New book a good read

a quote found in “American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation,” an account of the role of religion in American history and a plea for a moderate course between the extremes of left and right.


Thomas Jefferson, who said that “… it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.” And so the battles of this world go on—but here’s hoping our conversations can become more rational, our arguments less heated, our politics more civil.

This is what makes me angry

See below a Rabbi's usual diatribe against unbelievers.
They keep harping about how negative and angry athiests are. So we get angry and respond negatively therefore it proves their point. over and over and over. Its a vicious cycle. When over 90 % of the world are believers, its hard not feeling picked on and misunderstood. Athiest point out the negatives of the religious belief systems and they turn around and say the bearer of the news is the negative one. Kill the messanger so to say. I am not angry or negative to most believers it is fundamentalism in any flavor. I do remember a preacher told me something very interesting. It was about anger. What is anger? He said it is fear. What are you afraid of? I am very afraid of fundementalists, therefore I do have some anger issues with this breed of people. I'm not alone I'm sure. Many Americans are terrified of Muslim Fundamentalists. Me too.

They go on listing the usual compliments;) about us evil athiests. Do they ever have anything nice to say about us?

He, like many before him and many more to come propogate this negative stereotype through the generations.

Athiests:
1. "Don't believe in anything" That one really makes me mad. I believe in the human spirit, only we (humanity) can make it a better world for everyone. Sympathy

2. Always angry and negative. Becuase they are always telling us and everybody else we are! You think the civil rights movement happened because all African Americans were happy?

3. He said believers don't plot ways to aggrevate athiests. What planet is he from, according to fundementalists we are solely responsible for the destruction of civilization....and I alone send thousands to hell with my lies. Has he not heard of the Culture Wars! How does he think Bush was elected. The Religious Right planned, plotted, and WON. Its a very powerful political tool, bashing athiests and don't forget those liberal Christians helping to destroy America. The press negatively represents the secualar movement and give the public something to get angry about. Those x01?!xx athiests are at it again.

4. "Something bad happened to them in the past" Another one we hear all the time. Another popular one is, our "fathers did not love us or was absent". At least for me this was not true. But, does a father-in-law count:}

5. Last but not least--Why don't you go around robbing and killing people? I've learned to answer, Yeah Why?

Other pet peeves.
-You have no soul
-I will pray for you-insincerely spoken
-Biased news coverage of unbelievers-almost always "the bad guys"
-people tell my kids, your mommy will go hell
-God Bless You, whenever I do a favor for someone
-Thanking God instead of the doctors and nurses for saving someone's life.
-Being Demonized

Wow, I was a tad bit upset.
Lori



WEB-EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY
By Marc Gellman
Newsweek
Updated: 1:28 p.m. ET April 26, 2006
April 26, 2006 - I think I need to understand atheists better. I bear them no ill will. I don't think they need to be religious to be good, kind and charitable people, and I have no desire to debate or convert them. I do think they are wrong about the biggest question, “Are we alone?” and I will admit to occasionally viewing atheists with the kind of patient sympathy often shown to me by Christians who can't quite understand why the Good News of Jesus' death and resurrection has not reached me or my people. However, there is something I am missing about atheists: what I simply do not understand is why they are often so angry.

So we disagree about God. I'm sometimes at odds with Yankee fans, people who like rap music and people who don't like animals, but I try to be civil. I don't know many religious folk who wake up thinking of new ways to aggravate atheists, but many people who do not believe in God seem to find the religion of their neighbors terribly offensive or oppressive, particularly if the folks next door are evangelical Christians. I just don't get it.

This must sound condescending and a large generalization, and I don't mean it that way, but I am tempted to believe that behind atheist anger there are oftentimes uncomfortable personal histories. Perhaps their atheism was the result of the tragic death of a loved one, or an angry degrading sermon, or an insensitive eulogy, or an unfeeling castigation of lifestyle choices or perhaps something even worse. I would ask for forgiveness from the angry atheists who write to me if I thought it would help. Religion must remain an audacious, daring and, yes, uncomfortable assault on our desires to do what we want when we want to do it. All religions must teach a way to discipline our animal urges, to overcome racism and materialism, selfishness and arrogance and the sinful oppression of the most vulnerable and the most innocent among us.

Some religious leaders obviously betray the teachings of the faith they claim to represent, but their sacred scriptures remain a critique of them and also of every thing we do to betray the better angels of our nature. But our world is better and kinder and more hopeful because of the daily sacrifice and witness of millions of pious people over thousands of years.

To be called to a level of goodness and sacrifice so constantly and so patiently by a loving but demanding God may seem like a naive demand to achieve what is only a remote human possibility. However, such a vision need not be seen as a red flag to those who believe nothing. I can humbly ask whether my atheist brothers and sisters really believe that their lives are better, richer and more hopeful by clinging to Camus's existential despair: “The purpose of life is that it ends." I can agree to make peace with atheists whom I believe ask too little of life here on planet earth if they will agree to make peace with me and with other religious folk who perhaps have asked too much. I believe that the philosopher-rabbi Mordecai Kaplan was right when he said, “It is hell to live without hope, and religion saves people from hell.” I urge my atheist brothers and sisters to see things as Spinoza urged, sub specie aeternitatis—“under the perspective of eternity.”

And to try a little positivity. Last Sunday I took two high-school girls to Cold Spring Labs to meet Dr. James Watson. One of the girls wants to be a research scientist, and the other has no idea yet, but I think she will be a great writer. I think they also both want boyfriends. I want them to stay smart and not dumb down to get a boy. Watson spoke and listened to the girls, and they left, I hope, proud about being smart. I know that Jim believes way more in Darwin than in Deuteronomy, but he also believes that at Cold Spring Labs the most important thing is not whether you are a man or a woman, not whether you believe in God. The most important thing, as he says, is “to get something done.” Now there's an atheist I can believe in.

Bob Jones University textbooks

I can go on forever about Bob Jones, but don't have time. Racist, anit-catholic .......

Home school academy takes root in growing Birdseye
By MARTIN J. KIDSTON - IR Features Writer - 04/27/06

Photos by Martin Kidston - Several students with the Last Chance Academy in Birdseye head home for the day. They come from Montana City, East Helena, Helena and Birdseye to attend the school, which opened in September. The 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. school day makes the students smile. BIRDSEYE — Down the highway from the Last Chance Chapel, heavy machinery applies the final touches to a network of new roads. The roads will soon serve the Stallion Ridge subdivision, an 86-lot project fondly referred to by the locals as Helena’s expanding suburbs.

While life in this secluded community 15 miles west of Helena changes at a rapid pace, a small, private school has gained a foothold here beyond the reach of public debate.

Offering a private, home-school setting with a Christian twist, the Last Chance Academy opened its doors in the community’s namesake chapel last September. The school receives its only funding through the church and a monthly tuition of almost $200 per student.

The academy now claims three teachers and 13 students who range in grade and ability. William Parsons, the school’s administrator, described the academy as a Christian home-school that includes teachings on the Bible.

The school’s curriculum doesn’t shy away from classroom prayer. While some communities debate how evolution and creationism should be taught, the academy approaches them both as theory.

“I think a lot of our text materials are written from a Christian perspective,” Parsons said. “We believe the Bible is true 100 percent.”

The academy uses textbooks published by Bob Jones University to teach science and the Bible. When teaching history and English it uses A Beca Books, a Florida-based publishing firm that produces “God-honoring, high-quality textbooks and teaching aids.”

History lessons include what Parsons called a “truer account of history.” In one class, he said, it’s taught that the nation’s founding fathers were Christian — a point, he said, that public schools shy away from.

“We also talk about evolution and I present it as theory,” he said. “Evolution is an idea of how mankind tries to rationalize its creation.”

The school, fundamental in its Christian values, is growing. Despite a lack of advertising, Parsons expects the student body to nearly double next year to 25 students and even more the following year.

The academy has no school board, no curriculum and has yet to write a mission statement. All that, Parsons said, still must come together. The student-to-teacher ratio, he said, remains the school’s priority.

“If we keep growing like we’re growing, we may be looking at more teachers and the need for a new building soon,” he said. “The church wanted to start this school because the suburbs were coming. They knew it would be a good place to start a private school.”

On Wednesday, the academy’s high-school students talked about their current reading assignment, “The Scarlet Letter.” The junior high students continued with “The Diary of Ann Frank” to coincide with their WWII studies and Holocaust commemoration.

“I love teaching here,” said Lori Carey, the school’s only English teacher. “I’m trusted to be as creative and imaginative as I can be. I get to know the students personally, and it’s rewarding to see them change.”

Jacob Weise, an eighth-grader at the academy, is a tall and gangly kid. He wears a Metallica hat and a German flying cross around his neck. He was also expelled from the public school system.

“This is my last chance,” he grinned, playing off the school’s name. “I like science sometimes and Bible sometimes. I’m not too sure about my Christianity, but I’m learning.”

Weise, who speaks poorly of his public school experience, said he’s doing better at the academy. There aren’t as many students, he said, and fewer distractions.

Carey, who saw that Weise was getting bored with his standard eighth grade reading assignments, gave him William Faulkner as an advanced project. He made easy work of the book and is slowly turning his grades and attitude around.

“He does better when the work is harder,” Carey said. “He’s come a long way since he’s been here. It’s good to watch the light bulb click on.”

Rachel Osborne, the only girl in the high school class, drives from Montana City every day to attend the academy instead of public high school like most girls her age. She was home-schooled before she arrived at the academy but was falling behind in math.

“It’s a lot more relaxed here,” she said. “You don’t have the teachers nagging you all the time. There’s no pressure.”

Osborne, who isn’t one to elaborate her thoughts — unless you get to know her, she said — caught up on her math skills thanks to the school’s only math teacher, Gil Wooden.

Wooden, busy with a class Wednesday, taught 30 years in public schools and 10 more in private, including a stint as principal at the Helena Christian Academy. Several of his students are already studying advanced algebra.

“His experience is one of the big things that draw people here,” Parsons said. “The teachers we have aren’t here for the paycheck. They’re here for the kids. We teach all the core subjects, plus Bible class. And we hold chapel once a week.”

Without a Clue/Letter to the Editor

Without a clue

It’s obvious creationists don’t read anything but creationist junk-science propaganda. It’s also obvious that they haven’t the first clue what constitutes evidence, proof, or science.

There are loads and loads of fossils of transitional species, from mollusks to man.

DNA provides some of the strongest support for evolution.

Evolution does not violate the second law of thermodynamics, any more than the formation of ice crystals does. Matter can become more complex, as long as there’s a net loss of energy.

Evolution does not involve an alligator becoming a dog.

Creationist papers don’t get published in scientific journals because they aren’t submitted.

Disagreement between evolutionists does not disprove the theory, any more than disagreement between churches disproves the existence of God.

A “theory,” as in “the theory of evolution,” is not the same as a “hypothesis.” Get a dictionary.

There is no evidence of a global flood.

Attempts to “scientifically” prove Creation always depend on miracles, very selective ignoring of facts, and very dishonest creation of other “facts.”

I can back up each of these statements with logic and sound scientific principles. If only creationists were interested in such things.

Adam Laceky

549 N. Ewing

Family Values?

Family values?Rep. Scott Mendenhall, R-Clancy, wants to “protect family values.” Family values are important. Not all families look the same, but however they are defined, no family is more or less deserving than any other family. Mendenhall states that families are the basic building blocks of society. If families are important and to be protected, why did Rep. Mendenhall consistently vote against bills that would provide support to families? It’s a bit of a mystery. Here are some examples: He voted against a bill that would allow parents on public benefits to pursue higher education and job training. He voted against a bill that would have expanded the Children’s Health Insurance Program. He voted against a bill that would restore the devastating cuts to Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. And perhaps the most egregious, considering his apparent empathy for parents who are forced to work more than one job, he voted against an increase to the minimum wage. It seems that Mendenhall values families that look like his own and devalues all others. Or is it possible that “family values” has nothing to do with family support infrastructure and is code for something else, something like “gay people shouldn’t be treated equally?”Zach SlatteryPO Box 818