Faith-Based Blog a blog about faith from a believer with bandwidth

1. 

   James Samuel Cyrus Black
   July 26th, 2010 - 09:25

   Well, if you can’t trust Chris Rodda and her primary outlets – The Huffington Post and Keith Olderman, then who can you trust. Certainly not someone who is truly trying to live the fundamental meaning of separation of church and state (which Ms. Rodda is so concerned that Messrs Barton and Beck are trying to systematically break down) like Mr. Barton’s activities in the Republican Party. I would argue by extension that anybody active in any political party (does that also mean voting) should be systematically screen and then eliminated from any involvement in either church activities or writing books that may related to preserving our country and its freedom while seeking our God’s blessings for same. And along the line of one of the ‘One Star’ Amazon ratings Ms. Rodda received for her book seeking to damn all conservative Christians – assuming that is not an oxymoron in some circles and including Mr. Barton of course – the writer said, ‘don’t believe Mr. Barton or Ms. Rodda or me (the reviewed) just read their original writings such as the Federalist Papers, etc. You might also read Mr. Barton’s books alongside Ms. Rodda’s. I have not read Ms. Rodda’s yet but did – perhaps accidentally – before I read of FaithBasedBlogger’s decision to leave Lakewood because a Lakewood Pastor dared to sight one of Mr. Barton’s books. So instead of burning it immediately (maybe we are saving that for later at new like-minded thinker churches) leaving Lakewood over political disagreements rather than just allowing people to give and serve Caesar that which are Caesars (hey, if you can’t trust Texas Monthly and Ms. Rodda’s books along with many ‘in the keep revisionist history where we want it – supporting secular statism’) accusations. Try reading Barton’s ‘Black and White’ which gives much credit for the fight against slavery to Christians (anathema to Ms. Rodda) and Republicans (starting with Mr. Lincoln of course and including President Grant and McKinley – perhaps even worse if that is possible) until Truman finally came along. But again, don’t believe me. Check out what Woodrow Wilson and Sainted FDR (one example as to the latter – when asked why Jesse Owen – the renowned Black Olympian who won four gold medals at ‘Hitler’s Olympiads in Berlin in 1936 – talked to Hitler during the games, said that at least he would shake my hand which – of course – FDR would not nor invite him to dinner or congratulate him on his singular accomplishment while doing so for much less accomplishment to the other members of the U. S. Olympics team in that seminal year – as he was too busy putting Japanese Americans in ‘Internment (concentration?) camps’ and trying to enlarge the U. S. Supreme Court from 9 to 15 to get his failed legislation passed (read Amity Schlaes award winning book ‘The Forgotten Man’ which helps explain why the Great Depression economy continued to be in shambles throughout his Presidency and why Nazis and Communists were allowed to remain unfettered and unchallenged during their murder of millions of their own and their neighboring state’s citizens not to mention – of course – the Jews and the Christians (think Dietrich Bonhoeffer) who tried to protect them. Then of course there is the almost equally sainted Margaret Sanger – the eugenicist founder of Planned Parenthood. The same person who got me to read Barton’s ‘Black and White’ also got me to read some of the original materials from Ms. Sanger. Reading that moved me from Pro-Abortion to Pro Live (Jesus also has a lot to say on this subject) as did earlier readings move me from the racist death penalty to Life in Prison without the Possibility of Parole instead. Very very scary if you are at all concerned about racism and – for one local example – why Planned Parenthood’s newest location in Houston was planted directly between two of the most populous African-American and Hispanic citizen populations in Houston. And if Barton’s books are burned, we might also throw those of Dr. Thomas Sowell on the fire. But perhaps first – after reading Bradbury’s ‘Fahrenheit 451′ – also include The Federalist Papers and related documents, The U. S. Constitution, The U. S. Declaration of Independence and some of Abraham Lincoln’s speeches and related writings about slavery and discrimination (while the Founder of the Democratic Party and his heirs continued to retain their slave properties. That said, if I was on the other side (which I was for a very long time) I would also feel guilty for maintaining slavery and then later abject discrmination for an even longer time and would also probably try to rewrite history in my best interests and maybe even discredit those that challenged my historical racism.

   All that said, perhaps start with the Bible and think more deeply and frequently on some of those things, ‘Love your Enemies as yourself and Pray for them,’ ‘Give unto Caesar what is Caesars and unto God what is God’s,’ ‘speak truth in Love,’ ‘judge only as you wish to be judged,’ ‘remove the mote in your own eye before focusing on the splinter in others,’ ‘don’t bare false witness,’ ‘recognize the tongue as the potentially most deceitful and sin-bearing of all the parts of His temple,’ ‘no greater gift can you give than your life for another’ and many many more of couse all of which I have sadly committed myself – sufficiently to make me – like John Newton – marvel at our God’s grace and His willingness to share His Son with us as He did.

   Vaya con Dios!
   Live Free or Die!
2. 

   Greg
   July 26th, 2010 - 16:49

   I’m not sure how book-burning got into the subject. I’ve read a couple of books by Barton, as well as several other movement leaders (Scarborough, Colson, Falwell) who would prefer their readers vote for one specific political party. I know that when Falwell is quoted saying “I am positive in my belief regarding the Constitution that God led in the development of that document” that it was an effort to assign God-given divinity to something man-made. I know what I call that. And I’m confident enough that my answer is close enough to what God calls it – idolatry.

   I’m all for people freely expressing their opinions … but it shouldn’t be beyond any of us to admit that that’s all they are: opinions. We can certainly express those, we can debate those … but if either of us attempts to build something up into a more certain fact, then we shouldn’t be surprised to see people exposing the baselessness of it’s foundation.

Leave a comment