"Right"-eous & Christian?????

Lately I've rediscovered an author that had a great effect on me in college, lo those many years ago. I saw a couple of references in articles I'd read, probably in The Atlantic, and I proceeded to find some of his writings. I refer to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a Jesuit (!?!?!?) theologian and a paleontologist who was on the team that classified Peking Man. One of his quotes appears on the header of this blog.

Now I am not very religious. If asked, I usually respond R.C.L. (Roman Catholic Lapsed). So how do I reconcile having this Jesuit as an influence? Well, Teilhard is logical. He's a scientist. While he tends to a Christian interpretation of phenomena, he maintains his analytical bent. His works aren't filled with "God" but rather man's search for the "Unity." I might take some issue with his assertion that mankind is the apogee of evolution but I do agree with his idea of continued mental and spiritual evolution to join the noosphere.

Where we presently reside is very ostentatiously "Christian." There is an evangelical mega-church just a few blocks north of us and a Baptist mega-church four blocks to the south. Most of the citizens in this city are self-avowed Christians. "God bless" is almost as dominant a form of greeting as "hello" or "good-bye." The former mayor had an "important" conference on a constitutional issue recently---President Obama's speech to school children. This is "Nobama" land, for sure. Why he's a socialist!!!

And why are these Christians so afraid of socialism? Likely because they have forgotten to read the New Testament. This is "eye for an eye" and "homosexuality is abomination" land. Right out of Leviticus and the Books of the Old Testament. We don't hear about "turn[ing] the other cheek", "let he who is without sin cast the first stone", or "love thy neighbor as thyself". Much less the sharing of food and lodging in the Christian community described in Acts or the Epistles of St. Paul. I guess I'm saying I don't see a lot of Christianity being practiced by today's Christians.

God doesn't have a flowing white beard---that's an anthropomorphism, endowing human traits on the deity to make him "understandable" to humankind. The problem is we've overdone this. I can accept a deity as the entity that fired off the Big Bang, the energy that started the universe spinning and expanding. But I cannot accept racism and discrimination being excused as Christians following their Master. These people are following the Jewish faith with the "vengeful God" and the Pharisees. As I recall, these same were cast out of the Temple and the Messiah was to bring a new order---"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Light."

Maybe our God-fearing "right"-eous people need to revisit the teachings of the Christ. Start with the Sermon on the Mount. And how socialistic is it to multiply loaves and fishes so the poor might have a meal? Thanks, I'll stick with Teilhard and his more realistic view of the Unity.

Virtuous

Faith, Hope, and Charity. What Christian doesn't know these three virtues as the cornerstone of the faith. And the Golden Rule, right from Christ in the scriptures, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Words and feelings to live by and to guide us, the poor sinners trekking through the vale of tears and the valley of death. And how we count on the approval and example of our spiritual leaders. Pope Benedict, for all his flaws, met the woman who knocked him down on Christmas eve and forgave her. A true example for his flock.

But here in the US, with Christian fundamentalism running rampant, there are other shepherds, like Pat Robertson. Not one to be in thrall to the pope, this preacher came at the tragedy in Haiti with all the compassion of a spawn of Satan himself-----no forgiveness or compassion here. That earthquake was visited on the poorest Western nation because of a pact with the devil. Bet they have a lot of "homos" there too, huh, Pat??? Sometimes I wonder what the hell bible these yahoos are reading................

Sunday Thoughts

Sunday morning----- Sitting in a recliner, relaxing with coffee, reading the Sunday New York Times (online---wouldn't get it until Tuesday by mail here). I just finished mowing the lawn and doing some other chores that don't get done during the work week. Sunday mornings.......

I just read a segment somewhere that talked about the "liberal religious" movement. What??????????? Today's "religious right" would definitely not be confused with any progressive agendas. Anti-abortion, anti-same-sex relationships, anti-Muslim, anti-immigration, anti-just about any kind of social progress it seems. (Just for the record, being "pro-choice" is NOT the opposite of being "pro-life." I personally find the use of abortion as a means of birth control unacceptable. It's a failure to excercise the plethora of choices and options already available. It mocks the very term "pro-choice.")

Take the modern harvest celebration. The Christian Church around the corner is having a "Fall Festival"; the Nazarenes down the road are having "Neewollah" (isn't speaking backward a sign of demonic possession----just asking). I like the idea of putting Christ back into Christmas and also favor putting the Witch back into Halloween. I hate the political correctness namy-pamby-ism that doesn't allow parades of costumed kids on the last day of October. We make sure that if there's candy left over, it's the type we like best!!!!

By the way, the liberal religious movement I referred to above was the Berrigan brothers and other clergy opposed to the Vietnam war. I wish our present day clergy had the same moral fortitude, but seeing the size of some of these churches, I guess the need to fill them with donating worshippers frequently overrides a sense of moral conviction. As the ad for one of the Baptist congregations states: "Religion with a casual approach." Now if that's not an oxymoron.........

Christian Nation

I received a very unwelcome email a couple of days ago about how Muslims can't be Americans. It was ignorant , racist, and repugnant. See cz's blog for some of the quotes and details. I feel the need to comment on this entire email/blogging/propaganda campaign that this election cycle has degenerated into. I really am disgusted by the ignorance and the absolutely unChristian behavior of the purveyors of this trash. Allow me to present a few facts:

First, Islam, also known as Mohammedanism, is one of the THREE great mono-theistic (for those of you who send garbage emails, that means belief in ONE GOD) religions. The other two are Judaism and Christianity. I hope all of you readers are familiar with those, at least. Abraham and Jesus are both revered as prophets in Islam. There isn't any Arabian desert moon-god.

Second, if Barack Hussein Obama is a Muslim, then why is there a big scandal about the relationship with the Christian minister Jeremiah Wright??? You can't have it both ways.

Perhaps it is time to decide if in fact we are a Christian nation. There's an awful lot of people professing to follow the teaching of Christ who seem more like followers of the Pharisees. Remember in the New Testament when Jesus said he was the new order, that the greatest commandment was to love God and also to love thy neighbor as thyself? Or when he instructed that he who was without sin should throw the first stone at the adulterous woman? He also replied with the parable of the good Samaritan when queried as to whom one's neighbor was. Wasn't His Crucifixion the ultimate turning of the other cheek? The attacks on homosexuals, the needless war in Iraq, the torture of people of Middle Eastern descent in places like CIA rendition centers, Abu Ghraib, or Guantanamo--- are these acts those of a nation purporting to follow the teaching of Jesus Christ?

Please don't misunderstand me. I have contempt for the people who flew those planes on 9/11. I believe our nation should do all in its power to bring the planners to justice. But to villify a race, to use "Islamic terrorism" as an excuse to put aside the excercise of our Christian principles, to use false attacks on a candidate because he is different, these are the tactics of the Sanhedrin. And I hope all the God-fearing " Christians" remember whom they had killed. Or do some of them even know????