Kay --
Now you've done it! First I fire off my big mouth about politics, and
now, my
incredibly peculiar religious views are going to get a public airing.
After
this, I'll never get elected president... oh well...
First, of the many things I'm not, I'm not a Christian. Oh, I was for
awhile,
but this was after my way nonmainstream religion really became clear,
and I
could no longer argue Jesus' divinity. So, I learned what I could about
his
life, teachings, death, and post-death activities of his followers.
But, as it
was not my first religion, nor my last, my views on it are more based on
logic
and study than on belief and socialization.
First off, the Christianity that gets press is not the religion of
Jesus. Jesus
came into the world saying things like "I'm not here to destroy the law
but to
fulfill it"; he never claimed to be anything other than a human, saying,
in
effect, I don't remember the quote exactly, "anything I do, you can do
and
better than I"; and basically came to define the god of Judaism not as a
terrible god to be feared, but as a loving god full of mercy. To deify
this man
weakens all of his teachings. When he was alive, he was saying, "be
good to the
least of my brothers", "judge not lest you be judged", "do unto others
as you
would have them do unto you", "let him who is without sin cast the first
stone". All, basically saying, "why don't you all just get along with
each
other". Oh, and by the way, keep kosher, and follow all of the laws put
forth
to you by the Levites and Aaron, as they were given by God on the Mount;
but,
know that God loves you and is not here to chastise you but to lead you
gently
into a better world; not necessarily a better world in death, but
certainly a
better world in life. To deify him, the example he set was nullified
("oh,
sure... easy for him to say... he was God!").
And, so, Jesus came as a sheep, a loving, pacifist, tolerant man.
Then came Saul turned Paul, in one form of apostasy after another, Paul,
antisemite, misogynist, homophobe, and publicist, came by and said, very
very
very basically, "oh, sure, he said that... but, it was easy for him...
he's
God. Here, *I'm* a man... let me tell you what he really meant for us
humans to
do. (You! Woman! In the kitchen and don't talk back to me.) Jesus
meant for
you not to be Jews, but to be Christians. So, the Jewish laws don't
pertain to
you. Eat pork if you want to. Wear whatever clothes you want to. Trim
your
beard (Damn it woman! Don't speak till your spoken to! I'm your
husband and
you will obey me!), stop wearing fringe on your clothes! Jesus said
there were
only two laws, read the Lord's prayer daily and... what was that other
one?...
(Look there's a *****! I hate faggots! Kill 'em, boys!!) love your
heterosexual, white, Christian, male neighbor as yourself... but not too
physically."
The religion that grew out of Paul's teachings, and eventually,
Augustine's, had
very little to do with the teachings of Jesus. It was a religion of
accumulation of wealth based on fear; a religion of the destruction of
other
religions; a religion based on world domination. Had it been political,
it
would have been closely related to the Third Reich in form and
function. This
is not the religion of Jesus. This is the religion of Paul.
Going back a step for a moment... when one prays, when one gives energy,
when
one follows the stricutres and teachings of a religion, their soul
becomes more
closely associated with the deity behind it. When one follows the
teachings of
Jesus and follows his ways in the spirit of Jesus, one becomes a real
Christian,
they turn their souls to the gentle and peaceful and tolerant; and in so
doing
really give form and definition to Jesus as a god. And every bit of
energy they
give Jesus as a god makes the god Jesus stronger.
Unfortunately, many zealots have practiced the form of Christianity
preached by
Paul. They have practiced stricutres based on greed, hate and
intolerance.
They have spilled blood and caused horrible pain; and all that energy
has gone
up into another god. A god with Jesus' name, but Paul's beliefs, laws,
strictures and prejudices. The Jesus-name-with-Paul-energy god is not
the god
Jesus spoke of. It is the god Paul spoke of.
When one follows the teachings of any deity, when one spends their faith
and
belief in attempts to emulate their god, in fulfilling their god's
wishes, they
become more like them. So, these football players, and homophobes and
misogynists are Christians, but not the Christians they think they are.
They
have paid the wrong piper, and their souls are colored not in the sweet
rainbows
of Jesus' love, but in the blacks and muddy grays of Paul's hate.
So, in answer to your question, they don't have to observe the sabbath,
or be
nice to anyone. That was what was meant by the confusing quote about the
Sabbath. They can beat up anyone they want and bathe in their blood.
And they
can still be Christians; but not the same kind of Christian that Jesus
would
have recognized. Paul never knew Jesus... he came to Israel years after
Jesus'
death. He didn't even like Jesus' teachings. He was a big bully. And
he
claimed to speak with Jesus' voice and in Jesus' name. And he lied.
And, he's
been deified too. And his followers think that they're the followers of
Jesus.
They aren't. They're the followers of Paul. And every drop of blood
spilled in
his honor makes him stronger. And every non-Christian/non-Jewish action
performed in Jesus' name makes him stronger.
There are Christians. They are loving, nice, exceedingly tolerant
people.
These people are the embodiment of love and light and mercy. These are
the
people who don't cast aspersions on other people. These people follow
the words
and ways of Jesus of Nazareth. And every nice thing they do, and every
holy
word they utter, and every prayer and hope for peace makes their god
stronger.
Then, there are those other Christians, who throw holocausts and
inquisitions
and pogroms and bomb abortion clinics and commit atrocities from the
American
plains to Bosnia. They spill blood and cause pain to make their god
stronger.
They just aren't the same gods... even if they share the same name.
Bambi.
Philosophical shoes.
Shoe Moderated wrote:
"kay" <kayteau@email.msn.com> wrote:
This came from one of my other newsgroups...
The USA Today has run a full page ad signed by 100 NFL players
endorsing
Reggie White's (recently retired from the Green Bay Packers) anti gay
crusade. The players claim they are motivated by their Christian
beliefs and
that hatred of gays is "defending the Gospel". The ad was paid for by 3
religious groups.
Gwen Knapp of the San Francisco Examiner contacted Bill Horn, a
publicist
who is co-ordinating White's anti gay crusade. She asked Horn why the
players do not protest Sunday games, since after all that is for them
working, Sunday is the Christian Sabbath and the bible explicitly
demands
that the Sabbath be honoured and no work done. Horn answered Well, that
depends on the Sabbath as defined by the Christianity that you
espouse",
and if you can figure that one out let me know. He also added that a
lot of
people work Sunday. True, but does not answer the question. In other
words,
defending the gospel does not mean challenging the NFL and the
television
networks that make a fortune off Sunday games. Knapp also asked why the
players don't challenge Nike and other shoe companies use of sweat shop
labour. No answer.
This is not the gospel of love, it is the gospel of the schoolyard
bully.
Pick on the one you see as weak and powerless, an easy target, but
don't
challenge those who are over you.
Neither White nor any other NFL player spoke out when Matthew Shepard
was
lynched. How could they have? White said homosexuality is "worse than
murder". If being gay is worse than murder, the real crime is not
abducting
a young man and beating him to death while he begs for his life. The
real
crime is that the young man even existed.
Only one San Francisco player, Merton Hanks, signed the ad. He would
not
return calls from Knapp.
Signers included Eugene Robinson of the Atlanta Falcons. Robinson was
arrested for soliciting a prostitute, who turned out to be an
undercover
policewoman, the night before the Super Bowl while his wife and
children
were in their hotel room. His resulting ineffectiveness was considered
a big
factor in Atlanta's defeat. Earlier that day Robinson had received the
NFL's
Bart Starr award for Moral Leadership, based on his Christian
preaching.
Horn responded to a question about Robinson's inclusion among the 100
signers by saying that everyone makes mistakes. True, but soliciting a
prostitute is a crime, not a mistake. One wonders if Horn would be so
understanding had Robinson solicited a male prostitute. Also signing
was
Kevin Greene of the Carolina Panthers. Greene was fined and suspended
during
the season for physically assaulting one of his coaches. A man
assaulting a
man is OK, kissing one is not.
Football agent Leigh Steinberg commented "While I think it's laudable
to
model Christianity and spiritual values to that group [young male
sports
fans], this is exactly the danger in terms of intolerance. You know,
teenage
boys have been a major source of anti-gay violence So I think that
athletes
have to be particularly careful that comments they make out be deemed
toleration for anti-gay violence".
Unfortunately, White & company are not just tolerating anti gay
violence.
They are actively seeking it. When a group of people is singled out as
being
beyond the pale, anything and everything that is done to them becomes
OK.
When I see ads like this, I see gas chambers.
Carol
kay
feet equally alarmed
--
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