Lutheran action goes wrong way
Re: “New Lutheran group to form,” Saturday, Aug. 28.
It was last summer that “delegates for The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted to allow non-celibate gay and lesbian pastors.” That seems strange to me in view of the fact that such a move would certainly nullify any other effort whatsoever to live by the Word of God.
Most important, personal freedom and choices will always win unless we Christians learn that worship, Bible knowledge, faith, obedience, and Christian fellowship are what provide the basics to a peaceful, joyful, and worthwhile Christian life.
MERILYN HALL
Lookout Mountain, Ga.
Bring ‘Monty’ to comic page
A recent letter to the Times Free Press criticized the value of certain comic strips, namely: “Pearls Before Swine,” “Pooch Cafe,” “Get Fuzzy,” and “Mother Goose & Grimm.” I agree with the gentleman, although, I would have included two other candidates for cancellation: “Frank & Ernest” and “Baby Blues.”
Those of us who appreciate comic strips would like to see the addition of a better offering. For example: “Crankshaft” and “Peanuts.” For that matter, the best comic, in my opinion, is buried in the classified section, “Monty”! Let’s bring “Monty” to the comic page where he belongs.
TOM RANDALL
Calhoun, Ga.
Board members show arrogance
What does arrogant mean?
Exaggerate one’s own worth or importance in an overbearing manner.
Example: School Board members Chip Baker, Janice Boydston, Linda Mosley and George Ricks.
SUE O. SCOTT
Signal Mountain
Bishop deserves utmost respect
Your story (Aug. 24) incorrectly refers to William Casey as “Father” Casey and clergyman as if he is an active priest. Most Reverend Richard F. Stika, bishop of the diocese of Knoxville, acted immediately upon learning of the disturbing charges leveled by Mr. Warren Tucker against the man. (See the article “Former St. John Neumann priest charged Monday,” April 22.)
Bishop Stika conveyed Mr. Casey’s acknowledgement of the accusations and said that he would no longer be referred to as a priest and would no longer be allowed to wear the collar. Bishop Stika also commented on the courage of Mr. Tucker for breaking his decades of painful silence, asked other victims to do the same, and expressed the profound sorrow felt throughout our diocese for his victimization.
Bishop Stika deserves our utmost respect when he is addressed in person or in print or other media, by Catholics and non-Catholics alike, especially for the strength and immediacy of his actions.
We empathize with Mr. Tucker’s anguish at Mr. Casey’s weakness, failing to acknowledge his guilt during the Virginia arraignment. Like our bishop and our diocese, we pray for both victim and perpetrator.
ISABELLA VON MEMMINGEN
Beck, Palin insult our intelligence
Glenn Beck’s speech at the Lincoln Memorial called for spiritual awakening to solve problems of unemployment, crime, deficits, etc.
We lead in prayer and church attendance, but these problems somehow stubbornly persist.
Beck and Palin insult our intelligence with the use of buzz words. God, freedom, Constitution, guns and somehow everything will be OK. And they and supporters want insurance companies and banks to rule in lieu of financial and health reform.
Not only are they ignorant, they’re just plain mean, selfish and insult our intelligence with empty sound bites.
The Republicans are all about business overriding what should be rights of ordinary citizens and the public well-being.
Roosevelt, a Democrat, once employed the unemployed the private sector refused to hire, to build dams so that we could enjoy a city not flooded every few years.
And ironically, Abraham Lincoln was an agnostic. But Glenn Beck made his boss, Rupert Murdoch, an Australian billionaire, happy as he, Murdoch and Fox News continue to mesmerize the public.
JOHN F. EARY
Ringgold, Ga.
Economic justice for all is necessary
For 5,000 years, the sun and moon symbolized enlightenment, wisdom, justice and compassion for the downtrodden. Priests ruled lunar religions. Secular kings ruled solar religions. For 4,000 years, priests and kings competed for power and perverted justice and wisdom.
During the Age of Reason, or “Enlightenment,” great thinkers influenced by earlier Christian reformers considered liberty, democracy and reason as the primary values of civilization. Franklin, Jefferson and Madison, products of “The Enlightenment,” enunciated these noble ideals in America’s founding documents. The radical result was the world’s first government of, by, and for the people, religious tolerance and separation of church and state. Unique in history, 50 states remain united and at peace with each other.
The sun rules the day. The moon rules darkness. Creation, therefore, separates religious and secular; but perfect justice should be their common goal. Messianic instruction revolved around justice and equality. Jesus condemned only religious leaders and aristocrats. Can we not discern the Creator’s design?
The Constitution is a magnificent instrument; but its spirit gives it life. Civilizations fail because governing classes choose darkness and lead nations to political and economic chaos. Without economic justice for all, there is no justice! The Constitution is meaningless.
RICHARD D. VICKREY
Mayor tone-deaf toward the voters
Mayor Ron Littlefield’s baseless accusation that his political detractors are somehow un-Christian and anti-Jesus is vindictive and just plain wrong.
People aren’t asking for his ouster because he is a bad man; they want him out because they think he has mismanaged our city’s government.
He may indeed be the world’s greatest father, husband and friend, but many of his constituents feel he has done a lousy job running our city.
His accusations demonstrate his continued political tone-deafness when it comes to this city’s voters.
Once again, Mr. Littlefield seems to have forgotten the cardinal rule of public service — he works for us, not the other way around.
LISA S. STRAIT
Put police focus on the crimes
Chattanooga is becoming what Chicago was in the ’30s and ’40s. Our police department should focus more on crime than speeders on 153.
TOM GARDNER
Hixson
Bible’s teachings seem confusing
I enjoy reading the Christians’ letters about God condemning homosexuality that seem to appear once a week in this newspaper. However, I have a few questions about the Bible and its teachings.
Leviticus 18:22 states that homosexuality is an abomination. But Leviticus 25:44 states that I can possess slaves from neighboring nations. Exodus 21:7 states that I can sell my daughter into slavery. Again, in Leviticus, 11:10, it is also an abomination to eat shellfish. Exodus 35:2 clearly states that anyone working on the Sabbath should be put to death.
How can Christians pick and choose what is an abomination or sin, based on the Bible? So slavery was good in biblical times but not now? But homosexuality is still bad? Why?
By the way, touching a dead pig makes a person unclean (Leviticus 11), so no football this weekend for Christians.
PAT HAGAN
Mr. Eary, "mesmerize the public" as obama did during the campaign with flowery, empty speeches with the meaningless buzz words/slogans "yes we can" and "hope and change"? beck and palin are who they are, and people like their message because freedom is at it's core. obama lied about who he is. he, with the help of the media who did everything they can to downplay his history, took advantage of a celebrity obsessed electorate caught napping. now, after nearly two years, obama and the liberals have no where to hide. only you libs would label God, consitituion and freedom as "buzz words". "overriding the rights of citizens"...you mean like forcing people to buy health insurance or face prison or steep financial penalties? guess you liberals have a different definition of freedom.
The big difference between christians and muslims is the Muslims still hold to the teachings of Leviticus and Christians have adopted the cafeteria style approach to their 'religion'.
mr, vickrey. economic justice like allowing hard working citizens to keep as much of the money they earn and non-confiscatory tax rates? mans' desire to control his fellow man by limitiing freedom, whether it's spriitually, financially, economically or any other way has always been the curse of thegoverning classes throughout history. socialism, communism, totalitarianism, monarchial states...it's all the same. obama and the liberals dominatiing our government are as distant from our enlightened founding fathers as they could be. jesus also condened greed and there is no greedier entity right now than our bloated, freedom killing, job killing federal government. obama's private sector bad, governement great philosophy, along with his obvious disdain for the citizenry to control its own destiny, doesn't work under the moon, sun or stars.
mayor littlefield pushing for a 33% tax increase is like kicking someone when they're down. he deserves all the grief he's getting. he's not displaying the one thing the citizenry crave in a "public ser- vant"... empathy.
Speeding kills a lot more people than political corruption, Mr. Gardner. It would be great if we could just get the cops to quit speeding.
obama, pelosi, ried, ramsey, littlefield..etc..etc..etc...they've all forgotten that they work for us. power to the people. i say. let us keep 100% of our income. we do the work, the money is ours. we'll pay the taxes we need to pay..roads, police, firefighters..the basics, the necessities...but we don't exist to make beurocrats and politiicians wealthy, secure for life and pampered with obsence beneifits and "health" packages. triple the pay of our men and women in the military. the avearge federal worker makes 2 or three times more than what someone in the private sector gets. disgusting.
when police are sent out with the express purpose, at a specific time, to collect more tickets for "speeding" or seat belt "violation" in order to boost revenue, that is corruption. that's another example of how government looks at the citizenry as simply a source of revenue.
there's more of a chance that a baby will be aborted in this country than will be killed on highway by speeding. but that doesn't seem to bother liberals.
"Not only are they ignorant, they’re just plain mean, selfish and insult our intelligence with empty sound bites".
So prove where you heard these 'mean' words and what were they? Man, how the Left does lie.
Since when is God, freedom and the Constitution "buzz words", except to a Disjointed Leftist thinker? Lately, in the NYC mosque scandal, the Left has been co-opting and using those 'buzz words', esp. "constitutional rights".
Newsflash Bub. Elohim, the Lord of Israel, Liberty and sacred Law have been around a long, long time. That's because He invented them. Despite your disregard for historical Truth, who the Founders were and what they believed, the Truth and it's twin, Justice-WILL march on. With or without the likes of you guys. Glenn and Sarah are just reminding America. And it comes from their hearts, not their Agenda. Unlike what comes from your heart and mind. We don't wanna go there, do we?
Isabella, with all due respect to your Bishop and all the leaders in the Catholic Church since its inception: Mr. Casey did not have a "weakness" in his soul. He sinned and sinned terribly against little children. Now and upon his death, Casey will stand before the Judge and plead his case.
Neither your church, nor any man-made institution, nor any 'religion' is like the Rock of Ages, He whom all Truth and Wisdom is inherent and built upon. Neither Peter, his disciple, a mere man, nor any pope or bishop made the heavens and the earth and no man can save us. We are weak, yes, but He is strong. Casey needs to repent and accept his punishment, then he will be forgiven. The Word is our first and our last refuge, the sole arbiter of justice. Never mind the words of mere men and women. They hate and despise the truth. When we're all dead and gone, the Word of Truth, He Who saves will still be standing.
richard vickery, you and Jim Wallis, Obama's Marxist "spiritual advisor" sound like twin pillars of the Progressive-Marxist Social Justice School of Thought. Your 'reading' of the Word of the Lord and Biblical history is way off bub.
Your thoughts are all 'a-tangled up. Up there with ancient paganism, not pure Christianity and scriptural Truth. Jesus condemned sin, no matter the person, rich or poor. Upon true repentance, He forgave the Sinner. Which is all of us.
Marx espoused your "social justice" and take from the rich, redistribute to the poor-by 'benevolent', elitist Gov'ts. Jesus sanctioned neither Government sinning nor Gov't grabbing of other's monies and property. Jesus asked us to obey our rulers, render to them what is theirs, and promised that "vengeance will be His". That would be the point at the end of His talks with His disciples, telling them He will come back and set up His own Gov't and it WILL be good. Sounds to me that he didn't have much use for human Government or rule by the arrogant ones.
By then, we'll all be so sick of Karl's and Joseph's and Mao's and Fidel's and Hugo's and Obama's 'idea' of what constitutes justice and governing on earth, I imagine we'll about fly outta here, huh Bub?
random musings:
Mr. Gardner, I agree with crime focus, but speeders (mostly on Highways, drunk and at 2:00 am when no police are anywhere to be found) kill too. My concern is that police and their unconstitutional camera vans pop up in 15 mph school zones at 7:30 am when commuters, who are not speeding, need to get to work on time. Workers would appreciate travelling to work at the equally safe speed of 25 mph, especially when there's nary a kid crossing a street and when the traffic nazi gets all excited by his moment of power and 15 minutes of fame, lets every vehicle pass except yours. Leaving an hour early just doesn't cut it, when our roads by 6:00 am are littered with dead animals, broken booze bottles and where were the camera vans when all that was occurring? Sounds like upside down logic to me. Or the easy way to more moolah.
Pat Hagan, tsk, tsk. You sound like a familiar, baiting Atheist poster we have here. You guys always love to shove Leviticus at us, doncha? No context, no understanding of History, whaddidya expect? There's a reason it's called the "ancient" covenant and a reason why our Messiah came, suffered and died, then rose again, all documented by thousands of witnesses, to give credence, not lies, to the Law, the Prophets and to do away with that traditional, ritual part of the law. He did NOT do away with the Mosaic Law, the Laws set in motion by our Creator (Elohim-plural=Father, Son/Flesh, Spirit), He fulfilled or completed Scripture. That's why His Spirit given to the first, Jewish Believers, like Sha'ul (Paul), continued to teach and guide them as He does to this day. New Covenant, same Word made Flesh, makes for the new person.
No matter how you cut it, atheist or not, our Creator made man and woman to have sex, reproduce children through and with all the correctly given body parts AND to form a family/monogamous unit, to honor Him and keep His commandments, in order to have blessed lives. Simple for us to comprehend, difficult for the unbelieving mind.
Bottom line, if certain folks want to have sodomic relations and use their bodies for purposes not intended, that is their choice. If you or they do not like what our Creator has to say about it down through the ages, take it up with Him, now or later or never. Your call and your choice. If you're life convicts you or your sorrow does, take it up with Him.
All the other details that occurred and were sometimes necessary in order to preserve the species and the Tribe, (recommended reading: studies on preservation of early humans through inter-family breeding in comparison with similar occurrences like incest today and why it produces different results-DNA and gene studies are revealing) are a moot point nowadays, like pork being "unclean". It's still not smart (and not recommended) to eat certain foods due to bacteria/salmonella/possible stomach problems, yet Jesus Himself did not forbid eating anything because He knew many Gentiles would come to believe in Him through the Ages and their eating habits were not the main concern, their salvation and the state of their souls was.
If your modus is to bait like an atheist, that's your problem, the words above will fall on deaf ears anyway and those who will hear, will hear.
Sin of Sodom was inhospitality well over any particular sexual practice they may have condoned. Raping people and refusing to give them courtesy is much worse a "sin" than having anal intercourse
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