DarkStar Spouts Off

It's Obvious

It's obvious that the leaders of Trinity church don't give a damn about the ramifications of their politics. And, I suppose, that is how it really should be for a church.

Wait. That doesn't make sense. When I've heard pastors speak about faith and politics, they've always said that a person's faith should guide their world view which, in turn, impacts their political beliefs. So, then I have to say that a church, or rather the church leaders, should give a damn about the ramifications of their politics.

So, are the leaders of Trinity trying to undermine Obama or are they saying, "This is what we believe and if it hurts him, so be it!"

Even though I have to admit that I think the current outrage is overblown considering that many talking heads have said that Hillary felt entitled to the Democrat nomination and that the upstart Black man, Obama, has upset her world.

Cal Thomas On Ted Kennedy

Read the entire article.

I came to see Sen. Kennedy not as a symbol, but as a fellow human being who does not get up in the morning seeking ways to harm the country. I know of things he has done for the poor and homeless on his own time and in his own way without a press release or a desire for public approval. I know of other hurts and concerns about which I would never speak.

In our poisoned political atmosphere, there are few friendships like this, at least few anyone can speak of publicly for fear of political ruin. It ought to be a privilege (it is certainly a command) for my conservative Christian friends to pray for Sen. Kennedy that he might be healed and restored to health. It is certainly mine and I don't care who on "my side" knows it. .

Cal Thomas, bravo!

Spouting Off On: "The Black Church"

The Black church isn't defined by Jeremiah Wright. No, the Black church is NOT Jeremiah Wright. That's what I want to say. I've been in many Black churches and I've never been in a church where a pastor has said the things that is being mostly looped and played as Wright's only pulpit statements.

Today I felt compelled to call into a radio show to strongly disagree with the guest who was saying Wright's comments are something that are regularly said from the pulpits of most Black churches across the country. NO! That's just not true. I was compelled to call in because I've heard enough false comments made about Black churches and I've had my fill of it.

I've written before that the idea that most Black churches have Democrats come into their churches and making comments from the pulpits on Sunday's close to elections isn't true. Yes, they do go into selected churches, but those churches are the overwhelming MINORITY of churches. From my experiences, I guess that politicians show up in less than 5% of Black churches. When I've challenged people, AND PUNDITS WITH A WRITTEN AUDIENCE to prove me wrong, I've always been met by silence. I ask them to find out how many Black churches are in a major city and then find out how many of those churches have politicians show up. But to date, no one has taken up that offer.

Wright saying that criticism of him is criticizing the Black church, SHOULD provoke the media to examine "what the Black church" is, but they won't do that because it destroys the model they rely on during the election cycle and the "demonstration" cycle. This goes for the mainstream and conservative media.

And, so far, I haven't heard the mainstream or conservative media mention why Sunday is the most segregated day in America. Rev. Fred Price addressed it and people like Jesse Lee Peterson went after him for speaking the truth. Why does the AME church exist? Why did the Southern Baptist Convention make a resolution on racial conciliation? And why does Bishop Harry Jackson and other preachers have to develop something called the reconciliation referendum?

How many other people are asking the questions I'm asking?

This Case Is Disturbing

This case is disturbing on a number of levels.

If this is true, then you have a situation where grown men sexually abused young girls under the guise of religion.

If it is true or if it is not true, you have the authorities raiding a location based on a series of telephone calls and they can't locate the person who made the calls. They can't locate the person for whom they made the raid.

I'm troubled. Right now I think the call may not have been from a true victim.

Black Church Services

I was asked to provide links to my assertion that Black churches provide more services than white churches.

Invisible Caring Hand

Chaves and Higgens (1992) also found that services provided by black congregations differed from those provide by white congregations. Similarly, Hill (1998) found that "black churches provide more outreach services than predominately white churches" (p. 27)

Alternative Mental Health Services

Abstract
Objectives. This study determined the extent to which churches in the South were providing mental health and social services to congregations and had established linkages with formal systems of care.

Methods. A computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) survey was conducted with pastors from 269 Southern churches.

Results. Black churches reported providing many more services than did White churches, regardless of urban or rural location. Few links between churches and formal provider systems were found, irrespective of the location—urban or rural—or racial composition of the churches.

Conclusions. Results are discussed in terms of the potential for linking faith communities and formal systems of care, given the centrality of the Black church in historical context.

Good night.

White's Hate Speech

Did you know that Wright's hate speech was quoting a white pastor ambassador?

More later.

[ UPDATE]

It's later:

“I heard Ambassador Peck on an interview yesterday did anybody else see or hear him? He was on FOX News, this is a white man, and he was upsetting the FOX News commentators to no end, he pointed out, a white man, an ambassador, he pointed out that what Malcolm X said when he was silenced by Elijah Mohammad was in fact true, he said Americas chickens, are coming home to roost.”

“We took this country by terror away from the Sioux, the Apache, Arikara, the Comanche, the Arapaho, the Navajo. Terrorism.

“We took Africans away from their country to build our way of ease and kept them enslaved and living in fear. Terrorism.

“We bombed Grenada and killed innocent civilians, babies, non-military personnel.

“We bombed the black civilian community of Panama with stealth bombers and killed unarmed teenage and toddlers, pregnant mothers and hard working fathers.

“We bombed Qaddafi’s home, and killed his child. Blessed are they who bash your children’s head against the rock.

“We bombed Iraq. We killed unarmed civilians trying to make a living. We bombed a plant in Sudan to pay back for the attack on our embassy, killed hundreds of hard working people, mothers and fathers who left home to go that day not knowing that they’d never get back home.

“We bombed Hiroshima. We bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon and we never batted an eye.

“Kids playing in the playground. Mothers picking up children after school. Civilians, not soldiers, people just trying to make it day by day.

“We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff that we have done overseas is now brought right back into our own front yards. America’s chickens are coming home to roost.

“Violence begets violence. Hatred begets hatred. And terrorism begets terrorism. A white ambassador said that y’all, not a black militant. Not a reverend who preaches about racism. An ambassador whose eyes are wide open and who is trying to get us to wake up and move away from this dangerous precipice upon which we are now poised. The ambassador said the people we have wounded don’t have the military capability we have. But they do have individuals who are willing to die and take thousands with them. And we need to come to grips with that.”

Should I Even Go Here?

"Chickens coming home to roost?"

Should I even go here?

Sure.

E.L. Bynum

At long last, the proverbial chickens are coming home to roost. Because of abortion and many other sins against God, this nation is beginning to reap what it has sown. "Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people." Prov. 14:34. The terrible race relations, the deplorable dope addiction, appalling alcoholism, widening crime wave, utterly amazing unisex and homosexual movement and the anti-God, anti-Christ attitude of multitudes today signal the approaching calamity. Insatiable inflation and the excruciating energy shortage may soon evaporate the American dream and turn it into a nightmare. The one world government to which we are already committed, will soon drag this nation down to the level of the rest of the World. "Whatsoever a man (or nation) soweth, that shall he also reap" Gal. 6:7. We are only now seeing the beginning!

"Religious Conservatives" and Katrina

LINDSEY: It seems clear that the prophetic times I have been expecting for decades have finally arrived. And even worse, it appears that the judgment of America has begun. I warn continually that the last days lineup of world powers does not include anything resembling the United States of America. Instead, a revived Roman Empire in Europe is to rule the West, and then the world.

Rev. Fred Price

He's Still Not Afraid to Confront

At 68, Price is showing no signs of mellowing. He remains an uncompromising, shoot-from-the-hip faith teacher whose ministry has seen controversy but no public blemish. Much of his teaching, while grounded in Word-Faith doctrine, flies with prosperity teaching. His current series is "None Suffer Lack," and his previous, "Race, Religion and Racism," lasted for more than a year.

Though this explosive series ended in early 1999, its shrapnel remains imbedded in Price's soul. He strongly believes that racism is an open wound in the body of Christ and an injury the church largely ignores.

"We believers can say that God has given us the Holy Spirit to help us overcome drugs, drink and lying, but it is not quite powerful enough to get rid of racism," he told Charisma. "If we don't deal with it, it taints everything else we do."

Price's series on racism brought to light notes in The Dake Annotated Reference Bible that list 30 reasons why God intended the races to live separately. This 1963 version has since been replaced by a 1997 edition rewritten, according to its authors, to remove any racial overtones. The company issued a letter of apology to Price saying in part, "We agree that racism has no place in the body of Christ, or anywhere else."

...

His criticism of statements made by fellow faith teacher Kenneth Hagin Jr.--and the ensuing backlash--still causes pain. The dispute began when Price heard an audiotape by the pastor of the 5,000-member Rhema Bible Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, recorded in 1993. On it Hagin Jr. said that when he found one of his children playing with a black friend, he told his child: "We play. We go together as a group, but we do not date one another."

Hagin Jr. has a policy of not responding to criticism, but he later wrote an apology to his board that read in part: "If I could take the words back, I would...but I can't. I can only apologize for having said them and pray that the hurt and confusion will be healed."

It hasn't. And what's worse, Price holds an honorary degree from Rhema and his church had been a supporter. He also credits Hagin Sr.'s book The Authority of the Believer, which he read in a single night in 1970, with making faith his ministry's staple.

He said he has sought a retraction from Hagin Jr., but when asked if he received it, Price replied: "When was the last time you got an e-mail from Mars? He apologized for 'if what I said hurt you,' but that is not a recantation of what you believe.

"Because you made a statement that made it appear that you have a problem with blacks and whites, you've got to come back to the plate and say, 'Listen, I said thus and so, but I have to take it back.' They simply apologized for saying something that offended me. They never recanted, and everybody is missing the whole thing. It's amazing to me how they can't see that or refuse to see it."

When informed that Bob Jones University had lifted its long-standing prohibition against interracial dating after a February visit by Texas Gov. George W. Bush created a firestorm of criticism for the Republican presidential nominee as well as the school, Price was suspicious.

More at the link provided.

Please read: The history of the A.M.E. church and the Southern Baptist Convention resolution on racial reconciliation.

So, has any of this been mentioned with the Wright and Obama controversy?

Southern Baptist Convention Resolution On Racial Reconciliation

WHEREAS, Since its founding in 1845, the Southern Baptist Convention has been an effective instrument of God in missions, evangelism, and social ministry; and

WHEREAS, The Scriptures teach that Eve is the mother of all living (Genesis 3:20), and that God shows no partiality, but in every nation whoever fears him and works righteousness is accepted by him (Acts 10:34-35), and that God has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on the face of the earth (Acts 17:26); and

WHEREAS, Our relationship to African-Americans has been hindered from the beginning by the role that slavery played in the formation of the Southern Baptist Convention; and

WHEREAS, Many of our Southern Baptist forbears defended the right to own slaves, and either participated in, supported, or acquiesced in the particularly inhumane nature of American slavery; and

WHEREAS, In later years Southern Baptists failed, in many cases, to support, and in some cases opposed, legitimate initiatives to secure the civil rights of African-Americans; and

WHEREAS, Racism has led to discrimination, oppression, injustice, and violence, both in the Civil War and throughout the history of our nation; and

WHEREAS, Racism has divided the body of Christ and Southern Baptists in particular, and separated us from our African-American brothers and sisters; and

WHEREAS, Many of our congregations have intentionally and/or unintentionally excluded African-Americans from worship, membership, and leadership; and

WHEREAS, Racism profoundly distorts our understanding of Christian morality, leading some Southern Baptists to believe that racial prejudice and discrimination are compatible with the Gospel; and

WHEREAS, Jesus performed the ministry of reconciliation to restore sinners to a right relationship with the Heavenly Father, and to establish right relations among all human beings, especially within the family of faith.

Therefore, be it RESOLVED, That we, the messengers to the Sesquicentennial meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, assembled in Atlanta, Georgia, June 20-22, 1995, unwaveringly denounce racism, in all its forms, as deplorable sin; and

Be it further RESOLVED, That we affirm the Bibles teaching that every human life is sacred, and is of equal and immeasurable worth, made in Gods image, regardless of race or ethnicity (Genesis 1:27), and that, with respect to salvation through Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for (we) are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28); and


Be it further RESOLVED, That we lament and repudiate historic acts of evil such as slavery from which we continue to reap a bitter harvest, and we recognize that the racism which yet plagues our culture today is inextricably tied to the past; and

Be it further RESOLVED, That we apologize to all African-Americans for condoning and/or perpetuating individual and systemic racism in our lifetime; and we genuinely repent of racism of which we have been guilty, whether consciously (Psalm 19:13) or unconsciously (Leviticus 4:27); and

Be it further RESOLVED, That we ask forgiveness from our African-American brothers and sisters, acknowledging that our own healing is at stake; and

Be it further RESOLVED, That we hereby commit ourselves to eradicate racism in all its forms from Southern Baptist life and ministry; and

Be it further RESOLVED, That we commit ourselves to be doers of the Word (James 1:22) by pursuing racial reconciliation in all our relationships, especially with our brothers and sisters in Christ (1 John 2:6), to the end that our light would so shine before others, that they may see (our) good works and glorify (our) Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16); and

Be it finally RESOLVED, That we pledge our commitment to the Great Commission task of making disciples of all people (Matthew 28:19), confessing that in the church God is calling together one people from every tribe and nation (Revelation 5:9), and proclaiming that the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is the only certain and sufficient ground upon which redeemed persons will stand together in restored family union as joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17).

 

The A.M.E. Church

The History Of The A.M.E. Church

The African Methodist Episcopal Church, is a United States Methodist Church, not affiliated with the United Methodist Church governmentally, that was formally organized in 1816.
   
It developed from a congregation formed by a group of Philadelphia-area slaves and former slaves who withdrew in 1787 from St. Georges's Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia because of discrimination.

They built Bethel African Methodist Church in Philadelphia, now fondly known as Mother Bethel. In 1799, Richard Allen was ordained minister of the church by Bishop Francis Asbury of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
   
In 1816, Ausbery consecrated Allen bishop of the newly organized African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Confined to the Northern states before the Civil War, the church spread rapidly in the South after the war.

The Church is Methodist in doctrine and church government, and it holds a general conference every four years. It has about 1,200,000 members.

   

A Savior Has Been Born To You

Passage Luke 2:1-12:

Luke 2

The Birth of Jesus

    ¹In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ²(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³And everyone went to his own town to register.

    ⁴So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

   

⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ^[a] the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Sooner Or Later...

Sooner or later, I think more and more Blacks are going to come to my line of thinking: be married to a political party does no good. You have to work BOTH parties as an independent, with financial resources, to get what you want out of politicians. Harry Jackson appears to be awakening.

"What they preach from the pulpit is consistent with [Republican] policies, but there was not an organized effort to have an ongoing relationship," Reeves said. "This is long-term."

But Jackson, at least, has become more skeptical about the party.

He thinks the GOP pays attention to evangelicals when it needs their votes but has not delivered when it comes to advancing their causes. Jackson said that after the 2004 election, he attended a White House meeting of evangelical leaders and listened as Rove said he didn't think the church vote had won the election for Bush.

Jackson told him: "I am a registered Democrat. The only reason I am here is because I thought you were working on issues of faith and that it would be better for my folks than the promises, promises of the Democratic party."

Democrats, he said, "come to us under the cloak of darkness at the last hour, get what they want and then act like they don't know us the next day."

That got a big laugh from the conservatives, he recalled. Then Jackson said he told Rove: "You all are doing the same thing to the evangelicals."

Time is on my side.

Which One Will Cause The Most Fire Storm?

Which statement will cause the most outcry?

This one?

"Well, first of all, I believe in an Almighty God, and I believe that all the world, whether they be Muslim, Christian, or any other religion, prays to the same God. That's what I believe. I believe that Islam is a great religion that preaches peace. And I believe people who murder the innocent to achieve political objectives aren't religious people, whether they be a Christian who does that – we had a person blow up our – blow up a federal building in Oklahoma City who professed to be a Christian, but that's not a Christian act to kill innocent people.

Or this one?

Obama said he was pleased that leaders in the evangelical community such as T.D. Jakes and Rick Warren were beginning to discuss social justice issues like AIDS and poverty in ways evangelicals were not doing before.

"I think that's a healthy thing, that we're not putting people in boxes, that everybody is out there trying to figure out how do we live right and how do we create a stronger America," Obama said.

He finished his brief remarks by saying, "We're going to keep on praising together. I am confident that we can create a Kingdom right here on Earth."

Both should cause a ruckus.

Separation In The Church, Part I

"The most segregated day in America is Sunday"

Duane criticized me for, allegedly, painting with a broad brush when I wrote this piece about criticizing the Black church for problems which are societal wide. Specifically, this comment was deemed as being too over the top:

People have said the out of wedlock birth rate indicates the Black church has failed. I have "countered" by saying out of wedlock birth is not a sin, the sin is fornication. I then follow it up by stating around 70% of whites have premarital sex before they are 21. If that is the case, then it can be said the "white church" has failed. At that point, I'm normally said to be in denial.

Well, Jonathan Falwell backs me up.

The first thing that came to mind when I read Fawell's comments were comments made about out of wedlock births in the Black community and how that signals that the Black church has failed. Logically, how is that a failure of the Black church when out of wedlock births are the consequence of sin and not the sin itself? Even if the people got married before the child was born, the sin still occurred. To me, the line of thinking helps to perpetuate the divide in church along racial lines.

In the comments I also stated that I think SOME of the comments are based in bigotry or racism or self-hate. I stand by that comment.

Now, for some background for why I made the comment. First up, Mychal Massie on the Janet Parshall's  America radio program:

MASSIE: -- that have drug the family down, and the church, and Janet, I will go on record and I will not win any popularity awards, but it is the fault of the black church and the black community because the preachers have succumbed to hatred; they have succumbed to a disobedience to God. There is a parallel that I think needs to be pointed out. Had Joseph not been kidnapped and sold into slavery, he would not have been in a position to help his family in their time of need.

PARSHALL: Hmmm. Wow.

MASSIE: The black people today who curse America are cursing God because if God had not permitted the Ashanti and Dahomey tribes of ancient Africa to trap other Africans and sell them to the Muslims, who sold them to the Europeans, we would not have what we have today.

Here are my criticisms of Massie's comments:

1. America isn't God and Massie should have been immediately called on it.
2. We have free will. So even the most anointed preachers can't "save" a person if that person doesn't make the choice to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
3. The problems in the Black community are on "preachers" who succumbed to hatred? Moses was on the mountain when the people returned to idolatry. In Massie's view, that would be the fault of Moses.

When I worked in Arlington, Virgina, I listened to Janet Parshall's show. I heard her strongly disagree with guests who were on her show. I also remember one show segment where she was strongly criticizing the Black church. In the next segment, her guest, who had heard the previous segment, said a quick prayer, apologized for not speaking about what she was supposed to speak about, and then strongly challenged Parshall's criticisms in the previous segment. During the time I listened, I thought Parshall brought race into some religious discussions when race was not a factor.

I have no problem when criticism is directed at the Black church and it is warranted. When people criticized the Black church for lack of HIV/AIDS outreach ministries, I thought the criticism was warranted. When people criticized the Black church for not accepting the lifestyles of people who are gay, I defended and will still defend the Black church, AND THE CHURCH IN GENERAL, for having ministries to try to get people out of the gay lifestyle. The church is living up to its doctrine. The other day, The Larry Young Morning Show on WOLB had a discussion that branched into ATMs in the church. I don't think they belong there and I think the criticism is warranted IF it is "Black church" specific, if not, the criticism needs to be against the church in general.

Then you have quotes like these from Jesse Lee Peterson:

"Jesse Jackson and Louis Farrakhan, the NAACP, the Congressional Black Caucus, most of the black preachers who are not called by God, but by their mama, represent evil. And so those people who are on the side of good have to stand up and let the light shine on that evil so that the people can see and see the right way to go."

-- The Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, founder and president of the Los Angeles-based Brotherhood Organization of New Destiny. He was quoted by Citizen Link, the e-newsletter of Focus on the Family.

JLP has made the "most of the Black preachers are not called by God" comment on radio and television programs across the country for years. How does someone determine that "most Black preachers are not called by God" and how is comment not challenged? Another comment I heard JLP make was on his old radio show. JLP said, "If you want to get saved, don't go to a Black church." A so-called reverend is telling people, don't go to Black churches? And this man is on CBN?

The Rev. Fred Price spent a year discussing racism in the church and has a book on the subject. Rev. Price confronted the separatism in the church. Again, I'm not saying the Black church shouldn't be criticized, but if the criticism is labeled directly at the Black church, in other words, the Black church is being singled out, when the church at large has the same issue, there is a problem and it speaks directly to the division in the church. When there is criticism concerning prosperity preaching, that is church wide and should be addressed as such. It's not a unique Black church issue, and, again, it speaks to the division in the church. And, NO, I'M NOT SAYING WHITE PEOPLE DO IT TOO so don't criticize "just me". The soul is color blind.

Note this is part 1, more coming.

The Church Has Failed

From Jonathan Falwell:

I believe this poll is indicative of our nation's corresponding moral freefall during that same time period. As our nation has become increasingly secular – with many lawmakers, judges and leaders demanding this secular conversion – we have seen corresponding rises in crime, corruption, promiscuity, unwed pregnancy, abortion and a host of other scars on our national fabric.

What does this mean?

Sadly, I believe it means the church has failed, in many ways, to provide answers to our nation. We have too often expressed disfavor with the growing secular tide, but have habitually done little to affect the destructive transformation of our society.

People have said the out of wedlock birth rate indicates the Black church has failed. I have "countered" by saying out of wedlock birth is not a sin, the sin is fornication. I then follow it up by stating around 70% of whites have premarital sex before they are 21. If that is the case, then it can be said the "white church" has failed. At that point, I'm normally said to be in denial.

Well, Jonathan Falwell backs me up.

Pimp In The Pulpit?

[ 7/11/2007 ]

Is there a pimp in the pulpit?

I repeat, is there a pimp in the pulpit (another link for the details)?

Jamal Bryant, the pastor of Empowerment Temple, fathered a child out of wedlock. The same pastor, who bragged in an article about having 2 Bentleys, is trying to fight the mother of his daughter who is requesting an increase in child support payments.

There is more but I can't verify the rest so, given what can befall me for getting it wrong, I won't say right now.

[ 7/25/2007 Update ]

I spoke with a member of Empowerment Temple. Bryant admitted to fathering a child by a woman who is not his wife. By this I mean he admitted he cheated on his wife and fathered a child.

There is a pimp in the pulpit!

Romney And The Curse of Ham

The Hutchinson Report from Black America Web:

For more than a century, the Mormons clung tightly to their well–documented, race-tinged dogma that blacks were an inferior race, could not be priests, serve on missions or be married in the Temple. They repeatedly cited the Old Testament curse of Ham as a cover for their unabashed racial bigotry. Mormon church leaders didn’t budge from making pronouncements about God’s alleged curse against blacks even when other fundamentalist groups backpedaled -- at least publicly -- from using the Bible to justify racism. Sharpton may in fact have been moved to take his shot at the Mormons because he is a Pentecostal minister, and his church has at times been at odds with Mormonism. The Mormons finally backed away from their ban against blacks after church leaders claimed they got a revelation from God in 1978 that declared blacks were now equals.

That was a decade and a half after the great civil rights battles of the 1960s.

The Mormon leaders claim that they have convincingly junked their racist past. They tout their much-publicized genealogical research on African-American families, their aggressive missions in Africa, and the handful of blacks that serve in the important church body known as the Quorum of the Seventy to prove it. Yet, Mormon leaders have also have rejected calls for the church to apologize for its century-plus defense of Biblical-touted racism.

Nuff said.

2 Tales of 1 Poll

[ Update ] Reformatted

Young U.S. Muslims back suicide attacks

By Jennifer Harper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES May 23, 2007

The first nationwide survey of Muslim Americans revealed that more than a quarter of those younger than 30 say suicide bombings to defend Islam are justified, a fact that drowned out the poll's kinder, gentler findings suggesting that the community is mainstream and middle class.

"There are trouble spots," noted Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center, which conducted the survey of 1,050 adult Muslim Americans -- two-thirds of whom were foreign-born -- January to April. The results were released yesterday.

"We should be disturbed that 26 percent of these young people support an ideology in which the ends justify the means," said Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, chairman of the Arizona-based American Islamic Forum for Democracy.

Survey: U.S. Muslims Assimilated, Opposed to Extremism

By Alan Cooperman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 23, 2007; Page A03

Unlike Muslim minorities in many European countries, U.S. Muslims are highly assimilated, close to parity with other Americans in income and overwhelmingly opposed to Islamic extremism, according to the first major, nationwide random survey of Muslims.

The survey by the Pew Research Center found that 78 percent of U.S. Muslims said the use of suicide bombings against civilian targets to defend Islam is never justified. But 5 percent said it is justified "rarely," 7 percent said "sometimes," and 1 percent said "often"; the remaining 9 percent said they did not know or declined to answer.

A Proper Send Off

Cal Thomas wrote a proper send off to Jerry Falwell:

As a vice president of the Moral Majority from 1980 to 1985, I witnessed the rise of this movement from the inside. It had its positives, including a focus on "moral issues," such as abortion, same-sex marriage, a strong national defense and the cultural decline of the nation and the registering of many previously inactive people to participate in the political life of their nation. All of these remain hot-button issues.

The movement also had its downside, because it tended to detract from a Christian's primary responsibility of telling people the "good news" that redemption comes only through Jesus Christ. At times, this central message seemed to be replaced by one suggesting that a shortcut to moral renewal might come through Washington and the Republican Party.

The flaw in the movement was the perception that the church had become an appendage to the Republican Party and one more special interest group to be pampered. If one examines the results of the Moral Majority's agenda, little was accomplished in the political arena and much was lost in the spiritual realm, as many came to believe that to be a Christian meant you also must be "converted" to the Republican Party and adopt the GOP agenda and its tactics.

One had only to look at the history of the religious left to see the danger in a shotgun marriage between church and state. Most liberal theologians long ago gave up preaching about another king and another kingdom in favor of baptizing the earthly agenda of the Democratic Party. That too many conservative Christians followed their liberal opposites into the same error was to their shame and demonstrated they had missed an important lesson.

 

This was a good piece. Please read it all. You will find an interesting nugget.

Religious Beliefs or Politics?

Booker Rising provides a quote from Harry Jackson, Jr.:

"I want to call on all African Americans of faith to go the polls in two weeks and vote their values and their faith. Your vote will determine the moral direction of the nation for the next few years. We cannot sit back and wait for others to do the right thing or make the right move. It is time for blacks to take a leadership role in the nation. We must recognize the unique position to which we have been called by God. We can no longer be guilty of following blind men. Instead, we must cut a new path. With God on our side, we are not a minority; we are a majority! If men like Martin Luther King, Jr. had not dared to speak out as prophets of God against an evil and corrupt system, life for many of us would be unbearable today. The evils of pre-civil rights America would still be in full force. The courage needed today is a little different than the courage it took to stand up to dogs and fire hoses. Our civil rights heroes needed the courage to die for the cause. Today we must have the boldness to endure being misunderstood while we rebuild America’s moral core. We all know the issues that are of concern to the black community in this election. First of all, we are concerned about the war simply because so many of our family and friends are in the military. Yet, I cannot vote out one party because they 'started the war,' while condoning the genocidal murder of black babies within our borders. A little more than 2,000 people have died in Iraq and we don’t take that lightly. But what about the millions of black babies sacrificed on the altar of personal convenience? The most recent statistics say that 36% of the babies aborted in the U.S. are black babies---that amounts to 12 to 14 million casualties in America’s war on life since Roe versus Wade. Second, immigration reform is important to African Americans. The current liberal amnesty and porous borders approach to immigration is a part of what I call, 'The New Slavery.' Hispanic workers are taken advantage of by corporate employers and subjected to unsafe work environments and poor wages because of their current illegal status. This has directly affected black employment opportunities at the lower end of the employment spectrum. The result is a black unemployment level of over 10% versus a national unemployment level which is under 5%. We should advocate closing the borders, encouraging immigrants to obey the laws of the land, and refuse blanket amnesty. In addition, wealth creation (home and business ownership), education reform, criminal justice reform, health care access, protection of marriage, and promoting a culture of life are all hot buttons for thinking African Americans who embrace a biblical worldview."

Here is a point I think I have to make.

Immigration, employment, wealth creation, education reform, etc, are political stances not religious stances. So, what is the point of bringing those issues to the table? I'm not saying they should not be addressed, but why use the cloak of religious values, when they are not?

Here is something to think about: since "we" are having more abortions, proportionately, than others, than how does anyone expect the appeal to "pro-life" values to hold sway, unless the disproportionate number of abortions is done by a very small minority within the Black community?

Maybe it's just me, but I don't see the genocide angle being any good. Now, if people showed a growing baby...

Faith and Forgiveness

Imagine that you sent your child off to school for the day.

Imagine that a mad man comes into your child's school, enters your child's class, and then executes all of the children before killing himself.

Would you be able to imagine forgiving the killer?
Would you be able to imagine going to the killer's family to express your sorrow for THEIR LOSS?
Would you be able to imagine setting up a fund for the killer's family?

That is what the Amish are doing and they are doing so because of their faith.

That is living and demonstrating your faith by how you live.

Random Edness

Some random thoughts, based on religion and morality:

• In my life so far, only one televangelist has said something that hits my heart so that I tune into the show on a regular basis. That televangelist is Joel "The Smiling Preacher" Osteen. His message hits me where it needs to hit me. He delivers in a manner that draws me in, catches my attention, and keeps my attention.
• Let's say someone is watching Joel Osteen and the person accepts Jesus as The Savior. One of the last thing that Joel Osteen says is to join a good Bible based church. The reason for this is that "new Christians" need education, mentoring, and encouragement along the path of being a Christian, living as a Christian, and spreading of The Word.

Now compare that to how public "intellectuals," both left and right, treat Blacks and "Black issues" in the media.

• "Shame needs to be restored in the Black community" to reverse the problem of out of wedlock births. The question I have about this is simple. Are the church programs that help unwed mothers sanctioning out of wedlock sexual activity? If celebrating out of wedlock children by having baby showers for the unwed mothers is wrong, then isn't the support of these mothers by churches wrong? Is it wrong for grandparents to claim their out of wedlock grandchildren? Or am I missing something?

Just some thoughts I had while driving today.

This Should Speak For Itself

OK, this is from the Weekly Standard. This should speak for itself. Enjoy.

Strange Allies

George Michael's "The Enemy of My Enemy" details the unlikely alliance between militant Islam and the extreme right.

The extreme right and militant Islam now possess the same enemies. They both loathe the Jews and believe that the American government is controlled by a shadowy Jewish elite. Both movements also have revolutionary aspirations, seeking to replace the existing order with "monocultural states built around racial or religious exclusivity."

While both sides began to recognize these ideological similarities in the 1990s, 9/11 hastened the convergence of interests. After the Twin Towers collapsed, many far-right leaders exulted at both the punishment inflicted on the United States and the courage displayed by the hijackers. As National Alliance organizer Billy Roper said shortly thereafter: "The enemy of our enemy is, for now at least, our friends. We may not want them marrying our daughter, just as they would not want us marrying theirs. . . . But anyone willing to drive a plane into a building to kill Jews is all right by me."

Since then, here have been intensified efforts to build bridges between radical Islam and the extreme right. Ahmed Huber, a Swiss convert to Islam who is a self-proclaimed admirer of both Adolf Hitler and Osama bin Laden, jubilantly declared that 9/11 would help align the two movements: "The eleventh of September has brought together [the two sides] because the new right has reacted positively. . . . They say, and I agree with them 100 percent, what happened on the eleventh of September, if it is the Muslims who did it, it is not an act of terrorism but an act of counterterrorism."

In the United States, late National Alliance founder William L. Pierce praised Osama bin Laden prior to his death. The Aryan Nations established a Ministry of Islamic Liaison, and the group's head August Kreis declared his solidarity with Osama bin Laden during an interview with CNN. Kreis even advised bin Laden that his followers were willing to fight on al Qaeda's side: "They might not be cells of Islamic people, but they are here and they are ready to fight."

Tithing, Prosperity Ministers

The Washington Post has an article on Blacks and tithing. This is an interesting read, in general, and gives glancing coverage to the issue of "prosperity preaching."

LaVonne and Bernard Snowden have three children in private school, two flourishing careers and an elegant house in Mitchellville. As thanks for those blessings, the Snowdens say, they give 10 percent of everything they make to their church.

Carla Brooks, a Howard University graduate student, doesn't bring in much except her financial aid and what she earns working part time. Even so, she puts 10 percent of her money in an envelope marked "tithes."

"Anything that I get, I tithe," Brooks said. "It's not a hardship at all. It's like when anyone else gets their check. They see what they have, they pay their bills and live on what is left. I tithe, and I live off the rest."

Tithing, an ancient practice described in the Bible, is particularly strong in African American communities, where it is reinforced by centuries of family tradition. That has helped propel Prince George's into the top five counties in the nation for charitable giving, as documented by a Chronicle of Philanthropy study based on donations as a percentage of income.

A Washington Post analysis using the same data found that 14 of the top 20 Zip codes for per capita giving in the region were in Prince George's.

Across the spectrum of faiths, religious institutions draw much of the nation's charitable money, accounting for three out of every four dollars given, the chronicle's study of 2002 IRS data found. In African American communities, the figure is closer to nine out of every 10 dollars.

...

"What we are seeing is more giving, but I wouldn't attribute it only to people adhering to the principle of tithing," said the Rev. Bucas Sterling, pastor of Kettering Baptist Church in Upper Marlboro. "There is also an increase in what is called 'prosperity ministry,' the approach that says the intention of God is for all of his children to be financially well off. Materialism is being promoted, in a way. The whole idea is that God wants them to have money."

"The hook that this ministry is promoting is that you must give a lot to receive a lot. You put money in, you get money out. Almost like an investment, whereas the principle of tithing is that you should give to be obedient to God."

The issue of prosperity preaching is one that is in serious debate in the Christian church, as well as it should be. I have to admit that it makes me uncomfortable because the idea of Rev. Ike pops into my mind.

And, as "fate" would have it, today I received the May 2006 edition of Black Enterprise and guess who is on the cover? Pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell, Bishop T. D. Jakes, and Bishop Eddie L. Long.

I haven't read that article yet, but I have read a good portion of this edition. As always, it's a good read.

Defending "The Black Church"

On a web forum, the comment "I can't but help thinking that the Black church is failing" was made.

That got me to "go off" and defend "The Black Church". Here is how I responded:

This is what I am going to do:

I'm going to state a moral truth.

I'm going to state a statistical truth.

I'm going to state a social fact.

I'm going to use an associative relationship between the moral truth and the statistical truth to make a corollary.

I'm going to use the corollary and the social fact to provide a hypothesis.

I am going to ask if the hypothesis is valid.

Moral truth: Those who engage in premarital sex are committing a sin.

Statistical truth: 65-70% of the white population has engaged in premarital sex.

Social fact: Sunday is the "most segregated day" in the U.S. Most of the white population goes to a "white church".

Corollary: If engaging in premarital sex is a sin, then 65-70% of the white population are sinners, then most of the white population are sinners.

Hypothesis: If most of the white population attends a white church, yet most of the white population engages in premarital sex, then the white church is failing the white population.

True or false?