Easter Sunday, 2007

Saluda, NC (TLS). The Liberty Sphere takes this opportunity to wish all of you a very Happy Easter. And a very 'Happy Passover' to all of our Jewish readers.

Easter Sunday is special here in the North Carolina mountains. Flowers have begun to bloom, and the apple trees are beginning the process of budding forth their tiny fruit, later to be harvested for what is hopefully a lucrative apple crop. Families still hold to their traditions of dressing in their Sunday's best, meaning usually that Dad, Mom, and all the kids get a new suit of clothes and new shoes. The men are still expected to get their wives a lovely Easter corsage to wear to church with her new dress or suit.

Cold weather has hit the mountains hard this year, however. The past two nights have witnessed a blast of arctic air that sent temperatures plummeting into the low 20s at night.

Tonight the temps are expected to dip into the teens.

Mountain folklore states that in those years that Easter falls in April rather than March, one can expect a cold snap on or around Easter Sunday.

Thus, the cold weather is not entirely unexpected, but it bodes ill for local fruit growers. Apple farmers are already talking about losing most of their crop this year due to the cold temperatures.

Easter Sunday brings the local folk out in droves. They emerge from these hills to go to their various places of worship where celebrations of Easter range from stirring sermons on the resurrection of Christ, Easter musical programs presented by choirs and ensembles, and often a meal at church. Many of these churches have Easter Sunrise Services followed by breakfast and hot coffee.

These special moments bring to remembrance the things in life that truly matter--faith, family, tradition, ritual, hope.

I wish for all of you a very meaningful day.

'Because He lives, we too shall live.'

Easter, Passover Take a Beating

Washington, DC (TLS). At the time of year when Christians and Jews celebrate some of their holiest days, the mongrels of the secular progressive movement in the mainstream press work overtime to bash the beliefs of both faiths.

This year, during Lent, Passover, and Easter, we have been treated to endless attacks on Judaism, Israel, the Bible, Jesus, and Christianity. One art exhibit in New York featured a life-sized image of a chocolate Jesus--'anatomically correct.' A commentator claimed that Judaism is by its very nature racist.

As I write this, it is Good Friday--the day that Christ died on the Cross for our sins. This day and what it represents is central to my belief system, that we see what God is like most fully in the person of Jesus Christ who exhibited unconditional, sacrificial love for all humanity by dying on a Roman Cross.

For the attack dogs of CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, the Washington Post, and the New York Times (and many others) to undermine my convictions about these matters is nothing but sheer bigotry at its worst.

Wonder what would happen if they did that to Muslims?

Well, here's a hint. They would be afraid to. Look at Great Britain, where teachers have stopped teaching about the Holocaust and the Crusades for the fear of inciting the ire and violence of Muslims.

But Christianity and Judaism are fair game.

Read more here:
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=27735