RESPONSE: To Ralph Shay (Love Lives Here member)

Love Lives Here is a group of Coeur d’Alene folks who think that writing kind notes to people in February spreads ‘love’ around. I once paid $200 to learn Transcendental Meditation. I was assured that my meditation would change the lives of all those around me. It did not, and later I learned that the so-called one-of-a-kind ‘mantra’ they gave me was also given to numerous others between the ages of 26 and 30. “On inspection these mantras turn out to be… magical invocations of the main Hindu gods.” Wijngaards Institute for Catholic Research.

When I became a Christian, I experienced real transformation through the beauty and power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. This indwelling empowers Pastor Paul and millions of other Christians worldwide to love everyone, including homosexuals, fornicators, murderers and thieves. Has Pastor Paul ever ‘bent the knee’ to “lift up” any of these people? Yes, every day. As for the invocation at the city council meetings, the advice given to the council by Pastor Paul was sound. When you pray to the Father in the name of Jesus, your prayer will invoke divine wisdom and guidance. All other prayers, like my secret ‘mantra’ will invoke demons who bring in deception and chaos.

Of course, if the council members themselves do not value Christian principles, or think prayer is simply “3 minutes of wasted time” like Councilman Gookin, then it may be time to discontinue the invocation entirely. As the Bible says, “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.”

ANNE PATTERSON

Coeur d’Alene