An Atheist Holiday

FLORIDA COURT SETS ATHEIST HOLY DAY   In Florida, an atheist created a case against Easter and Passover Holy days. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians and Jews and observances of their holy days.  The argument was that it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized days.   The case was brought before a judge.  After listening to the passionate presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring, "Case dismissed!"   The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling saying, "Your honor, How can you possibly dismiss this case?  The Christians have Christmas, Easter and others. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, yet my client and all other atheists have no such holidays.."

The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, "But you do. Your client, counsel, is woefully ignorant."  

 The lawyer said, "Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists."  

The judge said, "The calendar says April 1st is April Fools Day.  Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.'  Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that, if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool.  Therefore, April 1st is his day.

Court is adjourned.."

Good Deeds

   I misplaced my cell phone charger and my phone died sometime last night. I was very irritated with myself about this. I had to drive all the way to Wal Mart to spend 15 dollars on a phone charger that was not even up to standard with the one I already owned. I was very disgruntled as I drove back home with my wallet weighing a little less, and then it began to rain.. could it get any worse?
As I was driving and reflecting on my miserable day, I noticed an old beat up truck on the side of the road with the flashers on. I did not think much about about it until I saw an elderly woman making an exhausting effort to retrieve something heavy out of the back of the truck. I instinctively pulled over and when I got out I asked her if she needed any help.
She looked at me with relief and said "Well my husband had a stroke and I'm trying to get his wheel chair into the truck so it does not get wet."
My heart broke and I quickly helped her load the surprisingly heavy chair into the cab. After a pretty tiring ten minutes she looked at me and started to swell with tears and went to the driver's side of the truck to retrieve her purse and proceeded to get out a 5 dollar bill and gestured toward me. I protested and told her I could not accept her money. She continued to insist and eventually I gave in and she just smiled and hugged me and told me how much she appreciated my help.
As I waved goodbye and drove away I found myself smiling and crying. This simple act of kindness made everything else that day seem so unimportant. And then I thought to myself, if this one event made me feel this wonderful, why am I not helping people as much as possible every day?

A Post in My Dad's Blog

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Heresy For My Daughter's Birthday, by Scott Shirley

The internet’s social universe has been buzzing for a week over the upcoming release of Rob Bell’s new book, “Love Wins.”  Bell will apparently endorse the concept of Universalism (the idea that everyone will ultimately be saved and hell is not a real place) and, as expected, many of the bloggers and writers who find this idea heretical to the Christian faith have voiced their disapproval.  As a fan of spirited discussions, I have read many of the articles, pro and con, enjoying the dialogue immensely.  And though I don’t feel theologically qualified to burden anyone with my opinion on the topic of Universalism, I have been drug into the fray in a completely unexpected way… as a parent.  One of my daughters wants the book.


On March 1st, my daughter Amber sent me the following request for “Love Wins” on my Facebook page… http://www.facebook.com/#!/sgshirley/posts/1834043018049

This raises a serious issue for a Christian parent.  Should a parent willingly support their child’s interest into topics that are controversial?  I want my children to be intellectually curious, to search for truth by dialoging with both sides of an issue instead of having their beliefs dictated to them.  But can I, as a parent, go too far in encouraging this free and open pursuit?  Does prudence demand I discourage my children from at least some of the topics “on the edge” or does intellectual freedom rule the parent’s day?

Surely a good parent would never encourage their kid to read a book about the inherent values of socialism or agnosticism, evolution or atheism.   Maybe, maybe not.  But what if my daughter wanted me to buy her a book entitled “The Joys of Prostitution”; would I make a quick trip to Barnes & Noble all in the name of intellectual freedom? (By the way, there is no book with this title.  I checked.)

Isn’t there a line somewhere?

It is an interesting question… and a difficult one.  I don’t pretend to have an authoritative answer but I will say what I think.  I think that as long as I believe one of my children want to read or investigate an issue because they have a genuine curiosity fueled by a search for truth, then I will support them.

Thomas Paine once said, “It is error only, and not truth, that fears inquiry.” I sure hope he’s right because I plan on buying Rob Bell’s book and giving it to my daughter on her birthday.

Agree or disagree?  If you are a parent I would love to hear your opinion.