Thoughts and Prayers: The Religion Thread

Caramel colored carbonated sugar water has many names. But cola is still cola. Catholic to Congregationalist, it’s all Christianity. The rest is just intramural.

 

You don't know your ass from a baptismal font hole in the ground. But we all long knew that. What's amazing to everybody but you is how: 1) you keep screaming at how awful Christians are while; 2) any number of Christians 'round here tolerate your awfulness with nary a peep. Stultus temet nosce ...

 

Does it matter to the slave which kind of Christian is doing the buying and selling? Does it matter to the non Christian, which kind of Christian is driving her from her land, stealing their crops, raping her children? For nearly 2 thousand years of atrocities and crusades and pogroms and genocides and middle passages, y’all act as if your sectarian differences matter. Whether it be Catholic or Lutheran or Episcopalian, the whip is just as sharp with no regard to which sect is holding it

 

Me when yab tries to get "deep" ...

 

What are you seeking in all this?

 

Conversions and repentance

 

Alma, how much do you know about these people?

I could throw Opus Dei out there too. They're quite fundamentalist in their own way, and more importantly, they're on the Supreme Court.

I'm fully willing to concede that "fundamentalist Christian" is a very broad brush. It's just that it has been all around me ever since I began to reason critically. I'm not going to deny their existence or minimize the mean-spirited hypocrisy exhibited by some of these people as a feature of their worship and beliefs.

 

I think Alma is right to the extent that there are plenty of 'progressive' Christians in American life. And some number of progressive churches. Depends on how we're defining 'progressive.'

I'm not sure how coherent they may be politically, or how unified a voting body they present.

It's also worth remembering that Christianity itself, as outlined in the Bible, skews conservative. Likewise Judaism.

As a sidebar, I think lots of self-identifying poll respondents use 'Christian' or 'born-again' as a cultural/political get-out-of jail-free card.

It would be interesting, for example, to crosscheck those replies with membership in, or attendance at, any kind of organized church.

 

In case anyone wants more information. Long thread, as there are many to talk about.

 

Christianity is very liberal in its Paulian origins. He removed all laws, rituals and commandments that Jews had as part of the covenant with god. Jesus taught mostly Jewish theology but with an urgency that end times where near. Christianity as a religion, political philosophy and government is hard right. The faith has been ignored or used pre-textually to control others and receive funding, tithing and a license to rape, pillage and steal. Todays self identified Christian, of any denomination are Uber conservative. The AME churches, as liberal as they are on economic matters are very hard right on homosexuality, domestic violence and abortion. They e taken a simple belief system of kindness to others and created a 2000 year political movement of violence, war, oppression and sexual deviance.