onward christian soldiers?
March 11, 2008 by Betmo
anyone who reads anything i have written over the past 2 years- probably gets the idea that i am anti-organized religion. what you practice in your own home is none of my business, but once you step outside and start impacting my life- then, it’s my business.
since america is allegedly a ‘christian nation,’ i usually turn my contempt towards that particular religion. my thought is- it’s nonsense. it’s mythology. it’s make believe. but far worse than that- it’s hijacked. what the rank and file pew sitters don’t grasp - or maybe they do- is that their tithes and votes are being taken by people who want power. not very christian in my estimation. it really isn’t about making this a nation for god so much as it is making this a theocracy. and we’ve seen how well that’s worked in nations around the world.
organized religion is a control tool. it really is that simple. take flocks of parishioners who look to their pastor as a leader- a little power of suggestion- and voila! the debacle that has been the last 8 years of the bush ‘presidency.’ it isn’t an accident that reagan courted evangelicals in the mass media in the 1980’s and it is no great surprise that george w. ‘became’ an evangelical in 2000.
i find no surprises that christianity has started reaching out to scientology for some of its mind control techniques. what i find absolutely disturbing- alleged thinking people buying into the nonsense every day because they are ’searching for something’- or they ‘want hope and something to believe in.’ good grief! religion is the lazy way out of everything. pray to ‘god’ and hey- he’ll make things better. that’s why dubya was looked at so fondly- he reminded folks of the stern but loving father figure (ala ronnie reagan) and made them nostalgic for ’simpler’ times of the past. all it got us was- well these last 8 years of chaos and hell because all dubya and the neo cons wanted was power. who have the reached out to? falwell, dobson, graham, hagee. there is even a board for easier management. right wing talking heads have used the hate media circuit for years to reach out and ‘get the job done‘. the military pushes christianity and discriminates- and mercenary armies are formed for ‘marching as to war.’
anyway, my point of this post is- some of the faithful are breaking away and have started to ’see the light’ so to speak:
“My doubts really began when I realized that the people we were working with on the Religious Right were profoundly anti-American,” Schaeffer said in a recent interview. “I began to get the same vibe from them I got from my friends on the far left during the Vietnam War. They seemed to be rooting for North Vietnam. When I was working with the Religious Right, they seemed be rooting for the failure of America. Bad news was good news for them.”
so- by all means believe in your god- but be aware of what it is you are believing in and supporting as you sit in the pew and pray.
Sphere: Related Content
The Jesusistanis talk about their monkey being a “good Christian man” all the time as a reason they voted for him.
They ignore his greed and his bloodlust, but there’s a reason for that. A great many Jesusistanis smoke, drink, gamble, cheat, beat their wives, etc…. and we all know that they support policies that have been murderous to those Christ professed the most concern for. The Hypocrite in Chief is, in many ways, a reflection of his base.
If Jesusistanis are “good Christians,” I prefer the cold-eyed skeptic, any day of the week.
What you see perverted, abused, and misused daily in the name of Religion is not christianity. It is used as Democracy is only to follow a hidden agenda. We have unbridled perverted Religiosity on both sides of this war agenda being used to further that agenda. All good people of the world caught in the middle.
Now Religion! Religion is no different than atheism. Atheist’s need no reinforcement to their life. They are perfectly at ease whith their being and their role on this earth often finding God in Nature!
Some are not and need some support and justification. The level of suport and justification dectate which Religion if any you turn to. The problem as pointed out by you is when you try to force your Religion and beliefs on others. That is not a true Christian. You lead by example. Not force!
Anything to me practiced at home is your business but if you do it in public it no longer is and you are subject to public scrutiny and sonetimes their warped morals and values!
This may surprise you, Betmo, but I agree with you! Christianity has been diluted and perverted to the point that Christ, Himself, would barely, if at all, recognize it.
The problem lies in the Bible Colleges and Seminaries. They teach more on Business Administration and Fund Raising, than they do on doctrine or dogma. They teach a new ‘feel-good’ doctrine, ‘Say you love Jesus and you will be saved’. That is just a small starting point, like a baby’s first steps.
I have told many preachers and ministers, “Before you take someone to Mt Zion (for salvation), you need to take them to Mt Sinai (for the rules)”. Organized religion is NOT the problem. The problem lies with the organizers. Jesus organized the original Christian church, but the greed of mankind has totally perverted it. If Jesus were still in the grave, He’d be a-spinnin’ right now. Most Christians fail miserably at following their Scriptures.
The Evangelicals accused me of preaching heresy because I said, “Scripture is written for those that receive it”. Like it or not, the Torah, Qu’ran, Vedas, et al, are ALL scripture. They may not have been written for YOU to receive, but that does not negate them from being Scripture. I preached love, compassion, and understanding of our Muslim brothers and sisters, and was promptly labeled a heretic.
“pray to ‘god’ and hey- he’ll make things better” is a misnomerical statement. Praying is good, and has it’s purposes, but it is NOT a cure-all. Living as God (or any other Name you want to assign Him) intended man to live, will result in a better life. Peace, Love, Charity, Compassion for your fellow-man. THAT is what it is all about.
Maybe that’s the cause of America’s angst today. Galatians 5:16 says, ‘This I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh’.
It would seem those who claim to be christian- the likes of bush, clearly missed the big picture biblcal messages– love one another (enough with the enemies already!), thou shalt not kill (yes preemptive war based on lies falls under this category), and that do unto others as you would have done unto you part— I’m guessing torture & human rights abuses fit here.
I honor those who try to take the high road and be kind decent, helpful people. To me, being a kind person is a part of the spiritual compassion- regardless of what religion you may or may not embrace. This kind of twisted fundamentalism really taints religion in general. Literally out of touch with the spirit.
I am a believer and a liberal Christian, but the sort of Christianity I espouse has nothing to do with hate mongering and it has no political agenda.
I was not always a believer, rest assured. The skepticism you share is in good company but if you’d like to know where I stand, explore the topic of Christian Anarchism and the treatise “The Kingdom of God Is Within You”.
Interpret it as you wish and in these increasingly secular times I feel as though we can use the example of the teaching of Jesus to work for us on the left and not at cross-purposes.