Quote of the Day

We're spinning in our graves at the Mikveh Israel Cemetery

Ever notice how the people who try to persuade us that the Second Amendment has nothing to do with a well-regulated militia are usually the same people who want to persuade us that the US is a Christian Nation?

Repression of Christianity in the US

From Betty Bowers

Ms. Bower's comment:

As a conservative Christian, when I volunteer helpful critiques of other people's faiths, it's called "love." If they return the favor, it's called "persecution."

Thou shalt have no other gods before me...

Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Exodus 20: 3-6.
 
And if you really want a laugh:

 

Yes, I do believe in the "golden rule (or rule of reciprocity), but the NRA is about the most diametrically opposed organisation to the Golden Rule I can think of.  They are the last organisation to try and use the "golden rule" for any purpose.

If you would rather be judges by 12 than carried by six, then you should allow criminals to have their legal right to a trial--not allow for summary execution and vigilante justice.

BTW, the picture above is of a piece by an artist named Al Farrow.  I'm not sure what his take is on this.  The work is called "Fingernail of the Trigger Finger of Santo Guerro".  The picture ended up on a gun loon page as a mash up between Christianity and guns.  Maybe that's Mr. Fallow's point.

A good post for a Sunday

This eye-opening map was created by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies.

If you’d like to see state-by-state breakdowns of exactly how many believers each faith has, the ASARB has the maps for you.

Something to think about when you want to go imposing your religion on others.

I find it interesting the places where Islam is the second largest religion.

See also:

• Statistics on Religion in America Report -- Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Bibles and guns? does this offend you?

I'm sure the type of person who needs to have flags, guns, and Bibles probably won't find this too offensive.  It might even be a type of Rorschach test to see where you are on the political spectrum.

In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus identifies himself with the hungry, the poor, the sick, and the prisoners.  That passage is considered a major aspect of Christianity and is the cornerstone of Christian socialism.  Another key statement in the New Testament that is an important component of Christian socialism is Luke 10:25-37 that follows the statement "You shall love your neighbour as yourself" with the question "And who is my neighbour?", and in the Parable of the Good Samaritan Jesus gives the revolutionary response that the neighbour includes anyone in need, even people we might be expected to shun.

Socialism owes more to the Bible than Marx.

Acts 4, verse 32:

"All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions were his own, but they shared everything they had."

and Acts 4, verses 34 and 35:

"There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from their sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need."

John Chrysostom explained his attitude towards the rich and wealth by saying:

I am often reproached for continually attacking the rich. Yes, because the rich are continually attacking the poor. But those I attack are not the rich as such, only those who misuse their wealth. I point out constantly that those I accuse are not the rich, but the rapacious; wealth is one thing, covetousness another. Learn to distinguish.

Change it to Muslim and see what their reaction is...

Funny, but if you changed the word "Christian" to "Muslim" in some right wing screeds, that you would see people going apoplectic.  Strange, but they just don't quite get what that means.

Anywaly, I'd prefer to live in Europe where this shit isn't tolerated than in someplace that fancies itself as Iran or Afghanistan or some other Islamic terror land only rebranded "Christian".

Sorry, but the only difference is that the one on the left isn't as modestly dressed.

We’re curious what, if any, difference there is between these two pictures? Both women worship the same god. Both of them are holding a book that heavily mentions Jesus, and both are unnecessarily heavily armed–and then there’s the intolerance demonstrated by extremists of either of these very similar religions.

Thank you, Holly, for proving me correct:

Sinclair Lewis on Fascism updated, or my Ambrose Bierce moment

This is a reference to Ambrose Bierce’s entry on Patriotism in the Devil’s Dictionary where he says:

In Dr. Johnson’s famous dictionary patriotism is defined as the last resort of a scoundrel. With all due respect to an enlightened but inferior lexicographer I beg to submit that it is the first.

Likewise, Sinclair Lewis’s rather famous quote on fascism that:

“When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.”

With all due respect to an enlightened but inferior writer I beg to submit that when fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in a flag, carrying a cross and a gun, while claiming it is all being done in the name of the Constitution.

Your Sunday Sermon

Maybe some of the people in the US who claim to be Christian need to reexamine these principles.

From the Anglican Parish of Gosford, New South Wales, Australia

Weekend Reflection.

No matter what you think about Christianity it’s hard to deny some basic facts about Jesus. Born sometime between 4BCE and 6CE into a peasant family. He grew up in the socio political context of an oppressive foreign occupation and corrupt local “government”. Sometime around the age of 30 he explicitly challenged the local authorities and therefore the might of Rome. He was arrested, tried, convicted of sedition and executed.

I do not believe it is possible to genuinely claim to be his follower unless you share his passion for the poor, the oppressed and the voiceless. Supporting the oppression of another human being for any reason requires a form of justification that is unacceptable to his spirit.

Standing for those in need is Christianity, any addition to that, as worthy as it may be is simply window dressing.

Fr Rod Bower.

By the way, if we are going to add the "thous shall not kill" and "sacredness of human life", we can add:

Thou shalt not kill. Here again is a moral precept included in all codes, and placed by all in a prominent position. Our first duty towards our neighbour is to respect his life. When Cain slew Abel, he could scarcely have known what he was doing; yet a terrible punishment was awarded him for his transgression (Genesis 4:11-14). After the flood, the solemn declaration was made, which thenceforward became a universal law among mankind - "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man" (Genesis 9:6).

Still, this doesn't stop people from claiming to be Christian while devaluing human life.   In the few places where there is an organised government, and a systematic administration of justice, the State acts on the principle and punishes the murderer. Elsewhere, among tribes and races which had not vet coalesced into states, the law of blood-revenge obtained, and the inquisition for blood became a private affair. The next of kin was the recognised" avenger "upon whom it devolved to hunt out the murderer and punish him.

Exceptions appear to the rule appear later on (Numbers 35:22-25; Deuteronomy 4:42; etc.); but the first thing is to establish the principle that human life is sacred. Man is not to shed the blood of his fellow-man unless it is absolutely necessary.  In other words, the Bible supports the traditional, common law version of the doctrine of self-defence where deadly force the the LAST option, not the first and only to be used if all other options have been exhausted.

Anyway, Australia also was fairly quick to enact strong gun laws.

(disclaimer--I prefer New Zealand)