Liberal Churches' tolerance is a myth.

Anglican Church Finds “No Room at the Inn” in Baltimore

Church of the Resurrection, an Anglican start-up church in Baltimore, Md., has found that there may be “no room at the inn” for them this Christmas season. In November, the congregation entered a “gentleman’s agreement” with Brown Memorial Woodbrook Presbyterian Church to rent worship space for a two-month “trial period” beginning on Christmas Eve. On December 22, the Rev. Eliot Winks, rector of Resurrection, and Patrick Cunningham, a lay leader in the church, were informed that the congregation could only use the facility for three weeks. In addition, they learned that bishops of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland had pressured their Presbyterian counterpart, Executive Presbyter the Rev. Peter Nord, to deny use of the church. Nord instructed the Brown leadership to cancel the agreement.

Click on the title to read more.

As my husband said, that is just wrong.

---Katie

Hellooooo, Zeta!

Imagine this!

From the National Hurricane Center:

At 1 PM AST...1700z...the center of Tropical Storm Zeta was located
near latitude 25.0 north... longitude 36.9 west or about 1070
miles...1720 km... southwest of the Azores.


Zeta is moving toward the northwest near 8 mph ...13 km/hr. A turn
to the west-northwest is expected during the next 24 hours.


Maximum sustained winds are near 50 mph... 85 km/hr...with higher
gusts. Although some strengthening is possible later today...a
weakening trend is expected to begin tomorrow.

Wow.

---Katie

Yes, the reaction to Christianity is different.

They have a jeans logo that is openly anti-Christian in Sweden. Do you ever wonder why people don't do that sort of things to other large religious groups? Perhaps it is because Christianity is the only real threat to the secular agenda because it is true. While the attackers profess not to believe in any "organized religion," they know in their hearts who the true God is and they are threatened by him. Of course, they might not attack Islam because they would like to keep their heads!

Here is an excerpt from the article (click on the title for the rest!):

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Cheap Monday jeans are a hot commodity among young Swedes thanks to their trendy tight fit and low price, even if a few buyers are turned off by the logo: a skull with a cross turned upside down on its forehead.

Logo designer Bjorn Atldax says he's not just trying for an antiestablishment vibe.

"It is an active statement against Christianity," Atldax told The Associated Press. "I'm not a Satanist myself, but I have a great dislike for organized religion."

The label's makers say it's more of a joke, but Atldax insists his graphic designs have a purpose beyond selling denim: to make young people question Christianity, a "force of evil" that he blames for sparking wars throughout history.

---Katie

Ever wonder about your IQ?

If you have ever wondered what your IQ might be and you have not been tested or don't know what your score is, click on the title for an interesting site. It correlates IQ with SAT or GRE scores. I have an idea of what my IQ is from testing years ago, and the SAT correlation was 10 -15 points off for me, but it was interesting to look at.

Yes, I agree that IQ is just a number, and that there are many things that play into how successful a person is, particularly motivation and work ethic. The site is fun, however, particularly for those, like me, who find personality and intelligence fascinating to study.

---Katie

Merry Christmas, America!

Merry Christmas, America!

click here to see it reeeeeally large!

This cartoon/graphic is free for any noncommercial use:
emails, blogs, forums, newsletters, flyers, whatever!

In Defense of the Commercialization of Christmas

I like this article by Gene Edward Veith:

In defense of the commercialization of Christmas

I love everything about Christmas, including its commercialization. First of all, it is very appropriate for non-Christians and secularists to observe this holiday. "At the name of Jesus, every knee should bow. . .and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord" (Philippians 2:10-11). This will happen at Judgment, but it happens too in a lesser way at Christmastime. The practically-universal holiday and its observances are signs of Christ's Lordship, even among those who reject Him. (This is why eliminating the "name" of Christ imbedded in the word "Christmas" really is important for non-believers, though their efforts are ultimately futile.) All of their celebrating, gift-giving, family times, and warm and fuzzy feelings are tributes to Jesus, whether they like it or not. And such honor is fitting for the One through whom all things were made and the redeemer of the world.

But hasn't Christmas become too materialistic? Shouldn't we make it more spiritual? NO. This is the last of our worries today, when the hyper-spiritualism of the Gnostics has permeated our culture and our religious life. The Incarnation, which we celebrate at Christmas, is precisely about the MATERIAL realm. In Christ, God has become FLESH. He is not an inner feeling, much less a vacuous deity without form or substance, as our Gnostic culture prefers. He has become material. And we are too, so that our bodies (contra the Feminists) and what we do in our bodies (contra the Gnostic immoralists) are very important. In our current moral and theological climate, we desperately need to recapture the Biblical mindsets concerning the material realm, including the Creation, the Body, the Incarnation, the Sacraments, the Resurrection of the Body.

But Christmas is not just a family holiday, as so many people are making it. No, it isn't. But in a curiously neglected prophecy--indeed in the last verse of the Old Testament, transitioning into the New--we learn that a sign of Christ's advent, referring apparently to John the Baptist, is the coming of a prophet who "will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers" (Malachi 4:6). So in our divorce-plagued culture, a time when this happens does indeed honor and point to Christ.

But isn't there too much emphasis on presents? NO. A gift is a sign of the Gospel. Jesus is a gift. Salvation is a gift. The Word and the Sacraments convey God's gifts of grace. In this selfish, me-centered world, giving gifts and (perhaps more importantly) receiving gifts can create a mindset necessary in understanding the Christian message.

So Christians should be glad to see the secular world all decked out and celebrating the birth of Christ. Christ is not just for Christians. He is for the whole world, even for those who do not know Him and who are honoring Him against their intention and against their will. And it is a proof of His lordship that practically the whole world sets aside a day to be happy and giving in His name.

---Katie

Local option now a reality in the ELCA

Funny. I thought we voted no.

Bishop Payne OK's Same Sex Blessings

---

At the New England Synod Bishop's Convocation held in Nashua, N.H. on November 7-9, 2005, Bishop Margaret Payne in her bishop's address announced to those in attendance that she interprets Resolution 2 of the three resolutions regarding sexuality adopted in Orlando at the ELCA 2005 Church-wide Assembly to allow for the blessings of unions of same gender couples in committed relationships. These may take place in the churches [that is, the church buildings] provided that pastors, couples, congregations, etc. understand that there is not an official rite of the Church for such blessings. The bishop requested, however, that pastors who intend to perform such blessings should first:

1. inform Bishop Payne
2. discuss the matter with congregation councils
3. not allow same-gender union blessings to become media events.

Bishop Payne said that at present she did not feel called to "ecclesiastical disobedience," but she believes that Resolution 3 deprives the New England Synod and the ELCA of good and faithful pastors who are otherwise qualified to serve the Church. She also stated that she sees no convincing theological arguments for excluding gay and lesbian persons in life-long committed relationships from serving as pastors.
Furthermore, Bishop Payne said that she would respect those pastors, who for reasons of conscience, could not accept or perform same-gender union blessings.
Although Bishop Payne felt she needed to resign from the ELCA Sexuality Task Force, she believes her role on the Task Force was a call from God. She stated that she intends to spend more time among the people and congregations of the New England Synod, and that she will stand for re-election as bishop, "but that's up to the Holy Spirit," she said.

--The Rev. Jack R. Whritenour, Trinity Lutheran Church, Shelton, CT

Thanks to Pastor Rob for the tip!

---Katie

Ice Storm

OK, so Florida is not so bad....

We just took our yearly trip to SC and TN to visit family. When we left on Thursday, I was not aware that an ice storm was brewing in the western Carolinas and north Georgia. My parents experienced many of those while living in Gainesville, GA, and I was happy when they moved here to FL and I did not have to worry about them in that weather.

We arrived at my husband's parents' house to find that they had no power and, because it was so wet, their septic system was backing up - no toliet flushing thank you very much! I had just started taking medication for a UTI, so the bathroom and I were constant companions. We spent the first night in the dark at their house - trying to find a place to eat was fun. We arrived at two places just as they ran out of food. The third, Bojangles, was prepared! They must have sold a lot of chicken that night, because a significant portion of the town had no power for cooking.

Thankfully, my husband's sister had power on Friday and we all moved over there. We all even had beds! It was actually kind of fun. The whole situation reminded me of our hurricanes last year, except for being cold instead of hot.

We went to the Biltmore House in Asheville on Saturday and then on to Knoxville to see the rest of the family. We had such a good time! We got to take all the kids to the Narnia movie - well worth seeing, in my opinion!

Now we are home...appreciating the much milder FL weather. I do not miss ice storms in the least!

---Katie

More on the situation in Australia

The multiculturalists are not telling the whole story in Australia. Suprise, surprise. Click on the title for the whole article.


There is no doubt that Australia’s worsening civil disorder, in which Muslims and indigenous Aussies have been fighting pitched battles now for days, has been caused in part by white racists. However, the widespread spin that has been placed on this disorder, that it has been caused by white racists and that what it reveals is that, under its veneer of multiculturalism, Australia is a fundamentally racist society positively heaving with people with despicable views who have been itching to have a pop at blameless Lebanese Muslims, is very wide of the mark. For it appears that the current unrest was sparked by Lebanese Muslim attacks on two indigenous lifeguards, and that this was only the tip of an iceberg of aggression by this minority which — thanks to the censorship imposed by multiculturalism — has gone all but unreported.


It is a good thing that we still have the right to carry a firearm to protect ourselves in most of the US. I wonder what the chances are that we will need to protect ourselves soon from thugs like the ones described in this article. Can you imagine having to take armored vehicles into a section of your city just to make a few arrests? This is scary.


----Katie

Well, but He IS the reason for the season....

I haven't commented on all the arguing about saying Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays, but I could not resist this one. Click on the title for the link.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Everyone celebrates religion and holidays in their own individual ways, but currently there are questions about whether the two should be more connected. One of the latest places involved in the controversy is a McDonald's restaurant in Raleigh.The sign at McDonald's on the corner of Falls of Neuse and Spring Forest Road reads: "Merry Christmas, Jesus is the Reason for the Season." It is a holiday message that Amanda Alpert thinks comes on a little too strongly.

"It offends me because it specifically talks about Jesus, Merry Christmas. It doesn't give credit to anyone else," Alpert said. Alpert called the McDonald's corporate office in Atlanta and requested that the sign be changed to the politically correct Happy Holidays. The response was the owner has the right to do what she wants with the sign.

"I care because I'm Jewish, and the reason for the season is upsetting to me," Alpert said.


You have to wonder who else she wants to give credit to....

---Katie

Hmmm

"There's no question that Saddam Hussein is a threat... Yes, he has chemical and biological weapons. He's had those for a long time. But the United States right now is on a very much different defensive posture than we were before September 11th of 2001... He is, as far as we know, actively pursuing nuclear capabilities, though he doesn't have nuclear warheads yet. If he were to acquire nuclear weapons, I think our friends in the region would face greatly increased risks as would we." - Wesley Clark on September 26, 2002

Click on the title for more enlightening quotes.

---Katie

No Christmas Carols for Winter Park Seniors (Not to mention PA)

Another blurb from Free Republic, originally from Liberty Counsel:

Winter Park, FL – The Housing Resource Development Corporation has informed its senior citizens that they may not sing Christmas carols. Residents have also been told that they may not have outside religious groups or churches sing Christmas carols in the facility. Representing one of the residents, Liberty Counsel sent a demand letter stating that the housing authority is violating the Federal Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601 et seq, which prohibits religious discrimination. Prohibiting residents from singing Christmas carols will subject the facility to legal action. Violations are punishable by monetary damages, along with attorney’s fees and costs.

Mechanicsburg, PA – Bethany Towers provides housing to low-income seniors and persons with disabilities. Residents have been informed that they may not have any religious decorations in the main lobby or in the day rooms on each floor, where they congregate and meet, and may not have any religious symbols on the exterior portion of their own rooms. Throughout the year, residents decorate the exterior of their entry doors with cards and stuffed animals, but this year they have been told that they may not have religious Christmas decorations. Liberty Counsel has requested an immediate reversal of the decision.

Mathew D. Staver, President and General Counsel of Liberty Counsel, stated: “Some of these elderly citizens and persons with disabilities will celebrate their final Christmas in these housing facilities. It is unthinkable that these housing authorities would rob the elderly and the dependent residents of their joy in celebrating Christmas. It is hard to imagine what these officials are thinking when they tell senior citizens that they may not celebrate Christmas, and then in the same breath, seek to justify their discrimination on the basis of inclusion. Forbidding these senior and dependent residents from celebrating Christmas is the most exclusionary act imaginable.”

FYI:
Housing Resource Development Corporation
700 N Denning Dr, Winter Park, FL
(407) 740-8108

Bethany Towers
335 Wesley Drive
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
(717) 766-7698
http://www.wesleyservices.com/btower/
e-mail: info@wesleyservices.com.

Anyone want to go sing?

---Katie

Keep an eye on what is happening in Australia

Here are a couple of excerpts from articles posted on Free Republic:

CATHOLIC Archbishop George Pell has warned gangs of Middle Eastern descent not to target Christmas celebrations, after families were abused and gunshots fired into cars at a primary school's carols night in western Sydney on Monday.

Cardinal Pell said the attack in the multicultural suburb of Auburn, where Lebanese Muslims are believed to have turned on Lebanese Christians, was "apparently motivated by religious intolerance". He said: "I am deeply concerned about the targeting of Christmas celebrations at schools for students as young as five years old.

"The attack was apparently motivated by religious intolerance. This has no place in Australia today."

Police confirmed last night that they had been called to the St Joseph the Worker Primary School on Monday evening at about 9.30pm after a priest and parents heard gunshots outside the school, predominantly used by Lebanese Catholics.

Earlier in the evening, about 400 parents and children were singing carols when a group of youths of Middle Eastern appearance verbally abused them.

Neither police nor school staff could find any damage, but yesterday two school staff members discovered bullet holes in their cars, with spent cartridges found nearby.

"The cars have been seized along with a number of cartridges found at the scene and these will be forensically examined," a police spokeswoman said last night.

After two days of clashes between the Lebanese and Anglo communities in hotspots along Sydney's beaches, this was the first case of an attack on religious - rather than ethnic - grounds.

A church in Macquarie Fields, also in Sydney's west, was damaged in the early hours of yesterday morning, suffering minor fire damage after what police believe was an incendiary device was thrown through the front door. Cardinal Pell said the actions of the gang towards the Auburn school community - which was "predominantly Lebanese, with Filipinos, Chinese and Anglo families also represented" - was "as unacceptable as the violence perpetrated by Anglo elements on Sunday at Cronulla".

The incident forced the cancellation of a carols service at the Holy Spirit Primary School in Lakemba last night.

Cardinal Pell asked the Government to ensure the safety of those wishing to attend Christmas services. (from theaustralian)

----

TENSIONS between young white gangs and youths of mainly Middle Eastern origin erupted on one of Australia’s most popular beaches yesterday in what police condemned as a racially motivated rally driven by a mob mentality.

Thousands of people, many chanting racial slurs, were engaged in running battles on Cronulla Beach in Sydney’s southern suburbs.

At least 13 people were hurt, including five police, and 12 were arrested during the clashes, which followed a week of mounting anger over an attack on two lifeguards who were beaten up by a gang of Lebanese youths.

Furious locals, many wielding empty beer bottles and waving Australian flags, shouted anti-Middle Eastern slogans as they marched across the sand, on which was written “100 per cent Aussie pride”.

One white teenager had the words “We grew up here, you flew here” painted across his back. As the crowd moved along the beach and foreshore, one man on the back of a truck shouted: “No more Lebs [Lebanese]”, a chant picked up by the group around him. Others carried Australian flags and dressed in Australian sports shirts.

Up to 150 police officers were drafted in to cope with the 5,000-strong crowd, many of whom roamed the beach and side streets in vigilante fashion.

Two girls of Middle Eastern appearance were pushed to the ground and pelted with bottles as police tried to rescue them.

By mid-afternoon word spread that a Lebanese gang was arriving at the nearby railway station. Some members of the mob jumped on a train where they looked for anybody of vaguely Middle Eastern appearance. They found two men whom they began to beat before police intervened with batons and formed a human chain around the station.

In a separate incident, two paramedics were injured as they tried to rescue a group of Lebanese youths who had sought sanctuary in the Cronulla Surf Lifesaving club.

The mob smashed windows and kicked at doors, while others stomped on police vehicles and parked cars. Officers fought back with pepper spray and batons, bringing a semblance of calm to the area by late afternoon.

Last night, violence flared in at least six Sydney suburbs in retaliation for the Cronulla clashes. In nearby Brighton-le-Sands, an Australian flag was reported to have been taken off a building and burnt.

The violent clashes followed weeks of rising racial tension in the beachside suburb, which is popular with thousands of Middle Eastern families from Sydney’s mainly ethnic outer areas at the weekend. Locals have accused some of them, particularly visiting Lebanese youths, of being disrespectful to white women and other beachgoers.

Following the attacks on the volunteer lifeguards, a mobile telephone text campaign started, backed up by frenzied discussions on weblogs, calling on Cronulla locals to rally to protect their beach.

In response, a text campaign urged youths from western Sydney to be at Cronulla on Sunday to protect their friends. All week police and politicians had been calling for calm. (from The Times)

----
It's hard to know what to say here. I think abusing innocent people whatever their race is wrong, obviously. Another article on this beach situation said the Lebanese youths were calling white women "whores" because of how they were dressed (bathing suits, I assume) and then roughing up their male companions when they protested. How do we get people to "live and let live?" What do we do about people who are not willing to do that? Could this happen here in the US?

---Katie

Target: Google

Remember the Clinton administration's hounding of Microsoft? Looks like the Bush administration has its eye on Google. This article is from the Ludwig von Mises Institute. Click on the title for the whole article.

Target: Google

by William Anderson

[Posted on Tuesday, December 13, 2005] [To receive the Daily Article in your inbox, go to email services, and tell others too!]

It was only a decade ago that the Clinton Administration had decided that Microsoft was an Enemy of the People and tried (mostly unsuccessfully) to litigate the company into oblivion. While the principals in that set of lawsuits have gone on to other things, the "anti-monopoly" propaganda machines are turning their sights elsewhere. It seems that Google, the powerful and innovative Internet search engine, now enjoys the title of "Most Hated Company."

Now, if this were an article criticizing the 6.7 million "Hate Google" links that have sprung up (yes, you can use Google to find anti-Google sites ), it would be quite short. Those people who don't like Google can use Alta Vista, Yahoo, or some other search engine, and that should be the end of it. And if they wish to spend a good part of their day blasting Google on blogs or in emails, that is their business.

Google is no longer just a search engine of course. It offers premium email, instant messageing with voice, online books and media, maps and directions, web-use analytics, advertising programs, among a hundred other fast-changing, super-innovative ideas. For years now, it has been on the cutting edge, and the company shows no sign of slowing down. The competition seems constantly on the defensive. Many people believe that if the Windows OS is ever taken down a peg or two, it will be because of some Google innovation.

Its success is driven entirely by the consumer's evaluation of its quality. Google innovates but it is the market that renders the verdict.

When it comes to the law, however, I fear that we are not at the end, but rather the beginning, and the people at Google should be worried. If Microsoft's error was not being politically astute when the Clinton Administration took aim at the software company, then perhaps Google's big "mistake" is being aligned closely with the political party that happens to be out of power.

According to CNN, 98 percent of political contributions from Google employees went to candidates who were Democrats, and Google's search policies are decidedly left-wing. (For example, Google refused to run an advertisement for Candice E. Jackson's book Their Lives, which is critical of Bill Clinton's behavior toward women.)

In the libertarian view of things, Google has (and should have) the right to run those things they wish to run and extend its right of refusal to whatever it chooses. The politics of Google, its CEO, and its employees are irrelevant in the larger scheme of things and are private matters. However, politicians are not the sort of people to permit individuals to live and work as their conscience dictates, and I would not be surprised if the Bush Administration decides to use antitrust law (a term that in my view is an oxymoron) to punish the company.

Granted, the suit would have no legal or economic merit (although one can say that about any antitrust case), but searching 90-year-old grandmothers in wheelchairs who are trying to board planes has no merit, either, yet the government does it.

The vindictiveness against Google stems from the fact that people choose to use that particular search engine more than they do other searchers. Other people don't like the way that Google ranks websites, which means that a site that someone may think is the Most Important Website in the World is buried deep among the many other sites on the same subject.

But the biggest current complaint against Google is that it is just "too big." We hear things like "Google controls 80 percent of the market" for search engines, yet that statement is nonsense. Google does not "control" anything on the Internet. People have to choose to avail themselves of Google's services. No one is forced to use the Internet at all and, thus, can avoid Google altogether if that is their choice.

If the problem is that Google is just too big, then why not take a look at the size of our government? I think we could use a little anti-trust protection from a large and overbearing bureaucracy.

---Katie

Sorry I have not been posting

My computer is on the fritz. The pin where I plug in the charger came loose, for the second time. In the process of repairing it, the tech damaged something else and now not all the keys on the keyboard work. One of the items that needs to be replaced is backordered. So now I am stuck getting my work done on the old desktop, which I have to share. I am depressed. I will try to get back to posting even if I have to sit at this stupid desk....

So, the computer company wants to charge me for parts, but not labor....if they worked before the tech got ahold of it, why should I have to buy replacement parts? I'm letting my husband, the hardware guy work that out with them.

---Katie