Thursday, December 20, 2012

ANOTHER QUESTION FOR JESSICA AHLQUIST

I pose yet another question for Jessica Ahlquist, the teen atheist who, unfortunately, yet successfully (with the help of the so-called Freedom from Religion Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Deprivation Union) had a half-century-old prayer banner removed from Cranston High School West:

Since you do not believe in God, do you believe in Christmas?  I don't mean the secular sense, like Santa Claus, Rudolph, Frosty, and pals.  I mean the true meaning, you know, the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, that Godhead you denounce by being an atheist?

Do you still get presents under the tree?  The Christmas tree, that is?  Or do you have one of those "holiday trees" like Governor Gump (Lincoln Chafee) has in the State House?  Is there a holiday for atheists in December?  After all, we celebrate Christmas (read: the birth of Jesus Christ).  Our Jewish friends (yes, I did say "Jewish friends", I have absolutely nothing against Jews, I am not an anti-semite) celebrate Hanukkah.  Even the Muslims (once known as Moslems, at least back in my youth) have Ramadan.

If you're opening packages from under a tree, you are (de facto) celebrating Christmas, aren't you?  You are, whether you know it or not, celebrating the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.  He can be your Savior, too, you know.  He's a very forgiving man (provided, of course, that you reform yourself in a manner prescribed by Christ himself, perhaps denounce your atheist ways).  This is not an ultimatum.  Your friendly neighborhood iSNARK! is just trying to get you to see some light, something that is lacking for those who have no belief.

If you're opening packages from under a tree while still practicing atheism, you have some generous family and or friends.  Or perhaps Christmas to you is just that "holiday" that the retailers keep talking about on TV, encouraging the viewer to do buy their "holiday gifts" at their store (or one of their umpteen hundred stores).

Something to think about.  I will take the liberty anyways to wish you a Merry Christmas (true meaning, that is).  If you convert to Judaism (and I do have Jews as personal friends), then Happy Hanukkah.  However, if you insist on being the non-believer that you are, then TRY to have a nice day.  That may be hard to do without a Savior in your life.  We Christians don't always have nice days, but at least our Savior is there to back us up and bring us back in the right direction.  Direction is something we all need at some point in time, lest we be a spoiled, obnoxious, arrogant being.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum (The peace of the Lord be with you always)
BMP

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

IT'S A PLAIN SHAME!

I've heard of mass murders and terrorist attacks.  But nothing saddens me more than when one sick, twisted, poor excuse for a man manages his way into an elementary school and opens fire on teachers, principals, other staff, and, worst of all, children.  Innocent young first graders who shouldn't have a care in the world, gunned down by some sick terrorist bastard.  Pardon my French, but that is truly how I feel about this man.

Of course, this all happened not before killing his own mother (a substitute teacher at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut) and taking off with three guns that his mother owned, and apparently his brother's ID, since early reports ID'd the killer as Ryan Lanza, the 24-year-old brother of 20-year-old terrorist Adam Lanza.  And to make matters worse, being too chicken-shit to face what he did, he did what any other cowardly murderer would do - kill himself as well.

Think about this now: your typical suicide terrorist would do what?  Hook a bomb on himself, stand in a crowd, take umpteen lives as well as his own.  What did Adam Lanza do?  Opened fire, killed 20 kids, eight adults, and his own sorry tail.  Adam Lanza, to me, folks, is a terrorist, maybe not in the Al Qaeda or Taliban variety, but a terrorist just the same.

As a father of four children, I thank Almighty God that mine are still in one piece.  But with crap like this going on, this really has me thinking, and often worrying, as my youngest child still has 2-1/2 years of high school to go.

It's a plain shame that this could happen in an elementary school, the place that's supposed to be a safe haven for this kids, to learn new things and have some fun!

The following Sunday, some moron thought it would be cute to start a bomb threat during Mass at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, also in Newtown, citing that this person's "friend (Adam Lanza) didn't finish the job".  Any chance these two might had been in cahoots?  After all, these two scumbags could be the new Planned Parenthood, attacking children AND attacking religion (Catholicism in particular).

My prayers go out to the good people of Newtown, the victims of all this senselessness and their families.  No family, and I mean NO family, should ever go through such a horrendous tragedy like this.  I know many of them will find it hard to celebrate Christmas.  I realize many people not even connected these families may feel guilty about celebrating Christmas due to last Friday's events.  If you believe in the true meaning of Christmas, then there should be no problem in celebrating the holy day.  Jesus wants it, of course.  It's the day of his birth.  And these children would want it.

This past Sunday was "Gaudete" Sunday ("Gaudete" is Latin for "Rejoice").  I didn't know whether to think "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" or the "Coventry Carol" (the hymn best used on the feast of the Holy Innocents).  But one verse in the former stands out:

O come, thou Rod of Jesse, free thine own from Satan's tyrrany;
From dephts of hell thy people save, and give them vict'ry o'er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

As awkward as this may be, I have to present a WTF award in this case.  Not to Adam Lanza (I don't give posthumous WTF awards), but to the NBC reporter who approached children outside the day of the tragedy and asking them what they saw.  These kids don't need to be exploited like this.  They've been through a hell of a lot!  Give them a frickin' break!

That, too, is a plain shame, and just cause for the December 2012 WTF award.  Take it and go --- far away.  All the more reason I don't watch much TV, especially mainstream news.

Peace,
BMP