Priest Marriage

I have never understood why Catholics still enforce the "rule" saying that priests may not get married. Some say it gives them more time with God, but I believe a person will spend as much time with God as they want whether or not they are married. Marriage should not be seen as a distraction for a priest but maybe it could instead be seen as a way to help them in their walk with Christ. I also wonder if their is a direct connection between priests not being able to get married and the current abuse sex scandals. Don't get me wrong, child molestors are sick people, and there is absolutely no excuse for that. But I can't help wondering if priests could marry if some or most of these incidents could have been avoided.

Walk Out

A more recent rebellion against the pledge of allegiance caused about a dozen high school students not only to leave the room during the pledge of allegiance, but also to revise their own version of the pledge. In a peaceful protest at Boulder High, students took a stand for what they said was “about a separation of church and state” (http://www.rockeymountainnews.com/). The principal of the school said “We’re proud of the kids… if they don’t like something, they’re following a democratic process of telling the community that they don’t like it” (www. RockyMountainNews.com). Perhaps this story show the progress our nation is making towards becoming a more tolerant and more open-minded society. The beginning of the article showed the students argument and their reasoning for protesting the pledge, and the end of the article offered a contrary viewpoint of one of the other students from Boulder. The writer chose to keep this news story relatively short. This may have been in hopes of avoiding a heated debate and in order to keep their own opinions from surfacing, or possibly the writer didn’t have a strong opinion in the matter.

<http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/1209487253798.html%20%3E

In China

How many times have you turned over a device, article of clothing, or some object and found the words “Made in China” engraved on the back? These items are often beautifully handcrafted by the people of China. But not just anyone... these objects are usually made by the small hands of young chinese children. The child labour in China is a huge problem and evidence shows that it is actually getting worse rather than improving. Research shows that about 250 million children in underdeveloped countries, between the ages 5 and 14, are working in factories and sweatshops. Sweatshops are workplaces with extreme exploitation, including no wages or benefits. They also incude dangerous living conditions, and often physical and verbal abuse. The children are forced to work up to 12-hour days with no breaks. This is obviously a huge problem, and yet there is nothing being done to change them in any way. It seems as though the Chinese Government is hesitant to enforce child labor laws because they want to save money. Slave labor exists in our world today. China is just one of the countries permitting slave labor. There are children all over the world that need our help.

<<http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/01908/800/chinarussia.htm>>

Iraq vs. Afghanistan

While the War in Iraq continues to spark debate and controversy, the War in Afghanistan seems to be "overwhelmingly supported by the American people, the international community and the people of Afghanistan." The two are very contrary situations and the American people appear to have clearly understood and distinguished their differences. The most important factor separating each war is the desire for help. The Afghan people are widely in favor of an international troop presence and reconstruction efforts in their country. U.S. citizens seem to be extremely supportive of funding a war that sees long-term success. With the people of both country in support, the war in Afghanistan undoubtedly sees victory. <http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.disaggregate30nov30,0,7993414.story>

Pledge Not Taken

In a 1998 article, a California student, MaryKait Durkee, refused to participate in reciting the pledge of allegiance. The high school sophomore did not believe in God and chose to sit quietly while the rest of the class performed this daily ritual. Her teacher responded by singling her and telling her to stand and say the pledge on her own, but the girl refused. The incident quickly became a political issue involving school officials and lawyers. Many believed that the actions taken by Durkee showed a great deal of disrespect for our country and our country’s principles. But what are those principles? Are they not individuality and liberty? This article, while presenting both sides of the issue, seemed to be in favor of Durkee. Those quoted in the article included Durkee’s mother, her attorney, a law expert, and Durkee herself. Also quoted to end the article was founding father, Thomas Jefferson, and what the author thinks he would have thought about the situation. Each of these individuals helped the writer in establishing the idea that no matter who is offended and whether you agree with her position or not, Durkee, along with every other American citizen, reserves the right to freedom of speech and expression.



<<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1998/06/29/MN85749.DTL>

Government in the Classroom

In high school I took a U.S. government class. I learned more in this class than I have in any other class in my life. I remember there was a student in that class from Lebanon. It was so interesting to me the first day of class when this new student from another country new more about our country than most of us did. It seems as though the rest of world actually learns about their government and knows everything that is going on in their country. It seems that the majority of American students know very little about what is going on in our political system. Maybe it's because we take advantage of how good we have it in this country, or maybe our schools should address political issues more. I think it's a little bit of both. I think that even at the elementy and junior high levels, students should be more aware of the political issues going on around us. However, there are activists saying the exact opposite. David Horowitz for example is a professor and author who is working to keep politics out of schools because he believes teachers become "political partisans". But I disagree. Even if teachers are presenting a biased opinion, at least children are learning about the different aspects and the discussions are thought provoking. Children should be aware of political issues and learn different opinions and positions so that they can come to their own conclusions about various matters.

<<http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4057/is_200504/ai_n13642048>>

Public vs. Private

Many parents feel more comfortable sending their children to religious private school over public school. Even non-religious parents tend to believe that these schools will keep their little angels out of trouble. In actuality, studies have proven that there is absolutley no correlation between attending a particular school and participating in risky behaviors. There are so many various factors that effect adolescents' behaviors, and it appears as though attending a private school versus a public school has no bearing on the decisions a student will make.I thought this was very interesting, because a number of religious private schools are single gendered and it seems like that might limit a child's risky behaviors.

Political Sex Scandals

In 2004, Republican Senator Mike DeWine, was forced to fire his secretary when her private life became extremely publicized. Online web pages and her personal blogs left 24-year-old Jessica Cutler with no way out. She didn't seem to ashamed or even embarassed by the uncovering of her personal life. My first thoughts on this situation were back to Bill Clinton. A scholarly man, and arguably one of the best president's to ever lead this country. I often wonder if his personal life should have gotten in the way as much as it did. I understand that people want a morally sound person to represent our nation, but at the same time I feel like he was indeed getting his job done and getting it done well. I wonder if the same is true for Miss Jessica Cutler. This young lady must have been qualified and very well-educated to recieve a position as the Senator's aide. So if she was getting her job done, should her personal choices and life outside of work be ignored? Or being in her position was it her responsibility to represent her boss (Senator Mike DeWine) and in failing to do so in a positive manner should she lose her job? There is no real answer to these questions but I think our country has made it clear what the general concensus is on the issue as we saw in the Clinton scandal.

Water We Thinking

The coastal commission has denied non profit companies from turning power plants into desalinisation treatment plants along the coast. By doing this, the commission would dramatically decrease pollution and increase the production of purified water with existing structures. At no cost to tax payers, this would turn salt water into drinking water for free. The governor should definitely allow this project and see where it goes. According to scientists "an estimated 7 million Americans become sick from contaminated tap water every year, which can also be lethal." The clean water project seems to be relatively risk-free and along with improving the health of the people in America, it may even give us the opportunity in America to help with the growing problem of unhealthy water in third world countries. We would be able to cheaply produce clean water and then send it overseas.

<<http://www.nrdc.org/water/default.asp>>

Islamic Paradise

I am no expert on the religion of Islam. I am well aware of that. And I completely respect the religion and think it has some fascinating aspects. But from what I have learned, I understand that Allah promises the "fulfillment" of multiple wives in paradise to men that honor him. As for women, I understand Allah assures that he will cleanse their hearts from all jealousy so that their husband's other wives will not be an issue. If I practiced this religion, being a female, this passage would really bother me. A similar issue came up in class when one of the speakers was discussing her religion. In response to this issue she kept saying "it's hard to explain", "there are exceptions" and "when you learn everything about the religion it makes more sense." So I guess I need to learn more before I'll understand this one. But it seems sexist to me and I don't quite understand it.

Immigration

Immigration has been rapidly growing in the United States throughout the last decade. I think in some ways that is a testament to our country because people obviously want the same freedoms and security we all have being citizens of this country. But at the same time, could this be revealing some issues in America? More than 10 million aliens are currently living here without legal documentation. And that number grows an astonishing 700,000 more per year. Although their presence makes America diverse, it suggests that our border patrol might not be as strong as it needs to be. Usually, these people come to America to find better jobs, which benefits our economy. However, they take away its value by exposing the weakenesses in our national security. Roughly three out of 100 people in the United States are undocumented which suggests flaws in our national security. But the increased immigration has "brought in 18 million new citizens, diversified U.S. society and gave us the enduring analogy of the 'melting pot'" which is what this country is really all about-- equal opportunity and freedom for all.

<< http://www.publicagenda.org/issues/frontdoor.cfm?issue_type=immigration>>

The Passion

In 2004, the Mel Gibson film, The Passion, was released in theaters. Film creaters and producers were not sure how the public would respond to the intensity and gore of this movie. But the production made quite the uproar remaining number one in box offices for three consecutive weeks. The film became the biggest religious film of all times.About The Passion, Mel Gibson said, "I want to show the humanity of Christ as well as the divine aspect. It's a rendering that for me is very realistic and as close as possible to what I perceive the truth to be." Many people admired and respected Mel Gibson for the creation of this movie. Then, two years later he was arrested for drunk driving. How do his actions effect the public's view of religion? I don't really know. Does this event make his religious stances any less respectable? <http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/thepassion.html%3E

Won't Stand for Pledge

In a 1998 article, a California student, MaryKait Durkee, refused to participate in reciting the pledge of allegiance. The high school sophomore did not believe in God and chose to sit quietly while the rest of the class performed this daily ritual. Her teacher responded by singling her and telling her to stand and say the pledge on her own, but the girl refused. The incident quickly became a political issue involving school officials and lawyers. Many believed that the actions taken by Durkee showed a great deal of disrespect for our country and our country’s principles. But what are those principles? Are they not individuality and liberty? This article, while presenting both sides of the issue, seemed to be in favor of Durkee. Those quoted in the article included Durkee’s mother, her attorney, a law expert, and Durkee herself. Also quoted to end the article was founding father, Thomas Jefferson, and what the author thinks he would have thought about the situation. Each of these individuals helped the writer in establishing the idea that no matter who is offended and whether you agree with her position or not, Durkee, along with every other American citizen, reserves the right to freedom of speech and expression.



<<www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1998/06/29/MN85749.DTL>>

Gay Rights

An arrest that took place in September of 1998 in Texas sparked a controversial debate as two adult males were arrested for participating in what was defined as "illegal sexual intercourse." Gay rights activists argued not only that this was an invasion of privacy of these two individuals, but also that they were being treated like criminals for being who they were. After a long drawn out trial, the court decided that these men must be treated like every other American citizen and ended up rewriting the Texas law on gay rights. The event was a huge turning point in the battle for gay rights. The closing lines of the article described the scene in the courtroom that afternoon. '"The petitioners are entitled to respect for their private lives," Kennedy wrote simply. "The State cannot demean their existence or control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime." The people who had devoted their lives to that cause understood precisely what had happened, which was why, to a degree unprecedented in the court's history, the benches were full of men and women sobbing with joy' (http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/10/04/toobin.excerpt3/index.html?iref=newssearch).

Religious Variations

There are many different reasons why someone begins to practice a particular religion. But it seems to me that the most common reason for one's religious beliefs is because of their upbringing. Many people adopt the religious practices of their parents. From there, most don't explore outside of that belief system in order to not be offensive or dishonoring. I think that it would be good for our society to establish more religion classes in our public schooling system even if it's just to better understand one another. Instead schools shy away from the topic all together and in most public elementry, junior high, and high school classes it is forbidden for teachers or anyone else to even discuss the topic. It's interesting that it has become this way. I know that at my public high school I learned all about evolution and the big bang theory and Darwin, but never heard anything about different religious beliefs. Religions are all technically "theories" also, so it seems strange that public schools would address only evolution and not creation.

Religions of the World

I thought this video was really interesting. It shows the spread of world religions over thousands of years. It also gives the major events of a religion along with its location so you can see why why certain areas adopted a particular religion. The video is short and to the point but gives a pretty good demonstration of the historical spread of various religions throughout the world. It also gave me a better idea of the popularity of other beliefs outside of the United States. The end of the video provides where wars have occurred. You can see that the dividing point between two contradicting religious areas were the places where there have been wars.

<<http://youtube.com/watch?v=Bd5hvXgI_bQ>>

Jungles of Peru

The pastor of the church I grew up in, Greg Garman, was the son of two missionary parents. As a result, Greg grew up in the jungles of Peru. Groups from our church now take an annual trip into the jungle. My dad had the opportunity of going on this trip one year and I was shocked by the pictures and descriptions he returned with. Their life is so simple. Compared to the U.S. they are an extremely underdeveloped country and it was weird to think that living in the same world but being hundreds of miles apart, two societies can be that different. What does this have to do with religion you may ask, well in the Christian faith the Bible says that to go to Heaven you must accept the Lord as your saviour. But my question is, what about people like this? Some may believe in a higher power, but there are no books or religious classes or anything like that, and most of them have never heard the name Jesus or God in their lives. I guess I believe people will only be judged based on what they know. They can't be faulted for not having that information, can they? I just thought it was an interesting thing to think about.

Street Preaching

You know those guys that stand on the side of the street with signs about God? They are called street preachers. I understand that they are making a stand for what they believe, and I respect that, but I'm not sure what their objective is. I wonder how many people have been driving along and saw a man at the corner of the street with a sign and decided right then to accept the Lord. According to the Bible, Jesus said, "Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled." Luke 14:23. I'm not sure that this proclomation was literal. If it was, things are so different now that I'm not sure it is having the intended affect. Also, sometimes what the signs say (like in this picture) the preaching is having the opposite effect and turning people away from God. This poster against homosexual marriages is very offensive to many people. I think these instant attacks are more of a turn off than a promotion.

Target Boycott

In an attempt to reach a wide range of people with various beliefs and celebrations, Target changed their greeting signs and advertisements to "happy holidays" rather than a more specific "Merry Christmas." People went crazy! There were boycotts and protests to try and revive the use of "Merry Christmas." To me, trying to address all holidays and religious beliefs should only be a good thing. I myself celebrate Christmas, but why would I be offended by addressing all holidays? When I hear happy holidays, to me that means Merry Christmas. When my friend Chelsea hears happy holidays it means "Happy Hanukkah". I don't see any problem at all with generalizing the greeting and it's too bad that they had to change it back because people were so "hurt" by the modification.

Growing Up in the Church

I was raised in a Christian family. The four of us would go to church every single Sunday and growing up, I definitely thought I had all the answers. I have no regrets about my childhood and I am so grateful for my parents and my family, but my sister and I often talk about how growing up in the Church effected our view of the world. We were both pretty sheltered, and so public high school was a pretty rude awakening. It took a while for me to be able to separate bad people from bad habits or decisions. I must have memorized a thousand Bible verses as a kid, but I have learned so much about myself and about faith just over the past few years. Getting out into the real world taught me more than church and Sunday school ever did. Fortunately, my parents also taught my sister and I to think for ourselves. I have kept my faith and I still definitely believe in God, but there are certain things that I disagree with. Questioning and learning not to just take in information but to actually come to my own conclusions has been the best thing I've ever learned. I think sometimes Church can be too sheltering of an environment for kids, and they go to jr. high and high school unprepared for the obstacles they will face. I think that religious practices should provide children with the beliefs of that particular religion, but also encourage children to think for themselves and learn about various religions so they can come to their own conclusions.