Religious Issues

Salam Elmenyawi, president of the Muslim Council of Montreal, is wrong. The Quebec Human Rights Commission decision in favor of Muslim students prayer rooms at the École de technologie supérieure was not a victory for all and certainly not for liberty.

By Ron Banerjee
Wednesday, March 22, 2006

To preserve freedom, it is vital for democratic societies to audit themselves to ensure that our actions encourage behavior in accordance with our core beliefs, and penalize unacceptable conduct. The West is doing the precise opposite in its treatment of Muslim fanatics, especially in comparison to well-behaved minorities like Hindus.

"State submission to special interests will do nothing more than heighten irrational feelings of superiority and strengthen unreasonable commitments to particularity. Rather than encouraging social peace, they will incite further irritation between religious and secular, straight and gay, as our legal system struggles to accommodate the inevitable explosions of legislation, regulation and exception.

Last week I heard some left-wing commentator talk about how "dangerous" the "Religious Right" is and how an overtly Christian agenda has wound its way into conservatism. Hmmm. As a card-carrying member of the vast-right-wing-conspiracy this is news to me.

When you hear the word "America," the word "liberty" naturally comes to mind.  This nation was founded upon the principle of freedom--that an individual citizen should be master of his or her own fate.  We should be free to pursue the career of our choice, free to practice our faith, and free to establish homes and families.  

Kanye Wests song, Jesus Walks won him a Grammy award in 2005.  In his song, he spouts his faith in Jesus, peppering his theme that Jesus walks with everyone throughout his lyrics.  Now, we have Kanye posing as Jesus on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine.  Is Kanye motivated by a devout need to bring Jesus back to the people? Is he trying to revive faith in Jesus in our youth?  Not likely. Kanye West is out to sell his music, out to make as much money as he possibly can and build his own wealth.

Each night, network news programs in America turn their focus on the war in Iraq.  Yet, routinely, the national news media ignore another war thats been going on now for more than 30 yearsthe war on drugs.

Doctors in Britain dont want legalized euthanasia. Yet they still kill patients.

In other words, why should they want a law defining what it means to kill a patient when they get by with it now without legal interference?

Weve all heard the argument, evolution is a science and therefore it is somehow more valuable or respectable than religion. This same argument won the right of evolution studies in our public school classrooms, and helped build the wall around so called non-scientific creationism and to this day keeps it from being taught in our public schools.

Last week on WGN Radios Extension 720 with Milt Rosenberg program the topic turned one evening to the increasing secularization of Christmas. The panel included an official from the American Jewish Committee, a lawyer specializing in religious issues, a state ACLU board member, and this columnist.

Theyre ready to fight for the manger in America.

The US Constitution allows free religious expression. And that goes for Christians as well as anyone else. Therefore, Christmas is the holy season to go to battle for Baby Jesus.

It looks like its official. The war on Christmas weve heard about is nothing more than a figment conjured up by a few extremists.

The evidence accumulates. "What War on Christmas?" asked a column in last weeks Washington Post. Salon.com, preferred reading at the Clinton White House, in the article "How the secular humanist grinch didnt steal Christmas" makes clear there is no war.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their CREATOR, with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." Do these words sound familiar to you? They are, of course, found in the Declaration of Independence and were used as a justification under Natural Law for the separation of the American Colonies from the Crown.

Its that time of the year again. No, Im not referring to trampling other store customers to get to the doorbusters. I mean that time of the year when anything relating to the birth of Jesus Christ seems to provoke controversy.

For two and a half years they have been standing on the courthouse steps sharing the Christian gospel quietly with any person who wanted to listen.

Now the judge has swept them away. They in other words are not entitled to the American right to freedom of speech.

Thats right. I mean thats not politically correct. But thats the right thing do say now. Anyhow, Macys has knelt at the manger, just as it should be at Christmas. Now we believers in particular can go to Macys again to purchase that special something.

Pass it on. "Merry Christmas." Dont say it too loud because you might upset someone within earshot. And dont say it in school. Or the city hall. Or, if the American Civil Liberties Union has anything to say about it, anywhere. And, while youre at it, pal, get rid of those you-know-what trees and decorations. And that crèche with the Baby Jesus.

Why is this happening again?

U.S. President George W. Bush, on his visit to China, worshiped there. In signing the guest book of the Protestant church, in which the service was held, he wrote, "May God bless the Christians of China."

Laura Bush wrote: ". . .with love and respect. . ."

"My lambasting, if you will, of federal courts is simply because they've intruded into our lives," Roy Moore says.

"When a court starts telling you how to worship and that you can't worship a God upon which this nation was founded, they're wrong -- they violate the Tenth Amendment and the First Amendment. When judges start making law as opposed to interpreting law, they can't fulfill their oath of office."

Have we truly learned our lessons from Hurricane Katrina and Rita? I can guarantee you those storms will not be the last we see. After each disaster, there is a lesson to be learned, there can come some good out of something so terrible. Many of us ask the question "Why"? But we are missing the obvious.

"Multicast Must-Carry" is the name of the new law proposed. It will open up morally-based TV now ignored by cable.

I had the pleasure of talking to my brother-in-law for an hour or two Thursday night. We talked about our families, the price of gas, and of course, the terrible time that our neighbors to the south are having. That is when my brother-in-law said something that I thought was a little far fetched. You see, he is a man of faith. While I, too, believe in God, I thought that there was no way the press would go there. I mean, the media spends most of its time debasing those who have faith in a Creator, and they would rather not even bring the subject to light. He suggested to me that it is only a matter of time before some openly blame God for the hurricanes and oil crisis. Imagine my surprise when I came online last night and saw the following story on Times Online in Britain.

We hear a lot of talk these days about the need to protect and strengthen the traditional American family. Certainly, it is true that the institution of marriage is under attack from every side. But the real threat comes from the multitudes of couples that fail to honor their marriage vows.

Premier Dalton McGuinty recently pledged $61 Million for new textbooks for elementary and high schools across the province. Mr. McGuinty’s Liberals already banned the terms “Man and Woman”, “Wife”, “Husband”, “Widow”, “Widower” from all government programs, and services when referring to spouses. His government funded the new grade two level reader, entitled "Mom and Mum are Getting Married!". Undoubtedly his new textbooks will inundate the children of Ontario with anti-marriage propaganda.

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist must be replaced with a defender of the unborn. Anything less is America endorsing murder.

I recently wrote about the fact that Liberals dont really hate war, but they demonstrably DO hate freedom and America, too. The numerous responses I got to that intentionally provocative topic were quite interesting, to say the least. Predictably, most Conservatives seemed to love the concept.

Sure thing.

In 1845, prayer at lunchtime was instituted at the US Naval Academy. Its worked since then. Why fix what works? Exactly!

J. Grant Swank, Jr.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005

With the American Civil Liberties Union as their targeted enemy, the Alliance Defense Fund members aim at putting Christmas back into American life. Hallelujah. Hark the Herald Conservatives Sing.

The legitimate attempt to establish justice through law is one hallmark of enlightened civilization. All too often, however, the reasoning used to advance that worthy goal becomes convoluted.

J. Grant Swank, Jr.
Wednesday, August 3, 2005

Its akin to abortion. Murder cannot be tolerated in a civilized community. America considers itself to be grounded upon civility; therefore, murder cannot be allowed in America.

Murder is daily fare in some nations. Saddam Hussein committed murder in all sorts of horrific shapes every day and night of his hellish reign. Such goes on in other countries as well.

Lately I have been doing some research onto the historical roots of American liberty, and what I have found concerning our nations Christian history has been particularly enlightening. For example, taking a look at the constitutions of all 50 states, I found that about 40 of them started out with an acknowledgment that the people of those states were "grateful to Almighty God," or words to that effect.

I recently exchanged e-mails with a person who disagreed somewhat strongly with some of my public policy positions. This disagreement was neither unusual nor note-worthy, in and of itself. But it became especially irksome to me when the discussion turned to the Liberals standard fallback position: an outraged accusation of my alleged violation of the Constitutions ironclad requirement for the "Separation of Church and State."

Over the years I have appreciated and admired what Billy Graham has stood for and against. His integrity has been near perfect. When most evangelists have slipped or stuck their foot in their mouth Billy Graham has stood on the Word of God, without wavering.

During the past six decades, his message of Jesus Christ has been heard by over 210 million in 185 countries. He has been counsel to presidents, a passionate evangelist, a loving husband, and a caring father.

By Michael M. Bates
Thursday, June 30, 2005

This week the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on government displays of the Ten Commandments. Apparently some of the justices have enrolled in the John Kerry School of Advanced Nuance and Nonsense. Displaying the Ten Commandments outside the Texas state capitol is OK, but displaying them inside Kentucky courthouses isnt.

For those of you who thought that The Bill of Rights enshrined a series of 10 basic human rights, think again. On June 23 the Supreme Court of the United States in a split landmark ruling decided that the Fifth Amendment of the U. S. Constitution didnt really guarantee the citizens the right not to be deprived of their private property without just compensation. Justices Stevens, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg and Breyer all found that what the founders of the nation really meant by the Fifth Amendment was that you were guaranteed the right not to have your private property seized under Eminent Domain without just compensation, unless the government saw that it could generate more tax money by kicking you off your land and selling it to a developer.

"You're In Good Hands With Allstate" is there motto. Sounds like a great place to be, right? Wrong.

In the now-famous Scopes trial of 1925, the American Civil Liberties Union defended the teaching of evolution in public schools. True educational freedom, Clarence Darrow argued, requires the teaching of both theistic and naturalistic versions of origin. Any person with a well-rounded education should know the differing views on something as important as the most basic question in the universe.

By John Lawrence
Saturday June 25, 2005

While I mean to write mostly about Canadian issues,  my enemy is liberalism, and it resides not just in our country. It is pervasive and has a tendency of spreading like any other virus. Like it or not, ours and our neighbour's destinies have been intertwined for a long time.

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