It is time to end the nonsense of presidents swearing "oaths" on the Bible, Koran, Tanak, Gita or Bugs Bunny Comic Book and put the presidential-elect hand on the US Constitution and Bill of Rights which theoretically the president elect is swearing to uphold.

The Presidential oath of office is described in Article II, section 1 of the Constitution:

Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:--"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

"Nothing in this section requires that the oath of office be taken on the Bible. Neither do the words "so help me God" appear in the oath. While Presidents often include this phrase in their inauguration ceremonies, the words are customary; they are not required by the Constitution and have no legal significance.

If the framers wanted Presidents to invoke God when taking the oath of office they could have worded the oath to accomplish that objective. Instead, the constitutional oath of office contains no reference to God, need not be administered on the Bible, and need not even be considered an oath. Contrary to the accommodationist argument, Article II, section 1 is evidence that the framers intended the federal government to be secular in its operation.

Oaths of office for other federal and state officials are described in Article VI of the Constitution:

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."

The above in quotation marks is taken from SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE HOME PAGE

Besides, in these times that consider religion "superstition" it belittles the Church to allow the use of it's holy scriptures as a prop for any saecular power!

The "founding fathers," and all lawy;ers, and school teachers and clergy, had all taken "oaths" and sworn before the Christian God to keep and defend the government of which they were participants. Such "Patriots" had no problem breaking those oaths and later used force, or fear to require others to break theirs as well.And then, rather than being honest that oaths were merely theater, they begin to require new oaths to be sworn to do things their way. See the oath to the left.




Oaths are a joke in the United States today. You can see the Presidential Oath signed (already) by presumptive "President" John McCain by clicking the accompanying photo! In the First (1768) edition of Encyclopedia Britannica, "Oath" took up eight pages! Today at Britannica Online it is 528 words! I don't expect honesty from politicians, but I do expect that they they at least keep up the theater with some sort of "factual" consistency.

Let's demand an end to such bull.

O, want to buy one with five presidential signatures? Here's one here:















Oh, and for the record, here's Mugabe swearing his Presidential Oath on the Bible.

I stole this first part from JesusManifesto.com to get you started reading this. Please do, and Give thanks for the Life and Witness of Evelyn, and of Hugh who wrote the article and all who live on the street and those who worth-ship them.
Written by Hugh Hollowell: September 24, 2008:

A heavy girl, perhaps 250 pounds, Evelyn’s greasy, stringy hair only served to accentuate her poor skin. Her weight made her shuffle rather than walk and her head was always bowed, seeking not to offend, avoiding eye contact. At 23, most people her age are very conscious of their appearance, but Evelyn’s wardrobe consisted of thrift store finds and cast offs, leaning heavily toward stretch pants and sweatshirts that advertised events she had never seen and places she would never visit.... Please continue at http://www.jesusmanifesto.com/2008/09/24/evelyn/

Also, please so visit Hugh's site at: Love Wins

Image “To Be Homeless” by PaysImaginaire

I am reading "The Presence of the Kingdom" by Jacques Ellul. I just finished the first chapter and it is the best chapter I have read of any book in decades. If you seek the reign of god here and now, this is the book for you. If you are in love with religion or the world, you shouldn't waste your time you would not understand it in the first place. You can check out some of Ellul's thoughts (in pdf) at Free Jacques at JesusManifesto.

Extreme Waterfoul... and the river turned to blood
This is parked around the corner from us. I am so grieved that I have to acknowledge such products come from the mind of a creature of god that my stomach heaves each time I turn the corner. Painted on the side of a ship in Viet Nam, on the side of buildings there. Who are we? I don't have words to use to say what I feel....

A Senate amendment added to the FY 2009 Defense Authorization bill would require secondary schools to include JROTC within their curriculum or be cut off from federal funds at the discretion of the Secretary of Defense. This amendment was introduced by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX). (1)

JROTC violates the spirit of the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict which was ratified by the United States in January of 2003. This protocol prevents children from being recruited or trained for war. The absolute minimum age at which a child can be recruited, as set forth by this Protocol, is 16, which the U.S. voluntarily raised to the minimum age to 17. This was after the U.S lobbied against the United Nations proposed absolute minimum age of 18. (2)

JROTC is solely a secondary school program for children in grades 9-12. JROTC was originally designated as a recruitment tool, although the enabling statute of JROTC now calls JROTC a "citizenship" program. Interestingly, a 1-year participant in JROTC can enlist in the military as an E-2, while a 3-year participant in JROTC can enlist as an E-3, thus enlisting a higher rank with greater pay. Clearly, this is one of many examples that JROTC is about recruitment.

This amendment would also allow for the federal government to override the welfare of a community and the decision making power of school administrators, teachers, parents, and children.

The Center on Conscience & War is asking all supporters to immediately e-mail your name, organization, and address to: j_e@centeronconscience.org as well as contact their Senator to ensure that this amendment is removed from the FY 2009 Defense Authorization bill. Your support is needed.

And for USAmerica's younger children not to feel left out--

Through a licensing deal signed with the U.S. Army, Sears, Roebuck & Co. will begin selling clothing from All American Army Brand's First Infantry Division collection. The clothing, for men, woman, and BOYS, will be available in October. This is a first, as the U.S. Army has never before officially licensed its marks and insignias. (1)
J.E. McNeil, executive director of the Center on Conscience & War, views this first as yet another sign that our government is looking to recruit children under the age of 17. "We see yet again the military targeting younger and younger children, particularly young boys, as they aggressively seek to ensure more bodies for our current military conflicts and conflicts of the future. This is an illegal tool in the recruiting arsenal. This is unacceptable for our country, and it is in violation of international law. We signed the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict and we should honor that. We can pretend that marketing isn't recruiting, but the reality is that recruiting is marketing, and marketing is recruiting." McNeil said.
The Center on Conscience & War (CCW) calls upon all supporters to boycott Sears, Roebuck & Co until they stop marketing the military to children. As an organization dedicated to extending and defending the rights of conscientious objectors, it is the Center's position that children should be free to develop their consciences without the military bombarding them through targeted marketing campaigns.
Please help us stop the illegal recruitment of children by boycotting Sears and signing our online petition:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/No_to_illegal_recruitment/
Also, please contact Sears' headquarters directly at 847-286-2500. Let them know you are opposed to a boy's clothing line illegally recruiting children into the military.

Scripture requires exegesis, and it requires the context of the community in which it came to birth and in which it is lived. This is where its unity is to be found, and here too its unifying meaning is opened up. To put it yet another way: there are dimensions of meaning in the word and in words which only come to light within the living community of this history-generating word. Through the growing realisation of the different layers of meaning, the word is not devalued, but in fact appears in its full grandeur and dignity. ... This particular structure of the Bible issues a constantly new challenge to every generation. It excludes by its nature everything that today is known as fundamentalism. In effect, the word of God can never simply be equated with the letter of the text.

--Pope Benedict XVI, speaking in Paris September 12, 2008

Stolen from "Jim" commenting on Preludium

I fear for these emerging churches, or The Emerging Church. I think of my father saying, I don't know what it is, but that ain't it. Do they or do they not believe in the Incarnation.

Jesus Christ, Friend and Saviour, help me to be where you are today. I say this prayer in the company of the ____ community and our friends, and with them I say..... may it be so.

Lex orandi, lex credendi. Here we find Christ Jesus praying to Christ to be where Christ is, claiming to not be in Christ but that Christ may be in Christ. It sounds religious and "personal" etc., etc., but is denying the very fact of what is already true.

It would be like Jesus praying,

Myself my friend, help me be me today. I am not me but I am someone else asking to be me and I agree with that someone else, amen.

We old, not with it church-people, especially clergy types proclaim as the Gospel that the Church IS the Resurrected Body of Christ [soma tou christou]and so all prayer as Church IS "by Him and with Him and In Him in the union [union-ity] of the Holy Spirit" addressed to Our Father, putting us at the living center of the heart of God; in the living center of the the Life of the Trinity, heaven itself! What more could one desire? Did Jesus ever once pray to Himself or to the Second Person of the Trinity "in heaven"?
I know I am criticizing, and criticizing something good, but I am powerless to change anything and it is my nature is to criticize. OK, your turn to criticize me.

At the Mass yesterday, I heard the words of the Anaphora for the first time. This is not what was said, but what I heard:

May we never forget our redemption, O Father, in
this his sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Recalling his death,
resurrection, and ascension, we offer you these gifts.

Sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your People, the
Flesh and Blood of your Son, the holy food and drink of the resurrection Life we share together in him. So sanctified may we faithfully
receive this holy Sacrament, and faithfully serve you in the unity, constancy,
and peace we share; and at the last day bring us with all your saints
into the joy of your eternal kingdom.

All this we ask through your Son Jesus Christ, By him, and
with him, and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor
and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.

Well, it's close, but no cigar.

Help me out here.