Faith Must Influence All Areas of Life

If the Republicans were truly pro life, there would be no abortions in the U. S. They've been in charge since the election of George Bush. Why is it you require proof of the democrates christianity, but not the republicans. Have you read the latest post on the web site of Center for Public Integrity. How many false statements were made by Bush to get this country into a war. Does a man that takes a life spend eternity in a different place than a liar. I think Bush will qualify on both counts. How many republicans will have to leave office because of their sexual preference, before we realize they are no closer to Christ than the democrats. God gave man a choice, only God can take that away.

"There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry, 'Mine!'"

So Christ is a two-year old?

And for the guy above me, don't get yourself too tizzied up, pandeism is no different. Any kind of deism still believes that the world needs an imaginary friend.

"There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry, 'Mine!'"

So Christ is a two-year old?

And for the guy above me, don't get yourself too tizzied up, pandeism is no different. Any kind fo deism still believes that the world needs an imaginary friend.

I reiterate, Pandeism is truth, on a spiritual level, just as much as Christianity is truth; on a historicity level, Pandeism is the far greater truth for it accepts the Universe as it appears.

Chuck,

Many Democrats are against abortion. Sen. Casey, for one. The difference between a "pro-life" Dem and a "pro-life" Republican is that the Democrat cares about children both before and AFTER they are born!

It's obvious to me that the Post's attempts to get famous or learned people to give their opinions in order to promote dialogue are not yielding much positive results.

Can anyone say they have actually gained insight from the 'dialogue' in most of these? It usually goes:

1. Famous person says his/her piece
2. Board is cluttered with those who either
a. hate famous person and cut them down for current or previous actions of theirs
b. always post the same thign, somehow believing they will influence others (???)
c. others respond to a. and b. with agreements or vindictiveness
d. repeat

And you know who you are. My apologies to the few who attempt to be thoughtful and careful with their words.

W.R.T. Mr. Colson's point, it was well-said if it were addressing a group of those sympatheitc to Christianity. At least he did use "if" at times to state this.

It is also apparent to me, that the % of agnostics/atheists on these boards is far greater than the typical quote of the USA population at large (altho there are some here outside the US, I assume most are within).

George, do it like this: http://www.lulu.com If that's a good link I can click on it.

Anonymous:

Very well put. Thanks for your insight.

And thanks to Mr. Colson, too, for his comments.

Along with food drives, work parties and the like, our church has also started a prison fellowship. Whether it be a widow in need or a young man behind bars (not knowing why he had to come into the world in a broken or drug-using home) or all in between..all need our compassion to help, heal and provide hope

Ah, the criminal at it again.

Faith must influence all areas of life? What faith, you mean your faith?

Reason, logic, and sanity must influence all areas of life. Faith's influence is a stain on humanity, reflecting the weak amongst us whom you represent so well.

It's so funny, there's no need to attack you christians anymore, your stupidity speaks for itself. Nothing disproves the bible better than it's followers.

ARRGH! It is so completely frustrating to have to constantly explain that one can have cares, compassion, happiness, morality and honesty (truth) without wrapping it in a shroud of magic.

It is quite possible to have a successful nation, a successful government, without pretending or insisting that god, god(s), pasta, zeus, etc. has anything to do with it!
This would be a much smarter, more efficient, kinder, gentler place to be if we just quit signing our morality over to the rascals, b4st4rds, vacuous degenerates in D.C.

We have mistakenly empowered a central government to be our surrogate parent. We have given it so much influence in our individual daily lives that we now can easily punch each other in the soft and tender parts by proxy….

The problem is fundamentally not religion at all! It is really the fact that we Americans have allowed this perversion to happen! We’ve signed away so many of our personal freedoms and responsibilities that the normally petty, benign, irrelevant religious beliefs of a presidential candidate has any significance whatsoever!
The religious beliefs of a U.S. congressman, President, etc. Should in a just, free America, have no more potential impact on us as individuals than the religious beliefs of a corporate CEO, a pro wrestler, or an auto mechanic… They all have them you know, but we don’t allow any of them enough power over us for it to really matter.

It is sad indeed when pompous, self righteous, closed minded people such as Colson end up mattering.

I have yet to see a returnee. One who comes back and sez how great it is beyond. There have been many religions, Indians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptions, etc are they all wrong? Why didn't god speak to them . Why did he wait until man understood that money was the most important thing. Please read "Americans the Stupid" available at WWW.lulu.com

In my experience, no one who says, "caring for the unborn," ever means prenatal care for pregnant women. Instead, the phrase is another tired euphemism for "wishing the government to send my fellow citizens to prison for the crime of not sharing my religious opinions." There is no excuse for anyone who claims to espouse the first ten words of our Bill of Rights, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion," to advocate such a position. You can't have it both ways, Mr. Colson. If you want to repeal the First Amendment, it is your prerogative as a citizen to work toward that goal, but please have the intellectual honesty to say what you are doing.

I have yet to see a returee...one who comes back and sez how great it is beyond...there have been many religions, Indians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptions, are they all wrong? Why didn't god speak to them ...why did he wait until man understood that money was the most important thing...please read "Americans the Stupid" available at WWW.lulu.com

I have yet to see a returee...one who comes back and sez how great it is beyond...there have been many religions, Indians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptions, are they all wrong? Why didn't god speak to them ...why did he wait until man understood that money was the most important thing...please read "Americans the Stupid" available at WWW.lulu.com

People put to much emphasis on suffering, death and pain for a reason for them not to believe in God.

Suppose if God was real, if God of the bible has the power to raise life from the dead then death is truly insignificant to the believer for he was promised to live again free from pain and suffering. I’m not saying God doesn’t feel for our sufferings because he too suffered on the cross for us and with us.

Suppose if God is truly real then death and suffering in this world is short lived in comparison to the life eternal that was promised for those who accept the Lords invitation.

Sounds like a small price to pay for life eternally if you ask me… But that’s my opinion of course. Life is a gift and I think people have to understand that you should love life and never take it for granted regardless if you believe in God or not.

I personally don’t dwell on my own personal sufferings but focus my attention on all the good times life has to offer. Yes I am grateful for the life the Lord God has given me and I wouldn’t change a thing.

In the end when my life comes to an end, I will celebrate the life I lived with happiness and thankfulness for the opportunity to have experienced life and love. If God, is real I look forward to living again but this time forever. To spend forever with my wife, family and friends sounds like paradise and I hope that I am worthy to receive.

Good day everyone.

Dear Mr. Colson
For a small group of people who live in a closed community and who all believe the same thing and worship in the same way, all that you had to say might make some sense. But you see what your essay has triggered? Some of the commenters are voicing extreme hostility towards Christianity and it is all your fault.

Everyone is not a Christian. And even among Christians, there is a wide range of dissension. There are the devout Catholics, and the cafeteria catholics. There are the Evangelical Protestants, and the fundamentlist Protestants, and the mainline Protestants. There are the gay haters and the gay lovers, and everything inbetween. And this is just the Christians. Then there are also the Jews, the Moslems, the agnostics and atheists, and yada, yada, yada...and all the many, and varying gradiations among them.

The government must operate over all the people who hold all these many diverse beliefs. The President must be President to all of the people, not just to those of his personal relgion.

We know through the evidence of history, and in our own personal lives, and in the acrimonious comments of this religous forum, that religion is a sore spot with many people, and the source of much disagreement, arguing, and fighting.

First, comes the frustration and angry words. Then comes the accusations and recriminations. Then, the discussion degenerates into a food fight, with mash potatoes and gravey and all sorts of things flying. Next comes the vandalism, and destruction of opposing art, things like knocking off the heads of statues in oppostion churches. Then, on to rock throwing, then gun play and next, bomb throwing. Then you graduate up to your burings at the stake, and your boilings in oil. And then you got your torture on the wrack, and your slow strangulation. And finally, you end up with your religious be-headin's. For the love of God, there's nothing worse than the religeous beheaden's.

So, Mr. Colson, let's just step back, take a few breaths, read a few history books, turn on CNN, and rethink this whole thing about mixing religion and politics. I don't think so.

Correct DW and very good. God has blessed America with, "by right of conquest" the God given right for the stronger to overpower the weaker and take all they have including their lives. There native American blood on the chalice used to hold the body and blood of Jesus, "by right of conquest." When the natural resources are all gone then what, rob someone else?

http://www.hoax-buster.org/sellyoursoul is what Americans are doing. That God you talk about lives in fire, used trickery and murder to get IT's way and still hasn't managed to get the Israelites to Canan, (Syria) or the land OWNED by the Hittites, (Turkey).

That's not ALMIGHTY God. Almighty God gets what almighty God wants by simply willing it. Devil needs people to do his dirty work. And Devil wins big when good people do nothing.

Are you good people? How good are you?

Truth is just truth.

What is 'Christian truth' exactly? Is it like regular 'truth' but just not quite as true?

>>>Religion needs to die a death as surely in America as it has in Europe. That our media seems to be obsessed with asking non-relative questions about a candidate's belief in the tooth fairy is hopefully a sign of religion's last throes in our once-great country, not a sign of a religious resurgence.

Lets consider the following from the above paragraph:

>>a sign of religion's last throes in our once-great country, not a sign of a religious resurgence.

It should be noted here that during the height of our beloved country's greatness (in reference to 'our once-great country', above), there was a greater understanding of God and a more prevalent belief in Him, His role in our lives and our indebtedness to Him for all of the good things He provides for us. All of the images we see, whether in movies, pictures or magazine articles, of the family sitting around the table praying, say, during the 30's 40s and 50s, let alone the larger numbers of people that attended church..are images we see less and less. Our strength in those decades was second to none. We rebuilt Europe after the scourge of Hitler and Moussolini. We are still leaders in the world of helping others. Many nations of people have never experienced such prosperity to do this. There are fundamental reasons for this.

With that, it seems the human family would tend to believe the opposite to be true...that a religious decline, or perhaps a more prevalent denial of Gods existence, is the reason our country is not as great as it once was.

Sir, let me share with you the truth of which I am aware, the truth of PanDeism.... now, I think we agree that "PanDeism" is not a "religion" any more than "Theism" is a "religion". Theism is in fact a religious position allowing that there is a God who created the Universe, and appealing to certain human insecurities to promote the idea of a God who thinks like us, acts like us, guides our Universe, and will even condemn some of us based on our beliefs....

PanDeism, on the other hand, is not derived from fear or desire or similar emotion.... PanDeism is derived from the cold and hard examination of logical truth: the Universe does not lie to us, it is as it appears, it is as old as it appears, life within it is as random and fortuitous as it appears!!

However, the fact that the laws of the Universe allow for such fortuity is clear and reasonable evidence of the hand of a designer desirous of bringing about life and intelligence.... Pandeism teaches that God is not merely the author of the Universe, but that God became the Universe, because God alone can not learn what it is to face the limitations and experience the triumphs of those who exist within the Universe.... God is in all things, this is the truth of Pandeism!! Pandeism affirmatively demonstrates that God does not and can not interfere in the affairs of the Universe, for doing so would ruin God's experience of learning from the natural course of the Universe; Pandeism teaches that all things are part of God; Pandeism teaches that understanding of God can only be reached through logical and rational examination of the evidence uncovered via the scientific examination of processes of the universe, processes set forth by God and demanding the resultant respect; Pandeism teaches that the universe must someday, somehow, return to being God!!

I can only hope that some distant day I will see the politicians lined up on the stage declaring their recognition of the logical and rational truth of PanDeism, and basing their policies on the understanding that all things we do to one another create experiences shared in by God, and ultimately shared in by ourselves when all return to being one with God!!

Bless Yourself, for Thou Art God!!

". . . Christian truth should inform their moral judgments, I am certainly the first to applaud."

Mr. Colson, It is the notion, and your usage of the phrase "Christian Truth" that frustrates, angers, and appalls some of us out here. Charity does nor depend on, nor require 'Christian truth'. Concern for the unborn does not require 'Christian Truth'
I admit, I too want to know the force that a candidate's moral/spritual compass derives it's direction from. If it is cross your fingers/squeeze the beads and uttering of praises to a mystical entity, I'd like to know that so I can vote, often if possible, against them. I am more interested in knowing how they interperet the constitution. Especially the 'establishment' clause of one of those pesky ammendments... (why aren't we posting those on courthouse walls?) What I want most from a candidate and a president, is an assurance that they will stay the heck out of my life and quit wasting my money.. I do not need their morality, their sprituality , their narrow, misguided notion of 'truth' to guide my daily life or that of my children.

Chuck

Einstein said,

"I cannot conceive of a God who rewards and punishes his creatures,or has a will of the type of which we are conscious in ourselves.
An individual who survives his physical death is also beyond my comprehension,nor do I wish it otherwise;such notions are for the fears or absurd egoism of feeble souls."
ALBERT EINSTEIN
The World as I See It.

Seems like the best brain of the 20th century sees a god totally unlike the god that is bandied about on these threads.
We would do well to think about these words.

I think the good of "The Enlightenment" is being dismissed *way* too quickly in America by the kind of religious fears that it opposed in the first place, even as those religious elements hasten to take the credit for what they opposed tooth and nail... and still oppose at every turn.

"the enlightment that needs to engulf the USA as it has every other major Western country"

mm.. I don't think that it's "enlightment" that has "engulfed" major Western countries.

Time will tell.

Chuck, I'm a lifelong Democrat (first vote was in 1972), and I am appalled at the Dem candidates pandering to the Xian faithful. In fact, I take it as a very unhealthy sign for the Party and a direct threat to the enlightment that needs to engulf the USA as it has every other major Western country.

Religion needs to die a death as surely in America as it has in Europe. That our media seems to be obsessed with asking non-relative questions about a candidate's belief in the tooth fairy is hopefully a sign of religion's last throes in our once-great country, not a sign of a religious resurgence.

Perhaps you'll also be encouraged when Democrats begin to display the same treason and lawlessness that you exhibited while you held a government job. Or maybe you'll be encouraged when the Democrats can field a slate of adulterous candidates to match the bed-hopping infidelity exhibited by such Republic Xians as Rudy Giuliani, Newt Gingrich and John McCain?

God save us from what the religionists find encouraging.