Storms Destroy Much of Union University Campus

How many of us sat in church services and either heard from the pulpit or from other members that "God destroyed New Orleans"? How many of us somewhere deep inside blindedly accepted it a little?

I'm not here to argue about God's selective wrath,but I do know the world needs more understanding and compassion from those who follow God's Word. Especially toward those people and concepts who are foreign to us.

As a '93 Union Grad, big fan of New Orleans and a person deeply rooted in his faith, I prefer not to let Pat Robertson speak for or represent me. Let's make sure the folks out there hear and see the love, grace and compassion of Christ.

We have a tendency of "keeping the non-christians down" in some of our denominations and I can totally understand why someone would use this oportunity to take some shots as us. We often do the same thing when we are in the majority.

Paul, that ain't free speech, guy ...

Paul said: "For those who accuse me of having a poor attitude and take offense at my post ..."

Hey Paul, here's a thought: why don't you go post your troll-drivel somewhere that's actually discussing Pat Robertson!? You brought it up, and nobody here cares about that subject (well, maybe the one guy who said, "Amen" -- maybe you two could hook up?).

If anyone here really did want to discuss this you'd be getting real feedback, something besides, "Shut yer yap." I'd also bet that nobody here agrees with what Robertson said concerning that subject in the first place, so it's not like you're going to launch a vigorous debate; they're just here discussing what happened at UNION. So what's the point of yelling "fire" in a crowded theater, eh? Lonely?

Paul said, "Although it may be in danger, America still offers free speech, ie, the right to an opinion."

Paul, your politics are showing, better tuck in; and you didn't pay very good attention in history class, did you?

"Free speech", the common name for the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, has nothing to do with any blog or your "right to your opinion" or anything else related to this particular discussion. All "free speech" really means is that the U.S. GOVERNMENT cannot punish or imprison you for, or stop you from, saying/writing/expressing things. This amendment was intended to keep the gov't from harrassing the citizens and press. It was not intended to give you a license to offend people on a private message board. Dig?

I'll make it simpler for you; the mag IS called U.S. News <grin>, but does the United States Gov't run this blog? See any Federal Agents around here? Didn't think so. You see, your post, or mine, can be removed at the whim of the moderator; I just didn't want mine to stick around -- completely without context -- if yours were removed. That's all. Look right below the "Submit" button: "All comments are moderated ..."

So, before the bell rings let's see if we learned anything today, Paul: if your inflammatory post WERE removed from this blog, would that an example of infringing on your "free speech" rights? You get a cookie if you can answer that question correctly based on the information in the above two paragraphs, without resorting to utterly weak "book burning" agitprop.

Sigh. Why do people, even public personalities (perhaps especially public personalities), open mouth and insert foot about something they know is patently offensive, then get called to the carpet for it, and then loudly plead, "Free speech! Free speech! I've got Free Speech!" Nothing shows real ignorance quicker, in my opinion, than taking that route. But some folks must believe it, because it keeps happening.

Finally, Paul, saying you pray for the victims and families after interjecting this Pat Robertson slop -- as the first post, no less -- is rich indeed. You obviously have a major chip on your shoulder about Pat Robertson's statement, which is cool, but you want to stir it up here, after something bad happens like this, which is not cool. This is what the UTM student above meant when he or she said, "There is a time and a place ..."

My advice? Take it somewhere else -- go somewhere else to play. I promise you there are a practically limitless number of people who would love to discuss this subject with you if you'll just look for and find them. Good luck. Oh, and tell a couple of your friends what you learned about free speech, and hopefully they'll tell two friends, and so on, and so on ...

in response to the first comment

Job 2:11 says, "Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?"

God is good in everything He does, and we cannot begin to understand it. We should just be thankful He's given breath and life and many other good things to us.