Parties - 12/19

        In this year’s midterm elections, the Republican Party became the dominant party in American politics. Following the midterms, former Republican National Committee Chairman Haley Barbour stated “Republicans are now being given a chance by the people to get things back on the right track. Republicans should not take this election as some rousing endorsement. It is more that the people are very dissatisfied and they are giving us a chance to fix it.” Here, Barbour is basically saying that the Democrats screwed up, and now it’s time for the Republicans to clean up their mess.

       In The Wall Street Journal, Janet Hook wrote “With the Louisiana and Alaska Senate races yet to be decided, Republicans have a majority of at least 52 seats, with victories not just in such conservative states as Arkansas, South Dakota, Montana, and West Virginia, but also in swing states Mr. Obama had won: Colorado, Iowa and North Carolina.” Just recently, Louisiana’s fate was determined: Republican. In the last term, the Democrats had an 8 seat advantage over Republicans, but now the tables have turned in a major way. The Republicans are now in the majority in the Senate. What does this mean? Any legislature that needs to be passed has to come through the Republican Party now.

       Republicans tend to be more “socially conservative” and are in favor of ending the war on terrorism and promoting global democracy, gun ownership, and anti-abortion, to name a few. These principles are founded on Christian principles and as Christians, it is our duty to support leaders who share our same beliefs. Now that the Republicans are back in power, maybe this nation will be restored to its roots in faith and Christianity.

Torture - 12/12

        If you’ve seen any police movies, you’re probably familiar with interrogation. Interrogation is when an officer will ask a suspect about a crime, usually to reveal incriminating evidence. Usually simple questions will be asked in smaller cases, and the more serious the crime, the more serious the interrogation. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is no exception to this practice, but their methods have been under fire recently. A report about the CIA’s “enhanced interrogation techniques” was release after a lot of anticipation. These “techniques” are literally torture, and that is where the controversy came from. The report that was released had over 6,000 pages of classified information in total, but only 500 were released.

        The question is: are these “enhanced interrogation techniques” necessary? There is no question that these methods have saved many lives, but at what cost? Morally, torture is a low form of control over another person even if they are good or bad, but at what point is it unnecessary? You might say “Well these people that are being tortured are bad people! They deserve to die!” but still, they are people. Jesus says to love your neighbor and forgive people not only 7 times, but 70 times 7. There still is that dilemma about the greater evil; regardless of which side you support, you’re either hurting one person or letting a thousand innocent other people die. I think that in certain circumstances, it might be more important to gather the information we need, even if it means hurting someone. As a nation, it makes sense. But morally, it can still cause some issues. Only time will tell if we are right with these methods, but for now, a firm fist is better than another terrorist attack on our country.

Ferguson 2 - 12/5

       Ferguson has been in the news once again, but this time, not because anybody got shot. Last week, a St. Louis grand jury did not indict Darren Wilson, who shot and killed Michael Brown. They could find no reasonable evidence to pin Wilson with any charge, ranging from first-degree murder to involuntary manslaughter. Nobody with a brain (legal analysts) really expected for Wilson to be indicted, but the people of Ferguson wanted this man d-e-d dead. The kind of shooting that happened normally would have led to an internal investigation with the police department that Wilson worked for, not a grand jury national event. But, the rioting, looting, and arson called for a bigger case. The city of Ferguson has been like a real-life “Hunger Games” scenario, with people stealing what they can to survive.

       Michael Brown’s family is no exception. His father and mother wanted peaceful protests, but his step-father made some interesting comments. His most “famous” one, “Burn this [bad word] down,” has led to being nearly charged with inciting a riot. President Obama responded by attempting to calm the people of Ferguson, saying “First and foremost, we are a nation built on the rule of law. And so we need to accept that this decision was the grand jury’s to make. There are Americans who agree with it, and there are Americans who are deeply disappointed, even angry. It’s an understandable reaction. But I join Michael’s parents in asking anyone who protests this decision to do so peacefully. Let me repeat Michael’s father’s words: ‘Hurting others or destroying property is not the answer. No matter what the grand jury decides, I do not want my son’s death to be in vain. I want it to lead to incredible change, positive change, change that makes the St. Louis region better for everyone.’  Michael Brown’s parents have lost more than anyone. We should be honoring their wishes.”

       I still stand by my original stance, which is that more peaceful protests are the answer, and that rioting is just making it worse. It’s good to know that one of the most powerful people in the world shares my stance. Maybe Obama’s not so bad after all!

Mawwiage - 11/14

        Last week, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit made rulings that banned same-sex marriage in the states that it has jurisdiction in: Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. The 2-1 in-favor-of decision limited marriage to between one man and one woman.

The last ruling that banned same-sex marriage was made a little over 17 months ago, just after the Supreme Court case United States v. Windsor where a woman (Edith Windsor) tried to claim the federal estate tax exemption for her deceased wife (Thea Spyer). However, Windsor and Spyer were married in Canada and the United States did not recognize their marriage, so Windsor had to pay $363,053 in estate taxes.

One of the ruling judges, Judge Jeffery S. Sutton, released the official opinion of the ruling where he defined 6 main arguments. The first of which was a humble response from Sutton stating that judges should not “make such a vital policy call for the thirty-two million citizens [in the Sixth Circuit’s area of jurisdiction]”. His second argument is that the framers of the Constitution would not support something that is [air quotes] “against the Constitution” such as prayer before a meeting. They supported traditional marriage, so they saw it as how it ought to be. Sutton’s third argument is that traditional marriage is just that, traditional! If that’s how everyone’s been doing it for, well, forever, then we should respect that. His fourth argument is that marriage is to protect the biological marriage, where a man and a woman have children and create a family unit. Same-sex marriages are not able to do that without a third party. His fifth argument was supporting the traditional monogamist marriage. If marriage is traditionally between a man and woman, it should be held to the standard of one man and one woman.

Sutton’s sixth argument was that judges need to recognize the Constitution as a living document and adapt the Constitution to today’s world, not adapt the people to the old Constitution. When a judge cites the Constitution literally, it might have been something written for 18^th century Americans, not 21^st century Americans. As Christians, we can learn from his sixth argument. If a person reads from the Bible as a dead text (translating it literally, word for word), parables might be of no use to someone who wasn’t a 1^st century farm worker. Instead, we need to learn the lessons behind the words and realize what God wants us to do today as 21^st century Christians.

Hell - 10/31

        Patheos.com is a website/blog owned by the “Unfundamentalist/Progressive Christian” John Shore. While they still believe in the core beliefs that Jesus was God in the flesh and died for our sins, “Unfundamentalist” or “Progressive” Christians, as described by Shore on his website, are people who follows doctrines such as “Christianity is supposed to be all about nothing more than living a life of love, compassion, fairness, peace, and humility” and “…the idea that Paul never wrote a word condemning natural homosexuality is more credible and persuasive than is the scholarship claiming that he did.”

       During this past week, Shore published an article called “What Christianity without hell looks like”. He starts off the article on the wrong foot by saying “The idea that the Bible declares hell a real and literal place is no more valid than the toxic lie that the Bible condemns homosexuality.” The “toxic lie” must be disregarding 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 which says “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” The Bible pretty clearly states that homosexuals, as thieves and adulterers, will not be welcomed into heaven. In fact, I would like to point Shore to Revelation 21:8, which refers again to the group of people who will not inherit the kingdom, saying “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” But, since Shore decides to disregard these verses of the Bible, he clearly cannot be held accountable for his beliefs. Funnily enough, his second doctrine of his belief includes “Christians seeking to follow the Word of God must look to all the words of God”.

       The main point of his article isn’t too far off from the truth, however. He does say that he wants a Christianity that worships God and His glory more, which is great! But you can’t overlook the inevitable eternity after death; that’s what we call “The American Gospel (Jesus loves everybody!)” Shore believes that Christ died on the cross, but if there is no Hell, what for? He contradicts his own beliefs far too much to be taken seriously. I sure wonder where he thinks that the unbelievers will go after death if Hell isn’t real.

Subpoenas in Houston - 10/24

        Recently, the city of Houston, Texas, issued subpoenas to five pastors in the Houston area. These subpoenas are documents that say “We can use your documents (sermons) against you in court if they contain content about any of the following: HERO (Houston Equal Rights Ordinance), the Petition (a petition against basically all that the mayor has put in place, which the city attorney discounted many signatures of because of “technicalities”) Mayor Annise Parker (the first openly gay mayor in a major city in America who is behind these subpoenas), homosexuality, or gender identity.” These subpoenas were sent against these five pastors because of “The Petition”, which they weren’t even behind, but since they support the reasoning for it, they were targeted.

        Because these subpoenas were such a scandal, the government officials who were behind them tried to distance themselves from the subpoenas as much as possible. The subpoenas were changed to remove the word “sermon”, but putting sugar on a pile of manure won’t make it a cake.  Parker even said “There was some deliberate misinterpretation on the other side.” I don’t see how there can be misinterpretation when the subpoenas said “Don’t talk about these things that, as pastors, you should talk about, especially if they hurt my [Parker’s] feelings.” It’s blatantly obvious that Parker was trying to force her political agenda into church (or out of, depending how you look at it) which is a violation of the First Amendment.

        The famous “separation of church and state” came from a letter that Thomas Jefferson wrote to the concerned Danbury Baptist Church in 1802 assuring them that not a single denomination of the church would be the official church of the United States. Basically, this meant that the government wouldn’t be forcibly involved in religious practices. Now that it is, people are concerned about what will happen next. Putting a silencer on a gun doesn’t make it any less deadly.

Ebola - 10/10

        You may be wondering what this “Ebola” nonsense is all about; let me sum it up for you. Have you ever seen shows such as “The Walking Dead,” “Zombieland,” or “Frankenstein”? Well, forget about that because Ebola does not raise the dead. Ebola, which is a strain of hemorrhagic fever, has recently taken the continent of Africa by storm. Not to worry though, because to get Ebola to the United States you would have to get on an airplane with the virus without showing any symptoms until you interact with a countless number of people!

        Speaking of Satan’s activity on Earth today, Brian Palmer wrote an article titled “In Medicine We Trust” against the Christian missionaries who are providing support to the countries contaminated with Ebola. Palmer wrote in favor of the atheists who are criticizing the Christians for being “incapable of separating their religious work from their medical work.” Palmer also doesn’t fully understand why he doesn’t like the “missionary medicine” and says that he would be much more comfortable if “secular doctors [were] doing exactly the same work.” Palmer isn’t blind to his bias; he’s “just trying to be honest.”

        If I were to defend Palmer, I might say “Couldn’t [the Christian missionaries] just not [spread the Gospel]?” as “@George Sd” in the comments of Palmer’s article said. However “@nuzzybear”’s reply, “Couldn't Atheists just stop commenting on message boards because someone might feel uncomfortable with their opinion?” discredits that argument, showing that bias against a group is no more than intolerance and quite honestly it’s just silly.

These missionaries are an honorary part of the “116 Clique” rap group who are named for their love for Christ in all that they do. The “116” comes from Romans 1:16; “For I am not ashamed of the gospel.” They just want to spread the gospel, and for that, they are remarkable! The fact that Palmer wants to stop them from doing that just shows how hard his heart is towards God’s word.

Hong Kong - 10/3

        In Hong Kong, students have been boycotting classes and protesting against the involvement of China’s Communist Party in Hong Kong’s future. At least 60,000 Chinese are protesting the new policy that the “candidates”, if you can even call them that, have to be selected by a committee that will serve China’s Communist Party and its policies. This gives the people of China no real voting power besides deciding if their ruler will be named Xing or Zhao.

Giving the Chinese a “false democracy” is even worse than giving them a dictator; a false sense of choice is worse than being told to do something. If my parents told me I could either go to Disneyland or Hell and I chose Disneyland but went to Hell anyways, I might be a little upset.

       In “The Dark Knight Rises”, Batman is sent to an underground prison in the middle of the desert. The only way out is up to the surface and the light, through a difficult challenge of strength and perseverance. That “light at the end of the tunnel” is what keeps Batman alive and trying to save Gotham from its impending doom.

       Paralleled with the current situation in Hong Kong, The people are Batman, China’s Communist Party is the prison, and the voting system is the surface and light. The people see this hope of a true “People’s Republic of China” and are trying to cling onto it. If Batman was exiled to a prison where there was no hope of getting out, he wouldn’t have trained so hard and had such an ambition to do so.

       The “Chinese Republic of China” is what the people are trying to avoid, but it just may end up being the future.

Chick-fil-A - 9/26

Samuel Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A, was always a humble and loveable man. He was a Christian and ran his company like a Christian would, with respect to his beliefs. Chick-fil-A started as a single restaurant, and has grown into a chain. Chick-fil-A closes on Sundays and shows a higher standard of customer service than most fast food establishments, saying “My pleasure” when they serve you. Anyone would agree that Chick-fil-A is a great environment.

        Recently, Chick-fil-A has come under fire regarding some of the beliefs that the company supports, mainly the support of traditional marriage. Cathy supported organizations that promoted against gay marriage. When this news was made public, supporters of same-sex marriage all across the globe protested their delicious sandwiches. After all of this opposition, the company stopped supporting the organizations against gay marriage, but Cathy still held his beliefs.

        Now that Cathy has died, people are ridiculing him for being bigoted and intolerant. The people that are saying that are just looking for something to be upset about. Cathy’s policies were a reflection of his beliefs, which is not something that you can get mad about; that’s the “thought police” in action. Like the banning of Christian clubs on college campuses, this is an infringement on the right to freedom of religion. Cathy’s religious views did not affect his company in any negative way, unless you had a craving for chicken on a Sunday.

Some companies have had more questionable pasts, like Nestle’s unethical marketing for baby formula or Nike’s sweatshops (both topics of which I am not an expert on), but that doesn’t really change my attitude towards chocolate milk or shoes. Everyone has their own beliefs that you cannot change, and that should not make it so that you don’t eat at a fantastic restaurant. A restaurant should just be a restaurant, a brand a brand, or a shoe a shoe, not a social statement of your beliefs.

 

“Luv mor peeple. Eat mor chikin.”
          Noah’s Chick-fil-A slogan idea

Christian Club Bans - 9/12

        California State Universities are banning Christian clubs that do not allow gays to be in leadership positions. If the Christian clubs were to allow gays to be in leadership positions, that would contradict Christian doctrines. Christians believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman, not a man and a man or a woman and a woman. These clubs are being banned basically for holding their own standards and sticking to them.

        If Matthew Hadley, an anime enthusiast, for example, were to start an anime club at Faith Christian, then I would not expect myself to be in a position of leadership in that club as my personal beliefs directly conflict with that which regards anime. (I just don't like it!) In the same way, someone whose personal beliefs conflict with Christianity should not be in a leadership position in a Christian club.

Of course, not electing a gay person as a leader doesn’t mean that gay people are being shunned from Christianity. While we accept divorcees into the church with open arms, many Christians reject gay people, and that is certainly a problem. Christians need to not let a “holier than thou” attitude get in the way of spreading the gospel to all people. As Bill Clinton said, “We all do better when we work together. Our differences do matter, but our common humanity matters more.” Even though Bill Clinton may not be the best moral example, this quote can be applied to Christianity. We need to realize our differences with other people groups and address them appropriately.

Gay marriage, for example, is not directly addressed by the Bible, but it is implied that it is not God’s will in Leviticus 18:22: "You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; It is an abomination." Personally, I think gay marriage is okay --- as long as it is between a gay man and a gay woman.

P.S. to Mr. Bicknell – Computer lab wasn’t working, and I forgot to submit my post when I finished after school. :)

Abortion - 9/5

“Abortion” is the general terminology for “when the pregnancy is ended so that it does not result in the birth of a child” according to the British Pregnancy Advisory Service. There are different outlooks on the procedure, such as “termination” or even “murder”. “Termination” is the word most people with liberal beliefs use to dehumanize the process of abortion while “murder” is what most conservatives would use to humanize the fetus.

The case Roe v. Wade first brought light to the legality of ending a pregnancy in order to not have a child. 22 years later, Roe, who was for abortion and won the case, later changed her stance on abortion saying “American women have literally been handed the right to slaughter their own children.” This just goes to show that even the person who first strongly believed in abortion can have a change of heart.

  When a woman wants to have an abortion, the father has no legal say in whether or not to keep the child, because he isn’t bearing the child himself. However, after the child is born, the father is legally and financially responsible for that child. Even if the couple gets divorced, he will still be required to pay child support.

If a cow is killed while pregnant, the party who killed that cow will owe the owners the equivalent price of that cow and its foreseeable calf. This means that the legal system sees a cow as a cow at the moment of conception; however humans are not human until around 24 weeks of pregnancy.

In Utah, a woman was charged with homicide when she refused to have a caesarean section for the delivery of her twins. She was warned that complications may occur, and one of the children was born dead. The state of Utah sees homicide as the “intentional, reckless or negligent killing of a human being."

What do all of these seemingly independent and disconnected points have in common? They all point to the corruption of the judicial system when it comes to all matters regarding abortion. Double standards are not uncommon in today’s society, but the legal system should be fair and just at all times. If a cow can be considered a cow at the moment of conception, then why aren't humans? Well, they are sometimes. Here, here and here, but not there or there. There needs to be a federal standard regarding abortion so that there may be at least some continuity. 

Labor and Welfare - 8/29

        With Labor Day coming up this weekend, we need to remember those who work. Recent information shows that over 100 million Americans are on some form of government assistance such as welfare, and not working. At the end of 2012, 51 million Americans were on food stamps, 83 million on Medicaid, and 4 million were on unemployment insurance. Out of the nearly 313 million Americans at the time, about 44% (138 million) Americans were on some form of government assistance. America is nearing a “tipping point” where the amount of people on government assistance will outweigh the number of working citizens and therefore sway the tide of the political system to cater towards those who are on government assistance. If that happens, there will be no going back to the “American dream” of working for your living. America will turn into a pseudo-socialist nation, with government handouts left and right, being fueled by the mentality that people deserve things that they don’t work for; the entitlement mentality. These people just want whatever they can get their hands on.

“Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he will be fed for the rest of his life.” - Maimonides

        Not all people on welfare or disability are cheating the system, however. There are many veterans, for example, at least 5.5 million according to a 2008 statistic, who are on disability of any kind. These people have earned their right to receive government assistance, as opposed to the other people who just don't want to work. Working for your income is the right thing to do.

“If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially those of his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” - 1 Timothy 5:8

        In this next voting year, we, the voters, need to really assess the candidates, policies, and propositions well to make sure that we can keep our economy stable and restore control to the working people of the United States.

Ferguson - 8/22

        On August 9^th, 2014, Michael Brown, a teenager from Ferguson, Missouri was shot and killed by a police officer. The officer who killed Brown, Darren Wilson, was being charged at by the 6’4”, 300 pound 18 year old when he shot at him in self-defense. Brown was accused of robbing a convenience store for nearly $50 worth of cigars, and a police report had been filed. Wilson was aware of the robbery, but was not responding to the call when he saw a man standing in the middle of the road. That man was Brown. Brown, who was reportedly high, decided to attack Wilson, who was still in his car. Wilson told Brown to stop, and he didn’t. Wilson drew his weapon, and shot at Brown six times, in self-defense. Brown is now dead, and the town of Ferguson is up in arms.

        The people of Ferguson, however, did not have all of the information. They saw the 12 year old, innocent Brown that the media is reporting him as, not the violent and disrespectful adult that he was. They reacted by protesting, some peacefully and some not so peacefully. Stores are being robbed, and the store owners are fighting back. Ferguson has turned into an all-out war zone. Ferguson is a primarily black community, but only three of the fifty-three police officers are black.

        Brown’s death is, of course, a tragic event for the people of Ferguson, but their reaction is out of proportion. If the people of Ferguson really want to send a message, they need to organize. Rioting and looting is not the solution to the so-called “racial crimes”, it is the reaction. All that the people of Ferguson are doing by being so rebellious to the authorities and the law is showing that they do not deserve respect, but that they deserve to be treated like rebels.