The Pledge of Allegiance

[Laser Link]

So uh, religion. I say religion is just man's way of deciding what God, or Nature, or whatever deity (or the lack of) likes.

Good stuff.

So if they take "under God" out of the pledge, what happens if you say it anyway? You'll probably get suspended or expelled. So in order to protect someone's rights you destroy someone elses. Why don't we just officially proclaim ourselves to be a wishy washy, arrogant country and get it over with. If you believe in anything you are a hateful, untolerant bigot. I would rather have our country turn away from God completely than to perform this disgusting dance. It's better to be hot or cold than lukewarm, trust me on that. Things will turn around eventually, but I don't know how far down we will sink before it happens.

Either way, I'm going to send my kids to a Christian school. I'll pay up the ying yang for it- but my kids will get a much better education and the many benefits greatly outweigh the monetary cost. Thankfully, because CS makes a lot of money, I will probably be in a position to do this, but I know a lot of people who can't afford to pay for their kids to attend 2 schools at the same time.

Christians are like the Borg sometimes. We absorb other culture's uniqueness into our own.

Well, the only real Christian culture would be Jewish, right? Jesus was a Jew, and he followed the Jewish celebrations such as Passover. But he taught that it's not about what you do, where you live, or what culture you have. I'm going to go off on a bit of a tangent here, and this is not directed at DJ. I'm just taking the opportunity... Most likely I will kill the topic, that usually happens whenever I post something like this. But this is too important.

What people usually think of as Christianity is just Western culture religion. And look at WhiteFleck's quote to see what I think about religion. Religion is a way to make rules that hold people down in continual condemnation. Religion says that if you are good enough you can be saved. Religion is changed and warped to defend evil actions by evil people. Horrible atrocities have been committed in Jesus' name by people wanting some way to justify their actions. They claimed his name but in fact never knew him.

Jesus was a rebel. Jesus would probably not be allowed in many churches today. The Jewish leaders were hypocrytes who lorded their power and position over everyone else. They were judgemental, condemning, and corrupt. Sound familiar? I know that's exactly how people think of Christians today. And you know, it's not an unfounded observation. Jesus, on the other hand, served the rejects and outcasts. He befriended the drunkards, prostitutes and other "evil sinners". He cared about and loved them when nobody else did. Who needs a doctor, someone who is sick or someone who is healthy? Who needs love more than someone who is alone and broken? These people were not good enough to be loved even by their neighbors. But God loved them anyway. No one is good enough- we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, who is perfect. But it doesn't matter because God loves us and died for us anyway.

For this to make sense you have to understand that God is like a father. I know almost none of us have kids, but this will make sense when you do. Try to imagine though. When you are holding your newborn for the first time, you will love that baby more than you ever knew you could love. You would be willing to give your life for your kid instantly. And what has this baby done for you to earn your love? Absolutely nothing. But you won't care about pesky little details like that- because this is your baby. That's the way God sees us. All he wants is to have a relationship with us. All he wants is to save us from the trouble, pain, and sorrow we get ourselves into. And he wanted it so much that he left paradise behind, lived on this screwed up planet for 33 years going through all the pain that we go through, and eventually even died a horible death. All just so he could fill that emptiness in your heart. All just so he could love us. That, my friend's, is what this is all about.