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"Fearful
lest it be relegated to the position of an isolated sect, Christianity
seems to be making frenzied efforts at mimicry in order to escape being
devoured by its enemies--a reaction that seems defensive, but is in fact
self-destructive. In the hope of saving itself, it seems to be assuming
the colors of its environment, but the result is that it loses its
identity. . . ."
--Leszek Kolakowski, from Modernity on Endless Trial |
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THE RECORD Online Newspaper
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In This Issue: |
Thursday, July 14, 2005
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Better than Water in the
Desert |
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The Gospel from Wall
Street |
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Presidential Candidate
to Appear in R-rated
Movie |
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Lewiston Sun Journal
Calls Genesis a Myth
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By now, it is no secret that the
mass media often display a
strong bias against evangelical
Christians. But an editorial in
yesterday’s Lewiston Sun Journal
took an approach which is
usually avoided even in the
Liberal media.
The editorial puts the account
of Creation given in the book of
Genesis in a class with pagan
myths of creation, among others,
an account in which a water
beetle creates the world from
sea mud.
The editorial discussed a zoo in
Tulsa, Oklahoma which had put up
a Creation exhibit. The author
of the editorial lamented the
fact that the account in Genesis
is only one of a number of
myths, none of which should be
preferred over the other. It was
wrong, in the words of the
editorial, to prefer the Genesis
account, even though
Christianity is the “dominant”
religion in Tulsa.”
The alternative to be preferred,
according to the editorial,
would be a display which shows
the scientific theory of
evolution.
Yet Christianity is in no sense
the “dominant” religion in
America, any more than
“Confucianism” is the dominant
religion in China. Christianity
was until recently universally
recognized as the basis of our
civilization. Whether the
teachings of one religion are to
be preferred over another in a
“multicultural society” is yet
another matter.
The real problem with the
editorial is that it equates the
Bible with pagan mythology. This
is an extreme position, which up
to now has been avoided by even
the Liberal mass media.
But who espouses the position
that the account of Creation
given in the book of Genesis is
mythology? There are several
groups which hold this position,
among them atheists, Marxists,
the extreme right wing, and
pagan religions such as Wicca.
No mainstream journalist has
espoused this position until
now.
The editorial in the Lewiston
Sun Journal can only be regarded
as a denigration of Christians
and Christianity. But is it
bigotry directed against
Christians?
Earlier this year, the Lewiston
Sun Journal ran a photo which
misrepresented the character of
an evangelical pastor, by
showing a child cringing in fear
as the pastor approached. This
same man is a devoted friend of
minority youth in Lewiston, who
look upon him as a sort of elder
brother.
We are left with the disturbing
opening of the editorial itself,
which reads…”A religious dispute
with political overtones is
making monkeys of a
well-intentioned but misguided
public zoo board in Tulsa,
Okla.” Here in the opening
paragraph, before anything else
is said, we gain an insight into
the writer’s real opinion of
Christians. |
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“What America needs most of all
now is a revival of piety, the
kind mother and father used to
have – piety that counted it
good business to stop for daily
family prayer before breakfast,
right in the middle of harvest;
that quit field work a half hour
early Thursday night, so as to
get the chores done and go to
prayer meeting; that borrowed
money to pay the preacher’s
salary and prayed fervently in
secret for the salvation of the
rich man who look with scorn on
such unbusinesslike behavior.
What is this thing we are
worshipping but a vain
repetition of what decayed
nations fell down and worshipped
just before the light went out?
Read the history of Rome in
decay and you will find great
luxury. Great wealth never made
a nation substantial or
honorable. There is nothing on
earth that looks so good that is
so dangerous for a man or a
nation to handle as quick, easy,
big money. If you do resist its
deadly influence, the chances
are that it will get your son.
It takes greater and finer
heroism to dare to be poor in
America than to charge a
fortress in Manchuria.”
(from The Wall Street Journal,
1908 ) |
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The RECORD has the unfortunate
task of passing along to its
readers the shocking information
that John McCain, who may be the
presidential nominee in 2008,
running against Hillary Clinton,
will appear in an R movie
entitled “Crashing Marriage.”
The movie reportedly contains
material which is so
objectionable and offensive that
it cannot be described or
alluded to here.
We pass along this information
without comment, in the hope
that the reader will be able to
draw his own conclusions about
the current moral climate in our
society and the fate of our
nation. |
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The Christian Civic League of
Maine
70 Sewall Street
Augusta, ME 04330
V-207-622-7634
F-207-621-0035
www.cclmaine.org
The RECORD is published every
weekday at 6 a.m. and archived
at www.cclmaine.org/forum
Forward this email to your
Christian friends and family.
Encourage them to sign up and
stay informed and praying about
current issues. Please email
your suggestions for segments to
mike@cclmaine.org.
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