SOPHS journal #4 - God's Providence
Listen carefully to this video of Mr. Jerry Falwell, a minister and founder of Liberty University; and Pat Robertson, a former minister and televangelist, speaking two days after the 9-11 catastrophe (the text of the video appears below).
NOTE: Even though this is a JOURNAL writing, you do NOT need to respond to this online, but you MUST respond and print out to hand in with your journal at the end of the marking period. The writing prompts follow the transcript of the video text.
Both men had (Falwell is deceased now) strong, conservative, religious opinions: anti-abortion, anti-gay, and anti-feminists. Both men fought for allowing prayer to be said in public schools. The ACLU [American Civil Liberties Union, the group to which the men refer] fought to keep prayer out of public schools, so they were seen as enemies of God by Robertson and Falwell. This is just a brief summary to explain the political and historical context of the two men's words.
Robertson and Falwell are firm believers in God's providence--God as the provider and God as the punisher, too. They are not unlike the early Puritans in this way.
Here is a transcript of the video (with some additional words before the video begins):
JERRY FALWELL: And I agree totally with you that the Lord has protected us so wonderfully these 225 years. And since 1812, this is the first time that we've been attacked on our soil and by far the worst results. And I fear, as Donald Rumsfeld, the Secretary of Defense, said yesterday, that this is only the beginning. And with biological warfare available to these monsters - the Husseins, the Bin Ladens, the Arafats--what we saw on Tuesday, as terrible as it is, could be minuscule if, in fact--if, in fact--God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve.
PAT ROBERTSON: Jerry, that's my feeling. I think we've just seen the antechamber to terror. We haven't even begun to see what they can do to the major population.
JERRY FALWELL: The ACLU's got to take a lot of blame for this.
PAT ROBERTSON: Well, yes.
JERRY FALWELL: And, I know that I'll hear from them for this. But, throwing God out successfully with the help of the federal court system, throwing God out of the public square, out of the schools. The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad. I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way--all of them who have tried to secularize America--I point the finger in their face and say "you helped this happen."
PAT ROBERTSON: Well, I totally concur, and the problem is we have adopted that agenda at the highest levels of our government. And so we're responsible as a free society for what the top people do. And, the top people, of course, is the court system.
Respond to one of the three prompts:
1. Do you agree with or disagree with Falwell and Robertson? Explain your answer in a thoughtful response. You may choose to discuss any or many of the ideas that they expressed in this video.
2. Relate a personal story in which you believed God played an important role in answering a prayer.
3. Discuss an incident that occurred in American history where someone, or some group of people, were persecuted for their religious beliefs OR for not having any religious beliefs. Explain your feelings on this incident.
posted by JTF @ 3:50 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
One incident that I can remember is the horrific shooting that took place on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, in Columbine, Colorado. At the time I was only three years old, but it’s something that has affected me today. There is one part though that I remember most; the story of Cassie Bernall. Cassie Bernall was 17 years old when she was killed in the Columbine shooting. She was shot because of her faith in God. When the shooter pointed the gun at her, he asked, “Do you believe in God?” Cassie answered, “Yes, I believe.” Shortly after Cassie responded she was shot. Cassie was known as a martyr to many Christians and she is an inspiration to so many others. Cassie is an inspiration to me. She proved that in an incident like this you can either be faithful to yourself and God or you can lie so you protect yourself, but unfortunately hurt God. Cassie was faced with a simple question that put her life at risk. She had a chance to lie in order to survive, but what she did is amazing. I think Cassie is someone that we all should know. She expressed her faith in God, she stayed faithful, and she showed her love and passion for her life. Everyday someone asks us a simple question, like, what kind of car do your parents drive? Some of us would answer telling the truth, while others would lie and say they drive an escalade or the latest and greatest just so they can look better. This is considered a lie, and being unfaithful to God. Cassie proved that telling the truth sometimes hurts. It can cause pain, anger, and disruption, but it can also change the outlook people have on life. Lying can’t get you anywhere in life, but to dead ends. Cassie told the truth and now she has eternal happiness in heaven. Religious persecution is wrong, and that afternoon when Cassie verbally stated she believed in God, she proved to millions of people that God should be the most important person/thing in your everyday life. Cassie’s story will last for generations and change the lives of so many. Personally this makes me feel that we can believe what we want, but in tough times no matter what we should know that God is at our side, and he is there to guide us.
Just a few days ago, on October 11, 2011, my family and I made a trip to Lewes, Delaware. Before making the hour and a half trip, we stopped for refreshments and snacks. I bought two energy drinks because I knew that when I got home later that night, I would need to stay up and do my homework. As we began our journey south, I started getting very hyper and antsy. We blasted the music and sang like crazy people the entire way down. The happiness and joy that overcame us in the car would soon be destroyed, crushed in a matter of minutes. We finally reached my grandmother’s house and picked up my aunt, Sara. She got in the car and immediately started ranting about her problems; a typical scene for our family nowadays. After her five minute rant, our car ride became much more sullen and quiet. We finally arrived at the hospital where my grandmother was staying. My aunt and my sister walked into the hospital waiting room while my dad sat outside and helped me figure out chemistry, thanks Dr. Fischer. As my dad and I walked into the hospital, I became scared because I wasn’t sure what was about to happen. I knew that my grandma just had surgery to remove an aneurism in her leg. Due to the fact that she only has one kidney, the anesthesia was taking twice as long to make its way out of her system. Over 24 hours after the surgery, she was still acting as if she was under anesthesia. Knowing this, entering her room was terrifying. What was going to happen? Would she even remember me? As I stood in front of her hospital bed, I could feel my stomach tying itself into knots. Sara asked my grandma if she knew who I was. My grandma sat there for a minute and thought. You could tell by the look on her face that she had no idea who I was. She called me Katie, my sister’s name. At this moment, my sister walked in. She recognized her and called her by the correct name. Now it was time for her to take a second stab at guessing my name. Her eyebrows furrowed as she struggled to remember me. A light bulb went off in her head. She asked if my name was Georgia. At that very moment, I could feel my heart drop. I walked out of the room, tears filling my eyes. I was trying to wrap my head around what just happened: my grandma couldn’t remember her first grandchild, me. I sat on the ground and prayed. There was nothing else I could do but sit there and pray. I don’t know what exactly I prayed for, but I know that I prayed for her to get better. Seeing my grandma so helpless and confused crushed me. I prayed that God would bring my grandma back. I prayed that I could be strong enough to get myself and my family through this.
Sara expressed her concerns to my grandma’s doctor. The doctor came into the room and began asking my grandma a series of questions. When asked what month it was, she stated that it was Easter month. When asked if she knew where she was, she replied with a sad no. The doctor asked her a few more questions, all of which were either answered incorrectly or not answered at all. Then her task was to name all of the people in the room. Again, she couldn’t figure out who I was. In addition to forgetting me, she did not guess my aunt correctly either. Everyone knew something was wrong. The doctor said that she thought it was just withdrawal. My grandma had to stop many of her medications days prior to the surgery date. This may have been what was causing her to have the symptoms she had. The doctor also said they would perform an MRI of her head to see if anything was seriously wrong.
By this time, it was getting late and there wasn’t really anything left for us to do but wait. The beginning of the car ride began very quiet. My dad was driving, I was doing my homework with a flashlight, and I could hear my sister sniffling next to me. We were all slightly sad about what we just witnessed; some of us just hid it better than others. As my sister began to voice her sorrows, my dad explained that he wasn’t going to get upset until he knew anything for sure. He was right. We had no idea what was really wrong. It could be something very serious, but it could also go away in a few days. There was no sense getting upset over possibilities that may not even be true. We stopped for dinner and our spirits were instantly lifted after we got to the restaurant. This was probably because of what my dad had said, but I also believe that God had played a part in this as well. I truly believe that God was able to lift this heavy burden from our hearts. God took away our fear and pain and let us be happy. He helped us put behind our fear of what would happen; after all, we were uncertain of what or if anything was wrong. We enjoyed the rest of the night and went home. Two days later, my grandma got out of the hospital. God took away this burden from us because he knew everything would be okay in the end.
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