"Spiritually Speaking" by Rev. Carla Golden

Democracy and Religious Freedom

Abdul Rahman was arrested because he converted to Christianity in a country that is Muslim. The law is that if you reject Islam you reject Allah and that is punishable by death.

The U.S. has been doing its best to make democracies out of such countries as Afghanistan and Iraq, but even though they now have elections, they do not have the freedoms we associate with a democracy. Why? Because they have not learned the importance of the separation of church and state.

In this country we constantly are sparring about the right to have prayer in public schools and display the Ten Commandments and manger scenes at Christmas in front of government buildings. We're proud of our religious heritage. But what we don't realize is that by granting this right to the Christians in this country--who may be the majority--we are taking away the rights of the minority who are not Christian. You may think that is isn't a problem, most likely because you are in the majority. But look at what has happened in Afghanistan? Perhaps you believe that is extreme. Believe it or not, there are Christians in this country who think non-Christians do not deserve to live. These people are much like the Klu Klux Klan members who killed black people for no reason and yet went to church every Sunday. 

When we start mixing our religion with our government there is always going to be problems. Our founding fathers knew this and that's why they insisted upon a government that acknowledged the separation of church and state. Imagine living in a country that mandated you worship according to the desire of the leader of the country? That is what our forefathers and our ancestors were dealing with when they escaped to this new world. When a king converted the whole country had to convert.

Thank goodness for our religious freedom. It's something that we take for granted--but we shouldn't. There are those in our government right now that, if they had their way, would pass a bill to officially make this a Christian nation. Again, this may not bother you if you are Christian, but it scares the heck out of me. It is but one step toward us becoming a country like Afghanistan.

Drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge

If you're not aware of it, this week the Senate passed a budget with the provision for drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge. This provision was slipped into the budget with the hopes that it would be passed without any problem and it was, but it was close. Four Republicans stood up with all the Democrats and said "no." It's not too late though. There is still a battle waging against this on-slaught against America's largest wildlife refuge. Contact your Congressional representatives and let them know that you do not support this drilling. If you don't know who they are, click on the links below and you can find out and contact them using the form that's provided. http://www.senate.gov/

http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW_by_State.shtml

Proponents of Arctic drilling say that it will not hurt our ecosystem, however, this cannot be guaranteed. On March 3, 2006, a burst oil pipeline in Alaska caused the worst oil spill ever. Over 265,000 gallons of oil covered an area used by caribou herds. Environmentalists still do not know what impact this will have on the region and it's inhabitants.

For those of you who are concerned about future sources of oil, it has been proven that oil produced from this refuge will lower gas prices to consumers by only one cent. As I said in an earlier post, our challenge is to find other sources of fuel, not to continue to use fossil fuels which, when burned, destroy the ozone layer and add to the problem of global warming.

If we truly believe that God created the earth and all of the creatures upon it, we have a responsibility to honor this gift and protect it.

Here Comes the Judge

There seems to be a lot of judgment going on in the world today, especially in politics. It's okay to disagree with others but we don't have to judge them. If someone disagrees with the war in Iraq or with other policies of the Bush administration, they are often judged as un-American or even as a traitor. Even worse, there is judgment against others because of their religious beliefs. This is what we call prejudice.

On the other hand, we have a power that is within us that is called "judgment". It enables us to discern what is right for us, to evaluate options and make decisions. Our intuition is an example of this divine power. By keeping our hearts and minds open and trusting this spiritual gift, we tap into Divine Mind or Infinite Intelligence for guidance. This is a positive form of judgment. It is not turned against others but solely for our own use. Each person must follow his or her own guidance and discern what is right for them. The important thing is not to judge others if they are guided to follow a different path than our own.

Politics, Greed and Global Warming

This post feels like one of the most important that I will ever write. Why? Because it relates to something that I feel strongly about--our planet, our home in this universe.

Global warming has now been proven to be a fact, not a myth or a theory. It has also come to light that the Bush administration knew that it was not a myth or just a theory for quite some time. Just this month, George Deutsch, a public affairs representative for the administration was fired for lying about having a college degree. As part of his duties, he prevented the press from interviewing NASA's climatology scientist about global warming because he said it was his job to "make the President look good." This administration (and probably others before it) has been keeping the truth from the American people about something so serious as the very life and future of this planet.

Why would anyone do this, you ask? Money (greed) and politics--is what it comes down to. You have to understand that Bush comes from Texas--home of big oil companies. They were big contributors to his election campaign. That's one of the reasons that the President has not wanted to fund research into alternative sources of energy. It would take business away from the oil companies and Bush has a debt to pay to those who got him elected.

Another thing you should know. In Alberta, Canada, a petroleum deposit has been found which is second only in size to Saudi Arabia. It is what our government is counting on to solve the problem of our dependency upon Middle Eastern oil. However, there is a cost for this oil and it's not just money.

Canada's environmental minister has spoken out about the environmental cost of increasing the production of oil from this deposit. Already the greenhouse gas emissions are enormous and having an impact on global warming. Because of the location of this oil in tar-like sands pits, the residue has to be cooked off, which sends these tar-filled emissions into the air polluting the environment. As they up their production to meet the demands of our country there will be more pollution and destruction of the ozone layer.

Our children and grandchildren deserve to live on a planet which is healthy. Already we are seeing the affects of global warming in the melting of the polar ice caps and glaciers, the increase in hurricanes, flooding, and other weather extremes. We will come to see more of this if we do not take the necessary steps to reverse this trend that we have set in motion.

What can you do to respect and protect Mother Earth?

• Let your Congressional representatives know that the health of this planet is a priority to you, that fuel sources at the expense of the environment is not okay.
• Let your representatives know that you want to see an emphasis on alternative sources of fuel rather than locating additional sources of fossil fuel (coal, gas and oil) which destroys our environment.
• Cut back on the driving you do. Consider carpools, public transportation, or the new Hybrid cars.
• Recycle. Use recycled paper and dispose of containers properly.
• Don't litter. Don't toss cigarette butts out the window of your car.
• See this world as the living, breathing God-given blessing that it is and insist that it be protected for other generations yet to come.
• Pray. Pray for the health of this planet and for people to wake up to what is happening and begin to take responsibility.

Support For Our Troops

I've heard a lot of criticism of those people who don't agree with the Bush administration's policy on the Iraq war. I happen to be one of them, along with Cindy Sheehan and millions of others--including veterans of the Iraq war. Whenever we express our concerns about the war we are frequently chastised for not supporting our troops. I want to make things perfectly clear to anyone who may be reading this post. Those of us who aren't happy about how the war is going and who disagree with the current policy, (with no plan for getting out) are not Anti-Americans. We are as much Americans as anyone. One of the great freedoms in being an American is the right of freedom of speech. We have a right to disagree with our leaders in this country--something that doesn't exist everywhere in the world.

And those of us who speak out against the war do support our troops. We love them and we appreciate them and we don't want anymore of them to die.

Now, as far as supporting our troops, let me tell you something you may not know. The Bush administration has been pushing for benefit cuts for veterans, wanting to cut funding for veterans' health care by as much as $600 million in order to pay for tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the wealthiest Americans. Is this what we call "supporting our troops"? When these soldiers get back from Iraq, many of them will be in need of healthcare. They deserve the best. I encourage you to contact your Congressional representatives and insist that they honor and support our troops by not cutting their benefits.

Politics and Religion

I consider myself to be a Christian, however, I am a progressive Christian and not a conservative. Over the years that George W. Bush has been in office, I have found myself angry at times at the way many of the Republicans and the conservative Christians have tried to force their religious beliefs on the whole country.

The conservative Christians have used their literalistic interpretation of the Bible to try to push their agendas against abortion, embryonic stem cell research and gay marriage. They have argued for prayer in public schools and the inclusion of intelligent design into curriculum. My home state of Kansas has been an embarrassing battleground for this war to teach intelligent design in science classes, where (in my opinion) it does not belong.

Our forefathers clearly intended this to be a country where there was a separation of church and state. They knew that if this divide was breached, that there would be problems.

The conservative Christians would have the children in our schools praying to Jesus, when there might be Jewish, Budhist, or Muslim children in the classroom. To force them to pray Christian prayers is not only unconstitutional, it is religious abuse.

We, as citizens of this country, have a right to our own personal religous beliefs. We have a right to believe in a god--or gods, or to be an atheist. To force anyone, children or adults, to practice a religion is against the very beliefs this country was founded upon.