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The "This Is What I Believe Project"
Today in America, our elected officials are more and more straying from the Traditional Values we as Christians believe in. We feel this is not representative of the majority in America.
Our elected officials were elected to office for the purpose of representing us, the people.
The purpose of this project is to show them that they have forgotten us, and to remind them of our Values.
We ask that you sign our letter, stating your agreement with Traditional Values, based upon biblical foundations, upon the principles outlined in the Declaration of Independence, our Constitution, the writings of the Founding Fathers, and upon the writings of great political and Christian thinkers throughout the ages.
This letter will be printed out and delivered to all of our federal and state elected officials with all signatures attached.
Please visit our website and read, sign and recommend this letter.
http://www.ThisIsWhatIBelieve.com
Statesman Website
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Bible Course Becomes Test for Public Schools in Texas
By RALPH BLUMENTHAL AND BARBARA NOVOVITCH; RALPH BLUMENTHAL REPORTED FROM HOUSTON FOR THIS ARTICLE, AND BARBARA NOVOVITCH FROM ODESSA, TEX. (NYT) 1388 words
Late Edition - Final , Section A , Page 9 , Column 1
ABSTRACT - National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools claimed victory in April when Odessa, Tex, school board voted to add (sic)an elective Bible study course to (sic) the 2006 high school curriculum; but Texas Freedom Network is releasing a study finding council's course to be 'error-riddled' curriculum that 'attempts to persuade students and teachers to adopt views that are held primarily within conservative Protestant circles'; dispute makes curriculum, which council says is used in 312 school districts in 37 states, latest flashpoint in culture wars over religious influence in public domain; council says its course is the only one offered nationwide, but Bible Literacy Project, the organization supported by a broad range of religious groups, expects to release a textbook in September; council denies that its course is indoctrination, saying that it focuses on the Bible as a foundation document of society; critics call curriculum unacceptably sectarian; photos (M)
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Public School Bible Class Under Fire
from staff reports
SUMMARY: Liberal Texas group challenging the legality of
curriculum on grounds that it only addresses Protestant
views.
A Bible class curriculum for public schools is being
attacked from the left for not teaching evolution or
including the views of other religions -- but those behind
the study are standing their ground.
The National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools
says the course has been approved for use in 312 school
districts in 37 states.
"We've had over 170,000 students already take the course,"
said Elizabeth Ridenour, the council's president.
Texas has 52 districts carrying the curriculum -- which is
not going unnoticed by the liberal Texas Freedom Network.
The group's spokesman, Dan Quinn, claimed there are
problems with the Bible class.
"Well, for one thing," he told Family News in Focus, "it's
a Bible study course that essentially looks at almost
exclusively a Protestant -- conservative Protestant
--interpretation of the Bible.
That's an interesting charge, considering the list of
endorsements backing the class.
"The curriculum is supported and endorsed by people all
over the spectrum, including noted Rabbi Daniel Lapin and
others," said the council's attorney, Mike Johnson. "So to
say that it's a 'Protestant only' approach is clearly
inaccurate."
The charges aren't new, he added, and considering the
source, the council is taking them with a grain of salt.
"This is . . . really a radical, leftist organization,"
Johnson said of the Texas Freedom Network, "that even many
Texas Democrats have distanced themselves from."
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Finding God in Government
This month, we celebrated our country's independence. There were barbeques and fireworks displays. And we sang songs about this land where our fathers died, hopefully reminding us of their commitment to their faith and how it has impacted our nation. Their faith not only shaped a people, but also the government that leads them.
Though religious leaders and political officials alike often talk about the separation of religion and politics, the fact is that the two have been inseparably wed since the beginning of our nation. From our founding fathers to the coins you use in soda machines, you see the mark of faith woven into our everyday life. Let's take a brief look at some of the ways God got into government. They may surprise you.
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Money Talks
You may never think much about the money in your pocket except how to spend it, but much of our currency has a message. Open your billfold and take a closer look to see what it has to say.
"In God We Trust" is a religious claim that our nation puts on its currency. The phrase was coined (pardon the pun) for the first time in 1864 on the 2-cent coin. The Civil War had ignited much religious sentiment, spurring many of the nation's faithful to write Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase to "recognize the Deity on United States coins."
But we don?t restrict our recognition of God to English; it's also there in Latin. On the back of a $1 bill you will find "Annuit Coeptis" written above the eye of the pyramid. The phrase means "God has favored our undertakings." The State Department says that the unfinished pyramid on the $1 bill symbolizes that the United States will always grow, improve, and build, while the all-seeing eye suggests how essential divine guidance is for America.
Words to Live By
Just as the federal government has its mottoes, so do the states. Each state has an official motto, some even showing godly reflection. Those states with God in their motto include Arizona, whose motto is the Latin phrase "Ditat Deus," which means "God enriches." Colorado also uses a Latin phrase – "Nil Sine Numine" – which means "Nothing without the deity." Florida claims, "In God We Trust." Ohio's motto quotes Luke 2, saying, "With God, All Things Are Possible." South Dakota claims that "Under God the People Rule."
The Fathers Know Best
It may be of interest to know that though many of our founding fathers based their lives and our government on biblical principles, many of them were not what we would consider orthodox Christians. They admired Jesus and His teachings, but did not want to accept Him as the Son of God. For example, James Madison became Unitarian, while Thomas Jefferson was a deist. However, most founding fathers stressed the necessity of religion and its precepts for the success of the republic.
The first two presidents, George Washington and John Adams, were both considered strong supporters of religion. Washington, an Episcopal vestryman, said, "Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged. The time has come to turn to God and reassert our trust in Him for the healing of America. Our country is in need of and ready for a spiritual renewal."
John Adams was quoted as thinking of himself as "a church-going animal." He said, "The moral principles and precepts contained in the Scriptures ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws."
Benjamin Franklin said of America's beginnings, "Our founding fathers believed devoutly that there was a God and that the inalienable rights of man were rooted not in the state, nor legislature, nor in any other human power, but in God alone."
Civil War general and U.S president Ulysses S. Grant said, "The book (the Bible), Sir, is the rock on which our republic rests."
Though the federal government never endorsed a national religion, for almost 100 years after the Civil War, church services were held in the House, the executive branch buildings, and the Supreme Court chambers. Jefferson and Madison both attended these services where Protestant preachers and Catholic priests alike officiated.
This article courtesy of Christian Single magazine.
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