In saying this I would like to say that I respect all religions and faiths ( as long as they fall into the general theme of humanity) and mean no ill repute.

In the weeks following the attacks I have read and seen, along with everyone else, the countless memoriums to the victims and fellow Americans. TV ads, web notices, signs and countless others.....the continuing theme or verbage is our 'thoughts are with you, or our deepest regrets', or some other form of condolences; OTHER THAN, remembering from growing up, the standard was our thoughts and PRAYERS go out to you and your families. Is it just me or has anyone else noticed this also.

Have we moved so far to the left that it is political suicide for a company or official to say our company is praying for you and your family? Or, we will remember you in our prayers tonight.

Have we let special interests of others go so far as to be afraid to say, when our family prays tonight we are going to ask God to put his healing hand upon what has happened. Or, pray to God that he gives the leaders of this country the guidance and knowledge to deliver us through this.

I officiate high school football, and through the years, beginning a game, public schools are now 'pausing for a moment of silence or reflection'. Well, this past Friday I had two Catholic private schools where the priest had a good long prayer before the game asking God to watch over us, it was so refreshing to see thousands with head bowed praying to God. You could have heard a pin drop.

Maybe not everyone feels this way, or maybe I'm being to microscopic. I heard on TV that during the celebrity fund raiser this past weekend that Tom Hanks, when reciting the pledge of allegiance, he left out 'one nation under God' and went right to 'indivisible'. I could have heard it wrong, I hope he honestly messed up and didn't do it on purpose.

OK, I'll get off my soap box now......

 

Well, Jason, no-one else wanted to grapple with this one-a complex question indeed, but I'll give it a go. Maybe it's off topic but....

The fanatic followers of Bin Laden and his ilk claim the attack on Sept 11 was an act of jihad and they were acting as true sons of God in their terrorist acts. I think many people are so disturbed that this assertation and it made many question their faith.

One of the results of the decade of Political Correctness is that people in civilized countries became so afraid to offend others that they are unwilling to make a statement of faith for fear of offending some highly sensitive splinter group looking for an excuse to claim they are being repressed and start suing people. After all, my faith may not be your faith and so on....

I agree that the sight of thousands of people bowing their heads in prayer is moving and I think it is unfortunate that many people "hide their light under a bushel" for fear of being stigmatized as fanatics but, in many many cases, organized religions are so bent on forcing their rhetoric and dogma onto the faithful that they are completely intolerant of any other concept of God then their ideal.

I think each person should be free to seek his own God in his own way. I believe in God and the way I live my life shows my faith. I don't need to slam airplanes into buildings to prove my point.

I hope the Moderator doesn't zap us, Jason!

Mac :rolleyes: