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- Rep. Bob Barr preached to the choir at
a town meeting Saturday, but he still contended with a chorus of witches
in between the "amens" that favored banning Wiccan religion on
military bases.
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- The Georgia Republican fielded questions
from witches, Christians and other constituents in a packed room at a Cobb
County library in Marietta. Barr criticized the commander of Fort Hood
this month for allowing a Wiccan rite on the Texas Army base.
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- Wicca is a pagan, nature-centered religion,
also known as witchcraft. It has tax-exempt status, as do mainstream religions,
and is rooted in pre-Christian Europe.
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- "Are you afraid of witches?"
Amber Maeve Szmanski of Acworth, a high priestess in the Grove of the Winged
Scarab, asked between interruptions from Barr supporters. "Our Founding
Fathers had more intelligence than to try to establish a state religion.
. . . If you remove the Wiccan, who will be next on your list?"
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- Barr told the crowd of 120 that Wicca
threatened to erode military discipline--a fear not uttered publicly by
military commanders--and the First Amendment needed to take a back seat
to that concern.
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- He favored the free exercise of Wicca
in civilian life or by military personnel off their bases. He claimed officially
sanctioning Wicca would open the door to other religious practices, such
as peyote use by Native Americans. The Department of Defense is drawing
up regulations to cover the use of the hallucinogenic drug, he said.
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- Barr would leave it to elected leaders
to decide which religions could be practiced in the military, he said,
adding that it wasn't unreasonable to ban Wicca services on a military
base while permitting worship by Christians, Jews and Muslims.
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- "We are a nation that believes in
God," he said. "It's on our money. It's on our documents."
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- Most of the audience supported Barr,
who received a standing ovation and testimonials to his character. Several
giggled at the Wiccans or tried to shout down those who protested Barr's
letter to Fort Hood's commanding officer, Lt. Gen. Leon S. LaPorte, asking
him to "stop this nonsense."
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- The Fort Hood celebration was described
as a rite of spring marking the vernal equinox, with more than 50 witches,
male and female, participating.
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- Commentary
James
Neff/Webmaster
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- Barr represents the dissolution of constitutional
values in the name of Reconstructionist Christianity, a mindset which seeks
to define the 'God' inscribed on our money ("In God We Trust")
as ONE specific deity of ONE specific religion, while simultaneously talking
out of the other side of his mouth claiming to respect the constitution
and freedom of religion.
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- When people like Barr say 'freedom of
religion' they mean THEIR religion and only theirs. Have no delusions about
this people -- there is a strong contingent in the radical religious right
--- of whom I must say I am ashamed to call my spiritual brethren but are
most definately my political enemies despite being considerably conservative
myself --- who have one myopic goal: a man-imposed latter-day theocracy
in America centered in their own twisted interpretation of the Judeo-Christian
paradigm and the Bible (mostly a desire to establish Old Testament law);
and it would only be a matter of time before the "judeo" element
was next in line to be dissolved, believe me. Unwilling to wait on Christ
to return to establish the 'everlasting kingdom' as promised in scripture,
these men seek to establish it for themselves here and now, through political
means. They do not heed scripture which states "we wrestle not with
flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers in spiritual realms,"
and press on in earthy conquests; money, power, control. We all know the
history of this madness. The earth is stained in blood for it.
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- Isn't it interesting that the same was
true of Israel in the days of Jesus, when he spoke boldly about the carnal
and earthly political structure which had abused the Hebrew religion and
established a kingdom far flung from God's original intent or purposes
in the Law.
In the parable of the Vineyard, Jesus describes a master who purchases
a great vineyard and hires tenants to tend it while he is away in a far
country. And upon being delayed, the master of the vineyard sent his servants,
one by one, to retrieve the harvest. But each servant was killed by the
evil tenants. So, the master said, "I will send my own Son. Surely
they will respect him." But when they saw him coming, the conspired
in their hearts and said "Let us kill the Son,who is the heir, and
have the vineyard for ourselves." And they took the son outside the
great hedge of the vineyard and put him to death. Jesus then asks the crowd
listening to this parable, "What should be done with such evil tenants?"
And they people shouted, "They should be put to a miserable death!"
-- not realizing that Jesus was speaking of THEM -- but more potently,
of the evil leaders who conspired to have the kingdom for themselves.
History repeats itself. Those who do not remember the lessons of the past,
are doomed to repeat it. These men seek a theocratic system which would
eventually destroy freedom of religion... and speech.. and assembly...
and press, all in the name of God. It has been done before. Thankfully,
it has always failed. My rights end where your rights begin, and vice versa;
and in this we have a true democratic republic. But the last thing I want
to see is a theocratic system run by sinful, fallible, evil men. Their
track record tells me quite plainly, it cannot be done. My Bible tells
me, it should not be done. Even one run by the best of men is a useless
attempt to do what only Christ can, should, and in my pariticular faith,
will do when he returns. But my neighbor's faith is his own; he
is on his own spiritual journey and will fulfill his destiny, knowingly
or unknowingly. Let him have that freedom, I say; so that if he discovers
the love of my God, he has made his choices freely and without coercion.
Jesus commanded his disciples to "go into all the world" baptizing,
converting... he never mentions a theocratic conquest. rather, Jesus says,
"wait. I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me." This is
the calling of the called, the chosen and the faithful. Not greed for power
and politicial controls. We are not called to legislate Christ, but pray
for changed hearts, by God's Spirit. The same God who declares, "not
by my might, nor by my power, but by my Spirit."
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- We must respect all religions,
or none. Every man and woman must be free to seek and worship the God of
their choosing, or no God or religion at all if that is their choice. Thomas
Jefferson said, "Whether my neighbor has ten gods or one, it neither
picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." Jefferson may have personally
viewed life through the prism of the Judeo-Christian value structure intensely,
but it did not cloud his ability to be rational, or his wisdom in recalling
the folly of the state recognizing one religion over another... the very
cause to which North America was settled by those seeking religious freedom.
Then, there was but one or two factions of Christianity to contend with.
It was far less difficult regarding religious freedoms. Issues like prayer
in schools or the ten commandments hanging in public places was simply
not present. Today, in a vastly pluralistic society, there are dozens of
gods worshiped, and along with them, dozens of religions contrary to the
Judeo-Christian paradigm. All of these must be respected. "For where
there is the Spirit of the Lord, there is liberty," scripture states.
When the Apostle Paul went to speak on Mars Hill in Athens, did he lead
a political rally? Did he oppose existing religious structures? Did he
offend those around him, creating outcasts, distorting liberties? No. The
Apostle Paul went to the place of debate -- the proper arena -- and addressed
the thinkers and philosophers and public and said, "You men of Athens,
I perceive that in all things you are very superstitious. For as I passed
through your city, and beheld your religious devotions, I found an altar
with this inscription, 'TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.' Whom therefore you worship
without knowing, I now declare Him to you. The God that made the world
and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, does
not dwell in temples made with hands... " And when Paul finished speaking,
"And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked:
and others said, We will hear you again on this matter. So Paul departed
from among them."
He stated his case. He went his way. He did not march to the steps of the
political powerstructure and start lobbying for change. He didn't tack
the ten commandments in every place of learning or lie down in front of
chariots carrying prostitutes to the temple. Paul regarded politics as
folly. He sought a kingdom not of this world, but announced its coming
in Jesus Christ. Mr. Barr and others in the radical religious right could
stand a few more years in bible study, and do as Paul suggested: "Imitate
me, as I imitate Christ."
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