From the, "we cannot make this crap up file" here is what a bunch of "Christians" want to rename the Statue of Liberty to:
The Statue of Liberation Through and/or In Christ, also known as the Christian Statue of Liberty and the Lord’s Lady Liberty
Preaching for profit and salvation Pastor Alton R. Williams of Memphis, Tennessee has first dibs on the trademark of the hopeful one day United Christian Theocracy Kingdom of people who have been born more than once.
Pastor Williams hopes to rename the Statue of Liberty were inspired by some gigantic crosses that light up at night, advertisement billboards, and giant inflatable balloon animal creatures are car dealerships. The good pastor then had a supernatural vision of the new "Christian" Statue of Liberty, aka, "The Statue of Liberation Through and/or In Christ" which holds a cross in one hand, and the bible in another.
One night while watching television, I saw some movie or commercial that showed the Statue of Liberty. For that brief moment, I began to meditate on the statue’s present meaning: how the torch has historically represented a light supposedly leading the masses to freedom. I mentally developed some correlations on how I could take that statue and make it glorify God. I began to see a cross in her right torch-filled hand and the Bible replacing the tablet in her left hand. At that moment, I knew that this image would totally redefine this great American icon and give it both a spiritual and patriotic purpose. I immediately remembered various scriptures in the Bible that speak about liberty (Luke 4:18, Galatians 5:1, and James 1:25). Then I began to realize what the statue’s true source of liberty was, what it should have displayed all along, and what God would have wanted America to say about its liberty.
The "good" pastor even gives a nice list for the Purpose of the Statue of Liberation Through Christ statue. Can anyone see some conflicts?
1. To announce to America that Jesus Christ is Lord and the true source of liberty.
2. To display man’s complete liberation in Christ.
3. To reveal to the world that the God of the Bible has always been the God of America.
4. To demonstrate that the God of the Bible and Him alone is to be worshipped.
5. To glorify the triune God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.
6. To promote salvation through Christ to America.
7. To demonstrate to the world that only righteousness and the laws of God exalt a nation.
8. To demonstrate God’s redemption of man in every area of life: spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically, financially, and relationally.
9. To demonstrate how Christ sets us free from any and bondages or things that hold mankind captive.
10. To display God's resurrection power over death.
11. To redefine the Statue of Liberty to include spiritual liberty that precedes complete liberation.
12. To promote, protect, and/or restore the Ten Commandments (or laws of God) back into public consciousness and display.
13. To promote religious freedom in America.
14. To promote godly values and restore America’s Biblical Judeo-Christian foundation.
15. To reconnect patriotism to Christianity.
16. A prophetic symbol that declares GodÃ’s desire to reach the lost, the poor, the brokenhearted, the sick, the oppressed, and the captive, just as The Statue of Liberty welcomed the tired, huddled masses and homeless.
17. To denounce the worship of idols and all other gods.
18. To reflect God’s love of art that glorifies Him.
19. To demonstrate the believer’s authority to stand against sin, Satan, and the world.
Sweet Jesus this guy is sick, here is a grab from my favorite page though:
11 year old Evelyn Douglass now takes the long way home from school to avoid "the big green thing." Douglass stated:
"The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of the United States of America. The cross represents a specific religion. It's not right that they are mixing the two. That church is trashing the meaning of America."
Another woman who actually "liked the idea" of the statue, but then realized,
"I just think its funding could have been put to better use for the neighborhood."
As an Evangelical Christian and a conservative (though I don't call myself a Republican), I don't like the Statue either. But I find this comment quite ironic: "Preaching for profit and salvation Pastor Alton R. Williams of Memphis, Tennessee has first dibs on the trademark of the hopeful one day United Christian Theocracy Kingdom of white people" given that the congregation is an African-American one and likely majority Democrats. They actually aren't Evangelicals either, but rather they are Pentacostals or Charismatics and their theology reflects Liberation Theology, something that Evangelicals generally reject. I do agree that the money could have been used to actually accomplish one of the goals of their theological position -- the liberation of those in Christ from poverty.
"Ironic" no, stupid, maybe on my part. Actually I noticed that from some of the other pictures, but the point still stands, this "out culture is being destroyed" crowed means, brown people are moving in...
Please do enlighten this Catholic, Pentacostals are not Evangelicals? What exactly is an Evangelical then? Is it the same as born again? Anyways, I do understand they liked Idealism philosophy, except for the ask questions part… Also, from a property value standpoint, this thing is a bad idea, who the heck would want to live around that thing?
Also, what is your view of “conservative” I know the traditional definition, but to me, now it’s just defined as cheering on the Republican side regardless of the issue. Being conservative is like cheering for a football team. At least that what it seems like today to me…
I am not sure I get what you mean regarding "brown people are moving in...", but let me answer your questions. No, most Pentecostals are not Evangelicals because they de-emphasize the atoning work of Christ for salvation in favor of the work of Christ for liberation, wealth, health, etc. Also, some Pentecostals reject the Doctrine of the Trinity and other historical doctrines of the Church. I wish I could provide you a link to an article on this, but I am not sure that anything good would be on the internet. You might check some scholarly journals.
Born-again is really an antiquated phrase that arose from the Fundamentalist movement and was adopted by Evangelicals when Billy Graham used it in his crusades to define Christians. Evangelicals really rarely use the phrase today and I don't think I heard it but twice while in Seminary. It's a Biblical term, but one that has been hijacked by true Fundamentalists and often misused and overused.
And yes, I agree, it would be bad for the property value, but unfortunately for that area in Memphis, this statue is the lest of its worries. The area around the church has been increasingly deflating over the past 10 years. So the statue won't really affect it much. Also, the street the statue sits on is zoned for business, not residence, so very few homeowners probably coud see this from their porches (though likely they could from their roofs).
As for my view of conservative, I hold that abortion and euthanasia are not good for America and I believe they are not guaranteed in the Constitution (even if one could prove abortion, I think just a legitimate case could be made for the life of the unborn child, given the medical and scientific evidence -- which is why you won't find many OB-GYN's doing abortions AND delivering babies). So I am social conservative in that way. Additionally, I hold that tax and spend is not a good way to solve economic problems and actually breeds laziness and a lack of work ethic for people locked into programs like welfare that don't offer ways out (that's not to say that I want to stop social programs, but merely I think they need to be reformed and overhauled). I believe that the best thing for America is a Fair Tax on money spent (as in a national sales tax) and I think tax breaks to increase job growth in the private sector is a good idea. I am also in favor of privatizing social security and investing more money into private business (like we do when we get 401K's) for retirement plans for the lower class and lower middle class.
I don't like what a lot of Republicans support and I am not in favor of everything the President does. Those are merely stereotypes that liberals and Democrats heap on conservative Christians in a desire to shame them into voting for others than Republicans. I would be glad to vote for a Democrat that I believed held to socially conservative positions and didn't want to tax us to death, believing that it was the cure all. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to respond.
Friday, July 07, 2006
5 Comments:
Please do enlighten this Catholic, Pentacostals are not Evangelicals? What exactly is an Evangelical then? Is it the same as born again? Anyways, I do understand they liked Idealism philosophy, except for the ask questions part… Also, from a property value standpoint, this thing is a bad idea, who the heck would want to live around that thing?
Also, what is your view of “conservative” I know the traditional definition, but to me, now it’s just defined as cheering on the Republican side regardless of the issue. Being conservative is like cheering for a football team. At least that what it seems like today to me…
Born-again is really an antiquated phrase that arose from the Fundamentalist movement and was adopted by Evangelicals when Billy Graham used it in his crusades to define Christians. Evangelicals really rarely use the phrase today and I don't think I heard it but twice while in Seminary. It's a Biblical term, but one that has been hijacked by true Fundamentalists and often misused and overused.
As for what an Evangelical is, here is a good, but brief definition.
And yes, I agree, it would be bad for the property value, but unfortunately for that area in Memphis, this statue is the lest of its worries. The area around the church has been increasingly deflating over the past 10 years. So the statue won't really affect it much. Also, the street the statue sits on is zoned for business, not residence, so very few homeowners probably coud see this from their porches (though likely they could from their roofs).
As for my view of conservative, I hold that abortion and euthanasia are not good for America and I believe they are not guaranteed in the Constitution (even if one could prove abortion, I think just a legitimate case could be made for the life of the unborn child, given the medical and scientific evidence -- which is why you won't find many OB-GYN's doing abortions AND delivering babies). So I am social conservative in that way. Additionally, I hold that tax and spend is not a good way to solve economic problems and actually breeds laziness and a lack of work ethic for people locked into programs like welfare that don't offer ways out (that's not to say that I want to stop social programs, but merely I think they need to be reformed and overhauled). I believe that the best thing for America is a Fair Tax on money spent (as in a national sales tax) and I think tax breaks to increase job growth in the private sector is a good idea. I am also in favor of privatizing social security and investing more money into private business (like we do when we get 401K's) for retirement plans for the lower class and lower middle class.
I don't like what a lot of Republicans support and I am not in favor of everything the President does. Those are merely stereotypes that liberals and Democrats heap on conservative Christians in a desire to shame them into voting for others than Republicans. I would be glad to vote for a Democrat that I believed held to socially conservative positions and didn't want to tax us to death, believing that it was the cure all. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to respond.