A Woman Who Fears the Lord

Abigail Adams - Wikipedia By Angela Wittman "You have this day to declare yourself head of a nation. "And now, O Lord, my God, Thou hast made thy servant ruler over the people. "Give unto him an understanding heart, that he may know how to go out and come in before this great people; that he may discern between good and bad. "For who is able to judge this thy so great a people?" were the words of a royal Sovereign; and not less applicable to him who is invested with the Chief Magistracy of a nation, though he wear not a crown nor robes of royalty... "Though personally absent...my petitions to Heaven are that "the things which make for peace may not be hidden from your eyes." "That you may be enabled to discharge them with honor to yourself, with justice and impartiality to your country, and with satisfaction to this great people, shall be the daily prayer of your Abigail Adams. " (Taken from America's God and Cou

By Angela Wittman As we near Independence Day, I pray we will reflect upon our Christian heritage and the courageous men who founded our nation. I have assembled some quotes from our Founding Fathers that I pray you will take to heart and pass on to your children: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights..." --Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776) "We have this day restored the Sovereign to Whom all men ought to be obedient. He reigns in Heaven and from the rising to the setting of the sun - let His kingdom come." --James Madison signing the Declaration of Independence, (July 4, 1776) "Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God?" --Thomas Jefferson (1782) "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too

By Angela Wittman As a newly elected school board member in the spring of 1996, I was honored to be caught in the midst of a controversy involving comprehensive sex ed (the teaching of condom use and birth control) and Planned Parenthood materials being used in the high school Adult Living Home Economics class. Some of you may remember the resistance parents encountered when requesting the teaching of abstinence only to students. I am sorry to say that I recently reviewed the materials used in the Waterloo High School Adult Living Class and found that they have not discarded the Planned Parenthood hand-outs. I have been told by the teacher of that class that nothing has changed in the curriculum since I was on school board. This saddens my heart greatly as I have become more aware of the deceptive practices of Planned Parenthood and the immorality they promote. In the year 2000, according to the Planned Parenthood website, the organization performed 197,070 abortions. This is in itself

By Angela Wittman I recently read the article "First Wave of Homeschoolers Comes of Age," written by Robin Wallace for http://www.foxnews.com/ . The reporter interviewed a young man who had been entirely schooled at home. When asked if he felt he had missed out on "cherished school memories", he responded, "It was more that I was spared a lot of the stuff that goes on in high school." The 20 year old college student went on to say that instead of "experiencing" the trials and tribulations of high school, he got to focus on the things he wanted and liked to do. The article goes on to quote J. Gary Knowles, a researcher from the University of Toronto,as saying that he has found home schooled adults to be no more less engaged socially or politically than those with traditional educations. He also found the home schooled students to be more self-reliant and focused. It seems to me that the most natural thing in the world is for parents to nurture and

By Angela Wittman School choice , accountability, education reform, parental choice, vouchers, charter schools; it seems we've been hearing these words with increasing frequency the past several weeks. But have we really examined the meaning of these phrases and the impact that they will have upon our educational freedom? Perhaps we need to examine the long term effect that a Federal and State voucher program will have upon our private schools, religious institutions and families. As a former Government School Board Member (1995 - 2000), I have seen firsthand the danger of accepting government funds and the involuntary chains that accompany it. Some of these chains are not so apparent in the beginning - but chains they are. Any time you accept any type of government funding, you are accepting the stipulations and regulations that accompany it. It is this knowledge that caused me to reconsider my position as the Southern Illinois Founding President and Coordinator for Citizens for E

By Angela Wittman "Just before 9 a.m. on October 28, 2001, three terrorists dressed in black "shalwars" ( a long, loose fitting shirt that is common among Pakistani males) and armed with Kalishnikov automatic weapons forced their way into St. Dominic's Church. Catholics share the church building with the Church of Pakistan. The Protestant praise and prayer time had been so joyful; the service was running a bit late. The start of the Catholic mass would be delayed. "Pastor Emmanuel Allah Atta had just concluded his sermon on the importance of prayer during the tumultuous times facing Pakistani Christians. One of the gunmen stormed up to the pulpit and ordered the pastor to throw his Bible to the ground. "I will not!" insisted Pastor Emmanuel. He turned away from the terrorist and embraced his Bible, pressing it close to his heart. The gunman shouted, "Allah Ahkbar!" (God is great) and opened fire on Pastor Emmanuel, shooting him in the back, t

By Angela Wittman I recently received an e-mail of an article written by Cal Thomas. The title of the article is "The Second Death of Religious Politics: Pat Robertson's resignation pulls the plug on a comatose religious-political body already dead." (Crosswalk.com News Channel). Being labeled a political activist of the Conservative Christian Right, I was most intrigued by the title and curious to see where Cal Thomas was headed with his opinion. I had read a few years back where it was reported that he had said that we (meaning Christians involved in politics) had lost the culture war. I would like to give my response to several of the statements made in this article, since the conservative movement seems to be alive and well here in Illinois. ( Actually, I wasn't aware that there had been a first death of Religious Politics.) Mr. Thomas states that "Religious politics failed the church because believers were told they could improve the morals of a nation throu

By Angela Wittman As we wage the war on terrorism and hear the reports of bombings, anthrax scares and the latest terrorist threats, let's not forget those who are being persecuted for their faith and personal beliefs. I have heard reports of Christians who are being martyred and arrested for their faith in other countries such as Sudan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Viet Nam, Tibet, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Ethiopia, and Nigeria. There are reports of followers of Christ being imprisoned, ostracized by family and friends, tortured, beaten, murdered and their homes and churches burned by their governments. As a Christian I am saddened and outraged. As a nation founded upon Christian principles, I pray we will petition our government to take action against these crimes and not support the nations committing them. My next point is going to hit close to home, please think about this and search your hearts to see if you have been a party to this more subtle form of religious persecution

9/7/01 To the Editor: As a former public school board member, I am shocked and dismayed at the recent resolutions passed by the liberal National Education Association (NEA) at their annual convention in Los Angeles, Ca. It is true that after much outcry and pressure from their own membership, the NEA withdrew Resolution “New B” regarding “Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Education”. But don’t let that fool you. Following is a brief summary of resolutions that were passed and are reported to affrim the criteria of “New B’. Ø B1 – Calls for programs in public schools for children from birth through age 8. (The NEA is calling for Universal Pre-School.) Ø B7 – Calls for acceptance of “diversity” which includes sexual orientation. Ø B9 – Includes Sexual Orientation as discrimination if you do not accept your child being taught about gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered people. (They are proposing plans, activities and programs for students to increase their

August 2, 2001 To the editor: I’d like to begin my letter with a quote from a column our Republican U.S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald released September 11, 2000, titled “A Farm Strategy for the New Millennium”. In paragraph three, Sen. Fitzgerald states, ‘We must recognize that family farmers, like many other small business owners competing in the fast-paced information age, cannot survive if they are burdened with high taxes, restrictive trade barriers, and excessive government regulation’. This is a fine noble statement for our young senator from Schaumburg, Illinois to make. However, his recent action to vote to table senate amendment 899 to HR 2217 shows quite a contradiction! Senate amendment 899 was offered by U.S. Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon to release irrigation water to approximately 1400 farmers and their families suffering from drought conditions who depend on this water to grow a large variety of crops in the Klamath Basin located in Oregon. You may be wondering why thes