I happen to like Mr. Strock's columns whether I agree with him or not. I don't consider his latest article as 'christian bashing'. It is just another view. And listening or reading another's views can either change your previous way of thinking or strengthen it! Lighten up there Mr. Keller, Mr. Strock isn't trying to rewrite the Bible.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Strock isn’t persecuting, just criticizing Christians
Re the Dec. 26 letter by Jeremy Kergel, “Time for Strock to quit bashing Christians”: Kergel is upset over comments made by Carl Strock [Dec. 20 column]. But Strock is expressing his opinions — which is protected by the First Amendment. Mr. Kergel is doing more than expressing his opinion. He is outright calling for Strock to stop expressing his. This is about as un-American as it gets. He also goes on to say that Strock is persecuting Christians by criticizing them and singling them out. As he points out, the Pilgrims did escape religious persecution when they came here to start a new life. The difference is that they were actually being persecuted. Criticism and persecution are two entirely different things. One is allowed in this country, rightfully so; the other is not. Having just come back from living in China, I got a chance to see what religious persecution really is. A perfect example: You can get into trouble with the Chinese government for even suggesting that religious persecution is going on. The lack of rights in China, and other nations like Saudi Arabia, couldn’t be more different than the rights we enjoy in our free society. Mr. Kergel shouldn’t be trying to stop anyone from voicing their opinions and criticizing anything — including Christians. He should, as should any American, be concerned if our right to speak out and make criticisms about any topic was ever to be taken away. ERIC MIX Scotia
Carl Strock THE VIEW FROM HERE Praise the Lord, pass the prosperity Carl Strock can be reached at 395-3085 or by e-mail at carlstrock@dailygazette.com.
Well, quite the little firestorm I ignited the other day with just one innocent observation about our Christian brethren, in case you have been reading the letters to the editor, which are not even the whole story. You ought to see my e-mails. You ought to hear my telephone messages. You would think I had signed a pact with Satan himself, when all I did was point out that these Christians who huff and puff about the Bible being the perfect word of God have no qualms about shooting back at people who shoot at them despite the clear injunction in the Bible to turn the other cheek They even thank God for steadying their hand. How they fumed when I pointed it out, in the case of a Colorado Springs church. I could hardly believe it. They called me an idiot. They called me a bigot. They accused me of bashing Christianity. They preached, they railed, they fulminated. A few of them even explained to me that Jesus obviously didn’t mean what he said, which I enjoyed most of all, coming from people who are strict literalists when it suits their convenience. Which is exactly the point: when it suits their convenience, like when they find a passage in the Bible that promises them they’re going to heaven, or when they fi nd a charming story about Adam and Eve or Noah’s Ark. But not when they read a clear but slightly impractical moral instruction. There are dozens, hundreds, maybe even thousands of inconvenient passages in the Bible that they ignore, which I wouldn’t belabor if this were a simple matter of somebody’s private religion, but it’s not. Fundamentalist Christians are exceedingly public about their faith and have even succeeded in making it a test for high office, so I consider it fair for a lowly gadfl y like me to point out the discrepancies in this much-ballyhooed faith of theirs, which they are forever hitting us over the head with. Take for example the instruction from Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount: “Lay not up for yourselves treasure upon earth … but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,” and his statement that “It’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God,” and his further instruction, “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast and give to the poor.” If you know of any Christians who take those words literally, please let me know. I would love to hear about it. Especially if you know of anyone who has sold all he has and given it to the poor. Not just worked as a missionary in some poor country or lived modestly, but literally sold all he has and given it to the poor. And I’m talking about modern American fundamentalists. Fat chance! So far from taking those words to heart or even paying the slightest heed to them, many self-advertised Christians these days are followers of what’s known as the Prosperity Doctrine, or the Prosperity Gospel, which is just old-fashioned materialism plus feel-good self-help, slathered over with praise to the Lord. It’s a big thing, in case you haven’t noticed. It is the theological foundation of most of the megachurches that you hear about, like the one in Houston presided over by Joel Osteen, which holds its services in an 18,000-seat sports arena and attracts millions of television viewers. Did someone say treasure upon earth? Rev. Osteen embodies his own doctrine by living in a home valued at $1.3 million. “God wants you to be rich,” was the byword of one of the early Prosperity preachers, Jim Bakker, before he was sent to prison for fraud. There are a lot of these Prosperity preachers. One of them is the exquisitely named Creflo Dollar, in Atlanta, founder of Christian World Changers Ministries and proud owner of two Rolls Royces. Another is Joyce Meyer of Missouri, who travels in a private jet and says, “There’s no need for us to apologize for being blessed.” Yet another is Kirbyjon Caldwell, a former investment banker and bond trader, with a degree from the Wharton School of Business, who turned to the ministry and built a huge Prosperity following in Texas. He’s President Bush’s guy, the inspiration behind the “faith-based initiatives.” It was he who introduced Bush at the 2000 Republican convention and gave the benediction at both of Bush’s presidential inaugurations. He is the author of a bestseller, “The Gospel of Good Success: A Road Map to Spiritual, Emotional and Financial Wholeness,” which President Bush actually wrote a plug for on Amazon.com. We’re not talking about some obscure little splinter movement off in the hollows of Tennessee. A Time magazine poll found that 17 percent of Christians describe themselves as part of the Prosperity movement, and 61 percent say they believe God wants people to be prosperous. How do they do that in light of the very clear words from their Lord and Savior? Easy. Just flip around through the hodgepodge of history, poetry, letters and legends that make up the Bible and find a random phrase or two that suits their convenience. Did somebody named John in the early church write a letter to an elder named Gaius and begin the letter by saying, “I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health even as thy soul prospereth”? Fine, then they use that and say, See? God wants us to prosper. Which is one of the passages that they actually do use: 3 John 2. You don’t need a doctorate in theology to see it’s a shuck. In short, Christians who insist on literal belief in the Bible don’t believe literally any more than I do. They just use the Bible as a cover for doing what they would do anyway, whether it’s selling real estate or shooting back at people who attack them. If they like something they say it’s the word of God. If they don’t like it they ignore it or claim it doesn’t mean what is says. And then they call me a bigot for pointing it out. I won’t get into the barbaric practices and primitive taboos of the Old Testament, which they also obviously do not accept. I just confine myself to the words of Jesus, to make the point as clear as possible. Prosperity Gospel, indeed. Don’t try to kid me.
In Carl Strock’s Jan. 6 column, “Praise the Lord, Pass the Prosperity,” Mr. Strock asks if any of us Christians (he refers to Christianity as “this much-ballyhooed faith of theirs”) take the words of Jesus literally, and that he wishes to hear from any of us who believe in Jesus’ words. I wish to suggest, very gently, to Mr. Strock and to anyone else who questions Jesus’ words, the following: When our savior is talking about the need to not lay up for ourselves treasures upon earth but to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven, and to sell what we have and give to the poor, and that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter heaven, he is simply telling us to do one thing — follow him. He is telling us that to focus on money, power and status in this life eventually is only going to lead to unhappiness. Instead, over and over in the Gospels, Jesus says two very simple words, which say it all: “follow me.” Follow him. As in, watch the things he does, listen to what he says and follow him. Jesus did not spend his time hobnobbing with the wealthy and powerful. Rather, Jesus spent his relatively short time on earth healing the sick and the lame, attending to the poor and lonely, giving sight to the blind, redeeming sinners — people like me and you. Finally, I have one other thing to say: I want Mr. Strock to know that I am praying for him every day. If he doesn’t want me to bother, too bad. I’m doing it anyway. REV. ALAN HART Glenville The writer is a deacon at Christ Church in Schenectady.
I think Rev. Hart misunderstood what Mr.Strock was trying to say....Mr.Strock was saying the same thing....he was basically talking about the Coulters and O'Reilleys' type of 'Bible beaters'.....
According to God we are a "...stiff necked people..." and we cant correct other people unless they are seeking and looking......we can only correct ourselves and....as Jesus states "...follow me(Him)..."
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
I think that Mr. Strock is missing one thing. For anyone who has dabbled in reading the Bible would find that Jesus spoke in parables. And remember it isn't money that is the root of all evil.....it is the LOVE of money!!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
I noted recently that Carl Strock said he would be on vacation, and he would like to hear from some of his readers. It seems that he likes to make fun of those who have a faith in God. Well, I hope he had an enjoyable vacation and enjoyed some of God’s creations, even though he might not admit that they were God’s creations. He seems to believe a ridiculous theory that he was descended from a monkey. He probably does his columns sitting at a computer, which designed itself, and drives a car, which designed itself. How can he call his writings “The View From Here,” and be so blind to the fact that there is a design in creation that didn’t [happen] by accident! There are others who share his blindness. If you were privileged to see “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” [the 2008 documentary by Ben Stein], it showed how some teachers were fired just because they mentioned that creation by God also should be taught. After all, if the blind lead the blind, they will both fall in a ditch. Our schoolchildren deserve better than this. CALVIN B. NAUMAN Schenectady
When the blind leads the blind Rome burns and short of becoming Spartans there is no need to defend anything because nothing becomes a plumb line or foundation on which to stand......and if we become Spartan warriors we are animals and very close to Baal and human sacrifices.......
And they want to take away guns.......ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha......only need some rocks and sticks to do the deed......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Judge Rules on Athiest Holiday Mar 22, 2008 | 9:44 PM Category: Entertainment
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In Florida, an atheist became incensed over the preparation of Easter
and Passover holidays. He decided to contact his lawyer about the
discrimination inflicted on atheists by the constant celebrations
afforded to Christians and Jews with all their holidays while atheists
had no holiday to celebrate.
The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the long
passionate presentation by the lawyer, the Judge banged his gavel and declared, 'Case dismissed!'
The lawyer immediately stood and objected to the ruling and said,
'Your honor, how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians
have Christmas, Easter and many other observances. Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah...yet my client and all other atheists have no such holiday!'
The judge leaned forward in his chair and simply said, 'Obviously your
client is too confused to even know about, much less celebrate his own
atheists' holiday!'
The lawyer pompously said, 'Your Honor, we are unaware of any such
holiday for atheists. Just when might that holiday be, your Honor?'
The judge said, 'Well, it comes every year on exactly the same
date---April 1st! Since our calendar sets April 1st as 'April Fools
Day,' consider that Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart,
there is no God.' Thus, in my opinion, if your client says there is no
God, then by scripture, he is a fool, and April 1st is his holiday!
Now, have a good day and get out of my courtroom!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali: Radical Islam is filling void left by collapse of Christianity in UK By Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent Last Updated: 5:11PM BST 28/05/2008
The Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, claimed the "social and sexual" revolution of the 1960s had led to a steep decline in the influence of Christianity over society which church leaders had failed to resist.
He said that in its place, Britain had become gripped by the doctrine of "endless self-indulgence" which had led to the destruction of family life, rising levels of drug abuse and drunkenness and mindless violence on the streets.
The bishop warns that the modern politicians' catchphrases of respect and tolerance will not be strong enough to prevent this collapse of traditional virtues, and said radical Islam is now moving in to fill the void created by the decline of Christianity.
His claims, in an article published in the new political magazine Standpoint, come just days after he accused the Church of England of failing in its duty to convert British Muslims to Christianity.
Dr Nazir-Ali claims in the new article that Britain, previously a "rabble of mutually hostile tribes", would never have become a global empire without the arrival of Christianity.
But he said the Church's influence began to wane during the 1960s, and quotes an academic who blames the loss of "faith and piety among women" for the steep decline in Christian worship.
He says Marxist students encouraged a "social and sexual revolution" to which liberal theologians and Church leaders "all but capitulated".
"It is this situation that has created the moral and spiritual vacuum in which we now find ourselves. While the Christian consensus was dissolved, nothing else, except perhaps endless self-indulgence, was put in its place."
The bishop, who faced death threats earlier this year when he said some parts of Britain had become "no-go areas" for non-Muslims, said Marxism has been exposed as a nonsense but went on: "We are now confronted by another equally serious ideology, that of radical Islamism, which also claims to be comprehensive in scope."
Asking what weapons are available to fight this new "ideological battle", the bishop said the values trumpeted by modern politicians such as "respect, tolerance and good behaviour" are "hardly adequate for the task before us".
"The consequences of the loss of this discourse are there for all to see: the destruction of the family because of the alleged parity of different forms of life together; the loss of a father figure, especially for boys, because the role of fathers is deemed otiose; the abuse of substances (including alcohol); the loss of respect for the human person leading to horrendous and mindless attacks on people."
The bishop added that Christian hospitality has been replaced by the "newfangled and insecurely founded" doctrine of multiculturalism, which has led to immigrants creating "segregated communities and parallel lives".
He said many values respected by society, such as the dignity of human life, equality and freedom, are based on Christian ones. But he warned that without their Christian backbone they cannot exist for ever, and that new belief systems may be based on different values.
"Radical Islamism, for example, will emphasise the solidarity of the umma (worldwide community of the Muslim faithful) against the freedom of the individual.
"Instead of the Christian virtues of humility, service and sacrifice, there may be honour, piety and the importance of 'saving face'."
In an implicit criticism of the Archbishop of Canterbury's recent claim that the adoption of some parts of Islamic law is unavoidable, Dr Nazir-Ali said: "Recognising its jurisdiction in terms of public law is fraught with difficulties precisely because it arises from a different set of assumptions from the tradition of law here."
He said that the Church of England must retain its importance in public life even if it does not remain privileged as the established church.
"It is necessary to understand where we have come from, to guide us to where we are going, and to bring us back when we wander too far from the path of national destiny."
The bishop warns that the modern politicians' catchphrases of respect and tolerance will not be strong enough to prevent this collapse of traditional virtues, and said radical Islam is now moving in to fill the void created by the decline of Christianity.
Respect and tolerance of Christianity is almost politically incorrect these days. Christianity gets bashed for every little thing they say, do or argue for or against. But yet respect and tolerance of the Islam belief is upheld and protected and accepted, sometimes in the name of 'hate crimes'. So in the end....
It is politically correct to respect and protect the Islam religion.Never to speak a negative word about it. It is politically correct to bash the Christian religion. It is politically incorrect to speak of Christian morals or values. And if you do, it is called 'intolerance'.
We aren't even allowed to show the collapse of the twin towers as it may be offensive to the Muslims.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
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