Religion

This is neither the time nor the place to discuss theology, but I want to offer a standing ovation to Pope Benedict on the matter of his resigning the papacy and putting the interests of his church, his faith and his parishioners above his own position and status.

Mass murders, as distinguished from smaller incidents, are all the same in one regard: They pit one armed man against many unarmed people. How did the Newtown shooting end? When Lanza saw the police, he killed himself. It was in direct response to force that the shooting ended.
 
Stupid gun laws don’t become smart because an incident so horrifying and unlikely as the Newtown shooting has happened. These suggestions are the wrong lesson to take from this harrowing incident. The right lesson? Those parents hugging their children — and not just their children but their spouses, their friends, their parents — even tighter.

It's funny, I woke up this morning with the thought of Armageddon and spent a while mentally composing my last memo to God — just in case. If the Mayans are wrong, I'll remain here to fight the cause of values and virtues that built this once-great nation. If they are right … then vaya con dios, to all my friends.

Well, Dec. 21, 2012 continues and we're still here, for now. However, the seeds are in place for the destruction of our society and our world as we know it today. The United States of America is the most powerful nation that the world has ever known and its military overthrow would be nearly impossible. It can, however, be destroyed financially, and morally.

Corporations and parishioners are increasingly coming together to spread the word of God and make money. All across the country, churches — once intimate places of spiritual interconnectedness — have been replaced by stadiums of worship that utilize advanced technological innovations to awe, edify and rip off those in attendance.

The jig goes something like this: Corporations underwrite the construction of vast religious complexes that awe people into regular attendance. The preacher's image is projected onto a big screen. His calm baritone is beamed out by state-of-the-art speakers. From all sides, his voice fills the room. The seats shake as he gives expression to the word of God.

Isn't it interesting that almost all presidents end their speeches with the phrase “May God bless America”? Whenever there's a natural disaster or crisis in one's family or life, we always talk about the need to pray. However, when things are going well, we forget about God and we frequently forget about godly principles. It is interesting to note that during the Constitutional Convention in 1787, our nation was about to split apart due to political differences when the elder statesman Benjamin Franklin proposed a unique solution before the assembly.

He said, “Gentlemen, during the Revolutionary War every other phrase out of our mouths involved a request for God's help which we obviously received. Now we barely speak his name. We need to get down on our knees immediately and ask for God's guidance.” The entire assembly immediately knelt and prayed. When they arose, they put together a 16-and-one-third page document known as the Constitution of the United States.

One in six Americans believe the president is a Muslim, despite his repeated assertions that he is a Christian. And 36 percent of Americans do not believe Mormons are Christians. Pockets of the Deep South, where Obama is deeply unpopular, are home to some of the strongest anti-Mormon sentiment in the country. More than half the Republicans in Mississippi believe Mormonism is a cult. And you should hear what they say about President Obama.

Mitt Romney, who is running a risk-averse campaign with a real shot at winning the presidency, has chosen not to talk about his religion. So far, the Obama campaign has stayed away from the topic — this week, when Bill Maher called Mormonism a cult, senior Obama adviser David Axelrod said attacking Romney's religion was "not fair game."

Democrats take their complaints with God to the altar of government.

To say that it is not “fair” that someone live in poverty while others are wealthy, or, to use a more melodramatic example from Nancy Pelosi, that “women die on the floor,” is a complaint to God; it is to ask for a theodicy.

I recently wrote here that Jesus would oppose the Paul Ryan budget because of his harsh cuts that would seriously hurt the poor. Now, as The Hill reports in an important story, the Catholic bishops have criticized the Ryan budget for exactly the same reason I did. Supporters of Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan and Ron Paul and House Republican leaders should offer a major apology, not to me, but to the poor. My suggestion that Jesus would oppose the Ryan budget was rooted in the teaching of Jesus and Christian theology. Of course I do not know what Jesus would say or do for sure, but now the Catholic bishops have spoken.

The front page of The New York Times Friday morning had a photo of Patriarch Kirill I, of the Russian Orthodox Church, that had been doctored by the church’s website because he had been wearing an expensive gold watch in the original picture. Since I do not go to church, I could not imagine the editorial judgment for what appears to be a classic preacher-with-his-hand-in-the-collection-basket story making the front-page of The New York Times. Bill Clinton has 50 gold watches and they tend not to notice. And why a story about a religious figure as far away as Russia? Because today is Good Friday. And this is their commentary.

As a show of solidarity with Trayvon Martin, many people wore hoodies to church yesterday.

Church is suppose to be a place of reverence. A place where God is worshiped, and not a place where we honor the concerns of men above those of God.

There is no question that there was an injustice in the case of Martin, and there are appropriate forums for true justice. To denigrate the house of God for any reason is unjustified and continues to downplay the importance of true faith in our society.