Friday, September 19, 2008
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Ignoring "Angels of Peace"
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Posted by:
Michael Medved at
6:27 PM
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According to a new Baylor University survey on religion, 55% of all adults say they’ve been “protected from harm by a guardian angel.”
This number surprised the study’s authors, and includes 66% of evangelical Protestants, 57% of Catholics, 49% of “other religions” and even 20% of those who say they have “no religion"! Among American Jews, however, only 10% cited angelic protection. That’s an odd finding considering that religious Jewish homes everywhere greet each Sabbath singing a beloved hymn welcoming “angels of peace” to guard the home on the holy day.
At a time of communal self reflection with the approach of the Jewish New Year, it’s appropriate to wonder why so many Jews remain disconnected from our own tradition – and in the process also stand apart from the spirituality and reverence that continue to characterize the nation at large.
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That's not new, but Michael of course has put all of his eggs in the evangelical basket. I suspect Mike's a little embarassed that his fellow Jews don't buy into all this "guardian angel" stuff, simply because it emphasizes how different Judaism really is from Christianity. Mike, get over it! |
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Careful that you may entertain Angels unaware. |
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Did I miss something? What happened to laura ingraham? |
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I do not want to promote either Bill Maher or Andrew Sullivan now, for obvious reasons. But Real Time was really strange tonight in a strangely positive way. In response idiotic socialist crap from some chick named Naomi Klein--Andrew Sullivan almost became a conservative again. Then Sully switched back with a McCain Palin attack. Then Maher went on a rant about religion. Then Sully switched back again. It was like watching a gay version of Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde or the Hulk--except Sully switched back and forth between leftist and conservative.
But, know hope.
The panelists all acknowledged that if Obama is not leading by 5-7% by November 4, he will lose. Plus they don't know how to deal with it, they all had a different attack plan and they all contradicted each other. They are scared. McCain and Palin really have them shaken. I liked that part.
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I wish you the happiest Rosh Hashanah! |
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My granddaughter graduated from Baylor. It's a fine university, but hard-core ultra right. Consider that when reading any study they sponser. |
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Whatever your opinion of the Bush tax cuts, it is indisputable that they made our tax base more progressive: the rich and very rich now pay a higher percentage of the total tax take than they did before Bush took office. That has dire implications for the budget for the next few years.
Especially in recent years, the income of the wealthy has become more volatile than the income of the middle class and below. In good years, their earnings soar, and Uncle Sam reaps more revenue than expected. In bad years--particularly bad years on Wall Street, since most of that money comes in the form of some sort of security, rather than cash--tax revenues nosedive. Incidentally, the more we focus on taxing the rich, the worse this problem will get.
http://meganmcardle.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/09/watch_ the_budget.php |
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Jesus is not the Messiah. They disagree with each other to some extent on every thing else. |
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Both the Old and the New Testaments are replete with accounts of angels' activity in the lives of men. Why it is surprising that God still takes an active, caring role in the lives of His children is what believers should be surprised at.
People who believe in God, whatever religion, find themselves fundamentally opposed to the precepts of the liberal left. Believing in God means that you believe you are not God. It means that you accept God has ultimate authority over how you live your life. The question "How do I discover and then do what is right for me?" becomes "How do I discover and then do what is right according to God's Law concerning myself and society?" Liberalism is essentially a selfish religion. God demands that we look beyond ourselves and see the other, and serve the other. Abortion, euthanasia, same sex marriage,(the list goes on) are all about serving the self; there is no room for the other in liberalisms' religion. |
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The Democratic Party threatens Jewish Groups regarding Gov. Palin:
The thing that I hate the most about this? It won’t stop my liberal Jewish friends from voting Democrat in any way. It won’t even make them think twice about the tactics used by the Democrats. And it’s far, far worse than Soccer Dad wrote about the other day. CBS didn’t have the story about Jewish organizations having their tax-exempt status revoked for having Palin speak at the rally.
That’s not a political party pressuring groups to do something. That’s outright break-your-kneecap, Mafia-style blackmail threats.
In fact, those are precisely the kinds of tactics that the Jewish groups will be protesting on Monday. We just never expected them from the Democrats.
http://www.yourish.com/2008/09/20/5358
http://www.pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/archives2/024631.ph p
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I don't know how anyone could not expect that from the leftists who have been running the democrat party for years. Welcome to the real world. |
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as a club to bash their ideologic opponents. I wish you guys would seriously look in the mirror and look over your comments. Look at the hatred, look at the slime. Is that how God wants you to act? If you answer yes, you have much in common with the Taliban. |
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And just what evidence do these people have that an angel intervened and saved them? Nothing tangible, of course, they just feel that they have a guardian angel.
What percentage of people play lotteries expecting to win? What percentage of people think space aliens have visited the earth? I'll bet the percentage is about the same as those who think that they have been protected by supernatural beings.
Quick, stop the presses! New headline:
"Scientists Astounded! Study shows gullible people believe stupid things!" |
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Fabius Cunctator
I am an electrical engineer and I can prove that electrons exist by experiment.
No one can do this with supernatural entities. Why don't you conduct a repeatable experiment wherein you demonstrate an effect that is present only when angels are present? Go ahead, be the first to do it!
"Proof" means to prove that something exists. You can't prove non-existence because non-existent things don't leave evidence of their non-existence. What kind of tracks aren't left by the "Easter Bunny"?
How can you tell that you were saved by an angel and not a space alien with a cloaking device or a time traveler from the future who froze time so that you couldn't see him? How can you tell that you are not actually in a coma and are only dreaming that you are reading Townhall.com?
The answer is that there is no evidence of space aliens, time travel or that you are in a coma. Non-existent things don't leave evidence. |
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I understand that you're seeking some type of empirical, demonstrable data to prove the existence of God (and/or angels). That's a fair quest. There is in fact physical evidence of many occurrences of happenings listed in the Bible as well as documentation (other than the Bible) that verify some of the things listed in the Book.
Fab makes a valid point c/o electrons. You say that through experimentation you can prove they exist. However, you cannot hear, feel, smell, etc) an electron; which if I recall correctly is needed for empirical protocol. So, based on your "proof" of an electron, when it gets down to it you are actually taking it on faith that they exist. Albeit, it is an intelligent assumption based on the knowns gathered from the experimentation.
That being the case; why cannot a Believer base his/or her faith in the existence of God, based on the given evidence?
You referenced the Easter bunny as "proof" that faith in God is laughable; I don't see anyone referencing Marvin the Martian's laser gun as proof that electrons don't exist. |
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"I can prove electrons exist...No one can do this with supernatural entities."
You have not come up with a test for unseen intelligences, and claim that no test can be made. Fine. The grand scientist reveals the limits of his abilities. That's all you said.
No one is asking you to believe in angels. What Michael Medved is saying is that we have a rich tradition in this country, based on Scripture, of God's aid. Christmas, and the Psalms, are both replete with heightened angelic activity. These writings are shared by many Americans. |
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And don't forget that Angels In The Outfield movie. |
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A poem written by Judge Roy Moore from Alabama. Judge Moore was sued by the ACLU for displaying the Ten Commandments in his courtroom foyer. He has been stripped of his judgeship and now they are trying to strip his right to practice law in Alabama!
America the beautiful,
or so you used to be.
Land of the Pilgrims' pride;
I'm glad they'll never see.
Babies piled in dumpsters,
Abortion on demand,
Oh, sweet land of liberty;
your house is on the sand.
Our children wander aimlessly
poisoned by cocaine
choosing to indulge their lusts,
when God has said abstain
From sea to shining sea,
our Nation turns away
From the teaching of
God's love and a need to always pray
We've kept God
in our temples,
how callous we have grown.
When earth is but His footstool,
and Heaven is His throne.
We've voted in a government
that's rotting at the core,
Appointing Godless Judges;
who throw reason out the door,
Too soft to place a killer
in a well deserved tomb,
But brave enough to kill a baby
before he leaves the womb.
You think that God's not
angry, that our land's a moral slum?
How much longer will He
wait before His judgment comes?
How are we to face our God,
from Whom we cannot hide?
What then is left for us to do,
but stem this evil tide?
If we who are His children,
will humbly turn and pray;
seek His holy
face and mend our evil way:
Then God will hear from
Heaven; and forgive us of our sins,
He'll heal our sickly land
and those who live within.
But, America the Beautiful,
If you don't - then you will see, a sad
but Holy God withdraw His hand from
Thee. |
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seriously joe biden should not be allowed to speak in public let alone on tv. i have never heard such spewing of bile in my life.
beware of this pretender and the king of pertenders obama. god save us from these two. |
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Unfortunately, most modern-day Jews are secularists, particularly with certain denominations in that faith (Reform, Humanistic and Reconstructionists). Though I'm not Jewish myself, I find that many Jewish people are ignorant of the Torah or the Old Testament, even those claiming to belong within the more conservative branches. Jews who don't know about their own history (no, it didn't start with the Holocaust) or don't care about deepening their faith are going to be skeptical about the supernatural. If you don't believe in God as the Creator - that man is the center of the universe - how could you reasonably believe in angels. I find it rather ironic though that many Jews are less likely to believe in angels since throughout the Torah/Old Testament there are accounts of angels intervening in human affairs. One of the most important and early accounts of an angel saving humankind is told in Genesis 22:1-20 in which an angel saves Isaac's life. Isaac became the father of Jacob, whose descendants formed the nation of Israel and whose one descendant, Jesus Christ, is considered the Messiah/Savior by Christians and some Jews alike. |
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Anyone with any logic or of normal intellect understands that an object you see in front of you - whether a computer or the Pyramids - was created by someone or something. It's the law of physics; things just don't exist in a vacuum. It takes more of an intellectual leap, and essentially intellectual dishonesty, to say that God doesn't exist just because you can't see Him and test Him in a lab; or that such a complex universe as ours came into existencce by a random set of events. It's like saying that the "Mona Lisa" (by Leonardo da Vinci) had no creative mind or creator behind it - that it just came into existence! Now, most designers or architects build and create an object so that it could serve a purpose or communicate something In the same way, God created the earth/universe and gave us the Bible to communicate His purpose and plan for this world, and to teach us something about Him. I could cite numerous evidences that show how the Bible is a divine-inspired book, but don't have enough room here. However, if one accepts the Bible as the direct word of God or inspired by God - as the early Hebrews/Jews did - one can conclude that angels do exist because their existence is clearly confirmed in Scripture. To dismiss them as fantasy, is to call God a liar. |
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In February, Smith asked Obama’s chief strategist (and reigning expert on Chicago’s political tribes), David Axelrod, about the Obama-Ayers relationship and got this answer:
“Bill Ayers lives in his neighborhood. Their kids attend the same school,” he said. “They’re certainly friendly, they know each other, as anyone whose kids go to school together.”
As it turned out, their kids did not go to school together, but Obama was the chairman of a $150 million effort spearheaded by Ayers on the important issue of public education, which funded “awful” projects and “had little impact on student outcomes.”
You would think Axelrod would have some ’splainin’ to do. But you would be wrong.
As the CAC story emerged, Ben Smith’s blase reaction clearly communicated that he did not care that he was misled by Camp Obama about the Ayers relationship, let alone that Obama’s biggest claim to executive experience (and a reform credential to boot) was judged to be a failure, even by the CAC. Indeed, Smith took the story as evidence of how mainstream Ayers is — as opposed to how dysfunctional the political culture of Chicago is.
In contrast, Smith felt compelled to nitpick statements by John McCain’s campaign strategist, Steve Schmidt, about the Ayers relationship. Smith added in a separate blog post that Schmidt’s comments were “‘Hey, look over here’ politics” — the campaign’s urgent attempt to change the subject from the economy. That was the daily talking point at the Huffington Post, too — even though McCain was making headlines talking about the economy the same day.
Perhaps those who read Ben Smith will stop thinking that he is “in the tank” for Obama when he stops doing the breaststroke through Obama’s Kool-Aid. And the same could be said for any number of Smith’s pals in the media.
http://patterico.com/2008/09/23/barack-obama-bill-ayers-and -ben-smith/
Answer: Yes. |
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Michael Medved believes in Big Foot and flying angels.
What an embarrassment.
I feel sorry for his kids. |
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