 |
Open Theism Discussion Board > Public Forums > Tearing down walls > (No Subject)
| Forum Quick Jump
|
| 
BBBCanada
Registered Member
Date Joined Jun 2001
Total Posts : 2763
| Posted 10/14/2002 6:25 AM (GMT -6) |   | I think this is pretty balanced overall. Even Barry Lynn makes sense...oh my! 
----------------------------------------------------------------------White House staffers gather for Bible study Voluntary meetings embrace president's emphasis on faith
By Judy Keen
USA TODAY
WASHINGTON -- President Bush talks openly and proudly about his active spiritual faith. In another, less well known sign of the religious devotion that permeates the administration, some White House staffers have been meeting weekly at hour-long prayer and Bible study sessions.
Bush aides organized the sessions before his inauguration. One group meets during the lunch hour on Tuesdays, another on Thursdays. Attendance is voluntary and, although the lessons are Christian in nature, non-Christians are welcome.
Typically, 25 to 50 of the 1,700 people who work in the White House complex -- department heads, secretaries and mail clerks --attend each session. They meet in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, an ornate building next to the White House that houses the offices of Vice President Cheney and other administration officials.
Federal workplace guidelines issued in 1997 permit religious activities but warn supervisors to ensure that employees do not feel coerced to participate in them.
Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, says courts have not ruled that religious study in public buildings is inherently unconstitutional.
''If there's equal treatment among people who don't attend and there's no pressure, then, frankly, it doesn't violate the First Amendment,'' he says. ''We have not gotten a single complaint from anyone at the White House.''
Controversy erupted last year when The Washington Post reported that Attorney General John Ashcroft holds daily Bible studies at the Justice Department. Some staffers said they felt uncomfortable about those sessions because their boss led them and they felt pressure to attend.
The president doesn't attend the Bible study meetings. Nor does White House chief of staff Andy Card, whose wife, Kathleene, is a minister at a United Methodist church near Washington.
There have been similar Bible study classes in previous administrations, White House spokeswoman Anne Womack says. During his presidency, Jimmy Carter, a Baptist, sometimes taught adult Sunday school at Washington's First Baptist Church. Richard Nixon, a Quaker, invited evangelists to the White House to speak to staffers.
Last Thursday, author Bruce Wilkinson was the guest speaker at a White House Bible study. Wilkinson wrote The Prayer of Jabez, a best-selling book based on a character in the Bible.
Wilkinson spoke admiringly of Bush's faith at a breakfast at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, before his White House visit.
As the president copes with the war on terrorism, Wilkinson said, ''The Lord is in front of him.''
Bush starts every day on his knees in prayer. He reads the Bible each morning and studies a Bible lesson daily.
Religion has been central to his life since 1985, when a conversation with the Rev. Billy Graham prompted him to renew his faith. Bush has said that his religious beliefs helped him quit drinking when he turned 40.
He was raised an Episcopalian but became a Methodist when he got married and joined the church of his wife, Laura.
Religion infuses Bush's policies and speeches. The president has proposed allowing religious groups to compete for federal money to operate programs for the needy. That legislation has stalled in Congress.
Bush often thanks his audiences for praying for him and argues that there is a role for religious faith in government.
''Our governments must not fear faith,'' he said this month at Republican Party fundraiser in Baltimore. ''We must welcome faith in our society.''
Brandon
"A life after death can only be thought of in terms of life before it, and nobody can dream of a new earth when there is no old earth to hold any promises"--Henri J.M. Nouwen, "The Wounded Healer" | | Back to Top | | |
 |
Starkman
Registered Member
Date Joined Oct 2001
Total Posts : 1747
| Posted 10/14/2002 4:56 PM (GMT -6) | | Perhaps . . . perhaps an answer to the massive amounts of prayer offered up to God for this country. There may yet be revival!
Starkman | | Back to Top | | |
|
kerygma
Registered Member
Date Joined Aug 2002
Total Posts : 45
| Posted 10/16/2002 1:22 PM (GMT -6) | | Often we lament how un-Christian our country is. We are, however, blessed with certainly a Christian President and Attorney General who are unafraid to convey their beliefs in public and to have their Christianity influence their actions and decisions. They are not afraid to call evil by its name.
John Ashcroft, in a speech below, makes a good point about freedom (and free will)being inherently given to man from God. We should be proud of our nation's continued role in assuring that freedom for all in the world. We should pray for all of our leaders that God give them wisdom and judgement to do right in our country and the world. And we should thank God for giving us Christian government leaders!
Prepared Remarks of Attorney General John Ashcroft before the National
Religious Broadcasters Convention, Nashville, Tennessee, February 19, 2002
(NOTE: The Attorney General Often Deviates from Prepared Remarks)
Thank you. And congratulations on this, your 59th annual convention. I want to thank and acknowledge each of you here today for informing and enlightening a grateful nation. We are grateful for the indispensable role religious broadcasters play in connecting communities of faith to each other and to the issues of the day.
Although it has been my honor and pleasure to address this convention in the past, this year is unlike other years in that we gather today having lost a great friend and a great American. Dr. Brandt Gustavson died last May.
Each morning I conduct a morning devotional for those who wish to begin their day giving thanks and praise to God. Dr. Gustavson attended this morning devotional on more than one occasion. I join you and all religious broadcasters in mourning Brandt Gustavson's death and praising his extraordinary life.
This year is also unlike other years because we come together in a time of war. The war against terrorism is now the single, over-arching priority of justice and law enforcement -- not just the men and women of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, but of the 18,000 state and local law enforcement agencies as well.
This war is unlike any other war we have fought. The men and women of
justice and law enforcement are called to combat a terrorist threat that is both immediate and vast; a threat that resides here, at home, but whose supporters, patrons and sympathizers form a multinational network of evil.
The attacks of September 11 were acts of terrorism against civilization orchestrated and carried out by individuals living within our borders.
In response, we have launched a concerted campaign to defeat terrorism. We have pledged to use every resource in the law against terrorists -- every statute, however obscure; and every law enforcement officer, whether he or she serves in the cities, the states or in Washington, D.C.
Some have asked whether a civilized nation -- a nation of law and not of men -- can use the law to defend itself from barbarians and remain
civilized.
Our answer, unequivocally, is "yes." Yes, we will defend civilization. And yes, we will preserve the rule of law because it is that which makes us civilized.
But the call to defend civilization from terrorism resonates from a deeper source than our legal or political institutions. Civilized people --Muslims, Christians and Jews -- all understand that the source of freedom and human dignity is the Creator. Civilized people of all religious faiths are called to the defense of His creation.
In the darkest hours of the Blitz in World War II, Winston Churchill said that when great causes are on the move in the world ... "we learn that we are spirits, not animals, and that something is going on in space and time, and beyond space and time, which, whether we like it or not, spells duty."
We are a nation called to defend freedom -- a freedom that is not the grant of any government or document but is our endowment from God.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
As God's gift, our freedom is not license to behave in anyway we choose. It is the ability to make choices with the understanding that what we choose has real consequences. We may be free to choose to act for good or for evil, but our's is not a freedom from consequence. Our choices will have consequences for good or evil.
For those who embrace a biblical understanding of creation, the difference between freedom and license echoes down the corridors of time in two voices, first heard in the Garden of Eden.
The first voice -- the voice of evil disguised as freedom -- whispers: just do it, it won't make a difference. The second voice, the voice of God, states plainly: make your choices but make them carefully because you make all the difference.
[Deuteronomy 30:19 "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and they seed may live."]
The voice of evil, posing as freedom, tells us that we are free to ignore the difference between life and death, and between blessing and cursing. But when you are told that your choices are without consequences you are not told that you are free, you are told that you are meaningless.
It is this freedom that is at the basis of the rule of law in America. Our system of government respects our freedom to make choices, to accept the consequences and to maximize the potential that God has placed within us.
The purpose of our system of justice is not to crush that freedom or to override that freedom but to respect it, to nurture it and through it, to unleash the potential of every human being.
Terrorists have a different understanding of choices. Because they fear that people with freedom will reject their ideas, terrorists seek to deny us our freedom. They distrust personal choice because they have abandoned every value except their own lust for power. In a universe of choices -- a marketplace of ideas -- their way offers us nothing.
Our fight against terrorism, then, is a defense of our freedom in the most profound sense: It is the defense of our right to make moral choices -- to seek fellowship with God that is chosen, not commanded. This freedom is respected and nurtured in our society of laws. It is respected in our right to choose how or if we worship God. It is nurtured in our fundamental belief of equality before the law. By attacking us, terrorists attack not just the system of government that supports this freedom, but freedom itself.
The conflict that confronts us is not Christian versus Muslim, or Muslim versus Jew. Even as we seek justice in Afghanistan for those who attacked us on September 11, we extend our hands in aid and comfort to a war-torn people. As we pursue justice, we respect life. As we seek to reprimand the guilty, we also seek to give assistance to the innocent.
This is not a conflict based in religion. It is a conflict between those who believe that God grants us choice and those who seek to impose their choices on us. It is a conflict between inspiration and imposition; the way of peace and the way of destruction and chaos. It is a conflict between good and evil. And as President Bush has reminded us, we know that God is not neutral between the two.
Nor is our system of government neutral between good and evil. We are
blessed to live in a nation that respects our freedom to live in a context of choice. The founders of our nation understood religion's role in promoting the virtues necessary for self government.
George Washington warned in his Farewell Address that our young republic would not survive if Americans indulged in the "supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. " "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity,"said Washington, "religion and morality are indispensable supports."
Our Constitution does not call for the establishment of religion in the public square. Just as important, it does not call for the abolition of religion in the public square. It calls for the respect of religion in its indispensable role in forming a just and moral citizenry.
Today our freedom and this heritage is under assault from those who fear its capacity to unleash the potential that God has placed in each and every one of us. Our enemies hope that by portraying this as a religious conflict, they can disguise their own betrayal of religion. They hope that by calling America the aggressor, they can conceal their own lust for power. They hope that by denying America's tolerance and humanity, they can convince the world that they, not we, are the tolerant and the humane.
We must call these things what they are: lies -- lies designed to exploit differences among us. Lies designed to inspire hatred and to deny choice. Lies meant to extinguish freedom.
True faith is not built on a foundation of lies, nor is it supported by a framework of hatred. True faith unites us against evil. It calls on us to put aside small differences to pursue great virtues.
[Isaiah 1:18 "Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool."]
By striking at our heart, our enemies hope to destroy the virtues we value and the freedom we cherish. But they underestimate our strength and our national unity. We are strong, and we are united. You can see our national unity in places that are unanticipated.
Today Americans are coming together, united against a common enemy. For people of all faiths -- be they Christians, Jews or Muslims -- it is impossible not to see the stark difference between the way of God and the way of the terrorists. It is the difference between a hero and a murderer, a fireman and a suicide bomber, a culture of life and a culture of death. It is the difference between those who would die to save the innocent and those who would die to destroy the innocent.
In a nation united, there can be no doubting which path we will choose. And in a world of freedom, there is no doubt which view will prevail.
Thank you very much. God bless you and God bless America.
"And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" Philippians 4:19 | | Back to Top | | |
|
BBBCanada
Registered Member
Date Joined Jun 2001
Total Posts : 2763
| Posted 10/19/2002 3:33 PM (GMT -6) | | Hey guys...I'm sorry for not getting back to you on this. I forgot to subscribe to this thread, so I didn't know that anyone posted. Kery...I'll take a good look at the speech tmw. OK? Thanks.
P.S. While I am thankful to God the countries of the United States and Canada and the freedoms that we both have, having Christians in office does not necessarily guarantee us those freedoms nor assure us of having a "Christian country." But I think you understand that.
Brandon
Totalitarianism, whether in the civic or in the ecclesiastical realm, is unacceptable."--Richard Mouw: Consulting the Faithful | | Back to Top | | |
|
BBBCanada
Registered Member
Date Joined Jun 2001
Total Posts : 2763
| Posted 10/21/2002 3:15 AM (GMT -6) | | I have a question. I would like to know what some of you think.
After 9/11 what was one of the major concerns in the U.S. coming from the Arabic community? Were they not worried about racial profiling and losing their freedoms? Did any of you hear or read or see on t.v., news stories concerning racial profiling? I know I did. Basically, racial profiling is actually racism or discrimination according to some people. And it seem to me that the complaint was either the government or caucasians were profiling ethnic minorities.
Now here is my question. We have a person, a sniper in Virginia, Maryland and D.C. who has been killing people. All of a sudden we start getting profiles of who this person is before we know for sure. Most likely, he is a white male in his 30s-40s. As it turns out, the person is male and he is a caucasian. My question, why is it not considered racist or discriminatory to profile this way, but according to some, especially the Arabic community it is racist or discriminatory to profile them? If the media and the Arabic don't like racial profiling why are they selective about who they will stand up for? I personally find it hypocritical on the part of many (media included) to whine and complain that they are being profiled but not mention a word about the profiling of this sniper?
Personally, I don't have a problem with profiling as long as it is done right. And by right I mean that there are certain guidelines we can use to justify profiling on the basis of race or ethnic background. So I don't have a problem with the profiling of this sniper, and neither would I of terrorists.
Brandon
"Totalitarianism, whether in the civic or in the ecclesiastical realm, is unacceptable."--Richard Mouw: Consulting the Faithful | | Back to Top | | |
|
BBBCanada
Registered Member
Date Joined Jun 2001
Total Posts : 2763
| Posted 10/24/2002 5:09 PM (GMT -6) | | OK. I may very well be wrong the the ethnicity of the sniper. Umm...but my point still stands. Not one person who is against racial profiling made as much as a peep when it was said that the sniper was a white male by some witnesses. And no one seems to have a problem with racial profiling in police cases involving the likes of McVeigh, and other people who can't stand the U.S. government.
Brandon
"Totalitarianism, whether in the civic or in the ecclesiastical realm, is unacceptable."--Richard Mouw: Consulting the Faithful | | Back to Top | | |
| Forum Information | Currently it is Monday, November 09, 2026 12:09 PM (GMT -6)
There are a total of 97,718 posts in 6,040 threads.
In the last 3 days there were 0 new threads and 0 reply posts. View Active Threads
|
Forum powered by dotNetBB v2.42EC SP3
dotNetBB © 2000-2026 |
|
|