Beware Anyone's Sure Knowledge of God's Will

Dr. Marty, Palin tried to quote you on Lincoln during her Gibson interview on 9/11 but few noticed! She tried to twist her comments on God's will in Iraq and her praying to God for the pipeline to match those of Lincoln (huh?). As a matter of fact, she told Gibson she was quoting Honest Abe when in fact her church quotes were not similar to Lincoln's. In addition to using God to further her ambitions, she now appears to be using Lincoln. What do you think?

God’s will I would think would be to heal everyone. Back in the time Jesus saw that the wealthy were keeping all the protein for themselves and the poor and indentured servitude got only bread, a diet of which leads to severe malnutrition, biochemical malfunction and disease, so he was teaching them how to fish and make nets that they could get needed to eat protein and actually lift themselves from poverty. Therefore his will would be “The End of Disease” which you can read the steps and insight here.

There is no cure for disease, but there is a solution, the end of disease
http://intelegen.com/there_is_no_cure_for_disease.htm

You can also read the Fish Story Here
Sirius The FBI Agent and The Fish Company
http://iamblogging.net/Urgo/archives/2004/10/sirius_the_fbi.html

Obviously the people in positions of power are not doing God’s will because we would be implementing Universal Health not Universal Disease Care.

I have analyzed God's energy system design. Gas pipe lines are not his design.

He suspended a nuclear reactor overhead which distributes energy equally for free, all over the planet, effortless to use.

As I brought to our attention before:

In looking at the energy systems in the human body, and there isn't centralized production of energy, there is decentralized production of energy. Each cell has it's own energy production as should each house on the planet. We do need storage just like the ATP molecule in the body.

It's too bad that some don't have me by their side to duel against the fictions. I have this really cool sword ~Excalibur~.

GM is burdened by disease care costs it runs into the tens of billions. This is not good for America. It is time to implement Universal Health, not Universal Disease Care.

I also know about their internal accounting practices, and hence the need for transparency.

All:

You all may be more extreme than Sarah Palin.

What she said was:

"Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also for this country, that our leaders our national leaders, are sending them out on a task that is from God.
That's what we have to make sure that we are praying for, that there is a plan, and that plan is God's plan. So uh... bless them with your prayers, your prayers of protection over our soldiers...”

The reaction has been intolerant, indignant, and ignorant. Did anyone actually listen to the video? What we have here is a rumor mill echo chamber. The first shout was by Sally Quinn this week.

Tomorrow is 911.

Sir, Brother, Father, Grandfather..:

Mr. Marty Martin & Family & Friends:

We "EC[L-ATARiAN"(s) LOVE YOU-ALL!

Ye art the Prophecy Expontentiate!

PEACE, Shalom, Salaam, Ahimsa, Paz, Zingyu..!

"Doing God's Will" is a phrase meaning "Doing What Will Please God". The phrase does not connote perfection in action, but alignment of the doer's motivation to action with what is known of God's desires. We all, including Martin Marty, should work out our salvation in fear and trembling.

How many wise religious figures (and not just Christian ones) have said that, in essence, the more you claim to know about the Divine, the less you really do? Conversely, the essence of wisdom is to realize exactly how little one does know, and to be properly awed by the mystery.

This does not include "God" name-dropping for one's personal favorite cause. It certainly does not include judging others' actions, especially legislating to protect them from what you consider sin.

It's about HUMILITY. In my opinion, if you claim to know God's will whilst others do not, you are guilty of a sin that used to be deadly - Pride. (Which in this election year, I really hope goeth before a fall!)

This article is spot on. THANK GOD (pun intended) someone is aware of the negative consequences of overt religious fanaticism!

Yes todays politicians, specially during this Pres. campaign, claim to be actring on divine instructions, which makes them right. Regards A Contag

Many thanks, Professor Marty, for such a well expressed and sound premise!

The graveyards of the world are filled with people killed by other people doing Gods Will.

People should leave god at home before making decesions such as war or life or death.

God is cool and surely even if you put lipstick on him, he is still GOD.

"GOP's Will" is easy for any Republican to decipher. It comes down to 9 blessed principles:

1) Charity starts at home.
2) The Lord helps those who help themselves.
3) Poverty is punishment for sin.
4) Wealth is the divine reward to the worthy.
5) Heaven is structured like any modern corporation, with all the best perks for the most successful fundraisers.
6) Don't get pesky with questions about "love thy enemy," "turn the other cheek," "the first will be last," or that "figurative" story about rich people not getting into heaven.
7) God blesses America, period. Flag and faith are nearly the same thing.
8) When in doubt, or if the defendant looks like a shiftless low-life, send to the gallows.
9) Some Democrats stand a chance of salvation, but must first repent their wayward notions and embrace faith in GOP.

I agree with MR. MArty - throughout history, the greatest atrocities conducted by man against his neighbor have been n the Name of God and as executions of God's Will. Our government should be of, for and by the people; God can take care of him/herself.

Abraham Lincoln was visited by a northern minister near the end of the Civil War. The minister approached Lincoln and said: "I am glad that God is on our side." Lincoln looked at the minister and replied: "Sir, I am not concerned whether God is on our side. Rather, I am concerned whether we are on God's side." Nobody could have put it better.

"That people act in the hope or even the confidence that their works are congruent with the will of God is not disturbing and can even be enobling."

We are not the authors of the laws that dictate how our universe works. It behooves us to learn these laws and follow them as closely as possible, if we are to survive and prosper. However, most people receive their version of the Law, not from God, but from other people. These other people may be interpreting God's laws, not for our benefit as God meant them, but only for their own. These powerful Law interpreters will see independent opinions of the Law as heresy. Seeing this abuse of the Law by our fellows, and being able to control it, is fundamental to the human condition.

There is no one like Nietzsche to illuminate the times we are in, again. Beyond the question of “Who killed God, again?” (was it the ungoverned, amoral, unregulated contest for money as the sole source of power?) remains the facticity that “God is dead, again”. Republican McCain appears as the Phoenix rising again from the ashes of Republican ruin: “If God is dead again, then I am God again”.

With the American pie gone, the empty pie pan of “no money” is with us. The only solution the Democrats can come up with is cutting up the pie pan and distributing the pieces.

These are not practical solutions, but in times like ours perhaps there are none. We can only hope beyond reason that whoever wins this election is able to rule those who lose.

Needless to say, the whole world is watching this one.

Now we have the answer as to why God allows evil to exist in the world:

He's too busy willing pipelines and assigning wars as homework to the likes of George Bush to pay attention to that kind of thing.

The In God We Trust phrase first appeared on coins in the Civil War when it appeared on a two cent piece of the United States. God must have been on the side of the Union as was proclaimed in the Battle Hymn of the Republic. I'm sure folks in the Confederacy felt quite the opposite. Bob Dylan also had a wonderful folk song about God on their side. I belong to a Catholic parish in Iowa with a relatively conservative pastor. His has an American and church flag proudly up on the rectory door, but no flags in the sanctuary under a view that God's church is for all men and women and not just Americans. We pray for our troops but we also pray for peace. Unfortunately more people probably have been killed in the name of a God or gods over history than any other reason, with such things as the Crusades and Thirty Years War in Europe and even World War II since tyrannical regimes (Hitler and Stalin) substituted a leader and belief system for or over any religion and Imperial Japan had a State Shinto belief where the emperor was considered divine.

"I don't think she was making dogmatic statements about God's will or trying to connect God's will with a partisan agenda."

Briangammill --

For crying out loud! She said that the Iraq War was "a task from God." How much more partisan can you get in co-opting God's will for your own political purposes?

I, too, would like to see more about the connection between these useful, if somewhat generic, remarks and the public statements of any of the candidates.

Dina--

The Roman Catholic Church does not believe, nor teach, that it is the sole "owner" of the truth. Please reference, among other sources, the documents of Vatican Counsel II, publicly available for over forty years. Your effort to "generalize" Reverend Marty's statement, lumping together Catholics with such appealing grous as Nazis and Communists, sweeps far too broadly, and is not supported in fact, nor is it an accurate summation of his opinion piece.

Back WWII, I shot a young man through the throat and watched as his expression turned from one of surprise to sadness. From that moment, I decided to roam the woods with my chipmunk friends in search of twigs and berries.

Brian Geraghty writes "
"This isn't a problem - Democrats don't believe in God or Christ"

Was it God's will that you lied, or did you just break the commandments? See ya in Hell!

briangammill writes
"Did you hear the context of Governor Palin's comments? I don't think she was making dogmatic statements about God's will or trying to connect God's will with a partisan agenda"

Well, you are the only one.
Mind you, I don't think Palin believes that. She's a pathological liar. Not only does she lie whenever she needs to, she seems to lie for no reason at all. It's getting clear she can't tell her lies from reality.

The difficulty in discerning the Word of God is that we receive God's Word, God's revelation, through our limited, finite, categorical, human minds. God transcends our human knowledge. Only God can perfectly know and receive God, which is the whole point of the Incarnation. Karl Rahner describes the Incarnation of Jesus Christ as the point of unity, intrinsic to God, between God's absolute self expression and humanity's absolute acceptance of God's self-communication. This point of unity is established by God through God's activity of becoming human, and therefore this unity is not only established by God but is God.

In other words, to claim that you absolutely know the will of God is to claim that you are God. (Very dangerous!)

It is only through faith in the Incarnation -- in God's gift of God's self-offering love and humanity's acceptance of that love through God's initiative -- that we can hope to participate in the incarnation. Faith and hope, not certainty.

If Rev. Marty is referring to Sarah Palin, all I have heard her say is to pray that what we do is God's will. She has said that about the war in Iraq, among other things. Praying that God's will be done certainly has the stamp of approval of Jesus Christ in the Our Father "...thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." This is the prayer recommended to the Christian community by Christ. It need not be private. It contains words that bespeak our greatest hope. All the best.

Ann Vanderslice

Religious faith among government leaders has civic value when it encourages internal self-examination, not political self-justification. A leader who is in the habit of praying for guidance on account of his own blind spots will be more inclined to listen to the people that might help him to see.

Spot on Martin.
The Republicans have always misled us. Let's choose Democrats this time.

To discern God's will, if there be such a thing, and to claim it as justification for a course of action, either accomplished or anticipated, are light years apart. The latter smacks of the arrogance and unmitigated self-assurance of the (self)righteous, the former demonstrates humility and the acknowledgement of the limitations of one's own power. Once again the representatives of the (ir)religious right clothe themselves in the mantle of "righteousness" and co-opt divine providence as their particular stamp of approval from on high. Right now no one does it better than Sarah Palin who is supported by her political enablers in the GOP. It amazes me that she in her near-sighted view of the universe can imagine that God has a pipeline in Alaska on his priority to-do list or really decided that the Iraq War was a pretty good demonstration of his will, love and caring. I would have to assume that God must have inspired the principal players of the Bush administration with all the lies that got us into this, dare I say it, holy war.

Give me a break! These self-appointed discerners of God's will are the ideological descendants of those who throughout history, including biblical "heroes," have committed the most vile atrocities, engineered the bloodiest persecutions, and managed to twist justice into a grotesque caricature.

May we be spared the scourge of their leadership.

"Fools are those who have read only the bible. God cannot be proud of such lazy creations ( e.g. T. Baum and Spiderman2 and now Harold the Thumper)!!!!"

I think God's will is in social justice and humility. For each person to take private time with the Almighty each day and develope a personal relationship with God. When you start using God for your own personal reasons to control other people is when you start playing God. That's when you back off and go back to minding your own soul and purpose.

This isn't a problem - Democrats don't believe in God or Christ.

I was wondering if anybody was listening to what McCain said. "I'm not running for president because I think I'm blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save our country in its hour of need," McCain said..'" McCain was pandering to the evangelicals when he made this statement. Most people, including journalist don't understand church lingo neither do they understand the scriptures. For instance, Sarah Palin talking about the troops in June was saying to the people in church in her leadership role to “Pray that our national leaders (Pres. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and others) are sending them out on a task that is from God,” she said.
This, according to what she said refers to them being "anointed" by God to do what they did. Most people, journalist included, would never get this because they don't understand the dynamics of the "church," (remember the church is not the building, its the "called out ones, God's chosen." Also, I along with everyone else, in this has country learned a long time ago that this war was based on lies. Why pray in June? This was not a task from God. I know a little about God too. The first thing that I know is that GOD CAN NOT LIE. (This according to the scriptures which I believe.) We invaded a country and thousands of lives were lost because there was supposed to be weapons of mass destruction. You mean to tell me God anointed people to lie. NO. The bibles says in John 8:44 that satan is the fathers of all lies. We went to war based on False information, (lies)Somebody needs to be held accountable for this because of the thousands of lies that were lost. As time goes on you won't (as though you can tell now) be able to distinquish between "the wheat" and "the tares." Now to figure that one out you going to have to read where it came from.

I was wondering if anybody was listening to what McCain said. "I'm not running for president because I think I'm blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save our country in its hour of need," McCain said..'" McCain was pandering to the evangelicals when he made this statement. Most people, including journalist don't understand church lingo neither do they understand the scriptures. For instance, Sarah Palin talking about the troops in June was saying to the people in church in her leadership role to “Pray that our national leaders (Pres. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and others) are sending them out on a task that is from God,” she said.
This, according to what she said refers to them being "anointed" by God to do what they did. Most people, journalist included, would never get this because they don't understand the dynamics of the "church," (remember the church is not the building, its the "called out ones, God's chosen." Also, I along with everyone else, in this has country learned a long time ago that this war was based on lies. Why pray in June? This was not a task from God. I know a little about God too. The first thing that I know is that GOD CAN NOT LIE. (This according to the scriptures which I believe.) We invaded a country and thousands of lives were lost because there was supposed to be weapons of mass destruction. You mean to tell me God anointed people to lie. NO. The bibles says in John 8:44 that satan is the fathers of all lies. We went to war based on False information, (lies)Somebody needs to be held accountable for this because of the thousands of lies that were lost. As time goes on you won't (as though you can tell now) be able to distinquish between "the wheat" and "the tares." Now to figure that one out you going to have to read where it came from.

If you can't hear God, the shotgun sings the song and there are still people putting powder in paper shells. It takes all year to get ready for July 4th. Some jobs are tougher than others and more dangerous too. This country was founded by dangerous people and it keeps getting more dangerous, so keep your shells handy and stay locked and loaded. If you can read this, you are in range. There's home on the range cowboys, so put a pig in the ground and some beer on ice and keep it real country real nice. No need to get nasty when you can get smart 99.

I think I broke the rules governing commentaries. Does the first amendment still apply here?
http://topics.law.cornell.edu/wex/First_amendment
You get off topic and get back on topic. It's all great.

Amen! Really watch out when God will building pipeline. Did God actually speak to Palin, or how does she know God willed the pipe line. Or does she just know that everything she does God wills. I hope she is asked these questions whenever she is interviewed.

Duck duck, goose goose too. A catch 22. God only knows what's next. Hopefully it's love.

The Navy will is pretty strong stuff. God just runs the oceans and the Navy will use them to our own advantage. Like grandmother said, there's a will. Without the currents of time and the U.S. Navy, I wouldn't be here writing this. We will support you. Shoot to thrill! The ocean is a mystery for the most part. God is mysterious and there are guided missiles.

Thank you for the wonderful article. Making Public Policy because you believe God talked to you alone is nonsense.Political life demands adherence to American Principles which excludes the arrogance of 'God talked to me alone'. To tell everyone the way it is supposed to because God said so is dictatorship and totalitarianism at it's worst. Our Founding Fathers got it right when they invoked God in the Declaration of Independence , but correctly wrote the "establishment clause" into the U.S. Constitution.I look forward to reading more of your writings.

Whether it is a politician, my next door neighbor or a family member, the minute I hear them say that such-and-such is 'God's will' I instantly want to find a toilet to throw up in.
I would NEVER vote for anyone who even hinted that they were doing 'God's will' as that, IMO, is hubris in the extreme.
The horrible destruction down the ages in the name of God should deter anyone from assuming that they have both the ear and the knowledge of the mind of God.

The god to whom many if not most of us refer in the realm of miracles probably has no relation to the biblical god. Each of us needs a reference to explain what we have no control over, -good or not good. God is most convenient. In critical care, I have witnessed infants lose their life and infants reclaim life --each, according to loveones, as the Will of God.

More Troopergate information in John Hosenball's Newsweek article. It seems the judge in the Wooten divorce case warned repeatedly that Palin's disparagement and that of her family could be considered emotional abuse. Three years later and at least two dozen calls, emails, etc. from Palin, her husband, daughter, and aides haven't slowed her down. Last week, she was still disparaging. The judge said that, after monitoring, he maintained the right to grant custody to the trooper and order him to move, with the children, to Anchorage. It will be interesting to see if this happens.

The trooper has guts though to stay in a state where Cheney with lipstick is the governor.

Will the rest of us have enough guts to say, "Eight is enough" to the possibility of another Bush/Cheney/McCain term, vowing that whether or not the Republicans re-name it God's will or dominion theocracy, fascism (complete with trashing of the Constitution, torture, and secret spying) is still fascism?

RE: Today's voters would not elect Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson or George Washington

Those are exactly the Presidents we would elect. None were dogmatic about their religion. Note the multiple references to Lincoln. Jefferson created his own Bible by extracted the words of transcendent wisdom while redacting the supernatural.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Bible\

Out of 61 famous GW quotes, two mention God.
"Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair; the rest is in the hands of God."

"It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible."

Quoting “God cannot be proud of such lazy creations” “Harold the Thumper”
The Lord formed me in the womb

And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither
But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.

therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live

My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.
Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous.
For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?
Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him?
Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God?
I will teach you by the hand of God: that which is with the Almighty will I not conceal.
Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it; why then are ye thus altogether vain?
This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive of the Almighty.
If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.
Those that remain of him shall be buried in death: and his widows shall not weep.

“Will he delight himself in the Almighty?”
“will he always call upon God?”
“I will teach you by the hand of God”
“that which is with the Almighty will I not conceal.”

Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;
But, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.
Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.
For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.
And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things.
O Lord, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.
Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods?
Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is The Lord.

“Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them;”
“after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain”
“from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.”
“And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double”
“the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth”
“and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies”
“vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.”
“Therefore, behold”
“I will this once cause them to know”
“I will cause them to know mine hand and my might”
“and they shall know that my name is The Lord”

We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.
Do not abhor us, for thy name's sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.
Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O Lord our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things.

“Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain”
“therefore we will wait upon thee”
“for thou hast made all these things.”

Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.

“Be patient therefore”
“unto the coming of the Lord”
“the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth”
“hath long patience for it”
“until he receive the early and latter rain.”
“Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts”
“for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh”

I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.
Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness.
My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.
I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment:
That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.
The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.
I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.

“I love them that love me”
“those that seek me early shall find me”
“I lead in the way of righteousness”
“in the midst of the paths of judgment”
“That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance”
“The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way”
“I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning”

And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.

“Job sent and sanctified them,”
“and rose up early in the morning”
“offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all”
“Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned”
”cursed God in their hearts”

The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

“The fool hath said in his heart”
“There is no God”

See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;

“See, I have set before thee this day life”
“good, and death and evil”

In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

“I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God”
“to walk in his ways”

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.
But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;
(For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.

“there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands”
“wood and stone”
“When thou art in tribulation”
“and all these things are come upon thee”
“even in the latter days”
“if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice”
“he will not forsake thee”
“neither destroy thee”

Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.
And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

“Simon the Canaanite”
“the house of Simon the leper”
“Simon the son of Jona”
“thou shalt be called Cephas”
“A stone”
“there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands”
“wood and stone”

And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.
And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull.
And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not.
And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take.
And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.

“compel one Simon a Cyrenian”
“And when they had crucified him”
“there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands”
“wood and stone”

And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.
And all the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts, and returned.

“Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit”
“Now when the centurion saw what was done”
“he glorified God”
“Certainly this was a righteous man.”

And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.

“not be ashamed before him at his coming”
“If ye know that he is righteous”
“ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.”

I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you”
“I have set before you life”
“death, blessing and cursing”
“therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live”

Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.
The Lord trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.
Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.
For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.

“Upon the wicked he shall rain snares”
“fire and brimstone”
“and an horrible tempest”
“this shall be the portion of their cup.”

Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap.
Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake.
Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them.
Let their habitation be desolate; and let none dwell in their tents.
For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded.
Add iniquity unto their iniquity: and let them not come into thy righteousness.
Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.

I was wondering if anybody was listening to what McCain said. "I'm not running for president because I think I'm blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save our country in its hour of need," McCain said..'" McCain was pandering to the evangelicals when he made this statement. Most people, including journalist don't understand church lingo neither do they understand the scriptures. For instance, Sarah Palin talking about the troops in June was saying to the people in church in her leadership role to “Pray that our national leaders (Pres. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and others) are sending them out on a task that is from God,” she said.
This, according to what she said refers to them being "anointed" by God to do what they did. Most people, journalist included, would never get this because they don't understand the dynamics of the "church," (remember the church is not the building, its the "called out ones, God's chosen." Also, I, along with everyone else, in this has country learned a long time ago that this war was based on lies. WHY PRAY IN JUNE? We've known the answer for some time now. This was not a task from God. I know a little about God too. The first thing that I know is that GOD CAN NOT LIE. (This according to the scriptures which I believe.) We invaded a country and thousands of lives were lost because there was supposed to be weapons of mass destruction. You mean to tell me God anointed people to lie. NO. The bibles says in John 8:44 that satan is the fathers of all lies. We went to war based on False information, (lies)Somebody needs to be held accountable for this because of the thousands of lies that were lost. As time goes on you won't (as though you can tell now) be able to distinquish between "the wheat" and "the tares." Now to figure that one out you going to have to read where it came from.

Many of us lack wisdom so here is some scripture.

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all [men] liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed." James 1:5-7 KJV

I was wondering if anybody was listening to what McCain said. "I'm not running for president because I think I'm blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save our country in its hour of need," McCain said..'" McCain was pandering to the evangelicals when he made this statement. Most people, including journalist don't understand church lingo neither do they understand the scriptures. For instance, Sarah Palin talking about the troops in June was saying to the people in church in her leadership role to “Pray that our national leaders (Pres. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and others) are sending them out on a task that is from God,” she said.
This, according to what she said refers to them being "anointed" by God to do what they did. Most people, journalist included, would never get this because they don't understand the dynamics of the "church," (remember the church is not the building, its the "called out ones, God's chosen." Also, I, along with everyone else, in this has country learned a long time ago that this war was based on lies. WHY PRAY IN JUNE? We've known the answer for some time now. This was not a task from God. I know a little about God too. The first thing that I know is that GOD CAN NOT LIE. (This according to the scriptures which I believe.) We invaded a country and thousands of lives were lost because there was supposed to be weapons of mass destruction. You mean to tell me God anointed people to lie. NO. The bibles says in John 8:44 that satan is the fathers of all lies. We went to war based on False information, (lies)Somebody needs to be held accountable for this because of the thousands of lies that were lost. As time goes on you won't (as though you can tell now) be able to distinquish between "the wheat" and "the tares." Now to figure that one out you going to have to read where it came from.

Many of us lack wisdom so here is some scripture.

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all [men] liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed." James 1:5-7 KJV

Wow, ChuckB, listen to yourself! Who are you to say what God does or doesn't care about?

Apparently you missed the entire point of this essay.

Does anybody from the Post read these comments before they are posted? If not, somebody should.

Thanks you Dr. Marty

"Fools are those who have read only the bible. God cannot be proud of such lazy creations ( e.g. T. Baum and Spiderman2 and now Harold the Thumper)!!!!"

Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the Lord our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.
Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.
For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.
As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich.
They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.
Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land;
The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?

There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.
Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.
I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.

We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.
Do not abhor us, for thy name's sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.
Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O Lord our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things.

Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.
The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.
All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.
For thy name's sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.
What man is he that feareth the Lord? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.
His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth.
The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.
Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.
Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted.
The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses.
Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins.

The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.
Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.
Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.
As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.
The Lord standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people.

“they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not”
“Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.”
“Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him”
“for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.”
“Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him”
“for the reward of his hands shall be given him.”
“The Lord standeth up to plead”
“and standeth to judge the people.”

There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

“There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life”
“I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee”
“as I was with Moses”

That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!

“Woe unto them that call evil good”
“and good evil”
“that put darkness for light”
“and light for darkness”
“Which justify the wicked for reward”
“and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!”

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
And God said, Let the waters under the Heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

“And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.”
“Woe unto them that call evil good”
“that put darkness for light”
”And God called the light Day”
“and light for darkness”
“and the darkness he called Night”
“that put darkness for light”
“and let the dry land appear: and it was so.”
“God called the dry land Earth”
” and God saw that it was good.”
“Woe unto them that call evil good”

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness”
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him”
“Woe unto them that call evil good”
“Which justify the wicked for reward”

These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,
And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

“But there went up a mist from the earth”
“and watered the whole face of the ground.”
“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground”
“and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life”
“and man became a living soul.”
“and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!”

And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.
Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.
But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.

“The Lord standeth up to plead”
“and standeth to judge the people.”
“that it was well watered every where”
“before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah”
“even as the garden of the Lord”
“But there went up a mist from the earth”
“and watered the whole face of the ground.”
“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground”
“and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life”
“and man became a living soul.”
“Woe unto them that call good evil”
“But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.”

Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven;
And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

“But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.”
“Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire”
“fire from the Lord out of heaven”
“they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not”
“Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.”
“Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him”
“for the reward of his hands shall be given him.”

And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord:
And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

“And Abraham gat up early in the morning”
“And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah”
“the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.”
“The Lord standeth up to plead”
“and standeth to judge the people.”
“There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life”
“I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee”
“as I was with Moses”

Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now.
Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die.
He that feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses:
And he that regarded not the word of the Lord left his servants and his cattle in the field.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.
And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt.
So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field.

“The Lord standeth up to plead”
“and standeth to judge the people.”
“There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life”
“I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee”
“as I was with Moses”
“I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation”
“He that feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh”
“Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses:”
“he that regarded not the word of the Lord left his servants and his cattle in the field”

Nahum 1:7 The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.

“The LORD is good”

Romans 2:10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:

“But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good”
“to the Jew first”
“and also to the Gentile”

Romans 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

“I find then a law, that, when I would do good”
“evil is present with me”

Romans 12:9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

“Abhor that which is evil”
“and let the dry land appear: and it was so.”
“God called the dry land Earth”
” and God saw that it was good.”
“Woe unto them that call evil good”

“cleave to that which is good.”
“But there went up a mist from the earth”
“and watered the whole face of the ground.”
“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground”
“and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life”
“and man became a living soul.”
Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:
Because I will publish the name of the Lord: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.
Romans 12:21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

“Be not overcome of evil”
“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness”
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him”
“but overcome evil with good”
“The Lord standeth up to plead”
“and standeth to judge the people.”
“There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life”
“I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee”
“as I was with Moses”
Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:
Because I will publish the name of the Lord: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.

Galatians 6:10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

“let us do good unto all men”
“especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”
“My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.”

1Timothy 1:5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:

“Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart”
Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,
Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified?
Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?
For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes.
But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee;
And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.
Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?
It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?

“For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure”
“But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee”

Then Job answered the Lord, and said,
I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.
Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.
Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
And it was so, that after the Lord had spoken these words unto Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.
Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.
So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the Lord commanded them: the Lord also accepted Job.
And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.
Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold.
So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.

“Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:

“I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord”
“which am but dust and ashes”

1Timothy 1:8 But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;

“But we know that the law is good”
“if a man use it lawfully”

1Peter 3:11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.

“Let him eschew evil”
“and do good”
“let him seek peace”
“and ensue it”

There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

“Job; and that man was perfect and upright”
“eschewed evil”

And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:

“I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord”
“which am but dust and ashes”

“Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”
“Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams”
“and go to my servant Job,”
“and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering;”
“and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept”

“lest I deal with you after your folly,”
“in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right,”
“like my servant Job.”

Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven;

“brimstone and fire”

The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.
The Lord trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.
Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.
For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.

“Upon the wicked he shall rain snares”
“fire and brimstone”
“and an horrible tempest”
“this shall be the portion of their cup.”

Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap.
Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake.
Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them.
Let their habitation be desolate; and let none dwell in their tents.
For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded.
Add iniquity unto their iniquity: and let them not come into thy righteousness.
Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.

And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations.
For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands.
For thus saith the Lord God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.
And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.
Then took I the cup at the Lord's hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the Lord had sent me:

Please, believers can not discern the will of God when it comes to where and how an oil pipeline will be put in. There are different consequences for rival positions on such issues, good and bad. God has no interest in whether we drill for offshore oil or not. God does not care whether or not we remain dependent on fossil fuels or accelerate development of alternative energy sources. Cheap fuel or protection of the environment: God doesn't care. We care. What God cares about is how we go about supporting our opinions. Do we lie to gain an advantage; God cares about that. Do we bribe public officials to gain an advantage over our opponent; God cares about that. Do we knowingly distort statistics to support our opinion; God cares about that. God cares about our character and behavior, not our opinions on material issues. Neither "thou shall provide cheap fuel" nor "thou shall protect the environment" is one of the Ten Commandments. Anyone that says they discern God's will when it comes to legislation related to energy issues is either deluded or a charlatan; God is mute on such issues.

Wow! You (Dr. Martin) are known as a Christian theologian and have founded a center for public religion yet you mock the notion of politicians having a sense of God's will.

Did you hear the context of Governor Palin's comments? I don't think she was making dogmatic statements about God's will or trying to connect God's will with a partisan agenda. She was in the church she grew up in and asked for prayer about issues she was facing as governor. Why should she work hard on issues if, as a follower of Jesus, she thought it was outside of God's will?

Are you really suggesting that a politician should not try to understand God's will? Again, she did not use that language in a political speech; she was in her former church.

Perhaps you are reacting against the way that others have misused God's name and asserted questionable things to be God's will. That is what I believe the commandment regarding using God's name in vain is referring to (much more than swearing). But let's not lump all politicians together.

It is the primary calling of all those who follow Christ to use spiritual wisdom to discern God's will so that they can live a life that is honoring to God. Christian politicians are not exempt from that.

You should generalize this to: Beware of people who say they are sole owners of the truth. They are dangerous to your health. They all act like the other and if you cross them you will be treated exactly the same, your life is in danger.

They cross boundaries of religion or politics.

Examples: Roman Catholics, Puritans, Jihadists, evangelicals, nazis, communists, etc.

Was G-d will to have in this planet species of animal that can only survive by eating other animals?

It's like Murphys Law. You are planning, you move ahead with the plan and then something unexpected happens and everything stops. As my grandmother always said, there's a will. Yesterday it happened and I ended up on a very unexpected mission. It all worked out for the best. It just was not what I expected to happen, so I had to do something I had no plans on doing. It makes you wonder why people spend so much time planning to begin with. Bad things happen that you don't plan for and when you plan good things bad things can happen and ruin the whole plan. God is the pilot, we're just co-pilots. No exits at 30,000 feet.

War Prayer/War Poem by Mark Twain, posthumously published, can be found at
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/4824/war-prayer.htm

Today's voters would not elect someone who's view of God and Jesus Christ were like those of Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson or George Washington

I used to have students read Mark Twain's war poem, in which the savior storms into a church in which the congregation is praying for the almighty to smite the foe, because he was (naturally) on their 'side'. The savior in effect scourges the temple, telling them in horrendous detail what they are asking the almighty to do on their behalf.

It would be well if this poem were again read in public schools, right there with Dulce et Decorum est, Wilfrid Owens' terrifying work fifty years later.

Now here we are again, asking the wrong questions and making the wrong claims. I am waiting for both "a rebirth of wonder" and for the almightly mom to reach down and smack some show-offing evangelizer or pharisaical politician and to roar "stop that fibbing!"