My second published article
Sep. 20th, 2004 09:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
greybetaIn last week's issue of my college newspaper, the opinion section had three liberal articles and one moderate one. The liberal articles were rife with commentary on faith and religion. In fact, the most liberal one used the phrase "emotionally masturbate" to describe the religious practices of America's right. I can understand not agreeing the rhetoric and actions of the American right, and I understand the opinion editor is writing to get a response. Well, he got one.
Today, I will preview how I want my article to be read, and I'll follow up with a link to the pdf version of my college newspaper later.
Focused on Faith
by Daniel Tu
Even if economic and foreign policy concerns dominate the news headlines, faith and religion play as large if not larger role in the selection of the next American president. The American left accuses the American right of using religious rhetoric to galvanize our nation. In response, the American right charges the American left with creating a godless nation. There’s truth in both of their claims.
Three years ago, after another day of infamy, both liberals and conservatives stood together on the steps of Capitol Hill to sing “God Bless America”. Was it “Man Blesses America”? No, it was “God Bless America”. Because deep down inside, no matter how atheistic someone claims to be, the magnificence of our world leads one to believe that there must be something greater than specks of dust interacting on a blue-white marble. That force transcends all wars, all ideologies. And we pray to God that we’re on the right side.
As time passes, it is only natural for people to forget about all that junk. It’s foolish to believe that some big guy out there is watching you. I mean, it’s like Santa Claus and his naughty list. Eventually, you realize that he can’t be watching you all the time. Think about it. If somebody hovered over your life all the time, wouldn’t he or she be a really perverted person?
This makes me wonder about all those people who claim to be “Christians”. After all, the world considers America to be a Christian nation. Yet, you’ll hear in the pulpit of your average Baptist church that today’s society has become so immoral that our nation dooms itself to the fiery pits of Satan. Save yourself now by committing to Jesus Christ. Then, the choir starts singing to calm everyone’s nerves and to capitalize on the emotional impact of the pastor’s words. And so, I suspect a good majority of Americans who call themselves Christians actually mean they just attend church.
I’ve heard once that Jesus Christ answered a pharisee’s question as to what the greatest commandment was. In Matthew 22:37-38, the Christ said, “Thou shalt love thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.” He continued on in the next two verses, “And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Hmmm, sounds mostly like Confucianism to me.
I’ll take up the other argument to be fair. A fine friend of mine explained to me once that he chose to become a disciple of Christ, someone who has made Christ the Lord of his or her life. In the old days, servants owed their loyalty and lives to their lord. Someone who has made that decision has decided to deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Christ. That includes giving up your time and money.
I’m not too sure about that money thing. When I first stepped onto this campus, my purpose was to train to be the best electrical engineer that I could be. I certainly wouldn’t be doing so if I didn’t have monetary concerns. However, after a discussion with my first honors professor, I mysteriously became a dual major in both engineering and history. I can now say with confidence that I would have dropped the engineering side totally if the job market for history majors wasn’t so unstable.
So Jesus Christ said in Mark 10:25, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” He said this after a wealthy man went away grieved upon hearing the answer to his question, which had been on the subject of how to obtain eternal life. The rich man could quote every commandment on the books and happily said he had observed them all. But, the insightful son of God said in Mark 10:21, “One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross and follow me.”
I believe a pair of glasses most aptly describes the role of faith in this election. One candidate wears glasses that are too thin, blurring his hazy vision. The other candidate wears glasses that are too thick, hiding the forest from the trees. In this matter, one could say that America will choose between a candidate unsure of his beliefs and a candidate too sure of his beliefs.
Today, I will preview how I want my article to be read, and I'll follow up with a link to the pdf version of my college newspaper later.
Focused on Faith
by Daniel Tu
Even if economic and foreign policy concerns dominate the news headlines, faith and religion play as large if not larger role in the selection of the next American president. The American left accuses the American right of using religious rhetoric to galvanize our nation. In response, the American right charges the American left with creating a godless nation. There’s truth in both of their claims.
Three years ago, after another day of infamy, both liberals and conservatives stood together on the steps of Capitol Hill to sing “God Bless America”. Was it “Man Blesses America”? No, it was “God Bless America”. Because deep down inside, no matter how atheistic someone claims to be, the magnificence of our world leads one to believe that there must be something greater than specks of dust interacting on a blue-white marble. That force transcends all wars, all ideologies. And we pray to God that we’re on the right side.
As time passes, it is only natural for people to forget about all that junk. It’s foolish to believe that some big guy out there is watching you. I mean, it’s like Santa Claus and his naughty list. Eventually, you realize that he can’t be watching you all the time. Think about it. If somebody hovered over your life all the time, wouldn’t he or she be a really perverted person?
This makes me wonder about all those people who claim to be “Christians”. After all, the world considers America to be a Christian nation. Yet, you’ll hear in the pulpit of your average Baptist church that today’s society has become so immoral that our nation dooms itself to the fiery pits of Satan. Save yourself now by committing to Jesus Christ. Then, the choir starts singing to calm everyone’s nerves and to capitalize on the emotional impact of the pastor’s words. And so, I suspect a good majority of Americans who call themselves Christians actually mean they just attend church.
I’ve heard once that Jesus Christ answered a pharisee’s question as to what the greatest commandment was. In Matthew 22:37-38, the Christ said, “Thou shalt love thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.” He continued on in the next two verses, “And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Hmmm, sounds mostly like Confucianism to me.
I’ll take up the other argument to be fair. A fine friend of mine explained to me once that he chose to become a disciple of Christ, someone who has made Christ the Lord of his or her life. In the old days, servants owed their loyalty and lives to their lord. Someone who has made that decision has decided to deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Christ. That includes giving up your time and money.
I’m not too sure about that money thing. When I first stepped onto this campus, my purpose was to train to be the best electrical engineer that I could be. I certainly wouldn’t be doing so if I didn’t have monetary concerns. However, after a discussion with my first honors professor, I mysteriously became a dual major in both engineering and history. I can now say with confidence that I would have dropped the engineering side totally if the job market for history majors wasn’t so unstable.
So Jesus Christ said in Mark 10:25, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” He said this after a wealthy man went away grieved upon hearing the answer to his question, which had been on the subject of how to obtain eternal life. The rich man could quote every commandment on the books and happily said he had observed them all. But, the insightful son of God said in Mark 10:21, “One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross and follow me.”
I believe a pair of glasses most aptly describes the role of faith in this election. One candidate wears glasses that are too thin, blurring his hazy vision. The other candidate wears glasses that are too thick, hiding the forest from the trees. In this matter, one could say that America will choose between a candidate unsure of his beliefs and a candidate too sure of his beliefs.
