Thought Quotient

Andy Rooney shames me out of my faith in Christ…

…Or at least that seems to be as logical of an intent behind this story as any.

You know, when I first heard about this, I must admit it kind of made me mad. As I thought about it though, I had to conclude that my salvation and eternity doesn’t rest upon whether Mr. Rooney believes in it or not. Now a few days later I think this story is more sad than anything else. Here is a man that is 85 years old and has spent his whole life not wanting to learn about or be associated with the things of God. Now he is an old man and may not have too many years left. What has he to look forward to after this life?

The theology of Rosie O’Donnell

O’Donnell announced her wedding plans on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” just two days after President Bush called for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

“I find this proposed amendment very, very, very, very shocking. And immoral. And, you know, if civil disobedience is the way to go about change, then I think a lot of people will be going to San Francisco. And I hope they put more people on the steps to marry as many people as show up. And I hope everyone shows up.”

By reading these statements by Rosie O’Donnell, it is obvious that she is strongly opposed to President Bush’s belief on this matter. He is a Christian and it is logical to say he is guided by his faith in God and belief in the Bible as truth and God’s word to mankind.

Now the world and the culture say otherwise. Unfortunately it looks like Rosie has fell into that snare. That is to say that homosexuality is something that we are born with and not a lifestyle choice. In doing so, she is saying that she doesn’t believe the Bible and its clear statements on this behavior as sin. She doesn’t believe that there is a loving God that gave to us His word, that states for us the way we should live our lives, not out of a desire to dictate to us, but because He knows and desires what is best for us…for He created us. She doesn’t believe in a God that gave to us life and gives us the opportunity for eternal life with Him through faith in His son Jesus Christ. In doing so, she doesn’t believe that God wants a relationship with each one of us personally.

Rosie may be ’stunned and horrified’ by the beliefs of President Bush and others, but is God disappointed and saddened when we reject Him and live our lives in disobedience to Him and His word? I say that not just to Rosie, but to myself as well. I must remember the goodness of God and the gift of His son Jesus to bring us back into a right relationship with Him . I must remember that incredible sacrifice and strive to not let sin and the culture come between Him and me.

Passion or Pornography?

Here is a recent critique of The Passion of the Christ

“Passion” — pornography for the whole family?

The reviewer had the following to say:

I’ve struggled since seeing the film to come to terms with what I might have been missing, with how a film like this could be considered spiritually uplifting, enlightening, important. To my mind, it is simply over-the-top violence for its own sake, relentless bloodshed in the interest of shock and revulsion.

It really shouldn’t be surprising to hear this, I suppose. The critic obviously has little understanding or care of the reality of Christ’s death. The spiritual aspect is obvious to anyone who cares to hear or see. The point of the movie is: This happened. It was unjust. Will you accept that it was done for you? Will you accept that it was the only way? Sin is an evil and ugly thing that bears evil and ugly consequences. Will you accept the solution as grotesque as it is?

The reviewer’s remarks remind me of what the Pharisees said and felt when Jesus spoke in the following verses from the Bible:

John 6:51 - 55 “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.“

Christ’s words were no less shocking to the ears of the cultured religious leaders than the images of The Passion to this civilized critic. The fact is: nobody likes to hear about the cost or consequence of their actions but that doesn’t make those costs or consequences go away.

Supreme Court weighs porn, free speech

Once again our legal system is faced with the question of whether or not are children are worth protecting. In the past, the answer has always been a resounding “no” when it comes to media and content. The right of the adult to have free access to indecent/obscene material in the name of free speech always takes precedence over the well-being of the children who are (sometimes intentionally) being exposed to it.

What will be the response this time… I have little hope for a different ruling. Still a little hope is better than nothing. This article regarding the ACLJ’s strong stance for the Child Online Protection Act makes me think that there may be some chance that people are getting fed up:

ACLJ: Supreme Court Must Uphold Constitutionality of Child Online Protection Act

Why is this so difficult? The freedom our country enjoys is a freedom based on responsibility. You can’t have freedom unless you are willing to be responsible for it. This country exists today because average men and women were willing to sacrifice their own freedoms - including their own lives - to ensure that privilege for others including their children. And yet, today, we aren’t even willing to put standards and laws in place regarding pornography so that our children can be protected from those influences which are proven to be terribly psychologically damaging!? Is the safety and health of a child less valuable than the right of immoral men and women to freely and relentlessly broadcast their amoral and damaging sexual images, videos and other media without legal responsibility? Who can justify this!?

We’re not talking about freedom of speech… we’re talking about freedom of defilement. It is illegal to molest a child. Child pornography is illegal in any form. But it’s apparently perfectly legal to market explicit pornographic images to them, to irresponsibly plaster a medium of communication with what the clear majority of our society would consider indecent and/or obscene? Newsflash - intentionally allowing children to be exposed to pornographic material is sexually abusing a child! Ask any child psychologist.

I, personally, have had the responsibility of talking with people who were exposed to explicit pornography as children. Even just a casual exposure can have a tremendous effect on a child’s psyche that can extend into adulthood. And exposure to children who are adolescent or pre-adolescent can lead to sexual/pornographic addiction! Let’s dispense with this selfish and ignorant argument of “it’s my right”. Is an individual’s right to pornography more important than it’s result in the destruction of children and families both in the present and the future? Will we offer our children up as sacrifices for the rights of other individual’s to irresponsibly saturate our society with immorality? It’s time for parents to speak up for the children’s future. Now.