There has been much to say this week about the death of Osama bin Laden. One thing I keep hearing is that America is a “Christian Nation.” I want to set the record straight, we are not.

America is grounded in the Constitution, which never mentions God or Jesus, and actually goes as far to say it forbids the establishment of religion. Because of this, we will never be a Christian nation. But we are a Biblical nation.

So what does that mean?

As a nation we continue to be inspired by Scripture and we hear it used over and over by our leaders. Abraham Lincoln said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand” (Matthew 12:25), as he faced the prospect of a nation half slave and have free.

Lyndon Johnson was fond of saying, “Come now and let us reason together.” (Isaiah 1:18), as he would attempt to build consensus.

And, preacher and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jar famously quoted, “I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places made plain and the crooked places will be make straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.” (Isaiah 40:4-5).

Sarah Plain was wrong last year to challenge us to go “back to what our Founders and our founding documents meant-they are quite clear-that we would create law based on the God of the Bible and the Ten Commandments.”

Our nation is well served by the Constitution’s guarantee of free exercise of religion.
We should never support legislation based on the Bible or make any effort to label America a Christian nation, and I say this having been a Christian my whole life.

Is anyone else waking up in time to see the Royal Wedding? I have my alarm already set. I am not waking up early to see what everyone is wearing or to see the royal family-I want to see Kate. I am a big fan. I like her. I like her style. I like her self-confidence. She is a good example of ethics and morals. After William broke up with her she didn’t run to the media and tell everything she knew, she kept her mouth shut. She also didn’t sit around at home feeling sorry for herself. She dressed herself up and took herself out. Because of her assurance William decided he had made a huge mistake and set out to win her back.

We all could learn a lesson from Kate.

This week the New York Times had a story about Christian Universities not allowing gay clubs on campus. I was outraged to see ACU, my university mentioned in the story. I quickly called the office of the president to ask if this was true. I was told, they didn’t know. Really? I then asked if they knew the earth was round and hung up.

When are we going to stop using the Bible for our own fear-based prejudices?

In the 1860’s, Southern preachers defended slavery by propping up the Bible and what it literally says. Ephesians 6:5, “slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling.” Or, Titus 2:9, “…tell slaves to be submissive to their masters and to give satisfaction in every respect.” Southern Christians who wanted to keep their slaves had the words of the Bible to back them up.

A new symbolic view of the Bible is needed today including how we view homosexuality. Yes, it is true the Old Testament says in Leviticus 18:22, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.” But this old testament God is the same God who got angry and wiped out cities of the unfaithful, killed Job’s family because of a bet he had with Satan and killed Onan because he “spilled semen on the ground.” Is this the God you believe in, love and follow today? A God with human emotions?

In January, mega church pastor Joel Osteen told CNN that homosexuality is wrong because, “the scripture shows that it’s a sin.”

Mr. Osteen should be careful about his rhetoric going forward-careful not to continue giving the impression that being Christian is in large measure about opposing gay rights, and careful not to let the public expression of his faith become primarily associated with something like looks, sounds and feels like hate to the rest of us.

Just as science ultimately proved the earth is indeed round, science is again proving being homosexual is the way a person is born. Just like we can’t change the color of our skin, we can’t change our sexual preferences.

The next step in human evolution is the development of our minds and the expansion of our hearts. I can only pray that young gay Christians can hang on, keep the faith and look to the compassionate example of Jesus.

One of my favorite things to do is to play the game, “Let’s pretend,” with Sam, my nine-year-old son. Sam spends most of his time in a make believe world. He fights off monsters and demons and dressed like a knight, will roam through castles and palaces, and wander through enchanted landscapes.

Too often we grow up and allow our imagination to shrivel up and die. We think the world we live in is the “real” world. Yet without imagination life can be pretty colorless and bland. With it, we can dream of the impossible, join the ranks of explorers and inventors and change the world.

As we all embrace spring and the renewal of this season, I invite you to step out of the world of the mundane, and use your imagination to see new possibilities, to try the unexpected, and step fearlessly into new territories.

Imagination is more than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.
Albert Einstein

Airports are great places to watch people. You see such a variety of people: business travelers, parents with small children, and vacationers; some excited to be leaving, some are relieved to be coming home.

The energy level in airports can be overwhelming. Emotionally charged greetings and sad farewells contrast with the frustration of missed flights and lost luggage.

Yet, every airport has a control tower that monitors the flights, manages runways, and maintains order in the midst of chaos and confusion.

Life also has a control center where peace and calm reign supreme, where order is brought out of chaos, and where we can retreat at any time to escape the hustle and bustle of the day. At this center we find stillness that quiets our overactive mind and a silence that soothes frazzled nerves. It is a place where only we can enter because only we hold the key.

The next time you find yourself in a situation of tension, anxiety, or if you become emotionally upset, remember to escape to a place of inner stillness where your true self lives.

You can reach this place through meditation. Join me tonight for a short 30 minute teleseminar on mediation, 5:00pm Pacific, 6:00pm Mountain, 7:00pm Central and 8:00pm Eastern.

EVENT: Meditation Workshop
DATE & TIME: Thursday, March 24th at 6:00pm Mountain
FORMAT: Simulcast! (Attend via Phone or Webcast — it’s your choice)
TO INSTANT TELESEMINAR, CLICK THIS LINK NOW…
http://InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=18556428