They printed my ltte today. I already got one phone call.

[knitter4democracy]

Thank goodness we're not published in the book, or I could look forward to some nasty phone calls from the right-wing Christians.

Christianity is faith of peace, mercy, love
I am consistently amazed at the letters in our paper blaming non-Christians, weak Christians or Christians of a different sort for whatever seems to be ailing our city or nation at that moment. They always say that it's because our Supreme Court, rightfully so, banned corporate prayer in schools. Of course, these writers never say which prayers they would like back in schools, which kind of prayer, when even Christians cannot agree on which prayers we can all pray together, let alone when we add students and teachers of other faiths into the mix.

Having God's name on our money does not make us a Christian nation. Forcing non-Christians to falsely bow to our God does not make us a Christian nation. Blaming our society's problems or the unChristian war we are waging on weak Christians or different Christians or on non-Christians - none of these make us a Christian nation.

A Christian nation would be one made up of New Testament Christians - people committed to Christ's teachings, to the two greatest commandments and the Beatitudes, keeping in mind the Seven Woes and praying for mercy. The United States has never been that. We enslaved fellow human beings and treated them like things, we murdered millions of people just because they didn't look like us and happened to be on the land we wanted. Now we're in a war that many warned us would be bad, that many prayed and marched against, that many saw would be the civil war/quagmire it is today - how is that Christian? Bombing our enemies we're supposed to love? How is any of that Christian?

Our Christian faith is one of peace, mercy and love. Please stop telling people it is one of judgment, anger, and hatred.

K4D,

Battle Creek

Here's the link, just in case you want to read the other letters.
http://battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?aid=/20070507/opinion03/705070312/1014/opinion&GID=o1Tcrvj5hAER59/KHzDTquzyVtzTTlIHDPTczbqO6pA%3D

[peacebird]

1. beautifully put, k4d! k&r!

[liberaldemocrat7]

55. I do not consider Republicans, Christians.

From what little I "know" of Christianity Republicans do not appear to act very Christian. They do not act kind to the poor, the disabled, the retired, the unemployed seeking work and those in need. I hear the myriad of excuses that they do not want government to help these people.

[liberal N proud]

2. Just curious, What was the reaction of the phone call?

[knitter4democracy]

4. He's a friend from the county Dems. He liked it.

I'm only allowed one ltte per month (that's the rule the editor set down for those of us who write regularly), and it always gets in. You wouldn't believe some of the racist, scary crap that gets in, and I think they print some of it to show people just how scary it can be. Hubby usually has patients and the nurses tell him they like my letters, too, which is nice. :)

[SnowCritter]

56. Really nice letter

Actually, I *would* believe some of the stuff that gets printed. Our local paper suffers the same ills. Really makes me worry at times.

[JNelson6563]

3. Nice letter.

Well done. I hope you get lots of calls of support. This atheist applauds your eloquent efforts.

Julie

[knitter4democracy]

7. Thank you. That means a lot to me.

I am always trying to respect everyone of all faiths and no faith. I stumble on that, I'm sure, but I want people to tell me when I screw up so I can learn to be better. I hope it said what needed to be said.

[TlalocW]

5. I went unlisted after my first letter to the editor

To the Tulsa World back in 1998. Our then senator Don Nickels had made a speech in which he blamed Ruby Ridge on Clinton. I wrote in expressing my amazement at how Ruby Ridge was Clinton's fault since that happened when Bush senior was still in office back in 1991 and suggested that Don might check up on recent history in the future so he doesn't come off as a partisan jerk. For whatever reason that letter pissed off a white supremacy group in Catoosa (small town northeast of Tulsa), who sent me their quarterly newsletter with things like, "I bet you love Hillary," and "You probably want to take our guns away."

TlalocW

[knitter4democracy]

9. Wow. That's scary.

:shudder:

That was before so much info was available on-line, too. Eek. I did have one creepy phone call after my first ltte in Cleveland, so when we moved up here and Hubby started residency, we got an unpublished number.

[TlalocW]

11. Actually, it was kind of funny

In high school, I had done my senior research project on the resurgence of white supremacy groups, and I remember theirs (can't remember the name now) are primarily composed of fat redneck bubbas who like to go into the woods and drink and shoot their beer cans and are waiting for a race war that they can get in on the tail end of after most of the fighting is over.

A college friend of mine in Chicago who also happened to do his senior research project on almost the same subject says that the group apparently has a church there, and he went and sat on a park bench across from them when they were having Tom Metzger (big name in white supremacy) speak on an outdoor stage. They then had a picnic on the church lawn where the adults primarily imbibed... Coronas.

He said he was knocked off the bench by the wave of irony that swept forth from them.

TlalocW

[knitter4democracy]

23. Coronas? That's funny!

:rofl:

That is seriously funny. TO paraphrase John Stewart, because the RWers can't do anything that isn't ironic.

[Emit]

6. You received a phone call?

Was it from a supporter or someone complaining? How'd they get your number? Just curious. I once looked up a man's phone number in response to a similar letter he had written (same subject) -- he was a New Age minister, and I enjoyed his letter so much I called to tell him so. We never met, even though we lived in the same town for a year; but, we kept in touch via phone and email. He has since moved and we lost touch, sadly. Nice letter, K4D.

[knitter4democracy]

8. See above. He's a friend.

Our number is unpublished (Hubby's a local internist, and the phone would never stop ringing if people knew our number).

[AndyA]

10. Great letter. I'm always surprised at how many intelligent people fall for the

Christian thing.

Whenever Christianity comes up in a conversation, I always comment how they all must be reading a different Bible than the one I've seen.

Hatred, judging others, hyposcrisy, condemnation, waging wars, etc., are all traits my Bible forbids. I wonder how they all think they're going to get into Heaven... :eyes:

[kestrel91316]

14. Hey, as long as they say the Magic Jesus Words (TM) they don't need to

worry about such petty trivialities as "works".

I accept Jesus Christ as my personal savior.

There - I said it. Guaranteed ticket to heaven. Now I think I'll go spit on an elderly homeless person on my way to robbing a bank.

[knitter4democracy]

24. Most don't go that far.

Yeah, some churches do, but they obviously ignore the entire epistle of Timothy that says that faith without works is dead. It's kind of fun to egg them on on that, actually. :evilgrin:

[Bluerthanblue]

33. also have to ignore this critical passage where the "judgement"

commeth:

"When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. And here's why:

I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.'

"Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.'
(from Matt.25 The Message version)

Great letter Knitter4democracy-
i agree with you.

peace,
blu

[knitter4democracy]

40. I pray over that one every day.

In our version of Christianity, we put an emphasis on mercy and praying for mercy. That verse grounds me and reminds me that judgement is not mine and that I need mercy.

[Ghost in the Machine]

34. Don't forget to kick a kitty and smack a stray dog before you spit on that

homeless person. :sarcasm: <<<--- did I NEED that???

:hi: Hiya kestrel!

[NCarolinawoman]

12. That's a wonderful letter. I will be printing it and sending it to friends.

I hope that's okay. I know of a lot of people who will appreciate it; including a minister who was very much against this war. Than you.

[knitter4democracy]

25. That's so nice! Yes, of course!

Oh my, I didn't think it was that good. In reading it over again, I'm not sure it's very clearly written at all. :blush:

[NanceGreggs]

13. Wonderful letter!!!

:applause:

[knitter4democracy]

27. High praise coming from you.

Thank you! I'm all blushing now. :blush:

[Gregorian]

15. Thanks. You speak my mind.

And don't even mention what we would have done after September 11th. Even I have a bit of trouble with that one. But I would have tried. I would have at least asked questions.

Love they enemy.

It's great to see you putting your thoughts into the public. I learn so much here. Thank you.

By the way, I met a guy on my bike rides who makes knitting needles. If you are at all interested, here's his website.

brittanyneedles.com

[knitter4democracy]

28. You met him?! He's like a god in knitting circles!

Many of us are major devotees of his needles. They were the only Christmas present I got one year, an entire set of the double points. I love them. :D If you run into him again, tell him we need those circulars! *giggle* You met him . . . *sigh*

[Gregorian]

36. Yep. We ride bikes together.

We're both mechanical engineers. I just moved to this area, and we bumped into each other on the trails. Last time we rode he mentioned some new thing he's working on. It was the circular thing. He's been setting up his machines to work on some kind of fixtures.

Hey, the guy is 65 and can ride a bike like a 20 year old. I'm impressed.

OK, I just called him, and he was really thrilled to hear about your words. And he IS working on the cirulars. So it shouldn't be too long.


:)

[knitter4democracy]

41. Ahhhhh! That's soooo freakin' awesome!!

Oh man, I will have to go out and get a complete set when he gets them in the shops. I luuuuuurrrrrve his needles! You can tell him I said that, too. :D I'm totally freakin' out over here!

[rosesaylavee]

16. Great letter!

Esp liked: "...these writers never say which prayers they would like back in schools, which kind of prayer, when even Christians cannot agree on which prayers we can all pray together..."

I have run across some fundamentalist Christians who **don't** want prayer in schools just because they know they wouldn't agree on which ones to say. The one woman I spoke to about this specifically said she felt that there was nothing stopping her children from praying to themselves in school now and she wished to have them pray at home as a family. She didn't want a teacher deciding for her children what was important spiritually.

[knitter4democracy]

31. She's smart.

What if her daughter's teacher was a Mormon or me, an Eastern Orthodox Christian who taught her the Triodion for the day. Frankly, one of the reasons we're pulling our kids out of the Catholic school this year is because of the differences starting to mess with our kids' heads and wanting to keep it in the home. Don't get me started, though, on her teacher trying to poison my daughter's mind on that. Grrrr!

[Blue Diadem]

17. I love your letter!

K4D, you said it all so perfectly.

Your letter actually brought tears to my eyes. It speaks to how my family and I have felt for so long that we've stayed away from church for a very long time.

Thank you for writing it.

[FloridaJudy]

18. Good job

BTW, have you checked out Sojourners (http://www.sojo.net/)? I'm not a Christian myself, but I love the way these people think.

[knitter4democracy]

29. I used their info in the 2004 election. I think the world of them.

Their report on abortion and how it had gone up under Bush actually helped me sway a few voters. :)

[Cabcere]

19. Excellent LTTE, knitter4democracy!

:thumbsup: Beautifully put. K&R for you, my friend!

[laylah]

20. I am impressed!

Excellent job, k4d! Keep up the good work.

[Jax]

21. This made my day! Outstanding!

I really needed to read something like this here today knniter4democracy, you have made my day!

Thank you for mentioning the Beatitudes in your letter, the attack Christians I know have no idea what those words of Jesus said and they have no clue what they mean.

If they really read them they would see that Jesus was a liberal!

:thumbsup: :yourock:

Alyce

[Straight Shooter]

22. Excellent letter.

But you make too much sense. The Talibornagains and NeoChristites demand that you recant. :P

[knitter4democracy]

30. Neverrrr! Arrr!

Sorry, in a pirate mood today. :)

[wicket]

26. Well done!

:yourock:

[AuntPatsy]

32. Your brave, I know of those you speak I swear, I have been told

by supposed christians that we should simply bomb the middle east because they are wicked, can you believe such ignorance? To wipe out a whole civilization because of some being evil? It doesnt matter to some, they care about their own lives and simply ignore how unchrist like such talk is, ,usual response is to ask this question...

Do you believe in God...

I always get the of course..

I then ask, do you believe we are God's children?

Again, I get a yes...

I then ask why you believe those in the middle east are not God's children also and deserve death without even a trial base on supersticious fears ..

I get the standard Faux talking points, they want to kill us, by this time they are getting angry...

I then ask do you reall know this? and immediately ask "do you think God is an American and therefore doesnt care about any other nations people..

They ususal rail at me or walk away..

sad

[knitter4democracy]

42. I ask them if they know that there are Christians over there.

It really blows their minds. When they start to say that they're not the right kind of Christian, I ask them if they've read the Book of Life. That usually makes them start stuttering. :evilgrin: Yeah, I went to an evangelical college and learned all the dirty tricks. :)

[tenshi816]

35. Beautiful letter, so well put. Good on you, K4D. n/t

[Rainscents]

37. What I don't get is...

We (America) suppose to be Christian Nation, why do we hate so much? I just don't get it!

[knitter4democracy]

43. That gets me, too.

Perfect love casts out fear, yes? Hmmm.

[Dystopian]

38. Beautiful....K&R...thank you.....

peace~

[L0oniX]

39. I am not a christian ...I believe in God and the Grace of Jesus the messiah

I won't be aligned with these people who call themselves christian. I read and study the bible and I don't listen to these liars who call themselves a minister or priest or reverend. All they care about is getting your money for their big fat church while you pay for their sons and daughters to go to college and drive new cars. They are deceivers who work to control your mind so they can have power over you. Ever wonder why there are all these churches who all claim to have the right understanding? They are Babylon the mystery religion who fornicate with the world. They claim that if you are good then God will make you rich. What a bunch of lies. I believe in the real God and I don't worship a nation or its flag. I am an earthling, not an american. I pledge no elegance to any country but only to God. This country is a nation of liars and thieves and its no wonder that we are called the great satan because satan is the father of the lie. Who ever said you have to be called a christian if you believe in God? The bible doesn't say that! These fakes don't even read the bible, they just listen to the liars who preach at their church. I could go on but what's it worth? No one gives a crap.

:grr:

[poverlay]

44. Only the choir Loonix. We give a crap. We so appreciate knowing that we are not alone. I know

that me standing next to you with a squirt bottle doesn't seem too great when the whole world is on fire, but honestly, it's a REALLY BIG squirt bottle.

So...

Thanks
P.

[CoffeeCat]

45. Holey Toledo!

That was the BEST...just absolutely THE BEST!!!

You rock. You roll.

Thanks for sharing that with us. What a stunning, articulate, spot-on LTTE.

Rock on! :)

[buddysmellgood]

46. You nailed it. I can't fathom why members of my family are so "Catholic" and

vote for Republicans. I doesn't wash.

[SusanaMontana41]

47. Good job!

I work for a newspaper and am one of only about three liberals in the newsroom (so much for a "liberal" press). I have to read some of the most vile columns and editorials written by people with whom I work. Your letter would be a welcome change. :-)

[fortyfeetunder]

48. Praise the Lord! Smackdown!

You have said the words of many.

:yourock:

[AJ9000]

49. Oh my.

[Hekate]

50. That's an excellent letter. I hope you get a lot of nice phone calls. nt

[Divine Discontent]

51. I signed in...

just to tell you that :yourock:

www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable <<-- check it out, top '08 stuff

[Beer Snob-50]

52. Great Letter!

YOu have said eloquently what bothers me about those that try to hijack my Catholic faith.

BTW, i have never gotten phone calls about my LTTE but there is one older gentlemen in my area who will send me lists in the mail of all of bill clintons faults whenever my letters get printed.

[knitter4democracy]

60. Really? Does he put a return addy on his letters?

It would be fun to send back a list of all of W's faults. :) I'm sure there's a list around here somewhere.

[Beer Snob-50]

63. Oh yes, he leaves all that info

I have been asked very nicely by my wife not to engage this guy.

[knitter4democracy]

64. She's probably right on that.

It is fun to think about, though. :)

[Chemical Bill]

53. Great letter. n/t

[RobertDevereaux]

54. If you're a home owner, chances are...

...people can find out where you live.

I don't mean to be alarmist, but if your county is like ours, going online to the assessor's office will bring you to a program where you can enter a person's name, for example, and pull up his or her address, see sales data, all of that.

No phone number, but still, a crazy could find you that way.

Ain't paranoia grand? :^)

[knitter4democracy]

61. Well, they know where Hubby works.

His boss had a ltte in the paper today thanking everyone for help in their recent office fire (boy, was that a hassle). It's not like there are any other families in the area with our last name, either. So yeah, it wouldn't be impossible to find us. Still, it helps to have a layer of protection.

[GoneOffShore]

57. Excellent letter. Well done!

This atheist thanks you.

[BlueJac]

58. Lord.....

Please protect me from your followers.

[Blue Diadem]

59. It's been years since I used that prayer, we used to use it a lot where I worked.

They held bible studies in our conference room for the born again males. I don't recall ever seeing a female enter that room during those times. It was at a giant retail store back in the 80's. Some of those guys were just awful..some of the worst for sexual harassment. Bible in one hand and grabbing us females with the other. They claimed they lived by a different set of bible laws since they were born again and it was only normal that they'd backslide..but they'd be automatically forgiven.

[knitter4democracy]

62. They didn't know the Bible they were reading, then.

I always say to those kind of Christian, "Many are they who will say to me, 'Lord, Lord,' and will not enter into the kingdom of Heaven." They know where it's from in the book of St. Matthew. ;)