Occasionally I get an email or a Facebook comment that I just cannot ignore. I get lots of emails like the one below. I almost never respond to them and I never forward them, but on occasion I get one that is so stupid or inflammatory that I must respond at least to those who sent it to me. Following is one such email followed by my response. Help me out here. What is this author talking about? Prayer?. The Pledge of Allegiance, Muslims?, Socialism? What?.....:
On Jul 5, 2011, at 10:41 AM, Louise Lynn wrote:
Subject: Fw: A Day of Prayer for ALL???
31 words -- Think about it!
Isn't life strange? I never met one Veteran who enlisted to fight for Socialism!
86% will send this on.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG, OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA , AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!
If Muslims can pray on Madison Avenue, why are Christians banned from praying in public and from erecting religious displays on their holy days?
What happened to our National Day of Prayer? Muslims are allowed to block off Madison Ave. , in N.Y.C., and pray in the middle of the street! And, it's a monthly ritual!
Tell me, again, whose country is this? Ours or the Muslims?
I was asked to send this on if I agree, or delete if I don't.
It is said that 86% of Americans believe in God.
Therefore, I have a very hard time understanding why there is such a problem in having "So help me God" in the swearing in our court rooms and having 'God' in the Pledge of Allegiance.
I believe it's time we stand up for what we believe!
If you agree, pass this on; if not, delete.
Thank you.
GOD BLESS AMERICA, AND OUR ARMED FORCES!
MY RESPONSE:
First thing I noticed was the comment about veterans and socialism. Well I am a veteran and I enlisted to fight for freedom to continue our form of government. Democracy in a Republic is our form of government. That has nothing to do with socialism, which is not a form of government, but an economic system. We all know that pure socialism does not work well, just as pure capitalism does not work well. Pure socialism removes the incentive of individuals to do well and gives far too much economic power to government. Pure capitalism leads to greed and does not provide for those who are unable to compete in our society. That may include millions of older Americans who rely on "Social" Security. That is why our system of economics takes the best features of both systems and rolls them into one system that works quite well.
The next thing I noticed was the completely misplaced anger. As far as I know, Muslims also believe in God. I know of no group of Muslims who are trying to change the "Pledge of Allegiance". Christian holidays are often celebrated in public and in fact there are Christmas and Easter parades in every city I have ever visited in the USA and they always block traffic for the benefit of the celebrants.
To answer the silly question about whose country this is "ours or the Muslims", I offer the obvious answer. This country belongs to Americans of all varieties. We are not a Christian nation any more than we are a Muslim, or Hindu, or Buddhist, or Atheist nation. If the majority of Americans are Christian, does that give us the right to hinder the freedom of worship for other religions? There are countries where it is against the law to be anything but a Muslin. We are better than that and it is my fervent prayer that we remain so.
I believe we should leave the "Pledge of Allegiance" alone. We do not require anyone to recite it if their religion or lack of religion prohibits it. That is good enough for me. My allegiance is to Jesus not to a flag. As far as courtrooms go, if you want someone to swear on something, doesn't it make sense that they swear on something they believe in? If an Atheist swears to God with his hand on the Bible what is he sworn to? How silly would that be. If he is a Muslin he should swear to Ala with his hand on the Koran so that it means something to him. Trying to accommodate all religions in this way is equally as silly as it is cumbersome. The only thing that makes sense is to find something meaningful to all Americans to swear to. I'm not sure what that might be, but I'm sure we could come up with something if we give it some thought.
Harvey
On Jul 6, 2011, at 4:50 AM, Amanda Jackson wrote:
Mr Childers,
I appreciate your need to inform us of your opinion on the email sent; however, in trying to make my grandmother appear as "obviously not a thinker," you only made yourself look like a giant ass. I'm sure you know where the DELETE button is on your email, and it works just as well as the insensitive comments made below. My grandmother has never tried to push her religion or beliefs on anyone and I resent the fact that you implied as much. She is a Christian, God-fearing woman who only wants to see those she loves in Heaven one day, as do I. She is by far not saying that Christianity should rule the US, only that Christians not be afraid to practice their beliefs. The email she sent begs Christians to stand up for their beliefs. I have seen many families sit down at a table in a restaurant in public and pray before beginning their meal. All this email attempts is to get Christians to think and not be doormats. Although teachers or "leaders" in school cannot lead a pray, NOTHING stops a student from praying. We, as Christians, must teach our children, as well as be strong enough ourselves, to stand up and pray to God to save us so that we might join him in Heaven. There are 2 verses from the Bible that I would like to leave you with, Mr. Childers...
1st - "But whoever disowns Me before others, I will disown before My Father in heaven." Matthew 10:33
2nd - "If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we disown Him, He also will disown us;" 2 Timothy 2:12
I pray for your soul, Mr. Childers, may that God speak to you and may you one day be a minister of His word.
Amanda,
And to this I responded:
I appreciate your prayers, but if you pray for me don't waste your time on my soul. Jesus has already taken care of that and your time may be better spent on other things. I don't know you or your grandmother, though I suspect there is a connection here somewhere, perhaps even family. Else how did I get on her address list. The fact is I am a grandfather myself and my wife is a grandmother, so I don't need to have any special respect for someone because they are a grandparent. The fact is your grandmother sent me an email full of lies and hate for Muslims. Read the the email yourself and then show me where there is any truth. Everything in it was a blast against Muslims. And the parts that were not just spewing hate were out and out lies. Tell me which Muslim group is trying to change the Pledge of Allegiance. Show me some evidence that a Muslim group in the USA is trying to keep Christians from praying in public places. There is not one single truthful statement in that email.
Your grandmother , based on the email she sent, falls into 1 of 2 categories. 1. She is a sweet little old lady who does not think very much and has been listening to some radical fringe rabble rousers. or 2. She is a racist hate monger whose goal is to spread spurious lies and spew her brand of hate to all who will listen. I suspect she is the former.
From the things you are saying here it seems you have not even read the email she sent, or if you have read it you have not given it any thought. I do know where my delete key is and I use it frequently. Unfortunately for you and your grandmother, you live in a free country where we get to choose either the the delete key or the reply key. In this case I chose the reply key. You have the choice to take my name off your address list, or to take the risk that I may disagree with you and let my thoughts be known.
Thanks for the Bible refs., I have read and studied these passages a few times. I confess I can't see how they relate to the subject under discussion, but I think they might be misinterpreted to mean that a persons reluctance to make a display of their prayer is equal to disowning God. That would be a gross misreading of the passages as evidenced by Matthew 6:5-6. Based on this passage I prefer to wait until the hereafter to collect any rewards.
As Christians we need to teach out children to seek truth and follow Jesus in his life and teachings. If they seek with open minds they will discover truth. We need to teach them how fortunate they are to live in a society where all forms of religion may be openly practiced without fear. We need to teach them that all people are children of God, not just Christians, and that God loves all people and that Jesus is our example of how God loves and how we are to love.
Again, if you don't want me to respond to your writing, don't write to me.
Harvey
