(Display Name not set)October 2007 Archives

Breaking News...

Father of slain marine won his case! Wow.

The brokenhearted father of a Marine killed in Iraq won a long-shot legal fight today after a federal jury in Baltimore awarded him nearly $11 million in a verdict against members of a Kansas church who hoisted anti-gay placards at his son's Westminster funeral.

[...]

The courtroom fight came down to whether Westboro had a legal right to demonstrate at the March 2006 funeral of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder or whether the protesters crossed the line because their message impugned the grieving family's reputation and unlawfully invaded the Snyders' privacy.

The Marine's father from York, Pa., sued the church and three of its members for intentionally invading his privacy because his deceased son did not have that right any longer. For the claim to be successful, the jury needed to conclude that the church's actions at the funeral -- and later, in a posting about Matthew Snyder on its Web site -- were "highly offensive to a reasonable person," according to the jury instructions.

You can read more about it here.

The father of a fallen soldier is suing the Westboro Baptist church for picketing his son's funeral.

They wanted their message heard, and they didn't care who they stepped over," Snyder testified on Wednesday, according to The Associated Press. "My son should have been buried with dignity, not with a bunch of clowns outside."

Good for him! I think it is despicable what this man was subjected to by these so called "Christians". I'm surprised it took this long for someone to sue them.

Here's what is at stake:

Judge Richard D. Bennett, who is hearing the case, told the nine jurors that there are limits on free speech protection, listing categories that include vulgar, offensive and shocking statements and instructed jurors to decide "whether the defendant's actions would be highly offensive to a reasonable person, whether they were extreme and outrageous and whether these actions were so offensive and shocking as to not be entitled to First Amendment protection," according to the AP.

Vulgar, highly offensive, shocking, that pretty much sums up what this "church" has been saying for way too long. I hope this jury sees that this kind of speech needs no protection of the First Amendment. How about the protection of this father who in his grief, had to endure such speech?

I'll be watching for the verdict which should be sometime next week, I'll post it here.
Free speech does have limits and I hope that the jury returns a guilty verdict.

Wish I had this button to push yesterday while I was taking my algebra I final.

I just found out that I failed the course. Totally bombed the final.

I am so frustrated (and tearful) because I really, really tried my best. Only to find out that my best produced failure. Talk about humiliation.

However, I will not give up. I remain determined. Though I feel beaten down right now, I know that character is built through perseverance, so persevere I must.

So, I am retaking the class starting tomorrow. In the providence of God, there was another class available in the same time slot as my other class that still had seats open. This is such a blessing because I don't have to re-arrange my family's schedule. How cool is that?

Obviously Joel Osteen is out promoting his new book because the other night I happened to catch him on the Glenn Beck show.

I suppose it is a good thing for him to be on other channels besides TBN because it exposes his false teaching to a wider audience. Hopefully people will see that what he preaches is not Christ but self.

Here is what he said to Glenn about Jesus Christ:

BECK: People say you are the most influential Christian pastor in the country. Does that amaze you?

OSTEEN: It amazes me.

BECK: OK, yet there`s not a lot of Jesus talk. You`re very open. You`re very welcoming to other faiths, et cetera, et cetera. If you`re a Christian leader, is it important for you to talk about Christ?

OSTEEN: I think it is. And I think that`s the core of my message, is that we believe that Christ came down on the cross, rose again for our forgiveness, and we have to receive him. But once you get past that, Glenn, being a pastor, every week I try to teach people how to live the Christian life.

Get past that?!! If Christ is his core message then how can he ever get past that? Excuse me, but isn't the gospel of Jesus Christ supposed to be the core message of Christianity? I don't see how you can ever get past that.

Not only that, but you can clearly see that Joel has a superficial understanding of the gospel according to how he defines his core message, "Christ came down on the cross, rose again for our forgiveness..." WHAT!? There are a million things wrong with this statement. This alone should be preached.

I think this interview sums up the gospel according to Joel Osteen, it's not about Christ it's about you. How sad that millions are mislead by his nice demeanor and brilliant smile.