The Religious Nation

The religious right keeps telling us that the USA is a Christian nation. That the founders of this nation were Christians and that they had built this nation on Christian values. This is a well-mounted religious propaganda of the religious right to win the cultural war for the control of the soul of America.
The Pilgrims Fathers who landed on Plummet Rock were devoted Christians. The Puritans who later settled in New England were fanatics of Christ is an historical fact. But these were not the only groups of people moving into the new colonies of America. There were non-Christians and even antichrist-ians that also came with them. All these were part of what we can consider as the founders of this nation.
Most important the Founding Fathers of this nation, who signed the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the 13 original colonies of America, were far less Christians than it has been assumed and wrongly affirmed by the religious right. One thing is sure; these Founding Fathers were most of them religious, since some of them were sincere Christians while the rest were notable freemasons. And the values upon which they built this nation were not Christians. Some vague references to God are not Christian values since everything Christian should refer to the person of Jesus Christ and not to a general idea of God.
Free Mason values always refer to God as a universal principle of good and high power and seek to promote the goodness of mankind in general and its welfare. These are the values upon which this nation had been built by the Founding Fathers. The “In God We Trust” is not a Christian affirmation but freemason formula of universal brotherhood; it is not a Christian conviction, but a religious belief in the freemason God who has little to do with the God of the Bible. Only pure religious hypocrisy could still keep people propagating the public lie about the symbols and writings on the dollar bills as proofs that this nation had been founded on Christian values. Everything on that bill is about freemason principles.
On September 18, 1793, George Washington dressed in his Masonic apron, leveled the cornerstone of the US Capitol with the traditional Masonic ceremony. As Stephen puts it, “At that moment, the occasion of the lying of the new Republic’s foundations, Freemasons assumed the mantles of ‘high priests’ of that ‘first temple dedicated to the sovereignty of the people.’”
No one could honestly dispute that America is a religious nation. But to continue propagating the false idea that this is a Christian nation built upon Christian values is a public lie that need to be repudiated and confronted by all those who are honest Christians. Such confrontation of the false of pretension of the religious right will be healthy for America since it would lead to an exorcise of the demons that have taken grip upon the soul of this nation that has been bewitched by the religious right.

Rev Alex Tah (BA in Law, MDiv, MST)
Graduate of Dallas Theological Theology

Alextahbi@yahoo.com

Are we the Green Generation?

Everyone and everything discuses being green. We have termed ourselves the Green Generation. We are proud of Wangari Maathai, 2004 and Al Gore, 2007 Nobel Prizes for their environmental works. There are green holidays, Earth Day, Arbor Day, World Water Day and green celebrities, Robert Redford, Darryl Hannah, Orlando Bloom, among others. Churches have gotten into the green mood, with the Environmental Sabbath. But in general people are green only by mouth not by lifestyle. They talk about green and green issues, but are not green in the way they live and personal conviction. Recently I met someone who is a true green, an environmentalist, not just as a politician, but a green by personal conviction, who is a living example of what it means to be a green person. She does not preach to me about green issues or the danger of global warming, but she is teaching me how to be a green person by being one before my eyes, by living a green lifestyle on a daily basis.

That global warming is a reality few reject or doubt today, the Earth is heating up. Scientific evidence and ecological data are so prevalent that even the most right wing evangelical Christian can no longer speaks against it. We have come as a nation and a global community to realize at last the reality and probability of global warming and its impending consequences in form of ecological disasters resulting from irreversible climatic changes. Hollywood could not stay indifferent to this issue. Several movies have been released that deal with this particular issue. There is Al Gore’s "An Inconvenient Truth", the most famous movie, being, "The Day After Tomorrow" and recently released, "2012" which is loosely based on an ancient Mayan Prophecy about the end of the world.

But beyond the prevalent green mood and the rhetoric on global warming, how can we be a real green generation? One that will contribute to a better ecological future for the coming generations? The issue is not who is going to speak loudly about green issues but how, as a community, we can leave a world less exposed to the dangers of global warming. A world where our children and grandchildren breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live in a less polluted environment.

At the end of the day it is not just about great discourses on green issues or large worldwide conferences on global warming like the one that is going to take place at the end of this year, The Copenhagen Climate Conference. What really matters are simple daily acts like having containers for recycling in your bedroom, in your office and in your living room so that anything that can be recycled is collected for proper disposal. Packaging, cleaning supplies, transportation choices. It is living a simple lifestyle of a green person built on true personal green conviction. The more people, families and communities, adopt a green lifestyle and make a green commitment, the greener this generation will really become and the certainty of leaving a green legacy for the next generation will be insured.

Rev Alexander TahBi
240-701-4436; alextahbi@yahoo.com

Are We the Green Generation?

Are we the Green Generation?

Everyone and everything discuses being green. We have termed ourselves the Green Generation. We are proud of Wangari Maathai, 2004 and Al Gore, 2007 Nobel Prizes for their environmental works. There are green holidays, Earth Day, Arbor Day, World Water Day and green celebrities, Robert Redford, Darryl Hannah, Orlando Bloom, among others. Churches have gotten into the green mood, with the Environmental Sabbath. But in general people are green only by mouth not by lifestyle. They talk about green and green issues, but are not green in the way they live and personal conviction. Recently I met someone who is a true green, an environmentalist, not just as a politician, but a green by personal conviction, who is a living example of what it means to be a green person. She does not preach to me about green issues or the danger of global warming, but she is teaching me how to be a green person by being one before my eyes, by living a green lifestyle on a daily basis.

That global warming is a reality few reject or doubt today, the Earth is heating up. Scientific evidence and ecological data are so prevalent that even the most right wing evangelical Christian can no longer speaks against it. We have come as a nation and a global community to realize at last the reality and probability of global warming and its impending consequences in form of ecological disasters resulting from irreversible climatic changes. Hollywood could not stay indifferent to this issue. Several movies have been released that deal with this particular issue. There is Al Gore’s "An Inconvenient Truth", the most famous movie, being, "The Day After Tomorrow" and recently released, "2012" which is loosely based on an ancient Mayan Prophecy about the end of the world.

But beyond the prevalent green mood and the rhetoric on global warming, how can we be a real green generation? One that will contribute to a better ecological future for the coming generations? The issue is not who is going to speak loudly about green issues but how, as a community, we can leave a world less exposed to the dangers of global warming. A world where our children and grandchildren breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live in a less polluted environment.

At the end of the day it is not just about great discourses on green issues or large worldwide conferences on global warming like the one that is going to take place at the end of this year, The Copenhagen Climate Conference. What really matters are simple daily acts like having containers for recycling in your bedroom, in your office and in your living room so that anything that can be recycled is collected for proper disposal. Packaging, cleaning supplies, transportation choices. It is living a simple lifestyle of a green person built on true personal green conviction. The more people, families and communities, adopt a green lifestyle and make a green commitment, the greener this generation will really become and the certainty of leaving a green legacy for the next generation will be insured.

Rev Alexander TahBi240-701-4436; alextahbi@yahoo.com