Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Calling All Christians...especially you Catholics!

A Pastor friend of mine has this posted at his website ...a Pastor who himself is not Catholic but a true and devout Christian who would make a better Catholic than I (and many other Catholics that I know personally; including friends and family. - that's OK I won't name names).
My Catholic beginnings for the most part had their genesis at a Catholic orphanage where I spent nine years...my most informative years. Unlike children raised in the home with Catholic (or any other denomination) parents my religious education was almost a 24 hour per day ritual. The nuns would sometimes call us all in from the school yard just to say the Rosary. Other times we would have special services at the chapel. And let's not forget grace...always say your grace before and after every meal. Whooo! No wonder I still remember the words; 9 years worth would put it over 9,800 (9,855 to be exact, but I'm sure I skipped a few.)
Well enough about me. I just want to make the point that I am a true believer in the tenets of the Catholic Christian Doctrine (I used to teach CCD)...and that is not to say that I always believe in what the Church sometimes preaches. For the Preachers or Priests are just human and like all humans some can err in their ways...they forget from whence they came! And I came from a very sound and moral upbringing that I'm proud to say that I am a Catholic...and never do I chastise anyone that is not!
We are all God's children and we all cannot decide who will be our parents...or nuns in the orphanage. With all that said I wish to make a statement that I believe has held true all of my adult life and that is, "I have never voted for anyone (that I know of, either Democrat or Republican) that legislates policies that go against my religion. Think about this: Man came first, religion came second, and the state came in last. Men (or woman) have always formed their ruling bodies based on their religious beliefs. That ruling body is what we refer to as the government! Remember, they came in last! And they always should be last...people and religion must be above any government. That is not to say that government is a religion but it is the religion that forms the thought process of establishing governments.
In today's world we now have a new religion and it's called humanism...I wouldn't dare honor them with a capital 'H' for humanists put themselves as the highest wrung on the ladder; no God, no god! Both our government and non-governmental agencies (NGO's) have infiltrated the inner workings of the state and thus became dictators over the populace. They have penetrated our schools and have brainwashed our children. All this while Americans are distracted with their everyday routines. And thus we have a generation or more of Godless peoples unaware of what freedom and a democratic republic once stood for. Please read the following post plus I added a little at the end (for anyone that has followed me since my very first posting the reading is my very first post). Thanks. - Norman E. Hooben early one morning the 29th of October 2008. God Bless

INFINITE AUTHORITY: Why you can’t be Roman Catholic and support Barack Obama

Cross posted from Right Truth.

By R.J. Godlewski

“Ignorance of the fact that man has a wounded nature inclined to do evil gives rise to serious errors in the areas of education, politics, social action, and morals” Catechism of the Catholic Church [407]

Usually, I am quite reserved when it comes to people’s political views and beliefs, so long as it represents an honest reflection. It is when dishonesty arises do I become terse and nowhere is this more evident than when “Catholics” try to subterfuge official Church dogma to support their personal political agendas. We’ve seen this as Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden, among others, have perverted their faith for political gain. There can be no greater amount of hate then I have towards such people. However, I will tame my desires for an Inquisition and simply proceed with outlining how adherence to the Roman Catholic Church cannot be reconciled with the liberal Democratic Party.

As Senator Barack Obama is now the de facto leader of the Democrats and although he is not Catholic himself, I will still use his beliefs against him to show Catholics why they cannot accept these policies and remain faithful to the Mother Church. In brief, no Roman Catholic can vote for Obama in good conscience. Because I, as a member of the human population, am ill suited to discuss matters of divine revelation, I will defer to the Catechism of the Catholic Church as final authority on matters of Church doctrine.

If you claim to be Roman Catholic, especially in public, you hold allegiance to these truths. Any deviation is grounds for major sin; any swaying of the “flock” against them threatens eternal damnation. Roman Catholics should never – ever – vote for any person, support any organization, or harbor any action that goes against these beliefs. Period.

Abortion

The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation…These human rights depend neither on single individuals nor on parents; nor do they represent a concession and are inherent in the person by virtue of the creative act from which the person took his origin” [2273] (United States Catholic Conference, Inc. 1994,607)

Simply put, the Catholic Church believes that human life begins at conception and no earthly authority – state or parent – can deny this fact. People like Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden would have you believe that the Church only recently adopted this doctrine. They are very wrong:

Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law:

“You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish [2271] (United States Catholic Conference, Inc. 1994, 606).

This not only silences the likes of Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden, but it highlights the grave infraction of a “Christian” such as Barack Obama who vehemently opposed law protecting children born live after failed abortions.

Homosexuality

Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.’ They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved” [2357] (United States Catholic Conference, Inc. 1994, 625).

Can anyone add anything better than “Under no circumstances can they be approved”? Judge people by what they do, not by who they are.

Spreading the Wealth

The responsibility of the state. ‘Economic activity, especially the activity of a market economy, cannot be conducted in an institutional, juridical, or political vacuum. On the contrary, it presupposes sure guarantees of individual freedom and private property, as well as a stable currency and efficient public services. Hence the principal task of the state is to guarantee this security, so that those who work and produce can enjoy the fruits of their labor and thus feel encouraged to work efficiently and honestly…Another task of the state is that of overseeing and directing the exercise of human rights in the economic sector. However, primary responsibility in this area belongs not to the state but to individuals and to the various groups and associations which make up society [2432] (United States Catholic Conference, Inc. 1994, 643-644).

In other words, if people break the law through greed and corruption, then throw them into jail. Otherwise, the state has to keep its hands off for “responsibility in this area belongs not to the state but to individuals”.

Furthermore, the concept of “those who work and produce can enjoy the fruits of their labor” and “work effiiciently and honestly” means that paychecks fall under what we in the marine salvage industry call “no cure no pay” agreements. Simply put, if you don’t work you don’t get paid. A simpleton could understand that so why thousands of college-educated Obama supporters can’t is beyond me.


However, I still believe in “fair wages”. Nobody likes ecking out a living in a minimum wage job. I didn’t like it. I’m not sure if Barack Obama ever earned minimum wage as a post-collegiate adult, but I bet that he wouldn’t have liked it if he did. The point is there is a world of difference between someone toiling their way through a hot, dangerous factory and someone who simply doesn’t want to work. Fair wages is a two-way street – eliminate all those industry-destroying “I’m only going to do my particular job at fifty bucks per hour” automotive jobs and lower the cost of living for everyone else. Unions kill jobs when they make people lazy. At their salary, they should be able to fill the shoes of nearly every position within their area (while working in computer software for General Electric, I couldn’t plug in a computer printer because that was a client union job. That kind of employment socialism needs to stop).

Human work proceeds directly from persons created in the image of God and called to prolong the work of creation by subduing the earth, both with and for one another. Hence work is a duty: ‘If any one will not work, let him not eat.’[2427] (United States Catholic Conference, Inc. 1994, 642)

Barack Obama’s “Spread the Wealth” convoy just took a direct hit. That reference about “no work, no eat” comes straight from 2 Thessalonians: “In fact, when we were with you, we instructed you that if anyone was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat” (3:10). Remember when God Himself, the one who multiplied loaves of bread and fishes, came down to earth for a vist, He did not work as a “chartiable organizer” as some liberals propose. No, he worked as a carpenter. He worked with his hands in Joe the Carpenter’s shop and today would probably work well in Joe the Plumber’s shop too. No way could an office worker endure a Crucifixion.

Self-Defense

The legitimate defense of persons and societies is not an exception to the prohibition against the murder of the innocent that constitutes intentional killing. ‘The act of self-defense can have a double effect: the preservation of one’s own life; and the killing of the aggressor…The one is intended, the other is not’” [2263] (United States Catholic Conference, Inc. 1994, 603-604)

Love towards oneself remains a fundamental principle of morality. Therefore, it is legitimate to insist on respect for one’s own right to life. Someone who defends his life is not guilty of murder even if he is forced to deal his aggressor a lethal blow:

…Nor is it necessary for salvation that a man omit the act of moderate self-defense to avoid killing the other man, since one is bound to take more care of one’s own life than of another’s” [2264] (United States Catholic Conference, Inc. 1994, 604)

Legitimate defense can be not only a right but a grave duty for someone responsible for another’s life, the common good of the family or of the state.” [2265] (United States Catholic Conference, Inc. 1994, 604)

Preserving the common good of society requires rendering the aggressor unable to inflict harm” [2266] (United States Catholic Conference, Inc. 1994, 604)

Barack Obama has made it perfectly clear that he wants to take away your right to own guns and punish you for protecting your life. Yet, in doing so, he is denying you your “grave duty” to protect yourself and your family. Innocent human life is so infinitely precious that even the Catholic Church itself understands that it cannot be left solely to the care of so-called “proper authorities”. If Barack Obama does not value all innocent human lives, he certainly does not value yours.

Capital Punishment

For this reason the traditional teaching of the Church has acknowledged as well-founded the right and duty of legitimate public authority to punish malefactors by means of penalties commensurate with the gravity of the crime, not excluding, in cases of extreme gravity, the death penalty.” [2266] (United States Catholic Conference, Inc. 1994, 604)

This is probably the most misunderstood piece of Church doctrine. Several times I have heard liberals use the death penalty argument as a means to trap pro-life Republicans by saying such things as “You support the death penalty when the Catholic Church is against it so why can’t Democrats support abortions?” The truth is, the Catholic Church is not against the death penalty in “cases of extreme gravity”. Sure, we all have aversion to killing other people but we’re not talking about people writing bad checks here. Furthermore, while we’re on the subject, take a good look at that phrase “penalties commensurate with the gravity of the crime”. We need to stop allowing sexual predators to go Scot free as the liberals desire. It does not function well for the “common good of the family”. Or of the state.

The Environment

The seventh commandment enjoins respect for the integrity of creation. Animals, like plants and inanimate beings, are by nature destined for the common good of past, present, and future humanity. Use of the mineral, vegetable, and animal resources of the universe cannot be divorced from respect for moral imperatives. Man’s dominion over inanimate and other living beings granted by the Creator is not absolute; it is limited by concern for the quality of life of his neighbor, including generations to come; it requires a religious respect for the integrity of creation.” [2416] (United States Catholic Conference, Inc. 1994, 640)

God entrusted animals to the stewardship of those whom he created in his own image. Hence it is legitimate to use animals for food and clothing.” [2417] (United States Catholic Conference, Inc. 1994, 640)

Simply put, we take care of the planet because we are religious, not because the environment is our diety. Without human utilization, the environment becomes a vastness of unappreciated nothingness. Now let’s consider that last quotation: “Hence it is legitimate to use animals for food and clothing”. This should stop PETA and other activists in their tracks. The higher order of things places people at the top of the totem pole.
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To cover the eight hundred or so pages of the Catechism would require more time than we have left before Tuesday’s election. I have attempted to cover those topics that I feel are of most value to Catholic (and, perhaps, other Christian) voters. This election may very well lead to the subjugation of the Church here in America. It is very important to remember that you cannot reconcile a vote for Barack Obama and membership in the Faith. To do so cancels out one or the other.

So, if you consider yourself a faithful, truthful Roman Catholic, then please vote against Senator Barack Obama on November 4th (already, John McCain has gained a 20% surge amongst Catholic voters and now leads Obama by 11%). However, if you believe that Senator Obama’s social, economic, and military policies are more in line with your values, then by all means go ahead and vote for the gentlemen. Just get the hell out of my Church; you don’t belong here – yet.

Reference
United States Catholic Conference, Inc. Catechism of the Catholic Church. New York: Doubleday, 1994.
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My first post:
What Goes Around Comes Around...History does repeat itself...

That the spirit of revolutionary change, which has long been disturbing the nations of the world, should have passed beyond the sphere of politics and made its influence felt in the cognate sphere of practical economics is not surprising. The elements of the conflict now raging are unmistakable, in the vast expansion of industrial pursuits and the marvellous discoveries of science; in the changed relations between masters and workmen; in the enormous fortunes of some few individuals, and the utter poverty of the masses; the increased self reliance and closer mutual combination of the working classes; as also, finally, in the prevailing moral degeneracy. The momentous gravity of the state of things now obtaining fills every mind with painful apprehension; wise men are discussing it; practical men are proposing schemes; popular meetings, legislatures, and rulers of nations are all busied with it - actually there is no question which has taken deeper hold on the public mind.
In any case we clearly see, and on this there is general agreement, that some opportune remedy must be found quickly for the misery and wretchedness pressing so unjustly on the majority of the working class: for the ancient working men's guilds were abolished in the last century, and no other protective organization took their place. Public institutions and the laws set aside the ancient religion. Hence, by degrees it has come to pass that working men have been surrendered, isolated and helpless, to the hardheartedness of employers and the greed of unchecked competition. The mischief has been increased by rapacious usury, which, although more than once condemned, is nevertheless, under a different guise, but with like injustice, still practiced by covetous and grasping men. To this must be added that the hiring of labor and the conduct of trade are concentrated in the hands of comparatively few; so that a small number of very rich men have been able to lay upon the teeming masses of the laboring poor a yoke little better than that of slavery itself.
To remedy these wrongs the socialists, working on the poor man's envy of the rich, are striving to do away with private property, and contend that individual possessions should become the common property of all, to be administered by the State or by municipal bodies. They hold that by thus transferring property from private individuals to the community, the present mischievous state of things will be set to rights, inasmuch as each citizen will then get his fair share of whatever there is to enjoy. But their contentions are so clearly powerless to end the controversy that were they carried into effect the working man himself would be among the first to suffer. They are, moreover, emphatically unjust, for they would rob the lawful possessor, distort the functions of the State, and create utter confusion in the community.
It is surely undeniable that, when a man engages in remunerative labor, the impelling reason and motive of his work is to obtain property, and thereafter to hold it as his very own. If one man hires out to another his strength or skill, he does so for the purpose of receiving in return what is necessary for the satisfaction of his needs; he therefore expressly intends to acquire a right full and real, not only to the remuneration, but also to the disposal of such remuneration, just as he pleases. Thus, if he lives sparingly, saves money, and, for greater security, invests his savings in land, the land, in such case, is only his wages under another form; and, consequently, a working man's little estate thus purchased should be as completely at his full disposal as are the wages he receives for his labor. But it is precisely in such power of disposal that ownership obtains, whether the property consist of land or chattels. Socialists, therefore, by endeavoring to transfer the possessions of individuals to the community at large, strike at the interests of every wage-earner, since they would deprive him of the liberty of disposing of his wages, and thereby of all hope and possibility of increasing his resources and of bettering his condition in life. (Circa 1891)
Please go back and read the above passage one more time and think about what is happening today...need I say more!
Always remember this: "You never had a problem until you elected the bum."
It's time to throw the bums out...all of 'em!
The bum you elected was a dummie just like you before he was elected...after he got in office he amassed great knowledge and became a world renown expert on everything from banking to atmospheric science...and all this overnight!
Some of the smartest people were the dumbest Presidents...no need to go into great detail here but remember Jimmy Carter...all kinds of degrees, graduate of the Naval Academy (of course they had a bad rap about cheating), officer aboard nuclear submarines, even knew how to grow peanuts...wow, I'm impressed! He was just voted the worst President in US history ! (Biggest reason...he is a big time socialist.)

5 comments:

  1. No one who is a Christian, unless they are completely ignorant of who Jesus is, can support a pro-choice candidate like Barack Obama. It's like supporting the knife that pierces what you say you worship.

    Jesus requires us to complete obedience... "You are my friends if you keep my commandments" and "Deny yourse, take up your cross and follow me", "He who loses his life for my sake will find it"..... part of that means setting aside your own ideas, ideals, and even generational beliefs; spiritual, ideological and political.

    If you haven't come to a place where you're willing to objectively examine the commandments and Christ's message, you are your own god.

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  2. Thank you for you comments...
    I believe we are on the same page.

    Ref:"If you haven't come to a place where you're willing to objectively examine the commandments and Christ's message, you are your own god."

    That (you are your own god) pretty much sums it up for the description of a humanist.

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  3. Hebrews 4:13 says that we will be held accountable for everything in creation (including the billions of animals in factory farms).
    If we are truly pro-life, we would have compassion for all of God's creatures as God does (Psalm 145:9).
    Jesus said "Blessed are the merciful, for they will obtain mercy." Mt. 5:7
    Much study concerning 'pro-life' needs to be done. Exodus 21:20-22 shows the penalties for a person vs the unborn. Yet, we've killed 1,000s of innocent civilians in Iraq for no reason.

    We can make the choice for compassion and mercy in a small way every day by what we eat.

    Being pro-choice doesn't make you pro-abortion. You can be pro-choice and pro-life. Education and support is needed for women to make educated choices. Will making abortion illegal really reduce abortions?
    Peace for all life,
    Jan

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  4. Jan,
    You may be 100% correct with you quotes from the Bible and I don't have any quarrel with that. But I am concerned with the hint of some mis-interpretations.
    For one thing God made all things living and static which includes life forms (animals, humans, etc,) and non-life forms such as water, rocks, mountains etc. Each of these has a purpose and each has a life of it's own (0r a cycle if you will). For example, Water has a cycle. At any given time there is no more or no less water on this earth. It just moves around a bit...evaporation here, rain there. Living things need water. Living things have a cycle...the moment we are born were are on are way to die...it happens every day.
    All living things need water. Then there is the God made food chain. Some living things have but one day to live (various insects) but they serve a purpose for a higher life form...birds, fish, etc. As life forms get more complicated so does the ability to withstand pain (primative nervous systems vs the most complicated advance system we fine in humans.
    You probably heard the old saying, "big fish gets the little fish" or "the bird that gets the worm". Well in all these cases the degree of pain is significant.
    A fish does not feel any pain when eaten by another fish nor does it feel pain when caught by the fisherman's net or hook. What you think is pain is really a discomfort. (you may feel pain, but you are more complicated.) Now Jesus was a Fisherman...He even taught his disciples to fish more effectively...why?...because humans are at the top of the food chain...so Jesus blessed the fish and served it to the multitudes.
    In each life form God gave it some defensive measures in order to propagate the species. God also gave man these same defenses...not only for oneself but to defend their family or way of life. Just as he approved of David defending his people from the giant. So are we to just look the other way when tyrants kill millions of innocent people or should we be like David and save the people being slaughtered.
    I could go on with this at length but may I suggest that you read the "Just War Doctrine" I'm almost certain President Bush did not read the Just War Doctrine, but he has certainly complied with it.
    One more example:
    Say you are a marksman and one of these bad guys are about to cut off your best friend's (or somebody closer) head and you are in an appropriate position to shoot the bad guy before he does his horrible deed...Will you pull the trigger or let your best friend die a horrble death? For me, I would pull the trigger. So ya see there is an occasion whereas someone has to do the killing and it's called defense, defense, defense!
    God Bless

    ReplyDelete
  5. "you" should be "your" and "fine" should be "find"

    sorry'bout that...

    ReplyDelete