The Dark Side of Man

THEOCRACY IN ACTION

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/9/72005b.asp

The Dark Side of Man

The devastation of Hurricane Katrina has stripped away more than houses and
land; it has uncovered the darkness of the human soul.

Feature by Steve Crampton
September 7, 2005

(AgapePress) - The epic tragedy of the New Orleans disaster grows sadder
every day. We all breathed a sigh of relief when Katrina turned east just
before striking the city, sparing it from the full brunt of the storm's
awesome power. But as the story continues to unfold, we have gone from hope
to despair, as first the levees broke and now rescue efforts have sputtered
and slogged forward due to the lawless looting, shooting, and the
resistance of many to leave. There have also been reports of rape.

Lest anyone respond that the looting is justified because the looters are
simply trying to feed their families, I have two responses. First, stealing
is wrong under any circumstances. Second, food is not the primary item
being stolen. As one newspaper from Biloxi, Mississippi, reported, in a
recent break-in at a convenience store, cigarettes, cigars and beer were
taken, but the food was not touched. One of the most often stolen items is
guns. Nursing homes are under siege. Almost overnight, New Orleans has
become a war zone.

[SNIP]



The truth is that Katrina did not make us this way. It was not our
environment. It was not our parents, our neighbors, or even our education.
It is the way we are. The soul of man is not basically good, as has been
presumed for so long by so many. It is, in fact, desperately wicked. And
all the excuses and explanations in the world cannot cover it up. It is
currently being broadcast daily on every major network for all the world to
see, if only we have eyes.

[SNIP]


The souls of those who have embraced crime in New Orleans are of the same
basic essence as the souls of Josef Stalin, Adolph Hitler, Jeffrey Dahmer
.... and you and me. That's right; we are no different from the worst
criminal when it comes to the capacity of our hearts to do evil.

The heart of man is desperately wicked, Scripture informs us. And the same
verse explains simply and without fanfare why we are so quick to excuse our
own behavior and think so well of ourselves -- our hearts are deceitful
above all things. Desperately wicked, and deceitful above all things.
Perhaps this is why we so readily accepted the oft-heard plea to increase
funding for education in order to alleviate poverty, which in turn would
make our citizenry a better, more moral people. We lie to ourselves, and we
like it.

Perhaps that is also why we have so easily accepted the so-called
separation of church and state, explicit instruction on sex education,
evolution, and moral relativism, all of which are echoed on the latest
sit-coms and reality TV shows. We tell ourselves it is the law, or that it
is only entertainment, or that we are too busy to spend hours pouring over
every textbook our children bring home. How much harm can it do, anyway?


[SNIP]


Our society has largely disavowed moral laws. The firestorm surrounding the
posting of the Ten Commandments in public bears ample witness of this fact.
And civil laws, in the minds of most citizens today, are made to be broken.
Once the "bayonet" of state and local law enforcement was removed in New
Orleans, then, the raw power of our sinful hearts was unleashed. It is not
a pretty sight.

[SNIP]


Steve Crampton (clp@afa.net) serves as chief counsel of the American Family
Association Center for Law & Policy (CLP), a public interest-type law firm.
Mr. Crampton's daily radio show, "We Hold These Truths," can be heard on
almost 200 radio stations nationwide.

***************************************************************
Posting and reading from alt.politics.usa.constitution OR alt.education

You are invited to check out the following:

The Rise of the Theocratic States of America
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocracy.htm

American Theocrats - Past and Present
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocrats.htm

The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html

[and to join the discussion group for the above site and/or Separation of
Church and State in general, listed below]

HRSepCnS · Hampton Roads SepChurch&State
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HRSepCnS/

[Its not just Hampton Roads folks who are members]

***************************************************************
.. . . You can't understand a phrase such as "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion" by syllogistic reasoning. Words
take their meaning from social as well as textual contexts, which is why "a
page of history is worth a volume of logic." New York Trust Co. v. Eisner,
256 U.S. 345, 349, 41 S.Ct. 506, 507, 65 L.Ed. 963 (1921) (Holmes, J.).
Sherman v. Community Consol. Dist. 21, 980 F.2d 437, 445 (7th Cir. 1992)
.. . .
****************************************************************
THE CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE:
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
****************************************************************

> The truth is that Katrina did not make us this way. It was not our
> environment. It was not our parents, our neighbors, or even our education.
> It is the way we are. The soul of man is not basically good, as has been
> presumed for so long by so many. It is, in fact, desperately wicked. And
> all the excuses and explanations in the world cannot cover it up.

I am not wicked; neither are most of the people I know.
Besides, "goodness" and "badness" are matters of opinion,
circumstance, and perspective.