[penpizdes]

I find your revocation of the independence of the USA amusing.

In a more serious note I add this with all earnestness :

Pat Robinson, who is a television evangelists, always asks for money from his viewers and claims to have messages form God about the healing of others has called for the murder of the leader of Venezuela! Whoever said or where has it ever been written that Christians believe that the ends justify the means? What true Christian believes this? Our Lord taught us to do good to those who use and abuse us and pray for those who hate us. Our Lord NEVER taught us to kill anyone for any reason. We are not Muslims who are taught in their Qur`an that killing in the name of god is a wonderful thing to do. The mob made up of self righteous hypocrites who would murder or teach others to murder is at your door. Unless it is defeated, no one is safe.


Let Pat Roberson be shunned by all who call themselves Christians. Let no Christian break bread with him or speak to him. LET THE SHUNNING BEGIN FROM THIS DAY UNTIL THE DAY HE TOTALLY REPENTS AND WITH HUMBLENESS ASKS FORGIVNESS . IF HE NEVER REPENTS LET THE SHUNNING BE FOREEVER.
Vasilis



Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Prominent Religious Right Groups Stay Silent On Pat Robertson’s Remarks That Venezuelan President Should Be Assassinated; National Council Of Churches And Some Evangelicals Condemn Robertson

The National Council of Churches USA, a group of mainline and orthodox Christians, was quick today in condemning Pat Robertson’s bizarre comments that the United States should assassinate Hugo Chavez, the democratically elected president of Venezuela. The Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar, general-secretary of the National Council of Churches USA, said:

It defies logic that a clergyman could so casually dismiss thousands of years of Judaeo-Christian law, including the commandment that we are not to kill. It defies logic that this self-proclaimed Christian leader could so blithely abandon the teachings of Jesus to love our enemies and turn our cheeks against violence. It defies logic that a former candidate for the presidency could skirt the brink of international law to call for the assassination of a foreign leader on the grounds that he might some day be a danger to us. It defies logic that this so-called evangelist is using his media power not to win people to faith but to encourage them to support the murder of a foreign leader. I have no doubt that most of Pat Robertson's viewers have already rejected this idea, and that the 45-million people represented by the member communions of the National Council of Churches resolutely condemn it.

Evangelical Christians groups were divided in their response. The National Clergy Council and the National Association of Evangelicals both condemned Robertson through statements.

“But other conservative Christian organizations remained silent, with leaders at the Traditional Values Coalition, the Family Research Council and the Christian Coalition saying through spokesmen that they were too busy to comment,” reports The New York Times.

The United States has never been happy with President Chavez. When an illegal coup briefly toppled him from power the Bush Administration applauded. Chavez, however, quickly regained power. He has been critical of the war in Iraq and US economic policy in his region. Chavez has broad popular support. However, Human Rights Watch has issued several reports critical of the Chavez Administration’s human rights record. Then again, Human Rights Watch has also issued several reports concerning the human rights record of the Bush Administration.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State has asked President Bush to repudiate Robertson’s remarks, according to the Times article. Robertson has been a strong political supporter of the president’s. Media Matters for America has asked ABC Family Network to stop carrying Robertson’s “700 Club” program. ABC says they are “contractually obligated” to air the program.

It should really come as no surprise that Traditional Values Coalition, the Family Research Council and the Christian Coalition have been silent on this issue. These are extremist organizations (Robertson started the Christian Coalition himself) that often show a profound lack of respect for democratic values and an even more troubling misuse of the Christian faith for their own partisan political ends.

Check out Andrew Lang’s blog entry on Robertson. Good stuff.

Posted at 20:18 in National Council of Churches, Religion | Permalink
TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/3052997

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Prominent Religious Right Groups Stay Silent On Pat Robertson’s Remarks That Venezuelan President Should Be Assassinated; National Council Of Churches And Some Evangelicals Condemn Robertson:

[seervezex]

Fr. Raphael,

Father bless!

"Very enlightening!"


marie_duquette

p.s. hope the "light bulb" is connected to a living electrical circuit, The watt # not so very important, though could be very different in lighting quality, from the lowest to the highest watts.

But, for me the basic question, that I ask myself is: "Am I truly connected to The Living Circuit connected to the Source of Light?" Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me, a sinner.!

This post could go a long way in relation to the
Mystical aspect of being a Light Bulb, don't you think?

[Greapyjeory]

If you plant a light bulb in the ground, what kind of flower will you get?? Obviously you get flower power.

[T5qYkHWQ]

On a more serious note, I do think giving the U.S. back to Blighty is a jolly good idea. Apart from the obvious benefits in learning to spell and stress words on the right syllable, people would stop giving their children silly names like George Bush Jr. Elizabeth II, on the other hand, is an entirely differnt affair.

Royally yours
Byron

[darieBarexish]

Re Pat Robertson: A writer to the letters to the editor page of today's edition of the national newspaper "The Australian", wrote:
"I agree that the Australian Government should not allow people who advocate terrorism to enter the country. I assume that Pat Robertson (Anger over call to assassinate Chavez, 25/8) is now on a black list and would be denied a visa."

Extremists is extremists, no matter what political or religious flavour. The silence of the Religious Right is monstrous, yet they would have been apoplectic had a similar comment been made by a mullah.

On a lighter note: Priceless, Fr Raphael! Your missive would find plenty of fans in Australia, except for the bit about beer. Aussies drink their beer COLD ("warm" beer tastes horrible in a hot climate like ours). Despite every effort in setting the defaults for Word on my computer to English (Australia), it still has the nerve to switch back to American English! The perversity of inanimate objects.... By the way, Byron, Americans are not alone in naming their children after themselves. I know of a number of Russians and Cypriots who have done this, as well as people from other English-speaking countries. I would imagine the tendency is most prevalent in the US, though.

[darieBarexish]

Re Pat Robertson: A writer to the letters to the editor page of today's edition of the national newspaper "The Australian", wrote:
"I agree that the Australian Government should not allow people who advocate terrorism to enter the country. I assume that Pat Robertson (Anger over call to assassinate Chavez, 25/8) is now on a black list and would be denied a visa."

Extremists is extremists, no matter what political or religious flavour. The silence of the Religious Right is monstrous, yet they would have been apoplectic had a similar comment been made by a mullah.

On a lighter note: Priceless, Fr Raphael! Your missive would find plenty of fans in Australia, except for the bit about beer. Aussies drink their beer COLD ("warm" beer tastes horrible in a hot climate like ours). Despite every effort in setting the defaults for Word on my computer to English (Australia), it still has the nerve to switch back to American English! The perversity of inanimate objects.... By the way, Byron, Americans are not alone in naming their children after themselves. I know of a number of Russians and Cypriots who have done this, as well as people from other English-speaking countries. I would imagine the tendency is most prevalent in the US, though.

[T5qYkHWQ]

Cypriots also drink their beer cold, because it gets very hot over here Olga. Many Cypriots name their kids after their parents (i.e. the grandparents of the child), although I have come across one or two cases of fathers having the same name as their sons. Hilarious! I was mostly referring to suffixes in my post though; things like "So and so Jr" or "Such and such III" etc. All was said in jest though! I hope it wasn't taken too seriously. Actually I find names pretty cool; Sometimes I like to give myself titles from the names of kings for fun, like "Suleyman the Magnificent" or "Constantine Porphyrogenitus ("born in porphyry")".

The world can be such a stiff and boring place, and Fr Raphael is quite right to spice things up with a bit of humour at times! There's so much to laugh about (the alternative of course, is crying).

In Christ
Byron

[veizKinquiz]

If you plant a light bulb in the ground, what kind of flower will you get??

Patrick

[penpizdes]

> RE: "If you plant a light bulb in the ground, what kind of flower will you get??

Patrick" A blinking idiot? Who else would plant a light bulb? Vasilis

[Greapyjeory]

The following appeared on an Orthodox forum yesterday.


Q: How many forum members does it take to change a light bulb?
**1 to change the light bulb and to post that the light bulb has been
changed
14 to share similar experiences of changing light bulbs and how the light
bulb could have been changed differently
7 to caution about the dangers of changing light bulbs
1 to move it to the Lighting section
2 to argue then move it to the Electricals section
7 to point out spelling/grammar errors in posts about changing light bulbs
5 to flame the spell checkers
3 to correct spelling/grammar flames
6 to argue over whether it's "lightbulb" or "light bulb" ... another 6 to
condemn those 6 as stupid
2 industry professionals to inform the group that the proper term is "lamp"
15 know-it-alls who claim they were in the industry, and that "light bulb"
is perfectly correct
19 to post that this forum is not about light bulbs and to please take this
discussion to a lightbulb forum
11 to defend the posting to this forum saying that we all use light bulbs
and therefore the posts are relevant to this forum
36 to debate which method of changing light bulbs is superior, where to buy
the best light bulbs, what brand of light bulbs work best for this technique
and what brands are faulty
7 to post URL's where one can see examples of different light bulbs
4 to post that the URL's were posted incorrectly and then post the corrected
URL's
3 to post about links they found from the URL's that are relevant to this
group which makes light bulbs relevant to this group
13 to link all posts to date, quote them in their entirety including all
headers and signatures, and add "Me too"
5 to post to the group that they will no longer post because they cannot
handle the light bulb controversy
4 to say "didn't we go through this already a short time ago?"
13 to say "do a Google search on light bulbs before posting questions about
light bulbs"
1 forum lurker to respond to the original post 6 months from now and start
it all over again.


In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Greapyjeory]

Sorry- I tried to find the thread about 'just war' and the war in Iraq from a few weeks ago- but was unable to.
In any case the following seems to be a final answer to the problem of America & war.


BRITS REVOKE USA INDEPENDENCE
A Message from John Cleese To the Citizens of the United States of
America



"In light of your failure to elect a competent President of the USA
and thus
to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of
your
independence, effective immediately. Her Sovereign Majesty Queen
Elizabeth
II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths,
and
territories (excepting Kansas, which she does not fancy).

Your new prime minister, Tony Blair, will appoint a governor for
America without the need for further elections. Congress and the
senate will
be
disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine
whether
any of you noticed. To aid in the transition to a British Crown
Dependency,
the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:



You should look up "revocation" in the Oxford English Dictionary
Then look
up aluminum, and check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed
at just
how wrongly you have been pronouncing it. The letter 'U' will be
reinstated
in words such as 'favour' and 'neighbour.'


Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half
the
letters, and the suffix
"ize" will be replaced by the suffix "ise." Generally, you will be
expected
to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up vocabulary).

Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises
such
as "like" and "you know" is an unacceptable and inefficient form of
communication. There is no such thing as US English. We will let
Microsoft
know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to
take
account of the reinstated letter 'u' and the elimination of -ize.
You will
relearn your original national anthem, God Save The Queen.

July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.

You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns,
lawyers,
or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists
shows
that you're not adult enough to be independent. Guns should only be
handled
by adults. If you're not adult enough to sort things out without
suing
someone or speaking to a therapist then you're not grown up enough
to handle
a gun. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry
anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. A permit will be
required
if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.

All American cars are hereby banned. When we show you German cars, you will understand what we
mean. All
intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start
driving
on the left with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go
metric with
immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables.
Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the
British sense
of humour.

The Former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been
calling
gasoline)-roughly $6/US gallon Get used to it.

You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French
fries
are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato
chips are
properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal
fat, and
dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.

The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually
beer at
all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as
beer, and
European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to
as
Lager. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's
Urine, so
that all can be sold without risk of further confusion

Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as
good
guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play
English
characters. Watching Andie MacDowell attempt English dialogue in
Four
Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears
removed
with a cheese grater.

You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of
proper
football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in
time, be
allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American
football, but
does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing
full
kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).

Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to
host an
event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside
of
America Since only 2.1% of you are aware that there is a world
beyond your
borders, your error is understandable.

You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.

An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's
Government
will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due
(backdated to 1776).

Thank you for your co-operation."


Hope this clears up the problem.

In Christ-Fr Raphael

[T5qYkHWQ]

Regarding "fatwas" by religious extremists of whatever denomination, that's just not funny anymore.