A response by "LoveYourEnemies" found on AlterNet.org...
The Solution to the Christianity Debate (Part I)
Posted by: LoveYourEnemies on Oct 5, 2005 1:23 PM
Someone said that we shouldn't blame Jesus for all of this, it is not his fault. I agree.
I am a recovering fundamentalist. Last year was a very difficult year for me because I was ramrodded out of one church for having more biblical knowledge than the pastor (hence, I was known as a "troublemaker") and I had to leave a second church because they were distributing political tracts in favor of the Republicans (when I confronted the pastor about the illegality of this, I was told I "don't love God and [I] don't love America"). The third and final church I tried to go to had a pastor who got his sermons from Fox News.
After this, I was increasingly frustrated by the whole thing and I also attempted to blame Jesus. However, this also forced me to go into the New Testament and read it with fresh eyes.
I found a Jesus who the religious right would gladly kill. This Jesus would hang out with the worst of us (according to the religious right). In his day, he was known as a "friend of tax collectors and sinners". Today, he would be known as the "friend of homosexuals and liberals". Why?
He fought against the religious establishment, which was founded on a good premise, but quickly turned evil. The same is true today. Dobson started out wanting kids to grow up to be decent citizens, yet now, he's just as bad as the Pharisees of Jesus' day. Consider "Uncle Chuckles" Robertson and Jerry Falwell. They're just as bad.
How many of these "christians" would give their last dollar (before visiting an ATM) to a beggar on the side of the street? I actually tested this out last Sunday. There's a poor couple who begs not two miles from a local church. I watched as "fish" car after "fish" and "Bush/Cheney '04" car passed by, not one even slowing down. Windows rolled up as the light where they were turned red. I watched for about an hour and then I finally gave them $20 and a $25 gift certificate to McDonalds. After that, they packed up and went to get some food. That was all they needed.
Jesus tells us to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, care for the sick and visit the prisoner. I don't know of any liberal or progressive who would call that stupid or backward. I don't believe that Jesus is the problem here.
The Solution to the Christianity Debate (Part II)
Posted by: LoveYourEnemies on Oct 5, 2005 1:24 PM
I truly feel sorry for the congregations of these fundamentalist churches. They are told that they cannot understand the Bible by these political dog pastors. So, they go home and never crack open the good Book. If they did, they would see a different Jesus than the one that's presented every Sunday. They would see a Jesus who looks out for the widow and who loves true justice. They would see a Jesus who tells his disciples that LOVE not hatred or religious and political bigotry is what grants access to heaven. They would even see that their pastors and political leaders (conservative ones) are the very Pharisees that ultimately killed Jesus.
Like I said, I'm a recovering fundamentalist. I am also African-American, so my escape was sure once these fools said that America was a Judeo-Christian country and that slavery and genocide were only "minor" problems. Talk to your conservative fundamentalist friends. Ask them to read the New Testament like they would read a James Dobson book or any other book, instead of letting some pastor take things out of context. You will see a change.
No comments:
Post a Comment