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April 26, 2010 by Sal Termini.
In my life I have had three encounters with bullies that really stand out. The first one happened when I was in eighth grade. A bully named Jack was very jealous that some of his friends liked me. Everyday he would threaten me and tell me he was going to beat me up. He was very loud, obnoxious, and cruel. He would get right in my face and make fun of me in front of my friends. I told him to leave me alone. He said, “make me.” I said, “I don’t want to fight you.” I guess I was afraid he would knock my block off. One day on my way home he blocked the side walk so that I was unable to get by him. What happened next was a blur. He swung and I ducked. As I ducked I managed to get behind him and got him in a headlock. I held on with all my might trying not to let him go. So for about 30 minutes we kept going around in a circle. He was trying to get free and I was trying to hold on with all my might. Finally he asked me to let him go. I said, “only if you let me go.” He promised he would, and the fight ended.
The second time I had a fight was in 10th grade. I had never played soccer before, and every time I tried to kick the ball I would either miss it or step on it falling backwards. I was new to the school having come from Queens to Long Island. I didn’t have any friends at that time. A boy walked over with a group of his friends and started mocking me. The next thing I knew, he shoved me to the ground. I jumped up and yelled leave me alone. With that he looked back at his friends and with a smirk across his face whirled around to punch me as he did I ducked and by accident hit him with an uppercut. He fell backwards stunned. I noticed the other boys started moving closer towards me. To my good fortune the gym teacher came over and broke everyone up.
The third time I was playing softball and a huge blonde haired kid with scars on his face said to me, “I’m taking your turn at bat.” I said to him, “I waited all day to play. I want to bat for myself.” I later found out he bit the eyebrow off another kid in school. He sent two other kids to the hospital with injuries. He was a brutal and cruel person. He looked at me and probably liked my spunk and walked away taking another kids turn at bat.
I watch with great interest the debate between theists and atheists. Atheists claim possession of something they do not own: reason. They are loud, boisterous, cruel, unkind, and have a mocking attitude similar to the bullies I’ve described above. Many of the great colleges and learning institutions in this country began with Christians who believed that God gave man the power of reason. Atheism now makes claim that religion is devoid of reason. Like bullies in any given place, they are trying to rob what rightly belongs to all men — religious or irreligious. Some of the greatest scientists and scholars, past and present, believe in God. It is sad that because atheists are loud, cruel, and entertaining many think that they’re right. There numbers are greater in our colleges, so they believe might makes right.
It is just more proof that atheism has no code of conduct or respect for other people who believe differently than they do. These people claim diversity and pluralism until there belief system is seriously challenged. They then revert to bad behavior. People who believe in God need to stand up for themselves. Atheism is trying to dominate the market place of ideas by providing crude entertainment in the form of mockery. They demean people who believe different than they do. Like ancient Rome the atheist sees himself as the lion in the Coliseum with the Christian as the victim. In a society today where a lot of our entertainment is vulgar, atheism has found a willing audience. Just because it is loud, boisterous, and mocking doesn’t make it right. The co-opting of reason from Christianity is a fallacy that must be overthrown. Scripture reveals that God himself invites man to speak to God with these words, “come let us reason together.” It is the Christians search for truth that founded the educational system in our country. It is time to give rightful place to people who believe in God as equals in powers of reason, and that they are equal if not smarter than those who profess atheism. Well over 75% of Americans believe in God. We must not let a small vocal minority lie about reason being the possession of atheists or bully the rest of us. There are a great many brilliant people, equal in intellect and powers of reason, that could easily shame by argument, education, and civility those who are atheists. So I say to the atheists, stop your bullying and come let us reason together.
We who believe in God must not allow atheists to threaten us to make their point. We must not allow their cruel taunts to go unanswered. We must not be afraid of the fight. In fact apostle Paul wrote, “fight the good fight of faith.” In all three instances in my life, bullies wanted to demean and humiliate. I was very fortunate to come out unscathed in these three instances. I think it’s time that we fight for what we really know to be true. Sooner or later as the truth comes out they, too, will smirk and walk away, picking on someone weaker. Dear believer, know that what you believe in is important, not just for yourself, but for all of us to stand unified in our faith. The value system of our faith has made America great. Our faith has greatly helped contribute to America’s greatness. Atheism, like Jack, is very jealous that a lot of people like what you believe. To those atheists, the fight is not about truth but about popularity. In the second instance we are in the territory of science and philosophy where they think they are in charge. They may think our arguments are clumsy but we can surely hold our own. Dear friends, standup for what you believe, in these evil times. Without an audience the bully, like the atheists, will give up. They can go back to their surly views, fighting each other. Like their belief in evolution they can devour one another in a contest for the survival of the fittest. There are plenty of analogies in the above stories. I think the moral is to stand your ground knowing that truth sets free, even for atheists.
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April 15, 2010 by Sal Termini.
A recent study by the university at Groningen in the Netherlands found that the environment effects people’s behavior both negatively and positively. The study shows disorder in an environment causes people to be less moral. In one part of the study the environment was made to reflect a run down neighborhood with graffiti on the walls.The people littered and did more socially unacceptable behavior. In the second part of the study the same area was made clean, the walls were repainted, and the area ordered to reflect a better environment. People acted with a higher sense of morality reflecting the neighborhoods cleaner and ordered appearance.
Two important lessons we should learn from this study
Know what you believe
It is amazing how may people will give in to bad behavior when in a poor environment or are put under social pressure. It is important to know what you believe in and then be faithful to those principles regardless of our environment or social pressures. Sociologists tell us we act out of our core beliefs. Few of us take the time to really know what we believe and why. Safety, prosperity, and security will come to a neighborhood, a society, a culture, even a nation that have people who will act on good core beliefs and not on a morally corrupt environment or society.
Know what to believe
To many people accept as normal a world that easily adapts to compromised moral principles. In fact many people live in a double standard knowing what is good but acting out of their weaknesses rather than our core beliefs. Many in America, in our culture and as a society live by morally corrupt self interests further diluted by morally compromised cultural norms. In the end we all will suffer the consequences. A good example is our economy which is suffering a deep recession because of unscrupulous lenders and borrowers. In the final analysis as in any moral breakdown in a society or a culture we all pay the debt. To make moral decsions we need a guidline to what good and evil really is. We live in a world of moral confusion and ignorance. When I am looking what to believe I read the words of Jesus. In His words I find not only moral perfection but compassion which is the foundation for all justice.
Know when to change
Our country needs to return to the Judeo Christian belief system of our founding fathers. In that belief system people are taught adhere to the the highest kind of morality. This morality was based upon God’s character reflected by His laws. God’s never dilutes His morality by selfish motives or cultural norms. The standard is the highest and the best because we will all derive benefit from it when we stand firm in our belief of those standards. These moral principles are the glue that hold a nation together without defrauding and hurting one another. These laws are love and prosperity in action. It is important to stand up for what you believe regardless of the consequences that is true heroism and is sadly lacking today. We live in a climate were it is socially acceptable to mock God’s laws like the Ten Commandments. The time to change our hearts and direction is now before its to late
Know what to do
We as Americans must not give in to a compromised and coarse culture, we must become the agents of worldwide and national change. We must model and uphold the standards God has set for the human race. There will be mockers and scoffers who want through their own corrupt motives to profit them through human failure. It is up to us as individuals to stand up for what we believe not bowing to pressure to compromise our beliefs. The Judeo Christian ethic is meant to change the world around us for the better. We can become part of the solution or become part of the problem. People who mock morality and people with religious convictions do so because they fear the truth. They know their behavior is based upon corrupted and morally bankrupt ideals give short term pleasure but will unleash long term suffering and negative consequences. The buzz words freedom and choice are misused and misrepresented. They fear that truth will win out and that a society with superior morals and ideals will put positve pressure on them to do what’s right. The fear of morality and the arguments against it are used instead to entice and deceive people. If acted upon these corrupted moral principles will and have left us a culture depleted morally, financially, and socially. We are living under the weight of negative consequences of this compromised morality .The Judeo Christian ethic and morality is meant to be the liberating conscience of a nation. It is our last hope to prick the conscience of those who seek to overcome healthy limitations to human greed, selfishness, and corruption.
Know when to act
In Germany before World War 11 the people were motivated to go to war and commit atrocities for freedom, prosperity,and national pride. It is not always society and government that is right or good morally. It is written in scripture, Blessed is the nation who God is the Lord.” A nation can become evil because it compromises its moral and spiritual principles. It is up to us as a people, as Americans to choose what we will become as a nation. America’s greatness came about because our forefathers believed if we adhered to the judeo Christian principles we would prosper. Our respect for God in those principles would result in a respect for one another and bring guidelines of decent conduct to every American citizen. In turn those principles would bring prosperity to America and all its citizens. We were to be an example to the nations of the world of a shinning city on a hill. Today we see every nation in moral, spiritual, and economic collapse because we have rejected moral truths which are the bedrock of human productivity, civility, and success. The time to act is right now before it is to late.
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