Drastic Times

According to an article in the Kansas City Star, Pastor Steven Anderson of the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona, has been praying for the death of President Obama. In a sermon titled "Why I Hate Obama," Anderson admits that he prays for the president's demise (see the accompanying video - skip to 320 if you don't want to see the introduction). Says Anderson, "If you want to know how I'd like to see Obama die, I'd like him to die of natural causes," said Anderson. "I don't want him to be a martyr, we don't need another holiday. I'd like to see him die, like Ted Kennedy, of brain cancer."

Anderson's message of hatred may have not had the effect that he had intended, for he and his congregation have since received death threats. Yet despite the threats, Anderson's congregation clings to his message.

"If (Obama) thinks the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are obsolete, it would be better if (Obama) wasn't here," said parishioner Renee Houlihan.

Parishioner Christopher Broughton, commenting on Anderson's anti-Obama sermon, said, "I concur, I think we'd be better off if God would send (Obama) where he's going now instead of later," said Broughton. "(Obama) is destroying our country." Broughton, who claims that he moved near Anderson's church because he believed in its message, brought an AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifle outside Obama's speech to the VFW in Phoenix in August.

Not only are Anderson's followers carrying guns to political events, they've now taken to toting their guns back and forth to church to protect themselves from the death threats. Anderson's reaction to all of this was, "Guns are a great deterrent. We haven't had any violence because people know if they come down here swinging a baseball bat, we're ready to protect ourselves."

The US Secret Service claims that they're aware of Anderson's comments, and that an appropriate follow-up will be conducted. Personally, I believe that Anderson is instigating violence, if not murder, and should be locked up for the remainder of Obama's term - possibly longer. This is a dangerous man, inciting the weak-minded to commit an assassination by having them believe that God has ordained it. However, given the narrow-mindedness and violent nature of Anderson's congregation, I would imagine that the Secret Service is reluctant to act unnecessarily.

To go off on a small tangent here, I really think that Pastor Anderson has put the US Government in a rather interesting predicament. Obviously, it's illegal to ask anyone to kill the President of the United States. Anyone who requests such an act of another will be arrested, assuming I would imagine, that the person who is requested to perform the killing is real and capable of such an act. Although I don't know of a precedent, I would imagine however, that should someone simply speak into the air and ask an imaginary being to kill a president, the Secret Service may decline to get involved.

As for God, to those who believe in him he is quite capable of killing. The Bible credits him with over two million killed, and that doesn't even could the Great Deluge, Sodom and Gomorrah, plagues and other unique killing methods that he has supposedly used in the past. Therefore the question is, does the US Government believe God to be real?

Although the US Government claims to be secular, it has certainly done much to indicate its belief in God. Consider the following:

1. Our money says, "In God We Trust."

2. Our Pledge of Allegiance to our flag contains the words, "One Nation Under God."

3. The third verse of our national anthem says, "And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust.'"

4. the words, "Laus Deo" (Latin for "Praise Be To God") are engraved on the Washington Monument, along with several other references to God and Scripture.

5. The US Supreme Court made the statement, "This is a Christian Nation," in its decision in Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States, 1892.

There are other examples as well, including many quotes by our founding fathers and other politicians through Lincoln, Truman, Roosevelt and up to Reagan which not only indicate a personal belief in God, but stating that America is a Christian nation. For example:

1. "Without God there could be no American form of government, nor an American way of life. Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first, the most basic, expression of Americanism. Thus, the founding fathers of America saw it, and thus with God's help, it will continue to be."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

2. "America was born a Christian nation."
- Woodrow Wilson, President

3. "This is a Christian nation."
- Harry Truman, President

And so, if America believes in God, who is capable of killing, then America is obligated to arrest Pastor Anderson for asking God to kill the president. I think that those Americans who believe that America is a Christian nation should demand that Anderson be arrested, for if America takes no action, this would in essence indicate that America denies God's existence.

And for those who don't believe that America is a Christian nation, Anderson's arrest should be demanded nonetheless because he's a manipulative and hateful lunatic.

Four children have been sent home this week from Gainesville Schools for being in violation of the school district's dress code. All of the children involved had been wearing shirts with an anti-Muslim statement, according to an article in the Gainesville Sun.

On their front, the T-shirts had a verse from the Gospel of John: "Jesus answered I am the way and the truth and the life; no one goes to the Father except through me," and this statement, "I stand in trust with Dove Outreach Center." The message "Islam is of the Devil" is on the back of the shirt.

One of the children involved, a 15 year old girl from Gainesville High School, said the decision to wear the shirt had been hers, and not her parents. She said the "devil" statement was aimed at Islam's beliefs and not its followers. She said, "The people are fine. The people are people. They can be saved like anyone else."

It's interesting what this girl had hoped that the believers of Islam could be saved from. Could they be saved from the hatred that her church was trying to spread? A more important question would be whether children who are members of the Dove Outreach Center could be saved from the narrow-minded teachings of their own church.

Although the child was trying to protect her parents in saying the decision was her own, her father showed that he was by no means above ignorant statements of his own, saying that society has grown "so tolerant of being tolerant" that free speech is eroding. In selectively protecting those parts of the Constitution that benefited him at the moment, this student's father apparently forgot that America not only has freedom of speech, but freedom of religion as well.

Some of the blame for the ignorance of the Dove Outreach Center's congregation must be placed with the church's Senior Pastor, Dr. Terry Jones, who said, to him, spreading the church's message was "even more important than education itself." When interviewed about an anti-Muslim sign in front of his church, Dr. Jones said, "The purpose of the sign is to expose Islam for what it is. It is a violent and oppressive religion that is trying to masquerade itself as a religion of peace."

It's my opinion that all organized religions are oppressive. While Islam may have had its share of violence and hypocrisy, Christianity is far from innocent itself. In fact, messages of hatred such as those of the Dove Outreach Center and the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, may place Christianity on the top of the hypocritical list.

Fortunately, the general population of Gainesville does not agree with the Dove Outreach Center's message of hatred, and according to an examiner.com article, they came out in droves to protest the sign.
People of all faiths and backgrounds came out with their own signs such as, "Who Would Jesus Hate?" "Love Thy Neighbor," and "God is Great. Love not Hate." The protesters have pledged to stay there until the sign comes down.

Pastor Eve MacMaster, of the Emmanuel Mennonite Church, said of the crowd of protesters, "I am blessed by these good people. They're great. Secularist, Muslim, Jewish, Christian whatever. This confirms my belief that this is a pretty good place to live."

Although America is a great country, in my opinion it's not quite as great as it could be. This doesn't mean that I don't love the country where I was born and raised - on the contrary. If I didn't love it I'd just move abroad and forget about it. But because I do love it, there are some things that I'd like to see changed to make it better.

Below are just a few of my thoughts as to some of the things wrong with America today. These are just my personal opinions, and I'll probably be adding more later. Please feel free to comment, even if you strongly disagree with me.

Thanks for reading.

1. Lack of a health care system in the USA that covers everyone.

For Congress and the wealthy, health care is not a problem. For the average individual however, health care is usually tied to employment. If the employee loses or changes his or her job, unless the partner is covered, health care for the entire family ends. Even if the new employment offers group insurance, there is a waiting period before it becomes effective and pre-existing conditions are not covered even then, for up to 12 months.

If someone is self-employed or works for a small company which doesn't offer group insurance, private insurance must be purchased. But most private insurance companies won't cover pre-existing conditions, and many policies are too expensive, resulting in the poor having no coverage at all.


Even with insurance, insurance companies can refuse to pay for procedures or medications that doctors deem necessary. The price of deductibles and co-pays can prevent some people with insurance from seeking medical care, not to mention out-of-network charges should an in-network hospital not be available for the care needed. Many Americans are just one medical emergency away from financial ruin.

The United States is the only industrialized nation that does not guarantee access to health care as a right of citizenship. After World War II, the systems of Europe were equalized and modernized, with the resources being more fairly distributed and everyone having access to health care and other programs necessary to a decent standard of living. Consequently most European countries have a better standard of living that does the USA. In America we hold on to our system which causes gross disparities in wealth, and those gross disparities enable those in control of the capital to keep the system in play. In America we still hold to the philosophy that the few have the right to profit from the labors of the many.

Many Americans consider social programs stealing. I however consider unchecked Capitalism stealing. Capitalism when allowed to run wild creates a winner take all situation, with those on the losing end winding up with nothing.

2. The Right To Bear Arms

This Right was written into the American Constitution over 200 years ago to allow citizens to stand up to a tyrannical government. It does not specify limits nor types of weapons that one can bear.

Considering the modern weaponry in the hands of today's military, citizens have no chance of defending themselves in the highly unlikely event that a tyrannical government should use the military for purposes of oppression. This in itself is cause to amend the Constitution. But the fact that no type of weapons was specified has led to the ownership of assault weapons being legal.

While I can see no harm in owning guns for hunting, there is no need for allowing the types and amounts of weapons that are in private hands today. The Constitution, as written, could be construed to allow private ownership of tanks and missiles. And there should be restrictions in place as to where they can be carried. The Texas Senate recently passed legislation allowing guns on university campuses. In my opinion, in addition to guns for hunting, handguns should only be legal for use in clubs or for protection of homes. They should not be allowed to be carried everywhere.

3. Idol Worship

America has an obsession with the lives of the rich and famous. Supermarket checkouts have dozens of magazines which keep us up to date on the lives of our celebrities, informing us of the current status of Brad and Angelina's relationship, or whether or not Paris took her dog to the opening of a new Hollywood Club where she wore her $25,000 dress, or whether Britney or Lindsay was pulled over for drunk driving. All while half of our population is living from paycheck to paycheck.

It seems that as the social fabric of America unwinds, we develop childish fantasies of immortality or ageless beauty, which we see in our celebrities. Americans would do far better to focus on their own lives than a select group of superficial individuals. If parents spent more time worrying about guiding the lives of their own children than following the lives of Brad and Angelina, some of our social problems may start to diminish.

4. Christian Fanaticism

Although most Christians are good and kind people, many have what I would consider fanatical beliefs when it comes to their religion. I'm not only talking about the belief that most Christian have in the words of the Bible, which a large number consider to be an accurate historical account of the world, but also some misguided beliefs such as "a good Christian home will ensure children with good moral values," or that "faith can fix anything," or that "God has a plan for all of our lives. "

Frightening too, is the dedication that many have for their church, even at the expense of their own families. While working as a manager for a large firm in one of the Southern States, I had the opportunity to offer five of my employees a chance to work one Sunday at triple pay. I had one employee who was in financial hardship and was having trouble feeding his family, so I saved one of the positions for him, thinking that he would jump at the chance at extra income. But to my surprise he turned it down, saying that he could not miss church. And on top of this, he "tithed," giving ten percent of his meager income to the church while his children did without. Another time one of my employees told me that his wife was angry at him because he had left her no money at home, and she had lost a chance to buy a blessing from their church.

I know that such extremes are more prevalent in the South, but they do exist elsewhere too, and in my opinion they're disturbing. I believe that those who believe in God would do better to try to form a more personal relationship with him from within their own hearts, then rely solely on the church and its interpretation of the Bible.

An article from last year has reappeared on the BBC News page this week, describing the dismissal of an American lawsuit against God. The article refers to a lawsuit brought against God by a Nebraska Senator by the name of Ernie Chambers.

The lawsuit, originally filed on September 14, 2007, is described in an article from KETV News in Omaha. It states that Senator Chambers filed the lawsuit to prove a point about frivolous lawsuits, saying that anybody can file a lawsuit against anybody -- even God. According to KETV, "the lawsuit admits God goes by all sorts of alias, names, titles and designations and it also recognizes the fact that the defendant is omnipresent."

The lawsuit went on to say that God had caused "calamitous catastrophes resulting in the wide-spread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth’s inhabitants including innocent babes, infants, children, the aged and infirm without mercy or distinction."

The lawsuit asked the court to enter a permanent injunction enjoining God from engaging in the types of deleterious actions and the making of terroristic threats described in the lawsuit.

In my opinion, it's kind of sad that a Senator can waste time (and possibly tax dollars) in filing a lawsuit which he knew would produce no tangible results, save for getting his name in the newspapers. The court, in its defense of accepting the suit, claims that it had no choice, as the Constitution requires that all cases be accepted. However, a few days later, the court showed that it was by no means above acts of stupidity of its own.

According to Action 3 News of Omaha, God, or someone claiming to be God, responded to the lawsuit three days after its filing, saying that as he wasn't served by a deputy, the case should be thrown out.

"A one-page document showed up rather mysteriously at the Douglas County Courthouse yesterday. Everyone there knows about it...no one knows where it came from...and nobody knows what to make of it. At the bottom, the so-called defendant printed his name--God."

This in itself wouldn't be bad, for it shows that someone in the courthouse has a sense of humor. What's frightening here is that some people apparently took it seriously and alerted the media. Action 3 News's article states that Gordon Rieber in the Clerk of the District Court's office told a reporter, "It was on the counter in legal filing yesterday. No one saw it come in. She (an employee) turned her back and there it was. It could have been a miraculous situation."

Defense attorney James Martin Davis volunteered to be a witness. Referring to a heart attack he survived the previous year, he said, "He (God) hasn't called me yet! I knew there was a special reason I was saved. I didn't know it might be to represent God Almighty!" The article made no mention of how Davis could attest on God's behalf that God caused no fear through his numerous killings.

The lawsuit was finally dismissed in February 2008 after sitting on the books for five months. According to the aforementioned BBC News article, A US judge threw the case out, ruling that because God has no address, legal papers cannot be served. Chambers had been considering appealing on the grounds that the court had acknowledged the existence of God and a consequence of that acknowledgement is a recognition of God's omniscience. Said Chambers, "Since God knows everything, God has notice of this lawsuit."

So this brings up the question of what evidence did the court use to acknowledge the existence of God? The fact that his existence cannot be disproved should not be sufficient, just as an inability to disprove guilt does not necessarily prove it. Another question that arises is whether or not it is Nebraska policy to dismiss all cases in which the defendant has no address. Should this be the case, it would open the door for the homeless to go on sprees of raping, pillaging, or whatever suited their fancy.