with them, an Islamic people, which was ratified by the Senate and supported by the Secretary of State. That treaty, in Article 11, defines the federal government as secular, thus avoiding the problems that Christian states had in the past with Islam. (Islam still carried a grudge over the Crusades, etc.) The treaty was developed through the next two administrations and signed. America is a great nation and Christianity is strong here because our faith is not coercive but persuasive. We rightly believe that if the playing field is level, our love for other will enable our faith to prosper. Fred Jappe La Mesa, Calif. Obama reaction to Tiller murder I read that the White House issued a statement May 31 from President Barack Obama on the murder of abortion doctor George Tiller. The president said: “I am shocked and outraged by the murder of Dr. George Tiller as he attended church services this morning. However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence.” We should be saddened by the murder of anyone, even our enemies. But I wish the president and the nation would be “shocked and outraged by the murder” of more than 1 million babies a year in the U.S. alone. This all seems to be very inconsistent, if not hypocritical. David Brainard Mitoyo, Japan More government not the answer President Obama’s path to salvation for our fellow Americans is more government. Obama believes government isn't the problem. The devils are the corporations and businesses of the United States. This is ridiculous! The government is not the answer. In the gospel of Obama, CEOs of corporations and business owners should be in Hell! Money is bad. Former GM CEO Rick Wagoner and disgraced financier Bernie Madoff are prime examples of evil in America. But the truth is that we have way too much government in this country. We have waste, fraud and corruption. Whole agencies could be eliminated. Right now, for national security, we need 100 percent fiscal transparency on a daily basis for every agency and department of the U.S. government, including the White House and Congress. Obama is throwing a fastball on the American public. And it’s about time people realized it. We do not need a cult of personality in the United States. This is a democracy. We do not have kings or emperors. We have a Constitution, and it’s worked pretty well for us for over 200 years. In the 20th century, Germany, Russia and China all tried “big government.” And in every case, their leader at the time: Hitler, Stalin, and Mao, developed a cult of personality. It didn’t turn out so well, did it? More recently, Iraq’s Saddam Hussein had a cult of personality. It ended with his own people toppling his statue in Baghdad. Obama will topple from his pedestal eventually. But how much damage will he do in the meantime? Steve Mozena Carson, Calif. Respect for the newspaper I just want to let you know I respect and appreciate you and your help. Dave Christian Founder, Helpology.org Nashville, Tenn. |
Greetings in Christ Jesus’ name. Your paper is great. It is very interesting, informative and entertaining. I was really stoked to hear about the Newsboys newest member, ex-DC Talker Michael Tait (May 2009 edition). I really liked him when he sang with TobyMac and Kevin Max when they were just plain old DC Talk. It was also good to read that now ex-frontman, Peter Furler, will still be working with writing and producing in their studios. Please know that I will be lifting your ministry up in my daily prayers as well. Alan Masarsky Corcoran, Calif. I saw your fine paper for the first time today while visiting at The House of Luke, Calvary Chapel Valle Vista. I thoroughly enjoyed the articles. Thank you and God bless you all for the wonderful work you're doing in reporting “the real, important news” we all so desperately need today. Al Beingessner Hemet, Calif. Supporting Carrie Prejean I have been following the stories in most of the newspapers about Miss California Carrie Prejean and her run for the Miss USA title. I am saddened that we have so many people in this country and also other countries that can always find fault and wrong in a person that I look at and can find none. I am proud of Carrie and would be proud to call her daughter, but for now I will do what God says and that is to call her sister. People like to discredit people by saying she exposed her body in public and that she has pictures on the Internet that show her with her chest bared. These people call themselves Christians, but I bet they don’t close their eyes when they go to the beach and see all those girls in their bikinis. Also, keep in mind that photo technology makes it easy to manipulate photos, which I believe to be the case here. I am a Christian, but I have no halo from God yet, and I still find that I fall far from perfect. Of course, there was only one that can claim that title. I pray to the Lord every day and he tells me he still loves me in spite of the mistakes that I occasionally make and He assures me that I still earned my spot in Glory. George O. Starke Santee, Calif. Great Commission’s second part Christians are familiar with Part A of the Great Commission (Mat 28:19) because it is quoted as, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” and stop there. But the comma at the end of verse 19 means verse 20 is also inclusive to the Great Commission. Part B of the Great Commission (Mat 28:20) reads, “teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” What was Jesus concerned about? One issue Jesus cared about is placing stumbling blocks in front of little children. Children in California public schools have tremendous stumbling blocks, with the intent of destroying their faith: like homosexuality, evolution and secular humanism. Great Commission Part B suggests that pastors should try to protect children in public schools; but how often do we see a church present a plan to counter the potentially devastating effects? There are solutions. Another issue of concern by God is Christians supporting and voting for wicked politicians, which is sin! I do not know of any place in the Bible that states that we should love and support those who hate the Lord. An Old Testament prophet (2 Chron 19:2) admonished a king, "Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord and so bring wrath on yourself from the Lord?” This is an example of a prophet influencing the government. David Hobart Cypress, Calif. Gay marriage deserves civil rights status Proposition 8 is a civil rights issue and I disagree that same-sex marriage should be banned. I believe supporting Proposition 8 contradicts to the liberty and equality of any man. I feel that Proposition 8 is similar with the “interracial marriage” issue where the court argued using Christian belief that “Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, Malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with this arrangement, there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix.” However, this is against the laws of nature where each one was created equal and endowed with unalienable rights that are liberty, life and pursuit of happiness. In 1967, the court ruled that marriage bans deprive a man’s liberty and goes against the 14th amendment. The court said “The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men.” Marriage is the vital right of a person and to deny such freedom is unconstitutional. It is not stated that marriage is only for the man and woman therefore, same-sex marriage should be allowed. Proposition 8 is a civil issue and not a religious issue to be solved through belief. Rena Renacia Ontario, Calif. Editor’s note: The argument of civil rights cannot be applied to a lifestyle choice such as same-sex marriage. The issue of interracial marriage centered on the color of a person’s skin, a trait that cannot be changed. Additionally, California polling numbers on Proposition 8 show that 70 percent of African Americans and 53 percent of Hispanics supported Proposition 8, clearly showing they did not buy the misapplied “civil rights” claim over same-sex marriage. Further, your argument in support for the laws of nature can also be cited against same-sex marriage, since it is impossible for same-sex couples to naturally procreate, one of the essential elements of traditional marriage: the ability to conceive and raise children. |
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