How I respond to hate mail....

[Pacifist Patriot]

This afternoon I received a very sweet note through the United States Postal Service from two concerned citizens. The text of their letter can be seen here.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4716855

I thought about responding. I thought about how I would respond. I decided not to respond. I figured I'd wait until the Democrats slaughter the Republicans in the 2006 mid-terms and then respond. I decided not to respond. Then I did this.....

I ordered the following two items from Amazon.com.

NIV Shirt Pocket New Testament Gift wrapped with the following note enclosed: "Praise Jesus for teaching us tolerance, mercy and compassion. With love, Rev. ___________"

The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States Gift wrapped with the following note enclosed: "God bless our founding fathers for bequeathing us the rights of free speech and press. With love, Rev. _______")

and I sent it to Mr. & Mrs. Matey.

I know, I know, a complete waste of money. But it's left a smile on my face and a song in my heart so it served some purpose. Cheers!

[gratuitous]

1. That's pretty good

I think it was H.L. Mencken who would send postcards to his detractors with the simple sentence, "You may be right. H.L. Mencken"

[Pacifist Patriot]

3. Oh now that's good.

[unless]

2. Hahaha!

Are you really a minister?

Inquiring minds, and all

(minister's wife, here)

[Pacifist Patriot]

4. Yes, I actually am.

That's why I found the situation pretty amusing. I've dedicated my life to being mean-spirited after all.

[unless]

5. Poor man.

I get some of the most vitriolic emails on a list I belong to. Christians can be so lovely.

I remember the day after 'o4 elections, reading my emails with tears in my eyes...looking for something to cheer me up, and I opened up this one:

Thank God Bush won!
I can't believe any decent Christian could bring themselves to vote for Kerry.

This was my response - it's sad that it is more fitting now.

Luke 11:17 and 12:51-53 - But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.

Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you,Nay; but rather division: For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

What's completely true is that our nation is divided. I'm fairly sure God doesn't want His Church to be the mouthpiece of any political party, and I'm quite sure that His Truth doesn't lie with the political pundits on the major news networks.

We need to remember to look where God wants us to look to see His Truth. I have heard so many friends unknowingly repeat things from the media which are skewed. It's all about the spin. For example, "Bush had the largest popular vote ever" - Did the media also say that Kerry had the second largest popular vote ever? Nope. They both beat the record from Reagan's 1984 election landslide...
Bush(04): 59MM Kerry(04): 55.5MM Reagan(84): 54.5MM
The IMPORTANT thing that should have been touted is that we had record VOTER turnout.

There were shenanigans from ALL parties which all Christians should fight against in future presidential elections. For example:
-Some people were intentionally sent reminders to vote on November 3
-Phone lines were deliberately jammed to prevent handicapped voters
-from calling to receive a ride to the polls
-Party-biased groups posed as survey teams, took new voter
-registration cards, and destroyed the registrations if they
didn't have the right party affiliation
-Tires were slashed for vehicles intended for "Get out the vote" work
-"Investigators" entered elderly voters' homes in an attempt to
intimidate them...

Rather than fight over whether one candidate is better than another, if Christians really want to be able to rejoice at the end of an election, they should band together to support campaign reform, promote candidates who really support Christian values(principle vs issues), and prevent voter disinfranchisement.

I don't feel there's much to rejoice about in this election - I really do feel that neither candidate was an appropriate choice. Kerry waffled too much, and I find it hypocritical that while Bush's marketing campaigns were directed at religious conservatives that he doesn't belong or go to a church. Can he walk the walk? Jimmy Carter had enough time to go to church and teach Sunday School when he was President - but Carter didn't golf nearly as much.

Our nation is divided - I pray for our leaders and the world, and I pray that the Christians of this nation will take control over the process rather than hope that one of the parties serves up a "lesser of two evils".

[Pacifist Patriot]

8. What a great response!

I hope it made some people think. I believe you are absolutely correct.

I'm reading Bush On The Couch right now because of a recommendation here at DU. It is absolutely stunning. It explains a lot.

[Darth_Kitten]

6. Beautiful!!!

:D :woohoo: :D

[ComerPerro]

7. Nice approach