“Players’ union contests Giants’ handling of Burress’ bonus money”

Okay, get this.  Remember that guy Plaxico Burress, the star wide reciever who plays for the Giants.  He shot himself in the leg.  No big deal.  But he didn’t have a license to be carrying that gun in concealment.  Big deal.  So he was charged with “felony gun possession.”  And the Giants are going to penalize him for it.  GOOD FOR THEM!

This man is a criminal, at least that’s what the police are saying.  He shouldn’t get $1 million dollars as a bonus, since he’s a criminal!  Sure he didn’t kill anybody or steal anything, but he broke the law, making him a criminal.  It’s like a tatoo; it’s permenant.  The player’s union is getting upset because a criminal is being withheld $1 million dollars?  Putting it like that makes it sound different, doesn’t it?

“Oh, but he isn’t a criminal, he’s an athlete, and he makes lots of money, and he’s really good, so you shouldn’t take his money away!”  I wonder why they’re defending him?  That’s gonna give the union a bad rep, if he’s convicted.  I can see the headlines now:  “The National Football League’s Player Union defends man carrying illegally concealed gun.”  If for no other reason, let the Giants do what they want with their own players to save your own reputation!  Besides, the guy makes tons of money, do you really think $1 million is going to hurt him?  I mean, he makes millions and millions and millions of dollars per year, do you think $1 million upsets him?  Crazy world, ain’t it?

On God and Allah

Okay.  I’m taking this one from my other blog (leftback92.wordpress.com) because I just wanted to.

One thing I hear people say often is that Jesus and Mohammed are the same.  This is not true whatsoever.  Muslims believe that Jesus Christ was just a man, a prophet of less importance than Mohammed.  Christians (true Christians, at least) believe that Jesus Christ is the perfect, sinless Son of God and Son of Man who dwells with at the Father’s right hand.

Another thing I hear is that Allah and God are the same.  This, also, is completely false.  Muslims believe that Allah is one, period; which means that Muslims do not believe in the Trinty.  Christians (true Christians) believe in the doctrine of the Trinity, that God is one and has three persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Therefore, this idea cannot be supported, because Allah and God are absolutely contradictory.

Muslims also believe that all men must earn their salvation, an idea that is explicitly contradicted in the Bible (see Ephesians 2:8-10).  Yet another difference between God and Allah is the fact that Muslims believe that Allah is unloving toward those who do wrong, while God is just the opposite.  Why would any divine being send down His only Son to save sinners if he does not love sinners?  Islam and Christianity just aren’t the same.  Muslims and Christians don’t worship the same God.

Now for some cultural issues.  Consider these facts:

1)  America was founded by Christian men based on the Bible.

2) Most Western European nations are considered “Christian nations.”

3) The vast, vast majority of terrorist groups are radical Muslims (note:  I did not say that the vast majority of Muslims are terrorists).

4) The vast majority of terrorist attacks occur in either the U.S. or Western Europe.

Now consider these facts:

1) In Sudan, the Muslim government in the north is waging a civil war against the predominately Christian south.

2) Thousands of Christians living in the Middle East, Africa, and most Muslim Asian nations suffer persecution on a daily bases, being tortured, imprisoned, and killed for believing in the name of Christ.  I’m not making this up either, it’s a fact.

Now tell me this:  if Muslims and Christians believe in the same God, then why are Muslims persecuting Christians?  Not just radical terrorist groups, either. In countries such as Laos, Indonesia, and Sudan, the Muslim governments are waging an undeclared jihad against all Christians.  Now, answer the question above and tell me, why is it, if Muslims and Christians believe in the same God, that Muslims persecute Christians across the world?

The Closing of Gitmo

The very first thing I want to say is that this is a mistake.  Where are you going to put the detainees?  In the States?  Our prisons are already overpopulated with criminals as it is.  Obviously you don’t want them overseas or you would leave Gitmo open.  Where are you going to put them?  Are you going to try and assimilate them like we did with the Native Americans?  Tell me, any of you are in favor, what are you going to do with the terrorists detained at Gitmo.

Next, why?  I understand that bad things have happened at Gitmo, I’m not going to deny that.  But prosecute the people who are committing the crimes, don’t close the whole prison!  You want to use that logic?  Okay, so Governor Blagojevic (or however you spell his name, the governor of Illinois) tried to sell the Senate seat.  That’s illegal, and his was in an executive office, so the every single executive office in the United States government should be disbanded, all the people fired.  If that’s not why you’re closing Gitmo, then why?  Does it cost too much?  I would almost bet that if you compared government expenses at Gitmo with another prison, it would cost a whole lot less.  You know what happens when you go to prison?  You get three square meals a day, cable television, and free exercise, not to mention a job through which you can make money!  Does it make any sense?  Why do you need to make money when the government is literally providing every single thing you need!?  But that’s another discussion.  I just don’t understand why you would close Gitmo.  Well, that’s my spiel of the day.  Hope you enjoyed.

What a Terrible Day

I was scanning CNN and happened to wonder over to the U.S. news.  On the side they have little sub-categories for the different regions.  As I was scanning them, it popped out to me that they were all negative stories!  Check out some of the headlines:  “Radio to blame for apartment fire” from WPRI.   “Teen playing with explosive loses leg” from WPXI.  “Drivers clean up after 50-car pileup” from WMUR.   “Officer accuse of beating boy” from WYFF.  “Girl missing after online chat” from WSB.  “Ambulances collide during runs” from WKMG.  “Graffiti litters walls of oldest city” from WJXT.  That’s from half of the headlines, or two of the four sections.  Total of ten headlines, and only one of them was really positive (it was a story of how a vet saved a puppy), the other was more neutral (it was about some hunger strike over a budget).  8 out of 10 of the stories were negative.  That is really bad.  Whoever said that humans are basically good?

I don’t see it.  Show me the good that humans are naturally gifted with.  Point out a scene of pristine good deeds, uncorrupted by selfish motives or dull obligation.  Maybe soldiers count, or firemen, or police; but is there no sense of duty there?  Is there no sense of selfish motives?  Often, when people talking about joining the Army, they’ll say something like “I felt I needed to do something for my country,” or “What I was doing in my old job just wasn’t making me happy.”  Is that not selfish, at its heart?  Humanists like Carl Rogers just got it wrong.  People aren’t basically good.  If we were, we wouldn’t want to disobey our parents and eat the cookie before dinner.  If we were, we wouldn’t want to act one way at school and another way at home.  If we were, they would be no need for Jesus.

Conflict in Gaza

In my own personal opinion, which I know does not count for much, Israel has every single right to be in Gaza, hunting Hamas.  Hamas is a terrorist organization that has been firing rockets in Israel for as long as I’ve been alive.  Is it any different than the United States attacking Afghanistan and getting rid of the Taliban?  Absolutely not.  Israel is a sovreign nation, and no French pacifist has the right to tell them what they should and shouldn’t do.  If someone was firing rockets into America, that person (or persons) would definitely have some reckoning on the way.

Guess what people, war is war and nothing can change that.  Innocent people die, but that is no cause to cease war.  General Robert E. Lee once said “It is good that war should be so terrible, lest we grown too fond of it.”  Do you think that God didn’t know that humans were going to get into fights and start wars?  Of course He did!  Wars happen.  I’m not saying they’re good, but they happen.  Death happens, life happens, rain happens, sunshine happens.  It’s life, and life isn’t a bunch of lillies and dandelions.  You got crabgrass mixed into the yard.

Just for the fun of it, I want to know what you think.  And why.  That’s always important.  If you don’t know why you do something then why would you do it?

Military Men

I’m going to join the Army, and one thing that has always fascinated me are the generals. Like Napolean (though he was a dictator, too) and Patton and Eisenhower and Grant (my personal favorite). So, I have a question. In the form of a poll, since I’m all high-tech and stuff.

A Mini-Awakening

I live in the country, as you may or may not know.  It’s really beautiful, I’m not going to lie.  However, this morning was extremely cold and dreary.  I found myself getting upset and wishing I lived anywhere other than Kentucky.  And then, I got to thinking.

If God didn’t want me in Kentucky right now, I wouldn’t be living in Kentucky.  (btw, there was a similar line in the Beverly Hillbillies).  And it really is a beautiful landscape, especially in the wintertime.  The trees, most of which are dead by now, are covered with snow or ice or whatever happened to accumulate during the night.  There’s also horses next door, and I really love horses.  Every single day walking home, I get to see those horses and those snow- or ice- or whatever-covered trees.

It really shocked me, because I realised that all that complaining was sinning.  It struck hard and cold, even through the leather jacket.  So, to pass on a lesson that I learned the hard way, don’t complain about your surroundings, for God has put you in that position for some reason.  And as Jed says in the Beverly Hillbillies, “They say He works in mysterious ways.”

Obama picks Clinton for Sec. of State

*Sigh*  Mr. Obama (who isn’t even President yet, so I’m not going to call him President), I really don’t understand why you picked Hillary Clinton as your Secretary of State.  He says that, according to CNN (one of my favorite websites), that he has “no doubt that Hillary Clinton is the right person to lead our State Department and to work with me in tackling this ambitious foreign policy agenda.”  Really?  Why?  Because this appointment is a “sign to friend and foe of the seriousness of my commitment to renew American diplomacy and restore our alliances.”  So you pick Mrs. Clinton to restore American alliances and renew diplomacy.  Okay.

What ambitious foreign policy agenda?  Talking, that’s ambitious?  Negogiating with our enemies, countries who have said that they hate America, that’s ambitious?  You know what George Washington would have said about this “ambitious” foreign policy?  He would have said something like, “I waged a war for almost ten years against incredible odds with an amateur army, suffering horrible losses.  I won that war to gain independence for the colonies of America.  Now that country, which was united under the Constitution, has become a world superpower.  We are now going to talk to our enemies and attempt to persuade them to not be mean to us?  You are jesting, are you not?”  Of course, he would have spoken more elegantly, but I’m not George Washington.  I don’t even want to think about what Andrew Jackson would have said.  But I’m rambling.

It’s not that I have anything against Mrs. Clinton, because I don’t.  But the people obviously didn’t want her to be President, so do you think they would want her to be Secretary of State?  That job is almost as important as the President’s, if not more!  She has to meet with peoples from all corners from the globe, and she has to watch what she says, careful not to offend anyone.  Of course, I don’t have a better solution, so I’m not going to complain any more.  At least it’s not Ted Kennedy.  Did you know he’s recieving an honorary degree from Harvard?  Go figure.

On Racism

First of all, for an introduction, I am not an Obama fan.  However, very few things disturb me more than when people claiming the title of Christian throw racist comments in Obama’s direction.  Even I, who has very little political respect for the man, will not bow to such low levels as to harass a man (or woman) based on his (or her) skin tone.  In fact, I will go so far as to say one cannot be racist and be a Christian; it is impossible.

This is explicitly clear throughout the letters of Paul:  Ephesians 4:4 – “There is one body and one Spirit…”  Ephesians 2:18-19 – “For through him (Christ) we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.  So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God…”  All people are sinners, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” therefore, no white person is above a black person, nor is a black person above a white person.  It’s rather obvious through Scripture that you cannot be a Christian and a racist at the same time.  You wouldn’t think this would be much of an issue, but unfortunately, it is.  I was talking with a friend of mine, and she told me that the Ku Klux Klan’s homepage had various Bible verses to support their position.  Let me tell you this:  God does not support or approve of slavery.  Slavery or racism says, at its heart, that one man is not created in the image of God based on his skin color.  Slavery or racism is a ploy that the devil uses to ensnare humans.  When one says that man was not created in the image of God, one is directly contradicting the authority of not only the Bible, but of God Himself.  God spoke those words, Christian, not Moses!  “God said, ‘Let us make man in our image…'”!

I’ll admit, this isn’t very long.  However, it shouldn’t have to be.  It should be very, very, very obvious that Christians cannot support/approve of/take part in racism.  Period.  End of discussion.  Good night, and God bless.

“Fresher Than A Night At The W” by Tobymac

This is the prelude to a post on racism, just for a warning.  🙂  Enjoy.

Thanks to Tobymac and Misty227, whoever you might be.