If sky is falling, just look up

Must be the season for fairy tales; there sure have been enough here recently. Al, I'd much rather lean on a limp noodle, there's more support there than any you'll find in the pages of a set of books written by ancients a couple thousand (and +) years ago. Bah!

Let's stick our heads in the holy water and hope it all goes away

Amen and again Amen Al...Great letter great message...

Simple question to justus4, GGpap, & rufus & others of like minds= "What are you leaning on?"...Your future???

Why not just rename the AC the "Augusta Christian Chronicle" and be done with it. Letter after letter has been published calling upon readers to look to Jesus for solutions to their problems...or explaining the current condition of our country as punishment for straying from God's path...or simply mouthing the most platitudinous of prescriptions for well-being. PLEASE, people. Save it for your church bulletin, that self-published memoir, or the family dinner table. Your proselytizing does nothing but take up space that might be devoted to a rational discussion of our nation's ills.

Final comment to the scoffers & we who believe= See what one ancient wrote over 1900+ years ago about the "fairy tales" we believe & you discount=2 Peter 3:1-18

Amen to this letter. Chirst is the only answer. Become a cheerful giver and avoid hard financial times for yourself. Life is all about sowing and reaping. Only the truth upsets folks. If he had said something about another belief system no one would be upset.

justus4, GGpap, rufus, & midwestern.......Do Christians not have the same right as you to voice our opinions on the state of this nation. Mr. Barone has just as might right to have his opinion printed as the next citizen. I guarantee you that the Holy Bible is not a fairy tale and yes we who are children of God cling proudly to our bibles. GGpap, you said you'd rather cling to a wet noodle than the Word of God, well how's that working for you so far. As for Christian comments taking up space that might be devoted to a rational discussion of our nation's ills...give me a break. God's people have laid out a solution but it's individuals like yourself that just won't listen. You keep clinging to your worldly solutions and let me know how that works out and I'll keep clinging to my God and his Word.

They believe in the myth that "God is dead" because the NYTimes said so. I keep trying to tell them that it is just the inspired word of man and filled with human errors. hee,hee,hee.

InChristLove, I don't cling to "worldly solutions". You're making assumptions simply because I'm not down with the droning Christians whose letters keep getting published. Listen, it's BORING. I wouldn't presume to try to push my faith on others, but that doesn't stop these letter writers from writing or the AC from publishing them. It's what you believe--OK, fine--but this is a secular newspaper, not a pulpit. Sure, you have the right to express your opinion, but the AC has a responsibility to be a real newspaper, not a mouthpiece for the Christian right.

It may be boring to you but I don't see where it is pushing our faith on you. Christians who also believe as Mr. Barone find it uplifting. If you want to publish a letter regarding what you put your "faith" in that is your right. I might find it boring but it's your right to have your comments published. No one is forcing you to believe what is written. It's possible that the AC hasn't received any letters that fall along with what you believe, their not being a mouthpiece for Christian rights, they are only printing what a citizen submitted as his opinion.

MWT ... you're welcome to write your own LTE. Ever thought that your continually negative, midwestern drivel in the comments section is equally boring (not to mention annoying) to the rest of us??

Crom, I have never prayed to you before. I have no tongue for it. No one, not even you, will remember if we were good men or bad. Why we fought, or why we died. All that matters is that two stood against many. That's what's important! Valor pleases you, Crom... so grant me one request. Grant me revenge! And if you do not listen, then to HELL with you!

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And once again, the 85% of Americans who are Christian must defend their rights while the rights of all minority groups are protected by law.

My trust is in Christ. Thanks for the inspirational message.

I interpret the end of the verse, "it is at Your discretion that men are made great and given strength," to mean that God works through man (or woman) to make this world a better place. "Man" got us into this mess and through "man" it should be made better. I'm not a church goer, but didn't the new testament talk about the evils of greed and how we should treat others as ourselves. To take this lessons to heart would go far to improve our world.

Well either you are a theist or atheist-believe or disbelieve there is a god. Funny how atheism actually grew from supernatural beliefs and religions such as the Vedic and then Ancient Greeks. It is a philosophical argument inspired by questioning beliefs. I find most of the people, except grouse, actually are just against fundamentalist christianity and not so much the whole religion or they have other religious beliefs. Few are die hard atheists believing in naturalism or humanism. I note all tend to create circular arguments to a degree-theist and atheist. I've been on both sides of the balance and see the merits to both sides of the arguments.

Good Lord, Tall2, quit acting like you're denied any rights. The citizens of the US are protected to believe any religion of ones' choosing.

During hard times alot of people do not want to hear pie in sky policy. We need men of action. Shields will burst and bones will crack is what we want to hear.

If they didn't want to hear pie in the sky policy why did Obama get elected-a man with no credentials, experience, expertise, or ability to deal with the challenges. If this is the best America can offer in our Prez and Congress we are doomed. If we are just left with human effort and its frailties we are doomed. We better hope this a God and start praying because left to our own devices we will destroy ourselves. Let's see Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawkins, and numerous others tend to agree with me about our self destructive path and they are secularists.

KnightTemplar, some of your comments make absolutely no sense at all.

I'm not bashing religion. I'm saying that we can't pray our way out of the mess we're in. I never found a job by sitting at home praying for it.

More delusional thinking...

rufus, you're correct...you can't find a job sitting at home...but if you start with prayer, when you do start searching for a job your success will be greater. Prayer is more than just utterance of words, you have to believe and it also required action. Listening so you can hear God speak and then follow his guidance. People want to make Christianity so much harder than it is or make it out to be some kind of weird thing. In reality, life is so much sweeter and less complicated when you know Christ and just follow in obediance. If you don't agree, that's your right, only God can remove the blinders from your eyes.

Mr Baron: It is true that the universe belongs to the Almighty Creator; however, He also expects MAN to ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR HIS OWN ACTION. Why do you think it is necessary for God to bail man out of his own problems when he is the source of the problem? The warning for Avarice and Greed were given in strong terms--unfortunately, MAN did not heed the warning. You interpret our motto "in God We Trust" to mean that God will solve our problems for us; you should interpret our motto as being a reminder that we are responsible for our own actions. Therefore, it is appropriate to demand that our government, not God, to seek equitable ways to resolve our economic and social problems--but this won't work either until everyone decides the best way is to work together.

Midwesterntransplant, I can have a good day now. Seeing that you are disgruntled lets me know that there is still hope for the world. We'll just leave it at that. Have A Blessed Day!

Grouse get educated. It is "illusional" thinking not "delusional". Delusional thinking is a mental illness or psychotic disorder. The seeing, hearing, smelling and experience of supernatural events related to a religious experience would be classified as illusion. The notion being it isn't supernatural but the mind creates the illusion from the bits of information perceived. The same thing as the brain filling in voids of information in trick photoillusions. The brain "remembers" most cognitive things through association whereas the skill memory of playing a musical instrument is subconcious. Sometimes the brain is tricked as I'm sure all of you have re-experienced events triggered by association with an odor or sound or see Mother Teresa's image in a bowl of cornflakes. hee,hee,hee. Perhaps a discussion of false belief and theory of the mind is in order and the difference between belief and knowledge. LOL. signed Bizzocrates. hee,hee.hee.

I tell you the mind body thing really intrigues me. I've had several friends over the last five years who I would have bet would be kissing their butt goodbye because of metastatic cancer. Their faith they would be healed was admirable but I told my wife that the pancreatic or lung cancer they have is just about a sure death sentence (but if it made them feel better go for it). We prayed over them at church, which I earnestly prayed (mainly for comfort for the family because of their death). Dang if several didn't beat their cancers or are in remission. Myth, voodoo, delusional, or whatever give me a piece of that pie. I wash shocked and my wife said "oh ye of little faith." Now perhaps this is supernatural or perhaps just the luck of the draw, but given a certain death sentence finding peace with it or healing would be a welcome sight. I envy the person who loses everything and then you hear and see them praising the Lord for their blessings. What the heck? I use to hate the happy fools too-wondering what kind of moron can find a silver lining in that cloud. Humanism and naturalism can be quite depressing and we humans tend to live in human reality not natural reality.

Human reality is that we perceive with the limits of our senses. We hear- see as certain wavelenghths and taste, touch, and smell to limited degrees-i.e. we don't see ultraviolent like a butterfly or hear infrasound like an elephant. We live in an illusionary world created by our perceptions and deciphered by our brain in that context. It isn't representative of all natural reality just that we perceive. The fact we believe in myths like we humans hold a special place in nature or the universe is egocentric and false, and as much our ability for what we call "logic and reason" to yield truth would be just as absurd. Such is the secular world as our behaviors and thoughts are just genes, cells, organs, organisms, and populations interacting on a planet with limited resources and capacity for life-no reason or purpose nor is their such ridiculous notions as "right or wrong" or "better-best" just that which is fit and gains reproductive advantage wins-it is neutral. Bizzato. hee,hee,hee.