Is Tolerance Love?

“So you must realize that the LORD, your God, disciplines you even as a man disciplines his son.” [Deuteronomy 8:5]

“for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges.” [Hebrews 12:6]

I just read in an article about Dion DiMucci, some of you remember, Dion and The Belmonts, “The Wanderer” & “Run Around Sue”, about him coming home to God in The Catholic Church.

I quote the article and Dion;

“The story of DiMucci’s rise and fall, conversion and return to the Catholic Church is rare in American popular culture in that on the way back he didn’t stop at the celebrity church of tolerance.

Some of these people worship at the altar of tolerance. They say that means you love people. But it’s not love. To me, the grown-ups tell you what’s wrong. Real grown-ups will disapprove of something their kid does but loves him totally,” DiMucci said.”

(end from article in “The Catholic World Report” March 2008)

People will say on hearing the Scripture; “for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines”, “I want the love but not the discipline”. However, they are mistaken the love is the discipline… they are one and the same… inseparable.

Discipline leads to “obedience”.

I hear all the time how people have a “problem with the Catholic Church”, they claim that their problem isn’t with God, because The Church gives them God’s Laws in easy and not-so-easy to digest sound bites. I hear this from those within The Church and those outside equally.

St. Paul would disagree, when he uses the term in his Letter to the Romans chapters 1 & 16, “obedience of faith”. He starts his Letter with this term and to make sure his children do not forget ends his teaching with it. [Romans 1:5 & 16:26]

Faith in God means that we believe He loves us and it means that we are disciplined.

By the way, thank you for reading my blog and web site and I would like to wish everyone a

On Senator Barack Obama & Race

March 20th, 2008
A good friend sent me an email with a link to Sen. Obama’s speech on Race in America.

I sent the following reply.



Hi! It is always good to hear from you.



I appreciate the email. It takes some courage to stand up for what we believe is right.
While I listened to the whole speech as best I could, I could not help seeing the direct correlation of Senator Obama’s issue on race and that of abortion.



He started his speech with our Nation’s “Founding Father’s” and the drawing up and signing of The Declaration of Independence. Declaring our Nation’s freedom from the oppression of the mighty power of England. We had no voice, under their yoke.



He mentioned, something that I didn’t know, that being, at the drawing up of “The Declaration” our Founding Fathers put off the question of slavery for 20 yrs. Many hearing his remarks would think that was a mistake.



That reminded me of the signing of Roe Vs. Wade. The Supreme Court put off the question of when human life begins.



Common Sense would dictate that the Justices should have answered that question first. Then, once the issue is clear, they can make an informed decision.



His speech was on Race in America. I found many of his remarks “fit” the abortion issue. I will only share a few here. Sen. Obama stated; “Race is an issue that we [America] simply can not ignore!”



Common Sense would say; “Abortion, that is, the plight of the unborn, is an issue that America can simply not afford to ignore!”
Just because Americans have the POWER to claim that a whole “class” of human beings are not human and do not deserve to live, that fact, does not give us the right to do so!



Sen. Obama draws his speech to a close by quoting a teaching of “the religions of the world”; “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you!”



I agree.

It's That Time of the Year Again!

The After Christmas “No Money Blues”.

Luke 4:12 Jesus said to him in reply, “It also says, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’”



Years ago, when I came to “know the Lord” as an adult or maybe it would be better to say; “When I had my ‘metanoia‘ experience”. I had some very immature ideas of my relationship with God. I needed to be “mature” in my Faith, as St. Paul refers to our Christianity [Eph. 4:13; Phi. 3:15; Heb. 5:14].

For example: I used to tell people that if I walked out in the middle of a busy street and expected God to protect me from danger He would. I would give that as an example of my Faith.This way of thinking is at least a very immature way of Faith… at worst it goes against Christianity [Lk. 4:12].

And so… we come back to the verse from The Gospel of St. Luke; ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’”

I recently shared with a friend that it would be wrong to expect God to ‘bail you out’ of an imprudent decision. I used the following scenario.

[What you are talking about is like someone going out in front of a speeding car and believing that God will protect them… THAT WOULD GO AGAINST THE VIRTUE OF PRUDENCE.

There would be no need to put yourself in danger.

Now, it would be different if you ran out into speeding traffic to save a child that is in the road and as you go, you ask God to help you… THAT WOULD BE BOTH LOVING, PRUDENT & COURAGEOUS.] (CCC 1808 FORTITUDE or COURAGE = It disposes one even to renounce and sacrifice his life in defense of a just cause.)

I can easily see, as I hope, you the reader will also see, that one way of maturing in the Christian Faith is to grow in the Cardinal Virtues: Prudence, Justice, Temperance, Fortitude.

The following is an excerpt from a prayer of St. Thomas; “give me prudence to avoid the snares of the enemy”.

Prudence: “Its function is to point out which course of action is to be taken in any round of concrete circumstances.” (New Advent)

I ‘chalk up’ my ‘earlier’ way of thinking to my immaturity in The Catholic Faith. However… from the Scripture verse quoted, one can readily see that to think the way that I did (that being; unreasonably expecting God to protect someone from an imprudent decision), might actually be a temptation from Satan!

Let me now go to another scenario.

I occasionally have a Christian say something to me like; “I just spend my money and God gives it back to me”. (Many at Christmas do this). Hopefully, the reader can see where I am leading on this point.

Spending/handling money imprudently, is a temptation from Satan, not an act of Faith.

Luke 4:9 Then he led him to Jerusalem, made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’ 11 and: ‘With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” 12 Jesus said to him in reply, “It also says, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’”
Luke 12:42 And the Lord replied, “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute (the) food allowance at the proper time?




For more info. on The Four Cardinal Virtues:
New Advent

Catechism of The Catholic Church

Christmas - It’s that time of year again!

Christmas - It’s that time of year again!

I received an email from a ”well meaning” Christian, expressing the opinion that as loving Christians we should not defend our right to “public displays” of our Faith. The email was set as a “Letter from God”. I believe the “letter” came from further “south” of “heaven”.


The Letter said, among other things that Christmas, while being a celebration of the Birthday of Christ was originally set on the date of a “pagan holiday”. As though that makes it alright not to defend our right to public displays of our Faith. I ask; “How so”?


Then the letter goes on to say we should rather live a life of love, again, somehow suggesting that we do not need to defend our rights to a public display because we are living the Christian calling. Which, of course, every Christian should be doing regardless of this issue.


This brings up a “sore point” among Christians, that being, whether Christians need to love at all? Actually, Jesus, St. Paul and the early Church stated love is necessary for salvation… [see: http://www.iamonetruth.com/all_you_need_is_love.htm ]


The “letter” finally states that as God He does not need our help.
[Don’t forget; I am God and can take care of Myself. ]


This statement reminds me of a statue in New York City. The statue is in front of St. Nicholas of Tollentine Catholic Church in The Bronx, it is of Jesus Christ with His hands outstretched. The statue has been vandalized and the hands of Christ were broken off. Some enterprising person placed a sign around the neck of Jesus that read: “I have no hands but yours”.


Think about it! God can take care of Himself, but He expects us to do His work here on earth.
Be careful… we can be loving… caring Christians and still stand up in the public arena for Christ!
Pope John Paul II said; “today religious freedom must be upheld and defended against those who would remove religion from the public domain and make secularism America’s faith” [Homily at Oriole Park, Baltimore, 1995] [ENVOY Magazine]

Halloween - It's that time of year again.

The following is my 'reply' to a misinformed 'post' on myspace.

You are a loving Christian lady and I respect that... but "Halloween" comes from the term "All Hallows Eve" or "All Saints Eve". The original celebration of All Saints Eve was in honor of all the Christians that have led exemplary lives and gone before us... you know, the "cloud of witnesses" [Heb. 12:1] that St. Paul speaks of.

Yet, it is true, that satan has taken it over [a Christian practice] and made it something evil. So, I agree that we can find other things to do at that time. For example, there is a Catholic tradition [small 't'], that suggests children and even adults dressing up as figures from the Bible and play acting that others can guess who they are supposed to be. This is quite fun as I have done the same myself.

Excerpt from This Rock online magazine
Can Catholics Celebrate Halloween?
Q: Some families in our parish don’t allow their children to celebrate Halloween. Should Catholics celebrate Halloween?
A: The word Halloween is a contraction for All Hallows Eve, which, before the reform of the liturgical calendar following the Second Vatican Council, was the vigil of All Saints and All Souls Days. As such, Halloween can be considered a Christian holiday. As with many Christian holidays, the secular world has attached its own traditions to the day (costumes, trick-or-treating, parties) that are not intrinsically wrong but can become problematic when the religious meaning of the holiday is set aside or forgotten.

For more information:
http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Halloween/

Christianity has started many traditions that have been handed from one generation to the next. Secular society tries to take them and make them non-Christian, such as we can see with taking "Christ" out of Christmas. Should Christians give in to this approach?

I am sure you would agree that Christians need to, "test everything, holding to what is good", 1 Thess 5.

Christianity saw a pagan festival and decided to end the practice and replace it with something good and holy. That 'held' for centuries, until modern society decided to uproot the good tradition and make it bad... with satan smiling the whole time... as Christians oppose each other.

Christians should not oppose each other on this... just hold fast to what is good. Remember Christ's prayer for the 'unity of the believers' the night before He died. [Jn. 17:21]

I am sorry this is long, but just giving you a small amount of information didn't seem the right thing to do.

Your friend in Christ;
Philip

Contempt for human life, acted on, is a Mortal Sin.

June 20th, 2007
VATICAN CITY - The Vatican on Tuesday issued a “Ten Commandments” for motorists to keep them on the road to salvation, warning drivers against the sins of road rage, abuse of alcohol or even simple rudeness. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070619/ap_on_re_eu/vatican_road_rage

I had a discussion with a friend of mine on the preceding article.

When I read the article I sent him a, little known, teaching from the Catechism of The Catholic Church (CCC), that speeding can be a mortal sin. http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s2c2a5.htm#II

2290 The virtue of temperance disposes us to avoid every kind of excess: the abuse of food, alcohol, tobacco, or medicine. Those incur grave guilt who, by drunkenness or a love of speed, endanger their own and others’ safety on the road, at sea, or in the air.

Here is what he sent me, in reply.

“BUT to drive recklessly is a mortal sin??? that is sick! all my life i thought a mortal sin was an XTRTEMELY serious infraction like nothing short of murder. u know something that only the worst of the worst could ever possibly commit. But thanks to your quoting of the catlic chrch “rules” i feel “mortal” sins have been cheapened to the point of making them meaningless. i mean to put murder, & rape in the same category as reckless driving and adultry is to me just ridiculous and further degrades the chrches credibility in my book.
sorry but i had to say it after u said it was a mortal sin…… all i asked was if ya think the popes driver always obeys the limit and not speaking of emergencies,”

This is what I have to say to anyone who may think as my friend does. When mankind holds the lives, health and welfare of other humans in contempt that is a “grave” - “mortal” (as the Bible puts it, 1 John 5:16-17; James 1:15), sin. If I through my own lack of respect for another person’s dignity and welfare, use that person’s body in a sinful contemptuous way then it is a Mortal Sin. If some one has a contemptuous attitude for those around him and drives recklessly so as to endanger their lives needlessly, then it is a Mortal Sin.

To take human life or to use human life with contempt is a “grave” offense against God!

To quote my friend again: “all my life i thought a mortal sin was an XTRTEMELY serious infraction like nothing short of murder”

Treating those around you as though they were nothing more then a rag to sop up the dirt on your garage floor, is an “extremely serious infraction”!

Here are some other statements from the CCC that may help to clarify God’s teaching.

2269 The fifth commandment forbids doing anything with the intention of indirectly bringing about a person’s death. The moral law prohibits exposing someone to mortal danger without grave reason, as well as refusing assistance to a person in danger.

Unintentional killing is not morally imputable. But one is not exonerated from grave offense if, without proportionate reasons, he has acted in a way that brings about someone’s death, even without the intention to do so.

The Son hurt’s the eyes of those who wish to remain in Darkness!

New museum says dinosaurs were on Noah’s Ark

May 27th, 2007
A ‘pet peeve’ of mine is the teaching of ‘evolution’ as fact when,


IN FACT

it has never been proven!

It has never been proven! Don’t get me wrong… I am not a ‘dyed in the wool’ creationist either, but I think it an abomination that so called ’scientists’ can teach as fact something that is only a theory, that being, “evolution”. Any realistic, honest person who has studied both sides knows that evolution has, not only, never been proven, but many leading evolutionists totally disagree with each other. Evolution is a theory that should be taught as such!I am speaking here of public education, of course. What is taught in a private school is up to the teaching staff of the school.

”$27 million museum near Cincinnati has drawn snickers from media…” click here.

[Opponents argue that children who see the exhibits will be confused when they learn in school that the universe is 14 billion years old rather than 6,000.”Teachers don’t deserve a student coming into class saying ‘Gee Mrs. Brown, I went to this fancy museum and it said you’re teaching me a lie,”‘ Dr. Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education, told reporters before the museum opened.]



I actually like this part… teachers shouldn’t lie to the children!



It should be against the law for teachers at a public school to be able to say that the earth is 14 billion years old when they can’t prove it! I think there should be a public debate with qualified people presenting both Creationism and Evolutionism. Then people would see the truth! Which is that they are both ‘theories’ that can’t be proven. If either should be taught in public schools, they should both be taught or niether and then as theories. To be fair, there probably isn’t enough Evolutionists or Creationists that agree (with each other), to form 2 teams for opposing views.

Big Pharma will be back, but today we can do a victory dance!

Good News Travels Fast!
Your activism just saved supplements from being turned into “untested drugs”! Big Pharma will be back, but today, we can do a victory dance!
Click here for complete article…

Death by Medicine
By Gary Null, PhD; Carolyn Dean MD, ND; Martin Feldman, MD; Debora Rasio, MD; and Dorothy Smith, PhD

Summary of Codex Alimentarius

Read & sign Before April 30th!

FDA Regulators Using Legal Trickery to Kill Alternative Procedures and Products

The FDA is using legal maneuvering to end your access to natural health products (like vitamins, minerals and herbs) and natural health therapies of all sorts. Again. This time, their ploy is to declare the therapies are "Medicine" so any non-physician who uses them will be practicing medicine without a license. Since these practices are "Medicine", any products used would be untested drugs and therefore forbidden.

go to the link & sign the petition at the bottom of thepage.

http://tinyurl.com/2u7ghc copy and paste into the browser.

philip turgati

I did....'takes 30 seconds and may be the best - nip it in the butt- you ever did.

The Odd Saint? Dean Koontz

It has been years for me since I stopped reading Dean Koontz and, for that matter, any horror novels, but I always liked the fact that he had some “Catholic” aspect in his books.

Here is a link to an article about his “Odd Thomas” series, that you might find interesting.

St. Odd? TIM DRAKE

Is Global Warming Real?

”environmentalism-as-religion”

I just wanted to share some interesting information on Global Warming
that many people might not know…

David Suzuki vs. Michael Crichton
BARBARA KAY

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day!
February 12th, 2007

Valentine’s Day has become so commercialized, like Christmas, that it has lost most of its original meaning. Many are aware that it is a day that is all about “love”. But they believe it is a day that is all about sexual love. Which, although our sexuality can be expressed in love, many times it is not.
The love that Valentine’s Day is meant to express is “Christian Love”, “Perfect Love”. It is an expression of the “Royal Law” which Saint James speaks about it his Letter in the Bible, James 2:10.

Think about this…
If God is Love [1 Jn. 4:8, 16], as we know that He is, then our best “connection” to God is to live in Love. When we “live outside of Love”, through sin, we disconnect ourselves from God… from Love! St. James is saying that when we sin and it “reaches maturity it gives birth to death” [James 1:15]. That “death” is our life, our “connection”, if you will, with God. Remember, God does not disconnect from us, it is us who disconnect ourselves from God by our “Free Will” decision to sin.

Read the whole presentation…

Merck Pharmaceutical Caution!

Texas Gov. orders anti-cancer vaccine"Merck is bankrolling efforts to pass state laws across the country mandating Gardasil for girls as young as 11 or 12. It doubled its lobbying budget in Texas and has funneled money through Women in Government, an advocacy group made up of female state legislators around the country."

Merck pharmaceutical strikes again!

Caution! Read more about Merck.

Children of God for Life on Merck
On Vaccines From Aborted Fetuses

"Angel Eyes"

Without a sure knowledge of God's Love for them, mankind may despair and give up hope.
I was watching a movie today and I had an idea of a way of looking at sharing the Gospel message. The movie was "Angel Eyes", with Jennifer Lopez .... as Sharon Pogue and James Caviezel .... Steven 'Catch' Lambert.

The story is about Jim Caviezel's character being involved in a car accident where he was the driver and his wife and small son died. Jim "Catch" as he is known in the movie has shut out the accident from his mind and is living his life without any concrete knowledge of what happened the day of the accident or his life before then.

He meets Sharon, played by Jennifer Lopez, a Chicago Police Officer. They fall in love with each other. Catch doesn't share much about his life and Sharon falling in love and wanting to know more about Catch finds out about the accident.

She decides on her own to try to shock him out of his denial of the truth of his life by confronting him with the truth at the cemetery where his wife and son are buried.

Back to my "idea" on whether we should "evangelize".

Some people watching this movie would think that what she did was the correct thing. Catch was living a good life, yet not a full, vibrant life. He was not living the best life that he could. Sharon could have left him in the "dark", so to speak, about his former life and what many people would count as his "real" life or "reality". Yet others would say; "Who is she to just indiscriminately decide that Catch should be brought to the "truth".

What Sharon did she did out of love of Catch.

In some way this movie demonstrates Christianity and evangelization. It does this by the way the character Sharon brought Catch to the knowledge of the Truth with Love. Catholics become missionaries to bring the "best" life to others. To show those who want to know... "reality", because the ultimate reality is mankind's relationship with God.

CCC 843 The Catholic Church recognizes in other religions that search, among shadows and images, for the God who is unknown yet near since he gives life and breath and all things and wants all men to be saved. Thus, the Church considers all goodness and truth found in these religions as "a preparation for the Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life."332844 In their religious behavior, however, men also display the limits and errors that disfigure the image of God in them: Very often, deceived by the Evil One, men have become vain in their reasonings, and have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and served the creature rather than the Creator. Or else, living and dying in this world without God, they are exposed to ultimate despair.333

For more on the subject of Christian Evangelization...

Anti Christian/Catholic/Life Media Bias

Media Bias
February 1st, 2007

I was discussing anti-Christian/Catholic media bias with a friend.

I relaized for the first time - firsthand - media bias, when it comes to Christian/Catholic news reporting. It was years ago at the pro-life rally in the Ocala Town Square, Flroida. It was probably my first year attending this event. The pro-life people had about 300 marchers, they were conservative in their approach, prayerful…

There were also about 12 pro-aborts. They were noisy, trying to disrupt the rally speakers. When all the pro-life people marched around the square at the end, praying and holding signs, the pro-aborts sat on steps near one corner and cursed and spit at people. I saw all this first hand, not ‘word of mouth’.

That night I watched the news, I was still naive in those days and I actually watched news programs but this was an ‘eye opener’ on the veracity of news reporting.

Channel 2 Ocala, the station is right across the street from the square, showed about 12 pro-lifers and 12 pro-aborts. They made it look like equal numbers showed up for both sides and they showed the pro-life people shouting at something one of the speakers said and at the same time showed the pro-aborts talking and standing quietly.

They made it look like there were equal numbers of people on both sides and that the pro-lifers were the rowdy ones!

Not a word on the pro-aborts spitting and cursing people!

That wasn’t the beginning of my disenchantment with the news media but it was a ‘BIG STEP’ so to speak!I figured that if I can’t trust the news media on something I know for sure, then why should I believe anything they say at all? Mt 10:16 “Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.”

The following is an article from LIFENEWS.COM http://www.lifenews.com/, on the most recent ”March for Life” in Washington D.C.. The Post is anti-Christian/Catholic.

“The story was illustrated by color photos, but in a far too common tactic, the Post balanced a picture of four pro-life demonstrators … against a photo of four or five feminists,” he explained. “One side turns out tens of thousands, and the other turned out tens.”http://www.lifenews.com/nat2896.html

Fairness with Muslims

Fairness with Muslims
January 23rd, 2007
Recently I was sent 2 links, within as many days, on Islam.
Mission Gate Prison Ministry
and
BobbyDShow - U.S First War Against Islam

When dealing with Muslims, I think more than ever Catholics have to reach out with love (1 Jn 4 :7-8), ‘gentle as doves’. Yet being as ’shrewd as serpents’ (Mt. 10:16).In the Apostolic Letter on Ecumenism [DECREE ON ECUMENISM UNITATIS REDINTEGRATIO] which although directed to unity of Christians, I think, of one statement that may be applied here. [The term “ecumenical movement” indicates the initiatives and activities planned and undertaken, according to the various needs of the Church and as opportunities offer, to promote Christian unity. These are: first, every effort to avoid expressions, judgments and actions which do not represent the condition of our separated brethren with truth and fairness and so make mutual relations with them more difficult; then, “dialogue” between competent experts from different Churches and Communities.]

While it is true that the Koran calls for ‘Jihad’ (2:191), it is unfair to portray all Muslims as following this advice.While there are Muslims who follow the ‘fundamentalist’ view there are many who do not. Just like there are many Christians who do not even remember that there are verses such as the following in the Bible.

Deuteronomy 13:12(13:13) “If, in any of the cities which the LORD, your God, gives you to dwell in, you hear it said 13(13:14) that certain scoundrels have sprung up among you and have led astray the inhabitants of their city to whom you have not known, 14(13:15) you must inquire carefully into the matter and investigate it thoroughly. If you find that it is true and an established fact that this abomination has been committed in your midst, 15(13:16) you shall put the inhabitants of that city to the sword, dooming the city and all life that is in it, even its cattle, to the sword. 16(13:17) Having heaped up all its spoils in the middle of its square, you shall burn the city with all its spoils as a whole burnt offering to the LORD, your God. Let it be a heap of ruins forever, never to be rebuilt. 17(13:18) You shall not retain anything that is doomed, that the blazing wrath of the LORD may die down and he may show you mercy and in his mercy for you may multiply you as he promised your fathers on oath; 18(13:19) because you have heeded the voice of the LORD, your God, keeping all his commandments which I enjoin on you today, doing what is right in his sight.

We are called, as followers of The Christ, to ’share the truth with love’ (Eph. 4:15). We are called to be more than ‘fair’ in dealing with others. In love, we can not misrepresent the Followers of Islam. However, this statement of love calls for truth, the ultimate truth of Salvation through none other than Jesus Christ.

Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

I would like to end with a statement from:DECLARATION ON THE RELATION OF THE CHURCHTO NON-CHRISTIAN RELIGIONSNOSTRA AETATE

3. The Church regards with esteem also the Moslems. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all- powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth,(5) who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God. Though they do not acknowledge Jesus as God, they revere Him as a prophet. They also honor Mary, His virgin Mother; at times they even call on her with devotion. In addition, they await the day of judgment when God will render their deserts to all those who have been raised up from the dead. Finally, they value the moral life and worship God especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting.Since in the course of centuries not a few quarrels and hostilities have arisen between Christians and Moslems, this sacred synod urges all to forget the past and to work sincerely for mutual understanding and to preserve as well as to promote together for the benefit of all mankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and freedom.

For more on fairness in dealing with Muslims see my presentaion: The Bible - Koran Test

Should a Muslim be allowed to 'swear in' on the Koran to uphold a public office in the USA?

First Merry Christmas!

As to the question about swearing in on the Koran if you are Muslim, I personally do not have problem with that. Because, if a person doesn't believe in the Bible there isn't much 'force' to their 'vow' or 'oath' that they will uphold the responsibilities of their office just because they lay their hands on a 'book' and say some words.

Let me quote Prof. Scott Hahn from SalvationHistory.com on the meaning of 'swearing an oath' on The Bible.

First, contracts involve promises, covenants involve oaths.
When you enter into a contract, say, to buy a house, you make a promise to the seller, along the lines of: "I give you my word that I will pay you this amount of money for your house." The seller, in turn, makes a promise: "I give you my word that if you pay me the sum we have agreed upon, I will turn over to you the deed to my house."

The "word" you each pledge to the other is your name. And you each sign your name on the contract as a "sign" that you'll uphold your end of the bargain or keep your promise.
Covenants are much different. In a covenant, you elevate and upgrade your promise. Not only do you give your word, you also swear an oath, invoke a higher authority - you call God in as your witness.

Think of the oath we're most familiar with, the oath you swear before taking the witness stand in a courtroom: "I promise to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God."
You've promised, given your word to tell the truth. You've also asked God to help you keep your promise. It's not only you and the judge now. It's you, the judge and God. Now, if you lie under oath, you're not only liable to go to jail, you're liable to be punished by God. The flip side of asking for God's help in an oath is surrendering yourself to God's judgment. You say, in effect, "I'll be damned if I don't tell the truth."

In the old days, we used to have politicians swear on the Bible and the Bible would be opened to the Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 28, where the blessings and the curses are recorded. We were asking them to swear to uphold the constitution or suffer the curses recorded in those pages.

Even in our highly secularized society, we retain elements of this older understanding of oaths. We make doctors, police officers, military personnel and public officials swear oaths. Why? Because we depend on them; we literally put our lives in their hands. We want them to swear to God that they'll do their jobs. We can't just take their word for it, we want them to know that they'll have to answer to a higher authority.

Incidentally, did you know that the word "oath" translates the Latin word sacramentum, where we get our word "sacraments"? In a future course, we'll look sacraments as oaths. But for now, just keep in mind, as we mentioned earlier, that the notion of covenant and oaths is crucial to understanding the sacraments and our relationship with God.
END SALVATIONHISTORY.COM

Literally when a Christian lays their hands on the Bible and swears to uphold their office or 'tell the truth, so help me God', they are saying that if they tell the truth, by God's Hand they will receive all the blessings contained in the Bible or the reverse is also true. They are saying that if they lie, all the curses contained in the Bible will come upon them.

A heady thought when understood properly.

My problem isn't with the Koran.
But I pose a further question, if we allow the Koran, then we would have to cater to every possible group. For example, The Book of Mormon for Mormons or let's get right to the nitty gritty... perhaps we would have someone who believes in Satan who wants to swear in on a Book of Rituals for Satanic practices.

In a case like that, you would have someone promising to ... what? To cause chaos and disruption at every chance... perhaps. Then where would a nation founded on Christian principles be?

I submit that it is dilemma. Maybe we could have an "approved list" of books allowed.

I am wishing for you this day a Happy Christmas!
I wish you laughter, pure joy, a merry heart and a clear conscience!

Catholics should be outraged over caricature's of Jesus & The Blessed Mother!

9:59 AM 2/23/2006
Calling All Catholics
I heard a really good homily today at daily Mass. The Gospel Readings were from, The Gospel of Mark 9:41-50. I would like to point out verse 43 in particular.
"If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire."
Fr. Sean Shine pointed out that Jesus did not mean this literally, but that he meant we should be willing to stand up for what we believe, no matter the cost. Father pointed to the present day riots of the Muslims over the caricature of The Prophet Mohammed.
http://www.twincities.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/13914885.htm?source=rss&channel=miamiherald_world

He said that while it is terrible that some people are being killed over this, it is right that they should stand up for their belief. Father also said that Catholics should be more like them. Some time ago an artist in New York put an image of Christ in a bottle of his own urine and offered that to the American public as 'art'. Also, there was a portrait of The Blessed Mother covered with cut-outs of pornography, presented as 'art'. With no outcry from the Catholic Church. The American Catholic Bishops did not make one statement! With over 150 million Catholics in the United States we can make an impact!

Here is a link to a group that legally fights anti-Catholicism. The Catholic League. http://www.catholicleague.org/
Here is one on the Muslim caricature from The Catholic League: http://www.catholicleague.org/06press_releases/quarter%201/060217_Illinois_Cartoons.htm

With all the hoopla about the lawsuit against the priest in Italy who is supposedly misrepresenting Jesus, I thought this information would be useful.
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/01/04/italy.jesus.reut/

Secular History of Jesus
There is the writing, for example of "Flavius Josephus" commissioned by the Romans to write a "history" of their conquests. Being he was commissioned by the Romans he could not cover Jesus, in depth, because they wanted to hear about themselves, not some supposed Messiah. The fact that he wrote anything about Jesus is actually a wonder to most scholars and that the Romans left the information in the history.
http://www.theistic-evolution.com/josephus.html
Here is another source of information:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08375a.htm

911 - Katrina

911-Katrina

Monday, September 12, 2005

To Whom It May Concern;
I found some of this information on the internet, to the best of my knowledge it is true.

Chain of Responsibility

In case you are not familiar with how our government is SUPPOSED to work:

The chain of responsibility for the protection of the citizens in New Orleans is:

1. The Mayor
2. The New Orleans director of Homeland Security

(a political appointee of the Governor who reports to the Governor)
3. The Governor (ME - In case of emergencies each state is autonomous.)
4. The Head of Homeland Security
5. The President

What did each do?

1. The mayor, with 5 days advance notice, waited until 2 days before he
announced a mandatory evacuation (at the behest of President Bush).
Then he failed to provide transportation for those without transport even though he had hundreds of buses at his disposal.

2. The New Orleans director of Homeland Security failed to have any plan for a contingency that has been talked about for 50 years. Then he blames the Feds for not doing what he should have done.
(So much for political appointees)

3. The Governor, despite a declaration of disaster by the President 2 DAYS BEFORE the storm hit, failed to take advantage of the offer of Federal troops and aid. Until 2 DAYS AFTER the storm hit.

4. The Director of Homeland Security positioned assets in the area to be ready when the Governor called for them .

5. The President:

(ME- Because of each State's autonomy, can not just move troops & assets into an area without first being asked.)

President Bush urged a mandatory evacuation, and even declared a disaster State of Emergency, freeing up millions of dollars of federal assistance, should the Governor decide to use it.
The levees that broke were the responsibility of the local landowners and the local levee board to maintain, NOT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

[...]
Gov. Kathleen Blanco, standing beside the mayor at a news conference, said President Bush called and personally appealed for a mandatory evacuation for the low-lying city, which is prone to flooding.

The ball was placed in Mayor Nagin's court to carry out the evacuation order. With a 5-day heads-up, he had the authority to use any and all services to evacuate all residents from the city, as documented in a city emergency preparedness plan. By waiting until the last minute, and failing to make full use of resources available within city limits, Nagin and his administration [messed] up.
Mayor Nagin has displayed lethal, mind boggling incompetence before, during and after Katrina.

---

(I apologize for making changes, to whomever wrote the original piece. I have been unable to "track" the "author" down. But as a Christian I can not report facts that I am unable to confirm
and there was also originally profanity in the piece, which I deleted.)
---
(Onetruth)

As a resident of Florida I was glued to Fox News before, during & after hurricane Katrina hit.

In interview after interview you could see the total lack of leadership in both the Mayor of New Orleans and the Governor or Louisiana.
They should both be immediately replaced for the protection of their own people!

Compare the disaster of Katrina with the terrible attack of 911.

Katrina was forecasted well in advance. The leader's in charge of New Orleans and the fine State of Louisiana had adequate time to prepare and react to the problem. In every interview of both the Mayor & the Governor before and immediately after they said that everything was under control.

As the media began to report all the "problems" the hurricane had caused from no electricity to the breaking of the levees, both the Mayor and the Governor, rather then stepping up to "bat", so to speak, seemed to go into what can only be described as a catatonic state.

As I said earlier, let's compare one disaster with another.

Everyone knew Katrina was going to hit and yet no local authorities reponded until about 48 hrs. later.

While 911 was completely by surprise and yet Mayor Gulianni and the men & women under his authority took care of the problem in stride, reacting immediately.
There was never a time when The Mayor of New York was interviewed and he did
not know exactly what was happening and would happen, as far as his control extended.

With Katrina, many people interviewed on the news said that things went so adly because there was actually two disasters in New Orleans, a hurricane and a flood.
(Both of which were forecasted before they happened.) (Emphasis mine.)

During 911 there was also two disasters, neither was known ahead of time.
One was the planes hitting the building, but the second was, the collapse of the buildings. Yet the Mayor and the Governor of New York handled both with competence.