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June 29th, 2012
03:47 PM ET
In responses to Colorado Springs fire, a distinctly evangelical toneBy Dan Gilgoff, CNN.com Religion Editor (CNN) - When it’s not in the news for historic wildfires that have devoured hundreds of homes on its outskirts, Colorado Springs, Colorado, is nationally known as the home of the Air Force Academy and as the unofficial capital of evangelical Christianity. The Springs, as it's called locally, plays host to lots of global evangelical organizations, including Focus on the Family, Compassion International and the International Bible Society. The concentration has earned the city the nickname “Vatican West” among some evangelicals. The city is also home to Ted Haggard, who once headed the National Association of Evangelicals and who presided over the biggest church in the state, until he was felled by a gay sex and drugs scandal in 2006. Two years ago, Haggard started a new church in town. That city’s evangelical flavor has made for some distinctly religious responses to the flames, which by Friday had destroyed 346 homes and had forced more than 36,000 people to evacuate. The fire has charred 16,700 acres, with 20,000 homes and scores of businesses still at risk. In the face of the flames, religion writer Patton Dodd, who lives in Colorado Springs, said he has witnessed “a reflexive ‘my house and things don't matter in the long run anyway’ spirituality,” among some evangelical neighbors and friends. CNN’s Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the biggest stories He has also seen doctored pictures of firefighters with Jesus on Facebook and “lots of ‘Jesus bring rain’ talk.” When the temperature dropped in the area Thursday and Friday, helping firefighters contain 15% of the fire after 100-plus degree temperatures earlier this week, many evangelicals in the area chalked the better weather up to answered prayers. “I saw so many Christians saying, ‘Please pray for rain, we need a miracle, and only God can provide it,' ” said Esther Fleece, director of millennial relations for Focus on the Family. “Even people who are not Christians were saying, ‘This is out of our control and I’m going to try to pray. Why not?’ ” Follow the CNN Belief Blog on Twitter Earlier in the week, Fleece was packing up her two-bedroom condo in preparation of evacuation and faced the difficult choice of what to leave and what to take. “I was packing and I realized that none of this matters,” Fleece said. “I just had to pause and say, ‘All of this could be replaced.’ What matters most is I have my family and my community and my faith, and we’re going to go through trials. They’re momentary. “My heart goes out to those who don’t have faith and don’t have a larger narrative of why tragedies happen,” she continued. “The grief is so huge that it’s difficult to get through this without faith.” Fleece did not wind up evacuating because her home was not deemed to be at risk. Now she has five other evacuees staying with her. Around Colorado Springs, evangelical churches and ministries are partnering with local government on relief efforts and are taking advantage of their own Christian networks to help each other. The city’s enormous New Life Church was expecting four semitrailers of food, water and other supplies to arrive Friday and Saturday, thanks to a Christian group Gleaning for World, led by Jonathan Falwell, son of the late Jerry Falwell. “We have a huge opportunity to bless our city and region,” New Life pastor Brady Boyd wrote on New Life’s website. “We need help on Friday unloading these semi-trailers.” Focus on the Family is housing dozens of staffers from Navigators, a global Christian ministry that evacuated its headquarters this week because of the fires. According to a post on Navigators' site, the group’s U.S. president was sharing Psalm 91 with other workers in the temporary Focus space:
Dodd, the Christian writer, said he’s seen some ugly political posturing around the fires, with some conservatives alleging President Barack Obama is to blame for an insufficient response because he allegedly cut money for the federal fleet of air tankers. The allegation “Isn't so much evangelical as Republican, but you know how those lines can be blurred,” he said. Obama visited Colorado Springs on Friday to take stock of the fires and the response. Some recent messages on Twitter, meanwhile, are using the fires to take aim at Focus on the Family, known for its conservative stances on issues such as gay marriage. “If this Colorado fire takes out the Focus on the Family campus, then God really exists,” read one such message, which was highlighted by conservative pundit Michelle Malkin, who lives in Colorado Springs.
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I agree with some posters.Atheism is a religion.
How is a religion, as opposed to a philosophy?
@Guest0273 –
Really? Is avegetarianism a dietary plan? Is an aappendectomy a surgical procedure? Is aphilosophy a philosophy. Your position has been fully vetted and is nonsensical. You might want to move on to something with more substance.
non stamp collecting is a hobby, too
religion |riˈlijən|
noun
the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, esp. a personal God or gods : ideas about the relationship between science and religion.
• details of belief as taught or discussed : when the school first opened they taught only religion, Italian, and mathematics.
• a particular system of faith and worship : the world's great religions.
• a pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance : consumerism is the new religion.
In no way is atheism equal to the first two definitions. Maybe the last definition, if you make it as important as having a religion in your life, and it ends up being your main hobby. I like to debate a bit here in my spare time, but basketball take up way more of my interest.
C'mon guys, this is that "Clown" "TheCapitalist" under yet another name pretending he agrees with himself.
Don't feed the freakin' troll!
Who is "clown"?
Takes a troll to know a troll.
It's you of course, Capitalist Clown!
sam stone, both religion and philosophy are man made. Jesus' truth is all there is.
Ya gotta love the evangelicals. The slightest good news is immediately heralded as proof their prayers are working. I saw a couple on TV ranting exciteldy about how their prayers were answered when the fire changed course and spared their home. Of course, what they ignored was the fact that, by definition, the fire therefore destroyed the suburb next door.
God seems to have a habit of popping up in wildfires and tornadoes, spinning his magic to select those who perish and those who don’t. It is odd though, that his miracles are always;
(i) perfectly explicable by natural events such as wind gusts;
(ii) selective to the person proclaiming the “miracle” (i.e. MY house was saved); and
(iii) only “miracles” when the totality of the tragedy is ignored – the 500 homes destroyed, and many lives lost. A CEO might as well ignore the liability side of his balance sheet and declare it a miracle that his company just doubled in value.
Oh, my Bible-cuddling friends, it’s high time you grew up. There is no sky-fairy protecting you from the big bad world, no afterlife you can kick the can down the road to or use to wish away the problems of this one. Life is short and death is certain. Put down your Bibles enjoy the years this Universe gave you.
Amen brother!
Sometimes growing up, means letting go of your own selfish desires and realizing that we all have a creator. We all will answer to God one day and you will be no different. We all have faith in something, I have faith in God and you have faith that there is no God. I have hope and faith that there is a Heaven and you have hope and faith that there is no Hell. What if you are wrong?
@Blake
It takes ZERO faith to disbelieve in something that's unproven. How much faith do you use to disbelieve in unicorns?
No gods blake – you have a 1 in 3500 or chance of being right in your choice of a non-existant god. I have no fears of being wrong. God is not necessary for anything in life.
But unicorns are real!
@Blake –
-"Growing up" also means giving up foolish beliefs – i.e. beliefs unsupported by evidence ("When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things.").
-Not believing in a god requires no faith, just as not believing in any of the infinite number of things of which one has no knowledge requires no faith.
-Hope and faith are grounded in ignorance and fear. Learn. Have courage.
-What if you are wrong? What if you chose the wrong god to worship and another jealous, petulant, vindictive god is the right one?
"We ought to stand up and look the world frankly in the face. We ought to make the best we can of the world, and if it is not so good as we wish, after all it will still be better than what these others have made of it in all these ages."
- Bertrand Russell
@Colin –
Well said. I always find it interesting that Christians give a lot of time expressing how humble</i? they are when, in fact, their beliefs are glaringly egocentric.
...sorry for the formatting error...only "humble" should have been italicized.
Colin...
Why weren't they thinking about God when I warned them that God was not happy with the name "Garden of the gods"?
If there will ever be a "garden of the gods"... it will be in hell with Satan and the false gods... also known as demons!
Why didn't they consider there was something wrong when I told about the Air Force Academy building the PAGAN WORSHIP CIRCLE so that those in the Air Force could worship other gods?
Why didn't they listen when God had me post billboards in Denver warning that Tebow endorses a company honoring the PAGAN goddess Nike?
Glad to know they are talking about God... but will it really change their behavior?
Will they really stop dishonoring God?
That remains to be seen.
Meanwhile God has me working to bring down Nike!
http://www.christiansagainstnike.com/
Think we have a new troll, that or they let the psychos out of the asylum for the weekend...Good luck taking down Nike...now we know you're mentally ill.
what loser Canadians think or atheist types either for that matter.
@ no one gives a sh it
Don't worry, silly troll. No one gives a sh it about you either.
Tallulah, that was HeavenSent you responded to.
Troll Alert, wrong again when you posted "Tallulah, that was HeavenSent you responded to."
Answer: Believe me when I tell you truth that you atheists bore me to tears. That is why I don't post as often as I used to, never mind posting under another handle. I
HeavenSent, more like your vapid "arguments" ran out and everyone saw through them.
Post by 'Blake' is a form of the flawed argument known as Pascal's Wager.
http://www.fallacyfiles.org/glossary.html
@fallacy spotter
not even close you would not know a fallacy if one bit you on the ass
God takes the righteous as well as the unrighteous. Disasters are showing us God's wrath.
Not to worry Dennis, I check in once in a while to ensure young Christians don't get bogged down by your lies. As far as seeing anything ... you atheists are the ones that are blind with no eyes to see. As far as other Christians posting ... LOL, freaks you out that there are so many of us that will never buy into your lies.
HS, so tell us, just why is your "god" angry and sending us his "wrath"?
Ted "YE all shall burn in hell like those from Sodom and Gomorrah, oops" Haggard?
That's what you atheists are ushering in. Oh, did you think we didn't know as you use all the gay folks of the world.
HS, go look up "gay animals", you ignorant fool.
Dennis, do yourself a favor, peel a banana and go slip on it.
Prayer changes things,
You lie.
you do kerfluffle
Stop feeding ignorant trolls.
atheism is useless
God is available
I think this is god's will. He is angry at evangelicals for proselytizing.
Perhaps they need to just really get down and pray hard and the fire will go away.
I've heard somewhere that "prayer, it changes things", so let's send those secular firefighters home and get to praying!
Greyhound37...
Why weren't they thinking about God when I warned them that God was not happy with the name "Garden of the gods"?
If there will ever be a "garden of the gods"... it will be in hell with Satan and the false gods... also known as demons!
Why didn't they consider there was something wrong when I told about the Air Force Academy building the PAGAN WORSHIP CIRCLE so that those in the Air Force could worship other gods?
Why didn't they listen when God had me post billboards in Denver warning that Tebow endorses a company honoring the PAGAN goddess Nike?
Glad to know they are talking about God... but will it really change their behavior?
Will they really stop dishonoring God?
That remains to be seen.
Meanwhile God has me working to bring down Nike!
http://www.christiansagainstnike.com/
The true evangelical response to the Colorado wildfires: "It was God's will."
What evangelicals are going to do to help: Pray
That's the fun part about the futility of prayer. Believing that it's some god's will, and that furthermore, you will somehow bend that imaginary will.
Good evening. Everyone is cordially invited to visit ... thestarofkaduri.com
So, if they were able to pray stuff into happening, why the heck didn't they pray for, say, the fires to extinguish? Or is it some cosmological game of Galaga, and everyone that is referred to as 'evangelical' is simply a fine blend of bucket-of-crazy and dumb-as-rocks?
kerfluffle...
Why weren't they thinking about God when I warned them that God was not happy with the name "Garden of the gods"?
If there will ever be a "garden of the gods"... it will be in hell with Satan and the false gods... also known as demons!
Why didn't they consider there was something wrong when I told about the Air Force Academy building the PAGAN WORSHIP CIRCLE so that those in the Air Force could worship other gods?
Why didn't they listen when God had me post billboards in Denver warning that Tebow endorses a company honoring the PAGAN goddess Nike?
Glad to know they are talking about God... but will it really change their behavior?
Will they really stop dishonoring God?
That remains to be seen.
Meanwhile God has me working to bring down Nike!
http://www.christiansagainstnike.com/
When Haiti suffered a devastating earthquake, a Christian leader mused that it was because their ancestors had signed a pact with the Devil. When Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans, several major Christian leaders opined that it was God's punishment for Mardi Gras or Southern Decadence festivals. When an earthquake created a crack in the Washington monument, Christians exclaimed that it was a sign of divine disapproval of President Obama and/or Washington DC's passage of marriage equality.
But when their own ox is being gored, well that's a different story. When it is Colorado Springs at risk, actual human beings are at stake. So there's no entertaining badinage about divine retribution, just sympathy and aid. Christians can be decent, but only if the "right" people are in trouble.
So true!! I wish more christians could see the sort of hypocrisy you explain.
David Sorenson...
Why weren't they thinking about God when I warned them that God was not happy with the name "Garden of the gods"?
If there will ever be a "garden of the gods"... it will be in hell with Satan and the false gods... also known as demons!
Why didn't they consider there was something wrong when I told about the Air Force Academy building the PAGAN WORSHIP CIRCLE so that those in the Air Force could worship other gods?
Why didn't they listen when God had me post billboards in Denver warning that Tebow endorses a company honoring the PAGAN goddess Nike?
Glad to know they are talking about God... but will it really change their behavior?
Will they really stop dishonoring God?
That remains to be seen.
Meanwhile God has me working to bring down Nike!
http://www.christiansagainstnike.com/
Ya know It is sad for those people who have lost everything but for christians it doesn't matter because we HAVE JESUS!!!! are lifes are GOOD!! I don't care if i'm brainwashed or stupid, or foolish, at least I'm happy so what does it matter if I'm wrong?
Yes, for the simplest minds amongst us, Bronze Age sky fairies can be a powerful intoxicant.
my intoxinicant is lsd, lsa, and thc...i do enjoy a drink now and again as well. 🙂
As long as you're not telling me I am going to burn in hell for not believing as you or use your set doctrine (your bible) to tell others what they can and can't do with their personal lives or who they can love, then your belief does not affect me. It is the second that your belief crosses the line that I have an issue. If you want respect for your belief, in turn you must respect all others no matter how foolish they may seem to you.
So happy and ignorant is a good way to go? If I could quote a line from a memorable film, "Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son."
Me, I'd rather know the truth, even if it's hard to cope with sometimes, than be happy with lies.
"nothing is sadder than delusion masquerading as hope"
Good for you, Rebel....you will be with Jeebus. What are you doing down here? Jeebus is waiting. Do you have tall buildings where you live, or a shotgun?
Rebel4Christ...
I need to say this... don't ever give in to the world and imply that you are brainwashed and stupid. If you know the truth... then you should understand... they are the ones deceived... not you!
Why weren't they thinking about God when I warned them that God was not happy with the name "Garden of the gods"?
If there will ever be a "garden of the gods"... it will be in hell with Satan and the false gods... also known as demons!
Why didn't they consider there was something wrong when I told about the Air Force Academy building the PAGAN WORSHIP CIRCLE so that those in the Air Force could worship other gods?
Why didn't they listen when God had me post billboards in Denver warning that Tebow endorses a company honoring the PAGAN goddess Nike?
Glad to know they are talking about God... but will it really change their behavior?
Will they really stop dishonoring God?
That remains to be seen.
Meanwhile God has me working to bring down Nike!
http://www.christiansagainstnike.com/
christiansagainstnike: you are delusional. consider taking (or ceasing) medication
TruthPrevails :-), LOL. You're going to scorch so fast, you won't even know what happened. One minute you are lapping it up, next minute, you're just fat on a stick, poof ... and your worm is never quenched ... you don't get blotted out like other sinners, you endure what the false preachers/teachers of this world will endure because you are now in that category ... along with your evil professors.
Post by 'HeavenSent' is a threatening form of of the flawed argument known as Pascal's Wager.
http://www.fallacyfiles.org/glossary.html
@fallacy spotter
not even close another proof that you wouldn't know fallacy if it bit you on the ass.
fallacyspotting, Pascal, like most people made a buck from Jesus' truth. What else is knew? This guy was living in the 17th century and based his atheistic beliefs on the Bible.
“My heart goes out to those who don’t have faith and don’t have a larger narrative of why tragedies happen"
the ignorance and ego of christians is astounding. they seem to think anyone not a member of their cult has no meaning in their life. pathetic. christians would have a lot more meaning in their own lives if they stopped believing in fairy tales.
Bootyfunk...
Why weren't they thinking about God when I warned them that God was not happy with the name "Garden of the gods"?
If there will ever be a "garden of the gods"... it will be in hell with Satan and the false gods... also known as demons!
Why didn't they consider there was something wrong when I told about the Air Force Academy building the PAGAN WORSHIP CIRCLE so that those in the Air Force could worship other gods?
Why didn't they listen when God had me post billboards in Denver warning that Tebow endorses a company honoring the PAGAN goddess Nike?
Glad to know they are talking about God... but will it really change their behavior?
Will they really stop dishonoring God?
That remains to be seen.
Meanwhile God has me working to bring down Nike!
http://www.christiansagainstnike.com/
christiansagainstnike,
Ahem... you might want to get your affairs in order - you might be away for a while.
I see the 18-year-old troll is been kept very very well fed. Lots of long pointless threads.
I realize he is desperate and starving for attention, but must you really encourage his mental breakdown?
Oops! See? I'm getting too old for this crap. lol
The burning bushes are telling them that they should have given everything away to the poor! Its a sign!
If you have a burning bush, see the doctor and get antibiotics.
It's because they were against Obamacare! God is punishing them! And because they didn't eat kosher! I'm sure of it!
God supported Obamacare?
Its a sign!...
Why weren't they thinking about God when I warned them that God was not happy with the name "Garden of the gods"?
If there will ever be a "garden of the gods"... it will be in hell with Satan and the false gods... also known as demons!
Why didn't they consider there was something wrong when I told about the Air Force Academy building the PAGAN WORSHIP CIRCLE so that those in the Air Force could worship other gods?
Why didn't they listen when God had me post billboards in Denver warning that Tebow endorses a company honoring the PAGAN goddess Nike?
Glad to know they are talking about God... but will it really change their behavior?
Will they really stop dishonoring God?
That remains to be seen.
Meanwhile God has me working to bring down Nike!
http://www.christiansagainstnike.com/
The atheistic trolls are strong tonight.It might be a night of stormy hateful weather.Oh wait..Atheists can't have childish outbursts as they are "logical"!
I see no logic in any atheist post I've ever heard on this blog.None.Just hateful trolls who act like a spoiled 5 year old brat.
would that be heard or read? you really are a quick one there rabbit!
You don't actually see anything you don't want to see. You are not really a credible source for truth.
Says the one who doesn't actually respond to any real points brought up. Perhaps if you actually responded to posts instead of trolling, then you'd see the logic.
Nah because than i can't act like you atheists do.I just made claims that I don't need to prove.
see its easy
As far as I'm concerned, whichever tact you take is fine with me. If you continue what you're doing, you merely give more examples of the criticism people level at you. If you were to change your way and actually have a conversation, then that's fine too, since that's a large reason I'm here.
No you are here because you want people to do the work for you.You say you "searched" but say that God is false.
Its a game.You aren't for the reasons you posted.you are just here to troll and stir anger.
Awww look he thinks he knows me how cute. Well doesn't matter to me whether or not you think you know my reasons.
The original poster makes a lot of claims, but has no proof. This explains why she/he is okay in believing in a god for which there is also no proof.
The proof is in your posts.
Yes. We have proved that you lack the maturity to do anything but make accusations without providing any substance to support those accusations.
But that's how you atheists act.
I'm exposing to the entire planet the immaturity and lack of "logic" most atheists have.I've been called names etc.Only proves more in atheism you are indeed more special.
That's guys for playing.The world can see the proof from your posts how childish and full of rage atheists can be.
Logic is something most atheists lack
•Thanks
You are no more exposing atheists than you have proved the existence of your god or your claim that prayer works. You are completely delusional.
"I see no logic in any atheist post I've ever heard on this blog.None.Just hateful trolls who act like a spoiled 5 year old brat."
that makes you a liar or incredibly stupid. or both.
on the topic of name calling – consider the insult is not an insult at all but rather just an observsation of ones personality traits.
to throw out name calling as a higher standing type poistion over the low atheist....well, what if i said that if its true then its not insult but rather a statment of ones character traits and perhaps in some cases acutally help the person as they didn't see this truth...call it a gift of truth when i call you believers of ancient stories as truth – as words of god – morons...some need to know what they are to first understand themselves and then and only then can they grow as human beings. at this point they would understand thru gained knowledge that god is one of two things as fact – either he exists and is pointless after creation or doesn't exist. in either case, there is no reason to believe but rather seek to know. knowledge is power..... now where did i hear that before? oh yeah, school house rock. lets see, that was when i was 6 and at that point i started on my journey...why haven't you. why do you do believe things over knowing if what you believe is true or not.
test – you believe that your partner is cheating....what do you do...do you act as you believe purely on the belief and breakup or do you find out the truth?
just checking in here
did the christian persecution complex temper tantrum work its way out?
anyone up for a round of buggery with some altar boys? stem cell martinis?
Atheist demand..you see no logic..explain your logic of god then.. what do you see and also what logic does not exist for Muslims who say you are wrong.
Get back on your knees, and open your mouth, Atheists demand, Jeebus is coming again
It's funny. When a natural disaster happens in a non-religious area, the fundies crawl out of the woodwork to declare it the work of an angry god. When it happens to them, not a peep on the topic. Kind of hypocritical, don't you think?
The anger is their own real anger of being rejected by the non-religious. It is a classic syndrome of the emotional condition of pleading for a sane voice to help along with their need for their god. When they're rejected they became angry and spew the hate of "why don't you accept my most emotional outburst and be convinced that my god is real?" "why?" "why? please believe me."
i really love just rejecting them outright..it's so fun.
christians like to count the hits - but not the misses. when something good happens, it was god. when something bad happens, it wasn't god. geees, it's so simple! lol.
Kind of?
tallulah13... you might want to read this...
Why weren't they thinking about God when I warned them that God was not happy with the name "Garden of the gods"?
If there will ever be a "garden of the gods"... it will be in hell with Satan and the false gods... also known as demons!
Why didn't they consider there was something wrong when I told about the Air Force Academy building the PAGAN WORSHIP CIRCLE so that those in the Air Force could worship other gods?
Why didn't they listen when God had me post billboards in Denver warning that Tebow endorses a company honoring the PAGAN goddess Nike?
Glad to know they are talking about God... but will it really change their behavior?
Will they really stop dishonoring God?
That remains to be seen.
Meanwhile God has me working to bring down Nike!
http://www.christiansagainstnike.com/
No thank you, nike. Trollspam has a nasty aftertaste.
I always love it when the home of a religious goes up in flames. They are so blessed to be out of home and have nothing. It is the way their god has intended for them.
Hooray for the fires that burns them to a crisp.
Why aren't all these people running towards the fire so they can talk to all these burning bushes? Don't they have any faith?
Ask the teenage mutant ninja trolls who are posting. They have an idiotic response to every question!
Well, it's Friday so I'm not going to expect much. Once they get good and smashed they won't hardly be able to post anything.
And I think TMNT is before their time. Was that in the 80s or 90s?
Sad attempt to troll.
hey, check out picture number 23 – i'm sure thats clown question bro....its his better side! it is an a$$ mind you!
If Jesus and God can bring rain why did they bring this inferno to begin with? I live in Denver where we just had our Pride Parade with over 300,000 attendees. We didn't get burned out of our houses – what does that mean? Evangelicans are always preaching hellfire and brimstones so that's what they are apparently getting. That old adage: be careful what you wish (preach) for – you might just get it.
Clearly these fires have happened because of something that happened during the Taft administration. It's just plain as day.
jimmy...lol... you said the TMNT is before some of these folks time but yet you throw out Taft....interesting.
Oh, right, like I am some ultra-geezer. LOL
When you get old, you'll forget where to put your replies, too! You just wait you little whippersnapper! lol