Warning: Religious Thoughts to Follow

I recently came across this meme which was very timely considering my church just celebrated The Passover on Sunday evening (we keep the Holy Days outlined in the Old Testament modified as specifically demonstrated by Jesus Christ His Own Self in the New Testament). Passover, for the uninitiated, is one such Old Testament Holy Day which dates back to the Book of Exodus when the children of Israel put the blood of a lamb on their door posts and lintels so that the Death Angel would  literally pass over their house during the final plague of Egypt in which the first born were killed. The Old Testament commanded that the Israelites celebrate the Passover every year as a memorial to how God brought them out of Egypt. 

By the time of Christ, the ceremony had become more of a lavish and relaxed meal. Christ changed things up a bit at "The Last Supper" (which was a Passover meal immediately before He was arrested and condemned to death). He taught His disciples about the new meaning of the Passover which included the breaking/eating of bread and sipping of wine to symbolize the broken body of Christ and His shed blood for the remission of our sins. Other places in scripture say that Christ took the beating leading up to His Cruxifiction so that we could be healed. The main thing that Christ did during that ceremony was wash the feet of His followers as an act of humility and service. 

It is that act of service and humility that is a core practice in my church that baptized members perform every year as a solemn reminder of what He did for us. Most every year, we get a sermon or two leading up to The Passover talking about all the familiar bits about the bread, wine, the sacrifice, etc. Rarely does a minister focus on the foot washing. So, that is why struck me so strongly this year.

I tend to be a caretaker type personality to begin with, and acts of service come pretty naturally to me. That said, the point that brought me up short was that He KNEW He was going to die, He could have done ANYTHING, and He chose to wash the feet of his disciples. 

I admit that, when I run through the things I might want to do if I knew I was going to die tomorrow, washing feet is not at the top of that list. If I am being perfectly honest, it's not even in the top 10. That said, I would want to take those last few hours and spend as much of it with my wife and daughter and those close to me as I possibly could. 

We only get one chance at this ride, and there are no guarantees, do overs, returns or refunds. Make the most of  it of the time you are given. 

 

A Little Spiritual Enlightenment...

 ...heading into the Sabbath. Have a restful weekend. 

Faith and Other Assorted Spiritual Thoughts

I tend to keep my spiritual beliefs to myself being a private person; but, here lately, I've been rethinking that position. I don't intend to proselytize here for any specific brand of faith as it is my firm belief that everyone (even athiests whether they realize it or not) are on their own spiritual journey and need to grow in the direction that the Diety of their choosing sees fit to lead them. Having said that, I no longer intend to shy away from sharing my thoughts about my own spiritual walk and how it shapes my outlook on life. 

For those that care, we are non-denominational, Sabbath keeping, "apostolic" Christians. We are part of a church that teaches several things that fall outside of "traditional, mainstream" Christianity; however, we still believe in the Divinity of Christ, His death and resurrection, and His soon coming return which puts us on the same page with most people walking that general direction. What throws most people for a loop is we do not keep Easter, Halloween or Christmas but we do keep the Old Testament holy days.

I found this meme recently which struck a chord with me, and I wanted to share it outside the usual Friday Funnies chuckle fest. 

This concept, in my humble opinion, is where many well meaning believers go wrong (and it applies equally to other faiths...I'm looking at you radical Islam). New converts to a particular flavor of faith tend to be the worst about this (I've guilty of it myself in times past). It's also had a terribly polarizing influence on American politics on both the Republican and Democratic Parties. Prohibition laws (of all flavors) are a perfect example of this. Don't like (insert social ill here)? Don't drink it, smoke it, do it. As long as no one else is harmed in the process...you do you. Just don't ask me to approve of it. 

But Daddy Hawk, what about (something you think is utterly evil that has direct/indirect impact on others beyond the person using/doing said evil)? Shouldn't we protect (fill in your favorite helpless, defense less entity or object here)? I would agree that "we" collectively as a species should do a better job on a variety of issues. Here's the rub though: human nature makes us a stubborn, hypocritical lot that just wants to do what we want to do regardless of consequences. Murder has been outlawed since practically the beginning of time in every society that has existed (more or less...I'm sure there exceptions to the rule). Guess what? It still happens everyday. 

You want to solve the murder problem (or alcoholism or drug abuse or...)? It starts with you. Live the life your faith says you are supposed to live everyday and not just on the day you go worship. Live by example, and teach your kids to do the same. Volunteer somewhere and help others see you living your faith. You might just learn a thing or two in the process and reach a deeper understanding of your own faith.

This next one tickled me especially after the last 3 or so years of dealing with multiple issues and crises. It feels sometimes like God is sitting on a sofa somewhere drinking a beer looking at me and saying "Hit him again."

God (or Ever God in Heaven as M&M says), I do not wish that someone else go through trials but could I have a break? 

Stop Hitting Yourself

Dear Texas Republican Party Members (and you folks at the National Party HQ need to listen up too),

I'll make this simple: STOP HITTING YOURSELF! Seriously. Put down the shovel, go take a bottle of Tylenol and reread the Bible and the Constitution when you wake up.

Sincerely,

Daddy Hawk

I'll be the first to state that, as a conservative Christian, I believe the Bible is very clear on the subject of homosexuality. The Bible is also very clear about not judging others, accepting people as they are (while loving them and encouraging them to sin no more) and looking after your own problems before you try to solve everyone else's. I'll also be the first to admit that I do not understand the "cause" of homosexuality anymore than I do particle physics, and I'm pretty sure no one living has a decent grasp on that subject either. We can debate genetics and nature versus nurture until the end of time; but, if you listen closely, you can just make out the sound of God laughing at us for thinking we have a clue.

So, it strikes me that these well intentioned folks are suffering from a special form of stupid to think that 1)homosexuality can be "fixed" through therapy, 2) that it's any of the government's business in the first place, and 3) there ought to be a law to do something about it.

Do you want to take a stand on moral issues? Fine be me. Live your life according to those morals. Be the example you want others to follow. Talk to people about why you do what you do when offered the opportunity. Talk to them out of love and be respectful of that teachable moment.

Do you want to make a difference in state and national level politics? Fine by me. Stick to things that are defined by the Constitution as being the government's business. Let's talk fiscal policy. Let's talk foreign policy. Let's talk about securing the borders. Let's talk about taxes. Let's talk about how entitlements are bankrupting the county. Let's talk about the ideas you have to make Texas and America stronger (or strong again depending on your point of view).

Let's stay out of people's bedrooms. Let's stay out of people's minds. This isn't Orwell's 1984. There should be no political correctness. There should be no hate crimes or thought police. You don't fix racism by inciting riots and perpetuating the "us vs. them" mentality. You change people's hearts and minds by being the best example you can be.

[dropping mike and stepping off soap box]

Where Has Waldo Been?

As some of you may have gathered from the recent teaser pic, Daddy Hawk and family escaped the confines of our current living arrangements and hit the open road for adventure. Every year, our church keeps God's Holy Days as outlined in the Old Testament. The last of the fall Holy Day season is the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day (don't worry...I will not turn this into a preaching post) which is 8 days long (7 days for the FOT + 1 LGD). The church picks a place or two (or a dozen depending) where church members from around the country/world can gather together and celebrate the feast, worship together, fellowship, etc. This is a big reason why The Queen, who grew up in the church, knows people EVERYWHERE (I'm not kidding about that either).

Any explanation, this year, the choices were Oxnard, CA; Tulsa, OK and the middle of nowhere Kentucky. The Queen, being a California native, REALLY wanted to go there. Health (The Queen's) and circumstances (my employment status) threatened to derail our ability to go at all much less California. There was also the minor detail of how to get there.

You see, the Queen can not fly anymore. The last several attempts have literally been disasters. She puked in a Cessna that I had rented in straight and level flight on a calm day (guess who got to clean that mess up). She passed clean out on a Southwest Airlines flight and required smelling salts to be revived. The last time she set foot in an airplane was 2006 when we attempted to board a flight for Florida. I say attempted because that was near the beginning of the mystery illness. She started having difficulty breathing, and we had to get back off the plane and rush her to the hospital. Our luggage had a lovely trip to Florida.

Us, not so much.

So, driving was our only viable option.

I digress again. Our plan to travel this go round was further hampered by yours truly who fell Friday evening before our intended departure date. I was carrying M&M, and we were climbing up some rocks at the lake to get to a boardwalk when a rock shifted under my feet. It threw me off balance. The Queen was out of arms reach and unable to assist. I had a choice of falling over backwards and potentially cracking my skull open or worse or dropping both M&M and I straight down. I held M&M out at arms length in the hopes that I would not land on her and tried to fall gracefully. I don't have pictures of the damage. M&M was physically fine but lamented the loss of the gumball she had been licking in horrible wails of anguish. I lost some skin on my right foot in two places (dime size and quarter sized) and had a huge knot swell up in the meat of the arch of my right foot. Walking was painful to say the least (I thought I had broken something at first).

We went home and elevated and iced the foot. By Saturday, the swelling had gone down and I was able to walk with less pain. Regular shoes were right out because the larger patch of missing skin was right below my ankle and rubbed on everything. Fortunately, I have a pair of sandals that didn't interfere with the mess.

Sunday morning dawned, and The Queen gave a green light on her end. No one was clammering for my services for the near future. So, we loaded up a small Uhaul cargo trailer with our luggage (The Queen does not know the meaning of the phrase "pack light"), some camping equipment, a cooler full of food, and pointed the Navigator west.

First stop: Carlsbad, NM.

I should mention that we left the house with no (zip, zero, nada) accommodation reservations. Since we did not know whether we would be able to go until the last minute, making reservations seemed a bit presumptuous (not to mention potentially an expensive waste of money). So, we made the reservations (if any) as we went. Our first night was spent in the KOA campground outside of Carlsbad. It's actually a very nice place to stay if you ever find yourself in that neck of the woods with a yen for something other than a hotel. They even have small cabins for rent. We chose to pitch our tent for the night and had a restful, if chilly, night's sleep being serenaded by coyotes.

Day two started with breakfast at the Denny's in Carlsbad (truly, horrible service...worst restaurant service I've had in a long time) followed by a tour of Carlsbad Caverns.

Imagine pictures of a really big cave here...none of the ones I took were blog worthy. We did get a nice tourist to take a family shot for us...which you would see in this space if Google Drive were being cooperative right now which it isn't.

I gave up on Google Drive and went with the laptop hard drive

After that, we drove back into Texas, through El Paso, across the rest of New Mexico and stopped at the KOA in Benson, AZ just outside of Tucson. The Benson KOA is not as nice as the Carlsbad one, but it clean and quiet nonetheless.

M&M sacked out in a pile of comforters...for such a small girl, she can cover some real estate

Day three started at Gourmet Girls Gluten Free Bakery in Tucson, AZ. Really. Good. Gluten Free backed items. If you need or want that sort of thing. The GF Cinnamon Roll was more of a iced cup cake than roll, but it was still tasty. Other than that, well worth the stop. Discussion was had about making a stop between Tucson and Oxnard, and it was ultimately decided to press on and arrive ahead of schedule. We arrived at the Embassy Suites Mandalay Bay in Oxnard at around 1:00 AM with no reservation. They found us a room, and we passed out.

Day four dawned to a beautifully clear sunrise and no idea where we were going to stay for the next 8 days. An attempt was made to have breakfast. I say attempt because, apparently, someone was so anxious for me to get in touch with the rental property manager that I was not allowed to finish my omelette before being frog marched at knife point to my phone with strict instructions to make arrangements.

There were three properties we were interested in. Through careful process of elimination, it was determined that only one of the properties had any chance of working for us. Fortunately for us, the most likely candidate was the one we had been most interested in from the beginning. So, after a couple of calls, arrangements were made to see the property in person. It passed muster, and we went around the block to the property manager's office to sign papers and fork over money.

This was our prize and home for the next several days.

This picture does not do it justice. The main selling points were that it is right across the street from the beach and was the most unique place we had seen. It was originally built in the 1920s as a beach shack and had been added onto, remodeled and rebuilt over the years. According to a plaque on the curb, it was redesigned by a 14 year old with help from his dad.

You thought I was kidding

While we waited for the official check in time before unloading our stuff, we drove around Oxnard and actually found the house we had stayed in the last time we were in Oxnard 14 years ago. Not a bad trick considering we didn't remember the address and only had vague recollections as to the general vicinity.

Check in time rolled around at 3:00, and we were ready to be rid of the Uhaul trailer that had stalked us all the way from Texas. While I was unloading the trailer, I got a phone call from a major insurance carrier that had invited me to apply for a position. Lo and behold, they wanted to schedule an in person interview at their offices in the DFW area. I explained my present location and inquired as to when they would like my presence in theirs. They said "How does Friday, October 24 work for you?" I said, "Perfect."

I informed The Queen that I had something positive to look forward to when we got home from the trip and continued my efforts. The Queen was pleased.

But wait, the job hunt news gets better. Not only did I get the Ronco major carrier interview and turnip twaddler scheduled, but Day Five dawned to find an email in my inbox from a recruiter that said:

"I know this is wild, but [major third party administrator company] wants to extend you an offer based on your resume."

A phone call confirmed that they were offering a contract temp senior adjuster position handling commercial general liability claims at a "market rate" salary. The "market rate" was the hourly rate that I had asked for. So, I couldn't exactly complain even though it's 33% less than what I was making. Come to find out that the rate I asked for is at the high end and even above the high end of the current market rate for senior adjusters. We'll talk about that in a minute. The start date was negotiated to begin shortly after our return from California, paperwork was received and sent back and The Queen was pleased to know that there would be a job and a paycheck waiting for us when we got back. I was, frankly, relieved to know that someone wanted me even if it was for a step back in position and pay.

I was told, by the recruiter, that the position had the potential to go full time, and that the company would likely just convert the hourly rate over to salary and all would be well. If you've ever dealt with recruiters, the worst of them are rather distant acquaintances with the truth. This one might have met truth at a party once, but experience reveals that he hasn't trying calling the fake phone number she gave him. 

Oh, the company likes me alright, and they would like to keep me (after first telling me that they didn't hire temps). Unfortunately, the salary does not convert over, and their salary ranges are somewhat lower than "market rate". Which is a shame because the people are nice, and the work is not difficult. I just can't cut the budget any closer to the bone than I already have. 

There's more stuff in the works on the Jobba the Hunt front, but nothing is ripe yet. I've applied for 56 positions so far. I've had exactly one face to face interview (the aforementioned major carrier interview) which didn't pan out due to differences in salary expectations. There have been only a couple of other telephone screening interviews, but the vast majority of my application efforts has failed to yield anything more than a "thanks, but no thanks" email. 

It's enough to give a guy a complex. 

Anytrip, enough about my employment search. There's trip pictures to share.  

The return trip home was nothing special. We had to cut it a day short because M&M started having allergy issues and was miserable. We made it home safely. It's hard to believe that was a month ago already. 

Much has transpired since last we spoke to borrow a phrase from the Denton PD "Dear Chief" letter. It's my bed time. Y'all write when you can. I'll do the same. 

A Day of Rest

As I've mentioned in the past, The Queen and I are Sabbath keepers. So, in honor of the Sabbath which is the God ordained day of rest, I thought I would schedule a post with pictures of The Cutest Baby In The World (TM) in all her restful glory. Enjoy.

I can't help it. She's just too darn cute not to photograph when she's sleeping. If you will pardon me, I hear a recliner calling mine and M&M's names.

Liar, Liar Pants On Fire

A while back, I complained somewhat loudly about the breathlessness with which Ruger hyped it's latest pocket pistol offering (the LC9) when I was hoping that all the teasing was a lead in to announcing a 1911 style pistol in the one hundredth year since JMB's ascension into gunnie immortality.

Say Uncle has a link to an article on The Firearm Blog with what is purported to be leaked photos of an impending release by Ruger of a 1911 style pistol.

It looks real pretty.

But Ruger lied to me when they said "I am not aware of any plans at this time for any new products / calibers." The have broken the ninth commandment and bore false witness to one of their loyal and faithful customers. I must go to their headquarters and preach to them about Hellfire and lepers. 

Right after I find out how much they plan to charge for one, and where I can put a deposit down.

Pride and Prejudice

The media seems to have been in a tizzy lately touting that we are in a “post racial” America since the election of the first “black” president in Barack Obama (even though Bill Clinton tried to lay claim to that honor based on his slightly colorful ancestry). While I do not disagree that American has made great progress in overcoming its discriminatory past since the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, I still have to question the accuracy of the assertion that we are in a “post racial” culture for a couple of reasons not the least of which are my own beliefs, thoughts and expectations.

First, let me tattle on myself. When you make your living dealing with people primarily over the phone, you tend to develop mental pictures of what the folks on the other end of the line look like based on the tone of their voice and the way they speak. Sometimes those mental pictures are basically accurate. Sometimes not.

For example, I attended a mediation on Wednesday in Houston. This was my first opportunity to meet my insured’s representative, as well as the plaintiff, in person. I had spoken with my insured’s representative on the phone a couple of times and had, as most of us do, formed a mental picture of him. When I met him Wednesday, for the first time, at mediation, his appearance conformed in basic details to my mental picture. Mid 40s, athletic, educated male with pale skin. In other words…someone more or less like me.

As tends to happen at mediations, after the basic details of the case have been hammered into the ground, conversation tends to switch over to cover a wide range of subjects from small talk to sports to politics. My insured’s representative mentioned at one point in the conversation that he was recently divorced.

The case we were mediating involved a business dispute in which the plaintiff, who started the business my company insured, claimed that he was wrongfully removed from his position as president and CEO by the other shareholders. This is a family owned business. So, the other shareholders were related to the plaintiff by blood and marriage. The insured representative attending mediation was one of the other shareholders as was the plaintiff’s brother. The plaintiff’s brother also happened to be the insured representative’s now former father in law.

Here is where I have to tell on myself and admit that I was completely surprised by the fact that the plaintiff/insured rep’s former uncle in law was a tall, 350+ pound man with skin the color of Hershey’s Milk Chocolate. I wasn’t expecting that.

50 years after Sammy Davis, Jr. married a woman with skin paler than his, 47 years after Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, 43 years after movie goers were shown a “mixed” couple in Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner, 35 years after The Jeffersons showed America’s TV viewing audience an interracial couple (Tom & Helen) on a prime time sitcom, me growing up never having seen any direct indications of societal discrimination, etc., etc. and my mind’s eye still puts two and two together and assumes that a pale skinned guy is going to marry a pale skinned girl. And I have to ask myself why I was surprised by that unexpected development and why it matters or if it matters at all.

It’s not like I was raised by white supremacists or anything…with the possible exception of my maternal grandfather. I have my suspicions about him. Well, they’re not so much suspicions as they are well founded conclusions supported by significant circumstantial evidence. One of these days, I know I’m going to come across an old photo of a Klan rally from the 1950s and see his goofy lookin’ mug poking out of a white robe next to a burning cross. But, I digress.

I was born in 1970 to a middle class family living in a suburb of Dallas. I did not suffer the injustices of racial prejudice growing up. I have no direct memory of the struggle some people went through to fight for Civil Rights. I never had to drink from a color coded water fountain. I never had to be in a color coded school or be bussed to a school across town so that there was greater integration of “minorities” into the student population to satisfy some judge’s court order. I’ve never (to my knowledge) been discriminated against because of the color of my skin.

So, why should I give a flying flip about racial prejudice in the first place? That’s going to take some explaining. I’ll do my best. Here goes.

According to the Declaration of Independence, America’s founding fathers stated that “We hold these truths to be self evidence, that all men are created equal,…” For the moment, I want to set aside the obvious argument that slavery was alive and well at the time that sentence was written leading to the inevitable conclusion that some men were more equal than others. We’ll try to come back to that later.

Scientifically speaking, race is a meaningless term. You are either a member of a given species or you are not. If you were born from a set of parents who are of the same species and you share the same certain number of chromosomes as your parents and are capable of reproducing and giving birth to fertile offspring, you are generally considered to be a member of the same species as your parents. Individuals do not magically mutate into a new species. Evolution doesn’t work that way. Seems pretty straightforward so far, right?

Now, let’s try an analogy for a moment. Take the humble crocodile for a moment. Ugly as sin and just about as hospitable as an IRS agent with bad gas. You know what they look like. Green-ish, scaly, bad breath, sharp teeth, etc (I’m talking about the crocs…not the IRS agents). But, they mate and produce other little crocodiles (not IRS agents). However, every once in a while, there is an aberration in the genetic code resulting in an almost cute little bugger known as an albino crocodile. Instead of being green-ish, albinos are mostly white. To my knowledge, no one considers an albino croc to be of a different species than its green-ish parents.

Anthropologically speaking, race is still meaningless. Culture and language are what matter. Even though you’d be hard pressed to differentiate between a pale skinned American and a pale skinned European at a glance, there is a significant difference between the two culturally and linguistically.

What about the Bible? America’s founding fathers seem to be making a thinly veiled reference to God in the Declaration of Independence with the “created equal” bit. The book of Genesis says that God created Adam and Eve in HIS image. It doesn’t say whether they were pale skinned, dark skinned or purple. There is no indication anywhere in the Bible that someone of one skin color is superior or inferior to another.

Once you pull off the outer layer of skin, we are all pretty much look the same when you get right down to it (setting aside the obvious differences between genders). So, why do humans persist in thinking that skin color (or religion, or sexual orientation, or national origin, etc.) makes any difference at all when it comes to our species? If a human is a human is a human, why do we perpetuate prejudice in all its forms (including affirmative action, quotas, little check boxes for ethnicity on applications and forms, etc.) through the use of something as scientifically meaningless as “race”?

In my opinion, it is because of the US vs. THEM mentality. We, as humans, want to take care of those close to us. Our family. Our friends. Those people who are like US. Not those crazy people in the other trailer park. Not those…eeekkk…northerners. Not….THEM.

Blood is thicker than water as the old saying goes.

Perhaps that is why European monarchies inbred so much as a means of diplomacy. Oh no, we can’t invade England. That’s Uncle Buckie’s family. How about France? No, no. That won’t do. Aunt Marie would have a fit. Hey, we don’t have no kin in Israel. Let’s go kick some butt down there and call it a crusade to reclaim the holy land or some such.

Perhaps that is also why slaves in almost every culture were “not from around here.” Need a cheap source of labor and you can’t use your own kids (…they may be lazy but they’re family). Hey, how about the neighbor kids? No, that won’t work. Their folks will want us to pay them the going rate plus extra benefits. Here’s an idea, let’s purchase some of them funny lookin' fellers from that other country over t’ yonder and….

You get the idea.

We’re not living in a “post racial world”. If anything, we are still living in the age of racism. Our society and our culture remain obsessed with “race”.

Black or White? Caucasian or Hispanic? In a truly post racial world, these terms have no meaning.

If we were living in a post racial world, Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson would not have a national audience.

If we were living in a post racial world, it would be possible for a “white” person to criticize the “black” President without being labeled a racist.

If we were living in a post racial world, groups like the KKK or the NAACP would no longer exist as they would no longer serve any purpose.

If we were living in a post racial world, companies like the one I work for would not need to provide “Diversity and Inclusion” training to avoid discrimination lawsuits.

If we were truly living in a post racial world, I would not have been surprised at a “mixed race” couple.

Does it matter? I think it does.

We are all the same. We are all humans. God does not see white people and black people. He sees only people that He made in His image. His creations which He really did make equal, and He loves them all equally.

We are all the same. We share the same planet. Our communications, our travels and our economies are global and almost instantaneous in nature. What happens over there has effects over here.

So, what do we do? For starters, stop.

Stop and think about how you think about yourself. How you think about others. How do you describe yourself or someone else to others? Have you ever really seen someone with white or black skin? I haven’t. How about we try for a little greater accuracy in how we describe physical attributes? To use The Queen’s favorite phrase…”Use Your Words.”

Stop asking for or providing meaningless and irrelevant information. A person’s skin color or ancestry has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not they are fit to obtain a loan or capable of performing a job.

Stop supporting organizations that perpetuate “racism” through membership criteria or ideology.

Stop asking me to feel guilty for something in which I never participated.

Stop using something that never happened to you as an excuse for failing to achieve.

Stop assuming that he or she is just like THEM and see if they might be like you.

If you believe what The Bible teaches, we are all related at one point or another.

Which means that there really is no THEM. There is only US.

Our President, Who Is On The Fairway, Harried Be Thy Name...

Alright, I have a thought/question/observation for my readership. I know some of you personally and most via the writings on your own blogs, and I feel fairly safe in saying that we are, by and large, a conservatively bent group of folks. There is at least one libertarian among the group, but I think he will understand where I am going with this.

Here lately, the whole subject of whether or not President Obama is a Christian seems to be gaining steam again.Or, at least, it seems to be getting some press. Which is the same thing in my opinion. It seems that Mr. Obama doesn’t want to disrupt local congregations with his attendance; however, he is only too happy to disrupt your local golf course on a Sunday morning.

Further, it seems that about one in five people in our great nation think that PrezBO is a Muslim.The Queen and my inlaws would be among that 20%. Personally, I think everyone, whether they argue for him being a Christian or a Muslim, is missing the mark.

Granted, Obama hasn’t really done much of anything to convince us to the contrary of his Muslim leanings or lack thereof. His 20 year attendance at Trinity Universal under the ministry of Jeremiah Wright isn’t exactly helping his cause either.

Let’s take a look at some minor details for a moment and see if anything sticks to the wall.

A good Muslim is supposed to pray 5 times a day in the general direction of Mecca. These prayers are said to be compulsory; however, it appears that there is some leeway or flexibility allowed under certain circumstances for a Muslim to get those prayers in without being tied to a specific, dogmatic schedule. To my knowledge, there has been no evidence that Mr. Obama has engaged in the practice of praying 5 times daily…ever.

Next up, a good Muslim is supposed to fast during the month of Ramadan from dawn to dusk. Here again, I think our media, no matter how liberally bent, would have a hard time failing to observe Mr. Obama conspicuously abstaining from food and drink during daylight hours for an entire month without making some comment.

Alms-giving. Nope, no indication of that that I’ve heard about. The residents of the Gulf Coast sure would have appreciated that after the BP disaster.

Finally, there’s the Hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca all Muslims are encouraged to make at least once during their lifetime). While I suppose it is possible that a devious Muslim could wait until after he’s finished with his life’s work of doing whatever it is devious Muslims do to make the pilgrimage, I would think that a devout Muslim would have made some reference to it at some point in his life.

On the Christian side, I feel safe in saying that a devout Christian would have a hard time justifying spending his day of worship anywhere other his chosen place of worship. That place of worship would not be a golf course and most certainly would not include yelling “Oh God, please let it go in.” to a little white, dimpled ball.

So, I think we can safely say that President Obama is neither a devout Christian nor a devout Muslim. So, dear readers, what does that leave us with?

You’re pretty much left with atheist, agnostic, “fallen” Muslim/Christian and/or secular humanist.

I obviously don’t know the man’s heart and can’t say this with any authority; but, I would say that the evidence would tend to support the conclusion that Mr. Obama is either a secular humanist or an agnostic with some religious (possibly Christian) leanings. Does anyone in the congregation have an opinion or evidence to the contrary?

National Day of Prayer

As The Preacher here at Preachers and Horse Thieves, a certain news item caught my attention this week as I was out and about in search of evening entertainment options for The Queen and I at the nearest Blockbuster. As is my normal practice while in the car by my lonesome, I had the radio tuned to an AM talk station. At that particular hour, I was expecting to hear Dennis Miller’s radio show (whose talent I have enjoyed since his Saturday Night Live days). He generally has a very balanced, moderate view of things which I find refreshing in the current culture of extremism I see on both sides of the political landscape.

Unfortunately for me, I tuned in to discover that my local station that carries Dennis Miller had recently made the decision to insert an hour of the Jay Sekulow Live show in front of Miller’s show effectively preventing me from hearing my expected Miller fix. For those not familiar, Jay Sekulow is a lawyer with the American Center for Law and Justice (the ACLJ). The ACLJ is sort of like the anti-ACLU. It’s an organization that tries to stand up for religious rights (most notably the rights of Christians) as opposed to attempting to tear them down (which is what you normally see the ACLU attempting to do).

Now, I have nothing against Mr. Sekulow (other than the fact that he’s a lawyer). I’ve listened to him before. I was just expecting something else. You know how it is. You go to the freezer expecting to get the last bowl of Blue Bell cookies and cream only to find that [fill in the blank of the evil, despicable ice cream thief here] beat you to it and left you with the Blue Bunny frozen yogurt. Bleh. I wanted my Dennis Miller, and all I got was Jay Sekulow. Talk about being unfulfilled.

Again, I have nothing against Mr. Sekulow. He is passionate about his work and his beliefs, but it’s hard not to listen to him and not think that the gates of hell (or the ACLU) are prevailing against Christians everywhere. Nevertheless, I think he does a good job of making the legal issues understandable to folks who don’t spend their lives steeped in the esoteric world of litigation.

Anyway, I told you that to tell you this. Mr. Sekulow was on a rant about a court challenge to the National Day of Prayer. Apparently, there is a fight going on right now about whether or not there should be such a thing as a National Day of Prayer. A group called the Freedom From Religion Foundation along with a few individual plaintiffs filed suit in Federal Court in Wisconsin over the constitutionality of the National Day of Prayer.

First, a bit of history. I’ve done this to you before. You knew it was coming. Just relax, and I promise not to make it too painful.

The NDP (you’ll have to pardon me if I’m gettin’ a little tired of writin’ National Day of Prayer over and over again) is a law passed by Congress and enacted by Harry S. Truman in 1952 following an evangelical campaign by Billy Graham in Washington including a speech on the steps of the Capital building. For those legal minded individuals, you can find the text of the law by searching 36 U.S.C. 119 (don’t worry…I’ll save you the trouble and give it to you in a minute).

Well, if this isn’t right up the alley of Preachers and Horse Thieves, I don’t know what is. You’ve got your preachers and your horse thieves all wrapped up into one issue. How could I not write on this subject?

The 1952 law is not without precedent. Both presidents Washington and Adams issued proclamations setting aside an NDP. Lincoln called for “national humiliation, prayer and fasting” during the Civil War. By 1952, America had been through 2 world wars as well as several more or less major wars, was in the middle of fighting the Korean War, was up to its neck in the Cold War with Russia and was dealing with Senator Joseph McCarthy’s efforts to ferret out Communist influence and espionage in America. Under this back drop, Billy Graham’s speech called for an NDP to avoid the possibility of “national shipwreck and ruin.” Congress wasted no time passing a law requiring the President to proclaim an NDP.

As promised, here is the original language of the law passed in 1952:

The President shall set aside and proclaim a suitable day each year, other than a Sunday, as a National Day of Prayer, on which the people of The United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals.

The language of the law underwent a minor revision in 1988 for the purposes of setting aside a specific day to allow people to plan ahead a little easier. Here is the revised language:

The President shall issue each year a proclamation designating the first Thursday in May as a National Day of Prayer on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals.

At first blush, the language of the law appears to be fairly benign. However, take a moment to compare the language of section 119 with the language of section 118 which establishes the National Aviation Day. Here is the language for section 118:

The President may issue each year a proclamation—
(1) designating August 19 as National Aviation Day;
(2) calling on United States Government officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on National Aviation Day; and
(3) inviting the people of the United States to observe National Aviation Day with appropriate exercises to further stimulate interest in aviation in the United States.

I know this is one of my world famous subtle distinctions, but do you see where it says “may” in section 118 and says “shall” in section 119? If you spend any time in the litigation world, you will quickly discover that there is a world of difference between “may” and “shall”. “May” means something is permitted but not required. There is an element of discretion provided for in the term “may”. “Shall” means you will do this without fail. There is no discretion allowed for in “shall”.

Coming back to our controversy de jour, the Wisconsin Federal Court suit filed by Freedom From Religion Foundation is based on the wording of the NDP statute allegedly violating the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. Hold on, hold on. You should know me better than that by now.
Here’s the language of the First Amendment:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

First, let’s get a couple of minor quibbles out of the way.

The main plaintiff in this suit is the Freedom From Religion Foundation. When people think of the First Amendment, they generally think that it guarantees freedom OF religion since that’s what a majority of us were taught in school. While the language of the amendment does not say those words exactly, the concept is there in the form of a prohibition on infringing the right to freely exercise one’s religion (or lack thereof). The government cannot establish one particular faith, sect or religion as THE national religion. The government cannot stop you, me or anyone else from practicing our religion or not practicing a religion if that floats your boat. I would like to take this opportunity to point out to the plaintiffs in this suit that the language of the First Amendment in no way states nor can be construed to mean that the Constitution provides for freedom FROM religion. I know those seem like minor points, but they are apparently major ones to some people.

Next, some people (previously myself included) might try to argue that the First Amendment only applies to Congress on not the President or the government as a whole. The opinion written by Federal District Court Judge Barbara Crabb (no, I did not make that up) succinctly sums up the precedent and case law settling the issue that it most certainly does apply to the President and the rest of the gub’ment. Judge Crabb’s opinion is an interesting read if somewhat long at 66 pages. You can read it here if you want to know what she really said instead of what Fox or CNN says she said. In short, she finds the NDP to be unconstitutional.

Now, I suspect that some of my readers might expect me to be vehemently opposed to Judge Crabb’s opinion. Those readers would be wrong.

Yes, you read that right. The Preacher here at Preachers and Horse Thieves agrees with a Federal Court Judge in Wisconsin that the NDP statute violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. What next? Sheep and wolves living together in harmony? Don’t bet on it in this lifetime.

Here’s my reasoning. Prayer is the main means by which most people commune with their god. If you subscribe to the Holy Bible as your spiritual instruction book, you are strongly encouraged (some would say commanded) by God to pray daily. Prayer is a natural and essential part of a religious life. Now we have Congress passing a law requiring the President to set aside a specific day as a day of prayer. Being the President, he represents all Americans, religious and non-religious alike. The President is also, whether we like him or not, an individual with his (or eventually, someday, her) own beliefs or lack thereof. Assume for the moment that Americans elect an atheist. Some would argue that we already have…several times (and, no, I will not engage in a discussion about whether or not President Obama is a Muslim). Congress has passed a law prohibiting said presidential atheist from freely exercising his lack of religious beliefs by requiring (remember, the statute says “shall” not “may”) him (or her) to proclaim a day of prayer.

Secondary to that, I do not need nor do I want my government telling me how or when to practice my religion. That’s why I have a Bible. That’s why I attend a church which teaches what I believe to be The Truth (your experience may vary). I don’t need President Obama, or Congress, or anyone else telling me that the first Thursday in May is a really good day to pray. What’s next? Is the government going to pass a law saying that being Catholic or Mormon is a really good religion (no offense intended towards Catholics or Mormons)?

As a strict constitutionalist and small government conservative, I don’t think the government has any business proclaiming a day of prayer anymore than they have any business declaring National Aviation Day. It’s just not their job. They have more important things to do. The more time they spend on silly proclamations or other non-sense; the less time they have to devote to more important matters like staying the hell out of our healthcare.

Then there’s the non-conformist in me. Telling me it’s a National Day of Prayer makes me want to NOT pray tomorrow out of spite.

The bottom line for me is that my faith is just that: mine. I’ll practice it how and when I please. I’m not here to tell you how to practice yours. I may make the occasional observation to give you something to think about; but, if you disagree with me, that’s fine. You are welcome to your sincerely held beliefs. I only ask the same courtesy in return.