God

Television commentator Ben Stern recently asked why we as a country have begun worshiping celebrities and stopped worshiping God. How many more Newtowns and Columbines must occur before we take Mr. Stern's remarks seriously? Kids now spend many more hours playing violent video games than going to church. This is wrong. As a society we need teach things like the sanctity of life at all levels. Mr. Stern went on to point out that the removal of God from schools has been a gradual erosion.

Editor: What's in a name? I often ask people if they know why their parents chose the name they were given. Sometimes the answer is no, and I suggest the person ask their parents for an answer. I don't know why my parents chose my name, however, I found out that there are 16 others with the same first and last name that I have. I jokingly tell others I can do anything I want to and God won't know if I or one of the other 16 people did it. I was told God doesn't use names; God uses finger prints!

Regarding your recent editorial on school boards and whether they should be elected or appointed ("A better school board," Aug. 5), I am reminded of an old story that's worth repeating. God wanted to create a fool during the days of creation, but decided that he first needed some practice, so he created school boards! Fredrick Matos, Annapolis

Inside Arnolia United Methodist Church, located at Joppa and Oakleigh roads, is an exact replica of the building complete with the steeple and cross which rises high over the church, dozens of windows, six porches with steps and even the corrals for the trash cans in the rear. The church building was built in stages with the sanctuary, the final section completed in1968 but the replica was constructed this year. It all started when church member Mike Pfeifer helped to build a train garden at the Jacksonville Senior Center in Baltimore County.

If Maryland becomes a same-sex marriage state, there is no doubt that some openly gay men and women will come to church demanding acceptance. Under the false pretense that they are married, in their minds they should not be denied church membership. But what the world must understand is that as Christians, we're not homophobic and bigoted as many would depict us. We do not hate men and women caught up in the homosexual lifestyle. We simply believe that marriage is ordained of God and the family is sacred.

Will the negative media coverage created by Indiana Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock's incendiary remark, "even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, it is something that God intended to happen," be drowned in Hurricane Sandy's floodwaters? That would be convenient for Mitt Romney. The GOP presidential nominee offered a brief statement condemning Mr. Mourdock's outrageous view of this important women's health issue, but he made little effort to distance himself from Mr. Mourdock politically.

As a devout Christian, I have spent the majority of my 62 years in close relationship with a God of love, compassion and acceptance. Once who created me in His own image, to live in His ways on this earth, and to care for the other creatures who He created, whether human or not. He commanded me in Baptism to lead a good life and to worship Him. In Confirmation, I accepted His challenge. Later in life, I took on more responsibilities to make known His holy word to others in all that I do each day, whether personally, or in business situations.

I am writing to inform you of my feelings toward the proposed assault weapon legislation (SB Bill 281 and HB 294.) I must advise you that I have never felt more threatened or terrorized by my state government than I do right now. I am a law-abiding, tax-paying citizen of the state of Maryland, and I cannot believe the amount of gull and anti-intellectual thought that must have gone into writing these bills. The people who wrote these bills have absolutely no fundamental understanding of our God-given rights laid out in the United States Constitution.

The Democrats initially omitted any reference to God in their platform. In defense, a DNC spokesperson explained that some might find God offensive. Oh really! After much bad publicity about giving God the boot, a vote was taken. Even though the voice vote reflected the majority wanted God left out, the DNC allowed God back on their convention bus, but only as a passenger, not the driver. In an earlier interview, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois was asked why the DNC took God out of their party platform, and he replied "Don't accuse the Democrats of being godless.

As election day approaches, The Sun has embarked on a campaign to discredit those who believe that marriage is between a man and a woman ("Misinformation campaign," Aug. 26). Adam's partner was not a man named Steve but a woman named Eve. That is the pattern that God gave us to live by. Only a man and a woman can procreate. Two men can't procreate. Two women can't procreate. The human race could have never begun except by a man and a woman. So the only natural, God-ordained companions are a man and a woman.

I find it unbelievable that Dan Rodricks , in his Sunday column, thinks that the laws God gave us to live by are antiquated ("Ben Carson's conservative views are drawn from the Bible" Mar 30). The problems we face in this world today come from that same line of thinking. If we never turned our backs on God, we wouldn't live in a world on the edge of self destruction that exists today. All I can do is pray that the Lord opens Mr. Rodricks' eyes to the truth before He returns to take His church home.

In his Sunday column, Dan Rodricks proved the correctness of Ben Carson's statement concerning the PC police ("Ben Carson's conservative views are drawn from the Bible" Mar 30). If you make a statement that is politically incorrect, you will be attacked by the liberals who will try to shut you up. Ben Carson did not make any homophobic statements. He merely said that God's word says that marriage is between a man and a woman. That is our creator's design, not man's and no man can change God's plan to suit their own desires.

We have all seen adults acting - to borrow a song lyric - more like children than children. But, if you're lucky, you've never met anyone quite like the people who spout, spar and spew in “God of Carnage,” the Tony Award-winning Yasmina Reza play currently getting an effective workout at Everyman Theatre. Meet the Novaks, Michael and Veronica, well-to-do parents of a boy who has lost some teeth and a whole lot of playground cred after being clobbered by the son of the likewise well-off Raleighs, Alan and Annette.

I am writing to inform you of my feelings toward the proposed assault weapon legislation (SB Bill 281 and HB 294.) I must advise you that I have never felt more threatened or terrorized by my state government than I do right now. I am a law-abiding, tax-paying citizen of the state of Maryland, and I cannot believe the amount of gull and anti-intellectual thought that must have gone into writing these bills. The people who wrote these bills have absolutely no fundamental understanding of our God-given rights laid out in the United States Constitution.

"It's simple," said Ray Lewis, quoting Romans 8:31 after his team's Super Bowl win: "If God is for us, who can be against us?" Yet even though I am pleased by the Ravens' victory, doesn't God love the 49ers just as much? Weren't some of their players also praying for victory? Can we imagine that the Lord of the universe stoops to manipulating the fortunes of NFL teams? Can He possibly care about football at all? No one's theology should be judged by a handful of "newsworthy" sound bites.

A reader castigated one of The Sun 's writers today for starting a sentence with and . The writer appealed to me for a response, as if I possessed the juju to kill a zombie rule.  Bryan Garner solemnly dismisses the no-beginning-sentences-with-coordinating-conjunctions rule as a superstition. And in that he follows a path trod by H.W. Fowler nearly a century ago. Modern English Usage says flatly: " That it is a solecism to begin a sentence with and  is a faintly lingering SUPERSTITION.

According to the book of Genesis, the core of the devil's temptation of Adam and Eve was the suggestion that they would become like gods, knowing good and evil. Last Friday's decision by the Maryland House of Delegates is only one of several recent attempts by legislatures, courts and government executives to act like gods, redefining good and evil. How much longer will it be before they start acting like Roman emperors, demanding that we worship them as gods? Charles Roswell, Columbia

The recent letter from R. Smith ("The flawed arguments against same-sex marriage," Feb. 6) is false and disingenuous. The logic is fallacious because the examples do not define the object, in this case the Biblical definition of marriage. The bad examples and failures do not change marriage as between one man and one woman. And they do not justify changing marriage to include same-sex couples. God had a lot to say about marriage. Most specifically, in the beginning, God created humans as male and female.

Why does Ray Lewis continue to spout this nonsense about God rooting for him over every other NFL team he plays ("Ravens Q&A with Mike Preston ," Jan. 22)? Has he spoken to God? Does God favor him because he has six kids by four women, none of whom he is married to? Does God just not think Tom Brady is as holy as Ray Lewis? Please enlighten me Ray: What makes you the chosen one? Scott Jackson Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

One of my favorite views of Charm City right now is entering into the downtown area from the 395 off-ramp. Our city is painted with Ravens spirit - purple lights dancing on skyscrapers, "Go Ravens!" posters taped to city windows, and my favorite: the billboard that simply said "WOW" after the Ravens' win Sunday over the Patriots. In fact, as I sit down to write this at the Towson Public Library, a woman just pointed out that the bookshelf next to me contains an entire collection of books with purple covers, complete with a border of purple stars cut out of construction paper.