Post by Atrahasis on Dec 18, 2004 18:45:17 GMT -5
What I see these days in America is blind loyalty to the institutions of church and government rather than loyalty to the true spirit of Jesus. For one, Jesus did not operate under a policy of exclusion whereas the religious right in America, especially the more evangelical ones, do operate under a policy of "You're either with us or against us". They like to exclude many different segments of the population, and not just homosexuals, but also moderate Christians whom they percieve as not being zealous and frenzied enough.
First of all, Jesus was not in the policy of excluding anyone, for if he were he would not have made the poor and the outcasts his friends. He did give verbal lashings to people he wanted to see mend their ways, like the scribes and pharisees, but that was for being religious on the outside and not really knowing right from wrong on the inside, and moreover that was not "excluding" them at all. He operated under a policy of inclusion, which is why he met with the lepers and the sick and all other kinds of people whom the scribes and pharisees probably would not touch with a ten foot pole.
Second, Jesus did not say "they are either with us or against us". That is a typical misunderstanding of Mark 9:40, but nevertheless that misunderstanding has become the principle by which radical right wing Christianity in America operates under. The actual verse is:
"For he that is not against us is for us"
If you dwell on that for a moment you'll realize that no radicalism is imbedded in that statement. These words of Jesus are words that seek out and distinguish friends, but the incorrect paraphrase of that verse has been perverted into words that seek out and distinguish enemies and perhaps how to deal with them (presumably in a rough way).
The true spirit of Jesus even tells us to love our enemies. One can seek out friends and love enemies at the same time, but under the incorrect paraphrase of that verse, it makes it seem like Jesus is telling us to know our friends from our enemies, and to exclude the conniving bastards who are out to get us and maybe even stomp 'em. "They can run but they can't hide", and everything associated with that typical aggressive line of thinking. But nothing could be farther from the truth, because Jesus tells us exactly how to deal with our enemies....and that is to include them and embrace them. If he slaps you, let him slap the other cheek. If he asks for your shirt, give him your coat as well. By doing this you will be heaving hot coals on his head (by shaming him and making him change his heart, and not by stomping on him).
Jesus knew that stomping just makes your enemies want to stomp you, and in turn you want to stomp 'em back, and this sprial continues ad infinitum. This was a big problem in those days, because vengeance was the single greatest factor which contributed to entire populations getting decimated in wars. The only way to stop it and to preserve life is to adress the root of the evil in your enemy's heart, and that is caused by a simple desire for vengeance because it is the default modus operandi of the unrefined human soul. If that can be overcome and replaced with something better then you'll stop all wars.
The other reason why people fight, other than vengeance, is over natural resources, if the work of this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner is any indication. She made the ground of Kenya better by planting trees, and this enabled people to grow food and better soil, and remarkably more peace ensued. This points out to me that evil is not inherent in the human soul, but if a man is unbalanced by his environment, then he will resort to desperate acts which are only a refelction of this imbalance, and thus you have the basic reason why people can become violent. The secret is to not let it get to you. Don't get caught in the spiral that can end up causing decimation of the people and environment around you and hence more imbalance. That's why Jesus' recommendations are the key.
But American Christians these days just don't get it. In fact, when it comes time for them to go to that great mansion that Jesus has prepared for them, I find it totally possible that the vast majority of them will get assigned positions as toilet scrubbers. They may be expecting to get great positions like being several seats down from the right hand of JC himself, but I suspect it'll be more like "Scrub harder, lackey!"
I feel sorry for them in that they probably have never deeply examined their own lives. They may know WHY they believe in JC, but they don't really know a thing about him, for if they did I don't beleive it would be possible for them to really support the death and the destruction that their government is causing. Is the war in Iraq even "retribution"? Not really, and everybody knows it. It may be construed as self-defense, but considering what it is costing in conscience and karma, I believe it will totally disqualify anyone who expects to sit at the same dinner table as JC.
First of all, Jesus was not in the policy of excluding anyone, for if he were he would not have made the poor and the outcasts his friends. He did give verbal lashings to people he wanted to see mend their ways, like the scribes and pharisees, but that was for being religious on the outside and not really knowing right from wrong on the inside, and moreover that was not "excluding" them at all. He operated under a policy of inclusion, which is why he met with the lepers and the sick and all other kinds of people whom the scribes and pharisees probably would not touch with a ten foot pole.
Second, Jesus did not say "they are either with us or against us". That is a typical misunderstanding of Mark 9:40, but nevertheless that misunderstanding has become the principle by which radical right wing Christianity in America operates under. The actual verse is:
"For he that is not against us is for us"
If you dwell on that for a moment you'll realize that no radicalism is imbedded in that statement. These words of Jesus are words that seek out and distinguish friends, but the incorrect paraphrase of that verse has been perverted into words that seek out and distinguish enemies and perhaps how to deal with them (presumably in a rough way).
The true spirit of Jesus even tells us to love our enemies. One can seek out friends and love enemies at the same time, but under the incorrect paraphrase of that verse, it makes it seem like Jesus is telling us to know our friends from our enemies, and to exclude the conniving bastards who are out to get us and maybe even stomp 'em. "They can run but they can't hide", and everything associated with that typical aggressive line of thinking. But nothing could be farther from the truth, because Jesus tells us exactly how to deal with our enemies....and that is to include them and embrace them. If he slaps you, let him slap the other cheek. If he asks for your shirt, give him your coat as well. By doing this you will be heaving hot coals on his head (by shaming him and making him change his heart, and not by stomping on him).
Jesus knew that stomping just makes your enemies want to stomp you, and in turn you want to stomp 'em back, and this sprial continues ad infinitum. This was a big problem in those days, because vengeance was the single greatest factor which contributed to entire populations getting decimated in wars. The only way to stop it and to preserve life is to adress the root of the evil in your enemy's heart, and that is caused by a simple desire for vengeance because it is the default modus operandi of the unrefined human soul. If that can be overcome and replaced with something better then you'll stop all wars.
The other reason why people fight, other than vengeance, is over natural resources, if the work of this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner is any indication. She made the ground of Kenya better by planting trees, and this enabled people to grow food and better soil, and remarkably more peace ensued. This points out to me that evil is not inherent in the human soul, but if a man is unbalanced by his environment, then he will resort to desperate acts which are only a refelction of this imbalance, and thus you have the basic reason why people can become violent. The secret is to not let it get to you. Don't get caught in the spiral that can end up causing decimation of the people and environment around you and hence more imbalance. That's why Jesus' recommendations are the key.
But American Christians these days just don't get it. In fact, when it comes time for them to go to that great mansion that Jesus has prepared for them, I find it totally possible that the vast majority of them will get assigned positions as toilet scrubbers. They may be expecting to get great positions like being several seats down from the right hand of JC himself, but I suspect it'll be more like "Scrub harder, lackey!"
I feel sorry for them in that they probably have never deeply examined their own lives. They may know WHY they believe in JC, but they don't really know a thing about him, for if they did I don't beleive it would be possible for them to really support the death and the destruction that their government is causing. Is the war in Iraq even "retribution"? Not really, and everybody knows it. It may be construed as self-defense, but considering what it is costing in conscience and karma, I believe it will totally disqualify anyone who expects to sit at the same dinner table as JC.
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