By Rev. MICHAEL BRESCIANI

Bill O’Reilly was the first to bring up Pat Robertson’s statement on the Haitian pact with the devil to rid them of French rule. Bill said he didn’t agree with Pat, but Richard Dawkins says in an article posted online that at least Robertson is true to his own theology.

Dawkins starts his article by side stepping the usual requirements and protocol for standard article submission. His name appears before and after the title. He follows that with bold article sub headings and bold parenthetical statements made for effect, (emphasis).  All that remains after that is the Dawkins’ style of solipsistic banality for which he is so noted. Most authors would have their articles rejected out of hand regardless of content if they broke this many rules.

Let me begin with my own take on Haiti by saying in no uncertain terms that regardless of what caused this disaster we must all do everything we can to help relieve the misery of these islanders for humanity’s sake. The stories out of Haiti are compelling, and this kind of tragedy is calling for people with heart to respond regardless of their theology or the lack of it. I’m sure the last thing on the minds of those rescued, relieved or restored is the theology of those who gave them aid.

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By ROBERT LANDBECK

On the horizon is an approaching religious and cultural furor so contentious that any clash of civilizations may have to wait. On one side, a manuscript titled: The Final Freedoms, against all the gravitas religious tradition can bring to bear.

The first wholly new interpretation for 2000 years of the moral teachings of Christ is on the web. Redefining all primary elements including Faith, the Word, Baptism, the Trinity and the Resurrection, this new interpretation questions the validity and origins of all Christian tradition; focusing specifically on marriage, love and human sexuality, it overturns all natural law ethics and theory. At stake is the credibility of several thousand years of religious history and moral teaching, and it will certainly impact other fields of intellectual inquiry.

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By Rev. MICHAEL BRESCIANI

News shows across America showed clips of American Idol star Adam Lambert’s overt sexual behavior at the recent American Music Awards. Almost all the clips were preceded with advisories and warnings. When discussed it was a single comment made on the Fox News outlet that beat all.

When questioned by news commentator Bill O’Reilly on the Factor Nov 24, 2009 about the propriety of the act, Lis Wiehl said that she thought it was all OK as long as it was done between the hours of 10:pm and 6:am. She explained that this was the time for anything that was indecent or profane on public television. She made the distinction that it should not be allowed during that time if it was deemed “obscene.”

If you are convinced that no underage children are awake and watching TV after 10:pm and that the rest of America has the savvy to weigh the semantic differences between “indecent” and “obscene” then all that’s left is to ask is, does it have any morally redemptive quality for the rest of us?

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Pilate and Jesus

By Rev. MICHAEL BRESCIANI

Due to the emphasis on the R sound (phoneme) in reading, writing and arithmetic, early American pioneers and settlers coined the phrase “reading, riting and ritmetic.” It was repeated often in regards to getting a good education. Although spelled incorrectly, the point was always transparent.

In the issuance of prophetic utterance there is also a three R’s. Spelled correctly they are redemption, renewal and rebuke. It serves well to consider another phrase often used in America usually as a means of expressing some disdain. The phrase ‘organized religion’ is often used to describe something that should be shunned or critically re-examined in a post modern world.

It seems almost comical to hear someone express their disdain for organized religion when the alternative is considered. Perhaps we have reason to mistrust organized religion, but who is going to put much stock in disorganized religion?

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Image by DALE

By Rev. MICHAEL BRESCIANI

At no other time in our history have the principles and faith of our founding fathers been under attack as they are today. The Bibles President Obama said Americans cling to have a lot to say about this attack, and it is not something this administration can easily deal with.

It seems that the President’s declaration that we are not a Christian nation and his belittlement of our faith in the Bible have gone a long way to assure some Americans that we need only follow him into the shining new American dream where all is gay, green, socialist and lean, and health care is almost free if you can find any.

In a recent interview the President said listening to his critics wasn’t what he involved himself with but only deciding what was best for the American people. The last time anyone looked at the idea of self determination which is fundamental to American freedoms it was the citizens of this country who must decide what is best for them, not the President. When did that change?

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By Rev. MICHAEL BRESCIANI

Most of the journalists I know are not bloggers, but bloggers wouldn’t have half as much to say if it weren’t for those writers. After one blogger responded to an article I wrote entitled “Religion and Politics Don’t Mix –A Modern Fairy Tale” I made this reply. Be it article or blog, I knew it must be shared.

The author of the response chose to point our the following quote:

And Benjamin Franklin said: “If we look back into history for the character of the present sects in Christianity, we shall find few that have not in their turns been persecutors, and complainers of persecution.  The primitive Christians thought persecution extremely wrong in the Pagans, but practiced it on one another.  The first Protestants of the Church of England blamed persecution in the Romish Church, but practiced it upon the Puritans.  They found it wrong in Bishops, but fell into the practice themselves both here (England) and in New England.”

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By Rev. MICHAEL BRESCIANI

This week in America three celebrities passed away without warning. Reviews on the life of pop culture icon Michael Jackson was at the top of most news programs along with some questions about the manner of his death. Does our penchant for this kind of story indicate anything about our national state of mind?

While we reel from the loss of our celebrities and pop icons a Washington based organization known as the TVC (Traditional Values Coalition) is fighting almost a lone battle against the passage of a hate crimes bill that could effectively protect a pedophile but punish a preacher. Finding news about that organizations fight would be very hard to do in the mainstream media. The interest in one story over the other is proof positive that the entire direction and purpose of the nation has changed.

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By Rev. MICHAEL BRESCIANI

With French President Nicolas Sarkozy calling for a strong first President for the EU and Ireland making headway in the upcoming vote on the Lisbon Treaty how close is the United States of Europe, the prophesied antichrist and other eschatological road signs and what of the hype concerning the Muslim Mahdi?

The elite of this world are neither huddling in some deep underground musing through secret papers nor sitting in the seats of kings and presidents. They are those who’s King and the very kingdom he rules resides within them. They are guided by every word and edict he has manifested to them. It is little wonder that Jesus Christ said ‘…the kingdom of God is within you.’ (Lk 17:21b)

They are chosen to see the world exactly as it is and not as it imagines itself to be. In the modern vernacular they are said to hold a ‘Biblical worldview.’ In the scriptural manner they are those who can see the world even at the same time the world cannot see them, the exceptions notwithstanding.

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By Rev. MICHAEL BRESCIANI

The first Father’s Day is said to have been celebrated on June 5, 1908. The first time the day was noted was in a Methodist church in Fairmount, West Virginia. It is among one of America’s most unusual observations today more than ever before because in the U.S. one out of three children is said to be fatherless.

Every Father’s Day I remember the adage that says, “Seeing a beautiful sunset is made much better when you know who to thank for it.” I always feel a bit sad when I think that millions of secularists don’t know who to thank. It always brings up the same question namely; who’s your daddy?

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By ROBERT STARK

The recent murder of a security guard in the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. by James Von Brunn was immediately exploited by many political pundits and organizations to further their political agendas. Left-wing partisans  used the tragedy to bash Conservatives and blame it on right-wing talk radio. Front Page magazine, a Neo-con publication tried to claim the man was a leftist. Fox News Pundit Glenn Beck used the event to compare 9/11 truthers to terrorists and called for war against Iran by comparing the shooter to Iran’s President Ahmadinejad. Partisan Republican talk show host Rush Limbaugh went as far as to blame the man’s actions on the Obama administration policies. Rabbi Dr. Morton H. Pomerantz blamed President Obama for creating a climate of anti-semitism.

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