OUTLOOK 6 Walworth County Sunday Sunday, December 23, 2007 Place Your Ad Today!! FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION 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. THE WAY WE SEE IT ‘I bring you good news of great joy’ W e offer the following message of hope as a simple retort to those who seek to remake Christmas as a secular holiday. Their efforts have become more brazen and divisive in recent years, and the effect can be seen in both the public square and the private sector, where too often bullies wield inordinate influence. It is difficult to fathom the fear and/or hatred in the hearts of those who would hear the following story of peace and love and feel somehow threatened or offended. We wish them — and all of our readers — a very merry Christmas. In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register. So Visit us on the Web Our view ■ In the War on Christmas, a simple message of hope wins every time. Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were shepherds living out in the fields near by, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. — Luke 2: 1-20 www.communityshoppers.com Time to take sides in culture war In America, we walk around in the midst of war with bombs going off all around us. A full-blown, unnamed war is going on and many don’t realize it. Speedily, the attacks come without letup. They target our children, our culture, our American way of life. These battles are far more threatening than any environmental issues. Terrorism is nothing compared to this danger. The war — against faith in God — is an effort on the part of select media and various influential groups to destroy belief in God, and purge even the concept of God from our world. Losing this war has consequences far greater than losing the war in Iraq. What impact does the absence of faith have? Awareness of a God, a loving, supreme being, gives children and adults an awareness that they, too, are spiritual beings living in a natural world. Events that occur around them are never the only things that define them. Knowledge of God and a relationship with him results in a constant, loving presence in their lives. Psychologists know the vital importance of having a consistent, caring person in a child’s life. No one who believes in God need ever feel totally alone. They need never feel completely rejected. They can always communicate in prayer with a listening, loving caregiver. The second benefit of belief in God is that it gives us a foundation for morality. Why should people be good if there is no judgment, no final reckoning that leads to eternal reward or eternal damnation? Without justice, why not seize, grab, lie, cheat — do whatever it takes to get momentary satisfaction? People don’t realize that knowledge of the reality of God is the underpinning of morality. Third, faith in God gives us an understanding of, and a trust in ulti- Despite speech, doubts about Romney remain Mitt Romney gave his long-anticipated speech about religion, which he called “Faith in America.” The purported purpose of the address was for the Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts governor to dispel festering doubts about himself because of his Mormon faith. Unfortunately, I believe it was a failed performance. I think that Romney and his team overestimated the extent to which his Mormonism has been what is troubling his candidacy and underestimated the extent to which his credibility has been the real problem. Despite outspending all the other candidates, the Romney candidacy hasn’t ignited. By contrast, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani has fared well in national polls, despite a background of three marriages, estranged children, pictures of himself in drag, open support for gays, open support for abortion, having endorsed a Democratic candidate for governor of New York, and support for gun control. But Giuliani has not been running as a traditional conservative candidate. Romney has. What dogs Romney is a sense that he is not being honest about who he is. In an election such as this, where voters clearly are concerned about honesty and transparency, candidates who do not score well in these areas are paying a price. In Romney’s case, that price reflects his credibility challenge in convincing religious conservatives that his changed JUDITH UDITH ROLFS OLFS GUEST COLUMN mate, divine justice. If evil isn’t evident to and controlled by those in positions of power and perpetrators don’t immediately get their due, those without faith in God are tempted to take revenge, which leads to individual acts of violence. This is a sure platform for cultural chaos. We already see emotional victims of the attacks in this war on our culture of faith in God. The exponential increase in depression in adults is a result of feelings of isolation and hopelessness. Another group of victims is the growing number of children on anti-depressants. Childhood depression was almost unheard of a generation ago; now, it is commonplace. Where is this war waged? On this generation and the ones to come. You have only to read the paper, watch TV and read current literature for the answer. New movies mock belief in an all-powerful, loving God. School children cannot even mention God’s name. College students are educated to be atheists. Children must hear from their own parents’ lips about the meaning and value of having faith in the living God. It’s definitely past time to wake up. When good men do nothing, say nothing, see nothing, that is when evil proliferates. These attacks on God must not succeed. You are already taking sides if you choose to do nothing. A million voices must rise in media proclaiming belief in God, testimony of what a God-honoring life means in practical terms. STAR TAR PARKER ARKER CURE positions on abortion and gays are for real. It’s not news that Romney ran two political campaigns, one for the Senate in 1994 and one for Massachusetts governor in 2002, in which he campaigned openly and clearly as pro-Roe v. Wade and pro-abortion rights. Suddenly, in 2004, as a result of some kind of epiphany tied to embryos and stem-cell research, he opposed abortion. Similarly regarding gay rights, Romney has a paper trail expressing support that strains the credibility of his current stance in support of traditional values and family. Given persistent doubts about the sincerity of Romney's stands on these two issues, both of central concern to religious conservatives, it is astonishing that he would make a major speech about his views on religion and faith in America and not mention either. Yes, he clarified, regarding his Mormon faith, that “no authorities of my church” would influence his presidential decisions. But this tells us who he is not. We need to know who he is. Despite his assurance that his commitment to religious liberty does not mean that he sees no place for religion in public life, he ducked the hard questions about what this means. And despite noting family breakdown Now, the broken body of believers must join together on earth, as we will one day in heaven. All those who believe in God the Father, Jesus Christ and the power available through the Holy Spirit on earth must join together as one body of Christ to win this war. Let us shout the truth that God lives. Prayer has incredible power. Learn more about your own faith. Study it so that you can defend it, so that you can teach it to your children, and so you can live lives radiating God’s grace and the Holy Spirit’s power. Attend church. If your local church is not as lively or strong as it should be, enliven it with your presence. Join with the other believers; a united church body is essential. Jesus prayed to God the Father in John 17:11, “I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name — the name you gave me — so that they may be one as we are one.” In the coming new year — indeed, in every year — we depend on the protection of our almighty God. Acknowledge his presence. Changing this cultural slide to a stronger belief in God begins in every heart. We can make an impact. Don’t sit back. Speak freely and demand the right to be heard. If we don’t speak up for our God and our faith in Him, we will lose the cultural war and end up spiritually dead, along with our children. Now is the time to act. Judith Rolfs is a professional marriage and family counselor and the author of nine books, including her newest children’s series, “The Adventures of Tommy Smurlee.” She and her husband Wayne live in Fontana. as one of the challenges of our generation, he never mentioned the importance of the preservation of the traditional family, never mentioned abortion and never mentioned his personal concern about either. It feeds the doubts about Romney in that, in my experience, those who have had a change of heart about abortion are among the most passionate and committed. It certainly is my personal experience, and what I have seen in the work I do with crisis pregnancy centers around the country. But Romney didn’t give a hint that this is something that keeps him up at night. Romney’s observation that “freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom” and that “freedom and religion endure together or perish alone” was not something I would expect to hear from someone of deep faith. Religion endures any circumstance. Faith exists independent of freedom. It survives the darkest, dankest prison cell. But freedom allows it to flourish. I think Romney, with this speech, confirmed rather than dispelled the doubts about his faith and conservatism that have troubled his campaign. If the point was to fix his credentials as a bona fide conservative leader, he failed Star Parker is president of the Coalition on Urban Renewal & Education and author of the book, “White Ghetto: How Middle Class America Reflects Inner City Decay.” ■ Walworth County Sunday welcomes issue-oriented letters and guest column submissions for publication on the Outlook page. Guidelines: Letters no longer than 250 words; all letters are subject to editing for spelling, grammar, length; no personal attacks or letters related to personal disputes; daytime phone number needed for verification; limit of one per month. Guest columns should be approximately 550 to 650 words; not all guest columns will be published; limit of one per month. Send to: Managing Editor, P.O. Box 367, Delavan, WI, 53115. E-mail to bheisel@communityshoppers.com
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