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Before getting to the question of “just war,” which theologians and politicians have been arguing for centuries, what about the concept of war, itself? Why have the greatest minds and best intentions of human beings failed to end war?
God created us in His image. He created us male and female. Nothing God creates is inferior, though both male and female are equally sinners and have need of the same Savior.
God “invented” sex. Like so much of what God created -- from our environment, to marriage -- humankind has polluted and perverted sex.
Anyone wishing to answer this question must make a choice:
How many times have we heard a person begin an "apology" this way: "If I have offended anyone..."? It has all the sincerity of a political campaign promise.
True sorrow involves repentance, not a statement crafted by press agents, or political consultants, who are paid to minimize damage to their clients.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints comprises approximately two percent of the U.S. population, according to the Pew Research Council. This is substantially behind the number of Protestants and Catholics, so by numbers alone it is difficult to say that the faith has entered the "mainstream of American religious life."
Still, practicing Mormons I know are decent and consistently kind and helpful. Their strong sense of family values sometimes outstrips the more numerous Protestant and Catholic believers. And, yes, people are still "suspicious" of Mormonism, in part because the faith keeps secret many of its rituals and mainstream religions consider some of their doctrines not only extra-biblical, but bizarre (such as the teaching there are many gods and we can all become gods and goddesses).
If one believes the "instruction book" for such offices as "overseers" in the church -- as opposed to believing in the supremacy of cultural trends and opinion polls -- Paul lays out the requirements for such offices in his first letter to his protege, Timothy.
Among them are that pastors, bishops and other clergy must be "the husband of one wife" and "Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil." (1 Timothy 3:1) These qualifications, coupled with other relational rules involving husband-wife and male-female relations, clearly presume a heterosexual, married relationship for bishops.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church bishops have embraced trendiness and abandoned the very Scriptures which are their basis for "evangelizing." If these bishops choose to violate God's instruction book, church members have two choices, should they wish to continue to honor the authority of scripture and its Author: they can remove the bishops from office, or they can leave the denomination. To remain in the denomination and do nothing makes members co-conspirators in the bishops' apostasy.
Parents should have primary responsibility for their children, including health insurance. The more parental rights that are ceded to government, the more authority we relinquish to government.
Jesus's admonition to care "for the least" is personal, not governmental, but since the Left thinks government is God it believes in constantly expanding government. Notice the same Scripture it twists to justify more spending and bigger government, it ignores when it comes to sex, abortion, marriage and all sorts of other things. The Right does the same, of course, when it mostly ignores poverty and justice issues.
The more power government exercises over us, the fewer rights we are likely to retain. For families that are poor and unable to afford insurance for their children, the current S-Chip program remains to cover poor children.
By that I assume it is meant torture by the West, since terrorists are famous for using all sorts of torture, including physical, mental and religious torture, such as forced conversion.
There is a double standard when it comes to this subject. We in the West are supposed to adhere to certain rules so we "won't be like them." But if the other side adheres to no rules and sees our standards as a form of weakness, such things are counter-productive to our objectives. It is not coincidental that the trailer for the new season of the TV series "24" features Jack Bauer testifying before a congressional committee on the subject of torture. Bauer is asked if he defends torture and responds that if it is needed to save lives, he will use it.
That seems to me to be the proper balance if it is reasonably certain the person being tortured (and how do we define torture?) has information that will save innocent lives. To do otherwise might satisfy certain civil libertarians, but they should know that terrorists do not discriminate between those who favor torture and those who oppose it.
The Question: What does the Eliot Spitzer scandal say about our public and private morality? Should he have resigned?
This was a clear case where private morality and public lawbreaking intertwined. Spitzer is alleged to have broken laws he swore to uphold. His hypocrisy was further multiplied by the fact that he had gone after prostitution rings as state Attorney General apparently at the same time he was using one. And his stupidity was revealed when he used telephones to "book" the hookers and his calls were tapped by the authorities, something he had done as Attorney General of New York. Unless he had a secret political death wish, his behavior is hard to explain.
As I said in a column I wrote, he should have reached out for the Gideon Bible in the hotel room drawer instead of reaching out for prostitutes. In that Book he would have found warnings of what happens when people use prostitutes. He would have also encountered this verse: "Be sure your sin will find you out." (Numbers 32:23)
What Islam Really Says About Violence, Rights and Other Religions
Gomaa, Fadlallah, Mubarak, Khan, Siddiqi, Ellison, others | On Faith
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