Our Father Who Art In Where?

A couple of weeks back, a friend of mine sent me this article.

AND WE SAID OKAY
This one will make you think In light of the many perversions and jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke, it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking. Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this happen?" (regarding the attacks on Sept. 11). Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?"

In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school . the Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK. Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK. Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves. Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW."

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace. Are you laughing? Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they WILL think of you for sending it. Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us. Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in!!

After reading this note from my friend I was reminded once again why there are so many problems in the world: it is because of myopic views like this one.

The reason why prayer is not allowed in schools is because if we allowed such activity there would be daily fights as to which God to worship and which religion is right. Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Christian...which would it be? Of course this note was sent by people who believe there is only true God and that is the Christian God. Just for the record, I am a Presbyterian but embrace all faith as necessary in any path to true enlightenment. As long as you believe in some kind of spirituality, you are on the right track. I am not speaking here of people that pervert any religion as an excuse for violence. I am simply stating that a spiritual person is more well rounded and engaging.

I find it interesting that people like Anne Graham think that people have turned their back on God. I think she should come to my church sometime and ask people that question. Our church has a congregation of 1500 strong and is growing. There are activities in our church every day and every night that our children and anybody else's children can be involved in if they desire. Not just on Sunday. So my question to all of you (and Anne Graham) is does your church offer the same programs? And if so, why do you feel the need to have more religion in schools when you can get plenty at church? The answer is that these people have an agenda and they want to shove it down our throats. They want power and control not salvation, peace, and love. They want to dictate what they perceive as God's will to people.

Funny how the will they want to force on us is all Old Testemant stuff and not anything from the New Testament. The 10 Commandments should be in goverment buildings but how about a picture of Jesus? How about some quotes from Jesus? "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the Earth. Blessed are the poor and the sick..." In fact, how about we fill up our government buildings with quotes from Jesus, espousing peace, respect for life, and equality for all people. Of course, that is not the God they want people to understand and love.

I think Anne Graham's viewpoint once again sadly illustrates that people like her feel the need to portray themselves as victims when in actuality they are trying to manipulate people in to believing that their way is the Right Way. These people are so stuck in a belief system that encourages ignorance and intolerance that they can't see that the original message of Christ.

And how about religious education starting and ending at home? Our children have several books about the Bible and our daughter always reminds us to pray before every meal. I have recently become fascinated by the life of Christ and how his teachings really apply today. I have also become interested in learning more about what he did between the ages of 12 and 33....an area of history absent from the Bible. So, basically my children and my extended family for that matter have much of these basic values in our lives without getting that at school. Schools have enough things to teach our children like basic reading and writing skills, how to do simple math, and history.

True enough, the Bible says Thou Shall Not Kill and Thou Shall Not Steal and yet we are essentially doing that in Iraq. But that's Ok because we are Americans. By my understanding of the Bible, only God can give life and take life and regardless of whether or not it is in self-defense, it is still a sin. If my family were killed and I killed the murdered in return, which I would want to do of course, I would still sin. And Jesus would weep for all the killing.

I think one should question what the Bible says and what the newspapers say. I am not saying the Bible is wrong or bad but should I really sell my daughter into slavery? Or is that particular part a sign of the times in which the Bible was written? I think being interested, being engaged and learning all sides will make you a survivor in this grey world or ours. In the end it will make you a more complete person who can deal with the complexities that our life offer us every day.

I copied my response to my mother's Minister and this is what he wrote back. It really sums it up perfectly.

Thanks for passing on your comments and remarks responding to the Anne Graham "chain letter" e-mail. I receive a fair share of similar messages each week. What strikes me is that religious "simplicity" is presented as neglected clarity in our fallen world, when in truth, simplistic theological answers (as in the Graham e-mail) only impede grasping spiritual truths. God thrives on the complexity and richness of life and having diverse people of faith asking probing questions about what's most important. If that were not so, why do we have four gospels? Why do we have two testaments of material containing everything from history to poetry to legalistic nitpicking? Why must the God of quantam physics and eternity and rainbows and a thousand human cultures be put in a spiritual Cuisinart and condensed to one, tepid, monochromatic broth? It does neither God nor humanity any justice to oversimplify faith in this way.