pfflam
09-08-2004, 11:28 PM
I came across a good article that shows that many Christians are themselves getting sick and tired of the assumption that Religion means throwing away critical thought and emmediately eating up the Right-wing hatred.
I post teh whole thing because I doubt that any of you 'Christians' would read the whole thing if I didn't:
The blurring of Christianity
Has religious right hijacked American flag and Jesus?
By Barrie Hartman
It's a subject that stirs the emotional pot, and something people obviously want to talk about but seem afraid to do so:
Has the right wing of the Republican Party not only hijacked the American flag and patriotism but Jesus Christ as well?
If so, how did it happen? And why aren't mainstream Christians screaming bloody murder?
Judging by the large, thoughtful response to my Aug. 1 column that questioned where Christianity is going, I'm hardly alone in my distress. We mainstream Christians went into a Rip Van Winkle slumber, while our conservative neighbors busily turned God and the flag into a righteous partnership.
How easy it was after Sept. 11 for the religious right to grow in numbers and influence as it redefined the true meaning of Christianity, made hate, fear and revenge sound virtuous and promised that, with God, we (good) will triumph over them (evil).
A lot of you apparently grew up as I did. As a Christian, you believed that more could be accomplished with love than with hate. What mattered was helping the downtrodden and loving your fellow man. Now, with a blurred definition of Christianity, you can't be a true believer without being devoted to a war that is worth nearly 1,000 American lives (so far) because my God is better than your God.
I lamented in my last column about how the changing nature of religion was affecting the image of ordinary churchgoers - most of us. There is a tendency today to throw all churchgoers into the same pot with the religious right. Therefore, we're George Bush voters, we support the Iraqi war and we hate gays and lesbians. (Several Bible-pounding e-mailers scolded me, "We don't hate homosexuals; we join God in hating their sin.")
A number of readers wrote that "you insincere Christians" can help the poor and do all the good deeds you want. But that won't get you into Heaven. Only following Scripture - "the final word on everything" - and accepting Jesus Christ as your savior will ensure a heavenly afterlife, they lectured.
The churchgoers I respect don't help the less fortunate and engage in acts of kindness to earn their "ticket" (as one letter-writer put it) to Heaven. They do it because it's the decent thing to do. There shouldn't be any other motive.
In my view, we mainstream Christians have sunk to a new low by allowing, in our silence, the religious right and our government to use Jesus and the church as political pawns to validate an unnecessary war.
Over the last month, readers have had much to say on the topic. Here's a sampling from more than 70 e-mails plus letters I received, 90 percent of which expressed serious concerns:
From Niwot: "I, too, despair that Christianity and religion are becoming pseudonyms for patriotism and Godliness. We have a wonderful minister. But beneath this man and the congregation's exterior faade, there lurks homophobia, steadfast loyalty to the war, and an inability to adjust to any view not consistent with Biblical revelations. There is no room for using your God-given intellect."
From Laramie, Wyo.: "I feel getting health care to the poor is much more an expression of my faith than supporting a war in Iraq."
From a "Christian Republican": "The way the war was presented by our president made it look like it was the Christians vs. the Democrats."
From a retired Methodist pastor: "I am increasingly discouraged by the attitude that seems to be nurtured within the church that makes it acceptable to exclude persons."
From a non-Christian: "I hold my two grandmothers up as my ideal of Christianity, and have said several times recently that they would be turning over in their graves if they could hear what is passing for Christianity today."
From a retired Escondido, Calif., Methodist pastor: "I have become appalled at the direction of mainline denominations. It's been said that the Christian church must change or it will die. I fear, however, that it will NOT die, but only that part will persist that expresses an inauthentic blasphemy, using religion to bolster racism, sexism, homophobia and many other expressions of fear and hatred."
When will the world learn that bullets and bombs only lead to more bullets and bombs, especially if religion is part of the mix? Neither Christians nor Muslims (or any religion) will escape huge losses of life and utter misery if they continue marching down a close- minded road absolutely convinced that "our way of living, thinking and worshipping is the only way. Believe it or perish."
"Love thy enemy," Jesus preached 2,000 years ago. What do you suppose Jesus would be saying to us - and about us - today?
Barrie Hartman is a retired Boulder newspaper editor living in nearby Louisville. He is a member of the Louisville United Methodist Church.
I post teh whole thing because I doubt that any of you 'Christians' would read the whole thing if I didn't:
The blurring of Christianity
Has religious right hijacked American flag and Jesus?
By Barrie Hartman
It's a subject that stirs the emotional pot, and something people obviously want to talk about but seem afraid to do so:
Has the right wing of the Republican Party not only hijacked the American flag and patriotism but Jesus Christ as well?
If so, how did it happen? And why aren't mainstream Christians screaming bloody murder?
Judging by the large, thoughtful response to my Aug. 1 column that questioned where Christianity is going, I'm hardly alone in my distress. We mainstream Christians went into a Rip Van Winkle slumber, while our conservative neighbors busily turned God and the flag into a righteous partnership.
How easy it was after Sept. 11 for the religious right to grow in numbers and influence as it redefined the true meaning of Christianity, made hate, fear and revenge sound virtuous and promised that, with God, we (good) will triumph over them (evil).
A lot of you apparently grew up as I did. As a Christian, you believed that more could be accomplished with love than with hate. What mattered was helping the downtrodden and loving your fellow man. Now, with a blurred definition of Christianity, you can't be a true believer without being devoted to a war that is worth nearly 1,000 American lives (so far) because my God is better than your God.
I lamented in my last column about how the changing nature of religion was affecting the image of ordinary churchgoers - most of us. There is a tendency today to throw all churchgoers into the same pot with the religious right. Therefore, we're George Bush voters, we support the Iraqi war and we hate gays and lesbians. (Several Bible-pounding e-mailers scolded me, "We don't hate homosexuals; we join God in hating their sin.")
A number of readers wrote that "you insincere Christians" can help the poor and do all the good deeds you want. But that won't get you into Heaven. Only following Scripture - "the final word on everything" - and accepting Jesus Christ as your savior will ensure a heavenly afterlife, they lectured.
The churchgoers I respect don't help the less fortunate and engage in acts of kindness to earn their "ticket" (as one letter-writer put it) to Heaven. They do it because it's the decent thing to do. There shouldn't be any other motive.
In my view, we mainstream Christians have sunk to a new low by allowing, in our silence, the religious right and our government to use Jesus and the church as political pawns to validate an unnecessary war.
Over the last month, readers have had much to say on the topic. Here's a sampling from more than 70 e-mails plus letters I received, 90 percent of which expressed serious concerns:
From Niwot: "I, too, despair that Christianity and religion are becoming pseudonyms for patriotism and Godliness. We have a wonderful minister. But beneath this man and the congregation's exterior faade, there lurks homophobia, steadfast loyalty to the war, and an inability to adjust to any view not consistent with Biblical revelations. There is no room for using your God-given intellect."
From Laramie, Wyo.: "I feel getting health care to the poor is much more an expression of my faith than supporting a war in Iraq."
From a "Christian Republican": "The way the war was presented by our president made it look like it was the Christians vs. the Democrats."
From a retired Methodist pastor: "I am increasingly discouraged by the attitude that seems to be nurtured within the church that makes it acceptable to exclude persons."
From a non-Christian: "I hold my two grandmothers up as my ideal of Christianity, and have said several times recently that they would be turning over in their graves if they could hear what is passing for Christianity today."
From a retired Escondido, Calif., Methodist pastor: "I have become appalled at the direction of mainline denominations. It's been said that the Christian church must change or it will die. I fear, however, that it will NOT die, but only that part will persist that expresses an inauthentic blasphemy, using religion to bolster racism, sexism, homophobia and many other expressions of fear and hatred."
When will the world learn that bullets and bombs only lead to more bullets and bombs, especially if religion is part of the mix? Neither Christians nor Muslims (or any religion) will escape huge losses of life and utter misery if they continue marching down a close- minded road absolutely convinced that "our way of living, thinking and worshipping is the only way. Believe it or perish."
"Love thy enemy," Jesus preached 2,000 years ago. What do you suppose Jesus would be saying to us - and about us - today?
Barrie Hartman is a retired Boulder newspaper editor living in nearby Louisville. He is a member of the Louisville United Methodist Church.