Ground Zero Mosque vs. the Freedom of Religion?

As a Christian conservative, I believe that Jesus is the only way to receive a relationship with the almighty God.  I also believe in our constitution, which give me the right to worship God in any way I see fit.

My heart has been torn over the issue of the mosque near ground zero.  On one hand I don’t agree with the Muslim faith, on the other, I do agree with the constitution.  It seems unwise to build a Mosque when, 70 percent of people are against it, yet should the mob rule all and simply make an exception to the constitution that avidly protects private property rights?

I am very grateful that my faith in God is protected by the constitution.  Does this mean that I should be ungrateful for Muslims protected by that same document?  Can you have one without the other?

In trying to find an answer to this delicate situation I thought I’d get perspective from fellow fiscal conservatives.  So I fumbled through my list of talking heads.  Rush Limbaugh criticizes Feisal Abdul Rauf, a possible Imam for the proposed Mosque.  This possible Imam is quoted to have said that Osama bin Laden was “made in the USA!”   Glenn Beck criticizes Barack Obama for his inconsistent protection of the constitution.  All the blogs of the world are aflame with scathing retorts to this desecration of Ground Zero.  Battle lines are being drawn.  Everyone is choosing sides and bunkering down for a war of angry words and low blows.

Then I tuned in to Chris Rosebrough the radio host of Fighting for the Faith and a strong conservative Christian like myself.

His podcast at Pirate Christian Radio is usually full of discussions concerning the dangerous heresies of the emergent church.  In his latest podcast , however, he spent the whole show on the “ground zero” Mosque.  I was very surprised at what he had to say, for it was a very different and unique take on the issue.

I highly recommend you put two hours aside and listen to the podcast yourself, but for those who can’t, let me summaries parts of it here.

The first point Chris makes is that the mosque may not even be built at all.  He cites a New York Post article called Half-baked Mosque. Turns out the developers only own one of the two buildings.  They also need to raise two hundred million dollars of which they only have two hundred dollars.  So it seems that those big Muslim oil-drillers in the Middle East are hesitant to make a “victory” mosque at or near ground zero.

Speaking of, mosques, there already is one four blocks away from ground zero built way back in the 70s.  Should we shut it down or blow it up?

Now I know that emotions are running high about this, but let’s stop and think about the facts here.  If the Mosque is far from being built in the first place, and if it may not even happen, well aren’t we just making a mountain out of a mole hill?

But let’s assume for the sake of argument that the Mosque were to be built.  Chris points out that even if Ben Laden himself had chosen the Imam in charge of it, and the extremist Muslims were spouting out their anti-American slander and hate speech.  Even if all that were to happen, which is a fear of many Americans, what would these extremists win?  He says:

If that’s really what they are trying to accomplish, then it will be evident to every peace-loving American whither they’re Muslim, Christian, Atheist, Buddhist, or whatever, that these guys were nothing but a bunch of liars, and their hatred will be evident to everybody.  They’ll be despised because of their duplicity.

In other words it wouldn’t be a victory at all.  Everyone would simply see the extremist Muslim faith for what it really is.  They would ignore it, much like the Christian extremists of Westboro Baptist Church are ignored.  So does this mean that Anti-American Muslims are protected by the constitution?  Chris thinks so.

The constitution makes it clear that in the United States, people have the right to practice and exercise the religion of their choice… as long as [the Muslims at the mosque] are not blowing people up and murdering American citizens; they have a right to worship [any] god… or any false god that they want to.

According to the law of the land, these developers have every right to build a mosque on private property.  Even against all the public upheaval, they can just ignore us and do whatever they want to, because private property is protected by the constitution.  This is a good thing by the way.

If these are the simple facts, why do so many make a fuss over it?  Chris thinks “People are exploiting and demagoguing this… flimsy proposed [Mosque] in order to promote and move forward a political agenda…. Repeat after me, the Mosque is not the goal.”  Well if that’s not the goal then what is?  Chris believes it is ultimately a fight over religious freedom and religious speech.

Personally I’m not quite a fan of Chris’s view in this part, and to be fair Chris states at the beginning of the podcast that he could be completely wrong in this.  It is only his assessment of everything he has read and listened to.

I do think that both sides are using the mosque for their own agenda though.  The democrats seem to be showing off how ridiculous religious people can be.  The republicans, on the other hand, are using it to push forward an anti-Obama sentiment since he has actively supported the freedoms and rights of these Muslims as protected by the constitution.

Being a strong conservative myself, I’m all about fighting against Obama’s ideas.  I’m not a fan of Obama care which will end up costing more than our already fickle economy can take.  I’m not a fan of him bailing out companies whose practices have caused them to fail (which Bush also did despite the outcry of the public).  I’m not a fan of how he handled the oil spill.

I don’t agree with many of Obama’s policies but in this, I have to say that he is correct in standing up for the private property rights of individuals.  Chris sounds very unfortunate in also agreeing with our president, but as he puts it, “…even though [President Obama] is grossly inconsistent when it comes to the constitutionality of things.  In this particular case, the rhetoric he is using is principled because it points back to the constitution.”

What saddens me is how politicians on both sides are preying upon Christian’s negative view of Islam.  And we are falling head-long into it.  I personally know some very nice Islamic people.  As a Christian I disagree with their god and their faith, yet I strongly believe in protecting their religion along with mine from any intervention by the government.  You really can’t have one side without the other.

Chris Rosebrough says it a little more strongly:

…even though I don’t like [the Muslim] religion at all, even though it’s a very unpopular religion, even though I think Islam is a false religion and demonic, and the Allah of Islam is not a real god, and those that worship him are worshiping him falsely…trapped in a false religion…enslaved to basically demonic doctrines if you would.  That’s my opinion of Islam and I’m not backing off from it….The constitution [still] grants the right of religious freedom.

Another gripping point Chris makes, is that the arguments used by the right to attack the mosque being built can also be used against Christians who do not support gay marriage.  The media can say, “It isn’t wise to be so against homosexuality,” or “It’s hurtful to those who are trying to gain acceptance in our society.”  Just as some people on the right have been saying how unwise and hurtful it is to build the mosque.  Should this flimsy reasoning be why it should stop?  Should public outcry ever supersede the constitution?

Bottom line, the developers have every right to build a mosque and are under the complete protection of the constitution to do so (If they can even raise the money).  Christians have the right of free speech to be against the mosque.  They can say whatever they feel about it but they cannot legally stop it from happening.  I just hope we can stop being constitutional hypocrites and see that the same freedoms that allow for Muslims to build their mosques is the same freedom we exercise every time we build a church.  America is a playing field of freedom and opportunity.  May the best faith win.

I’ll let Chris Rosebrough finish us out here:

We’ve taken our eye off the ball.  The ball is the gospel not politics.  You want to fight Islam?  Then preach the gospel…  I don’t care if they’re lying to us and that they’re really going to put a mosque in place, and that it’s going to be a hate-filled center of terrorism, I could care less…. Tell me about the people who are preaching Christ and him crucified for our sins in lower Manhattan.  Who are they? …You want to oppose this mosque, then stop fighting it politically.  The weapons of our warfare are not earthly they’re spiritual.  We’ve been given a gospel to preach and it’s through the preaching of the gospel that Christ, Jesus himself, raises people from the dead, whether they’re Muslim, Atheist, Agnostic, or heretic, it doesn’t matter….Try to find a way to support the people who preaching the gospel of Christ and him crucified for our sins in lower Manhattan.  That’s how you fight the mosque, and that’s how the kingdom of God is advanced.

Well said Chris, well said.

Free Writing Exercise 1: the Chocolate Spaghetti Pie

I am trying to write more and more.  Sometimes my anal side kicks in and criticizes the mess out of me.  This often causes a brain freeze which only leads to that ever horrid diseas of dum dum de dum! WRITERS BLOCK!

What is a an aspiring author to do?

Well there is this wonderful exercise called free writing where you make up a plethora of starter sentences, choose one at random and go at it without stopping.  Below is my first attempt at this.  I made 12 starter phrases and used a 12-sided die to find the one to write with (Being a D&D nerd can be handy at times).  Number six was chosen.

The amazing thing is that well… it worked!  I was past my brain freeze, able to move on in writing my book.

The very crux of free writing is that you don’t edit while you write.  I have gone back and edited the free-written story a little to make it worthy to be read by you.  Enjoy!

8/16/10

This isn’t what I would call a chocolate spaghetti pie. Briana didn’t know what I was talking about of course.  She couldn’t see what I could, namely the fact that this gloopy mess before me was hardly edible.  But that’s what you get for giving an eight-year-old free rein in the kitchen.

“Look daddy I made you breakfast.”

I smiled in a chagrin sort of way.  Sue was out for the week on another one of her business trips leaving me in charge of the house.

“Well thank you honey it looks so beautiful.”

“No it doesn’t.”

“Well no I guess it doesn’t.”

“It isn’t supposed to look good it’s only supposed to taste good.”

As sound as Briana’s theory of the culinary arts may have been, I had a sneaky suspicion that looks would not be deceiving this go around.

“Well, sit down.  I’ll serve you.”

I sat down and she served me… a big portion of the dripping gloopy mess.  My nose sent me warnings of what was to come.  I couldn’t stop to scold its rudeness because Briana’s drooping blue eyes were looking right into me, in that expectant sort of way kids are born with.  I’m about to take a bite when the phone rings.

“I’ll get it!”  She says with glee leaving me alone to face her creation.  Before I can relax my smiling face, she returns with phone in hand.  “It’s mommy!”

I take the phone and listen politely as Sue scolds me, even from five thousand miles away.  It is a rather fun tradition of hers and I’m not one to break it.  Her scolding gets darker and darker as I nod my head and droop my shoulders.  My fork plays with the culinary mess of food until I idly grab a bit and test it with my tongue.

“—and you just never listen to me!  No matter how many times I say it.  Fred are you there?”

“A-huh.”

Suddenly the food is looking very tasty at the moment.  I take a bittersweet bite of the stuff.

“Well I hope you listen to this!  I’m leaving you, leaving you for another man!”

My shoulders arch up.  Did I hear her right?

“Fred did you hear me?”

Yes, I guess I did.  Briana is playing with her dolls on the floor.  Sue never liked her playing on the floor.

“Do you know why I’m leaving you?”

“Tell me when you get back.”

“Don’t you hang that phone up on me!”

I hang that phone up on her.  Briana is lifted off the ground and into my arms.

“Did it taste good daddy?”

“It tasted wonderful.  How would you like to go to the zoo today?”

She takes my hat off the rack and places it on my head.  We leave the house with the phone ringing on and on behind us.

Another Nerd Rage Rant, Subject: the Science of Driving

It’s time for all of you to face the facts.  You’re bad drivers.  I on the other hand, am the best in the world.  I’ve thus taken it upon my weary self to teach you the science of getting out of my way!

The first undisputable law of driving: Objects in motion must remain in motion unless they are being passed by me.

I’m late for work and everyone in front is early for… golf lessons or something.  So naturally I must take my chances with fate, weaving and dodging around the slow drivers.

The next morning, I’m on my way to golf lessons trying to enjoy a leisurely day off when Mr. Jerk-head cuts in front so he can shave off a few micro seconds of travel time between red lights.  Why does he have to go so fast, taking his chances with fate, weaving and dodging around slow drivers like myself… I mean um… he must be late for work or something.

The second undisputable law of driving: Every body remains in a state of rest while at a stop light until that body is acted upon by the force of a car horn from the back.

I’m ten cars away from that light which takes forever to change.  It is glaring red, mocking my very existence, forcing me to be patient with people that I will never see again.

But then alas!  The blessed light has transformed into green!  Oh joyous day now I can… honk my horn at the slow person in front until he pushes the go petal.

But I’m at the front of the line now.  I take my time with things, talking to a friend on the phone, texting my mom, eating that sandwich in the passenger seat.

The light is some sort of grayish color.  I’m not an interior decorator so I can’t really tell which shade of gray it is.  Something happens to it.  The light changes to some other shade of gray.  Perhaps it is yellow now.  Who knows because if it’s green well… I have plenty of time to do something about it.  I’m in the front after all.

The third undisputable law: bodies driving slow in the passing lane have created a paradoxical wormhole where time is both meaningful and meaningless to the bodies caught within the event horizon of the slow body.

You’re one of those go-getters aren’t you?  In grade school you passed every coloring book project.  Many “good job!” and “go you!” stickers later, and you’ve become a pro at coloring everything orange.

During dinner with the family you’re the polite one, passing the dressing, passing the cheese sauce, and passing the gravy.  You’d think with all that practice in passing well… now you’re a big person!  You have a driver’s license and a car!  So go get on that big bad highway and drive slowly in the only lane worthy of your go-getter mentality, the passing lane.

Maybe you were born in England where everything is backwards: British teeth, British spelling (it’s not colour as in col-ow-er it’s color as in um… c-uh-ler).  Other backward things the British do is concerning their roads.  Here in America we don’t take too kindly to people driving slow in our passing lane.  You see the left lane is not for slow people.

Did all those “good job yo!” stickers in grade school mean nothing to you?  What condominiums are you passing to your family now?   Since the people in the other lane are going too fast for you to pass them, you might as well stay in the passing lane and keep driving slowly.   That way those in the slow lane who actually drive the speed limit can pass you by!  Any more paradoxical and we’d be traveling backwards in time.

The final undisputable law: drive safe or die trying.

Seriously folks, it may take you a little longer to get there, but safety is a better way to go then say, driving unsafe… which could kill you.

The best way you can drive safely is to keep your senses about you.  Be watchful of the traffic so that when the best driver in the world comes flying by (that would be me) you can move out of his way.

Tubing Down Clear Creek in Golden Colorado

Note: the pic is not of me but was taken from here

So my brother took me tubing a few days ago.  Not the kind a Louisianian like myself is used to.  There were no boats involved just you, a tire tube, and the creek.  While maneuvering myself as eloquently as a piece of driftwood, I thought that perhaps this misadventure would make a nice blog post… and then I hit a dip in the rapids and thought of little else.

Here are a few pointers my bro showed me:

“When going down a mini waterfall, lift your legs up.”

I do so with glee lifting it high into the air.  Then my tube gets stuck in perpetual limbo at the bottom of the falls.  So naturally I need to put me feet down and fix the situation with– KaSplash! 

Down I go!

“When in calm waters, steer backwards.  I’ts easier.”

Yeah I’m getting the hang of it I think.  I’m steering backwards like a pro.  I can go this way.  I can go that way.  I can go–

“Watch out for the rock!”

–KaFlipiddy Flip splash gulp!!!

“Yeah and make sure you are watching behind for rocks.”

Thanks a lot oh wise brother of mine.

So all in all we went down the creek three times.  I fell in the freezing, yet surprisingly refreshing water, about ten times.  And I had the most fun I have had in ages!

If you have a creek nearby and some gumption, I recommend it.  If nothing else, it will be hilarious comic relief for your friends and family.

Cracked.com on SyFy Channel Change

My roomate told me to check out the Cracked site.  Once there I found a nifty little article about the whys ands and buts SyFy’s name change along with a rather fascinating history of the channel, how it started and when it started going wrong.

Those who have pondered the reasons for the y’s might find such answers there.  Turns out the nerds have very little power when it comes to the all mighty executives.

http://www.cracked.com/funny-5398-syfy-channel/