Sunday, January 29, 2012

The Underground -- Gingrich, Santorum’s racist remarks against African-Americans show spiritual defect

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Gingrich, Santorum’s racist remarks against African-Americans show spiritual defect

Posted: 29 Jan 2012 02:30 AM PST


“Black people are so lazy. They need to get off the welfare and food stamps and get jobs.”

Though that sounds like something Archie Bunker would’ve said back in the day, it’s actually the kind of stuff Gingrich people are accusing Republican presidential candidate hopefuls Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich of saying on the campaign trail.

Gingrich was criticized for repeatedly calling President Barack Obama “food stamp president” and for saying that he’d be happy to teach young black people in economically depressed areas how to have a work ethic, so that they wouldn’t have to grow up to be pimps or prostitutes.

Santorum was criticized for saying that he didn’t want “to make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money.”

Republican presidential hopefuls Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have been criticized for saying things that could be perceived as racist on the campaign trail.

Based on what they said, it’s understandable why people are accusing the two of racism and more than 40 leaders in the Catholic Church have told the two to chill out with the race baiting. Either they are trying to appeal to a racist element in their party or they are ignorant of the facts.

Either way, as seasoned politicians these guys should know better. They should know that before they open their mouths, they should do a little research instead of repeating ill-founded stereotypes.

If they did the research they would know that accordingto the U.S. Department of Agriculture, one-third of the 223 million white people in the United States receive food stamps.

If you look at the raw data alone, more white people (about 74 million) receive food stamps than the total black population (38.9 million) of the United States.

I imagine that if they had been armed with that knowledge, they probably wouldn’t have let such foolishness come out of their mouths because they would’ve alienated their voter base.

As Christians, these guys should know better as well. The heart of God is pretty clear throughout the Bible on discrimination (See James 2, Galatians 3:28, John 7:24, Romans 10:12) – it’s abhorrent to Him because all people were made in His image and He hates partiality.

The fact Gingrich and Santorum are publicly proclaiming racist stereotypes shows that they have serious spiritual deficiencies of which they need to take care. Though they claim they care about “right to life issues,” it’s obvious that they aren’t really trying to love their brothers and sisters in Christ.

I don’t know who is going to get the Republican nomination, but if either of these guys do, one of the questions I’ll be asking myself at the polls is, can I really trust a candidate who unabashedly repeats inaccurate information in an attempt to bolster himself, while never really trying to actually address or understand the needs of one group of people he seeks to govern?

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Praying for New Orleans, one block at a time

Posted: 28 Jan 2012 10:45 PM PST


Millie Campbell slipped the transmission into reverse and backed her blue Chevrolet away from her spotless brick home. “Oh God,” she said, “we thank you for the blood of Jesus.”

Then the 76-year-old cranked the wheel straight, put the car into drive, and headed slowly up Frenchmen Street, one hand on the wheel, the other turned upward toward the heavens.

“Touch this block in the name of Jesus,” she continued.

Her front-seat companion, Betty Minor, 69, filled in the gaps between Campbell’s appeals. “Hallelujah … Glory, glory.”

A couple of times a week, on no particular schedule, Campbell, Minor and a half-dozen others drive slowly around assigned neighborhoods, doing just this.

Campbell covers the 7th Ward. Minor covers the 9th Ward and eastern New Orleans.

And they pray. They pray for an end to the scourge of murders sapping the city — 199 last year, and 17 or so on the streets Campbell drove last week.

Sometimes, driver and passenger join hands, bouncing slowly over the pothole-filled streets of their neighborhood.

“Cover your children, Father God,” Minor says. “In the name of Jesus.”

The car turns onto A.P Tureaud Boulevard. “Hope is not in the dollar,” Campbell says. “Hope is in you, Christ Jesus.”

The pair drive past stoop sitters, past Tony’s Historical Parakeet Restaurant and Bar, past the blighted houses and freshly rebuilt homes in neighborhoods undergoing checkerboard recoveries.

“Touch Touro Street, Lord, in the name of Jesus.”

Campbell and Minor’s group consists of six women and one man. They are from different churches, bound together by an ad hoc prayer group that meets twice a month at Campbell’s house. This is strictly their project.

They are among thousands of people off the radar, unorganized, unsponsored, praying daily for the safety of New Orleans.

Usually the people in Campbell’s group go solo. Sometimes it’s a special trip. But sometimes they pray while doing something else, like going out for groceries. The trips can be long or short. Each person prays however he or she is moved to. Campbell and her friends have been doing this for about six weeks.

Across the city, thousands of Catholics formally pray for peace in the city at each Sunday Mass, reciting a special anti-crime petition at the request of Archbishop Gregory Aymond.

Other clergy lead congregations in other ways, and run youth ministries, literacy programs, sports programs, anything to help tamp down crime.

But Campbell and her friends have decided the most powerful thing they can do is drive the city’s streets and pray, as the community does its business, unaware, around them.

“We got a problem, but we don’t know how to solve it,” Campbell insists.

“Well, we do,” she says, meaning herself, Minor and their friends. “We’re taking it to the Spirit.”

(Bruce Nolan writes for The Times-Picayune in New Orleans.)

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Court says student’s faith may have led to expulsion

Posted: 28 Jan 2012 10:24 PM PST


A counseling student who declined to advise a gay client might have been expelled from her university because of her faith, a federal appeals court ruled on Friday (Jan. 27).

Citing her evangelical Christian religion, Julea Ward disagreed with professors at Eastern Michigan University who told her she was required to support the sexual orientation of her clients. When the graduate student was assigned a client who sought counseling on a same-sex relationship, she asked to have the client referred to another counselor.

Ward was then expelled from the school.

A lower court sided with the university, but Ward appealed, saying the school had violated her First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and free exercise of religion.

On Friday, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that Ward could have a valid claim, and sent the case back to a district court for another hearing.

“A reasonable jury could conclude that Ward’s professors ejected her from the counseling program because of hostility toward her speech and faith, not due to a policy against referrals,” the appeals court ruled.

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which has helped defend Ward, hailed the ruling as a victory for religious freedom.

“No individual should be forced out of their profession solely because of her religious beliefs,” said Eric Rassbach, the Becket Fund’s national litigation director.

The Ypsilanti, Mich.-based university issued a statement noting that the court has not ruled in favor of Ward, but rather called for more legal consideration.

“This case has never been about religion or religious discrimination,” the university said. “It is not about homosexuality or sexual orientation. This case is about what is in the best interest of a person who is in need of counseling.”

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