Saint Matthew's

A Congressman wants to make 2010 the Year of the Bible. As you would guess, this quasi-law has raised the ire of the non-Bible supporting crowd (the atheists) and the governmental secularists (just about everyone else). Says the sponsor of the bill, Rep. Paul Broun (R-Georgia):

“This doesn’t have anything to do with Christianity,” he said in an interview with POLITICO. Rather, he says, it seeks to recognize that the Bible played an integral role in the building of the United States, including providing the basis for our freedom of religion that allows Muslims, Hindus and even atheists to vocalize their own beliefs.

The Congressman is correct. The Bible played an historic and critical role in building of this nation. Just read our Founders -  they used the hopes and freedoms espoused in that book as  a basis of our laws. This, of course, doesn’t make our nation a “Christian” nation, but it doesn’t mean we ignore the fact that our Founders used God as a basis for the establishment of our United States.

Of course, the anti-religion crowd is hooting and hollering, claiming the law is dumb and discriminatory.

“Does that mean 2009 is not the year of the Bible?” mocked Rep. Barney Frank ­(D-Mass.), who is Jewish. “What is 2012 the year of? The Quran?”

“That’s an endorsement of religion by the federal government, and we shouldn’t be doing that,” said Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), even though he has introduced his own legislation dealing with religion.

“Republican lawmakers with apparently too much time on their hands and no solutions to offer the country are pushing a resolution that will not address the nation’s problems or advance prosperity or even untangle their previous governing mistakes,” blogged the Progressive Puppy.

To me, I don’t completely understand why there is a need for this bill. To a Christian, the Bible is the book of the year every year, regardless of who is president or whether or not the Yankees win the World Series. The Bible is the Word of God and it is our book of the year, month, week, and every day. Do we really need this little reminder? No.

But for all the complaining from the left wing of the Democrat party – please! They make it sound like they’ve never supported meaningless resolutions before. How many honorariums do they pass without reading them? Heck, earlier this year they adopted a stimulus bill where they never read a word. And they throw a fit over a meaningless paper resolution?

Please.

This week, I found myself up in Closter at the A&P Supermarket to pick a few things. Standing outside the store was a Korean War veteran who was selling poppies for a dollar. Of course, I bought a couple, to which I received a hearty “thank you.”

The gentlemen made an interesting comment regarding this weekend — he said it is a time to remember our fallen vets, not Aunt Millie’s skirt steak marinade. I laughed and came home.

This morning as I read the Wall Street Journal, a recipe for skirt steak and Greek salad was printed in the Weekend Edition. And I thought about the nice veteran I met this past week.

This is Memorial Day weekend. Tonight and tomorrow in church, we will remember our fallen veterans who sacrificed their lives so we can live in freedom. Our nation is free because of them. We can worship our God because they shed their blood to protect the liberties we many times take for granted.

A Pace University student has been charged with a hate crime for putting a Koran in the toilet.

Stanislav Shmulevich, a Ukrainian immigrant, was arraigned Sunday in New York Criminal Court on two charges of criminal mischief in the fourth degree as a hate crime.

“The defendant, as a hate crime, intentionally damaged property of another while having no right to do so nor any reasonable grounds to believe that he had such a right,” said the complaint filed by the New York County District Attorney’s Office.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

Throw a Bible in the toilet and take a picture of it, it’s free speech.

Submerge a crucifix in urine, it’s art.

But put a Koran in the toilet, you’re going to jail.

As a Christian I am insulted that the New York County District Attorney (hello, Robert Morganthau) is trying to put a dopey college kid in jail over this dumb act, but when Christianity is insulted over and over again by “artists,” no one in the Manhattan DA’s office runs off to file charges. Nor should they. This is America and free speech, though at times can be repugnant, is supposed to be protected.

This is political correctness gone way too far.

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