There’s religion and then there’s religion

When John McCain spoke to Barack Obama’s controversial remarks about religion on the morning of 14 April, 2008, the Senator from Arizona referred back to the founding of the country and the patriotic spirit of the American Revolution. And while Senator McCain’s remarks were almost inspirational they did not answer the question at hand; the question being did Senator Obama have a point when he talked about frustrated people turning to religion when economies fly south. Moreover the conversation appears to be taking place in a vacuum because no one wants to define the term religion.

Beginning with the second point first, there is religion and there is religion. Some people turn to religion for simple, every day comfort, using prayer and the Bible and the basic tenants of their faith to get them through a difficult time. If that’s what we mean by religion then I have no problem with people who turn to religion during tough economic times. But I think we all know there’s a group of people out there who not only turn to religion but who want everyone else to turn to their religion as well. Let’s get real, there are people out there who are downright predatory in the way that they practice their faith. You know who I mean, the Christofascits. These people don’t only pray their way through hard times, they PREY their way through difficult times. They wait and hope for hard times, hoping that they can use the misery of others to spread their bastardized version of Christianity. In this regard they are no different than the Nazi movement of the 1920’s and 30’s, using the economic downturn that we call the Great Depression as a means by which it can spread its virulent belief system. During the 1920s and 1930s the innocent victims were Jews, Slavs, Gypsies, homosexuals and the disabled, In 21st Century America the innocent victims are brown-skinned immigrants, Jews, human secularists, and liberals. The names of the victims may change but the politics of hate and division are still the same. In the 1930’s the predatory movement was National Socialism. In 21st Century America the predatory movement is right wing Christianity, the Millenialists who are trying to bring about the End Times and who think that a recession or depression will prove useful in that pursuit.

So when Barack Obama used the word bitter he may actually have been generous in his appraisal of the situation. Some of these people aren’t only bitter, they are dangerous, And that raises another question. Do we really want to arm these people? Let’s remember that these people talk about Jesus but their view of the Lord and Savior is lifted directly from the violent, vengeful pages of the Old Testament. They may call themselves Christians but when it’s all said and done they are little more than Bible-thumping fascists who have memorized holy scripture to deceive others. Do we really want to let these people play with guns? Have they proven themselves responsible or mature enough to play with weapons? Let’s remember that these people are constantly trying to undermine the United States government. They want to replace the creation of Madison and Franklin with a so called Christian Republic. To date they have attempted to undermine the American government trough legal methods, but who’s to say that at some point they won’t grow even more bitter and frustrated than they are right now and resort to other means? I think we need to remember that when Adolf Hitler overthrew the Wiemar Republic that he did so through a combination of violence and legal means. One can only guess what lessons the Christofascists derived from those events.

It seems to me that Barack Obama chose the right words when he said that some people are bitter and frustrated. If anything he may have underestimated the situation.