The Grizzly Gazette is proud to publish incoming letters and comments from individuals both on and off the Granite Hills High School campus. Being that this is a high school newspaper, we ask that all letters contain comments appropriate to a high school audience and that they also maintain a sense of respect and decorum. Letters containing personal attacks and inappropriate or unintelligible language will not be published. The Grizzly Gazette staff has the right to not publish letters deemed unsuitable for a high school newspaper and also has the right to edit letters due to crude language, racism, sexism, and libel.

Editor:

I am primarily writing in response to all the letters that have been written in response to this opinion piece. Concerning Daniel's editorial, I agree that, even if some do not support the war, they should support the troops, who are sent by the United States government to protect our freedoms. I do not agree, however, that all Christians are this way. I am a Christian Fundamentalist myself, and I do not agree at all with this group's actions. Frankly, this group does not appear to even be Christian. I will not get into specifics, but they appear to be following their own religion that they consider "Christianity," which, according to the Bible that they so follow, is idolatry, a sin in the eyes of God.

But, I have been reading many of the letters that have been posted about this editorial, and I am very appalled at several letters. For example, one letter stated that Islam and Mormonism primarily follow the Bible, but have other books that "expand" upon it. When these other books "expand" upon the Bible, they are creating their own relgion, which is, as I stated before, idolatry, a sin in the eyes of God. Other religions, like Mormonism, Islam, and Catholicism, just to name a few, might say that they follow the Bible, but in reality, if one looks at their core doctrines, they do not. They apply their own ideas to the Bible, believing in certain parts to suit their own needs or wants and discarding others. When one does not even believe in certain parts of the Bible, they are creating their own religion, which is idolatry. They are not following the religion of God, the true religion, but a man-based religion, which only leads to sin and death. Revelation, the last book of the Bible, is the VERY last book (a warning about this is written in Revelation 22:18,19). Revelation is the very last book of the Bible, which was written by men prompted by the Holy Spirit. Nothing more, nothing less. Joseph Smith was not prompted by the Holy Spirit to write the Book of Mormon from those golden plates, which have been lost over time. As a result, it is not an offshoot of Christianity; rather, it is a cult.

Nothing has been added or detracted from the original Bible. Everything that one finds in a typical Bible today can be found in the original manuscripts, written in Hebrew or in Greek. And there are hardly any mistakes. The only mistakes there are are in the usage of certain punctuation marks, which, in itself, is extremely rare.

Also, in the discussion of history, with the different killings in the name of religion and the crusades, I have been shocked at the complete butchery that has taken place. The lack of detail in understanding these events shocks me. For example, one letter stated that Christians have beheaded people. If this is deriving from the Protestant Reformation, when people such as William Tyndale, Latimer, and Ridley were martyred for their faith in Protestantism, then the person who made this statement is sadly mistaken. Those who murdered these men were Catholics, not Christians. Some people may place them under the category labeled "Christian," but they actually are not. They are Roman Catholic or Russian Orthodox, an "offshoot" of true Christianity established after the early church. They do not even believe in basic doctrines of Christianity, such as salvation by grace alone. As a result, to put the name "Christian" on them is an incorrect name for a group who does not even believe in basic Christian doctrines. And, also, concerning the crusades, the people who have written in about them have been sadly mistaken about this time in history. The crusades, begun in 1095, were several holy wars conducted to regain the Holy Land from the Muslims. The first crusade, which was successful in gaining Jerusalem from the Muslims, was a success. However, by the fourth crusade, the Muslims had gained the upper hand. Though one person has called the crusades a "failure" and an undertaking that never should have been done, this is quite a mistake. The crusades helped open Europe up to trade with the East, with Muslim merchants, for example, and introduced many different sorts of goods and technology to Europe. Also, Italian merchants in Genoa and Venice gained lots of profit, and may have helped in making the Renaissance possible. So, this person who stated that the crusades were a "failure," failed to consider the vast economic development that took place and allowed for progress and for the region to become more susceptible to the Renaissance, which would begin later on in Italy. When one considers history, he or she should look at it based on what it really is, in its context, not through his or her own opinions or beliefs. Also, the need to understand names and ideologies is also important, in order for people to not make flippant exaggerations about different beliefs or ideals.

Sincerely, Karen Harriger 

I would like to appauld Beverly for her excellent article. This is all so ridculous. It's all because Monache or Porterville can't beat us in football. If Monache had defeated us four of the last six times or Porterville had defeated us five of the last six times [we have played eachother], I guarentee it would not be an issue. Case in point, it would be OK if it faced the "District Pool." Why? Because our water polo and swimming teams pose no threat to theirs. If we dominated them in those sports as we do football, that side of the gym would be off limits as well. Putting it on the cafeteria would be even worse because they would have to look at it the entire game when on the home side. As it is, if you are watching the game you don't even see it. To tell you the truth, I forgot all about it during our game against Porterville because I was concentrating on the game. As far as it facing a "District" statium, why should I have to see the Maurader sign everytime I drive down a "City" street like Henderson? Taking down that Mural is nothing short than declaring "War" on the people of Granite and the entire east side of Porterville. It also won't help the other schools win football games. All it will do is prevent them from reading the sign when they leave the stadium after the game. Trust me, we won before there was a sign and we will still win if it is removed. I would also check into the legal ramifications about removing donated property. You might want to check with Sunnyside who also has a district field on their campus, or Redwood who also has a district field on their campus. They were the "new" school and isn't it interesting that of all the sides thier gym faces, they chose the wall facing the stadium so that the people of Mt. Whitney would have to look and their sign every time they sat on the home side. I would like to conclude with a "Kudos" to Beverly and tell everyone else to get a life. This is after all for the kids, not the parents who think they can always "buy" their way.

Coach Bowser

First of all, these comics are pretty funny!!
Second, I think you guys need to [put] more comics on here.
I also think you guys need to put some games on here too!!

Matthew,

The Muslims killed Christians in the Crusades, yes, but the Christians did more harm to themselves than anyone else did. Just trying to take the "Holy" land was a bad idea, but they decided to do it without enough rations and supplies to sustain their own men let alone bring enough to ensure their victory. Muslims haven't been killing off everyone that isn't Muslim. They are attacking other Muslims who happen to support the U.S. Are they infidels because they support us? No, they believe and practice their religion the same as always.

The Muslims, like the Mormons, use the Bible for their guidlines. The only difference between them and Christianity is that they both have a book (different from eachother) that expands on the ideas of The Bible. You see, The Bible is not a complete collection of the scrolls and stories written by witnesses to Jesus Christ. There are many others that didn't make it into the Bible. What the Muslims have is a collection of testimonies that never made it into the Bible. Because they believe that the Bible is true and complete, they do believe in the trinity.

I don't like the quotes you used for the infidels. Have you read their extra book? If you can't cite the page and paragraph, you might want to be careful with your quotes because it is the infidel within yourself that must die. It is meant to be an internal struggle. Not what the radicals turn it into.

If you're trying to say that these people don't believe in the same thing you do, you're wrong. They happen to have teachings you don't. Being Muslim is like being Protestant over Pentecostal or Lutheran. They all teach from the Bible, they just chose to follow different parts of it. If you don't remember, the Christian Church split into these different sections. Where does it name all of them? It doesn't, so you can [justly] take in all evidence and say [Islam] is a part of Christanity. It just teaches something that Protestant, Lutherans and Pentecostals don't quite grasp. What you're trying to say is like saying Catholicism isn't Christianity. It is, it just has a different focus.

Listen you need to post on the Grizzly Gazette that everyone needs to call the Unified School District and tell them they cannot take down "HOME OF THE GRIZZLIES" OFF OUR GYM!!! The Unified School District is having a meeting to have a discussion about it being removed because of the fact that it is looking towards our soccer/football stadium! It is our school and we should rebel. All we need is help. The idea of them taking our sign off OUR gym is ludicrous and [we] need [to put]an end to it.Thank you for listening.
Student/Athlete,

Jared Segler

This morning I took my 4-year-old niece to pre-school there at Granite Hills High. And when we got there we were told to step inside the room. I would love to commend the teachers in that classroom for getting everyone in and keeping everyone, especially the chidren, calm. They did a very good job.
Thank you for being so great at what you do.

Diane Grant, Porterville, CA

Editor:

First off, I congratulate Tracy on writing another editorial about the Halloween costumes. The girls on this campus who dressed in those disgusting costumes on Halloween need to get it through their brains that they dressed in a totally immoral and sensual matter - not at all appropriate for a school setting. And, frankly, it was slutty. Krystal stated in her letter that Tracy was just "jealous" of the "freedom" that she and her friends possess. Where is this freedom? I see no freedom. I see a condemnation to a hopeless, insignificant life. When those girls walked across campus in those costumes on Halloween, they were giving their fellow classmates a message: I don't care about my life! When one dresses in such a fashion, they are saying to the world that they do not have any respect for themselves and are unable to create goals for themselves that will allow them to achieve and make something of their lives. These sort of people really do not have the tools to succeed in life since their minds cannot comprehend a difference between right and wrong - especially when it comes to dressing correctly.  

Krystal, God does give us the freedom to wear what we choose. One may don what he or she calls a normal "costume" on Halloween, but that does not mean God approves of that costume. Actually, God disapproves when girls dress in a way that will invoke sensual thoughts in the minds of males, eventually leading to immorality.

Those of you against Tracy's editorial, you are right, she was judging you. But her judgement was just. She was judging you on the gross immorality that you were displaying in a school setting. So, next year, girls, remember, if you don't want to look like an immoral slut, don't dress in such a fashion.

Sincerely, Karen Harriger